Scientists at the University of Colombo in collaboration with partners from the National University of Singapore (NUS), A*STAR's Bioinformatics Institute, and Tohoku University, are making significant strides in finding better ways to treat anxiety, depression, and related problems.  They are exploring new approaches to make medications more effective and with fewer side effects.

Traditionally, medicines for issues like anxiety and depression cause unwanted side effects because their targets affect many other physiological responses of the body, apart from the nervous system. But what if we could make medicines that only target the specific problems we want to fix? That's what the team is investigating. So, they are figuring out how to modify or bias it to only do what they want it to.

Their recent study, published in Science Signaling (https://www.science.org/toc/signaling/17/823), showed promising results in this direction.

Led by Professor Gavin Dawe, Head of the Department of Pharmacology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), the researchers are focusing on a molecule called relaxin-3 found in our brains. This molecule helps control stress, mood, pain perception and feeding behaviours by interacting with its target RXFP3. By understanding how it works, they hope to develop drugs that only affect the parts of the brain linked to anxiety and depression, without causing other problems. Professor Dawe explains that they're using a technique called peptide stapling to make the molecule more stable and efficient in interacting with its target. This could make the medicines work better for treating anxiety, depression, and addiction.

Dr Tharindunee Jayakody, first author of the study and PhD alumna of the Department of Pharmacology at NUS Medicine is now a lecturer at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo. She is excited about their progress and believes that their work could lead to medicines that specifically target anxiety and depression, making them more effective. She is hopeful that the ongoing collaborative work between NUS Medicine and her research group at the University of Colombo would also strive to understand how proteins like RXFP3 function at a molecular level with the help of “biased stapled peptides”.

Looking forward, the team is eager to continue their research to better understand how these stapled peptide molecules work in the body. Ultimately, they hope their work will lead to new and improved treatments for anxiety, depression, and related issues, offering hope to those who struggle with these conditions. Go to the Full Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scisignal.abl5880.

The International Conference on Computational Mathematical Modeling (ICCMM-2024) held on January 25-26, 2024, at the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, organized by the Centre for Mathematical Modeling, marked a significant milestone in the convergence of global experts, researchers, and practitioners in the field of mathematical modeling. This conference aimed to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas, collaboration, and the dissemination of cutting-edge research at the intersection of mathematics and computation.

The inauguration ceremony was held on 26th January 2024 at the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo with the participation of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Senior Professor HD Karunaratne as the chief guest, the Director General of the National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka, Dr Sepalika Sudasinghe as the Keynote speaker, the Dean Faculty of Science, Professor Upul Sonnadara and many distinguished guests. Marking the conference inauguration, the electronic conference proceedings were launched.

The Centre for Mathematical Modeling at the University of Colombo, known for its commitment to interdisciplinary research and innovation, played a pivotal role in organizing ICCMM-2024. As a renowned institution in the field, the center's dedication to advancing mathematical modeling through computational techniques was evident in the successful execution of this international conference.

More Photos by FOS Media: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=fosmedia&set=a.967399524745950

Deadline for Research Allowance Application submission – 21.12.2023

Should submit the Research Allowance Application along with the required documents via online to reach the deans.office@sci.cmb.ac.lk and a hard copy with relevant endorsements to the Senior Assistant Registrar/Faculty of Science.

Click here for the application

The Buffalo, since ancient times, has been an animal of great reverence owing to its social and cultural significance in the Sri Lankan society. Many chronicles and rock inscriptions (e.g. Galapatha Raja Maha Viharaya, Aluthgama and Hevevissa Korale, Kurunegala) bear ample testimony to this fact. Owning and managing buffalo and cattle herds were considered a noble profession, and the herdsmen addressed as ‘Pattividane’ or ‘Nilamakkare’ were traditionally held in high esteem.

An ancient inscription in the Wilpattu Forest giving details of wild buffalo herds (left) & Bones of animals, including those of buffaloes, taken out of a water hole in Yala (right). The level of fossilization indicates that these bones are around 1,000 to 5,000 years old.

There have been many myths and ideas associated with the origin and taxonomy of the Sri Lankan Wild buffalo!

Some record that wild buffaloes in Sri Lanka are descendants of those that were introduced by Prince Vijaya and his followers from Northern India and indeed prehistoric fossils dating back to 6th century BC may be taken as indicative of this. It is said that ‘indigenous’ wild buffaloes have been captured and tamed by the early inhabitants of the island for use in agriculture.

Equal confusion surrounds its taxonomic affinities. Observations by Phillips (1935) and later by Deraniyagala (1952) led to it being referred to as Bubalis bubalis. Limited studies based on skull features assumed it to be allied to B. arnee, although this had not been verified. These uncertainties have prevented the implementation of conservation efforts targeting the Wild buffalo in Sri Lanka.

On a quest to solve this puzzle

Nilupa Vidana Pathiranage an undergraduate of the Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, under the keen eye of two researchers from the EcoServ Research Lab – Professor Mayuri Wijesinghe (Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, University of Colombo) and Dr Saminda Fernando (Department of Zoology, The Open University of Sri Lanka) were on a quest to solve this mystery.

They were particularly interested to know………

• Whether the Sri Lankan wild buffalo is indeed of the species Bubalis arnee?
  and if so,
• Is the subspecies endemic to our country?
• Is it found in the wild today?

They used measurements of wild buffalo skulls stored at museums and in private collections and those that were collected from the Kumana and Maduru Oya National Parks, to study differences. They also conducted a genetic analysis using fragments from some of these skulls. Three other collaborators Dr Ruwan Illeperuma (Open University of Sri Lanka), Mr Sampath Goonatilake (IUCN, Sri Lanka) and Dr Kelum Manamendra-arachchi (PGIA) provided their expertise.

Our very own buffalo brand

The findings were indeed interesting.

• They found that the Wild buffalo in Sri Lanka could be one of the two species (i) arnee described as the Asian wild buffalo or (ii) B. carabanensis, called the Swamp buffalo.
• They were also able to confirm both craniometrically and genetically that Sri Lanka has a unique subspecies of arnee, which differs from the other three subspecies found in the Asian mainland. The name Bubalis arnee migona proposed by Deraniyagala (1953) can now be verified.

Migona skull characterized by a narrower face and wider horns (Left) than the Swamp buffalo skull (Right)

Do we still have the all-important B.a. migona?

Sadly, the results so far have revealed that the skulls collected from the Kumana and Minneriya by the researchers were of the Swamp buffalo, whereas those that clustered with the Migona were Museum specimens. But let’s not lose hope. We will continue our search in other wild areas.

These research findings have been able to shed some light on the existing uncertainties with respect to the taxonomy of the Wild buffaloes in Sri Lanka. More importantly, Bubalus arnee populations have been in continuous decline over the last half century across its range owing to habitat loss and fragmentation, and competition for foraging grounds with other mega herbivores as well as with the domesticated buffaloes. Hybridization with the domestic species is also a major issue.

Click this link to read the paper

https://rdcu.be/diMaI

The Annual Research Symposium (ARS) of the University of Colombo, which unifies all symposia held by the respective Faculties, Institutes, Campus, School and the library of the University, is one of the main events in the University calendar. This year, it will be held on the 16th of November 2022 at the Prof. V. K. Samaranayake Auditorium of the University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC). The theme of this year’s research symposium, “Digital Transformation and Innovative Approaches to Mitigate Challenges in the Higher Education Sector,” aptly suited the current challenges faced by the University.

Registration link : Registration Link

More details : https://cmb.ac.lk/ars-2022/

Being the dietary staple, rice is the main nutritional source of essential trace elements in most Asian countries. However, the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies is high in many countries where diets are based on staple foods such as maize, wheat, rice, and cassava. They provide more energy but are relatively low in essential elements. In the Sri Lankan market, there exists a great diversity of improved, traditional, and imported rice varieties with unique nutritional values. They differ in grain size (long and short), pericarp colour (red and white), and method of processing (raw, parboiled, and degree of polishing). There is an emerging concern on contamination of rice with potentially toxic elements (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, nickel etc.) mainly due to anthropogenic influences such as industrial activities and continuous/excessive usage of poor-quality agrochemicals (containing potentially toxic elements as impurities). In addition, climatic conditions, topography, rice variety, soil physicochemical properties, bioavailability of trace elements, biological processes in soils/plants, and agricultural management practices (i.e., fertilization, irrigation, and micronutrient fortification) may affect the bioaccumulation of trace elements in rice. With high awareness on human health among consumers, the selection of rice varieties  with better qualities (nutritional and toxicological standpoints) is crucial. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive investigation (during 2018 and 2019) on trace element (essential and potentially toxic) concentrations in commonly consumed rice varieties available in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka while addressing the dietary exposure and health risk assessment. For our assessment, we selected improved (White nadu, White raw, White raw samba, Red nadu, Red raw, Red raw samba, Samba, and Keeri Samba), traditional (Suwadel, Kaluheenati, Pachchaperuman, and Madathawalu), and imported (Basmathi and fragrant rice) rice varieties. 

Based on our analysis, arsenic was detected in all traditional, imported, and improved rice categories (in 2018 and 2019) but the arsenic concentrations in imported and improved rice varieties did not exceed the maximum level (ML) proposed by FAO/WHO (0.2 mg/kg). In 2018, 4.2% of traditional rice (i.e., Kaluheenati) exceeded the ML for arsenic. Similarly, 2.1% improved (i.e., Red raw samba) and 4.2% of traditional rice (i.e., Kaluheenati) exceeded ML for lead in 2018. However, none of the potentially toxic elements (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and nickel) in rice exceeded the respective MLs in 2019. 

Rice varieties that reported relatively high concentrations of potentially toxic elements were parboiled rice i.e., Basmathi (imported), Samba (improved), and traditional rice i.e., Kaluheenati, Madathawalu, Pachchaperuman, and Suwadel. Higher concentrations of essential elements (i.e., iron, zinc, manganese, and copper) were also found in traditional rice with red pericarp (i.e., Kaluheenati, Madathawalu, and Pachchaperuman) than that of other rice varieties. 

In 2018, the mean estimated daily intake (MEDI) of lead exceeded the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) value, only for Kaluheenati. Among the studied rice varieties, the highest contribution to the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron was reported from Pachchaperuman in both years whereas the highest contribution to RDA of zinc was from Pachchaperuman and fragrant rice in 2018 and 2019, respectively. 

Reliable data generated by validated test methods provided an overview of the quality of rice available in the highly populated Colombo district, Sri Lanka. Further, our findings provided an insight into both positive and potentially negative impacts of traditional rice varieties on human health due to their relatively high concentrations of essential and potentially toxic elements. Therefore, we believe that our findings will be vital for authorities in monitoring and regulating national guidelines for potentially toxic elements in rice varieties which are yet to be set to safeguard the consumers. 

The beneficial outcome of this study was a collaborative effort between the University of Colombo (UOC), Sri Lanka and the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), Sri Lanka. This study was conducted as a part of MPhil/PhD degree of Mrs. Gayani Udeshika Chandrasiri (Research Scientist, ITI) under the supervision of Senior Prof. Ranjith Mahanama (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, UOC) and Dr. Kushani Mahatantila (Senior Research Scientist, ITI). Special thanks go to Dr. Pavithra Sajeewani Pitumpe Arachchige. 

Reference:

Chandrasiri, G.U., Mahanama, K.R.R., Mahatantila, K. et al. An assessment on toxic and essential elements in rice consumed in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Appl Biol Chem 65, 24 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13765-022-00689-8

Image prepared by: Mrs. Gayani Udeshika Chandasiri

Written by: Mrs. Gayani Udeshika Chandasiri

Dengue fever has come to the limelight these days because of its frequent outbreaks in various parts of the world. The dengue virus, a member of the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae, is an arthropod-borne virus that includes four different serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4). The World Health Organization (WHO) considers dengue as a major global public health challenge in the tropic and subtropics nations. They estimate that about 390 million dengue virus infections occur every year of which 96 million manifests clinically. The infection has spread over 128 countries globally while 3.9 billion people are at risk and approximately 70% of the incidences are reported from Asia.

Some might not know that at present, Dengue has become the most important vector-borne emerging and re-emerging infectious disease in Sri Lanka as well leading to vast economic and social burden. With the seasonal transmission, higher rainfalls increase not only the availability of the breeding containers for dengue vector mosquitoes but also favorable environmental conditions, viz. humidity, and temperature, for its development.

Vector controlling is the best approach to control disease transmission in the country since neither a drug nor a specific vaccine is being practiced yet. Chemical control methods such as selective indoor residual insecticide spraying, and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) were currently used to control the disease transmission. Thermal fogging is used in Sri Lanka as the last option in vector control methods with portable or vehicle-mounted fog generators.

However, in the absence of an effective drug or vaccine specific to the virus, the menace seems to be recurrent and difficult to control. Need for Effective surveillance of risk localities in high-risk areas to control dengue transmission remained at large over the past years.

Until recently a group of dedicated scientists was able to develop a propitious solution through their research, “Multivariate Spatio-temporal approach to identify vulnerable localities in dengue risk areas using Geographic Information System (GIS)” conducted at the Molecular Medicine Unit, Medical Faculty, Ragama.

This publication was published on February 18th, 2021, in “Nature Briefing” which is one of the world’s leading science journals that publishes the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology. Below mentioned authors were successful in presenting this innovation.

Dr. Sameera D. Viswakula

Department of Statistics,
Faculty of Science,
University of Colombo
Colombo 07, Sri Lanka.

Dr. Gayan P. Withanage

Research Scientist
Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology

Mr. Malika Gunawardena

Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Mr. Krishantha Samaraweera

Epidemiology Unit, Office of the Regional Director of Health
Services, Gampaha, Sri Lanka.

Prof.Nilmini S. Gunawardena

Molecular Medicine Unit,
Faculty of Medicine,
University of Kelaniya,
Ragama, Sri Lanka.

Prof. Menaka D. Hapugoda

Molecular Medicine Unit,
Faculty of Medicine,
University of Kelaniya,
Ragama, Sri Lanka.

Over 10 years, the second-highest prevalence of dengue in Sri Lanka is observed in the Gampaha District in the Western province with a total of 186,101, the highest number of dengue incidence reported in the year 2017.

GIS-based risk predictive models which can be used to identify risked localities are a need of the moment to control dengue transmission, yet they are not available for the district, nor for the country. Therefore, this study focused on analyzing the spatial and seasonal distribution of dengue incidence and ecological factors to develop GIS-based risk models for the identification of risk localities in high-risk areas to control dengue transmission. Graphical Information System (GIS)-based risk models can be identified as the key factor of this study. They were prepared to identify the risk areas and factors in the study areas in Gampaha District. Separate layers were developed representing locations of dengue patients and positive breeding containers of Aedes dengue vector mosquitoes, roads, land use, total buildings, public places, and elevations in each study area. The schematic structure is illustrated in the figure below (Figure4). Kernel density and Euclidean distance-based approaches are widely used in the raster development of GIS modeling. Kernal density was used to fit a smoothly tapered surface to point layers while Euclidean distance was used to identify close exposures of polygon layers.

Figure 4: Systematic flow chart of risk model development

Figure 5- Risk maps- composed using Esri ArcGIS 10.21. Satellite imagery comparisons were illustrated in Supplementary Figures S1-S4.

Further, GIS-based risk maps have been used to identify the risk localities in the dengue high-risk study areas in Gampaha District.

Figure 5 shows the final outcomes of the model for each study area.

High-risk localities were illustrated in the dark green color while the low-risk localities were illustrated in white. Another noticeable fact is, when comparing the generated risk maps with satellite imageries, vegetation covers were observed in high-risk localities in all study areas. The reason could be that the dengue vector mosquito can survive sound in vegetation covers.

When comparing the intensity maps (Figure 6) with generated risk maps (Figure5), differences in localization of intensities were observed especially in Eriyawetiya and Walikadamulla study areas.

In Intensity maps (Figure6) generated from the Poisson point process model, the high-risk localities were illustrated in yellow while the low-risk localities were illustrated in blue. Variation of intensity levels are scaled adjacently to the intensity map of the study areas,

1. Eriyawetiya
2. Akbar Town
3. 3rd Kurana
4. Welikadamulla

During the mathematical modeling of patient locations of dengue in the study areas using Poisson point pattern models, different point pattern intensities were predicted for dengue incidences in the study areas. However, the highest intensity range was observed in the Eriyawetiya study area while the lowest was observed from 3rd Kurana.

Figure 6- Predicted point pattern intensity for dengue incidences in the respective study areas.

Figure 7 – Observed Ripley’s K-functions and simulated envelopes for Poisson point process models in the study areas.

According to the above observed Ripley’s K-functions of the developed Poisson multivariate models for the study areas, in Eriyawetiya and 3Rd Kurana study areas, dengue incidences were clustered at some scales and be dispersed at others while only clustering was observed in the Akbar Town and Welikadamulla areas. During this analysis, they have been considered both isotropic and translation edge correction methods, since edge effects arising from the unobserved patient locations outside the study area can be hampered when estimating the K –functions.

Figure 8 – Distribution of dengue incidences in the southwest monsoon period in the study areas. The figure was generated using Esri ArcGIS 10.2.1

Figure 8 shows that the identification of the distribution of dengue incidences in the study high-risk areas in different monsoon periods. When analyzing the distribution of dengue incidences in the monsoon periods, the highest number of dengue incidences were reported from the southwest monsoon period because of higher rainfall. That paves the way to increase not only the availability of the breeding containers for dengue mosquitoes but also favourable environmental conditions, viz. humidity and temperature, for its development.

As we discussed Dengue has been prevalent in Sri Lanka over years with a high risk of outbreaks. Even though proper medication method is not practiced yet, identification of high risked localities would help to minimize the effect of dengue outbreaks from an early stage. So, this committed group of scientists was able to provide a solution to the matter by introducing a GIS-based model identification process. As they present the output of this developed model can be used as an early warning tool to explore the current situation of dengue in an area.

In addition to that, the information grasped will be provided to the healthcare authorities so they can easily understand the disease propagation patterns and can allocate public healthcare resources effectively.

Furthermore, this GIS-based model can be developed to illustrate the scenario of the present situation in real-time in risked areas by coupling it with mathematical modeling and phylogenetic Approaches.

The call of research for a method to avoid a killer has been answered by this inquisitive team by providing a promising solution with the use of GIS-based modeling techniques.

Reference:
Gayan P. Withanage, Malika Gunawardana, Sameera D. Viswakula, Krishantha Samaraweera, Nilmini S. Gunawardena & Menaka D. Hapugoda (Published online : 18 February 2021)
Multivariate Spatio-temporal approach to identify vulnerable localities in dengue risk areas using
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Multivariate Spatio-temporal approach to identify vulnerable localities in dengue risk areas using Geographic Information System (GIS) | Scientific Reports (nature.com)
Dengue fever – Wikipedia

Written by: Tharushi Uththara Ranasinghe

'Manike' has migrated from Mannar to Europe and returned to Mannar via Arctic Ocean.

Sri Lankan researchers have reached a key milestone of chicken migration research within the nation, as one of many GPS-tagged Heuglin’s Gulls (nick named ‘Manike’) returned to in Mannar, after finishing a full migration cycle; a 19,360 km round trip to European arctic & again.

The Heuglin’s Gulls had been GPS-tagged in Taleimannar, Mannar Island in April 2021, by a crew led by Prof. Sampath Seneviratne and Gayomini Panagoda.

As one of many Heuglin’s Gulls (‘Megha’) departed north immediately after the discharge, the opposite bird (‘Manike’) stayed again for 20 extra days & left Mannar on late-April.

This research is a collaborative research led by Professor Sampath Seneviratne (Principal Investigator), and Gayomini Panagoda holds a PhD under this project as a Principal Investigator.

The technical partnership is between the Sri Lankan Bird Science Group (FOGSL) (led by Professor Sarasko Tagama) of the Faculty of Animal Science, University of Colombo and the Center for Environmental and Environmental Sciences (led by Professor) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. .. Reikao and her team).

This work is mainly Palmyrah House (Pvt) Ltd. And is funded by Vayu Resort, Mannar. Wetland International is also a partner in this study.

The Wildlife Conservation Agency and the Sri Lanka Navy also provide assistance through permits and site clearance.

The fourth installment of the Ministry of Nerds Seminar Series will be held on the 22nd October (Friday) at 12 noon.

Dr. Himali Ratnayake's research group (Climate and Quantitative Ecology (CliQuE) Lab, and EcoServ will be hosting A/Prof. Justin Welbergen from the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Australia.

Talk title – The secret lives of flying-foxes: extremely mobile animals in a changing world

Talk outline – In Australia and elsewhere, flying-foxes (or fruit bats) are often portrayed as noisy pests; yet, they are valuable native mammals that provide irreplaceable pollination and seed-dispersal services for free. Flying-fox colonies are highly organised collections of individuals that have flown in from far and wide in response to changes in local food availability. When food is locally plentiful, these colonies can become a cause for frustration and conflict, especially in urban communities, but current short-term management approaches generally fail to provide long-term solutions. In this broad-ranging presentation, Justin will talk about his work on the ecology and behaviour of these amazingly mobile creatures, the threats that flying-foxes face, and the current practices for management and conservation.

Zoom link – here
Meeting ID: 672 1527 3562
Passcode: ea%X71fX