Comparison of crop water use efficiency with rotation and continuous cropping in an irrigated vertisol

Water use efficiency is a key issue for the Australian cotton industry. For the individual producer the focus is to maximise returns from a limited resource. However, the current debate on allocation of water between domestic, agricultural and environmental sectors, imposes additional significance to water use efficiency at the industry level. We are conducting a project that focuses on crop water use efficiency as a component of whole farm water use efficiency. This will be achieved by (i) identifying the current sources of variation in crop water use efficiency between production units and (ii) quantifying the contribution of rotation and tillage practices to the water use efficiency of irrigated or partially irrigated cotton crops. The aims are three fold..

Effect of residual detergents in specimen collection containers on routine serum biochemical analytes

The use of Teepol, Lysol and sodium hypochlorite are frequent in reusing of specimen collection tubes by the state hospitals in Sri Lanka. Detergent residue in collection tubes is   thought to be the reason for uncertain results in the recent past. This raised a concern to evaluate the effect of washing of the specimen collection tubes by various detergents on serum creatinine, aspartate transaminase (AST), Na+ and K+. Three sets of newly purchased glass Khan tubes were washed using Teepol, Lysol (concentration of 1%), and sodium hypochlorite (0.1 %) adhering to World Health Organization protocol. Blood from a single donor was aliquoted to a detergent washed tubes (test) and to a newly purchased plain glass Khan tube (control). Both were tested for serum creatinine, AST, Na+ and K+. A sample size of 20 was analyzed for each detergent-washed tube. There was no significant difference in serum creatinine, AST and K+ when Teepol, Lysol or sodium hypochlorite washed tubes were used in sequence (p>0.05). Na+ concentrations measured in serum was significantly different in specimens collected to Lysol-washed tubes (p<0.05). The Lysol-washed tubes were significantly contaminated with detergent residues. In conclusion, domestic detergents (Teepol, Lysol and sodium hypochlorite) don’t impart a significant effect on tested analytes if the cleansing is done according to guidelines by World Health Organization. However, newly purchased tubes are recommended in critical investigations such as serum electrolytes to improve the accuracy of laboratory reports.         KEYWORDS:  Teepol, Lysol, Sodium hypochlorite, creatinine, Na+ and K+ &nbsp

The Angiosperm Stem Hemiparasitic Genus Cassytha (Lauraceae) and its host interactions : a review

Cassytha, also known as laurel dodder or love vine, is a stem hemiparasite of the Lauraceae family. It has long been used for medicinal purposes in many countries and has increasingly influenced agricultural and natural ecosystems by its effects on a wide range of host species. Previous studies have focused on the taxonomy and evolutionary position of different Cassytha, with the pan-tropical species Cassytha filiformis being the most widely studied. However, Cassytha–host interactions have never been reviewed, which is an essential issue related to the understanding of mechanisms underlying plant hemiparasitic and the assessment of benefits and damage caused by aerial parasitic plants. This review explores the parasitic habits, worldwide distribution, and host range of Cassytha, and examines its impacts on the biology of host plants and the overall influence of environmental changes on Cassytha–host associations. We also comment on areas of future research directions that require to better understanding Cassytha–host interactions. It appeared that some traits, such as flowering phenology, facilitated Cassytha’s widespread distribution and successful parasitism and that Cassytha preferred woody species rather than herbaceous species as a host, and preferred species from certain families as hosts, such as Fabaceae and Myrtaceae. Cassytha often decreased biomass and impacted the physiology of host species and global environmental changes seemed to intensify the negative impacts of Cassytha on their hosts. Cassytha was not only a noxious weed, but can also function as a biocontrol agent to mitigate alien plant invasion. Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Florentine and Tennakoon

Investigation of sub-module fault types of modular multi-level converters in HVDC networks

The modular multilevel converters (MMC) form the backbone of the modern voltage source converter (VSC) based HVDC system due to their unique features. Faults within the MMC affect the performance of the HVDC system. In this paper the fault types that can occur in the MMC are investigated. The reported work focuses on sub-module faults. A nine level MMC was simulated using PSCAD/EMTDC in this investigation

Gender Inequality in Digital Transformation: Evidence from Business Process Management Industry in Sri Lanka

This research examines whether gender inequality exists in Leadership Style, Organizational Culture, and Digital Competence of digital transformation of the Business Process Management (BPM) industry. Data were collected from 507 employees of 40 Sri Lankan BPM companies through a web-based survey. Mann-Whitney U test with descriptive statistics provided evidence to strengthen the findings. The findings confirmed that gender inequality exists in Leadership Style, Organizational Culture, and Digital Competence of digital transformation in the BPM industry in Sri Lanka. This research contributes to "Acker's Theory of Gendered Organizations" by identifying areas that reproduce gender inequality in the new digital economy workplace. This study recommends controlling if not eradicating the gender inequality through proper Human Resource (HR) policies and procedures since it may hinder organizational performance. Digital workplace will improve employee retention, satisfaction, and productivity. Keywords: Business Process Management, Gender Inequality, Leadership Style, Organizational Culture, Digital Competenc

Superpixel-based Two-view Deterministic Fitting for Multiple-structure Data

This paper proposes a two-view deterministic geometric model fitting method, termed Superpixel-based Deterministic Fitting (SDF), for multiple-structure data. SDF starts from superpixel segmentation, which effectively captures prior information of feature appearances. The feature appearances are beneficial to reduce the computational complexity for deterministic fitting methods. SDF also includes two original elements, i.e., a deterministic sampling algorithm and a novel model selection algorithm. The two algorithms are tightly coupled to boost the performance of SDF in both speed and accuracy. Specifically, the proposed sampling algorithm leverages the grouping cues of superpixels to generate reliable and consistent hypotheses. The proposed model selection algorithm further makes use of desirable properties of the generated hypotheses, to improve the conventional fit-and-remove framework for more efficient and effective performance. The key characteristic of SDF is that it can efficiently and deterministically estimate the parameters of model instances in multi-structure data. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed SDF shows superiority over several state-of-the-art fitting methods for real images with single-structure and multiple-structure data.Comment: Accepted by European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV

Habitat Fragmentation and Isolation-by-Distance Driven Population Divergence of Oryza rufipogon in Sri Lanka

Wild relatives of rice are an important genetic resources in rice breeding. Oryza rufipogon is a diploid perennial species belongs to AA genome group and sexually compatible with cultivated rice. The putative ancestor of Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) is endangered in Sri Lanka due to habitat loss and land fragmentation. However, no proper studies have been performed on population diversity and habitat fragmentation of the Sri Lankan wild rice species used in our breeding programs. In this study, we explore the genetic diversity of five Oryza rufipogon populations using 33 microsatellite loci to infer the effects of habitat fragmentation and isolation by-distance (IBD) on genetic structure. Results of AMOVA revealed among population variance (43.7%) and within population (56.31%) variance. Partial Mantel tests (r2=0.306; p value=0.027) showed that population divergence of Sri Lankan O. rufipogon based on isolation by distance was statistically significant. Genetic diversity of O. rufipogon was recorded at population level (0.41) and the individual level (0.62). Preferred habitats of O. rufipogon are swampy areas like marshes, open ditches, swamps, ponds, pools, along river banks, at the edges of lakes and in or at the margins of rice fields. Some populations grow under submergence and saline conditions. The water depth preferences are between 0.2-4.0 m. As a result of human activities such as agriculture, urbanization and industry have destroyed natural habitats, leading to increasing habitat fragmentation. Conclusively, these results indicate that IBD due to historical rather than recent fragmentation, followed by local adaptation, has driven population divergence in O. rufipogon. Understanding genetic diversity and eco-geographic variation of wild rice in Sri Lanka is timely requirement it provides opportunities to design conservation strategies and basic information for proper utilization of wild genetic resources in rice genetic improvement and breeding.Keywords: Crop improvement, Habitat, Mantel test, Genetic structure, Wild ric

Development of Suitability Index for Locating Rock Quarrying Sites in Sri Lanka

Rock quarrying industry in Sri Lanka has been widely expanded during the last few decades due to the rapid increase in the demand for the basic raw material in construction industry. Thus, rock quarries are operated throughout the country, which has resulted in several social and environmental issues. Most of the issues are due to unsuitable locations of these quarry sites. Therefore, finding of economically viable, environmental friendly sites for rock quarrying is a requirement. Present research is aimed at formulating an index to locate most suitable sites for the quarry mining based on the surrounding land use patterns.Gampaha and Anuradhapura districts were selected as the study area. Both these districts have large scale quarries with comparatively different land use patterns, geological and geomorphological settings. Representing both districts, 15 large scale quarry sites which are curently in operation and other 9 outcrops where there are potential reserves to establish rock quarries were used for the study. Using proximity analysis, 100 m, 250 m, 500 m and 1000 m buffer zones were created and percentage of areas of major five land use classes were calculated. Ranks and weights (from 0 to 1) were given to all land use patterns considering the sensitiveness of each land use pattern in different buffer zones. Based on the rank and the weight of the land use and the distance from the quarry, the cumulative suitability index for each site was calculated and classified. Based on the index, all sites were rated as either suitable orunsuitable for mining.In Anuradhapura district, 33% of the sites from existing quarry mines and 60% from untouched rock outcrops were rated as suitable locations.. In Gampaha district, from existing mines only 17% mines were in suitable condition.. However 50% of untouched rock outcrops were rated under suitable category. Therefore results revealed that in both districts, untouched rock outcrops locations are better than the existing quarry mines. The index developed in this study can be applied to all other districts for locating sustainable environmental friendly quarry sites.Keywords: Aggregates, Anuradhapura, Gampaha, Rock outcrops, GI