Browsing by Author "Gunawardena, C."

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Comparison of ultrasound fetal biometry of singleton fetuses with a reference chart in pregnant women with normal nutritional and health status
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2017) Dias, T.; Chandrasiri, D.; Abeykoon, S.; Gunawardena, C.; Pragasan, G.; Padeniya, T.; Pathmeswaran, A.
OBJETIVES: The aim of this study was to compare fetal biometry of singleton fetuses in pregnant women with normal nutritional and health status in the Ampara district, with a commonly used reference chart. METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out in the Ampara District. Women with normal nutritional and health status and minimal environmental constraints on fetal growth (n=714) were enrolled during the first trimester and gestational age was confirmed by fetal crown-rump length measurement between 11 weeks + 0 days and 13 weeks + 6 days. For this study, each mother was considered only once for measurement of fetal biometry, at gestations between 11 and 41 weeks. Fetal bi-parietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL) were measured using standard techniques, and separate regression models were fitted to estimate the means and standard deviations and derive gestation specific centiles for each parameter, assuming that the measurements have a normal distribution at each gestational age. The fetal biometry results obtained from the current study were compared with a commonly used reference chart. RESULTS: The fitted 10th, 50th and 90th centiles at 40 weeks of gestation were, 87.9 mm, 93.2 mm and 98.5 mm for BPD, 313.8 mm, 328.9 mm and 344.0 mm for HC; 298.2 mm, 322.5 mm and 346.9 mm for AC and 69.7 mm, 75.0 mm and 80.2 mm for FL. When compared with the reference chart, significant differences of fetal biometry were seen in the third trimester but not in the second trimester. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound fetal biometry of singleton fetuses in pregnant women with normal nutritional and health status in the Ampara District were significantly different in the third trimester, from a routinely used reference chart.
Development of size charts of symphysis pubis height measurement for Sri Lankan Population
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2015) Dias, T.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Abeykoon, S.; Gunawardena, C.; Pragasan, G.; Padeniya, T.
INTRODUCTION Fetal growth restriction is responsible for majority of explained and unexplained intrauterine deaths. Screening and diagnosis of fetal growth restriction is one of the main objectives of the antenatal care. Symphysis pubis height measurement (SFH) is routinely measured to assess the fetal growth during antenatal period. Use of SFH charts made elsewhere may either under or overestimate the fetal size in our population. The aim of this study was to construct new size charts for SFH for Sri Lankan population. METHODS This was a prospective, cross-sectional study carried out at the District General Hospital Ampara. In order to increase generalisability 1220 women with normal nutritional and health status and minimal environmental constraints on fetal growth were enrolled during first trimester. Fetal crown–rump length measurement between 11+0 and 13+6 was considered for gestational age assessment in all patients. Each mother considered only once for measurement of SFH for the purpose of this study at gestations between 24 and 41 weeks. SFH was measured using non-elastic, blinded tape using standard technique. For SFH measurement separate regression model was fitted to estimate the mean and standard deviation at each gestational age. Centiles were derived from this mean and standard deviation, assuming that the measurements have a normal distribution at each gestational age. RESULTS A total of 387 mothers had their SFH measured directly. New charts were created for SFH. 10th, 50th and 90th centile values for SFH at 40 weeks are 34, 37 and 41 cm. CONCLUSIONS We have constructed new size chart for SFH. This chart can now be used to assess the fetal size of Sri Lankan population.
Fetal Doppler reference values in women with a normal body mass index
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2019) Dias, T.; Abeykoon, S.; Mendis, P.; Gunawardena, C.; Pragasan, G.; Padeniya, T.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Kumarasiri, S.
OBJECTIVES:To construct gestation specific reference limits for fetal umbilical (UA), middle cerebral artery (MCA) pulsatility indices (PI) and the cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) in singleton pregnancies with normal BMI between 16 and 40 weeks of gestation.METHODS:We ultrasonographically examined 596 fetuses from women with normal nutritional and health status and minimal environmental constraints on fetal growth. Each mother was considered only once for measurement of fetal Doppler indices, at gestations between 16 and 40 weeks in a prospective cross-sectional study. Gestational age was confirmed by fetal crown-rump length measurement between 11 and 14 weeks. Pulsatility indices of umbilical and middle cerebral arteries were measured by real time and Doppler ultrasonography. CPR ratio was calculated by dividing MCA PI by UA PI. The fetal Doppler measurements obtained from the current study were compared with commonly used reference charts. For each parameter separate polynomial regression models were fitted to estimate the gestation specific means and standard deviations, assuming that the measurements have a normal distribution at each gestational age.RESULTS:A significant difference of fetal Doppler indices was observed between our study and previously published reference charts for most gestational weeks. The fitted 10th, 50th and 90th centiles at 40 weeks of gestation were 0.65, 0.87 and 1.08 for UA PI; 0.93, 1.32 and 1.71 MCA PI; 1.02, 1.58 and 2.13 for CPR.CONCLUSIONS: These charts can be used for better defining the normal range of fetal arterial Doppler indices. This will be useful in the diagnosis and management of fetuses with abnormal fetal growth
Gender Equity in Higher Education in Sri Lanka: Beyond Access
(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Gunawardena, C.
The objectives of this paper are to (1) examine the progress made in ensuring women’s access to university education, and specifically, to different disciplines of study (2) analyse macro-level employment statistics as related to educational levels of males and females, and (3) career mobility of women academics. The methodology used is the analysis of national level statistics in the University Grants Commission and other pertinent governmental institutions. The study found that in Sri Lanka women’s representation in higher education had visibly improved over the years, in all disciplines except Engineering due to the implementation of progressive social welfare policies in education. Stereotypical societal attitudes however, hinder their participation in non-traditional subject areas, and in utilizing available resources, such as the library, computer facilities and co-curricular activities in the university fully, and thereby obstruct the optimum realization of their potential to equip them for employment. Absence of women-focused strategies for professional development, continue to prevent women academics from achieving carrier mobility. The study concludes that equity in outcomes rather than mere numerical access of women to higher education should be targeted to ensure achievement of gender equity in real terms.
Pronunciation Problems in French: A Case Study of First Year Students at University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Gunawardena, C.
The present research, a case study, analyzes pronunciation problems encountered by First year students of French at University of Kelaniya. The study is based on the assumption that the pronunciation errors were systematic and did not occur randomly and they reflect the interference of the different prosodic patterns of the learners‘ native language. Data were collected at three occasions when the present researcher worked as a lecturer in 2012. First, following the contrastive analysis hypothesis, potential pronunciation difficulties were identified and then the contrastive analysis hypothesis was validated by the error analysis. The informants used for this study were 20 undergraduates who were at the time of the study studying French as a foreign langue in the first year at University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. They were chosen using random sampling method. All participants had a homogenous linguistic background. All subjects had completed their secondary education in Sinhala medium and during which they had also learnt French. A battery operated audio tape recorder and a 120-minute blank cassettes were used for recording. A list comprised of 150 words representing all French phonemes was used to diagnose pronunciation difficulties. The recording was conducted individually in the faculty language lab and each recording approximately took ten/fifteen minutes. After the completion of recording, the recordings were replayed to identify common errors which were immediately transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet. The errors were classified into four categories; developmental errors, interference errors, fossilized errors and unique errors. The findings revealed that the majority of the errors were interference errors related to French vowels and initial clusters. The fundamental errors showed that similarities between languages do not always facilitate the language acquisition. The findings of the research will be important to teachers, students, curriculum designers, policy makers and other fellow researchers in Sri Lanka.
Symphysis-pubis fundal height charts to assess fetal size in women with a normal body mass index
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2016) Dias, T.; Abeykoon, S.; Kumarasiri, S.; Gunawardena, C.; Pragasan, G.; Padeniya, T.; Pathmeswaran, A.
OBJECTIVES: To construct symphysis-pubis fundal height (SFH) charts to estimate fetal size in pregnant women with a normal body mass index (BMI) and to describe the variation of SFH measurements according to BMI. METHODS: cross sectional study was carried out at Ampara and Gampaha Districts in Sri Lanka. Women with normal nutritional and health status, normal BMI and minimal environmental constraints on fetal growth, with ultra sound confirmation of dates by fetal crown-rump length measurements between 11 weeks and 13 weeks + six days,had their SFH measured, using non-elastic tape and standard techniques, between 24 and 41 weeks gestation. Only one measurement of SFH was obtained from each pregnant woman. Linear and polynomial regression models were fitted separately to the means and standard deviations (SD) as functions of gestational age to identify the model with the best fit. Centiles were derived from the mean and SD at each gestational age. RESULTS: Pregnant women from the districts of Ampara (n=387) and Gampaha (n=200) were recruited. Other than a difference of -1.5 cm (95% CI -2.27 to -0.23) at 38 weeks of gestation, there were no significant differences between the SFH measurements obtained from women with normal BMI in Ampara and Gampaha Districts. Using the SFH measurements from the Ampara sample, charts were created for 10th, 50th and 90th centile values of SFH. At 40 weeks of gestation these were 34 cm, 37 cm and 41 cm respectively. At 40 weeks gestation, the variation in SFH measurements between BMI sub groups within the normal range was approximately 1.4 cm to 1.6 cm. CONCLUSIONS: These SFH charts could be used to estimate fetal size in pregnant women with normal BMI.
Use of ultrasound in predicting the success of intrauterine contraceptive device (Copper T) insertion immediately after delivery
(John Wiley and Sons, 2015) Dias, T.; Abeykoon, S.; Kumarasiri, S.; Gunawardena, C.; Padeniya, T.; D'Antonio, F.
OBJECTIVES: To assess by ultrasound examination the success of insertion of an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) immediately after delivery and to determine the optimal distance between the lower end of the IUD and the internal os in predicting successful retention of an IUD. METHODS: This was a prospective study carried out between December 2012 and April 2013. Two ultrasound examinations, transabdominal and transvaginal, were performed prior to hospital discharge following delivery and again at 6 weeks following delivery in women who received a postpartum IUD. Distance from the internal os to the lower end of the IUD was measured at each examination and compared in unsuccessful and successful cases of postvaginal delivery (PVD) and post-Cesarean section (PCS) IUD insertion. Logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis were used to determine the difference in success between the two modes of delivery and to determine the optimal cut-off of the internal os-to-IUD distance for successful retention, respectively. RESULTS: Ninety-one women were included in the study, comprising 60 PVD and 31 PCS IUD insertions. Thirteen PVD (22.4%) and eight PCS (25.8%) IUDs were either expelled spontaneously or removed at the 6-week scan because of improper placement. Mean distance from the internal os to the lower end of the IUD on ultrasound examination immediately after insertion was significantly greater in successful cases than in those in which IUDs were subsequently expelled/displaced (mean difference after PVD insertion, 20.1 mm (P = 0.006); mean difference after PCS insertion, 10.3 mm (P = 0.05)). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that mode of delivery was not independently associated with successful retention of the IUD (P = 0.72; OR, 0.831 (95% CI, 0.301-2.189)). The distance from the lower end of the IUD to the internal os measured at ultrasound examination prior to hospital discharge provided reasonable predictive accuracy for determining retention of the IUD, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.74 (95% CI, 0.60-0.88) and an optimal cut-off of ≥ 30 mm (sensitivity, 64.71% (95% CI, 52.17-75.92%) and specificity, 80.95% (95% CI, 58.09-94.55%)). CONCLUSIONS: IUD insertion immediately postpartum is feasible but carries a substantial risk of unsuccessful IUD retention. Ultrasound examination after insertion of an IUD could be considered for predicting the success of IUD retention. Copyright © 2014 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2014 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Variation in French Interlanguage in Sri Lanka: A Sociolinguistic Study of Omission of ne
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Gunawardena, C.
The behavior of non-native speakers in relation to sociolinguistic variables has been the focus of many studies (Trevise & Noyau, 1984; Dewaele & Regan, 2002; Regan, 1995, 1996, 1997; Dewaele, 2004; Sax 2001), but the previous studies on interlanguage have focused on corpora derived mainly from immersion students who speak European languages. There have been, to date, virtually no variationist studies on the use of French sociolinguistic variables by Sinhala- speaking advanced learners. The present study examines the sociolinguistic variable: the use of ne in a corpus of advanced French interlanguage produced by 15 learners. A sample of fifteen Sinhala- speaking advanced learners from the University of Kelaniya was used for the study. The researcher recorded the participants’ conversations in an informal setting. Informal speech was collected in one-to-one conversation between the researcher and informants. It is well know that informal speech style can best be obtained in spontaneous speech (Coveney, 1996), therefore the researcher asked questions related to the informants’ immediate environment. Informants were recorded using a simple voice recorder and each recording lasted about thirty minutes. Since it is time-consuming, the researcher transcribed only the occurrences of variables which he intended to analyze. The main research question of this project was: To what extent does variation in the speech of L2 users of French in Sri Lanka reflect the patterns of variation found among L1 users of French? Comparing the native and non-native speakers’ behaviour in relation tothe sociolinguistic variable provided important findings useful for teachers, students and curriculum designers. The researcher found that the omission rate of ne is very low among Sri Lankan learners of French and there was no difference between the omission rate among male and female learners.
Variation in French Interlanguage in Sri Lanka: a Sociolinguistic Study of the Use of Subject Pronouns nous and on to Express 1st Person Plural
(University of Kelaniya, 2015) Gunawardena, C.
The behavior of non-native speakers in relation to sociolinguistic variables has been the focus of many studies (Trevise & Noyau, 1984; Dewaele & Regan, 2002; Regan, 1995, 1996, 1997; Dewaele, 2004; Sax 2001), but the previous studies on interlanguage have focused on corpora derived mainly from immersion students who speak European languages. There have been, to date, virtually no variationist studies on the use of French sociolinguistic variables by Sinhala- Speaking advanced learners. The present study examined the sociolinguistic variable: the use of on and nous to express 1st person plural in a corpus of advanced French interlanguage produced by 15 learners. Fifteen Sinhala- speaking advanced learners were recruited from the University of Kelaniya. The researcher recorded the participants’ conversations in an informal setting. Informal speech was collected in one-to-one conversation between the researcher and informants. It is well know that informal speech style can best be obtained in spontaneous speech (Coveney 1996), therefore the researcher asked questions related to the informants’ immediate environment. Informants were recorded using a simple voice recorder and each recording lasted about thirty minutes. Since it is time-consuming, the researcher transcribed only the occurrences of variables which he intended to analyze. The fundamental research question of this project was: to what extent does variation in the speech of L2 users of French in Sri Lanka reflect the patterns of variation found among L1 users of French? Comparing the native and non-native speakers’ behavior in relation to sociolinguistic variable provided important findings useful for teachers, students and curriculum designers. The researcher found that the use of on is very low among Sri Lankan learners of French whereas those who have spent time in a Francophone country had a higher usage of on.