6507 research outputs found
Sort by
Insecticidal activity of selected herbal plant extracts against adult Coccidohystrix insolita
Get PDFCoccidohystrix insolita, a common plant pest, poses economic threats to agriculture and
horticulture, often requiring the use of synthetic insecticides for control. To address
environmental and health concerns, this research explored natural alternatives in the
form of methanolic leaf extracts from five plants: Vitex negundo, Cymbopogon citratus,
Cassia auriculata, Justicia adhatoda, and Ricinus communis. The mortality test was
conducted under laboratory conditions, using two concentrations (1% and 3%) over a
period of 3 days, with four replications. The results were, analyzed using Minitab
Statistical Software Package and, revealed that Cymbopogon citratus exhibited the
highest insecticidal activity, with a rating of 85.00±5.65 after 3 days at a 3%
concentration, while Cassia auriculata displayed the lowest activity, scoring
10.00±4.74 after 3 days at a 1% concentration among the plant extracts. The crude
extract of Cymbopogon citratus was fractionated through column chromatography
(length =110 cm, diameter = 8.0 cm), using silica gel (400 g, Merck Kieselgel 60,230
430 mesh ASTM). A solvent system with increasing polarity was employed, starting
with hexane and progressing through ethyl acetate, ultimately reaching methanol with
distilled water via ethyl acetate with methanol. This resulted in 9 distinct fractions,
further isolated through thin-layer chromatography. Stock solutions of each fraction
were prepared at a 1000 ppm concentration in methanol for insecticidal activity.
Contact bioassay was conducted, and fraction F4 displayed the highest insecticidal
activity against Coccidohystrix insolita
Employer branding and attracting new talents: an explorative study on novel strategies used by organizations in Sri Lanka
Get PDFThis study reveals employer branding strategies adopted by
Sri Lankan organizations to attract new talents in new incoming generations
to the world of work. This research aims to investigate the human resource
managers and practitioners for understanding their view of the employer
branding to identify whether an Employer Branding strategy is proactively
making a difference and forecasting the new generation of millennial talents
looking at this world in line differently. Using qualitative research
methodology, Researcher has conducted in-depth, in-person interviews
with Human resource managers and practitioners representing diverse
industries. The study's findings were derived from the thematic analysis and
indicated that most of the participants were adequately aware of what
Employer branding is and that they tend to boost employer branding
strategies in several ways. The participants also commonly evidence
derived from the in-depth interviews, this research concludes the key
employer branding strategies from real country HR practitioners, such as;
Investing in social listening tools, Candidate relationship management,
Company-owned career page, Employee feedback, Reassessing and
planning different systems, Diverse inclusion of talents, Shared company
core values, EB teams, Employees are the employer branding
ambassadors, Deskless workforce engagement and flexible work
schedules as brand-boosting strategies
Perceived changes in family relations life during covid-19 period: a qualitative study based on Thenmaradchi Divisional Secretariat in Jaffna District
Get PDFSri Lanka has been seriously affected by COVID-19, which has
threatened human lives and livelihoods across the globe. As a South Asian country,
Sri Lanka tends to hold a higher position of sociability and the major role of family
relations life in the social structure. The aim of the present study is to explore the
perceived negative and positive changes in family relations at Thenmaradchi
Divisional Secretariat in Jaffna district. The analysis is based on a qualitative study. The
primary data was mainly collected through 10 case study methods and 1 key informant
interview. This study utilized secondary data too, such as available literature and
information received from websites. Research ethics were strictly followed by the
researchers throughout the research. This study analyzes the perceived changes in
family relations life on three areas during the COVID-19 period: some structural
factors in determining perceived changes in family relations life during the COVID-19
period, perceived negative changes in family relationships inside and outside the
home at the COVID-19 period and perceived positive changes in family relationships
inside and outside the home at the COVID-19 period. The results reveal that
Hinduism is the predominant religion of the majority of the respondents and they
belong to the age 30 and over. The majority of the women have completed their secondary
educational qualifications. Wage labour was the primary livelihood of families and the
majority of the respondents live under poverty. Results highlight that family cycle;
gender role and family size were main structural factors. Results also indicate that
arguments, intolerance, feeling caged, missing personal spaces, changes in daily
routine, standing one another less and colder and more distant were the significant
perceived negative changes in family relations life. Further, this study reveals that,
better communication, spending more time together, feeling more emotionally close,
engaging in joint activities, flexibility in managing family life, and discovering new
values could be identified as perceived positive changes in family relations. In
conclusion, an effective coping mechanism should be used to mitigate negative
situations and uplift positive family changes in stressful pandemic situations
Origin and mineralogy of gem and rare earth element-bearing gravels in eheliyagoda, Sri Lanka
Get PDFThe most well-known Eheliyagoda alluvial gem deposits in Rathnapura District lies on
the Highland Complex (HC) rocks of Sri Lanka. It has been discovered that Sri Lanka's
gem-bearing gravels are incredibly rich in valuable gem quality minerals as well as
minerals that are rich in Rare Earth Elements (REE). Though Eheliyagoda is famous for
its high quality gems, the origin and the base mineralogy of Eheliyagoda gem fields
have not yet been reported comprehensively. Hence, present study investigated the
possible mineralogy of 20 different gem mining sites (paddy lands, forests, cultivated
lands and river banks) located in Eheliyagoda, with a specific focus on the REE
concentrations present in the gem-bearing gravel. Inductive coupled plasma mass
spectroscopic (ICP-MS) analysis was carried out on the samples with the purpose of
identifying the quality and quantity of REE while fourier transform infrared
spectroscopic (FTIR) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were performed to
determine the auxiliary minerals. The gravels and the sandy sediments of the gem
bearing layers were angular to sub angular in shape indicating its less reworked nature
contrast to the well-known alluvial characteristics in most of the other gem fields in Sri
Lanka. The average Total REE concentrations for the studied samples is 462 (Min:55
Max: 1442) ppm with about 75 % of Light REE (LREE) content. Results indicate that
the study area is rich in LREE concentrations, which is comparable to the published
data on other gem mining regions of Sri Lanka. The Pearson correlation between Heavy
REE (HREE) shows strong positive correlations between each other and further they
show a strong positive correlation with arsenic (average 10 ppm) indicating its regional
metamorphic origin where the arsenic concentrations are comparable. High to moderate
correlation is observed between LREE and HREE of the samples which might be
controlled by the minerals such as garnets. Mineralogical analyses confirm the presence
of gem or gem associated targeted minerals such as ilmenite, kyanite, zircon,
sillimanite, corundum, xenotime and monazite which might have given the origin for
the REE contents. Hence, the study concludes that the origin for the Eheliyagoda gem
fields are the provincial rocks, specifically garnet-sillimanite-biotite gneisses and
charrnokitic gneisses which directs the in-situ weathering products
Determination of the best performing Sri Lankan maize accessions based on the photosynthetic, biomass and yield traits
Get PDFMaize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most widely cultivated
cereal crops throughout the world and is extensively
grown in Sri Lanka. Information on the photosynthetic,
biomass and grain yield of local maize accessions are
useful for plant breeding programs. However, due to the
scarcity of such information, this study aimed to
investigate the potentials of maize accessions to select the
best performers utilizing the rank summation and
selection index criteria. As the first step, the seeds from
14 maize accessions along with two varieties viz; Pacific999 and Bhadra (control) were established in the field.
The leaf-level photosynthetic and chlorophyll
fluorescence traits were analyzed, while biomass and
yield traits were obtained at harvest, by employing
standard techniques. Our findings revealed that traits
related to growth, photosynthesis, and biomass showed
greater variations among the maize accessions tested. The
number of days taken to 50% flowering (44d-60d),
photosynthetic rates (19.7-30.45 µmol CO2 m−2 s
−1),
transpiration rates (2.45-4.52 mmol H2O m−2 s
−1), water
use efficiency (5.69-8.13 µmol CO2 mmol H2O-1), and
maximum quantum yield (0.68-0.73) among the tested
accessions. Additionally, the variations in biomass (111.0-
459 g/plant) and final cob yield (38-232 g/cob) were also
seen among the maize accessions. According to rank
summation index analysis, the maize accessions SEU2,
SEU16, SEU15, SEU9 and SEU10 were superior in terms of
photosynthetic rates, biomass and yield compared
exhibiting with the lowest RSI values of 71, 100, 101, 103
and 117, respectively, than the cv. Bhadra. Therefore,
future crop development programs can make use of these
five potential maize accessions identified through this
study
Effect of different dairy cattle management practices on raw milk quality in selected veterinary regions in Hambantota district
Get PDFThe dairy industry is currently expanding in Hambantota district. However, milk
producers and customers who collected milk from Hambantota raised concerns
about milk quality. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the effect of
different dairy cattle management practices on raw milk quality. The study was
conducted in the Hambantota district - Southern Province and covered five
veterinarian regions. From convenience sampling method five veterinarian regions
were selected and simple random sampling method was used to identify the
smallholder dairy farms for milk collection. The total number of 450 milk samples
was collected, obtained from 30 small-scale dairy farms operating under three
different farming systems: intensive (n=5), semi-intensive (n=10), and extensive
(n=15). Milk samples were analyzed at the laboratory of Malindu Dairy (PVT)
LTD (MDL) in Agunukolapalassa. One-way ANOVA using Post-hoc Least
Significant Difference (LSD) and Student’s T-test were used to compare milk
quality parameters among farming system and standard value. All the statistical
analyses were performed at significant level 0.05 (P < 0.05). According to the
results, milk KQ and SNF % values are higher than in the extensive systems
compared to intensive and semi-intensive systems. Significantly high lactometer
reading was recorded in extensive farming system. There are no significant
differences between all three farming systems on Fat %, TS %, Lactose %, Protein
%, Water %, Alcohol and COB. Most of the milk samples in this study area were
acceptable good quality level. In all the milk samples, protein, lactose, fat, SNF
and TS levels were significantly (P <0.05) higher than standard value. Further
lactometer reading and Keeping Quality (KQ) were recorded highest value in
extensive farming system than other farming systems and standard value.
According to my findings, the extensive farming system’s milk quality is higher
than the other dairy cattle farming systems in Hambantota selected area. In future,
welfare studies of the farming system have to be considered for the improvement of
milk quality
The impacts of youths' alcohol usages on families: a sociological study based on Gampaha police division
Get PDFAlcoholism is an act of self-forgetfulness. Deterioration of the
alcoholic individual. It is also violent and causes the appearance of various
types of diseases. Based on this, the objectives of this study is to identify the
impact on families due to the increase in youth alcohol consumption. The
method of selecting sampling units is followed in this study in order to achieve
the objective of the study. This study used Purposing Sampling and snowball
sampling have been selected and used as the sample for the research. In this
study, 60 families out of 200 families with alcohol habit under Gampaha Police
Division were selected as the sample and the primary data for the study was
obtained. Qualitative and Quantitative methods have been used in this study.
Based on that, the data for this study was obtained through primary and
secondary data collection methods. In this way, data was collected through
in-depth interviews with twenty families for the first stage collection.
Questionnaires were distributed to forty respondents and data were collected.
Also, Gampaha Divisional Council Report, Gampaha Police Station report
books, research articles and website data were used as secondary sources
for the study. And the research analysis for this review was analyzed through
EXCEL computer software. The main finding of the study is that their school
breaks, social exclusion and job placement are the reasons for increasing the
consumption of alcohol among the youth, and their health factors are also
influential. Therefore, based on such reasons. The purpose of this study is to
focus on various initiatives to protect the youth of the future
Development of functional ice cream by incorporating bael fruit (aegele marmelos) pulp and evaluation of its quality parameters
Get PDFThis study focuses on the production of bael
fruit-formulated ice cream to utilize the benefits of bael
fruit which is rich in medicinal and nutritional
properties. Ice cream was developed under four
treatments; T1 (control), T2, T3, and T4 with varying
percentages of bael fruit pulp 0%, 25%, 50%, and
75%). A comprehensive analysis was conducted which
included proximate analysis (protein, fat, ash, and
moisture), sensory evaluation, and physicochemical
property analysis (pH, hardness, cohesiveness,
springiness and melting rate) of ice cream.
Physicochemical properties were analyzed over 42
days to detectthe storage duration. The results revealed
that the T2 had the best sensory appeal which was even
higher than the control. Protein, fat, and moisture
contents were higher in T1 than the other treatments
while ash content increased with the rate of bael fruit
incorporation. The protein, fat, ash, and moisture
contents (%) of T2 were recorded as 1.99±0.02,
1.69±0.01, 1.19±0.03, and 80.27±0.30 respectively.
The pH, hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, and
melting rate values of freshly produced ice cream with
T2 were 5.53±0.03, 7.86±10.21, 0.25±0.01, 0.63±0.06,
and 1.03±0.03 (mL/min) respectively. This study
reveals that ice cream products with acceptable sensory
and physicochemical attributes can be produced by
incorporating the pulp of bael fruit, which is currently
underutilized in the Sri Lankan contex