Sachith Abeysundara

University of Peradeniya | UOP · Department of Statistics and Computer Science

Air pollution is the leading environmental hazard that has devastating health effects on human health. Identification of trends and patterns of air pollution is crucial in a specific geographic area to inform and implement effective control and mitigation measurements. Standard air pollution monitoring networks are costly for most low-and middle-in...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of this century's most severe global health problems. It has been estimated that AMR is directly responsible for 700,000 deaths annually, which is predicted to be 10 million by 2050. Present antibiotics are failing due to various reasons while phytochemicals are gaining attention due to their favorable attri...

Microplastic (MP) pollution is a global issue due to its unprecedented impacts on the environment and human health. However, its place as a potential pollutant and possible impacts on plant and human health are less understood among the general public. The study was conducted to investigate the level of awareness of MP pollution and its impacts and...

Background According to the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative, Sri Lanka ranked as number one and only country to achieve green status. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for six months is current practice with a rate of 75.5% among 0–5 months. Aim Identify factors contributing early cessation of breastfeeding in a single centre of Eastern province...

We investigated the physicochemical properties and the biotic interactions of breeding sites of tropical mosquito species. Field sampling was done in 12 study areas in Sri Lanka covering areas with secondary natural forests and human settlements. A total of 226 breeding sites were investigated to determine the biotic interactions and physio-chemica...

No one can deny that COVID-19 has spread around the world and is still emerging as a new variation in some areas. Since the time of its breakout, three coronavirus waves have emerged. Daily cases of COVID-19 from 79 countries around the world were selected for the study. The main objective of this research was to model and analyze the behavior of t...

Background: In this digital age, the use of screens has become an essential part of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the use of screens, especially among students. This study aimed to find the association between screen time and the level of perceived stress among students of University of Peradeniya during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In...

Introduction: Breast density plays a significant role in increasing an individual's risk of breast cancer and its mortality rate. Objectives: We aimed to assess the correlations of mammographic breast density with age, body mass index, weight, height and parity for the first time in Sri Lankan women. Methods: 52 participants who underwent diag...

The present study investigates the effectiveness of six Machine Learning (ML) algorithms in classifying the breast tissue dataset generated using the electrical impedance spectroscopy method. This study used the breast tissue dataset available at the UCI machine learning repository, consisting of 106 spectral records with ten variables. The data we...

Microplastic (MP), derived from the long-term degradation of plastics, pollution has become a major global issue, and its impacts on natural ecosystems and organisms are largely unknown. As the impacts of MPs are relatively less visible in the short term, people pay less attention to the usage and disposal of plastics. The lack of awareness of MPs...

Both native and non‐native bamboo populations can expand their distributions in a rather irregular manner, inflicting changes in native vegetation with potential consequences for litter‐dwelling arthropod communities. To our knowledge, no studies have been undertaken to explore the impacts of bamboo spread on litter‐dwelling arthropods. This study...

Original ArtiPurpose This study aimed at assessing physical, social and psychological problems faced by complete denture wearers and to identify the association of socioeconomic factors of the individual with the problems related to complete denture-wearing for early identification and treatment planning to improve their oral health and wellbeing....

Earth materials play a vital role in day-today life as well as in the global economy. These earth materials are mainly used in industrial applications from ancient times. Ilmenite, rutile, and zircon can be categorized as heavy minerals, and they play a major role in the mineral industry in Sri Lanka. Rare earth elements (REE) are a combination of...

System dynamics simulation software, in general, depicts graphical interpretations. The values of the parameters, on the other hand, are required for prediction. The goal of this research is to develop a novel multivariate model that can predict flow parameters while simulating flow under various scenarios. The project involves looking for variatio...

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the perception and the performance of dental students on clinical component of the final year examination held during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Final year dental undergraduates (n=86) in year 2014 participated in the study. A pre tested, self-administered questionnaire (online Google form) was used to assess their pr...

Breast density estimation is important due to its strong association with breast cancers. This study aimed to formulate and validate a computer-based programme for the quantitative assessment of mammographic breast density (MBD). This semi-automated computer-based programme was developed to estimate the MBD using the ratio of the area of fibrogland...

Biochar has widely been utilized as an agricultural soil amendment owing to its enhanced surface properties and cost-effectiveness. In the present work, the influence of tea waste biochar (TWBC) upon acid modification on Allium cepa L. (red onion) growth has been studied. Its effect as a soil amendment has also been studied by assessing the nutrien...

Evidence of associations between exposure to ambient air pollution and health outcomes are sparse in the South Asian region due to limited air pollution exposure and quality health data. This study investigated the potential impacts of ambient particulate matter (PM) on respiratory disease hospitalization in Kandy, Sri Lanka for the year 2019. The...

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the complete lockdown of many cities worldwide. Lockdowns have significantly changed human behaviour, such as fewer or no industrial activities and limited road and air transport, affecting the environment. In this study, we aimed to assess the variability and trends of PM2.5 (mass concentration of airborne particul...

Objective: To assess the perception and the performance of dental students on clinical component of the final year examination held during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Final year dental undergraduates (n=86) in year 2014 participated in the study. A pre tested, self-administered questionnaire (online Google form) was used to assess their preparednes...

This study was carried out in order to assess the association between the level of students’ confidence and patient satisfaction with complete dentures. The first edentulous patient managed by the final year dental students was recruited for the study

Google Apps Script (GAS) is a scripting platform developed by Google for light-weight application development in the G Suite platform. It offers built-in APIs for almost all the services offered by GSuite. When developing systems using Google Apps Script, Developers can configure external Relational database management system (RDBMS) connections or...

The purpose of this research was to study chemical characteristics of precipitation in Peradeniya (Latitude 6.973701, Longitude 79.915256), Kandy District in Sri Lanka. This study was conducted during 2012 to 2014, and wet precipitation was analyzed for pH, conductivity, Na⁺, NH4⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, F⁻, Cl⁻, NO3⁻, SO4²⁻, Pb, Cu, Mn, Al, Zn, and Fe fo...

System dynamics simulation software, in general, depicts graphical interpretations. The values of the parameters, on the other hand, are required for prediction. The goal of this research is to develop a novel multivariate model that can predict flow parameters while simulating flow under various scenarios. The project involves looking for variatio...

Therapeutic communication (TC) is accepted as high standards of nursing care suitable for every nursing facility. As it improves the outcome of nursing care, general objective of the study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding TC among nurses in teaching hospitals in Kandy district. Specific Objectives were to determine f...

The Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI) of Sri Lanka has developed five exportable rice cultivars; At 362, Bg 94-1, Bg 360, Bg 1165-2, and Bw-Bs-1-2-31.The present study was conducted to establish the identities of these five cultivars at caryopsis level in comparison compared to those of mega rice cultivars (Bg 352, Bg 300, Bg 358, Bg 3...

Weather is an unexplainable state of the atmosphere around our environment. Therefore, processing information related to weather conditions at a given time and space is necessary for scene awareness, which helps to organize and take actions on human behaviour. Though several studies have been conducted using deep learning and computer vision to det...

Background Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for six months is current practice in Sri Lanka. EBF rate of 0-5 months was 75.5%. Aim was to identify factors contributing early cessation of breastfeeding in a single centre of Eastern province Sri Lanka. Methodology A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Sammanthurai Medical officer of Health a...

Ambient air pollution is a global environmental hazard, particularly affecting urban areas. Sudden spikes of air pollution in the atmosphere in a given area can occur due to many factors, either individually or combined. Generally, local effects are due to anthropogenic sources, while large scale variations occur due to natural events such as dust...

Materials and methods: Fifty-seven final-year dental students in the year 2019 and the first edentulous patient managed by them were recruited for the study. A fourteen-item questionnaire was given to the students to assess their level of confidence just before commencement of the treatment. Questionnaire for the patients was used to assess their...

Background Therapeutic communication is considered as a skill required for all health care workers in order to improve understanding the patient in a better manner and encouraging the patient to express feelings & ideas. It has also been accepted as a high standard of nursing care which is to be practiced at every hospital and nursing facility. As...

Common investor prefers to invest money in stock markets to make the highest returns. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is the organization responsible for all the operations of the stock market in Sri Lanka. CSE is categorized into 20 trading sectors with 297 listed companies[2]. The fluctuation of the stocks cannot be calculated using simple metho...

Objectives: Objectives were to detect the demarcation, extent and the depth of the cavities using different radiological modalities and to identify the best modality/ modalities in detection of particular type of cavity. Materials and Methods: Extracted human non-carious teeth were used. Class I-Class V cavities were prepared accordingly. Teeth wer...

Tea-waste is an abundant feedstock for producing biochar (BC) which is considered to be a cost effective carbonaceous adsorbent useful for water remediation and soil amendment purposes. In the present study, tea-waste BC (TWBC) produced at three different temperatures were subjected to nitric, sulfuric and hydrochloric acid modifications (abbreviat...

Even though the traditional live demonstration method is commonly used in teaching laboratory techniques to dental students, it has many drawbacks. The aim of this study was to assess the acquisition of knowledge, practical skills, and perceptions of dental students who had a live demonstration versus procedural video on arranging artificial teeth....

A major ecological impact of fisheries on sea turtles occurs through by-catch which is known to be high along the western and northwestern coasts of Sri Lanka. It is an offence to kill, wound, harm or take a turtle using a net, trap, explosive or any other device, to keep in possession, sell or expose for sale a turtle or any part of a turtle. A su...

Foreign currency exchange is a rapidly growing trade around the world, known as FOREX. Despite the high risk involved in FOREX trading, the fact remains that the traders are always fascinated by FOREX market. This research was carried out to understand the behavior of currency exchange rates, to identify adequate models for exchange rates and to fo...

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the sociodemographic profile and oral health status (Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth [DMFT] and periodontal health) of thalassemic patients compared to healthy individuals. Methods: The data were collected by means of an interviewer-administered, pretested, and validated questionnaire, followed...

Evaluating the response of vegetation to climate change is relevant to improving the management of both human and natural systems. Here, we quantify the response of the MODIS-based enhanced vegetation index (EVI) to temperature, precipitation, and large-scale natural variability across the South-Central U.S. for summer (JJA) from 2000 to 2013. We f...

Aedes aegyptii and Aedes albopictus are major urban vectors of dengue viruses worldwide. Over last three decades, the emergence and reemergence of dengue epidemic has suggested the influence of climate and local weather patterns in dengue vector density and epidemiology of dengue disease. Understanding of weather patterns on dengue vector densities...

Most of the investors prefer to invest money directly through the stock markets to make the highest returns. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is the organization responsible for all the operations of the stock market in Sri Lanka which one can easily identify the overall economy of the country. It is a platform for the share trading of the listed c...

A key assumption in planning is that weather and climate events may vary from year to year but climate remains stable over the long term and can be predicted on the basis of past return values. This assumption underpins most design standards, operations and maintenance programs, and planning for transportation projects and programs. However, climat...

A total of 460 samples (serum or plasma) were obtained from clinically diagnosed liver disease patients from January 2006 to December 2007 and subjected to reverse transcription--polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based detection of HCV. Of these, 32 samples (6.9%) were positive for HCV RNA. Samples that were positive for HCV were genotyped with ty...