Sustainable development through proper land utilization Case study Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

Since the land is a scarce resource, the utilization of land effectively would be directly affected to thesustainable development of any country. A proper system ofland uti Iization is very essential especiallyfor a country like Sri Lanka which is very small in size and the majority of the people are dependingon the land related activities such as farming, grazing etc. as their major source of income. Unfortunately,land is in the state of under utilization in Sri Lanka. This paper attempts to study the importance of theeffective land utilization using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for the sustainable development.The study was mainly based on the data gathered from Ratnapura Divisional Secretary area, Thearea is consisting with natural vegetations such as forests, shrubs. and man -rnade cultivation such astea, rubber, paddy. Also the area has a high economic value and it is well known for natural disasterssuch as floods and earth slips. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires,interviewing people and relevant officers and field surveying using hand held Global Positioning System(GPS). The study supplemented with secondary data such as remote sensing satellite images, existingmaps. GIS technique was used for the data analyses.The study identified 4 major issues in the specified areaI. 20 % of the total area is under utilization2. 25 % of the total area is misused3. 05 % of the total area is over utilized4. Continuous loss of land due to the natural disastersAccording to the results, the land has not used effectively in the area. 45% of the area is not usedeffectively. Since the country is very small, proper land utilization is very important. The study suggestthat an immediate action should be taken to overcome the matter. And also it is very important to getthe active participation of the general public to stop the loss ofland due to natural disasters and forfuture decision making. 

The distribution of terrestrial pest gastropods and their damage to agricultural crops in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts in Sri Lanka

An island wide survey from 1999 to 2002 in Sri Lanka highlighted the presence of 18 species of exotic snails and slugs, of which most were identified as pests of agriculture crops. However, since this survey, no studies on pest gastropods have been carried out in the country. Hence, the present study was carried out in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts in approximately 15 hectares of agricultural land to determine the current status of these gastropods. During the study, a total of 14 terrestrial gastropod species were recorded from agricultural lands of which eight species were recognized as exotic pest gastropods. They were Deroceras reticulatum, Laevicaulis altae, Mariaella dussumieri, Milax gagates, Lissachatina fulica, Bradybaena similaris, Allopeas gracile and Subulina octona. The damage from pest gastropods was observed in many crops and especially in the seedling or nursery stage plants. The highest damage to crops in Nuwara Eliya and Kandy districts were caused by D. reticulatum and Lissachatina fulica respectively. The study indicated that the distribution range of many of these pest gastropods, especially Laevicaulis altae and Lissachatina fulica has increased during the past fifteen years. Elevation is a key environmental factor that affects their distribution in these districts

Genomic recombination between infectious laryngotracheitis vaccine strains occurs under a broad range of infection conditions in vitro and in ovo

Gallid alphaherpesvirus 1 causes infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) in farmed poultry worldwide. Intertypic recombination between vaccine strains of this virus has generated novel and virulent isolates in field conditions. In this study, in vitro and in ovo systems were co-infected and superinfected under different conditions with two genomically distinct and commonly used ILTV vaccines. The progeny virus populations were examined for the frequency and pattern of recombination events using multi-locus high-resolution melting curve analysis of polymerase chain reaction products. A varied level of recombination (0 to 58.9%) was detected, depending on the infection system (in ovo or in vitro), viral load, the composition of the inoculum mixture, and the timing and order of infection. Full genome analysis of selected recombinants with different in vitro phenotypes identified alterations in coding and non-coding regions. The ability of ILTV vaccines to maintain their capacity to recombine under such varied conditions highlights the significance of recombination in the evolution of this virus and demonstrates the capacity of ILTV vaccines to play a role in the emergence of recombinant viruses

Design and construction of a low cost air purifier for killing harmful airborne microorganisms using a combination of a strong multi-directional electric-field and an ultra violet light

In this work we have designed and developed a low cost and simple instrument to purify air in an enclosure. The device sucks up the air in the enclosed area, kills the microorganisms and let clean air flow out. A combination of an ultra violet light and an electric field are used to kill the microorganisms in air. Three electric field chambers (radial, parallel, perpendicular) are used to clean air more effectively. Stainless steel meshes were used to increase the density of the electric fields. The outer covers were made with plastic and wood. The instrument was tested against an evaporated bacterial solution (Staphylococcus aureus) by letting it flow through the instrument and measuring the bacterial concentration of the output air. The results showed the instrument is extremely effective even when tested against high bacterial concentrations. The instrument is extremely useful to clean air in closed rooms such as in hospitals, schools, etc. and prevent the spread of airborne diseases

Photosynthetic Phenomics of Field- and Greenhouse-Grown Amaranths vs. Sensory and Species Delimits

Consumers hesitate to purchase field-grown shoot-tops of amaranths in Sri Lanka, citing the low-cleanliness making growers focus on greenhouse farming. However, the photosynthetic and growth variations in relation to the organoleptic preference of the greenhouse-grown amaranths in comparison to field-grown counterparts have not been studied. Also, the species delimits of the amaranths in Sri Lanka have not been identified, limiting our ability to interpret species-specific production characteristics. Thus, we assessed the common types of amaranths under greenhouse and field conditions. The photosynthesis was measured using a MultispeQ device of the PhotosynQ phenomic platform, which records chlorophyll fluorescence-based parameters. The shoot-tops were harvested and prepared as dishes according to the typical recipe for amaranths in Sri Lanka. The dishes were subjected to an organoleptic assessment for the parameters color, aroma, bitterness, texture, and overall taste. The differences in plant and the shoot-top biomass were also assessed. The markers atpB-rbcL, matk-trnT, and ITS were used to define the species delimits. The field-grown and greenhouse-grown amaranths exhibited species/cultivar-specific photosynthetic variations. The texture and overall taste of the dishes were different among greenhouse and field-grown material. The tasters preferred the texture and the overall taste of the greenhouse-grown shoot-tops. The greenhouse-grown plants also yielded higher shoot-top harvests compared to field-grown counterparts. Out of the tested markers, ITS defines the delimits of amaranth species. The higher organoleptic preference, the appreciable yield levels, unique photosynthetic patterns of the greenhouse-grown amaranths, and species definitions provide the much-needed platform for clean shoot-top production guaranteeing the highest end-user trust

Correction: The phylogenetic analysis of VP1 genomic region in foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype O isolates in Sri Lanka reveals the existence of 'Srl-97', a newly named endemic lineage.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194077.]

The UPGMA dendrogram showing the nucleotide divergences (ND) among FMDV ME-SA isolates in Sri Lanka.

<p>The X-axis shows the percentage nucleotide divergence (% ND). The colored boxes indicate different lineages. The lineages showed here tally with the clades in Bayesian MCC tree (Fig 2). The WRLFMD previously labeled Srl-97 as 'unnamed'.</p

The phylogenetic relationships among the FMDV O/ME-SA strains represented as an unrooted Bayesian maximum clade credibility tree.

<p>Srl-97—previously referred to as ‘unnamed’ by WRLFMD.</p