EFFECT OF GRAZING ON SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES IN INTEGRATED FARMING SOILS.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of grazing on somesoil properties; bulk density (BD), true density, porosity, moisture content(Me) and pH. The effect of long term grazing (>20 yrs) was examined in acoconut - pasture - cattle integrated farming system in Kamburupitiya area.Short term grazing effect was compared with an adjoining coconut plantationpermitting 18 buffaloes to graze for 6 months. Another adjoining ungrazedcoconut farm soil was considered as control. Soil samples were taken fromthe topsoil using a core sampler (v = 98.21 em"). Four replicate samples weretaken three times with 30 days interval and analyzed in triplicates. Data werestatistically analyzed using SAS.Soils collected from the long term integrated farming site had a significantlyhigher (p < 0.05) average pH (5.58) than that of non-integrated sites (4.65).Reduction of acidity may be due to the improvement of soil nutrients viadung, urine and accumulation of litter. It was observed that the soil inintegrated sites were comparatively dark in color. BD of integrated soil(1.15g/cm3) was significantly lower than that of non-integeated soil (21.26%)due to the better ground cover by dominant prostate type herbages comparedto ungrazed soils where erect type herbages were prominent. Soil porosityalso improved due to integration (47.76%) with that of non-integrated soil(43.76%). There was no significant difference observed under the effect ofshort term grazing. A considerable time period may be required to change toimproved soil properties.It is concluded that long term crop-livestock integration could improve thesoil physiochemical properties

Medical Guide System

Currently, getting access to emergency services and consumer health services requires calling a knowledgeable person on the regular phone or using different self-care techniques for illnesses without consulting a doctor. We are improving and expanding new channels of personal communication to facilitate interaction between emergency users and the emergency service system. Given the widespread use of smart devices in our society, we are developing a web application called "Quick Health" for emergency management, with the main feature of answering a question asked by another party or evaluating a given answer, as well as posting a problem and exchanging ideas with others. Our goal is to define a platform that is totally usable by everyone, regardless of their technological or linguistic proficiency. This paper's main goal is to clarify how to adapt traditional applications to modern web applications by taking into account not only web technologies but also social networking behavior. Keywords - Healthcare Emergency System: Medical Guidance; User Interaction; Web Applications &nbsp

Supressão de plantas daninhas por leguminosas anuais em sistema agroecológico na Pré-Amazônia.

Este trabalho teve por objetivos identificar e avaliar a agressividade potencial das plantas daninhas em um agrossistema com leguminosas herbáceas anuais como cobertura de solo. Foram plantadas, nas ruas de um sistema de aléias de sombreiro ( Clitoria fairchildiana) e no final do período agrícola, as leguminosas mucuna-preta, feijão-guandu, feijão-de-porco e calopogônio, em sistema de blocos ao acaso com cinco repetições. Para estudo da dinâmica da composição florística, avaliaram-se a freqüência, densidade, dominância, similaridade, diversidade de espécies e biomassa das plantas daninhas. Foram identificadas 42 espécies de plantas espontâneas, das quais as mais freqüentes e de maior densidade e dominância foram Leptochoa virgata, Panicumlaxum e Sidasp. Não foram detectadas diferenças significativas para densidade, número de espécies, diversidade e biomassa entre as plantas daninhas emergidas nos quatro tratamentos com leguminosas; nem destas em relação ao controle

Hotel Sewage Sludge Derived Biochar as an Adsorbent for Aqueous Cadmium Removal

The hotel industry is considered to be one of the main sources of sewage sludge. Sewage sludge (by-products) of wastewater treatment is considered as water, inorganic and organic materials removed from wastewater. These by-products coming from various sources through physical, chemical, and/or biological treatments. Cadmium is a non-essential heavy metal available in water sources accumulated through both natural phenomena and anthropogenic activities. Direct and indirect accumulation of Cadmium in tissues through food and drinking water causing various diseases and disorders. Thus, developed biochar from hotel sewage sludge Sri Lanka and its applicability to remove aqueous Cadmium ions was studied. In this study, the biochar wassynthesised pyrolsing the sewage sludge in a muffle furnace at 450o C. To maintain an oxygen-free atmosphere during the process, nitrogen was supplied to the system at a 200 mL/min flow rate. The temperature increase rate was set at 17o C/min. The pH, EC, total solid (TS), total fixed solid (TFS), and total volatile solids (TVS) were determined in sewage sludge. Then the synthesised biochar was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analyser, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the Cadmium removal efficiency of synthesised biochar was tested with different concentrations of Cadmium solutions, pH levels, adsorbent dosages, and contact times. Atomic adsorption spectroscopy was used to analyse the Cadmium concentrations in water samples. The results were, pH (5.46), EC (1270 µs/cm), TS (55 mg/mL), TFS (14 mg/mL) and TVS (41 mg/mL). The maximum Cadmium removal percentage of 100% was obtained with 8 pH, 50 mL of 25 mg/L Cadmium solution, and 0.150 g of the synthesised biochar. Adsorption data were fitted with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and adsorption kinetics were fitted with a pseudosecond-order model with R2 , 0.9924. The study presents a viable option for removing Cadmiumions in water to desirable levels as a means for controlling Cadmium related health issues while sustainably controlling the sewage sludge.Keywords: Adsorption, Biochar, Heavy metal, Sewage sludg

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy complicated with apical thrombus formation on first day of the illness: a case report and literature review

Abstract Background Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by transient systolic dysfunction of the apical and mid segments of the left ventricle in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. Intraventricular thrombus formation is a rare complication of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and current data almost exclusively consists of isolated case reports and a few case series. Here we describe a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy with formation of an apical thrombus within 24 h of symptom onset, which has been reported in the literature only once previously, to the best of our knowledge. We have reviewed the available literature that may aid clinicians in their approach to the condition, since no published guidelines are available. Case presentation A 68-year-old Sri Lankan female presented to a local hospital with chest pain. Electrocardiogram (ECG) showed ST elevation, and antiplatelets, intravenous streptokinase and a high dose statin were administered. Despite this ST elevation persisted; however the coronary angiogram was negative for obstructive coronary artery disease. Echocardiogram revealed hypokinesia of the mid and apical segments of the left ventricle with typical apical ballooning and a sizable apical thrombus. She had recently had a viral infection and was also emotionally distressed as her sister was recently diagnosed with a terminal cancer. A diagnosis of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy was made and anticoagulation was started with heparin and warfarin. The follow up echocardiogram performed 1 week later revealed a small persistent thrombus, which had completely resolved at 3 weeks. Conclusion Though severe systolic dysfunction is observed in almost all the patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, intraventricular thrombus formation on the first day of the illness is rare. The possibility of underdiagnosis of thrombus can be prevented by early echocardiogram in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. The majority of reports found in the literature review were of cases that had formed an intraventriclar thrombus within the first 2 weeks, emphasizing the importance of follow up echocardiography at least 2 weeks later. The management of a left ventricular thrombus in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is controversial and in most cases warfarin and heparin were used for a short duration

Vein graphite-based counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

This paper describes the use of ball-milled vein graphite and ball-milled floated graphite counter electrode (CE) materials in dye-sensitized solar cells. The vein graphite used was ball milled, sieved and fraction of particle sizes in the 45-63 pm was used (BMG). Another fraction in the same size range was floated in water to get ball-milled floated graphite (BMFG). Both samples were extensively characterized by electrochemical techniques, Raman spectroscopy and by Total Carbon Analysis. The performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) prepared using these CEs were optimized for their adhesion, sintering temperature and thickness. Best performances were obtained for the DSC with CE prepared using graphite:morphol mass ratio of 5:3, sintering temperature of 350 degrees C and the thickness of 250 mu m. Most of the impurities in ball-milled graphite can be removed by the floating technique and the DSC fabricated with ball-milled floated graphite based CE gives 24% better performance than that constructed using just ball-milled graphite based CE. The best conversion efficiency observed is 6.47%. Though this is less than that obtained using Pt CE, it is still very useful in practical applications as per cost considerations. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved