Browsing by Author "Subasinghe, G. K."

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Exploring data mining avenues in β-Thalassemia carrier identification
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Subasinghe, G. K.; Chandrasekara, N. V.; Premawardhena, A. P.
Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder that affects the production of haemoglobin and is a global health problem. In comparison to many other nations in the region, Sri Lanka also has a high prevalence of thalassemia. The traditional methods for identifying thalassemia carriers, such as genetics and blood tests, are expensive and time-consuming and may not be available to all demographic groups. Nevertheless, the use of data mining models for thalassemia carrier detection is still in its infancy, and there are few studies on its efficacy. Therefore, it is vital to investigate the efficacy and accuracy of data mining approaches for detecting thalassemia carriers, as well as the viability of employing these methods in clinical practice. Thus, the objective of this study is to develop a time-efficient model to detect the β-thalassemia carriers, which can reduce the time to take a decision and develop the built model as a decision support tool. Also, the earlier detection will help individuals to refer to necessary treatments further. This study is carried out with the data obtained from Hemal's Adolescent and Adult Thalassemia Care Centre, Mahara, one of the treatments centres for thalassemia. As the study population, 343 individuals’ data values were considered from August 2019 to December 2019. When processing the dataset, 112 (36%) individuals were declared as β-thalassemia carriers, whereas 200 (64%) were identified as β- thalassemia non-carriers. Eight blood parameters, such as RBC, HGB, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW and HbA2 were identified by revealing the literature and the Chi-square and Mann- Whitney U tests were used to identify the association between the variables at 5% level of significance. A random over-sampling technique was used to overcome the class-imbalanced problem in the dataset, and based on that, model fitting was performed under the two data selection methods, i.e., Method 1: Model fitting before handling the class imbalance problem and Method 02: Model fitting with random over-sampling technique. Then 80% of the data was used for training the models, and 20% of the data was used for the evaluation. Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) models were used to detect the β-thalassemia carriers. In comparison among methods, the better-performing models were given under Method 2, and the PNN model fitted under Method 2 (PNN Model 2) exhibits 98.75% overall classification accuracy. Here, the PNN model’s network architecture consisted of eight nodes in the input layer, 320 nodes in the pattern layer, two nodes in the summation layer, and two nodes in the output layer. Further, the fitted PNN Model 2 can be utilised as a cost-effective and timesaving option to detect β-thalassemia carriers in a few seconds with acceptable accuracy and can be implemented as a decision support tool. However, it is recommended to get advice from a medical doctor for further investigation.
Impact of past mental and physical harassments on undergraduates of University of Kelaniya
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Pathirana, G. P. N. M.; Subasinghe, G. K.; Samarasinghe, D. G. S. P.; Fernando, H. A. S.; Jayasinghe, M. G.; Herath, H. M. K. M.
Harassment is any physical, verbal, written, or otherwise unwanted, unwelcome behavior that may offend or humiliate an individual. Discriminatory harassment, physical harassment, mental harassment, psychological harassment, sexual harassment, etc., are frequently experienced worldwide, and these are related to adverse physical and mental health outcomes and injuries. The existing state of knowledge on this topic is that these incidents are prevalent even though no one has been able to pay much attention to such incidents. As a result, harassment increases gradually, and society has not enforced directive laws and punishments against those who commit such offences. Our objective was to determine the impact of past mental and physical harassment on undergraduates of the Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya. This study considers the most impacted scenarios and the discomforts undergraduates have gone through since childhood. From the results of a pilot study, a sample of 342 undergraduates from the faculty of science have undergone a survey. The study uses a stratified sampling method, and the level/ academic year of study is considered as strata. Major discomforts and aftereffects such as stress, anxiety, sleeping disorders, sexual malfunctions, weight loss, mental retardation, etc., of more specific harassments were analysed here. There is an equal proportion of participation in both males and females. The descriptive study shows how the respondents were impacted: physically, mentally or both. The way they reacted to the discomfort, to whom they were informed, and how much time has been taken for the action are discussed here. Major afflictions came out to be bullying, gender discrimination, cyberbullying, sexual abuse and racial/religious discrimination. Highest impacted discomfort has been experienced severely by most females but mildly by most males. The categorical analysis gave a relative risk of 1.121 to 2.247 on the female being more likely to encounter an aftereffect from discomforts. Experiencing severe cases is higher for females than males. The odds of a female encountering sexual abuse are about three times more likely than a male. Further, chi-square tests revealed aftereffect is independent of gender, but aftereffect and the discomfort types are significantly associated. Ratings (mild, moderate, severe) are associated with the discomfort type. The study identifies that there is an equivalent experience of harassment no matter what gender they belong to, but females have a higher tendency to get harassed. Consequently, the severity of the incident is higher for females than males. Further studies can be conducted to determine actions to reduce the aftermath, find cures and enlighten society about how to avoid discomfort.