IRSPAS 2019
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Item Determination of heavy metals in soil in chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology affected areas of Karanbankulama (A preliminary study(4th International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Rajaguru, R. A. M. T. S.; Subramanium, S.S.; De Silva, R. C. L.The increased prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) among specific occupational groups confined to specific geographical regions of Sri Lanka has dragged the attention of scientific community in recent years. The objective of the study was to determine the concentrations of heavy metals Cu, Cr, Zn, Pb and Cd and characteristics like moisture content, organic matter content, pH and conductivity in soil samples obtained in the areas which are affected CKDu. The study was conducted in the Karanbankulama area in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Soil samples were collected from reservoirs and paddy fields. Prior to the heavy metal analysis an acid or acid combination such as HCl: HNO3, HNO3: H2O2 and HNO3 was examined to digest the soil samples aid with microwave digestion. A higher metal concentration was obtained for aqua regia for each metal mentioned above when a selected soil sample was treated with the above acid combinations. Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer was used for the analysis of the samples. The resulted concentrations were 10-37, 20-86, 3-30 and 25-50 mg kg-1 for Cu, Pb, Cr and Zn respectively. However, Cd was not in detectable limits by FAAS. The results showed that the concentrations of Cr, Zn, Pb were in the permissible levels set by WHO (World Health Organization) while the concentration of Cu was recorded slightly above the permissible levels in paddy field soil of some sites. The soil characterization studies showed that the pH of the soil in tanks and paddy fields was in between 5-7. Moreover, the soil conductivity measurements showed a considerable variation even between the samples of the same site. This may be due to the variations in the accumulation of fertilizer in the paddy field. Furthermore, the concentration of the electrolytes was less than that of the paddy fields. The organic matter percentage of the soils in tanks in two sites were relatively higher than other sites. The moisture percentage in the tank soil samples was in the range 1-4% while it was 1-3% in the soil samples in the paddy fieldsItem Association between backache related quality of life and serum creatinine in Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) patients in the North Central Province, Sri Lanka(4th International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Aslam, F.; Hakmanage, N. M.; Suriyakumara, V.; Sandaruwan, L.; Kumarasinghe, N.Chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) is a slow progressive disease that cannot be detected until the later stages. This is commonly described among the agricultural communities in Sri Lanka. CKDu has been a burden over the past two decades and mainly affects the North Central province. This disease is spreading towards the Southern, North Western and Central provinces. CKDu is staged using the estimated-glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR) which is the standard test performed under the WHO guidelines using serum creatinine (SCr) measurement. Backache has been identified as a common symptom among patients suffering from any form of CKDu. It is postulated that backache can be used as an indirect measure to gain an insight about the patients’ health status. The pain measurement also allows an overall assessment of the individuals’ quality of life affecting activities of daily living and which can be used to measure total outcome of the disease. Using an interviewer-based questionnaire, backache was assessed among patients with CKDu. Roland-Morris low back pain and disability questionnaire (RMQ) was used, which had 24 questions and given scores ranging from 0-24. In addition to RMQ, five questions related to the body and pain derived from the KDQOL questionnaire (a standard tool used to determine quality of life (QOL) in kidney disease affected patients) was also used. The scores were combined and evaluated into four main types of backaches: no backache, intermittent, nociceptive and neuropathic backache. The questionnaire was categorized into four variables Correlation statistics were applied to determine the relationship between backache and SCr values in CKDu. IBM SPSS version 23 was used for the statistical analysis. Based on results, a predictive model was designed to understand the correlation between the severity of backache and serum creatinine in CKDu patients. A sample of 75 patients with CKDu were included in the analysis. R-square of 80.9% was observed only in RMQ model. The ANOVA test reported how well the regression equation fits the data. There was a positive relationship between SCr and severity of backache (p<0.001). Using the available findings, a predictive model was designed to understand the severity of backache with serum creatinine in CKDu patients. This may be used in early interventions to improve QOL. However, future studies and larger sample size are required to establish these findingsItem Assessment of groundwater contamination with environmental toxicants in CKDu endemic area, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka(4th International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Perera, W. P. R. T.; Dayananda, M. D. N. R; Botheju, W. S. M.; Liyanage, J. A.Chronic Kidney Disease unknown etiology (CKDu) is one of the major health impacts predominantly confined to people in North Central Province in Sri Lanka. The root courses for the disease prevalence have not found yet. Therefore, this investigation was carried out to determine the groundwater contamination with environmental toxicants: Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Arsenic (As), Iron (Fe), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) Fluoride (F), Sodium (Na) and Aluminium (Al) in Dimbulagala Grama Niladhari Division (GND) in Polonnaruwa District, Sri Lanka. The study investigated the groundwater quality of Dimbulagala GND in dry zone of Sri Lanka to assess its suitability for drinking purposes. Only Ten working tube wells were found in the studied area and groundwater samples were collected from the tube wells. Basic physicochemical parameters (pH, temperature, conductivity and dissolved oxygen), (Hatch HQ14d) and fluoride content were determined (Orion Star- 2014) onsite. Environmental toxicant concentrations were determined using Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP–MS, Agilent 7800). Results were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. descriptive statistics were performed on the data set and the Pearson correlation was applied. According to the results obtained from the onsite investigations the mean values of pH, conductivity and fluoride content were 7.78 (+1.28), 520 us/cm (+148) and 1.20 mg/l (+0.32) respectively. The mean value of the fluoride content has exceeded the permissible limit (1.0 mg/L), (SLS 614-2013). It was highlighted that significant toxic heavy metals such as Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr) and Arsenic (As) levels as well as other metals like Fe, Cu, Zn, Na, Al have not been exceeded than permissible limits (SLS 614-2013). Statistically evaluation process proved none of the positive correlation is reported between heavy metal concentrations and Fluoride content of the groundwater in the studied area. But a negative correlation was reported between Fluoride and Cr (p= -0.05) in the groundwater in the studied area. Ca and Mg concentrations ranged between 3.43 mg/l to 130.56 mg/L And 6.54 mg/L to 75.32 mg/L respectively. Although mean Ca (10.12 mg/L) and Mg (15.45mg/L) did not exceed the permissible levels (100 mg/L and 30 mg/L for Ca and Mg), 40% and 50% of individual samples for Ca and Mg levels exceeded the permissible levels respectively. There is an urgent need for establishing proper long term drinking water treatment method for the studied area because of long term exposure to heavy metals such as Cd, Pb, Cr, As, and high levels of Fluoride as well as other environmental toxicants can be harmful to people. These findings can be used as a benchmark of raw water quality in the design processes of treatment plantsItem Analysis of heavy metal levels in rice grown in CKDu effected Krambankulama in Medawachchiya, Sri Lanka(4th International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Dilrukshi, A. A. S.; Weerasooriya, M. K. B.Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) is a major health problem faced in agricultural areas in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Among many different causative factors that suspects, heavy metal contamination of food is one of the major issues which can lead to the renal failures in human. Though number of studies have been reported on CKDu, exact causative factor still remains unknown. Since rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple diet in these areas, heavy metal content of rice grown in CKDu prone Karambankulama, Medawachchiya was aimed to investigate. Rice samples (n=45) were collected from 5 sites in Karambankulama and in Hettipola, Kuliyapitiya. From each site 9 samples were collected at random locations. For the comparison purpose, Hettipola was selected as negative control site. The rice samples were acid digested in a microwave digester and heavy metals were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Cu, Cr, Pb were detected in flame mode whereas Cd was detected in furnace mode. According to the results obtained mean metal contents of rice samples were as follows. Cu- 0.864±0.090 mg/kg, Cr- 0.903±0.020 mg/kg, Pb- 0.144±0.010 mg/kg and Cd-0.089±0.003 mg/kg for the samples collected from Karambankulama and Cu- 0.804±0.050 mg/kg, Cr- 0.895±0.010 mg/kg , Pb- 0.133±0.001 mg/kg and Cd- 0.061±0.001 mg/kg for the samples from Kuliyapitiya. There were significant difference (p<0.05) of the mean levels of Cu, Pb and Cd in rice between Karambankulama and Hettipola while there was no significant difference (p>0.05) with respect to the mean levels of Cr. To assess the safety of dietary intake, weekly intake of Cu, Cr, Pb and Cd in rice samples were calculated separately based on the daily consumption of rice and compared with the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) established by the WHO/FAO. The results indicated that weekly intake of Cr was higher for ages between 4-5 years and 14 years for both sites and that of Cd was higher for ages between 4-5 years in Karambankulama than the maximum weekly intake levels recommended by WHO/FAO. During the survey 12 CKDu patients were recorded in Karambankulama whereas none was recorded in Hettipola. Hence, Cd accumulation in the body over long period of time could be one of the causes for the present increase in chronic renal failure in the North Central province.Item Hardware architecture for superoxide production in CKDu initiation(4th International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Upamalika, S. W. A. M.; Vidanagamachchi, S. M.; Wannige, C. T.Simulation of molecular mechanisms of a disease is important in drug discovery and treatments of the disease. There are many difficulties in performing extensive biological experiments to investigate of a disease with living organisms or even with cell lines because of high cost, the requirement of expensive instrumentation and expertise knowledge. Further, there are lots of ethical and legal limitations for doing these experiments. Modeling these processes using mathematical modeling and simulating them with latest technologies would accompany to further investigate the disease condition while finding and testing new drugs by bypassing limitations. In recent past, usage of hardware simulations for the biological system modeling has become more frequent due to high speed solving capacity of hardware compared to much time consuming process of simulation using software. Field Programmable Gate Array is a semiconductor device designed to build reconfigurable digital circuits and has been used more frequently for simulation and acceleration purposes these days. In this work, we propose a hardware architecture utilizing Field Programmable Gate Array for superoxide production in initiation of Chronic Kidney Disease of uncertain etiology with heavy metal exposure which is one of the identified etiological factors of the disease. Since oxidative stress is identified as main mediator of heavy metal induced renal injury in the disease, mechanisms for increase of oxidative stress is further explored. To that end, the increase of reactive oxygen species initiated first with superoxide generation is identified as a leading cause for increase of oxidative stress. Therefore, the superoxide increment was mathematically expressed using kinetic laws. Ordinary differential equations based mathematical expression is used to describe the variation of superoxide concentration with time in cells. The ordinary differential equations are then can be converted into the hardware description language code which could run on Field Programmable Gate Array. In this conversion, Register Transfer Level design of the superoxide increment process was created based on the mathematical expression as the initial step before the implementation on Field Programmable Gate Array. In the circuit, input signals are the main variables considered in the mathematical model and adders, sub tractors, multipliers, and dividers are the algebraic representations. The constant parameter values are included in the algebraic representation. The rate of the reaction is the final output of this reconfigurable architecture. In addition to acceleration, Field Programmable Gate Array has advantages as optimization and initiating system-on-chip implementations. Accuracy of simulation can be confirmed by observing the experiment data patterns.