DISTRIBUTION OF INVASIVE PLANT Ulex europeus IN HORTON PLAINS NATIONAL PARK

One of the most sensitive problems facing the conservation and management of HortonPlains National Park is the spreading of Ule.r europeus (gorse), an invasive plant species.To effectively manage and control this species it is necessary to have a sound knowledge ofits distribution within this park.This study was carried out to find the extent and distribution of Ulex CUUiPl'llS in the parkand finally to prepare a map showing the extent and distribution. The percent coveragewas assessed using 2m x 2m quadrats. In each quadrat percentage cover of reproductivesand non-reproductivcs were measured.According to the results of this study, about 6ha of the area is covered by Ule .r curopeus.Total amount of the area which covers more than 80% of Ulex europeus is 2.4ha. The areawhich consists of less than 8OCYr, of Ulex europeus is 3.3Iha. The extent of reproductivcsand non rcproduciivcs are also presented in the paper. Findings on the distrihution patternor the species show that the area around the main gate and Farr Inn guest house is themost densely and continuously distributed area with more than 80% coverage of Ulexcuropcus. Except this there arc a few isolated patches on either side of the road and trailwith more than 80% coverage of Ulex europeus. The distribution of the Ulex europeusplants arc mainly restricted along the stream from Black bridge to Gem pit pool. Thedensity of the species gradually decreased from up stream to down stream hut it was higherin the areas where water is stagnated along the stream. It is interesting to note that therearc no plants of Utes europcus found inside the natural forest except at the margins of theforest.

FACTORS AFFECTING SEASONING OF TIMBER USING SAWDUST OPERATED KILN

This study was carried out to investigate the applicability of sawdust operated kiln developed by Senadheera(2009), by investigating the factors affecting its operation such as burner and cost efficiencies.Most efficientsawdust feeding rate for the burner was found to be 60 g min-1 having particle diameter greater than 1 mm.Kiln was tested by seasoning Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla),Lunumidella (Melia dubia) and Albizia (Paraserianthes falcataria). Albizia showed the highest drying rate,followed by Rubber, Lunumidella and Mahogany. This sawdust operated kiln consumed 144 hours to dry 25ft3 of 25 mm thick rubber wood from green conditions to 13% of moisture content. The sawdust operatedkiln in the present study showed the lowest cost efficiency compared with two other industrially operatingkilns in the country. The highest cost efficiency was observed in the kiln at Rowood Lanka Pvt Ltd.However, according to cost – benefit analysis carried out for three kilns, kiln at State Timber Corporationshowed its ability for a long run enterprise. Each kiln contributed approximately 25% of cost on energy outof total seasoning cost. Cost of seasoning per unit volume of timber and cost of seasoning per unit volume oftimber per unit time for this kiln was 1.7 and 2.5 fold higher than that of kiln at Rowood Lanka Pvt Ltdrespectively. It was found that sawdust operated kiln in the present study will not be sustained as anenterprise due to higher cost of seasoning.Key words: kiln seasoning, sawdust, sawdust operated kiln, drying rate, cost efficiency, cost benefitanalysi

Ranking the importance of quality variables in determination of price for plantation grown Teak (Tectona grandis) timber

Tectona grandis is one of the major plantation species in Sri Lanka which was introduced in 17th century. Teak timber is preferably used for furniture, joinery, decorative and parquet industries as a super luxury timber. State Timber Corporation (STC) involves in marketing of state timber resources from Forest Department plantations. Among all other timbers, Teak round wood at STC depots shows the highest sales in every year. When buying timber, customers assess the quality by visual observation of surface characteristics such as log dimensions and visible defects. If the log is inferior in quality the buyer would bid and buy it at a lower price than the marked price at auctions. Hence, the buyers‟ preference is indirectly reflected by the achieved price (selling price). In the present study, an attempt was made to study the relationship between the achievable price and the quality attributes of Teak logs. Such studies are useful as there is a lack of information on the impact of timber quality on timber price in the case of high demanding species such as teak. This information is extremely important to improve financial return of Teak management through realistic timber management concepts.A set of randomly selected logs representing a total quantity of 116079 cubic decimeters (dm3) were used as the sample. The dimensions, surface defects and end defects (size and quality variables) of each graded Teak log were measured and recorded. Length, mid girth, diameter at top end, butt end and middle of the log, total number of knots, presence of hollows and their diameter, depth and position, bend fraction, shape of the log, heartwood percentage, presence of splits, felling damages, heart rot and region where the logs were produced were the independent variables used in the study. Achieved prices for the selected logs were taken from STC records. Based on multiple linear regressions, a price-quality model was derived to explain the buyers‟ preference by means of log size and quality variables.Among the seventeen independent variable classes, only the “mid girth”, the “length”, the “number of knots per meter”, the “average knot diameter”, the “hollow position”, the “bend fraction”, the “log shape” and the “heart rot” contributed significantly to explain the buyers‟ preference. Above variables were ranked according to their order of affiliation and the ranking showed that the “mid girth” is the most important timber quality variable, followed by “length”, “number of knots per meter”, “hollow at top end &/or middle”, “bend fraction greater than 1.0”, “irregular log shape”, “average knot diameter” and “heart rot”.

Ranking the importance of quality variables in determination of price for plantation grown Teak (Tectona grandis) timber

Tectona grandis is one of the major plantation species in Sri Lanka which was introduced in 17th century. Teak timber is preferably used for furniture, joinery, decorative and parquet industries as a super luxury timber. State Timber Corporation (STC) involves in marketing of state timber resources from Forest Department plantations. Among all other timbers, Teak round wood at STC depots shows the highest sales in every year. When buying timber, customers assess the quality by visual observation of surface characteristics such as log dimensions and visible defects. If the log is inferior in quality the buyer would bid and buy it at a lower price than the marked price at auctions. Hence, the buyers‟ preference is indirectly reflected by the achieved price (selling price). In the present study, an attempt was made to study the relationship between the achievable price and the quality attributes of Teak logs. Such studies are useful as there is a lack of information on the impact of timber quality on timber price in the case of high demanding species such as teak. This information is extremely important to improve financial return of Teak management through realistic timber management concepts.A set of randomly selected logs representing a total quantity of 116079 cubic decimeters (dm3) were used as the sample. The dimensions, surface defects and end defects (size and quality variables) of each graded Teak log were measured and recorded. Length, mid girth, diameter at top end, butt end and middle of the log, total number of knots, presence of hollows and their diameter, depth and position, bend fraction, shape of the log, heartwood percentage, presence of splits, felling damages, heart rot and region where the logs were produced were the independent variables used in the study. Achieved prices for the selected logs were taken from STC records. Based on multiple linear regressions, a price-quality model was derived to explain the buyers‟ preference by means of log size and quality variables.Among the seventeen independent variable classes, only the “mid girth”, the “length”, the “number of knots per meter”, the “average knot diameter”, the “hollow position”, the “bend fraction”, the “log shape” and the “heart rot” contributed significantly to explain the buyers‟ preference. Above variables were ranked according to their order of affiliation and the ranking showed that the “mid girth” is the most important timber quality variable, followed by “length”, “number of knots per meter”, “hollow at top end &/or middle”, “bend fraction greater than 1.0”, “irregular log shape”, “average knot diameter” and “heart rot”.

Hybrid SPECT/CT for the assessment of a painful hip after uncemented total hip arthroplasty

Background The diagnosis of hip pain after total hip replacement (THR) represents a highly challenging question that is of increasing concern to orthopedic surgeons. This retrospective study assesses bone scintigraphy with Hybrid SPECT/CT for the diagnosis of painful THR in a selected cohort of patients. Methods Bone SPECT/CT datasets of 23 patients (mean age 68.9 years) with a painful hip after THR were evaluated. Selection of the patients required an inconclusive radiograph, normal serum levels of inflammatory parameters (CRP and ESR) or a negative aspiration of the hip joint prior to the examination. The standard of reference was established by an interdisciplinary adjudication-panel using all imaging data and clinical follow-up data (>12 month). Pathological and physiological uptake patterns were defined and applied. Results The cause of pain in this study group could be determined in 18 out of 23 cases. Reasons were aseptic loosening (n = 5), spine-related (n = 5), heterotopic ossification (n = 5), neuronal (n = 1), septic loosening (n = 1) and periprosthetic stress fracture (n = 1). In (n = 5) cases the cause of hip pain could not be identified. SPECT/CT imaging correctly identified the cause of pain in (n = 13) cases, in which the integrated CT-information led to the correct diagnosis in (n = 4) cases, mainly through superior anatomic correlation. Loosening was correctly assessed in all cases with a definite diagnosis. Conclusions SPECT/CT of THA reliably detects or rules out loosening and provides valuable information about heterotopic ossifications. Furthermore differential diagnoses may be detected with a whole-body scan and mechanical or osseous failure is covered by CT- imaging. SPECT/CT holds great potential for imaging-based assessment of painful prostheses

Snake Bite in South Asia: A Review

Snake bite is one of the most neglected public health issues in poor rural communities living in the tropics. Because of serious misreporting, the true worldwide burden of snake bite is not known. South Asia is the world's most heavily affected region, due to its high population density, widespread agricultural activities, numerous venomous snake species and lack of functional snake bite control programs. Despite increasing knowledge of snake venoms' composition and mode of action, good understanding of clinical features of envenoming and sufficient production of antivenom by Indian manufacturers, snake bite management remains unsatisfactory in this region. Field diagnostic tests for snake species identification do not exist and treatment mainly relies on the administration of antivenoms that do not cover all of the important venomous snakes of the region. Care-givers need better training and supervision, and national guidelines should be fed by evidence-based data generated by well-designed research studies. Poorly informed rural populations often apply inappropriate first-aid measures and vital time is lost before the victim is transported to a treatment centre, where cost of treatment can constitute an additional hurdle. The deficiency of snake bite management in South Asia is multi-causal and requires joint collaborative efforts from researchers, antivenom manufacturers, policy makers, public health authorities and international funders

Effects of alirocumab on types of myocardial infarction: insights from the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial

Aims  The third Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (MI) Task Force classified MIs into five types: Type 1, spontaneous; Type 2, related to oxygen supply/demand imbalance; Type 3, fatal without ascertainment of cardiac biomarkers; Type 4, related to percutaneous coronary intervention; and Type 5, related to coronary artery bypass surgery. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction with statins and proprotein convertase subtilisin–kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors reduces risk of MI, but less is known about effects on types of MI. ODYSSEY OUTCOMES compared the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab with placebo in 18 924 patients with recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and elevated LDL-C (≥1.8 mmol/L) despite intensive statin therapy. In a pre-specified analysis, we assessed the effects of alirocumab on types of MI. Methods and results  Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Myocardial infarction types were prospectively adjudicated and classified. Of 1860 total MIs, 1223 (65.8%) were adjudicated as Type 1, 386 (20.8%) as Type 2, and 244 (13.1%) as Type 4. Few events were Type 3 (n = 2) or Type 5 (n = 5). Alirocumab reduced first MIs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77–0.95; P = 0.003], with reductions in both Type 1 (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.99; P = 0.032) and Type 2 (0.77, 0.61–0.97; P = 0.025), but not Type 4 MI. Conclusion  After ACS, alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy favourably impacted on Type 1 and 2 MIs. The data indicate for the first time that a lipid-lowering therapy can attenuate the risk of Type 2 MI. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction below levels achievable with statins is an effective preventive strategy for both MI types.For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz299</p

Independent genomewide screens identify the tumor suppressor VTRNA2-1 as a human epiallele responsive to periconceptional environment

Background: Interindividual epigenetic variation that occurs systemically must be established prior to gastrulation in the very early embryo and, because it is systemic, can be assessed in easily biopsiable tissues. We employ two independent genome-wide approaches to search for such variants. Results: First, we screen for metastable epialleles by performing genomewide bisulfite sequencing in peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) and hair follicle DNA from two Caucasian adults. Second, we conduct a genomewide screen for genomic regions at which PBL DNA methylation is affected by season of conception in rural Gambia. Remarkably, both approaches identify the genomically imprinted VTRNA2-1 as a top environmentally responsive epiallele. We demonstrate systemic and stochastic interindividual variation in DNA methylation at the VTRNA2-1 differentially methylated region in healthy Caucasian and Asian adults and show, in rural Gambians, that periconceptional environment affects offspring VTRNA2-1 epigenotype, which is stable over at least 10 years. This unbiased screen also identifies over 100 additional candidate metastable epialleles, and shows that these are associated with cis genomic features including transposable elements. Conclusions: The non-coding VTRNA2-1 transcript (also called nc886) is a putative tumor suppressor and modulator of innate immunity. Thus, these data indicating environmentally induced loss of imprinting at VTRNA2-1 constitute a plausible causal pathway linking early embryonic environment, epigenetic alteration, and human disease. More broadly, the list of candidate metastable epialleles provides a resource for future studies of epigenetic variation and human disease