Browsing by Author "Bandara, W."

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Knowledge and practices on oral hygiene among adults in Udapalatha MOH area (Gampola East), Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2024) Samath, F. S.; Bandara, W.; Wanigasekara, D. N.
Persistent oral inflammation is intricately connected to overall health, serving as a reflection of systemic physiological processes. Over 100 systemic conditions, including respiratory infections, pancreatic cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and nutritional deficiencies, are associated with oral health issues. Understanding of oral health is crucial in promoting effective oral hygiene practices. This research aimed to investigate socio-demographic factors influencing oral hygiene among adults in the Udapalatha MOH area (Gampola East), Sri Lanka, and to assess the correlation between knowledge and practices related to oral hygiene. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge and practice and to assess sociodemographic factors associated with the knowledge and practices on oral hygiene among 322 adults of the selected MOH area using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Ethical clearance was obtained from the National Institute of Health Science, Kalutara, Sri Lanka. Pearson correlation, Chi-square test, independent sample t-test, and One-way ANOVA were used in the data analysis. The majority (61.2%) of the respondents were females. The study results showed that 57.1% (n=184) and 50.6% (n=163) of the sample had good knowledge and practices towards oral hygiene, respectively. Good knowledge is significantly associated with males (p= 0.0065), smokers (p<0.001), alcohol consumers (p<0.001), participants with their own house (p<0.001), and participants who have a vehicle (p<0.001). Good knowledge level was observed in participants with a non-vegetarian diet when compared with the mean values of vegetarian diet p=0.001(p<0.05) and mixed diet p=0.001(p<0.05). Good practice is significantly associated with females (p= 0.002), non-smokers (p<0.001) non-alcohol consumers (p= 0.021). The majority of the participants had a satisfactory level of both knowledge and practices towards good oral hygiene. The findings of the study also suggest that there exists a lack of awareness or awareness coupled with negligence towards oral health issues and therefore, there is a need for raising awareness and motivating people about the issues surrounding oral health. The findings that have emerged in the study suggest a critical gap that the audience and healthcare institutions fail to address. They should use public health and educational activities for groups in places that are not easily accessible to serve as information tools on dental health and proper oral hygiene. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the media will help people learn more about dental issues and attend dental check-ups more often. Furthermore, for health the environment, and culture to prevail, we have to enlighten the illiterates in society today. Thus, the knowledge of basic and advanced oral health practices, apart from the existing oral care measures such as mouth rinses, dental floss, etc., is lacking among study subjects in this region and they require to be enlightened more on the importance of basic preventive and curative oral health care facilities by introducing general oral health awareness programs for them.
Potential to use invasive plants in biomass energy production: A case study Prosopis juliflora in coastal wetlands of Sri Lanka
(Forests and People, 2022) Bandara, W.; Ranasinghe, O.; Perera, P.; Vlosky, R.; Kizha, A. R.
Prosopis juliflora is an invasive plant species rapidly expanding in the Asian and African continents. The invasion of P. juliflora in Bundala Ramsar Wetland (BRW) in Sri Lanka has created several biodiversity conservation issues. This study was conducted to assess the possibility of utilizing invasive P. juliflora as an alternative energy source. P. juliflora performed better than L. leucocephala for most evaluated fuelwood properties. Ash content was comparatively higher in P. juliflora than L. leucocephala. However, biomass to ash ratio of P. juliflora was significantly lower (<0.05) and the Fuel Value Index (FVI) of P. juliflora (3,276) was slightly lower than that of L. leucocephala (3,336), a non-significant difference. P. juliflora and L. leucocephala reached Fiber Saturation Point within 24 and 27 days of drying, respectively. Results show that 1 kg of P. juliflora would produce an estimated energy equivalent to 0.5 L of diesel and furnace oil and 5 kWh of electricity. As such, we recommend further study on harvesting and commercialization of P. juliflora as a potential wood energy source.
Rickettsial infection among military personnel deployed in Northern Sri Lanka
(BioMed Central, 2014) Premaratna, R.; Ariyaratna, N.; Attanayake, C.; Bandara, W.; Chandrasena, N.; de Silva, J.
BACKGROUND: Military personnel deployed in field actvities report on frequent tick bites. Therefore they may run the risk of exposure to rickettsial organisms. METHODS: In order to assess the risk of exposure to rickettsial organisms, two groups of military personnel who were deployed in field activities of Nothern Sri Lanka were investigated. The first group was studied in order to assess the sero-prevalence of rickettsioses and consisted of soldiers who were admitted following injuries during field activities. The second group was studied to identify the incidence of acute rickettsioses during their acute febrile presentations. They were tested with IFA-IgG against spotted fever group rickettsioses (SFG), scrub typhus (ST) and murine typhus. RESULTS: In the first group, 48/57 (84%) military personnel had serological evidence of exposure to rickettsioses (in all, IFA-IgG titer ≥ 1:128): 33/50 (66%) to SFG rickettsioses, 1/50 (2%) to ST and 14/50 (28%) had mixed titers for both (in all, titers were higher for SFG). While all of them were in military uniform most of the time and frequently slept on scrub land, 35/57 (61.4%) had never used insect repellents and none were on doxycycline prophylaxis. 48/57 (84%) had experienced tick bites during field activity. In the second group, there were 49 who presented with acute febrile illness with a mean duration of 8.5 days (SD 3.2). 33/49 (67.3%) were serologically positive for acute rickettsioses (IgG ≥1:256); 26 (79%) due to ST and 7 (21%) due to SFG rickettsioses, CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to rickettsial disease was common among soldiers who were deployed in Northern Sri Lanka. Scrub typhus was the predominent species accounting for acute febrile illness. Further studies are needed to understand the reasons for very high sero-prevalence for SFG rickettsioses with no anticedent febrile illness. Use of preventive measures was not satisfactory. The high sero-prevelence of SFG rickettsioses is likely to interfere with serological diagnosis of acute SFG rickettsioses in this population.