FRP strengthening of concrete structures – design and practical emphasis in Sri Lanka

FRP Strengthening has been developed worldwide as a mean of strengthening and retrofitting concrete structures throughout past few decades. The ever increasing loads on structures and change of use demands higher load carrying capacities. The use of FRP strengthening methods has enabled the use of existing structures thus saving millions, valuable material and valuable time will otherwise be spending on demolition and reconstruction. However lack of design guidance has been a critical issue in this area. The authors have carried-out a design and implementation of FRP strengthening of an existing two storey building to accommodate two more floors and a light weight roof. This paper discusses the design method, testing carried out and practical implications in FRP strengthening of concrete columns

A SURVEY OF THE MARKET AVAILABILITY AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MEDICINAL PLANTS AND CANE

Forests provide numerous benefits other than timber and fuelwood and these arecalled non-wood forest products. They playa vital role especially in the ruraleconomy and provide benefits of considerable importance at the national level.Despite an escalating demand, these non wood forest products do not entermarkets directly due to the absence of proper marketing channels. Thisdiscourage primary collectors, do not warrant for sustainable collection of theproduce in the wild and the possible planting of the resources.This study was conducted to assess the current market situation for non-woodforest products with special reference to medicinal plants and cane with a view tomake recommendations for the improvement of the marketing situation in thisregard.Data were collected from plant collectors, small scale regional buyers andwholesale dealers by way of questionnaires and interviews. To collectinformation on medicinal plants 4 areas where medicinal plants are very muchabundant were selected, viz. Ritigala (Anuradhapura District), Rajawakaa·(Ratnapura District), Kanneliya (Galle District) and Bibile (Moneragala District).With regard to Cane, the most abundant areas; Manampitiya (PolonnaruwaDistrict) and BaduraJiya (Kalutara District) were selected. Further, data were alsocollected from wholesale dealers of medicinal plants at Gabo's Lane andayurvedic product manufacturers. With regard to cane, product manufacturers atRadawadunna were interviewed. Secondary data were collected from institutions.The results revealed that both medicinal plants and cane are being collected in aunsustainable manner. As the existing marketing situation is disorganised, themiddle man is benefited most while the collectors do not reap much benefit fortheir labour. Majority of the crude medicinal plant materials are still importedwhile there is very low value addition to the material that is exported. Most of theraw cane too is imported. The cane available in the country do not fetch a gooddemand as it is considered as low quality. Most of the people engaged in thesebusinesses do not use the facilities offered by the banks very much possiblythrough unawareness.The following recommendations emanated from the study to improve themarketing situation with regard to the above industries in the country;introduction of sustainable methods of collection, planting of the produce incountry as large medium scale plantations, improving the quality of products andvalue addition and making the people more aware for the facilities provided byfinancial organizations to improve the industries.

Fate of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Coated onto Macronutrient Fertilizers in an Alkaline Calcareous Soil

Citation: Milani, N., Hettiarachchi, G. M., Kirby, J. K., Beak, D. G., Stacey, S. P., & McLaughlin, M. J. (2015). Fate of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Coated onto Macronutrient Fertilizers in an Alkaline Calcareous Soil. Plos One, 10(5), 16. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0126275Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles may provide a more soluble and plant available source of Zn in Zn fertilizers due to their greater reactivity compared to equivalent micron-or millimetresized (bulk) particles. However, the effect of soil on solubility, spatial distribution and speciation of ZnO nanoparticles has not yet been investigated. In this study, we examined the diffusion and solid phase speciation of Zn in an alkaline calcareous soil following application of nanoparticulate and bulk ZnO coated fertilizer products (monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and urea) using laboratory-based x-ray techniques and synchrotron-based mu-x-ray fluorescence (mu-XRF) mapping and absorption fine structure spectroscopy (mu-XAFS). Mapping of the soil-fertilizer reaction zones revealed that most of the applied Zn for all treatments remained on the coated fertilizer granule or close to the point of application after five weeks of incubation in soil. Zinc precipitated mainly as scholzite (CaZn2(PO4)(2)center dot 2H(2)O) and zinc ammonium phosphate (Zn(NH4)PO4) species at the surface of MAP granules. These reactions reduced dissolution and diffusion of Zn from the MAP granules. Although Zn remained as zincite (ZnO) at the surface of urea granules, limited diffusion of Zn from ZnO-coated urea granules was also observed for both bulk and nanoparticulate ZnO treatments. This might be due to either the high pH of urea granules, which reduced solubility of Zn, or aggregation (due to high ionic strength) of released ZnO nanoparticles around the granule/point of application. The relative proportion of Zn(OH)(2) and ZnCO3 species increased for all Zn treatments with increasing distance from coated MAP and urea granules in the calcareous soil. When coated on macronutrient fertilizers, Zn from ZnO nanoparticles (without surface modifiers) was not more mobile or diffusible compared to bulk forms of ZnO. The results also suggest that risk associated with the presence of ZnO NPs in calcareous soils would be the same as bulk sources of ZnO

Santalum album L. (Indian sandalwood) oil content variation of Welimada region, Sri Lanka

Indian sandalwood (Santalum album) has a cultural and economic attraction mainly because of its fragrant oil, known as Santalol, produced in the heartwood. Due to its woody, sweet aroma and fixative properties, Santalol is widely employed in the fragrance industry; in highly priced perfumes and for incenses. The increasing demand and price therefore, have produced a very high market interest.Welimada-Badulla region of Sri Lanka is accepted as the best geographical location for best growth of sandalwood trees with higher oil yields. However, according to the literature, sandalwood oil quantity varies within the same area even for the same size of trees. The present study was therefore initiated to identify the oil quantity variation in Welimada region due to diameter at breast height (dbh) and height of the tree, as well as the percentage of heartwood available.Samples from four different locations of Welimada area were collected for the present study. Core samples were extracted from the selected trees. Oil from each tree was extracted by hydro- distillation method. The dbh, height and the sapwood heartwood percentages were measured for the sample trees. The variations of oil content were then tested with dbh, height and heartwood percentage. Twenty three trees were used for the present study and the oil content of them varied from 0.05% to 4.28%. According to the results, the oil quantity did not significantly vary with diameter at breast height and percentage of heartwood but showed a negative correlation with height. Therefore, it can be concluded that sandalwood oil quantity does not vary with dbh and heartwood percentage. However more samples need to be analyzed to test the relationship between oil content and height of sandalwood trees.

Prior exposure of graphic editing, video editing and animation software among new medical entrants at Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya

Introduction: The use of graphic related educational materials is common in modern medicaleducation.Objectives: This study assesses the familiarity of graphic editing software (GES), video editingsoftware (VES) and animation software (AS) among new medical entrants.Methods: Moodle based self-administered questionnaire was given to new medical students who joinedthe Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya in 2017.Results: There were 155 students in the batch where 66 (43%) were males. Thirty-nine percent (n=60)had used GES before entering to the faculty, among them 20% used GES at least once a month and55% reported to have at least an average skill level. Twenty-one percent (n=32) had used VES, amongthem 20% used it at least once and 24 % reported to have at least an average skill level. Ten percent(n=15) had used AS, among them 13% used it at least once and 11% reported to have at least an averageskill level. Students had used GES more than VES (P<0.01) and AS (P<0.01), and VES more than AS(P=0.01) before entering to the faculty.Conclusions: The majority of students had not used GES, VES and AS before entering to the facultyand it would be beneficial to teach this software to medical students. Self-assessment of skill level canunderestimate or overestimate the actual skill level of the student and can be identified as a limitationof the study

Review on Photomicrography based Full Blood Count (FBC) Testing and Recent Advancements

With advancements in related sub-fields, research on photomicrography in life science is emerging and this is a review on its application towards human full blood count testing which is a primary test in medical practices. For a prolonged period of time, analysis of blood samples is the basis for bio medical observations of living creatures. Cell size, shape, constituents, count, ratios are few of the features identified using DIP based analysis and these features provide an overview of the state of human body which is important in identifying present medical conditions and indicating possible future complications. In addition, functionality of the immune system is observed using results of blood tests. In FBC tests, identification of different blood cell types and counting the number of cells of each type is required to obtain results. Literature discuss various techniques and methods and this article presents an insightful review on human blood cell morphology, photomicrography, digital image processing of photomicrographs, feature extraction and classification, and recent advances. Integration of emerging technologies such as microfluidics, micro-electromechanical systems, and artificial intelligence based image processing algorithms and classifiers with cell sensing have enabled exploration of novel research directions in blood testing applications.

Generating swarm solution classes using the Hamiltonian Method of swarm design

We utilize a swarm design methodology that enables us to develop classes of swarm solutions to specific specifications. The method utilizes metrics devised to evaluate the swarm’s progress – the global variables – along with the set of available technologies in order to answer varied questions surrounding a swarm design for the task. These questions include the question of whether or not a swarm is necessary for a given task. The Jacobian matrix, here identified as the technology matrix, is created from the global variables. This matrix may be interpreted in a way that allows the identification of classes of technologies required to complete the task. This approach allows us to create a class of solutions that are all suitable for accomplishing the task. We demonstrate this capability for accumulation swarms, generating several configurations that can be applied to complete the task. If the technology required to complete the task either cannot be implemented on a single agent or is unavailable, it may be possible to utilize a swarm to generate the capability in a distributed way. We demonstrate this using a gradient-based search task in which a minimal swarm is designed along with two additional swarms, all of which extend the agents’ capabilities and successfully accomplish the task

Cancer and thrombosis: Managing the risks and approaches to thromboprophylaxis

Patients with cancer are at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) compared with patients without cancer. This results from both the prothrombotic effects of the cancer itself and iatrogenic factors, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, indwelling central venous devices and surgery, that further increase the risk of VTE. Although cancer-associated thrombosis remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality, it is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. However, evidence is accumulating to support the use of low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) in the secondary prevention of VTE in patients with cancer. Not only have LMWHs been shown to be at least as effective as coumarin derivatives in this setting, but they have a lower incidence of complications, including bleeding, and are not associated with the practical problems of warfarin therapy. Furthermore, a growing number of studies indicate that LMWHs may improve survival among patients with cancer due to a possible antitumor effect. Current evidence suggests that LMWHs should increasingly be considered for the long-term management of VTE in patients with cancer

Sri Lankan Finger Millet (Elucine coracana) Variety ‘Raavana’ as Potential Probiotic Source

This study aims to isolate and identify probiotic potential lactic acid bacteria from fermented Sri Lankan finger millet variety "Raavana" and to investigate the probiotic characteristics, in vitro safety and efficacy. A bacterial isolate with typical lactic acid bacterial phenotypic and biochemical characteristics was isolated and identified. Partial sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of the Sri Lankan strain was deposited in the NCBI gene bank as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis FM_19LAB and the accession number MF480428 was obtained. It did not demonstrate hemolysis, DNase, gelatine hydrolysis activity as well as did not acquire complete resistance to any of the antibiotics tested hence indicating the safety. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis FM_19LAB had the capacity to tolerate different concentrations of acid, bile, phenol, salt, simulated gastric juices and range of temperatures. Further it exhibited anti-microbial, anticancer and anti-oxidant activities. Further, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis FM_19LAB assimilated cholesterol and produced lactic acid during the fermentation