Validation of a functional screening instrument for dementia in an elderly sri lankan population: comparison of modified bristol and blessed activities of daily living scales

Abstract Background Cognitive tests have been used in population surveys as first stage screens for dementia but are biased by education. However functional ability scales are less biased by education than the cognitive scale and thus can be used in screening for dementia. Objective To validate Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale appropriate for use in assessing the presence of dementia in an elderly population living in care homes in Sri Lanka. Method Sinhalese version of the modified Bristol and Blessed scale was administered to subjects aged 55 years and above residing in 14 randomly selected elders' homes. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) was used to determine the cut-off scores of both the scales. Results Based on the ROC analysis, optimal cut off score of the modified Bristol scale was 20 with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 74.2% and the area under the curve 0.933(95% CI: 0.871-0.995) while the optimal cut off score of the modified Blessed scale was 10.5 with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 71% and the area under the curve 0.892 (95% CI: 0.816-0.967). Conclusion The findings confirm that both the scales can be used in screening for dementia in the elderly living in care homes in Sri Lanka.</p

AN ANALYSIS OF AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM CASE STUDIES OF COLLABORATIVE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN MAHAWELI SYSTEM H

Collaborative resource management has been a focus of a number of nationalenvironmental policy developments in Sri Lanka. The irrigation sector provides a richsource of experiences and lessons in user participation. The Mahaweli System H beganan accelerated programme of transferring management responsibility to DistributoryCanal Farmer Organisations (DCFOs) in 1998. This study attempted to construct asuitable weighted composite performance index (WCP!) to evaluate the participation andperformance of DCFOs in the co-management of the Mahaweli System H. Data werecollected from 60 DCFOs from Madatugama and Eppawala blocksOutcomes of the co-management provide evidence of a significant (36%) increase inwater productivity of the D~FOs. There was a marginal increase in agriculturalproductivity and profitability. Irrigation fee collection rates (90%) and accumulation ofreserves (27%) in DCFOs had improved significantly in the DCFOs in both blocks.However, financial self-sufficiency was affected due to inadequate opportunities for newsources of income and less control on cost. Relative less participation was found amongtail-end farmers compared to head-end farmers in meetings and decision-making. Thismeans that they risk not gaining the crucial benefits that can be realised from comanagement.Compared to Eppawala the DCFOs in Madatugama had gained controlover many operational decisions and secured the opportunity to stabilise theirperformance. WCPI analysis shows that in both the studied blocks future sustainabilityremains on 50% of the weakly performing DCFOs. Systematic continuos monitoring andevaluation of the performance particularly in financial and institutional aspects, as wellas more training and additional time will improve the performance of the weak DCFOs

CORTICOLOUS LICHENS AS INDICATORS OF DIFFERENT FOREST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE DOTALUGALA - KNUCKLES MOUNTAIN RANGE, SRI LANKA

Use of lichens as bioindicators in  tropical zones has been hampered by lack of taxonomic and ecological knowledge. This study was conducted to assess the variation of lichen diversity in different forest management practices under different environmental conditions for their potential use as bioindicators of environmental alterations in Dotalugala, Knuckles mountain range. Data were analyzed to assess the relationship between lichen diversity and microclimatic conditions. In this study, 192 and 148 lichen species were recorded in natural and disturbed vegetation types respectively. The statistical analysis revealed a significant variation in lichen diversity between disturbed and undisturbed vegetations (F = 6.213, df = 1; p ≤ 0.05). Lichen diversity in different vegetation types indicated a remarkable variation (F =3.21, df = 7; p ≤ 0.05). The regression tree analysis indicated, three important variables that determined the lichen diversity; type of vegetation, altitude and association with other Cryptogamic communities. The significant difference of corticolous lichen communities in the natural and disturbed vegetations may be due to the heterogeneity of microclimatic conditions. Specialist lichen communities found to be associated with pristine forests. Results of the present study suggest that lichens in the Knuckles mountain range could be considered as potential indicators in assessing ecological continuity within different vegetations and in the colonization of the regenerating habitats

Rotation Measure Synthesis of Galactic Polarized Emission with the DRAO 26-m Telescope

Radio polarimetry at decimetre wavelengths is the principal source of information on the Galactic magnetic field. The diffuse polarized emission is strongly influenced by Faraday rotation in the magneto-ionic medium and rotation measure is the prime quantity of interest, implying that all Stokes parameters must be measured over wide frequency bands with many frequency channels. The DRAO 26-m Telescope has been equipped with a wideband feed, a polarization transducer to deliver both hands of circular polarization, and a receiver, all operating from 1277 to 1762 MHz. Half-power beamwidth is between 40 and 30 arcminutes. A digital FPGA spectrometer, based on commercially available components, produces all Stokes parameters in 2048 frequency channels over a 485-MHz bandwidth. Signals are digitized to 8 bits and a Fast Fourier Transform is applied to each data stream. Stokes parameters are then generated in each frequency channel. This instrument is in use at DRAO for a Northern sky polarization survey. Observations consist of scans up and down the Meridian at a drive rate of 0.9 degree per minute to give complete coverage of the sky between declinations -30 degree and 90 degree. This paper presents a complete description of the receiver and data acquisition system. Only a small fraction of the frequency band of operation is allocated for radio astronomy, and about 20 percent of the data are lost to interference. The first 8 percent of data from the survey are used for a proof-of-concept study, which has led to the first application of Rotation Measure Synthesis to the diffuse Galactic emission obtained with a single-antenna telescope. We find rotation measure values for the diffuse emission as high as approximately 100 rad per square metre, much higher than recorded in earlier work.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

CORTICOLOUS LICHENS AS INDICATORS OF DIFFERENT FOREST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE DOTALUGALA - KNUCKLES MOUNTAIN RANGE, SRI LANKA

Use of lichens as bioindicators in  tropical zones has been hampered by lack of taxonomic and ecological knowledge. This study was conducted to assess the variation of lichen diversity in different forest management practices under different environmental conditions for their potential use as bioindicators of environmental alterations in Dotalugala, Knuckles mountain range. Data were analyzed to assess the relationship between lichen diversity and microclimatic conditions. In this study, 192 and 148 lichen species were recorded in natural and disturbed vegetation types respectively. The statistical analysis revealed a significant variation in lichen diversity between disturbed and undisturbed vegetations (F = 6.213, df = 1; p ≤ 0.05). Lichen diversity in different vegetation types indicated a remarkable variation (F =3.21, df = 7; p ≤ 0.05). The regression tree analysis indicated, three important variables that determined the lichen diversity; type of vegetation, altitude and association with other Cryptogamic communities. The significant difference of corticolous lichen communities in the natural and disturbed vegetations may be due to the heterogeneity of microclimatic conditions. Specialist lichen communities found to be associated with pristine forests. Results of the present study suggest that lichens in the Knuckles mountain range could be considered as potential indicators in assessing ecological continuity within different vegetations and in the colonization of the regenerating habitats

Localization of conductivity towards scalable and sustainable wearable electronics

Localized conductivity on fabrics is envisioned to make a shift in sustainable wearable electronics. Among the wearable electronics, localized conductivity has not been widely reported yet. Hence, we report a simple way to localize conductivity on polyester fabrics using reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO). Coupling agent, (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) was used to change the chemically dormant nature of polyester fabrics, which made easy networking with GO. Then, the GO coating was substantially reduced to rGO, accomplishing conductive tracks on fabrics. rGO coated fabric showed a surface resistivity of 320 Ω/□. Even after 20 washing cycles, a significant change in surface resistivity was not observed which signifies a good wash fastness. APTES created a covalent bond network between rGO and polyester, which was proven by FTIR. This cost effective and sustainable method endows the electronic textile industry with a rapid improvement towards scalable production

SOIL ORGANIC MATTER AND WET AGGREGATE STABILITY IN TSUNAMI AFFECTED SOILS IN HAMBANTOTA DISTRICT, SOUTHERN SRI LANKA

Seawater intrusion occurred due the recent tsunami disaster badly affected onagricultural lands causing failure in crop production. Apart from elevatingsalinity level, addition of sodium ion with sea water creates dispersion of soilparticles, destroying it's aggregates or the structure, prompting immediateneed of rehabilitating the affected lands in order to sustain the productivity.Therefore the objective of the present study was to assess the impact oftsunami on Soil Organic Matter (SOM) and wet aggregate stability of theaffected soils in Hambantota district.Random soil samples were drawn from top 15cm soil depth, two weeks aftertsunami and analysed for SOM, wet aggregate stability (measured as MeanWeight Diameter or MWD) and aggregate distribution. Soil samples takenfrom a nearest unaffected field on the same soil type were used as thereference to compare the affected and unaffected soils.The average SOM contents of 0.27% and 1.06% respectively for the tsunamiaffectedsoils and the reference unaffected soil revealed a greater reduction ofSOM as a consequence of seawater intrusion. It could be explained theresults that removal of SOM by means of soil erosion and/or deposition oflarge amounts of sand dunes. According to the results, the highest MWD wasobserved from unaffected soil, while the lowest values found in affectedsoils. Furthermore, it can be seen a positive correlation between SOM andwet aggregate stability indicating an urgent need to improve soil managementpractices that increase SOM levels, and as a result, increase the soil aggregatestability in order to ensure sustained crop production in affected soils inHambantota district.

Use of a rapid diagnostic test to detect cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka

Objectives: This study was initiated to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a commercially available rapid diagnostic test (RDT) to detect leishmania antigen in cutaneous leishmaniasis(CL) skin lesions among Sri Lankan patients compared to PCR and Slit skin smear(SSS).Methods: Patients clinically suggestive of CL lesions were subjected to parasitological investigations. The clinical history was collected by the researcher. Samples were collected by a qualified trained medical officer from the suspected CL lesions at the dermatology clinic in the Hambantota hospital and from the patients coming to the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. RDT was done at the Hambantota hospital and samples were brought to the Department of Parasitology, to perform SSS, PCR and cultures.Results: Fifty samples have been collected thus far and PCR was performed only in 48 samples. Out of the 50 samples only 9 were positive by RDT and 32 by SSS and PCR. The 9 samples that were positive for RDT were positive by SSS and 7 positive by PCR. Of the 41 samples that were negative by RDT, 16 were negative by PCR as well as SSS.Conclusions: From the data collected it can concluded that RDT is not the best method to diagnose CL skin lesions in patients in Sri Lanka. Also it confirms that the best method to diagnose leishmaniasis is PCR

Efficacy and Safety of Evolocumab in Reducing Lipids and Cardiovascular Events

BACKGROUND: Evolocumab, a monoclonal antibody that inhibits proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9), significantly reduced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in short-term studies. We conducted two extension studies to obtain longer-term data. METHODS: In two open-label, randomized trials, we enrolled 4465 patients who had completed 1 of 12 phase 2 or 3 studies ("parent trials") of evolocumab. Regardless of study-group assignments in the parent trials, eligible patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive either evolocumab (140 mg every 2 weeks or 420 mg monthly) plus standard therapy or standard therapy alone. Patients were followed for a median of 11.1 months with assessment of lipid levels, safety, and (as a prespecified exploratory analysis) adjudicated cardiovascular events including death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, coronary revascularization, stroke, transient ischemic attack, and heart failure. Data from the two trials were combined. RESULTS: As compared with standard therapy alone, evolocumab reduced the level of LDL cholesterol by 61%, from a median of 120 mg per deciliter to 48 mg per deciliter (P<0.001). Most adverse events occurred with similar frequency in the two groups, although neurocognitive events were reported more frequently in the evolocumab group. The risk of adverse events, including neurocognitive events, did not vary significantly according to the achieved level of LDL cholesterol. The rate of cardiovascular events at 1 year was reduced from 2.18% in the standard-therapy group to 0.95% in the evolocumab group (hazard ratio in the evolocumab group, 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.28 to 0.78; P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: During approximately 1 year of therapy, the use of evolocumab plus standard therapy, as compared with standard therapy alone, significantly reduced LDL cholesterol levels and reduced the incidence of cardiovascular events in a prespecified but exploratory analysis. (Funded by Amgen; OSLER-1 and OSLER-2 ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01439880 and NCT01854918.)