Crop diversification strategies for minor irrigation schemes: Proceedings of the workshop organized by the Irrigation Research Management Unit, Irrigation Department and the Sri Lanka National Program, International Irrigation Management Institute, held at the Irrigation Department, Colombo, Sri Lanka on 20 February 1996

Irrigation programs / Irrigation management / Small scale systems / Crops / Diversification / Rice / Cropping systems / Constraints / Social aspects / Economic aspects / Field crops / Crop production / Labor / Farmers' attitudes / Water management / Groundwater / Sri Lanka

Learning clinical reasoning skills during the transition from a medical graduate to a junior doctor

INTRODUCTION: The literature confirms the challenges of learning clinical reasoning experienced by junior doctors during their transition into the workplace. This study was conducted to explore junior doctors experiences of clinical reasoning development and recognise the necessary adjustments required to improve the development of clinical reasoning skills.METHODS: A hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted using multiple methods of data collection, including semi-structured and narrative interviews (n=18) and post-consultation discussions (n=48). All interviews and post-consultation discussions were analysed to generate themes and identify patterns and associations to explain the dataset.RESULTS: During the transition, junior doctors’ approach to clinical reasoning changed from a ‘disease-oriented’ to a ‘practice- oriented’ approach, giving rise to the ‘Practice-oriented clinical skills development framework’ helpful in developing clinical reasoning skills. The freedom to reason within a supportive work environment, the trainees’ emotional commitment to patient care, and their early integration into the healthcare team were identified as particularly supportive. The service-oriented nature of the internship, the interrupted supervisory relationships, and early exposure to acute care settings posed challenges for learning clinical reasoning. These findings highlighted the clinical teachers' role, possible teaching strategies, and the specific changes required at the system level to develop clinical reasoning skills among junior doctors.CONCLUSION: The ‘Practice-oriented clinical skills development framework’ is a valuable reference point for clinical teachers to facilitate the development of clinical reasoning skills among junior doctors. In addition, this research has provided insights into the responsibilities of clinical teachers, teaching strategies, and the system-related changes that may be necessary to facilitate this process

Estimating the Biomass and Carbon Stocks in Dominant Tree Species in Wet Zone Homegardens of Sri Lanka

Homegardens in Sri Lanka are a dynamic food production system and continues to be a major land use practice in the island evolving from one generation to another. Generally maintained as a family property, homegardens account for around 13% of the total land use in the country. Homegardens in general offer several ecosystem services including climate regulation, enhance biodiversity, as well as improve land productivity and increase crop diversity. Due to its rich tree diversity and density, smallholder homegardens in Sri Lanka can be considered as a system capable of contributing to the storage of atmospheric carbon at a significant level. The aim of the present study was to estimate the mean carbon stock of each dominant tree species in the homegardens of low, mid and up country wet zone. The specific districts selected for the study were Kalutara, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya representing low, mid and up country wet zone. Three homegardens were selected from each district based on their visually observed diversity. These homegardens ranged from 0.5 acres to 3.0 acres and the entire homegarden was taken for assessment. The diameter at breast height (dbh) and Total height (up to the tip of the crown) were taken in all the trees and using Importance Value Index (IVI) equation; Important Value Index (IVI)=Relative Density+Relative Basal Area+Relative frequency the dominant trees in the homegarden which contribute significantly to the carbon stock were identified. The results indicated that the dominant trees in the low country wet zone were Cocos nucifera, Hevea brasiliensis, Mangifera indica, Swietenia macrophylla, Dillenia retusa, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Alstonia macrophylla, Areca catechu. The dominant tree species in the mid country wet zone homegardens were C. nucifera, A. heterophyllus, M. indica, S. macrophylla, Syzigium aromaticum, Durio zibethinus. The dominant tree species in the up country wet zone homegardens were A. macrophylla, A. heterophyllus, C. nucifera, M. indica, S. macrophylla, S. aromaticam. The aboveground biomass of each tree was estimated using an allometric equation which incorporated the wood density, dbh and tree height, where the wood density of each species was taken from literature. As the study did not use destructive sampling, the root shoot ratio was taken as 6:1. Finally the total biomass (sum of both the aboveground and below ground biomass) and the total carbon stock was calculated for each tree using the equation; WC=W*0.5 where, WC is the amount of carbon produced and W is the amount of total biomass produced.Keywords: Homegarden, Biomass, Carbon stock, Wet zone. Climate regulatio

Seeing Beyond: Real-time Ultrasound Image Integration in Augmented Reality Based Telementoring

Ultrasound imaging, when aptly integrated with augmented reality based medical telementoring, may be beneficial as an assistive tool in a range of trauma procedures including removal of foreign objects from blast injuries and central or peripheral venous access. Expected benefits include reduced procedure completion time, higher efficiency, and higher incision accuracy. This paper describes the implementation strategy selected for the integration of real time ultrasound imaging in the trainee view of a telementoring system. The proposed strategy augments the view of the trainee surgeon by displaying the ultrasound image directly below and parallel to the ultrasound transducer. The developed system features a fiducial marker based tracking approach employing a triplanar geometric fixture. An experiment was designed to demonstrate the system function and validate its performance

Generation and characterization of bioactive peptides from flaxseed ( Linum usitatissimum L.) proteins

The potential of flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) protein to release bioactive peptides upon enzymatic hydrolysis was evaluated. Flaxseed protein released angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory (ACEI) peptides during in vitro simulated gastrointestinal (GI) digestion in a static (no removal of digested products) and a dynamic model (removal o

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices

Farming communities in the hills and mountains of the Himalayan region are some of the most vulnerable to the changing climate, owing to their specific biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. Understanding the observed parameters of the changing climate and the farmers’ perceptions of it, together with their coping approaches, is an important asset to making farming communities resilient. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the observed change in climatic variables; understand farmers’ perceptions of the changing climate; and document their adaptation approaches in farming systems in the mid-hills of the central Himalayas. Data on the observed change in climatic variables were obtained from the nearby meteorological stations and gridded regional products, and farmers’ perceptions and their adaptation practices were collected from household surveys and from the interviews of key informants. The analysis of temperature data revealed that there has been a clear warming trend. Winter temperatures are increasing faster than summer and annual temperatures, indicating a narrowing temperature range. Results on precipitation did not show a clear trend but exhibited large inter-annual variability. The standardized precipitation index (SPI) showed an increased frequency of droughts in recent years. Farmers’ perceptions of the changing climate are coherent with the observed changes in climatic parameters. These changes may have a substantial impact on agriculture and the livelihood of the people in the study area. The farmers are adapting to climate change by altering their farming systems and practices. Location-specific adaptation approaches used by farmers are valuable assets for community resilience

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices

Farming communities in the hills and mountains of the Himalayan region are some of the most vulnerable to the changing climate, owing to their specific biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. Understanding the observed parameters of the changing climate and the farmers’ perceptions of it, together with their coping approaches, is an important asset to making farming communities resilient. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the observed change in climatic variables; understand farmers’ perceptions of the changing climate; and document their adaptation approaches in farming systems in the mid-hills of the central Himalayas. Data on the observed change in climatic variables were obtained from the nearby meteorological stations and gridded regional products, and farmers’ perceptions and their adaptation practices were collected from household surveys and from the interviews of key informants. The analysis of temperature data revealed that there has been a clear warming trend. Winter temperatures are increasing faster than summer and annual temperatures, indicating a narrowing temperature range. Results on precipitation did not show a clear trend but exhibited large inter-annual variability. The standardized precipitation index (SPI) showed an increased frequency of droughts in recent years. Farmers’ perceptions of the changing climate are coherent with the observed changes in climatic parameters. These changes may have a substantial impact on agriculture and the livelihood of the people in the study area. The farmers are adapting to climate change by altering their farming systems and practices. Location-specific adaptation approaches used by farmers are valuable assets for community resilience

VALUE ADDITION PATHWAYS OF Exacum trinervium (BINARA) AND Santaum abum (SANDLEWOOD)

Value addition pathways of Exacum trinervium (binara) and Santa/um album (sandlewood) werestudied using information from literature, participatory discussions and indigenous knowledgevia personal communication. Exacum trinervium is em endemic and endangered species. Valueaddition pathways of E. trinervium includes direct selling of wild plants, breeding forornamental usage in Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, and for medicinal usage. Price of the plantscollected from wild ranges from Rs.2S-S0 per plant whereas prices of locally bred plants are Rs.60-70 per plant. Price of a pot of E. trinervium in the Netherlands is around Rs. 3500. ForSanta/um album collection, extraction of sandlewood oils for beauty-cultural industry,indigenous medicinal usage, woodcarving and export of timber to Pakistan are the value additionpathways. Price of a sandlewood at the age of 15 years ranges from Rs. 500-1000. Single tree ofsandlewood can yield about 11 of sandlewood oil. 'Pie price of 11of sandlewood oil is aroundRs. 40,000 in local market and US$ 4325 in interr ational market, which is mainly used forbeauty-cultural activities where there is no other synthetic or natural substance, has been foundto replace its fixative ability of sandlewood oil. Luxurious cosmetics, perfumes and sandlewoodsoap are produced using small amount of sandlewood oil. Timber of S. album is sold at Rs. 150-200 per kg, which is used for woodcarving. The carved items of sandlewood are priced at Rs.3000 per kg. These two species exemplifies the presence of various value addition pathwaysproviding ample opportunities for development of new industries and generation of incomethose have to be explored carefully.

An Overview of Weeds and Weed Management in Rice of South Asia

South Asia produces slightly above 225 million tons of rice (30.7% of global production) on 60 million hectares (37.6% of the global area). India and Bangladesh are the major rice-growing countries. India contributes around a quarter of global production from 43 million hectares (the largest rice cultivating area). In South Asia, manually transplanting rice seedlings into flooded soil (TPR) is the common method of rice establishment. But direct-seeded rice (DSR) is gaining importance due to shortage and increased cost of resources. In Sri Lanka 93% of rice is cultivated as wet-seeded rice. However, the weeds are major constraints in DSR causing higher (14 to 100%) than in TPR (7 to 80%). Major rice weeds in South Asia include: Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv., Echinochloa colona (L.) Link., Cyperus rotundus L., Cyperus iria Linn., Cyperus difformis L., red rice (Oryza sativa L.), Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees, Ischaemum rugosum Salisb., Paspalum distichum L., Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd., Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv., Eleusine indica (L.) Pers., and Fimbristylis miliacea (L.) Vahl. Weeds flora was reported to vary with location, method of rice establishment, cultural practices used and associated environment. The small-holders’ traditional weed control method is hand weeding by hand-held hoe and hand pulling. Hand weeding is still a major method of weed control. However, the herbicide use is increasing due to non-availability and increased cost of labour in several of the South Asian countries. Mechanical weeders are being used by farmers as they reduce labor use and cost of weeding (72 to 74%). Tillage, mulching, crop rotation, allelopathic competitive crop cultivars, intercropping, balanced nutrient and water management and preventive measures have proven to be effective as a component of integrated weed management in rice of South Asian countries. Herbicide resistance among weeds in rice was not reported in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. Herbicide resistant biotypes of E. crus-galli, I. rugosum and C. iria were reported in Sri Lanka. In South Asia, herbicide tolerant rice is yet to be made available to farming community. Weed management research must be focused on identifying location specific effective, environment friendly, economically viable integrated weed management strategies