Background: Sri Lanka became a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in September 2003 and ratified in November 2003. Aiming to reduce tobacco burden in Sri Lanka, National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act [NATA] No. 27 was authorized in 2006. The objective of this study was to assess the behavioral changes related to tobacco use among adolescents and young adults fol...

H S Kiran Kumar1, Sudhakara Bhat2, Sanjay Gouda Patil3, Sankar Madhavan4, Rahul Kulkarni5 1Assistant Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Sri Hasanamba Dental College and Hospital, Hassan, Karnataka, India, 2Professor and Head, Department of Prosthodontics, Sri Hasanamba Dental College and Hospital, Hassan, Karnataka, India, 3Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Sri Hasanamba Dental Col...

Numerous studies have shown growing information indicating the contribution of food to the dietary exposure of arsenic (As) through consumption of different food items in many different regions over the world. However, few review papers with regard to As in Sri Lankan foods are available in databases. Thus, a critical review and assessment of a number of local studies on total As concentrations...

BACKGROUND Internet-based media coverage to explore the extent of awareness of a disease and perceived severity of an outbreak at a national level can be used for early outbreak detection. Dengue has emerged as a major public health problem in Sri Lanka since 2009. OBJECTIVE To compare Internet references to dengue in Sri Lana with references to other diseases (malaria and influenza) in Sri L...

BACKGROUND Respiratory insufficiency in COPD may present as hypoxic and/or hypercapnic respiratory failure treated with long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) and/or noninvasive ventilation (NIV) with LTOT. The Severe Respiratory Insufficiency Questionnaire (SRI) is a tool for the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in subjects receiving NIV. However, it remains unclear whether the SR...

Organisms utilize light as energy sources and as signals. Rhodopsins, which have seven transmembrane α-helices with retinal covalently linked to a conserved Lys residue, are found in various organisms as distant in evolution as bacteria, archaea, and eukarya. One of the most notable properties of rhodopsin molecules is the large variation in their absorption spectrum. Sensory rhodopsin I (SRI) ...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in an agricultural ecosystem are necessary for proper management of beneficial symbiosis. Here we explored how the patterns of the AMF community in rice roots were affected by rice cultivation systems (the system of rice intensification [SRI] and the conventional rice cultivation system [CS]), and by compost application during growth stages. Rice plants harves...

The snake bites are in the Sri Lankan population at risk; however, there should be targeted programs to educate people on these aspects. Studying the awareness and perceptions related to such issues of risk groups is important in designing community based interventional programs on snakebite towards combating the global burden of snakebite. Such information is lacking on the farming community o...

Pod shattering resistance index (SRI) is a key factor affecting the mechanical harvesting of rapeseed. Research on the differences in pod shattering resistance levels of various rapeseed varieties can provide a theoretical basis for varietal breeding and application in mechanical harvesting. The indicators on pod shattering resistance including pod morphology and wall components were evaluated ...

Liver disease in Sri Lanka is mainly due to alcoholic liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In contrast to other South Asian countries, the prevalence of hepatitis B and C is low in Sri Lanka and prevalence of hepatitis A is intermediate. The few reported cases of hepatitis E in Sri Lanka are mainly in people who have traveled to neighboring South Asian countries. Wilson's disease...