Optimal Packetization Interval for VoIP Applications Over IEEE 802.16 Networks

An analysis of the impact of the packetization interval for constant bit rate traffic has been done in the context of IEEE 802.16 MAC layer. Bandwidth used for overheads which include lower layer headers as well as retransmissions at the MAC layer are considered. An optimal packetization interval selection method for delay sensitive applications such as VoIP is proposed. Enhancements to the Unsolicited Grant Service retransmission strategy are proposed to further improve delay and minimize packet loss while making efficient use of the limited bandwidth resource

Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degrading Phyllosphere Fungi

Ambient air contains high amounts of potentially genotoxic and carcinogenic aromatichydrocarbons (AH) that originate from the petroleum related activities and coal refiningprocesses. The potential of phyllosphere organisms to oxidize these compounds into nontoxicforms has been investigated in some recent studies. This study was carried out to investigatethe presence of aromatic hydrocarbon degrading fungi in the phyllosphere of Ixora sp.,Amaranth sp., Hibiscus sp. and Ervatamia sp. which are common on roadsides close to the oilrefinery at Sapugaskanda and in several urban areas having high level of vehicular emission.Their ability to degrade the AHs phenanthrene, naphthalene, xylene and toluene wasinvestigated.Leaf samples of the four plant species were collected from five areas namely Kollonnawa,Sapugaskanda, Orugodawattha, Panchikawattha and Maradana. Then Phyllosphere fungiwere isolated into pure cultures on Czapek-Dox medium using pour plate method andidentified up to the genus level. Plate assays and spectrophotometric analysis were used toevaluate phenanthrene, naphthalene, xylene and toluene degradation ability of them as thesole source of carbon. The best fungal AH degraders were selected for furthercharacterization and identification.Isolated phyllosphere fungi, Penicillium spp, Aspergillus spp and Trichoderma spp were ableto degrade phenanthrene, naphthalene, toluene and xylene. Penicillium janthinellum wasfound to be the most effective in degrading naphthalene and phenanthrene with 98.85% and84.83% efficiency respectively. Moreover, Aspergillus niger has the highest toluenedegradation ability. The best xylene degrader; Aspergillus flavus, utilised 57.35% of xylenein the medium. Initial experiments indicated that the highest degradation of aromatichydrocarbons occurs after seven days. Therefore, in all these experiments, isolated fungalspp. were incubated for seven days in media supplemented with aromatic hydrocarbons.While traditional chemical and physical remediation techniques are currently becoming lesseffective from environmental and economical point of view, there is an increasing interest inbioremediation. According to the finding of the present investigation Penicillium spp. andAspergillus spp. are having the potential to be used in effective bioremediation strategies inthe removal of AH. Their ability to degrade these compounds while surviving underenvironmental stresses makes them suitable candidates for bioremediation.

‘The book’s a conversation starter’: a realist exploration of the salutogenic potential of reading for pleasure

\ua9 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024.Reading for Wellbeing (RfW) is a pilot initiative, aimed at improving mental health and well-being through supporting access and increasing opportunities to read for pleasure. RfW was implemented across six North-East local authorities in England and employed Community Reading Workers to support access to books and reading for targeted populations. The current study used realist methodology to understand context, potential mechanisms of action, acceptability and reported outcomes. Data generation and analysis were conducted iteratively, using focus groups, interviews and observations. The analysis of the collated data highlighted that a positive attitude towards reading and a desire for social connections were significant motivators for engagement with RfW. This paper postulates eight programme theories relating to that context, which describe key mechanisms within RfW linked to engagement with reading, well-being, connections and practice. The paper concludes that previous notions of positivity associated with reading for pleasure enable participants to experience RfW as a positive social encounter. This positive social encounter enhances participants’ multiple resistance resources such as increased sense of self-efficacy and connectedness that could impact on their sense of well-being

DIVERSllY OF UNDERSTOREY VEGETATION IN THREE LOWLAND RAIN FORESTS IN SOUTHWEST OF SRI LANKA

The study examined the diversity and composition of understorey vegetation in SinharajaMan & Biosphere forest reserve, Kanneliya forest reserve, and Oliyagankele forestreserve. The understorey vegetation was sampled in 54, 27, and 27 plots in Sinharaja FR,Kanneliya FR, and Oliyagankele FR respectively each 5 m x 5 m. Ecological indices andimportant value index. which is the expression of the dominance of particular species indifferent habitats, were calculatedThe diversity index (Shannon's) calculated for understorey species found in each plotenumerated at Sinharaja FR, Kanneliya FR. and Oliyagankele FR showed that that thereis no significant difference in diversity among reserves except for slightly higherdiversity observed in Kanneliya forest reserve. A total of 68, 77, and 63 understoreyspecies were found from Sinharaja, Kanneliya, and Oliyagankele FR respectively. Therewere 40 endemic understorey species in Sinharaja FR and in Kanneliya each, and 36 inOliyagankele FR. There were ill, 17, and 14 understorey species found only fromSinharaja, Kanneliya and Oliyagankele FR respectively. The most common family inSinharaja FR and Oliyagankele FR was the Euphorbiaceac, and Fabaceae was inKanneliya FR. There were slight differences in species composition within each forestreserve from valley to ridge.Results of this study shows that although the difference in diversity is not significant,there are differences in the composition of the understorey as the elevation and meanannual rainfall decreases from Sinharaja FR to Oliyagankele FR. This study also foundthat that are higher percentage of endemic in the understorey of all three study sites.

Development of broiler offal silage with molasses

Objective of the present study was to determine the feasibility of ensiling broiler offal (80) withmolasses. Forty two-days old broiler chicks were slaughtered and processed manually. Offal withoutfeathers were cut into small pieces and ensiled in airtight plastic containers for four weeks. Theexperiment followed a completely randomize design in 4*2 factorial arrangement. The treatmentcombinations were four molasses concentrations (5, 15,25 and 35% w/w) and two inoculation levels(0 and 10%). Yoghurt was used as the innoculum. Each treatment combination had five replicates.pH was measured at time 0, 12hrs, 24 hrs, day 3, day 7, day 14, day 21 and day 28 of the ensilingprocess. pH was 4.8 at the beginning of the ensiling process. After 12 hrs, in all treatments pHdropped slightly to around 4.6. The pH at 5% molasses level dropped quickly within a day of ensiling,and was significantly lower than the pH values of other molasses levels. However, pH at 5%molasses rose thereafter, and reached to an undesirable level by day 3. By one week of ensiling, thepH at 15,25 and 35% molasses levels were 4.1,4.2 and 4.2, respectively. Those were the lowest pHvalues observed for the respective molasses concentration. At all of the above three molasses levels,there was a slight pH increase by day 14 of the ensiling. Thereafter pH maintained at a constantlevels of 4.5,4.2 and 4.4 at 15,25 and 35% molasses levels, respectively. Except 5% molasses level,all other three levels of molasses gave typical odour of good silage. Liquefaction of the 80 was poorand thus grinding of the offal before ensiling may be useful. Inoculation had no effect on pH until day3 and, thereafter inoculation increased the pH and thus was detrimental for the ensiling process.. Itwas concluded that 80 could successfully be ensiled with 25% molasses. Inoculation with yoghurtculture had no beneficial effect on ensiling process.

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Suitability of some agro-industrial by-products as litter material for poultry Physio-chemical properties

Paddy-husk (PH) based deep litter system is the most popular poultry management system in SriLanka. Physio-chemical properties of PH make it an ideal litter material for poultry keeping. SincePH is increasingly been demanded by other industries, availability of PH for poultry industry has beenrestricted from recent years. Objective of the present study was to screen the physio-chemicalproperties of some commonly available agro-industrial by-products, to be used as alternative littermaterials for poultry. Physio-chemical properties such as dry matter (OM), bulk density (BO), pH,water absorbability (WA) and water releasing capacity (WRC) of seven alternatives such as ricestraw (RS), coir dust (CD), wood shawing;WS, saw dust;SD, tree litter;TL, shredded paper;SP andrefused tea;RT)) were determined and, compared with the respective values of PH. The experimentfollowed a completely randomized design. The OM % of the alternatives tested ranged from 91 %(SO) to 92% (SP). OM contents ofWS and RT were statistically similar to that of PH. However,none ofthe material had either too low or too high OM levels to be disqualified as a litter material. pHvalues of the tested materials were statistically similar and were slightly acidic (mean 6.27; range6.1-6.5). PH had the highest BO (0.09g/cm'). The BOs of CD, SO and RT, though were lower thanPH, the values were not significantly different from that of PH. WA was also statistically differentbetween the materials. CD had the highest (ll 0 I%) WA while RT showed lowest (70%) WA. SO,SP and TL showed statistically similar WA as PH. Materials showed a great variability (from 7.7%for SO to 26.7% for RS) in relation to WRC. PH had 13.6% WRC within 241m. RT had the closestWRC capacity (17.9%) to PH. Materials such as RS, TS, WS and SP showed as high as 25%WRC. When materials were compared for the parameters tested against those of PH, RS and WSwere similar to PH only in relation to two parameters. Being comparable with PH for four parameters,SO was identified as the best alternative for PH. CD, TL, SP and RT were comparable with PH inrelation to three parameters. Since CD had excessive WA (I 10 I%) and very low WRC it can not berecommended further studies. This study concludes that physio-chemical properties of SO, TL, SPand RT are comparable with PH. Field studies involving live poultry are warranted to determine howbirds perform and behave when raised on these litter materials

Annex 19 : predictive model for the dengue incidences in Sri Lanka using mobile network big data

The study constructs a usable predictive model for any given Medical Officer of Health (MOH) division, which is the smallest medical administrative district in Sri Lanka, by taking human mobility into account. It includes the importation of dengue into immunologically ’naive’ regions. Derived mobility values for each region of the country are weighted using reported past dengue cases. The study introduces a generalizable methodology to fuse big data sources with traditional data sources, using machine learning techniques. Mobile Network Big Data (MNBD) consists of data categories such as Call Detail Records (CDR), Internet access usage records, and airtime recharge records

Child with Deletion 9p Syndrome Presenting with Craniofacial Dysmorphism, Developmental Delay, and Multiple Congenital Malformations

A 4-month-old Sri Lankan male child case with a de novo terminal deletion in the p22 → pter region of chromosome 9 is described. The child presented with craniofacial dysmorphism, developmental delay, and congenital malformations in agreement with the consensus phenotype. A distinctive feature observed in this child was complete collapse of the left lung due to malformation of lung tissue. Cytogenetic studies confirmed terminal deletion of the short arm of chromosome 9 distal to band p22 [46,XY,del(9)(p22 → pter)]. This is the first reported case of a de novo deletion 9p syndrome associated with pulmonary hypoplasia. This finding contributes to the widening of the spectrum of phenotypic features associated with deletion 9p syndrome