University of Peradeniya

About: University of Peradeniya is a education organization based out in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 5970 authors who have published 7388 publications receiving 197002 citations.

Clinical outcomes and kinetics of propanil following acute self-poisoning: a prospective case series

Abstract: Propanil is an important cause of death from acute pesticide poisoning, of which methaemoglobinaemia is an important manifestation. However, there is limited information about the clinical toxicity and kinetics. The objective of this study is to describe the clinical outcomes and kinetics of propanil following acute intentional self-poisoning. 431 patients with a history of propanil poisoning were admitted from 2002 until 2007 in a large, multi-centre prospective cohort study in rural hospitals in Sri Lanka. 40 of these patients ingested propanil with at least one other poison and were not considered further. The remaining 391 patients were classified using a simple grading system on the basis of clinical outcomes; methaemoglobinaemia could not be quantified due to limited resources. Blood samples were obtained on admission and a subset of patients provided multiple samples for kinetic analysis of propanil and the metabolite 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA). There were 42 deaths (median time to death 1.5 days) giving a case fatality of 10.7%. Death occurred despite treatment in the context of cyanosis, sedation, hypotension and severe lactic acidosis consistent with methaemoglobinaemia. Treatment consisted primarily of methylene blue (1 mg/kg for one or two doses), exchange transfusion and supportive care when methaemoglobinaemia was diagnosed clinically. Admission plasma concentrations of propanil and DCA reflected the clinical outcome. The elimination half-life of propanil was 3.2 hours (95% confidence interval 2.6 to 4.1 hours) and the concentration of DCA was generally higher, more persistent and more variable than propanil. Propanil is the most lethal herbicide in Sri Lanka after paraquat. Methylene blue was largely prescribed in low doses and administered as intermittent boluses which are expected to be suboptimal given the kinetics of methylene blue, propanil and the DCA metabolite. But in the absence of controlled studies the efficacy of these and other treatments is poorly defined. More research is required into the optimal management of acute propanil poisoning.

Brain tumor Classification and Segmentation using Faster R-CNN

Abstract: In this study the problem of fully automated brain tumor classification and segmentation, in Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) containing both Glioma and Meningioma types of brain tumors are considered. This paper proposes a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), for classification problem and Faster Region based Convolutional Neural Network (Faster R-CNN) for segmentation problem with reduced number of computations with a higher accuracy level. This research has used 218 images as training set and the systems shows an accuracy of 100% in Meningioma and 87.5% in Glioma classifications and an average confidence level of 94.6% in segmentation of Meningioma tumors. The segmented tumor regions are validated through ground truth analysis and manual analysis by a Neurologist.

Amplification of a serine esterase gene is involved in insecticide resistance in Sri Lankan Culex tritaeniorhynchus

Abstract: Culex tritaeniorhynchus, the major vector of Japanese encephalitis in Sri Lanka, is resistant to organophosphorus insecticides, with a 10-fold resistance ratio at the LC50 for chlorpyrifos, and a high heterogenelty factor in the insect field population. The major mechanism of resistance in this species, as in the mosquito C. quinquefasciatus, is elevation of esterase activity. Basic biochemical, immunological and molecular analysis suggests that the C. tritaeniorhynchus CtrEstbeta1 gene is orthologous to the C. quinquefasciatus amplified Estbetas. The Estbeta2(1) antiserum cross-reacts strongly with CtrEstbeta1(1). Its corresponding cDNA, over the 545 base pairs sequenced, has approximately 84% identity with the various C. quinquefasciatus Estbetas. The gene is amplified in C. tritaeniorhynchus. Amplification of the same esterase in two independent species, along with multiple amplification events involving this esterase gene in C. quinquefasciatus suggests that the location of this gene within the genome predisposes it to amplification.

Oral biopsies from patients with orofacial granulomatosis with histology resembling Crohn's disease have a prominent Th1 environment

Abstract: Background: Orofacial granulomatosis (OFG) is an idiopathic inflammatory disorder of children and young adults whose clinical symptoms include swelling of the lips or face, mucosal nodularity (cobblestoning), mucosal tags, hyperplasia of the gingivae, and aphthous oral ulcers. Whether some OFG patients with clinical and histological characteristics resembling Crohn's disease (CD) are a special group (oral CD) or true CD patients with symptoms reaching all the way to the oral mucosa remains to be determined. Methods: In this study oral biopsies from 10 patients with OFG were analyzed for the presence of T cells, T-cell subsets, B cells, and macrophages, as well as cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IFN-γ, IL-12, and TNF-α), chemokines (RANTES and MIP-1α), and chemokine receptors (CCR3, CCR5, and CXCR3). For comparison, oral tissues from 7 patients with other granulomatous diseases were included. Results: Compared with the non-OFG group, the OFG group had raised levels of CD4+ T cells, IFN-γ, IL-10, and RANTES but reduced levels of CD68+ macrophages outside the granulomas, whereas within the granulomas the levels of CD3+ and CD4+ T cells and of IFN-γ were raised, but the levels of IL-4 were decreased. These data are indicative of a Th1 environment within the oral OFG tissues, which resembles that already observed in gut CD tissues. Conclusions: Therefore, it can be concluded that some OFG patients have both histopathological and immunopathological features that resemble those observed in CD patients. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2006)

Geochemistry of well water and cardiovascular diseases in Sri Lanka

Abstract: A survey carried out on the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in Sri Lanka in relation to the hardness of drinking water reveals that a correlation exists which is geographically related. This correlation however, cannot be considered as a causal relationship and other factors possibly exist that could also play a major role in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, e.g. trace elements.