DESERT: Decision Support System for Evaluating River Basin Strategies

An integrated PC-based software package for decision support in water quality management on a river basin scale has been developed. The software incorporates a number of useful tools, including an easy-to-use data handling module with a dBase style database engine, simulation and calibration of hydraulics and water quality, display of computed data with the help of external spreadsheet software, and optimization based on dynamic programming algorithm. The main utility of the package is to provide useful and powerful instrument for water quality assessment and decision making in emission control, including selection of wastewater treatment alternatives, standard setting and enforcement at the river basin level. Two versions of the decision support software are presented, the current version and development of a follow-up program with extended features

Employability of Management Graduates of State Universities in Sri Lanka: Problems and Prospects

Employability must have to be attained in the journey to success in one’s career life. Graduates must be equipped with employability skills, knowledge, and personal attributes as the government of Sri Lanka allocates substantial resources for higher education. However, after graduation, a considerable number of graduates in the field of social sciences including management fail to find suitable employment, hence, are forced to accept lower-paying jobs that are not commensurate with their qualifications and some graduates are unemployed or underemployed. In this context, this study examines the level of employment and employability of management graduates of state universities in Sri Lanka, identifies problems and difficulties faced by management graduates in finding suitable jobs in the industry, and proposes policy measures for improving the employability of management undergraduates of state universities in Sri Lanka. Quantitative research methods were used to achieve the objectives of the study. Among 10,033 Management Graduates from 09 state universities, a sample of 1333 students was selected based on a stratified random sample method. A postal survey with a structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Descriptive statics were used to analyze the data. The employability level of Management Graduates is higher than the average level. Nearly, 90% of them are employed or self-employed, but most of them are seeking a new job. The degree,personality, work experience, English proficiency and professional qualifications are the most important reasons for getting their current job. Age and lack of experience are the major constraints faced by graduates in finding a suitable job. The study proposes policy measures to enhance the level of employment and the employability of Management Graduates. Keywords: Employability, Employment Level, Management Graduates, State Universities, Sri Lank

Cerebral vasculitis and lateral rectus palsy – two rare central nervous system complications of dengue fever: two case reports and review of the literature

Abstract Background Dengue fever is a common mosquito-borne viral illness with a clinical spectrum ranging from a simple febrile illness to potentially life-threatening complications such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. Dengue infection can affect many organs, including the central nervous system. The neurological manifestations reported in dengue infections are meningitis, encephalitis, stroke, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Case presentation We report the cases of two interesting patients with confirmed dengue infection who presented with complications of possible central nervous system vasculitis and cranial nerve palsy. The first patient was a 53-year-old previously healthy Singhalese woman who developed acute-onset slurring of speech and ataxia with altered sensorium 1 day after recovery from a critical period of dengue hemorrhagic fever. Subsequent investigations revealed evidence of encephalopathy with brainstem ischemic infarctions. Her clinical picture was compatible with central nervous system vasculitis. She was treated successfully with intravenous steroids and had a full functional recovery. The second patient was a middle-aged Singhalese woman who had otherwise uncomplicated dengue infection. She developed binocular diplopia on day 4 of fever. An ocular examination revealed a convergent squint in the left eye with lateral rectus palsy but no other neurological manifestation. Conclusions Central nervous system vasculitis due to dengue infection is a very rare phenomenon, and to the best of our knowledge, only one case of central nervous system vasculitis has been reported to date, in a patient of pediatric age. Cranial nerve palsy related to dengue infection is also rare, and only a few cases of isolated abducens nerve palsy have been reported to date. The two cases described in this report illustrate the rare but important central nervous system manifestations of dengue fever and support the fact that the central nervous system is one of the important systems that can be affected in patients with dengue infection

Understanding Community-Level Flooding Awareness in Remote Coastal Towns in Northern Chile through Community Mapping

In 2015 and 2017 unusual ocean and atmospheric conditions produced many years’ worth of rainfall in short periods over Northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, resulting in catastrophic flooding in the town of Chañaral. However, the town is not only at risk of fluvial flooding, it is also at risk of tsunamis. Through a community mapping exercise, the authors attempted to establish the level of community awareness about tsunamis, and contrasted it with that of other types of water-related hazards facing the town (namely that of flooding due to high intensity rain). This was then compared with the results of field surveys and tsunami hazard simulations, indicating than overall the community appears to have better awareness than authorities about the threat posed by these types of events. The authors thus concluded that in cases when the community has a high level of hazard awareness (which in the case of Chile was the result of traditional knowledge being transmitted from previous generations) it would be advantageous to include them in discussions on how to improve disaster resilience

Microbiome of Sri Lankan Coral Reefs: An Indian Ocean Island Subjected to a Gradient of Natural and Anthropogenic Impacts

Coral reefs around Sri Lanka have coexisted with human communities for thousands of years and are a continual source of food, economic productivity, and tourism. Although these reef systems sustain nearby populations, little is known about the presence or functional role of microbial communities on reefs dominated by hard corals or fleshy algae. Coral reef benthos cover was recorded, and reef-associated water samples were collected, sequenced and analyzed from seven coral reefs around Sri Lanka. Microbial metagenomes were analyzed to reveal both the taxonomic and metabolic makeup of the microbial communities present at each site. A metagenomic analysis of microbial phyla showed that Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were most abundant, constituting up to 79.4% of microbial communities. At the order level, Rhodobacterales dominated the microbial communities across all sites, with the exception of the Paraviwella coral reef, where the order Alteromonadales dominated. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed using metagenomic sequence data to find the possible trends of interactions and drivers of taxonomic and metabolic community structure. This study is the first microbial metagenome dataset of coral reef associated water from the Indian Ocean continental island, Sri Lanka. These data further confirm the need for a comprehensive study of reefs in Sri Lanka aimed at elucidating the processes involved in microbial energy utilization