Valuing the Hikkaduwa Coral Reef: An Application of the Zonal Travel Cost Method

Hikkaduwa marine ecosystem is one of the major attractions among the recreationists for its fringing coral reef and the beach. However, a rapid degradation of the coral reef and the beach pollution are the main influences on the sustainable tourism. In this context, valuing the Hikkaduwa Marine National Park is important in order to draw the attention for the protection of the ecosystem. The objectives of this research were to estimate the economic values derived by the local visitors and to derive an optimal entrance fee. This research also aimed at investigating factors that influence visitation rates. Data collected from an onsite survey carried out among a sample of 231 visitors from 16 districts in Sri Lanka were analysed, using the Zonal Travel Cost Method to estimate the recreational value derived by the local visitors. The travel cost function showed that visitation rate is significantly and positively influenced by recreational experience and urban population fraction. The explanatory power of the estimated model was strong with an adjusted R2 value of 0.752. In the second stage, these significant explanatory variables were used to construct the demand curve. The estimated local recreational value of the park is around 380 times the income from the local visitors per year, which is worth about Rs. 1,300 per local visitor. As this site does not have a proper entrance fee, the calculated entrance fee which maximises the total revenue was around Rs.1,100. However, the current level of visitors will be reduced by more than 50%, if this entrance fee is imposed implying intragenerational equity issues. The outcomes of this research are useful in the management decision making for the protection of the Hikkaduwa coral reef and the surrounding environment.Keywords: Consumer surplus, Hikkaduwa coral reef, Tourism, Zonal Travel Cost Metho

Exploration of adolescent sexuality and pregnancy in Sri Lanka : A quantitative approach.

Rigorous research into the patterns and determinants of adolescent pregnancy in Sri Lanka is scarce. Compared to many Western populations and other South Asian countries, levels of adolescent pregnancy are low in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence indicates that pregnancies outside of marriage are stigmatized among large sections of the population and that unwanted adolescent pregnancies, illegal abortions and suicides linked to adolescent pregnancy are a concern. Evidence shows low levels of knowledge and restricted access to contraception for adolescents in Sri Lanka. There is a need for more reliable data on adolescent sexuality and pregnancy encompassing a wider range of views in order to shape a culturally appropriate policy and practice response to meeting the reproductive health needs of Sri Lankan adolescents. To understand the context and patterns of adolescent pregnancy and sexual behaviour in a district in Sri Lanka. Population based questionnaire surveys of random samples of pregnant adolescents (n=450, interviewer-administered), their partners (n=150, interviewer-administered) and school going adolescents (n=2,020, self-completion). Descriptive and multivariate analyses were performed for each sample separately, followed by an integration of the data across the three data sources. Out of the 450 pregnant adolescents, 409 (91%) were in their first pregnancy. From this 409; 121(30%) were 18 years old. 263 (64%) pregnant adolescents reported that they had planned their pregnancies and 146 (36%) had not planned. Among the 150 partners, 100 (67%) reported they had planned the pregnancy and 50 (33%) had not planned the pregnancy. Among the 2,020 school adolescents (521 boys and 1,499 girls), just 1.5% of the girls and 8.8% of the boys reported experience of a sexual relationship, and only 0.3% of girls and 5.7% of boys had experienced an intimate sexual relationship.Adolescent pregnancies, whether planned or unplanned, were found to be largely welcomed, and adolescent pregnant girls were living within stable and supportive family environments. Pregnant adolescents parents' low education level, parents having married earlier than 18 years, and pregnant adolescents' siblings having children were more apparent compared to the school adolescent girls hinting that pregnant adolescents are from a subculture within which early childbearing is the norm. Findings confirm that pre-marital adolescent sexual activity was not generally condoned and remains rare. Relationships are predominantly monogamous. Gender difference in sexual activity exists. Reproductive health knowledge was very low across the samples and requires attention. Although the majority of pregnancies were planned and welcomed, given the inter-generational consequences of early childbearing, policy makers must find ways to tackle the structural and cultural factors that hamper a shift towards later childbearing among certain sections of the population. A proper collaboration between the education, health and community action can harness a long-term sustainable adolescent risk reduction and adolescent development. The difference of the age of consent (16 years) and the legal age of marriage (18 years) require policy debate

The divergence time of protein structures modelled by Markov matrices and its relation to the divergence of sequences

A complete time-parameterized statistical model quantifying the divergent evolution of protein structures in terms of the patterns of conservation of their secondary structures is inferred from a large collection of protein 3D structure alignments. This provides a better alternative to time-parameterized sequence-based models of protein relatedness, that have clear limitations dealing with twilight and midnight zones of sequence relationships. Since protein structures are far more conserved due to the selection pressure directly placed on their function, divergence time estimates can be more accurate when inferred from structures. We use the Bayesian and information-theoretic framework of Minimum Message Length to infer a time-parameterized stochastic matrix (accounting for perturbed structural states of related residues) and associated Dirichlet models (accounting for insertions and deletions during the evolution of protein domains). These are used in concert to estimate the Markov time of divergence of tertiary structures, a task previously only possible using proxies (like RMSD). By analyzing one million pairs of homologous structures, we yield a relationship between the Markov divergence time of structures and of sequences. Using these inferred models and the relationship between the divergence of sequences and structures, we demonstrate a competitive performance in secondary structure prediction against neural network architectures commonly employed for this task. The source code and supplementary information are downloadable from \url{http://lcb.infotech.monash.edu.au/sstsum}.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

The Effect of ventilation on sick building syndrome

It is well known that adverse health conditions could develop due to outdoor air pollutants, such as, CO2, CO, SO2, NO2, PM (particulate matter), VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), when people are outdoors, while travelling or working. Since most of the people spend 80-90% of their time indoors, at home or place of work, the presence of these air pollutants could adversely their health while indoors, as well. Hence, minimizing the presence of air pollutants, by taking appropriate measures, such as, ventilation and air conditioning are important to ensure that a healthy atmosphere prevails indoors. In a work place, where a large number of people work within a confined space, CO2 produced due to human respiration gets accumulated in the air, unless there is good ventilation. Long exposure to higher CO2 concentrations can cause human discomfort and ill health. The CO2 concentration, if measured, can be a direct indication of the efficiency of the ventilation system of the building. This paper presents a detailed study on how building planning aspects can affect the indoor environment of a building. The main factor considered was the CO 2 concentration in relation to the ventilation design of the building. In the study, CO2 concentration was measured and related to the ventilation design of the space in both free running and air conditioned buildings. The main findings of the study are as follows. a) Planning aspects of building were found to be very important in minimizing the bad effects of air pollutants. b) Provision of openings, based on external wind directions and orientation of the building were important, to dilute and remove high internal air pollutant concentrations by natural air currents. c) Provision of openings in excess of what is provided in the building regulations was found to improve the ventilation system in a free running building. d) The efficient operation of the natural ventilation system was as important as the ventilation design

LAND USE PLANNING FOR AGRO - FORESTRY PROGRAMMES IN TEA ESTATES

Land use planning in tea estates is of prime importance in order to identify profitable andenvironmentally friendly land use options for lands unsuitable for tea. Agro-forestry isone of the land use options adopted in tea estates in order to meet the high fuel woodrequirements of tea factories and estate labour communities. A study was undertaken toselect lands for Agro-Forestry Programmes in five estates in the Nuwara Eliya district.Geographic Information System was used as a tool for land suitability classification.Uneconomical lands were classified based on factors such as existing tea type and presentyield, geographical distribution within the estates, and slope and elevation. A range oflands were identified for immediate and future agro-forestry programmes. Potentialimprovement in profitability was estimated for individual estate and as a group of estates.

First insights into the phylogenetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Nepal

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in Nepal. Strain variation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis may influence the outcome of TB infection and disease. To date, the phylogenetic diversity of M. tuberculosis in Nepal is unknown. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We analyzed 261 M. tuberculosis isolates recovered from pulmonary TB patients recruited between August 2009 and August 2010 in Nepal. M. tuberculosis lineages were determined by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) typing and spoligotyping. Drug resistance was determined by sequencing the hot spot regions of the relevant target genes. Overall, 164 (62.8%) TB patients were new, and 97 (37.2%) were previously treated. Any drug resistance was detected in 50 (19.2%) isolates, and 16 (6.1%) were multidrug-resistant. The most frequent M. tuberculosis lineage was Lineage 3 (CAS/Delhi) with 106 isolates (40.6%), followed by Lineage 2 (East-Asian lineage, includes Beijing genotype) with 84 isolates (32.2%), Lineage 4 (Euro-American lineage) with 41 (15.7%) isolates, and Lineage 1 (Indo-Oceanic lineage) with 30 isolates (11.5%). Based on spoligotyping, we found 45 different spoligotyping patterns that were previously described. The Beijing (83 isolates, 31.8%) and CAS spoligotype (52, 19.9%) were the dominant spoligotypes. A total of 36 (13.8%) isolates could not be assigned to any known spoligotyping pattern. Lineage 2 was associated with female sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.58, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.42-4.67, p = 0.002), and any drug resistance (aOR 2.79; 95% CI 1.43-5.45; p = 0.002). We found no evidence for an association of Lineage 2 with age or BCG vaccination status. CONCLUSIONS: We found a large genetic diversity of M. tuberculosis in Nepal with representation of all four major lineages. Lineages 3 and 2 were dominating. Lineage 2 was associated with clinical characteristics. This study fills an important gap on the map of the M. tuberculosis genetic diversity in the Asian reg

Stormwater reuse, a viable option: Fact or fiction?

The increasing spread of urbanization is a common phenomenon witnessed in most parts of the world due to the perceived benefits of urban living. A compounding issue is the growing shortage of safe and reliable water sources. Perennial water shortages are becoming a common feature in many parts of the world. It is important to recognize stormwater reuse as a key resource for securing adequate future water supplies based on the concept of ‘water fit for purpose’. These require careful prioritization of vulnerabilities, identification of the areas requiring adaptation and provide certainty of outcomes. Given the increasing inevitability of climate change it should be viewed as an opportunity to take advantage of new opportunities which stormwater reuse presents. This study identified key barriers to stormwater reuse and the difficulties in removing them

Interfacing low-energy SAW nebulization with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the analysis of biological samples

Soft ionization methods for the introduction of labile biomolecules into a mass spectrometer are of fundamental importance to biomolecular analysis. Previously, electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix assisted laser desorption-ionization (MALDI) have been the main ionization methods used. Surface acoustic wave nebulization (SAWN) is a new technique that has been demonstrated to deposit less energy into ions upon ion formation and transfer for detection than other methods for sample introduction into a mass spectrometer (MS). Here we report the optimization and use of SAWN as a nebulization technique for the introduction of samples from a low flow of liquid, and the interfacing of SAWN with liquid chromatographic separation (LC) for the analysis of a protein digest. This demonstrates that SAWN can be a viable, low-energy alternative to ESI for the LC-MS analysis of proteomic samples