Browsing by Author "Jayasekara, S."

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Effect of oral supplementation with vitamin E on the oxido-reductive status of red blood cells in normal mice and mice subject to oxidative stress by chronic administration of adriamycin
(Sage Publishing, 1999) Thabrew, M.I.; Samarawickrema, N.A.; Chandrasena, L.G.; Jayasekara, S.
The effect of oral vitamin E supplementation on the oxido-reductive status of red blood cells in normal mice and those subject to oxidative stress by chronic administration of the anti-tumour drug Adriamycin was investigated. Mice were randomly separated into three groups of 20 animals each and maintained on diets identical in all respects except for vitamin E content. Group 1 received a low vitamin E diet that provided 10 mg vitamin E/kg body weight/day, group 2 received a normal mice chow diet (45 mg vitamin E/kg body weight/day) while group 3 received a high vitamin E diet (200 mg vitamin E/kg body weight/day). In comparison with the normal mice in group 1, their counterparts in groups 2 and 3 exhibited significantly higher (P 0.001) activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in red blood cells (79.4 percent higher in group 2 and 114.2 percent higher in group 3, respectively) and produced lower concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) (22.9 percent less in group 2 and 51.2 percent less in group 3, respectively), with little difference in the glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity. In Adriamycin-treated animals on the low vitamin E diet (group 1) the red blood cell SOD activity and MDA production were 46.2 percent and 200.7percent higher (P 0.001), respectively, and the GPX activity was 39.1percent lower than in the red blood cells of untreated (normal) animals in the same group. The Adriamycin-induced changes were significantly less in animals receiving higher doses of vitamin E (groups 2 and 3). Thus, in the group maintained on the high vitamin E diet (group 3), Adriamycin administration resulted in only a 38.9 percent increase in the MDA production above that generated by red blood cells of normal mice in the same group, with no significant change in the SOD or GPX activities. Thus, in normal conditions as well as in conditions of oxidative stress, high doses of vitamin E appear to be able to protect the oxido-reductive status of red blood cells by modulating the extent of lipid peroxidation as well as the activities of antioxidant enzymes.
Effect of vitamin E supplementation on adriamycin induced changes in oxido-reductive status of mouse red blood cells
(University of Kelaniya, 2000) Thabrew, M.I.; Samarawickrama, N.A.; Chandrasena, L.G.; Jayasekara, S.
Effective understanding; attempt of using motion pictures to direct Sri Lankans towards Post-war Reconciliation with Reference of “Him. Her.The other” and “Demons in Paradise”
(4th International Conference on Social Sciences 2018, Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Senarath, S.; Jayasekara, S.; Boteju, I.; Gunathilaka, D.
Visual media is a universal language. It addresses almost every living species on the world. The two films “Him. Her. The other” by Prasanna Vitanage, Vimukthi Jayasundera and Asoka Handagama, and “Demons in the Paradise” by Jude Ratnum can be identified as an effort they made to picturize the unseen, unidentified and unrevealed corners of the aftermaths and consequences of the 30 years of war in Sri Lanka. These films were given different messages, backgrounds and they had shown different insights of war that victims had to face. From the two motion pictures and their contents, the way they address the concept of reconciliation, it is fair to assume that the visual media is one of the best medium to address the social consciousness of lay people especially with reference to key elements of reconciliation like replacing fear, coexistence, empathy and non-violence. The aim of this study was to understand whether these two selected films address the conscious of the spectators, originated due to an unsolved question which resulted in 30 years of war and if so how they address them. This was a case study conducted through forums among spectators of the two selected motion pictures and the sample selection had been limited to the age group of below 45 years from both Tamils and Sinhalese who were not directly affected by the 30 years of civil war. The forums conducted with the spectators did not show any aggressive or negative perspective therefore, it was likely possible to anticipate a better attitudinal change from them in near future. The findings might not be representative of the study population due to the fact that the number of screenings completed so far, do not represent the majority viewership of both Sinhalese and Tamils. With the limited number of screenings and with the received mindful and positive responses it endured the hint that even in public screenings there were no any negative or aggressive responses and certainly these two films can attract the minds of the majority of the Sri Lankans to the path of reconciliation.
Effectiveness of ELTU Course for First Year Undergraduates in Accomplishing L2 Requirements
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Thakshila, L.M.; Jayasekara, S.
If new entrants to the university have less competency in the English language, they find it challenging to follow degree programmes in the English medium. Students of the beginners‘ level classes at ELTU are reluctant to express themselves when they are not supported through the use of their first language (L1). Research indicates that English as a Second Language (ESL) students have an alarmingly high dropout rate in language acquisition in many countries (DelliCarpini, 2008). The reasons vary from personal dislike towards lessons to less competency. This means that the lecturers must be able not only to teach the syllabus, but also to make the concepts and content comprehensible and interesting to ESL learners in their classrooms. In this opinion based study, the research question is if university ESL courses accomplish the second language (L2) requirements of students whose degree programmes are been conducted only in the English medium. In gathering data, 110 first year students of the Faculty of Commerce and Management representing the beginners‘ level classes in the English for Professional Purposes course were given questionnaires. Questions included the students‘ feedback towards the class formation, curriculum and teaching methods. Self-evaluation of students‘ L2 competency before starting the course and after completing the course was also sought. Furthermore, unstructured individual and group interviews of students were conducted. Data indicated that the majority was interested in the course and that they would attend lectures even if attendance was not compulsory. Preference to follow the degree in the English medium due to career requirements, improvement in L2 competency in terms of writing, speaking and understanding the language and confidence built in a learner-friendly English environment in proficiency-based classrooms were mentioned by a majority of the participants. Among the recommendations were to include a field trip, etiquette learning and more basic grammar for further efficacy. Significance of this study is to recommend improvements for the syllabus and pedagogical approaches in the ESL course enabling low-proficiency students to accomplish L2 requirements.
Feasibility assessment of fish farming in seasonal reser-voirs: Packaging technical, social and financial aspects
(Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, 2008) Jarchau, P.; Lidzba, C.; Jayasekara, S.
Many fish farming committees in seasonal reservoirs give up their activities after one or two years of operation due to a number of problems they encounter. The reason for this often can be traced back to insufficient preparatory work for the formation and preparation of committees before starting fish farming. The project has developed a comprehensive procedure for a feasibility assessment of fish farming in seasonal reservoirs including technical, social and financial feasibility assessment. By covering all three aspects it is hoped that failure rates can be re-duced considerably and, at the same time, will ensure a higher acceptance and reputation of fish farming as an economic activity in the rural communities. Based on the proposed assessment process, extension personnel need to be trained in all these aspects especially in financial and social issues. Ex-tension service must change from providing purely technical advice towards facilitating a process of institution and capacity building in the communities to enable them to participate in the economic development of the country.
Protection by garlic against adriamycin induced alterations in the oxido-reductive status of mouse red blood cells
(Wiley, 2000) Thabrew, M.I.; Samarawickrema, N.A.; Chandrasena, L.G.; Jayasekara, S.
The effects of oral garlic supplementation on the activities of (a) the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and (b) lipid peroxidation, as assessed by malondialdehyde (MDA) production in red blood cells of normal mice and those subject to oxidative stress by chronic administration of the anti-tumour drug adriamycin has been investigated. As expected, adria-mycin administration resulted in a significant increase in MDA generation (by 105.4%) and a decrease in GPX activity (by 23.8%) in the red blood cells. Although garlic had no significant effects on the basal levels of the antioxidant enzymes or MDA generation in red blood cells of normal mice (untreated with adriamycin), at doses of 20 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg, garlic was able to decrease significantly the adriamycin induced changes in the oxido-reductive status of the redblood cells. Thus, on administration of adriamycin to mice fed diets containing 20 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg garlic, the drug-induced increase in MDA generation was 38.2% and 22.5% respectively, less than that produced by adriamycin in mice fed normal diets, containing no garlic (105.4%). Similarly, in mice fed diets providing 20 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg garlic, adriamycin was able to decrease GPX activity by only 15.1% and 7.6% respectively, less than that produced by adriamycin in rats fed normal diets, containing no garlic (23.9%).