Volume 01 Issue 02 - 2014

Seasonal Occurrence of Microcystin-LR with Respect to Physico-Chemical Aspects of Beira Lake Water

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Seasonal Occurrence of Microcystin-LR with Respect to Physico-Chemical Aspects of Beira Lake Water Idroos, S.F.; Manage, P.M. Cyanobacteria are well known for their ability to produce a group of cyanotoxins referred as microcystins (MCs). MCs show both acute and chronic hepatotoxic effects on animals and humans. Microcystin-LR (MCLR) is the dominant type of MCs prevailing in Sri Lankan water bodies. The present study records the seasonal variation of MCLR, in the Beira lake waters from January 2013 to January 2014 with respect to some physico-chemical parameters of the lake. Quantification of MCLR was done using photodiode array - High Pressure Liquid Chromatography method (PDA-HPLC). The physico-chemical parameters of the water body were measured using standard methods. Microcystis aeruginosa, Microcystis wesenbergii and Microcystis incerta, were the toxic cyanobacterial species present in the Beiralake while Microcystis aeruginosa (49.63%) was the dominant species. MCLR concentration of the lake varied between 11.45±0.73 to 17.57±0.13 µg/ml throughout the dry season of the sampling period while varied between 13.21 ±0.73 to 25.23±0.42 µg/ml during the rainy season. The Pearsons correlation coefficient analysis done for total toxin concentration and the water quality parameters suggested that the water temperature (r=0.914, pvalue=0.000), and the total phosphate concentration (r=0.988, p-value=0.000) have a strong positive correlation with the total MCLR concentration, while pH (r=0.766, p-value=0.002) has a moderate correlation for the production of total MCLR.

Propensity of Knowledge Sharing in Software Development Case in Sri Lanka

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 07:06:35 GMT

Propensity of Knowledge Sharing in Software Development Case in Sri Lanka Weerakoon, Sudheera; Wijayanayake, Janaka Knowledge management can be defined as the process by which an organization creates captures, acquires, and uses knowledge to support and improve the performance of an organization. Organizations need to manage knowledge within the organization to successfully face challenges and to achieve organizational goals. However, for better implementation of knowledge management practices, organizations need to have suitable organizational culture, process and technology. Software development is a process where knowledge sharing is vital for successful completion of projects and hence need proper knowledge sharing. Therefore, the objective of this study is to find the motivational factors that affect propensity of knowledge sharing in software development. To find the motivational factors, based on the findings of research in the literature, a conceptual model was developed with four independent variables, namely “Perception on knowledge”, “Time availability for knowledge sharing”, “Gained value from knowledge” and “Distance with employees”. The conceptual model was validated with data collected from software developers using a questionnaire and interviews. Data Analysis showed that perceptions on knowledge and time availability for knowledge sharing have positive moderate correlation with propensity of knowledge sharing. However, it was found that distance with employees has negative weak correlation with propensity of knowledge sharing in software development organizations. Further, it was found that gained value from knowledge has negative weak correlation with propensity of knowledge sharing indicating that if employees get more and more benefits from the knowledge they have, then they are reluctant to share the knowledge with others.

A Study to Recruit and Train the Product Oriented Sensory Panel

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 07:05:32 GMT

A Study to Recruit and Train the Product Oriented Sensory Panel Silva, A.Y.S.L.; Binduhewa, A.M.C.U.; Subodinee, A.A.M. Food industry greatly depends on product quality and price. Sensory evaluation is a scientific method that humans evaluate the eating quality parameters of food. The study was conducted to evaluate the performances of the existing sensory panel, to recruit and train new members to sensory panel and to evaluate the performance of the product oriented sensory panel in the Industrial Technology Institute. Recruitment and training of product-oriented sensory panel was done according to the International Standards 8586-1:1993. Initially 29 interested staff members, who were in good health, were selected through a questionnaire from the same institute. Then they were subjected to several screening tests, namely basic taste identification test, odour descriptive test, ranking test for the taste intensity, ranking test for the colour intensity, matching test and texture descriptive test. Seventeen people who were selected from all screening tests were trained in detection and recognition of tastes and odours, followed by discrimination tests (Paired comparison test, Duo-trio test and Triangle test) and three different scales (Category scale, Interval scale and Ratio scale). Results of the sensory evaluations and scales were statistically analyzed via Friedman Two Way ANOVA rank sum test with SAS 9.0 software. The samples tested were significantly different from each other (p<0.05) in each test and no significant difference occurred between the judgment of the panelists. It concluded that they performed as a homogenous trained panel. Finally, sensory evaluation of black tea was conducted which was shelf life evaluation to evaluate the performance of the panelists with a real test samples. Data were analyzed via Friedman test and results revealed that all the panelists performed uniquely at 0.05 significance level. Therefore the recruited sensory panel was considered as a trained sensory panel and the outcome proved that the effectiveness of training and capability of chosen the product-oriented sensory panel.

Morphmetric Analysis of Randenigala Reservoir Catchment using GIS

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 07:04:10 GMT

Morphmetric Analysis of Randenigala Reservoir Catchment using GIS Senadeera, Wasantha Morphometric techniques play a major role in addressing the quantitative description of the geometry of the drainage basins and its network. This helps in characterizing the drainage network, comparing the characteristics and examining the effect of lithology, rock structure and rainfall. The study focuses on analysis of morphometric features of Randenigala reservoir catchment based on available digital data using GIS. River Mahaweli was dammed closer to MinepeAnicut to build Randenigala reservoir with the elevation of 160 m to 240 m (7 8 to 7 14N and 80 48 to 80 49 E). The capacity is 861 MCM and catchment comprise of 448 km2 in the Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. The elevation of the catchment ranges from 240 m to 2500 m. Method of Horton and Strahler (1945) was used to rank the stream segments. The stream numbers were entered into the table and other analyses based on the mathematical formulas. The results indicated that the catchment area was 448.9 km2, perimeter 111.24 km, mean slope 36.8, axial length 30.5 km, basin width 14.72 km, form factor 0.48, compactness factor 1.48, circulatory ratio 0.46, elongation ratio 0.78, orders of stream network indicated, 1315 of first orders, 314 of 2nd, 72 of 3rd, 15 of 4th, 3 of 5th, 1 of 6th and one seventh order stream. The stream frequency and drainage density were 3.83 (no. of streams /km2) and 2.43 (km/km2). Bifurcation ratio was 3.65 and length of overland flow was 0.21 km. These findings are useful in determining the effect of catchment characteristics such as size, shape, slope of the catchment and distribution of stream network.