Proper Data Analysis Techniques to Reduce Experimental Error in Longitudinal Data

This study presents findings of research conducted to improve analysis techniques of experimental data from coconut research. It highlights the ways of handling unaccountable variability due to the inconsistent temporal behavior of the experimental units in perennial crop research to obtain a precise research output. Properly designed field experiments are essential to identify the influence of independent variable/s on the dependent/s at the various stages. This document highlights the ways how the improved methodologies can be successfully used to reduce the experimental error in most commonly used experimental designs and types of analysis. The first example, the study on long term coconut fertilizer experiment designed as a randomized complete block design in Badalgama, Sri Lanka, compares different types of analyses via evaluating the model residuals and calculating the coefficient of variability (CV) to reduce the error and thereby improve the output. The statistical methods used in the first case study includes Repeated Measure Analysis of Variance (RMANOVA) as the classical method and Repeated Measure ANOVA (With single palm per plots), Linear Mix Model, and MANOVA with two Principal Components that represent approximately 80% variation of the data as dependent variables as improved methods. The model adequacy of each approach was accepted after testing normality, homogeneity of variance and independence of residuals. CV resulted from classical RMANOVA was 39.95%, while it was 39.2% from Repeated Measure ANOVA (With single palm per plots) and 16.51% from the Linear Mixed model. The lowermost CV (10.04%) resulted from MANOVA with two principal components indicating that it can be more powerfully used to analyze long term experiments of coconuts. The second example, the study on long term coconut fertilizer experiment from Bandirippuwa, Sri Lanka that failed to have normality assumption of parametric methods, illustrates appropriate types of the Non-Parametric analysis(F2-LD-F1) for the longitudinal data. The regularity of the results should be studied further with few more comparable data sets

Internal magnetic fields at Hg and TI in ferromagnets

With the perturbed angular correlation method the hyperfine magnetic fields acting at 198Hg nuclei embedded in Fe, Co and Ni lattices are found to be -440 J: 105 kG, -370 :~ 78 kG and -86 J: 22 kG, respectively. The measured fields at 203T1 nuclei in Fe and Co lattices are -185 :e 70 kG and -90 ± 35 kG, respectively

Usage of Business Analytics and Supply Chain Performance An Empirical Study of Sri Lankan Aapparel Sector

Advances in technology and innovation require companies to embrace these new trends to compete and stay ahead in the business world. In particular, there is a need for companies to incorporate Business Analytics practices within their organizations. Business Analytics consists of two components: Information Systems and Business Process Orientation. This study aims to investigate the impact of the use of Business Analytics on the Supply Chain Performance in apparel companies in Sri Lanka. This research focuses on discussing the objectives developed to achieve the purpose of the study. To achieve this objective, this current study investigates the relationship between the Information System, Supply Chain Performance and the effect of the use of the Information System in the supply chains of Sri Lankan apparel companies. The study uses a quantitative approach. In this study, for quantitative analysis study performs regression analysis and decision tree analysis. This study identifies a positive relationship between the Information System and the Supply Chain Performance. For further future studies, it is advisable to extend this study by examining the performance of medium-and large-scale companies in the country

Acoustically Driven Stark Effect in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers

The Stark effect is one of the most efficient mechanisms to manipulate many-body states in nanostructured systems. In mono- and few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides, it has been successfully induced by optical and electric field means. Here, we tune the optical emission energies and dissociate excitonic states in MoSe2 monolayers employing the 220 MHz in-plane piezoelectric field carried by surface acoustic waves. We transfer the monolayers to high dielectric constant piezoelectric substrates, where the neutral exciton binding energy is reduced, allowing us to efficiently quench (above 90%) and red-shift the excitonic optical emissions. A model for the acoustically induced Stark effect yields neutral exciton and trion in-plane polarizabilities of 530 and 630 × 10-5 meV/(kV/cm)2, respectively, which are considerably larger than those reported for monolayers encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride. Large in-plane polarizabilities are an attractive ingredient to manipulate and modulate multiexciton interactions in two-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures for optoelectronic applications. © 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society

Histological findings in a Helicobacter pylori infected dyspeptic patient population

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare endoscopic and histological findings with H. pylori infection in a dyspeptic patient population in Sri Lanka.Methods: Eighty four dyspeptic patients who underwent upper gastro intestinal endoscopy at Endoscopy unit at Colombo South Teaching Hospital were enrolled. Two biopsy specimens were collected from the antrum during endoscopy. A biopsy was used for PCR targeting the glmM gene to identify H. pylori infection. The other specimen was fixed in formalin followed by paraffin embedding and stained with H&E stain. Histopathological changes were examined and gastritis was classified microscopically according to the modified Sydney system.Results: Of the 84 dyspeptic patients 17 were positive by PCR and 15 patients were positive by histology for H. pylori infection. H. pylori infection was seen in 18% (11/62) of antral gastritis patients, 17% (2/12) of patients with gastric ulcer, 29% (2/7) of patients with gastric ulcer and gastritis. In the study population three patients had duodinitis but were negative for H. pylori infection. Of the total study population 69 had mild to moderate chronic non specific gastritis and 15 had H. pylori associated chronic gastritis according to histopathology. None of study population had gastric atrophy, mucosal ulceration or metaplasia by histological findings. All the biopsies of H. pylori-positive patients had infiltration of mononuclear cells and neutrophils.Conclusions: The results show that 18% of patients with dyspeptic symptoms had H. pylori associated active chronic gastritis

Multiethnic meta-analysis identifies ancestry-specific and cross-ancestry loci for pulmonary function

Nearly 100 loci have been identified for pulmonary function, almost exclusively in studies of European ancestry populations. We extend previous research by meta-analyzing genome-wide association studies of 1000 Genomes imputed variants in relation to pulmonary function in a multiethnic population of 90,715 individuals of European (N = 60,552), African (N = 8429), Asian (N = 9959), and Hispanic/Latino (N = 11,775) ethnicities. We identify over 50 additional loci at genome-wide significance in ancestry-specific or multiethnic meta-analyses. Using recent fine-mapping methods incorporating functional annotation, gene expression, and differences in linkage disequilibrium between ethnicities, we further shed light on potential causal variants and genes at known and newly identified loci. Several of the novel genes encode proteins with predicted or established drug targets, including KCNK2 and CDK12. Our study highlights the utility of multiethnic and integrative genomics approaches to extend existing knowledge of the genetics of l