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.

Muslim geographies, violence and the antinomies of community in eastern Sri Lanka

Abstract: This paper studies the intricate relations between violence and the politics of community in a Muslim enclave in the east coast of Sri Lanka. The enclave will not only be studied as a war-ridden place, but more so in order to explore the antinomies of community that stem from an inherent governmentality that was triggered by the territorial prisonhood of the enclave situation. Violence, as we will show, is not an interruption, but an intensified continuation of politics - of the politics of community and its dynamics of unity and friction, which bring to the fore questions of the relationality of politics/religion, the boundaries of the political in Sri Lanka's Muslim community as well as in Sri Lanka's fragmented and violence-striven polity more broadly. It will be argued that what is at play is a politics of purification, whereby violence becomes a project of community: violence in the name of purity and an imaginary of community produces 'antinomies of community', i.e. the paradoxes of unity and friction that transgress political collectives. Language: en

Effects of Moringa based Feed Additives on the Growth Performance and Carcass Quality of Broiler Chicken

Abstract: The effects of selected herbal dietary supplements on the growth performance and carcass quality of broiler chicken were investigated. Three hundred and eight day-old, male broiler chicks of Indian River strain were randomly allotted to seven experimental diets namely negative control, 0.0125% flavomycin (positive control), 0.1% Moringa leaf powder (MLP), 0.05% Moringa leaf powder, 0.035% Zigbir (commercial herbal product), 0.1% Moringa fruit powder (MFP) and 0.05% Moringa fruit powder, in a complete randomized design. Each treatment contained 44 birds with four replicates of 11birds each. The body weights and feed consumption was recorded at weekly intervals. Body weight gains and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated. On 42 nd day birds were slaughtered and the weight after bleeding, weight after defeathering, total organ weight and dressed weight of individual birds were measured. The carcass quality parameters such as abdominal (fat around gizzard, vent and heart) and subcutaneous (neck, breast and leg) fat contents of five samples from each replicate were determined. The study revealed that all selected herbal dietary supplements significantly (P Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 24(1): 12-20(2012) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tar.v24i1.7985

A hybrid SEM-neural network method for identifying acceptance factors of the smart meters in Malaysia: Challenges perspective

Abstract: A large part of the Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart meters is considered a method to achieve energy efficiency, sustainable development, and the potential of improving the quality, reliability, and efficiency of power supply. These outcomes indicate the importance of the inherent capacity for profound implications on storage, sale, and distribution of electrical power supply. A few of the existing literature review identified the challenges of primary consumer adoption in terms of privacy, eco-efficient feedback, and technology awareness. Provided that these factors were investigated without theoretical association, this study examined the barriers to the adoption of IoT-based smart meters technology by developing a model representing the users’ intention to adopt smart meters by drawing on the variables of the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance And Use of Technology (UTAUT2). Data were collected from 318 users of smart meter from two cities in Malaysia, while the model was validated using a multi-analytic approach using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), and the results from SEM were used as inputs for a neural network model to predict acceptance factors. As a result, it was found that technology awareness and eco-effective feedback were the important determinants with a positive impact on the adoption of smart meter technology, while privacy concerns led to an adverse impact. Overall, these study findings contribute useful insights and implications for users, utilities; regulators, and policymakers.

Increased secretion of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases 1 and 2 (TIMPs -1 and -2) in fibroblasts are early indicators of oral sub-mucous fibrosis and ageing.

Abstract: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is associated with paan chewing, altered collagen metabolism, inflammation and the upregulation of numerous cytokines. OSMF fibroblasts accumulate senescent cells at an increased rate because of increased reactive oxygen species production and DNA double-strand breaks (DDBs), generated intrinsically by damaged mitochondria. This results in a reduced replicative lifespan. However, it is still unclear which other changes are intrinsic to the fibroblasts and associated with OSMF rather than the paan chewing habit or the OSMF environment. Both the oral epithelium and the mesenchyme have elevated levels of TGF-β(1) in OSMF in vivo. However, in cultured fibroblasts, secreted levels of TGF-β(1,) other cytokines and the matrix metalloproteinases 1 and 2 showed no association with OSMF. In contrast, the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, were increased in 10/11 OSMF fibroblast cultures relative to normal and non-diseased paan user controls. OSMF fibroblast collagen levels were normal. TIMP levels correlated with replicative lifespan of the cultures but not with the presence of senescent cells, as senescent cell depletion in OSMF fibroblast cultures did not result in a reduction in either TIMP-1 or TIMP-2. However, the introduction of unrepairable DDBs into normal oral fibroblasts by ionizing radiation increased TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 secretion by two-fold and seven-fold, respectively, within 5 days, replicating early senescence and the elevation seen in OSMF cultures. Therefore, increased fibroblast TIMP-1/2 levels could be early disease-specific markers of OSMF onset, DDBs and ageing and may have clinical significance, as OSMF can be reversed in its early stages.

Groundwater quality in the Valigamam region of the Jaffna Peninsula, Sri Lanka

Abstract: Abstract The Valigamam region is underlain by a Miocene limestone formation and a highly porous soil cover. The region is totally dependent on groundwater to meet its agricultural, industrial and domestic needs, since other sources of water are seasonal. Recharge from rainfall is limited by high run-off and evapotranspirational losses. The region experiences water supply problems due to high concentrations of chloride, total hardness and nitrate in groundwater. The spatial distribution of chloride varies from year to year, with maximum concentrations experienced during or after the wet season. The major factor explaining high chloride concentrations is the excessive extraction of groundwater that results in saline intrusion from the sea or lagoonal areas. In a large proportion of wells sampled for nitrate, levels exceed the WHO standard due to intensive agricultural practices involving very high inputs of artificial and natural fertilizers and the improper construction of latrine soakaway pits. To improve groundwater quality in the Jaffna Peninsula will require controls on the location of new wells, a revision of existing and future pumping rates and a change in agricultural practices. It is imperative that future work in the region should focus on combining groundwater management and sustainable agricultural practice.