http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/145 2026-01-07T05:58:44Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/12565 Construction timber in Sri Lanka - future trends and technologies Amarasekera, Hiran The Chamber of Construction Industry of Sri Lanka together with the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Department of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, conducted a seminar on “Trends in Treatment of Wood and Wood-Based Products for the Construction Industry of Sri Lanka” The seminar was held on the 10th of January 2023 at the Sri Lanka Foundation commencing 1.00pm. Construction Timber has evolved over time from traditional usage to one “engineered wood” which is considerably stronger and more stable than regular wood. Thus it allows builders, architects, and designers to build better and bigger. This has opened up possibilities for the current use of construction timber to open up with future technologies. Prof. Hiran Amarasekara, broadly outlined this topic in his opening address at this seminar. 2023-01-10T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/9511 Marching Towards a Bioeconomy Perera, S.A.C.N.; Amarasinghe, L.D. Bioeconomy has evolved as a solution to economic, social and environmental problems within and across all the sectors of world economies. It has brought about the materials technology shift from synthetics to bio-based raw materials to introduce sustainable technologies. Activities in the bioeconomy primarily involve the production of biomass from plants, animals, microorganisms and its conversion into bio-based products. Agriculture is a major component in a bioeconomy. Countries with a larger landmass have a competitive advantage in biomass production through agriculture hence a larger bioeconomy. Sri Lanka, with its limited land availability, cannot expand the land further for biomass production through traditional agriculture. The bioeconomy of Sri Lanka therefore have to move beyond traditional agriculture pursuing more scientific approaches for biomass production and conversion. The use of crops as a renewable industrial feedstock and the application of biotechnology are, therefore, indispensable for the implementation of sustainable development strategies in the country. The rich biodiversity on land and the sea of the country is still underutilized and has a great potential to be used in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. There is a pressing need in the country to create a motivated society to pursue the promising prospects offered by the bioeconomy in development. 2021-09-24T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/9436 Prevalence and Quantitative Analysis of Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) in Surface and Groundwater in Meandering Part of the Kelani River Basin in Sri Lanka Liyanage, G.Y; Illango, A; Manage, P.M Nearly 80% of the population in the Colombo district fulfll their major requirement from the Kelani river. Recent studies are interoperating: most groundwater and surface water in Sri Lanka are contaminated with waterborne pathogens and antibiotics. In the present study, nine antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were screened which were belonging to two common groups of antibiotic: penicillin — OPR D, bla TEM, bla OXA, amp a, and amp b — and tetracycline — tet A, tet M, tet B, and tet S. The results of the study reveled that the surface and groundwater of the entire lower part of the Kelani river basin were contaminated with TC and FC (98%). None of the penicillin and tetracycline group antibiotics were detected either surface or groundwater samples except the Kelani river mouth (amoxicillin (AMX) at 0.003±0.001 µg/ml). The results showed that 5 to 15% of surface water samples were positive for penicillin resistance genes (bla TEM, bla OXA, OPR D, amp a, amp b) where~10% of groundwater samples were positive against tetracycline resistance genes (tet A, tet M, tet S, tet B). Among the penicillin resistance genes, the bla TEM (700.576× 102 copy/ml) was recorded as the highest concentration where the highest tet A gene (439.875× 102 copy/ml) was detected among the tetracycline resistance genes. Therefore, water quality management and regular monitoring are essential to maintain the quality of drinking water in the meandering part of the Kelani river basin to safeguard river water consumers. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/9412 Study on Cane Furniture industries at Wewaldeniya ans Wood- based Furniture industries at Moratuwa Amarasekera, Hiran; Dheerasekera, W. C. National Enterprise Development Agency (NEDA) established in 2006 under the Ministry of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion to facilitate and proactively support the development, growth and competitiveness of the Sri Lankan enterprises as an integral part of the national economy of Sri Lanka awarded a consultancy assignment on Cane & Furniture Industries to the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) in 2007 The assignment was to undertake a development study to determine competitive determinants of both the Cane Furniture industries at Wewaldeniya and the Wood-based Furniture industries at Moratuwa and make recommendations to improve their Competitiveness. SMEs engaged in the furniture industry in Moratuwa and Wewaldeniya depicted an unimpressive survival rates. Hence, it is suggest that a new development approach has to be adopted to improve the competitiveness of the furniture industries. 2007-05-27T00:00:00Z