Browsing by Author "Pathirana, S."

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Clinical exome gene panel analysis of a cohort of urothelial bladder cancer patients from Sri Lanka
(Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention, 2023) Malalasekera, A.; Neththikumara, N.; Somasundaram, P.; Pathirana, S.; Ediriweera, C.; Ediriweera, D.; Goonewardena, S.A.; Perera, N.D.; Abeygunasekara, A.; Jayasekara, R.W.; Wettasinghe, K.; Lokuhetty, M.D.S.; Dissanayeke, V.H.W.
BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer has a high rate of recurrence and high mortality rates in those who progress to muscle invasive disease. Biomarkers and molecular sub classification of tumours beyond standard histopathology has been proposed to address therapeutic dilemmas. The Cancer Genome Atlas project and other studies have contributed to the enhanced knowledge base of the mutational landscape of urothelial bladder cancer. Once again, these are mostly from Caucasian and Chinese patients, with data from the rest of Asia and Sri Lanka being sparse. The objective of this study was to assess the genomic variations of a cohort of urothelial bladder cancer patients in Sri Lanka. METHODS: The molecular genetic study was conducted on formalin fixed paraffin embedded tumour samples of 24 patients, prospectively enrolled from 2013 to 2017. The samples were sequenced and variant distribution performed based on a 70-gene panel. RESULTS: Total number of filtered mutations in the 24 patients was 10453. Median mutations per patient were 450 (range 22-987). The predominant mutational change was C>T and G>A. The top 5 mutated genes in our cohort were SYNE1, SYNE2, KMT2C, LRP2, and ANK2. The genes were clustered into 3 groups dependent on the number of mutations per patient per gene. The genes of cluster 1 and 2 mapped to Chromatin modifying enzymes and Generic Transcription Pathway. The chromatin remodelling pathway accounted for the largest proportion (22%) of mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical exome sequencing utilising a gene panel yielded a high mutation rate in our patients. The predominant mutational change was C>T and G>A. Three clusters of genes were identified. SYNE1 was the gene with the most mutations. The mutations comprised predominantly of genes of the chromatin remodelling pathway.
Factors which generate Pronunciation Difficulties for the Undergraduates of University of Kelaniya
(English Language Teaching Unit, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Wijesundara, E.; Wijesooriya, K.; Pathirana, S.; Warnasooriya, K.
The research paper will focus on the fundamental pronunciation problems faced by the randomly selected undergraduates who learn English as a second language in the University of Kelaniya. The sample of this study consists of the undergraduates belonging to faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences and Management in the University. The collection of data was done as a semi structured interview (Pronunciation Test) and as a questionnaire. The sample consisted of forty undergraduates for the questionnaire and ten undergraduates for the semi structured interview. The research was carried out in September 2015.The study identified two major problematic areas; how the puberty age affects for pronunciation and how the rural and urban distinction affects for pronunciation. The findings show that undergraduates who started learning English before puberty are more fluent in English than others and undergraduates from urban areas are more fluent in English than those who are from rural areas. The study also revealed other pronunciation problems such as anxiety, family background, influence of the first language and incomplete knowledge about grammar and vocabulary. Based on these findings the researcher recommends that the undergraduates will be able to overcome these pronunciation difficulties and speak in English correctly by implementing teaching methods regarding pronunciation in English classroom, giving proper phonetic training, practicing pronunciation activities and having good motivation as well.