International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences (IRSPAS)
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Item Validation of logbook catch records in offshore fishing vessels of Sri Lanka using VMS data.(4th International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Gunawardane, N.D.P.; De Croos, M. D. S. T.; Amarasinghe, U.S.Accurate information on fishing position is a timely need in the offshore fisheries, especially for preventing illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. Vessel monitoring system (VMS) is recognized as one of the effective mechanisms for validating the fishing positions of fishing vessels provided by logbook system. In the present study, an attempt is made for developing an approach to identify and validate the fishing locations of offshore vessels in Sri Lanka using VMS data. VMS data based on the speed, distance and angle filters were adopted to identify the fishing locations. Here, the best angle of the zig-zag shapes recorded in the cruise tracks of VMS was determined as < 15o using the flooding data of VMS. Similarly, speed level of <3 knots was identified as the possible speed of fishing. Distance gaps of fishing locations were recorded and converted to distance buffers. Data from 1291 multiday vessels, operated from 21 fisheries harbors of Sri Lanka from May 2017 to April 2018 were analyzed in the present study. Predicted fishing locations based on VMS data were compared with fishing data of log sheets reported by skippers were compared using paired t-test. Results of the analysis showed that fishing occasions predicted using the speed and course angle of VMS alerts had a good agreement (p<0.05) with the fishing locations reported by fishers. However, potential cruise occasions showed significant deviation from log-book records. Although the time differences of the locations of the two monitoring systems were > 4 hrs, most of the matched locations were recorded within 24 hrs. This may be due to the practice of skippers, who only record their fishing locations only once a day, which was found to be insufficient for reliable reporting. While the current manual logbook system is recognized as appropriate to comply with the enforcement and management needs, there is a need to adopt more appropriate method of reporting catch data by fishermen. Present analysis indicated that the use of VMS data provided an alternative approach for reporting fishing locations of offshore vessels with sufficient accuracy. Need for further improvement of the data recording system representing fishing duration, and species composition is discussed for preventing IUU fishing by offshore fishing vessels.Item Identification of suitable areas to cultivate Aloe vera in Kegalle District, Sri Lanka using GIS(4th International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Dissanayake, C. T. M.; Weerasinghe, V. P. A.Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) is used in ayurvedic medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products and also as a food product such as drinks or mixer with yoghurt. It is getting popular with the improvements in technology of harvesting and processing the product. In Sri Lanka, it is popular as a home garden crop, but not as a crop growing in large-scale. Most Sri Lankans are less aware of getting an income from Aloe vera. Therefore, the aim of this study is to make Aloe vera cultivation popular by identifying suitable areas to cultivate Aloe vera in Kegalle district, which was the study area of this research. Data analysis was done by using ArcGIS software tools to select the suitable areas. The criteria to grow Aloe vera successfully were selected using relevant literature. They were namely land uses such as coconut or bare lands, annual rainfall range as 1800 mm-2300 mm and annual temperature range as 25 °C - 26 °C. Those criteria were considered as most favorable factors to grow Aloe vera successfully with demanding leaf thicknesses. Land use data was collected from the Survey Department, Colombo and rainfall and temperature data were collected from the Meteorology Department, Colombo. Rainfall and temperature layers were developed by using Kriging interpolation technique in spatial geostatistics in ArcGIS software. Then land use layer, rainfall layer and temperature layer were overlaid using spatial analysis tools to identify the most suitable area, moderately suitable areas and not suitable areas. Kelegama and Rambukkana DSD areas are the most suitable areas to grow Aloe vera in Kegalle district. The final map generated from this study will be useful for extension/field officers of the Department of Agriculture, to enhance the awareness of people in Kegalle district about suitable places to grow Aloe vera in order to get an extra income as well as to get the maximum utility of the land.Item Implications of Fall Armyworm epidemic in Sri Lanka: A case study in Rathnapura district(4th International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Perera, R. N. N.; Magamage, M. P. S.; Siriwardhana, C.The first emergence of the Fall Armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) was reported in Sri Lanka during August 2018 and caused a substantial yield loss in maize cultivation especially in Uva, Eastern, North Central, North Western, Northern and Sabaragamuwa provinces. During the 2018/19 Maha season, over 50 percent of the entire maize cultivation has been infested by the pest. The objective of the study was to understand the magnitude of FAW infestation, social response and its implications in Rathnapura district in Sri Lanka. This was considered as mandatory in terms of easiness in accessibility to close supervision by the university as well as with the objective of preventing infestations reaching economically catastrophic levels. Simultaneously to the field inspection programme, a survey was conducted in January-March 2019 in 13 maize growing agriculture instructor (AI) areas in the Rathnapura district to evaluate the severity of FAW infestation with the collaboration of the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Sabaragamuwa Province. University academia, students, and field officers from Department of Agriculture were participated to the survey and all 13 divisions were covered for collecting pest incidence information. GIS data were recorded in each point of infestation together with related other information such as land extent, host plant characteristics and the type of cropping system which plays important role in forecasting the pest occurrence in the subsequent cropping season. Based on the field survey, there were no evidences reported that pest occurrence in other crops apart from maize. Moreover, even in mixed cropping systems with little number of maize plants, heavy infestation was recorded only in maize. Data analysis was done based on the primary land infestation records obtained from each AI range by using MS office Excel 2010. Amount of land extent use for maize cultivation in Rathnapura district was estimated as 292.65 ha, while 32.95ha were infected with the pest (11.3%). Kaltota, Embilipitiya, Ambawila and Thimbolketiya were the AI areas with highest infestation recorded in the Ratnapura District reporting 5%, 4.8%, 4.5% and 3.85 % infestations respectively. Throughout the study period, attention was made by the research team for minimizing livelihood damage by conducting interactive awareness programs, which were directed to proper identification and control further spread of the pest. Even though maize was cultivated comparatively lower land extent in Rathnapura, effective and organized disaster management response in Rathnapura was able to minimize the pest impact to 11.3% from total losses. Mobilization of the whole agriculture community has wider implications in effective controlling of FAW while preserve the farmer trust on agriculture policy in Sri Lanka.Item Assessing factors driving price premium between voting and non-voting stock at CSE(Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2018 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Rasanjani, P. M. D.; Peter, P. L. S.In a dynamic capital market, the speed of information flow is crucial in maintaining an efficient market. Asymmetric information in the capital market creates either the buyer or seller a better (arbitrage) opportunity to make a profit. The party having more information on the past, present or future performance of the shares may know whether the share is underpriced or overpriced relative to its aggregate performance. Therefore, the speed of symmetric information flow of the share prices is a very important feature in the capital market domain. Publicly traded companies sometimes issue different classes of shares. The main benefit of dual class voting structures for shareholders and a company’s management is to focus on long-term goals and a company’s strategic direction while maintaining the freedom, rather than contending with the threat of a hostile takeover. The key difference between voting shares and non-voting shares in dual class structure is the voting right. When perusing historical data for past few years in companies that trade both voting and non-voting shares in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), it was observed that the voting premium varies from company to company and within the company itself over the time. These reasons lead to an initial empirical examination of the factors affecting the voting premium of voting over nonvoting stocks. The purpose of the research was to explore the factors affecting the voting premium in the CSE and quantify the price gap between voting shares and non-voting shares. After conducting a systematic review of literature, factors affecting voting premium that is described using different models, frames and processes were identified. Consequently, the study identified the set of factors; namely, differences in liquidity (free float), restriction on transferability, share ownership structure and corporate control, percentage of private benefits of control, investor’s purpose, management status, sector specific factors, macroeconomic factors, firm specific factors and effect of time as possible reasons for the existence of the premium. Expert opinion has been sought to aid verification. It is envisaged to analyze historical data in the CSE including share prices, published financial statements and ratios while integrating previous literature, to verify and introduce a comprehensive model or framework-based solution approach for quantifying price gap between voting shares and non-voting shares in CSE. As an extension, this research expects to introduce an exact mathematical formula for quantifying the voting premium.Item A geo-spatial analysis of dengue patients and rainfall in Sri Lanka -2017(Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2018 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Pathiraja, K.; Premadasa, S.; Gnanasinghe, S.; Wadasinghe, L. G. Y. J. G.; Weerasinghe, V. P. A.Dengue is one of the most prevalent arthropod borne virus affecting human. There are four serotypes that manifest with similar symptoms and two main vectors identified in Sri Lanka named as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Dengue disease range from mild to dengue hemorrhagic fever. The distribution of dengue vector is varied mostly according to the rainfall. This study evaluates the relationship between percentage dengue patients in each district of Sri Lanka and monthly average rainfall distribution in 2017. Data was analyzed using ArcGIS 10.2 software. In order to get descriptive results, spatial autocorrelation (Moran’s I) was carried out. Positive Moran’s I shows that the average rainfall data are clustered according to the climatic zones in Sri Lanka and percentage dengue patients’ data for February, March, May, June, July and August months are clustered. Hot Spot Analysis was carried out for the clustered months for dengue patients. According to the Hot Spot Analysis the average rainfall distribution of each month of 2017 in Sri Lanka is restricted to specific districts; Hot spots are, Ampara (February), Rathnapura (May, June, July), Rathnapura and Kaluthara (September), Kaluthara (October) and Badulla (December) (99% confidence). Similarly, percentage dengue patients’ distribution in 2017 is restricted to specific districts; Hot spots are Trincomalee (February) and Colombo (March) (99% confidence). Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) linear regression was carried out to identify the relationship between the percentage dengue patients and monthly average rainfall. The variable distributions and relationships graphs of each month indicate a positive relationship between average rainfall and percentage dengue patients. Adjusted R2 in the diagnostic output of each month range between 0.7785 (June) and 0.1674 (February) and indicates that 16.74% - 77.85% of the variation in percentage dengue patients can be explained by average rainfall in 2017. It shows that only rainfall cannot explain the total percentage of dengue patients and that there are other environmental parameters which may contribute. There is a relationship between the percentage of dengue patients in each district and average rainfall distribution which appears to vary. Therefore, further studies should be carried out to identify other environmental parameters on the distribution of dengue such as atmospheric temperature, humidity, wind velocity, intensive farming, urbanization and solid waste disposal practices etc. Using multiple regression, multicollinearity between independent variables can be estimated using Geo statistics. Using environmental parameters, an environmental dengue index can be developed to further relate it with dengue patients’ percentage for geo-spatial analysis to develop a model for incidence of dengue in each district in Sri Lanka with varying environmental variables.Item Breeding sites of Phlebotomine sand flies in cutaneous leishmaniasis disease endemic areas of the Kurunegala District in Sri Lanka(Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2018 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Wijerathna, T.; Gunathilaka, N.; Gunawardena, K.; Rodrigo, W.Leishmaniasis is a disease transmitted by the bite of infected female sand flies. Disease control largely depends on the knowledge on natural breeding sites of sand flies. In Sri Lanka, only limited information is available on microhabitats of immature sand flies. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify natural breeding habitats of sand flies in three cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic areas, namely; Galgamuwa, Polpithigama and Maho in the Kurunegala District of Sri Lanka. Study areas were selected based on the number of patients reported to respective Medical Officer of Health (MOH) during the year 2013 - 2016. A preliminary survey was conducted in April 2017 and possible breeding sites were identified for the survey based on field investigations and previous literature. A breeding habitat checklist was prepared for main habitat categories. Field investigations for immature stages were conducted on a monthly basis from May 2017 - June 2018. Three soil samples were collected randomly from each potential breeding habitat and transported to the laboratory. The soil samples were divided into equal portions, and immature stages of sand flies in one portion were screened by direct microscopic examination and sugar flotation method. The rest of the soil samples were incubated at 260C and 75-80% Relative Humidity (RH) under confined laboratory conditions for adult emergence. Adult sand flies were identified using morphological identification keys. A total of 433 potential breeding sites were surveyed under 21 habitat categories. Of them, soil mounds were predominant (n=51) followed by leaf litter (n=46), termite hills (n=42) and tank/river margins (n=36). However, only four habitat types were positive for immature stages of Phlebotomus argentipes, namely; paddy fields (n=5/10), moist soil in dried tanks (n=2/12), soil beneath decaying organic matter (n=2/7) and cattle huts (n=1/23). All positive sites were enriched with organic matter containing moderate moisture levels. However, further studies are required to understand the physiochemical parameters of breeding sites and by that minimize the sand fly population through management of habitat conditions.Item Host Plant Preference of Genera Dendrobium and Bulbophyllum (Family: Orchidaceae) in Sri Lanka.(International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2017 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Sandamali, P. M. H.; Senanayake, S. P.; Benjamin, S. P.; Rajapakse, S.; Athukorala, N. P.Orchids are a well-known plant family for their restricted distribution in the wild. Most epiphytic orchids are hosted by specific trees and hence it’s abundance may be influenced by the availability of suitable host trees and epiphytic composition. The distribution of many epiphytic orchids in nature indicates that they display strong species specificity in selecting hosts and noticeably lacking on other trees. Dendrobium and Bulbophyllum are epiphytic genera and mostly have restricted distribution in the natural environments. Furthermore; they display a biased distribution towards host trees. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the host tree preference of the species of Dendrobium and Bulbophyllum with a view to provide important information for the conservation of these species. Wet forests in Matale (Knuckles mountain range), Nuwara Eliya (Hakgala nature reserve, Horton Plains National Park, Pidurutalagala mountain, Kandeela forest reserve), Baddulla (Namunukula mountain), Kegalle (Makandawa forest reserve), Ratnapura (Sinharaja rain forest, Peak wilderness), Kurunegala (Kankaniyammulla forest), Galle (Hiyare rain forest, Kottawa forest, Morningside forest) districts were explored for the distribution of two genera; Dendrobium and Bulbophyllum. Specimens were collected randomly from the selected sites; three plots of 500m× 500m size per each site, and relevant data of host plants were recorded such as tree height, girth at breast height (GBH), tree bark characteristics (bark colour, nature of the moss cover and bark texture) and the abundance of orchid species on the host tree. Further, herbarium specimens of host trees and the orchids were prepared for identification. Presence of orchid species on the identified host trees was counted and, percentage of frequency was calculated. It was revealed that the orchids are mostly associated with hosts with dense moss cover and rough tree barks. Sixty five percent of species of Dendrobium and Bulbophyllum were found on hosts having 51-100 cm GBHs. Further, these orchids have shown preference to plant families; Myrtaceae (26%), Lauraceae (23%) and Phylanthaceae (16%) as their hosts, whereas, with respect to the genus specificity, highest percentage of these orchids have shown preference to genera Syzygium (family Myrtaceae) and Glochidion (family Phylanthaceae) as their hosts. Findings of the present study have revealed that the species diversity and species richness of genera Dendrobium and Bulbophyllum were high in the montane forests located in Nuwara Eliya (Horton Plains Nature Park, Kandeela forest reserve and Pidurutalagala mountain) and Matale (Knuckles mountain range) districts. This might be due to the fact that these forests were characterized by high humidity and high elevation. Chemical composition, distribution of moss cover and fungi associated with tree barks of these preferred host trees, would provide new insight for the conservation of these epiphytic orchid species.Item New records of ant taxa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in four subfamilies from Sri Lanka.(International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2017 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Dias, R.K.S.; Wackhoo, A.A.; Akbar, S.A.Ants belonging to 11 subfamilies have been recorded from Sri Lanka. In subfamily Amblyoponinae two genera, Stigmatomma and Myopopone, were previously known from the country. We report here new records of two genera and four species to Sri Lanka, deposited at the ant repository of the first author’s Department. Ants were identified using a Low Power Stereo-microscope at suitable magnifications with reference to relevant literature. A Prionopelta Mayr, 1866 worker in amblyoponinae was identified in the samples collected by soil sifting in November, 2004 from “Pompekelle” (PF), Ratnapura. Among the amblyoponines, Prionopelta is characterized by the possession of narrowly triangular mandibles with only 3 teeth in the masticatory margin, with the smallest median tooth; no space between the masticatory margins and clypeus when mandibles are fully closed. Dorylinae was redefined by amalgamating several subfamilies and resurrecting some generic names recently. Specimens of the doryline genera, Aenictus, Dorylus and Cerapachys recorded previously from Sri Lanka were re-examined using a Low Power Stereo-microscope with reference to the recent resurrection of generic names. Lioponera Mayr, 1879 was identified among the doryline workers collected from Kumbukwewa Forest, Kurunegala District in February, 2010 and a coconut plantation in Ihakuluwewa, Polonnaruwa District in November, 2008. Both genera are widely distributed across tropics but this the first record of Prionopelta and Lioponera to Sri Lanka. the first record of the genus to the country. Amongst dorylines, Lioponera has a pair of compound eyes and 12-segmented antennae and lacks the promesonotal suture; mesosoma is distinctly marginate dorso-laterally, mesotibia has a single spur and the metacoxa has a postero-dorsal cuticular flange that forms a vertical lamella. Also, ant species, Stigmatomma belli in subfamily Amblyoponinae collected from PF in March, 2004, Ooceraea alii (Bharti & Akbar, 2013) in subfamily Dorylinae collected from a coconut plantation in Ihakuluwewa, Polonnaruwa District in November, 2008, Camponotus opaciventris Mayr, 1879 in subfamily Formicinae collected from Watinapaha, Gampaha District in April, 2017 and Protanilla concolor Xu, 2002 in subfamily Leptanillinae collected from Anuradhapura Sanctuary in Anuradhapura District were identified as new species records to Sri Lanka.Item Study on knowledge management practices in software development industry in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Gunawardhana, A.; Wijayanayake, W.M.J.I.In the information age with expanded global market, many organizations compete for higher profit margins. As a result, using previous knowledge for redesigning and integrating business processes to increase operational efficiencies has become a necessity. Furthermore, organizations can improve quality of products and services by collective body of knowledge offered by employees of these organizations. Software development process is a knowledge-intensive process. Therefore, with the increased complexity of Software Engineering (SE) project work, knowledge processes have led to a greater dependency upon solving problems. Software organizations gain local experience with the time by completing lots of SE project works, careful measurement of planned software activities, trial and error, feedback from customers and from the environment in general. However, for better implementation of Knowledge Management (KM) practices, organizations need to be supported by right kind of people, process and technology. Organization’s people, processes and technology will at all times are either enablers of, or barriers to, effective knowledge management. Therefore, it is very important to identify the barriers and remove them and build enablers which support the effective KM practice within the organization. This study is built around this people, process and technology model. Therefore, people, process, technology are independent variables and effectiveness of KM is the dependent variable. This study was undertaken to analyze key factors affecting to the effectiveness of KM, finding out the percentages of each people, process, and technology factors impact to the KM in software industry and as the main objective, study the current KM practices in Sri Lankan software development industry and find out the best KM practices. The study is descriptive in nature. Stratified sampling technique under probability sampling design will be used to select the samples. Primary data will be collected from the samples by administering a structured questionnaire. The data will be collected from small to large KM practicing companies. Correlation and coefficient analysis, multiple regression analysis and ANOVA will be carried out on the collected data to derive the findings. With the time by working on different projects, employees gather unique knowledge from their experience. The results of this study will help managers to facilitate adoption of KM and prioritizes its practices.Item An investigation of the adsorption of dye (Bromothymol Blue) by Sri Lankan montmorillonite clay(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Premaratne, W.A.P.J.; Perera, V.M.Textile industries use dyes and pigments to color their products and thus produce wastewater containing organics with a strong color. However most of the synthetic dyes used in textile industry usually composed of aromatic structure, which makes them carcinogenic and mutagenic and non-biodegradable when discharged into waste streams. The removal of such colored agents from aqueous effluents is of significant environmental, technical and commercial importance. Clay has been accepted as one of the appropriate low cost adsorbents for removal of dyes from wastewater. Among the clay types montmorillonite has received considerable recognition because of its high adsorption capacity due to their lamellar structure which provides higher specific surface area and possibility to adsorb ions and other polar organic molecules on particle external site and in interlayer positions. In this study the adsorption of basic dye: Bromothymol blue (BTB) from aqueous solution by Sri Lankan montmorillonite was investigated. Montmorillonite clay used in this investigation was obtained from Murunkan clay deposit in Sri Lanka. Montmorillonite clay was examined for its performance as an adsorbent for the BTB removal. The effect of key operational parameters, such as contact time, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dosage, stirring rate and temperature were experimentally studied. Adsorption of BTB onto montmorillonite samples was studied by batch adsorption technique at 30±1 ºC using UV-Visible spectrophotometric method. For the BTB initial concentration of 70 ppm with the use of only 20 g/L of montmorillonite clay, the dye removal efficiency was found to be 63%. The equilibrium data was analyzed using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. Langmuir isotherm provided a better fit to the data. Characterization of clay before and after the adsorption was carried out by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. XRD, FTIR and SEM data revealed that the dye did not penetrate in to the interlayer space of clay fully, but rather adsorbed on external surface by forming hydrogen bonding with the dye molecules creating a void free film on the clay surface. Experimental results confirmed that the Sri Lankan montmorillonite clay is an efficient adsorbent for basic dye removal. Therefore, Sri Lankan montmorillonite can be used as a promising low cost alternative adsorbent for removing basic dyes from dye wastewater.