URBAN RECREATIONAL WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT

A waterfront development is a worldwide well-established phenomenon, and Sri Lanka has recently been involved in waterfront development projects, notably recreational waterfront development projects. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to evaluate the sustainability of urban recreational waterfront development projects in the Colombo metropolitan area. The qualitative research methodology is used, and primary data is gathered through observations and interviews. The structured interviews were conducted using the judgmental sampling technique with nine experts involved in Urban Recreational Water front Development projects in Sri Lanka. The content analysis approach was used to analyze qualitative data. The study presented six environmental aspects, three economic aspects, and seven social features that contribute to the long-term viability of urban recreational waterfront development projects in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the study addresses a vacuum in the literature by outlining the social, economic, and environmental factors specific to urban recreational waterfront development projects in Sri Lanka for which there are no prior evidences. Keywords: Urban Recreation, Waterfront Developmen

The role of Social Capital in Education Literature: A Critical Synthesis

This critical synthesis incorporates both theoretical and empirical literature on social capital. A primary role of social capital is to enable a child to gain access to human, cultural, and economic capital, as well as to school resources and support. The focus of the review is on educational literature that studies social capital and educational equity. After outlining the approach, next, the study undertakes a critical review of the literature by first examining emphatical literature, trends in conceptualization, theoretical base, method and then assessing empirical support for claims that social capital is positively linked to education equity. Finally, discuss gaps in the conceptualization, measurement, and analysis of social cultural, economic and human capital in educational literature. Keywords: educational equity, literature reviews, social, economic, cultural and human capita

Sustainable Housing for Middle-Income Society in Sri Lanka

Housing is a fundamental human necessity and affects how society interacts with the environment. In the modern era, housing expansions all over the world have significantly increased the number of economic, social, and environmental issues. Making housing constructions in places that are quickly urbanizing more sustainable is a top objective for government agencies, business experts, and research organizations. Managing economic, environmental, and social sustainability factors is referred to as sustainable housing. Major natural resources used in the construction of housing include land, energy, water, and building materials. Minor natural resources used in the process include waste production and air and water pollution. In the community's fight for affordable housing, educated middle-income inhabitants are predicted to be the most susceptible group given expected living standards and monthly income-generating levels. The goals are to explain how the framework for evaluating laws was developed and proven to be valid in order to achieve sustainability in middle-income housing. In order to offer the essential background for developing an interim assessment framework for affordable and sustainable middle-income housing, the research begins by analyzing the current local assessment frameworks and regulations. To evaluate the interim assessment framework, a semi-structured questionnaire survey of business professionals and other stakeholders will serve as the foundation for the secondary study. This intermediate evaluation framework will receive the necessary fine-tuning and industry feedback through discussion and opinions. The interim framework must be transformed into a robust and progressive regulatory structure that enables future success in SH for the majority of middle-class citizens in the nation. The results will next be evaluated in light of Sri Lanka's existing regulatory framework for sustainable middle-income housing. © 2022 The Authors. Published by Department of Estate Management and Valuation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura   Keywords: Sustainable Housing, Middle-income Society, Housing Crisi

THE ROLE OF ELEPHANT (Elephas maxim us) AS A SEED DISPERSAL AGENT

The Sri Lankan elephant can be classified as a generalist herbivore as it feeds on alarge number of plant species. Although, leaves and bark makeup bulk of theplant matter consumed by elephants, fruits are also eaten by elephants whenavailable. Therefore, they may be playa role in seed dispersal of such plantspecies. Aim of this investigation was to ascertain the role of elephants as a seeddispersal agent.This investigation was conducted from January 1998 to December 1999 in theNorth Western region of Sri Lanka. A total of 500 dung samples were collectedfrom different areas within the region. Dung boli were separated by hand andseeds present were identified by comparing with a reference seed collection. Thenumber of seeds present were also recorded. Part of the seeds were removed fromdung and their germination potential was determined while the remaining seedswere left in the dung. These dung piles were monitored and the number of seedsgerminated were recorded.Analysis of dung revealed 36 species of wild plants and 17 species of cultivatedplants. Of the Wild plants most commonly found plant species were Mimosapudica, Panicum maximum and Tamarindus indica. Among the cultivatedvarieties, Eleusine coracana, cucurbita maxima, Cucumis melo and Oryza sativawere commonest species observed. The seeds found in the dung boli germinatedwell after removal. However, when left in dung the germination potential wasvery low. This indicates that elephants do not playa key role in seed dispersal ofwild plants.

BREEDING BIRDS AT KUMANA VILLU OF YALA EAST NATIONAL PARK: STATUS AFTER 22 YEARS

Kumana villu is one of the oldest known breeding sites for many waterbirdspecies that breeds colonially. The canopy of mangrove trees located insidethe villu provides nesting facilities for the large water birds such as Paintedstorks, Spoonbills, Black headed Ibises, egrets, cormorants and globallythreatened Spot billed Pelicans. A detailed study of this breeding colony wasdone in 1983 By Kotagama. After 22 years, the breeding bird survey wasreinitiated in July 2005.First, a roosting count was done to estimate the population size of breedingbirds in the Kumana villu. The counts were conducted from 3 pre-identifiedlocations between 1700 to 1900h in the 2nd week of July. Three mangrovevegetation patches of 5000m2 were chosen for a detailed nest count. In eachpatch, the number of trees used for nesting was recorded. Then for each tree,number of nests, the species to whom the nests belonged, the height of eachnest and the current status of nesting were recorded.Many species of birds use this villu for roosting while Painted Storks showedthe highest population density (728). Among other water birds, spot billedpelicans (422), spoonbills (57), cormorants (187), egrets (184), Black headedIbises (74) and darters (41) are the most common taxa. In 1983,228 paintedstorks, 565 pelicans, 125 ibises and 609 egrets were recorded. Five flightpaths of birds that come to roost were identified in 1983. However, only 3flight paths were observed during this survey.A total of 293 nests were recorded that belonged to five species namelypurple herons, little cormorants, painted storks, spot billed pelicans andspoonbills. Most common nesting species in this period was painted stork and97.6% of their nests were still active. In May 1983, total of 701 nestsbelonged to seven species were recorded and most nests were of paintedstorks (529). In 1983, nests of four additional species, grey herons, ibises,egrets and night herons were recorded while purple herons and cormorantswere not recorded to be nesting.The mangrove vegetation has changed from a diverse habitat to a singlespecies (S. caseolaris) stand during last 22 years. Reduction of mangrovearea was also observed. Further, invasion of the common weed species Typhaangustifolia is another major change that has taken place during this period.Isolated mangrove trees and trees that are located beyond the perimeter of thevillu are not selected by birds for nesting. Low density of vegetation insidethe villu is a limiting factor for breeding birds. Most remaining trees in thevillu are not in good condition and therefore a replanting programme isrecommended to ensure continuous breeding of this colony.

Current distribution and abundance of slender lorises (Loris tardigradus and L. Iydekkerianus) in Sri Lanka

Two species of slender lorises are currently recognized in Sri Lanka. They are Sri Lanka red slenderloris (Loris tardigradusj and Grey slender loris (L. lydekkerianus i, with four currently recognizedsub-species; viz. Western red slender loris (L. t. tardigradus), Montane slender loris (L. t.nycticeboidesi, Northern grey slender loris (L. 1.nordicusi, and Highland slender loris (L. 1.grandis).The objective of this survey was to map the distribution and estimate the abundance of lorises in SriLanka. The study was initiated in 2002 and continues to date. Thus far forty-five sites across all ofthe ecological zones have been surveyed covering approximately 400 krn-. In six of these sites, loriseswere not recorded. Of the other 39 sites, 223 sightings of slender loris (L. t. tardigradus (n = 86), L.t. nycticeboides (n = 3), L. 1. nordicus (n = 122), and L. l. grandis (n = 12). Abundance estimates, 'base on sightings of animals krn', were: L. t. tardigradus (0.5-8), L. t. nycticeboides (0.03), L. I.nordicus (0.7-13). and L. 1. grandis (0.3-4) were recorded. The abundance of lorises varied indifferent habitat types with the highest abundance oflorises occurring in the dry zone monsoon forests.The least abundance of lorises was recorded in the cloud forest

An investigation of the effectiveness of locally available materials as oil spill sorbents for Sri Lanka

The effectiveness of seven locally avai lable natural organ ic materials as oi I spi II sorbents was tested.The study specifically focused on determining, the behaviour of loose material on a layer of oil, oilsorption capacity of different types of materials and the viability of using them under actual fieldconditions. The seven natural organic materials were chosen based on their availability and cost. Theamount of oi I sorption by each was determined by the gravimetric method and the rate of sorption wasdetermined. A commercially available synthetic oil sorbent, polyurethane. was used as the positivecontrol. Out of the seven natural organic materials tested, human hair was found to be the mosteffective sorbent. Compared to the positive control, Polyurethane, there was no significant differencewith respect to the oil sorption capacity of human hair. Therefore, all the subsequent experimentswere carried out using human hair only. As hair has a tendency to sink in sea water after oil sorption,hair was compacted in to pillows to facilitate the recovery after sorption. First, the affect of the pillowthickness on the oil sorption capacity was tested. Oil sorption capacity increased significantly as thethickness of the pillow increased and a thickness of Iern was found to yield the most efficient sorption.Then sorption capacity of oil by pillows was compared on a sea water oil interphase. only on oil and oilon sand. No significant difference was detected in the oil sorption capacity of hair filled pillows underthese three conditions. Finally, a field trial was conducted where pillows were developed up to the sizeof commercially avai lable synthetic pi llows and placed on an artificially created oil spi II and tested theoil sorption capacity under actual field conditions. A total offour pillows were used for the field trialand the pillows were removed at different time intervals after placing it on the artificial oil slick. Theresults of th is experiment were not conclusive as amount of oi I absorbed by all four pi llows did notreach the expected value calculated based on results obtained during laboratory experiments. due toseveral shortcomings in the experimental design. The results of this study clearly demonstrate thathuman hair can be used as an effective oil sorption material. As waste human hair is cheap andreadily available, it is a much more viable alternative to expensive synthetic organic material availablein the market

A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF ARTHROPOD DIVERSITY IN THE CANOPY OF Campnosperma zeyanica Thw, AT PEAK WILDERNESS SANCTUARY

In recent times, canopy studies have revealed a wealth of information about thearthropod diversity that can be seen in the forest canopy. For instance, Stork(1997) sampled 19 trees of Luehea seemannii, a tree found in semi-evergreenforests of Brasil, which yielded 955 species of beetles. Another canopy studydone in venezuela yielded 972 species of beetles from six rain forest trees (Davieset al., 1997). However, in Sri Lanka, no studies have been done so far regardingthe canopy arthropods.This study was done as a pilot project to assess the canopy arthropod diversity inSri Lanka. The study was conducted in the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary fromMarch to May 1999. A single tree of the common canopy species Campnospermazeylanica (Anacardiaceae), was selected and the knockdown pesticide Cyfluthrin,was applied to the canopy using 'Swin Fod SN50' fogger. Arthropods falling fromthe tree were collected on to plastic sheets suspended 1m above the ground leveland preserved in 70% alcohol. Arthropods were assigned to taxonomic orders andapproximate morphospecies.A total of 228 individuals belonging to 18 orders were collected. Theseindividuals were separated into 111 morphospecies. Of the morphospeciesrecorded, the highest number belongs to order Diptera (33) followed by orderHymenoptera (22), order Araneida (14), and order Coleoptera (12). Rest of theorders were represented by 5 or less morphospecies. These results are based on asingle sample collected in March 1999. Yet a large number of species wererecorded indicating that the canopy arthropod diversity in Sri Lanka is likely to bevery high. Therefore, further investigations should be carried out to assess theactual diversity that exist in the forest canopy of Sri Lanka.

Decreasing reservoir water levels improve habitat quality for Asian elephants

Population health and habitat quality are intimately related and seasonal changes in habitat quality are likely to be reflected in the body condition of animals. We studied seasonal variation of body condition in free ranging Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka based on visual scoring of individually identified elephants. We assessed the body condition of 218 adult females and 329 adult males from January 2008 to November 2012 and examined its relation to monthly rainfall and water level of the Udawalawe reservoir. Contrary to expectations, body condition of elephants was higher in the dry season, when primary productivity decreases due to lack of rainfall. However, the body condition showed both a seasonal and inter-annual negative co-relation with reservoir water level. A possible explanation for improved body condition in the dry season is the greater availability of fresh grass due to the emergence of reservoir bed grasslands with the drawdown of water. Our results underscore the importance of water management of large irrigation reservoirs in elephant conservation in Sri Lanka

Short term effects on liver and renal functions following chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer patients in oncology clinic, university hospital Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka

Background: Breast cancer tops the global cancer incidence rates, having the highest rate of death among women. The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of standard chemotherapy treatment dose adjusted for the Sri Lankan population, on hepatic and kidney function of breast cancer patients. Methods: The study conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective and prospective analysis of 75 breast cancer patients who received doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and paclitaxel chemotherapy regimen with normal liver and renal function at baseline at UHKDU oncology clinic. The study population had a mean age and BMI of 54.04±11.33 years and 26.7±3.89, respectively. Prior to starting the 16-cycle chemotherapy treatment, mean serum SGOT, SGPT, Creatinine, and eGFR values were 27.57 U/l, 31.32 U/l, 0.71 mg/dl, and 99.07 ml/minute/1.73 m2 respectively. Results: During the treatment, there was a statistically significant increase in the mean values of SGOT and SGPT (p<0.05), whereas there was no significant variation in the mean values of creatinine and eGFR (p>0.05) compared to the baseline results. The study identified a significant positive correlation in SGOT (r=0.793) and SGPT (r=0.872) values, while there was a noteworthy negative correlation (r=-0.757) between eGFR and chemotherapy cycle. Furthermore, there was a positive significant correlation between serum creatinine levels and chemotherapy cycle (r=0.579). Conclusions: The dosed adjusted chemotherapy regimen had a significant impact on hepatic function but had no statistically significant impact on renal function among the study population. Further research is recommended to evaluate the long-term effects of standard chemotherapy treatment on liver and kidney functions