LOCAL TOURISTS OF RUHUNA (YALA) NATIONAL PARK: ZONAL VISITATION, TRAVEL COST A~ID WILLINGNESS TO PAY

Ruhuna (Yala) National Park, a strict nature reserve which lies on the southern coast of SriLanka, covers 97,878 hectares ofland. The park comprises of secondary forest where manyspecies of mammals, avifauna, reptiles and birds .are living in substantial numbers. ThePark has achieved the international reputation. Evidently, all categories of some 100,000tourists, 70 percent of which are local tourists visit the Park annually. Tourism in asanctuary is both nature based and sustainable, and sustainability incorporatesenvironmental, socio-cultural and economic dimensions. There should be a control ofsupply-oriented management securing the environmental and economic benefits. Thepublic interest and enthusiasm in the Park could be used not only to market the product butalso to conserve the resources. Hence, the study attempted to analyze the local demand ofthe tourists for Ruhuna National Park with the view of improving Ruhuna National Park asan attractive tourist's destination.The local demand of the tourists for Ruhuna National Park is measured as zonal visitationrate, travel cost, and their willingness to pay. The highest visitation rate is recorded fromBadulla (5.6) while the lowest rate is recorded from Matale (2.1) The visitors from Matalehave the highest total travel cost (Rs. 732.50). Hambantota visitors spend Rs. 115.04 as thetotal travel cost. However, the multiple regression analysis shows that the visitation ratewith income, age, educational level and total travel cost excluding the visitors from Mataraand Hambantota districts, is highly correlated (r2 = 0.935). However, the age issignificantly correlated with visitation rate while total travel cost has a significant negativecorrelation with the visitation rate. According to the local visitors, the willingness to payper person per year is calculated as Rs. I l6.41.

Design and Implementation of a Web Application for an E-Plant Store

With the advancement of technology in every industry, finding items with a few clicks is now simpler. Most people do not have enough knowledge about planting and its advantages of it. Therefore, this platform will be very helpful for those who sell and buy plants. Customers cannot compare prices or pay online when it comes to markets or plant nurseries. So, in this case, Plantae.lk offers various opportunities to customers. They can inspect, get details, compare plants’ pricing, and make online payments easily. In this competitive business world, customer satisfaction is extremely important. We want each customer to have a pleasant shopping experience. With that intention, customer support service offers technical advice and guidance when it is needed. This web application also consists of detailed gardening advice. The major goal of this web application is to provide a better business experience for both seller and consumer.([1])([2]

FitFlame – Health and Fitness Coaching Application to Mitigate the Issues in the Current Applications

Online fitness coaches help people achieve a healthy lifestyle by offering customized solutions. The demand for professional coaching is expected to grow in the coming years. Nevertheless, no applications in the market address the problems in the coaching process. Today, coaches and clients had to use many third-party apps. The reason for this is that no single fitness coaching app offers communication and exercise-tracking features. Even though some apps meet some of these requirements, they are out of reach for most people's budgets. This paper aims to suggest a robust and full-fledged app to mitigate those issues. FitFlame is the name of the proposed app. Both coaches and clients can benefit from this app. Also, FitFlame is a fitness coaching system available on mobile and the web. It helps clients locate and contact coaches, subscribe to coaching plans, and track their progress. It does away with third-party programs and gives users a better experience

Increased prevalence of rotavirus among children associated gastroenteritis in Riyadh Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study is to assess the epidemiology along with the molecular structure of rotavirus causing pediatric diarrhea among Saudi patients. However, in this report we sited the epidemiological reflect coming from our project

A parallel randomised controlled trial of the Hypoglycaemia Awareness Restoration Programme for adults with type 1 diabetes and problematic hypoglycaemia despite optimised self-care (HARPdoc)

Impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia (IAH) is a major risk for severe hypoglycaemia in insulin treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D). To explore the hypothesis that unhelpful health beliefs create barriers to regaining awareness, we conducted a multi-centre, randomised, parallel, two-arm trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02940873) in adults with T1D and treatment-resistant IAH and severe hypoglycaemia, with blinded analysis of 12-month recall of severe hypoglycaemia at 12 and/or 24 months the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included cognitive and emotional measures. Adults with T1D, IAH and severe hypoglycaemia despite structured education in insulin adjustment, +/− diabetes technologies, were randomised to the “Hypoglycaemia Awareness Restoration Programme despite optimised self-care” (HARPdoc, n = 49), a psychoeducation programme uniquely focussing on changing cognitive barriers to avoiding hypoglycaemia, or the evidence-based “Blood Glucose Awareness Training” (BGAT, n = 50), both delivered over six weeks. Median [IQR] severe hypoglycaemia at baseline was 5[2–12] per patient/year, 1[0–5] at 12 months and 0[0–2] at 24 months, with no superiority for HARPdoc (HARPdoc vs BGAT incident rate ratios [95% CI] 1.25[0.51, 3.09], p = 0.62 and 1.26[0.48, 3.35], p = 0.64 respectively), nor for changes in hypoglycaemia awareness scores or fear. Compared to BGAT, HARPdoc significantly reduced endorsement of unhelpful cognitions (Estimated Mean Difference for Attitudes to Awareness scores at 24 months, −2.07 [−3.37,−0.560], p = 0.01) and reduced scores for diabetes distress (−6.70[−12.50,−0.89], p = 0.02); depression (−1.86[−3.30, −0.43], p = 0.01) and anxiety (−1.89[−3.32, −0.47], p = 0.01). Despite positive impact on cognitive barriers around hypoglycaemia avoidance and on diabetes-related and general emotional distress scores, HARPdoc was not more effective than BGAT at reducing severe hypoglycaemia

Understanding caretakers' dilemma in deciding whether or not to adhere with referral advice after pre-referral treatment with rectal artesunate

BACKGROUND: Malaria kills. A single rectal dose of artesunate before referral can reduce mortality and prevent permanent disability. However, the success of this intervention depends on caretakers' adherence to referral advice for follow-up care. This paper explores the dilemma facing caretakers when they are in the process of deciding whether or not to transit their child to a health facility after pre-referral treatment with rectal artesunate. METHODS: Four focus group discussions were held in each of three purposively selected villages in Mtwara rural district of Tanzania. Data were analysed manually using latent qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The theme "Caretakers dilemma in deciding whether or not to adhere with referral advice after pre-referral treatment with rectal artesunate" depicts the challenge they face. Caretakers' understanding of the rationale for going to hospital after treatment--when and why they should adhere--influenced adherence. Caretakers, whose children did not improve, usually adhered to referral advice. If a child had noticeably improved with pre-referral treatment however, caretakers weighed whether they should proceed to the facility, balancing the child's improved condition against other competing priorities, difficulties in reaching the health facilities, and the perceived quality of care at the health facility. Some misinterpretation were found regarding the urgency and rationale for adherence among some caretakers of children who improved which were attributed to be possibly due to their prior understanding. CONCLUSION: Some caretakers did not adhere when their children improved and some who adhered did so without understanding why they should proceed to the facility. Successful implementation of the rectal artesunate strategy depends upon effective communication regarding referral to clinic

Massively Parallel RNA Sequencing Identifies a Complex Immune Gene Repertoire in the lophotrochozoan Mytilus edulis

The marine mussel Mytilus edulis and its closely related sister species are distributed world-wide and play an important role in coastal ecology and economy. The diversification in different species and their hybrids, broad ecological distribution, as well as the filter feeding mode of life has made this genus an attractive model to investigate physiological and molecular adaptations and responses to various biotic and abiotic environmental factors. In the present study we investigated the immune system of Mytilus, which may contribute to the ecological plasticity of this species. We generated a large Mytilus transcriptome database from different tissues of immune challenged and stress treated individuals from the Baltic Sea using 454 pyrosequencing. Phylogenetic comparison of orthologous groups of 23 species demonstrated the basal position of lophotrochozoans within protostomes. The investigation of immune related transcripts revealed a complex repertoire of innate recognition receptors and downstream pathway members including transcripts for 27 toll-like receptors and 524 C1q domain containing transcripts. NOD-like receptors on the other hand were absent. We also found evidence for sophisticated TNF, autophagy and apoptosis systems as well as for cytokines. Gill tissue and hemocytes showed highest expression of putative immune related contigs and are promising tissues for further functional studies. Our results partly contrast with findings of a less complex immune repertoire in ecdysozoan and other lophotrochozoan protostomes. We show that bivalves are interesting candidates to investigate the evolution of the immune system from basal metazoans to deuterostomes and protostomes and provide a basis for future molecular work directed to immune system functioning in Mytilus

Knowledge and Perceptions of Couples' Voluntary Counseling and Testing in Urban Rwanda and Zambia: A Cross-Sectional Household Survey

Most incident HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa occur between cohabiting, discordant, heterosexual couples. Though couples' voluntary HIV counseling and testing (CVCT) is an effective, well-studied intervention in Africa, <1% of couples have been jointly tested.We conducted cross-sectional household surveys in Kigali, Rwanda (n = 600) and Lusaka, Zambia (n = 603) to ascertain knowledge, perceptions, and barriers to use of CVCT.Compared to Lusaka, Kigali respondents were significantly more aware of HIV testing sites (79% vs. 56%); had greater knowledge of HIV serodiscordance between couples (83% vs. 43%); believed CVCT is good (96% vs. 72%); and were willing to test jointly (91% vs. 47%). Stigma, fear of partner reaction, and distance/cost/logistics were CVCT barriers.Though most respondents had positive attitudes toward CVCT, the majority were unaware that serodiscordance between cohabiting couples is possible. Future messages should target gaps in knowledge about serodiscordance, provide logistical information about CVCT services, and aim to reduce stigma and fear