Search

The major highway in Sri Lanka that links the capital, Colombo, with the second capital, Kandy, passes through Kadugannawa, characterized by steep hills. The geological and geomorphological setting of the terrain often leads to slope failures. The objective of this study is to interpret the key factors influencing the slope failures that occurred in close proximity at two separate locations with two different slope conditions. Typical local and regional brittle and ductile structures include fault scarps, deep-seated detachments, and variable folding. According to our results, one of the studied locations experienced translational landslides because of weakened basement rock surfaces, hydrophilic clay minerals, and anthropogenic influences, whereas the other location experienced multiple stages of mass movement influenced by inhomogeneous colluvial soil and regional, geological, and hydrogeological conditions. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that geological studies must be carried out within the local area rather than at the regional scale. Otherwise, the constructions for the prevention of landslides in complicated geological settings will fail or may not be used for a long period. Moreover, consideration of future climate change is essential when undertaking construction in challenging terrains.

What do apologies apologize for? More precisely, what do the apologies regularly pronounced by states for some atrocity or other actually accomplish? This question animates my article. State apologies became an integral element of global political culture in the early 21st century. These politics of regret are reshaping Canadian national culture, most pronouncedly with the apologies for the Indian Residential School System (CBC News 2008a; McIntyre 2017) and the Komagata Maru (CBC News 2008b; Trudeau 2016). While Public Inquiries and Royal Commissions have long served as state responses to political mobilization, deployment of the machinery of regret has fast become the predictable response to accusations of atrocities, including genocide, enslavement and racial violence. Drawing on Frantz Fanon’s and Walter Benjamin’s ideas on violence, colonial in the case of Fanon (1961), law in that of Benjamin (1996), I examine the apologies delivered to Indigenous peoples and South-Asian diasporic communities by the Canadian state. Locating these pronouncements in the histories of violence they index, I demonstrate how such apologies function as techniques of violence that advance settler power structures and narratives of nationhood. My argument here is that apologies are themselves acts of violence which rework histories of brutalization to meet the political destabilizations of the present. Apologies thus reorganize the racial violence of settler societies, drawing sections of subjugated populations into waging this violence and, in the process, derail resurgent politics of decolonization, abolitionism and anti-racism.

Historic buildings are considered assets for generations. The use of 3D interactive models is an excellent way to document such historic cultural heritage. Such buildings include socio-religious buildings, such as shrines and religious monuments. Digital technologies such as photogrammetry and laser scanning play a pivotal role in monitoring and safeguarding precious shrine cultural heritage. These advanced techniques allow the capture of details and accurate 3D representations of cultural artifacts, architectural structures, and even entire shrines. This study deals with research related to the conservation of the selected historic shrine of Shah Yousaf Gardez. A laser scanner methodology was used to produce a high-level detail interactive model translated into a heritage building information modeling (HBIM) prototype. This HBIM model has been designed to maintain the historical details of the shrine, especially geometric features, artwork present on the surface, and condition of structural as well as non-structural components. Data analysis of defects in structural and non-structural components was also analyzed in the study. This study was conducted fort the first time for a shrine case study. It will not only help to document and preserve historic buildings and cultural heritage but also monitor potential degradation or damage over time. Using this technology, scheduled conservation and restoration efforts ensuring the long-term preservation of these invaluable treasures can be adopted.

The goal of this project is to revitalize the historic core of the city of Multan to encourage sustainable environmental protection and socio-economic development. This case study focuses on the implementation of an intervention at ‘Sarafa Bazaar’. The objective of the project is to restore the structure and provide a framework for the development of the local community. The other goal of the intervention is to improve the tourist experience and promote energy efficiency. This type of project is carried out through a process that aims to identify and address the social and urban issues that have affected the development of the city. The selected section of ‘Sarafa Bazaar’ is approximately 80 m from the Musafir Khana building and is connected to the other side of the bazaar. The walls of the Sarafa Bazaar are being renovated and conserved. A laser scanner was used to identify the number of materials and steel reinforcements needed to balance the settled facade. The renovation of the façades of the Sarafa Bazaar is being carried out to improve the overall appearance of the area. The project has been carried out through the establishment of an integrated system for the development of the city’s urban area. It involves the renovation of the façades of the Sarafa Bazaar and the establishment of public spaces.

Background: A newly developed drug trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) has improved the survival of breast cancer (BC) patients. Despite an impressive initial clinical response, a subgroup of patient develop resistance and present therapeutic challenges. The underlying resistance mechanisms are not fully investigated. We report that T-DM1 treatment modulates the expression of ROR1 (type 1 receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor) and induces self-renewal of cancer stem cells (CSCs) leading to therapeutic resistance. Methods: Using BC patient tumor samples, and BC cell lines we gained insight into the T-DM1 treatment induced ROR1 overexpression and resistance. In vitro sphere forming assays and in vivo extreme dilution assays were employed to analyze the stemness and self-renewal capacity of the cells. A series of molecular expression and protein assays including qRT-PCR, FACS-sorting, ELISA, immunostaining, Western blotting were used to provide evidence. Findings: Exposure of cells to T-DM1 shifted ROR1 expression from low to high, enriched within the CSC subpopulation, coincident with increased Bmi1 and stemness factors. T-DM1 induced ROR1 cells showed high spheroid and tumor forming efficiency in vitro and in an animal model exhibiting shorter tumor-free time. Mechanistically, the overexpression of ROR1 is partly induced by the activation of YAP1 and its target genes. Silencing of ROR1 and YAP1 by pharmacologic inhibitors and/or sh/siRNA inhibited spheroid formation, the initiation of tumors and the capacity for self-renewal and ROR1 overexpression. Interpretations: The results presented here indicate that simultaneous targeting of ROR1 and YAP1 may suppress CSC self-renewal efficacy and inhibit tumor progression in BC. In this manner such treatments may overcome the T-DM1 mediated therapeutic resistance and improve clinical outcome. Fund: This study was supported by Neurogen Technologies for interdisciplinary research.

This research intends to explore the sustainable masonry bond formation and interface behaviour of brick masonry bonds with different cement mortar ratios. To test the sustainable behaviour of different brick bonds, different tests were applied to evaluate the performance of the developed five brick masonry structures with the help of four mortar ratios. Following that pattern, the methodologies of a prism triplet test, a bond wrench test, a shear bond test and strength tests for brick masonry were applied. The prism triplet test explained the bonding behaviour of mortar by producing a maximum strength (0.21 MPa) with a 1:3 mix ratio, and the minimum strength (0.095 MPa) with a 1:8 mix ratio. The bond wrench test showed a bond strength of maximum 0.0685 MPa with a mortar ratio of 1:3 and a minimum of 0.035 MPa with a mortar ratio of 1:8. The strength tests for masonry structures expressed that compressive strength (0.786 MPa) and flexural strength (0.352 MPa) were found to be at maximum level with a mortar ratio (1:3) with an English bond formation. For predictions of compressive and flexural strength, artificial neural networks (ANNs) were deployed, and successful predictions of these values along with the relationships between different properties of the material, mortar combinations and bond combinations are presented to complete the exploration of the relationship. This pattern can be helpful for the selection of sustainable brick masonry formations for housing development.

Background Working and associating with people with mental illness influence the attitudes towards mental illness. Medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka have a mandatory six week clinical attachment in psychiatry in the final year, which provides an opportunity to work with people with mental illness. Aims To determine the impact of the clinical attachment in psychiatry on attitudes among medical students towards people with mental illness. Method The 20-point Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was used to assess stigmatizing attitudes, before and after the six week clinical attachment in psychiatry, in a cohort of medical students completing the appointment during a one year period January-December 2011. The AMIQ consists of five hypothetical case vignettes and five questions based on each case vignette. Results Questionnaires were received from 194 medical students, (88% response rate) before the commencement of the clinical attachment and from 137 medical students, (62% response rate) after completing the clinical attachment. The post attachment mean AMIQ stigma score had improved for schizophrenia, depression, heroin use and alcohol use. The difference in AMIQ stigma scores were significant for heroin use (p=0.014, median difference=0.4), schizophrenia (p=0.049, median difference = 0.3), and depression (p=0.014, median difference = 0.4) In both the pre-clinical attachment as well as the post-clinical attachment groups, stigmatizing attitudes were significantly higher for depression (p Conclusion The final year clinical attachment in psychiatry significantly reduced stigmatizing attitudes among medical students towards mental illness. Sri Lanka Journal of Psychiatry Vol 3(2) December 2012 Page 12-15 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljpsyc.v3i2.5132

Background School refusal is characterized by severe difficulty in attending school with associated anxiety. Based on the primary symptoms, the affected child may be categorised within a range of diagnoses. Although the subject has been widely studied, no data is available on the characteristics of Sri Lankan children with school refusal. Aims 1.To study the behavioural and diagnostic characteristics of children presenting to a specialist child mental health outpatient setting with school refusal 2. To assess the associated environmental influences and the outcome of intervention. Methods The study sample consisted of children who presented to an outpatient mental health service (Jan 2004- April 2005) with school refusal for 2 weeks or more. Data on presenting symptoms, behavioural profiles and diagnosis was obtained retrospectively from clinical documents. All children attended mainstream education. Results Data was available on 79 children. Mean age was 9.6 years. Majority were male. Mean duration of school non-attendance was 11.5 months. Somatic complaints (59.6%) and anxiety (50.6%) were the main clinical presentations. Low academic performance based on parents’ reports and school records was reported in 48.1%. The commonest diagnoses were anxiety disorder (31.6%) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (16.4%). Possible precipitants for school refusal were conflicts with peers (33%) and bullying (30.4%). A socially inhibited temperament was identified in 40.5% and aggressive tendencies in 29% of children. Statistically significant associations were not found between variables except between the gender and diagnosis (p Conclusions This study identifies clinical issues that need to be addressed in the assessment, early identification and management of children with school refusal. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljpsyc.v3i1.4453 SL J Psychiatry 2012; 3 (1):10-13

This paper introduced a matrix parametrization method based on the Loeffler discrete cosine transform (DCT) algorithm. As a result, a new class of 8-point DCT approximations was proposed, capable of unifying the mathematical formalism of several 8-point DCT approximations archived in the literature. Pareto-efficient DCT approximations are obtained through multicriteria optimization, where computational complexity, proximity, and coding performance are considered. Efficient approximations and their scaled 16- and 32-point versions are embedded into image and video encoders, including a JPEG-like codec and H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC standards. Results are compared to the unmodified standard codecs. Efficient approximations are mapped and implemented on a Xilinx VLX240T FPGA and evaluated for area, speed, and power consumption.

The Canadian state undertook a major restructuring of the immigration and refugee program in the 1990s, committing itself to creating a new immigration act as part of this process. Trafficking is one major issue that the new act would concern itself with. In this paper I make the case that the state’s proposals for addressing trafficking enable the state to posit itself as responsible for protecting “Canadians” while carefully avoiding any responsibility for the wellbeing of women who are trafficked; demonize smugglers as the cause of trafficking; and override the concerns and interests of women who are trafficked by making deportation the only “solution” to their presence in Canada. Consequently, these proposals will further penalize the women, while protecting the interests of the Canadian men, women, and employers who profit and benefit from their exploitation. Further, while this approach does nothing to address the root causes of trafficking, the state’s enthusiasm for increasing trade liberalization will only exacerbate these very causes.

Historic buildings are considered assets for generations. The use of 3D interactive models is an excellent way to document such historic cultural heritage. Such buildings include socio-religious buildings, such as shrines and religious monuments. Digital technologies such as photogrammetry and laser scanning play a pivotal role in monitoring and safeguarding precious shrine cultural heritage. These advanced techniques allow the capture of details and accurate 3D representations of cultural artifacts, architectural structures, and even entire shrines. This study deals with research related to the conservation of the selected historic shrine of Shah Yousaf Gardez. A laser scanner methodology was used to produce a high-level detail interactive model translated into a heritage building information modeling (HBIM) prototype. This HBIM model has been designed to maintain the historical details of the shrine, especially geometric features, artwork present on the surface, and condition of structural as well as non-structural components. Data analysis of defects in structural and non-structural components was also analyzed in the study. This study was conducted fort the first time for a shrine case study. It will not only help to document and preserve historic buildings and cultural heritage but also monitor potential degradation or damage over time. Using this technology, scheduled conservation and restoration efforts ensuring the long-term preservation of these invaluable treasures can be adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]