DSpace Collection: 2021

Assessment of current water pollution status and accumulation of trace metals in Mugil cephalus from Negombo estuary.

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Assessment of current water pollution status and accumulation of trace metals in Mugil cephalus from Negombo estuary. Authors: Mendis, B. R. C; Najim, M. M. M.; Kithsiri, H. M. P. Abstract: Industrial and domestic solid waste dumping are the major pollution sources polluting the Negombo estuary. Polluted water and sediments in the estuary may cause heavy metals accumulation in fish. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess physico - chemical parameters in water, heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Hg, Cd, Cu and Cr) in water and fish tissues, to compare the levels of metals in fish tissues with the available maximum recommended standards. The study was carried out from January to December 2016 and monthly sampling was done from the selected sampling sites. Physico - chemical parameters and metal levels were detected through standard methods. Water quality results revealed that temperature, salinity, pH, EC, TSS, BOD and nutrient levels were below the maximum permissible limits and COD levels were higher than the discharge of industrial wastewater quality standards of the CEA, Sri Lanka. According to the results, metal levels in water of the estuary were below the tolerance limits for the wastewater standards of the CEA except for Hg. In the Northern region of the estuary, higher Pb, Cu and Cr levels were reported from the fish species collected. As the “X-Press Pearl” shipwreck has posed a serious threat to the Negombo estuary, this study can be considered as a baseline for the future studies on water and sediment pollution and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in edible fish species from the estuary

The effects of socio-economic factors on the prevalence of anemia with reference to different trimester of pregnancy and level of ferritin in pregnant women of District Lahore, Pakistan

Sun, 02 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Title: The effects of socio-economic factors on the prevalence of anemia with reference to different trimester of pregnancy and level of ferritin in pregnant women of District Lahore, Pakistan Authors: Saeed, Aniqa; Iftikhar, Mehwish; Hussain, Tanveer; Ali, Akhtar; Noureen, Aasma Abstract: Anemia is a problem in which the level of hemoglobin decreases or the number of red blood cells reduces. There are many factors that are involved in causing anemia in women like nutritional deficiency, gastrointestinal bleeding (diarrhea). Multiple pregnancies or pregnancies having less than two years’ time period between them also result in causing anemia or reducing iron stores in blood. The current research was planned to find out the prevalence of anemia in pregnant women of District Lahore and to know how it is related to iron-rich food and the socioeconomic status of chosen patients. Method of data collection for the socioeconomic factors on the prevalence of anemia was done by taking interviews as well as questionnaire filled by pregnant women while for other analysis blood samples of 70 pregnant women of age group (25-40) years were collected and stored in EDTA tubes from four different hospitals of District Lahore, during different trimesters of pregnancy. The collected blood samples were taken and stored in already filled with EDTA tubes. All samples were then analyzed by using a CBC hematology auto analyzer. It is concluded from the current study that anemia was highly prevalent in District Lahore. It also indicated that the age of selected PW showed a significant effect on the severity of anemia because of nutritional deficiency with an increase in age. Income plays a central role in anemic women. Mostly anemic women were belonging to the middle class which affected the nutritional status of PW and they didn’t take iron and other nutrients-containing diets. The trimester of pregnancy had an impact on anemia because due to the growth of the fetus body needs Iron folate, vitamins, and other nutrients. The majority of anemic women were in their 2nd trimester because they did not get a proper diet. No pregnancies were also significant factors in PW. It can be due to the reason that with short birth spacing and an increase no in pregnancies and abortions the Hb and serum ferritin level decreases and leads to anemia. This study helped to estimate the prevalence and causes of anemia in expecting females.

Development of a solar powered fixed wireless network extender

Sun, 02 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Development of a solar powered fixed wireless network extender Authors: Edirisinghe, E. A. T. M.; Sajith, M. M.; Hirshan, R.; Kumara, W. G. C. W.; Kishanthan, Y. Abstract: User devices connect to Access Points (AP) to obtain internet access through Wi-Fi networks. But with the increment of the distance from the AP, signal reception quality reduces, and the power will be lost due to signal interferences through free space. The design was focused on providing internet accessibility by an existing Wi-Fi network to a remote site using low cost and high-performance antenna. The research was conducted to design an antenna for obtaining internet accessibility during off-peak times at staff and student residential areas from the existing fixed Wi-Fi the network deployed in the academic buildings. The designed system consists of a parabolic antenna that uses the Line-of-Sight technique for unidirectional transmission having a center-feed of programmed microcontrollers to capture Wi-Fi signals through wireless media. According to the literature we have conducted, the system deployed with a solar powering system which is a fully sustainable energy source, with a low-power consuming microcontroller, is the novelty of the design. This entire antenna system was tested for receiving signal strength, downloading and uploading speeds at the targeted distance from the transmitter under 2 tests. The results confirm that the residential area where Wi-Fi connectivity was not available for internet access was provided with the connectivity with better signal quality having a user-friendly, low power consuming, and easily deployable system.

Effect of modified atmosphere storage on quality characteristics of dehydrated Jack Fruits

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Effect of modified atmosphere storage on quality characteristics of dehydrated Jack Fruits Authors: Ahamed Rifath, M. R.; Rohitha Prasantha, B.; Yatiwala, Santha Abstract: The quality deterioration of agricultural produces with the time is a major problem in storage. Modified atmosphere packaging is used as an alternative technique for the chemical preservation of food products. This study investigated the efficiency of modified atmosphere treatments with carbon dioxide (CO2) or nitrogen (N2) gas for the quality preservation of dehydrated jack fruit. The color, moisture content, pH, Brix value, titratable acidity, and microbial quality of the modified atmosphere treated dehydrated jack fruits were investigated. The color of the dehydrated jack fruit did not show any significant difference (p>0.05) before and 60 days after treated with 99% CO2 gas. The yellowness (b* value) of the dehydrated jack fruit samples shown a significant difference (p<0.05) to the 99% N2 treatment but lightness (L* value) and redness (a* values) did not have any significant difference (p>0.05) to the treatment. The modified atmosphere storage did not have any significance (p>0.05) on moisture content, pH, and titratable acidity values of jackfruit but Brix value and microbial population have shown significant difference (p>0.05) during the 60 days of storage at 27 ± 2 °C and 75 ± 5% RH. In conclusion, modified atmosphere gases preserved quality characteristics of dried jackfruit than hermetic storage condition. Since, both inert gases have same effect on the quality characteristics of jackfruits without considerable significant.