Search

Lactic acid bacteria are gram-positive microorganisms that are characterized by the production of lactic acid as a key fermentation product. LAB, specifically Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, are essential dairy starter cultures for the manufacture of several fermented dairy products such as yogurt. Some LAB are useful microorganisms and are well known to have probiotic effects to provide foods with unique sensory qualities such as aroma and taste. Probiotic strains help to strengthen the human immune system, increasing the body’s resistance to diseases. Additionally, probiotics and postbiotics improve gut microbiome balance and prevent health issues. Postbiotics are substances that are produced by microbes’ metabolic activities and have a positive impact on diseases, either directly or indirectly. Extensive research has shown that postbiotics possess immunomodulatory and significant clinical effects. Their use has been found to enhance general health and alleviate symptoms of various disorders in healthy individuals. Furthermore, postbiotics exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Therefore, this chapter presents an overview and the importance of LAB as a probiotic and its importance to human health, metabolic fermentation, and antioxidant potential. The review also discusses different biotechnological methods that improve the survival rate of probiotics during processing and GIT transit like microbial encapsulation.

Sri Lanka being an island is blessed by nature with ideal environmental factors on the field of agriculture which is being intentionally practiced towards the sustainability. The agriculture sector in Sri Lanka always acts as a major economic strength to the national economy as it ensures the food security, employment and poverty alleviation of rural communities. The sector is mainly driven by variety of distinct sub sectors which include crop cultivations such as paddy, tea, rubber, coconut, vegetables, fruits, export crops and sugar while in addition livestock and fisheries sectors also provide a substantial contribution simultaneously. Negative and positive fluctuations of each above mentioned subsector directly affects on the overall country uplift and the society wellbeing. This paper will be discussing about the present status of the agriculture in Sri Lanka in a concise manner with respect to the recently published official data by country regulatory bodies.

A power system test system is designed using PSCAD/EMTDC software for transient analysis, which can be specifically used for transient studies with Distributed Generators (DGs) or this system can be easily developed as a Microgrid test system. The model is developed based on a section of a practical power system that is Kukuleganga area of the Sri Lanka power system. This includes 132kV transmission system, Kukuleganga hydro power station, five grid substations with 33kV distribution buses and DGs. The developed model is verified through comparing the actual fault data obtained from the Ceylon Electricity Board, Sri Lanka with the results obtained from the developed PSCAD/EMTDC model. The Discrete Wavelet Transform is used to identify the degree of accuracy in verification of the model. The test results are demonstrated for both current and voltage waveforms.