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Sri Lankan Tamil refugees (SLTRs) have lived in the United Kingdom in substantial numbers for about three decades. However, they remain under‐represented in academic and public discourse, and little is known about their migration experiences. This study examined first‐hand accounts of such experiences, with special attention paid to identity and acculturation. Data were collected through four semi‐structured interviews and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The results suggest that SLTRs' experience of conflict as an imposed life disruption continues to shape their adaptation, identity, and meaning‐making ("Afflicted life"). Changing social identities mediate protection from, as well as risk of, trauma. SLTRs try to remedy the socio‐economic and emotional losses suffered in the conflict, but achieve only a partial compensation. Consequently their repair efforts are a source not only of positive emotions but also of dissatisfaction ("Living past"). Finally, participants' sense of belonging and quest for home represent a challenging socio‐emotional process in which they continue to engage even decades after migration ("Continuing quest for home"). This nuanced analysis of how the past continues to shape lived experience, contributes to the under‐developed literature on qualitative psychological investigations of acculturation, research on forced migration, and the establishment of IPA in social psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of eight Sri Lankan mothers of infants with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) using semi-structured interviews. Four themes were generated as: illness perception, communication with medical staff, challenges faced, and coping mechanisms. These provided insight into the multi-faceted nature of mothers' experiences, importance of medical-caregiver communications and their need for psychosocial services. The findings enhance the limited knowledge of South–Asian primary CCHD caregiver experiences and will help in improving psychosocial support services in Sri Lanka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present work proposes a spatial analysis of the residential segregation and settlement models of Sri Lankans in the eight main Italian municipalities. Hosting more than half of the total Sri Lankan population residing in Italy, the selected urban areas allow Sri Lankans’ residential model to be globally framed across the country. The purpose of this work is threefold. First, it provides a general assessment of the allocation pattern of a foreign community that has seldom been studied and yet is characterized by peculiar settlement choices. Second, it attempts to compare the settlement patterns of Sri Lankans across different urban contexts. Third, it aims to detect the possible spatial polarization of Sri Lankans in specific neighbourhoods and to verify its spatial correlation with other key variables that constitute proxies of urban neighbourhoods’ socioeconomic inequalities. The study runs multiple aspatial linear models to assess the global variation in concentrations of Sri Lankans related to several socioeconomic predictors. Furthermore, it implements geographically weighted regressions to explicitly model the spatial dependence between Sri Lankans’ location quotients and several predictors. It refers all the considered variables to a single geographic reference grid, enabling the homogenization of different areal unit arrangements and comparisons across space. Except for Milan and Rome, the findings suggest that Sri Lankans tend to reside in central neighbourhoods characterized by a high foreign presence and a decreased trend of Italian population. Conversely, the impact of the cost of living and the state of the built environment is heterogeneous across space, with a sort of centre-periphery duality in Southern cities and more fragmented situations in the other urban contexts. This evidence proves the relevance of local scale analysis and the need to build up urban observatories on spatial inequalities and segregation processes.

Background: Social capital is a concept that has been identified to improve health outcomes in many populations. Due to COVID-19 and many other factors, Sri Lanka faced a massive economic crisis that affected the nutrition of communities. Many community engagement initiatives have begun to promote the country's nutrition during the worst-hit years. The Mothers' Support Groups initiative is one of the existing community engagement initiatives that is well known for strengthening community social capital. This article discusses how the Mothers' Support Groups (MSG) initiative in Sri Lanka contributed to improving social capital in Sri Lanka during the economic crisis, focusing on nutrition. Methods: We conducted a case study on the activities undertaken by mothers' support groups in view of how they focused on social capital. We selected all activities presented by districts that improved social capital related to nutrition promotion captured in the YouTube video stream. We analyzed these qualitative data to identify the main themes related to social capital and nutritional promotion. Two coders transcribed the video recordings. We analyzed the data using the iterative thematic inquiry (ITI) method and initially assessed beliefs about concepts, building new beliefs through encounters with data, listing tentative themes, and evaluating themes through coding. Results: Six major themes were identified (that social capital had been strengthened to promote nutrition): awareness creation of nutrition, home gardening promotion, promoting livestock farming, minimizing food waste, improving the home economy, and psychosocial health promotion. The most common forms of social capital encountered in these themes were bonding, bridging, and linking. Furthermore, strengthening structural social capital is more prominent than strengthening cognitive social capital. Conclusion: Social capital can improve nutritional status during crises. Activities that can be used to achieve this vary from simple awareness creation among communities to more advanced psychosocial health promotion. Overall, social capital contributed to the community development aspect of health promotion to a greater extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work proposes a spatial analysis of the residential segregation and settlement models of Sri Lankans in the eight main Italian municipalities. Hosting more than half of the total Sri Lankan population residing in Italy, the selected urban areas allow Sri Lankans' residential model to be globally framed across the country. The purpose of this work is threefold. First, it provides a general assessment of the allocation pattern of a foreign community that has seldom been studied and yet is characterized by peculiar settlement choices. Second, it attempts to compare the settlement patterns of Sri Lankans across different urban contexts. Third, it aims to detect the possible spatial polarization of Sri Lankans in specific neighbourhoods and to verify its spatial correlation with other key variables that constitute proxies of urban neighbourhoods' socioeconomic inequalities. The study runs multiple aspatial linear models to assess the global variation in concentrations of Sri Lankans related to several socioeconomic predictors. Furthermore, it implements geographically weighted regressions to explicitly model the spatial dependence between Sri Lankans' location quotients and several predictors. It refers all the considered variables to a single geographic reference grid, enabling the homogenization of different areal unit arrangements and comparisons across space. Except for Milan and Rome, the findings suggest that Sri Lankans tend to reside in central neighbourhoods characterized by a high foreign presence and a decreased trend of Italian population. Conversely, the impact of the cost of living and the state of the built environment is heterogeneous across space, with a sort of centre-periphery duality in Southern cities and more fragmented situations in the other urban contexts. This evidence proves the relevance of local scale analysis and the need to build up urban observatories on spatial inequalities and segregation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: The prevalence of perinatal mental health issues is significantly higher among South Asian women in the UK. However, little attention has been given to examine the views and opinions of sub-groups of South Asians in the UK. Although the prevalence of perinatal mental health issues is much higher in Sri Lanka, so far, no studies have focused on Sri Lankan women in the UK. This study's aim was to examine the views and opinions of Sri Lankan women living in the UK about perinatal mental health. Methods: A convergent mixed-method online survey was administered in English and Sinhalese. A total of 34 Sri Lankan women living in the UK, from their baby's conception to 24 months postpartum, were recruited. Qualitative responses were interpreted using thematic analysis, supported by quantitative data. Results: The participants reported that they maintained good perinatal mental health with the support of their partner and family. Midwives were most involved in inquiring about and providing information on perinatal mental health. Social stigma was a dominant barrier to accessing support. Conclusions: Midwives need to ensure that perinatal mental health is discussed sensitively with Sri Lankan women. Future quantitative research needs to examine if existing tools are culturally sensitive and qualitative research should include women's partners and families to explore how best to care for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sri Lankans constitute one of Italy's oldest foreign communities. A comparative geographic study of Sri Lankans' settlement patterns in three main municipalities of South Italy (Naples, Palermo, and Catania) is performed in the present work. The uniqueness of the analysis relies on the fact that, to the authors' knowledge, no other existing studies comparatively examine the spatial segregation of Sri Lankan communities in different southern European municipalities. Moreover, implementing a single geographic reference grid allowed the homogenisation of different areal unit arrangements and the comparison between urban contexts. Original results have emerged from the empirical analysis, detecting peculiar and similar residential behaviour in Sri Lankans' settlement patterns across the three municipalities analysed, jointly influenced by work specialisation and variations in the local cost of living. In particular, the high levels of Sri Lankan concentration detected in the wealthiest neighbourhoods revealed complex dynamics underlying the urban spatial segregation, beyond the mere centre-periphery dichotomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sri Lanka’s plurality is reflected in its religious and ethnic diversity. In recent times, there has been polarization between the majority Sinhala Buddhists and the minority Muslim groups. The objective of this study is to identify the reasons for blaming the “other” in the relationship between the two groups and propose remedies. The study adopted a descriptive and interpretive paradigm within the qualitative approach. Secondary sources were used to examine the phenomenon under study. The theoretical framework was drawn from Said’s concepts of “self” and “other”. The dominance of the Sinhala language and the utmost position given to Buddhism has made the extremist Buddhists take supremacy over the Muslims who are perceived as a threat to their “self”. The Buddhists need to be open to accepting the “otherness” of the Muslims. The consequences of the misconceptions targeted against the Muslims act as barriers to the Buddhist- Muslim relationship in Sri Lanka. The shift in attitudes of the Buddhists is not due to their own judgment but one constructed by social media. The Muslims’ ethnoreligious identity is questioned for radicalization. Inter-religious education and inter-faith dialogue between followers of Buddhism and Islam need to be promoted as both religions command engagement with the “other” on the basis of peace, tolerance, and non-violence, regardless of the differences that may exist. Understanding the fundamental unity of humankind and their ethnoreligious plurality as the two sides of the same coin, they need to engage with and understand one another as a “Sri Lankan”.

The article present a case study of a 14-year-old girl with sudden onset right-sided upper limb and lower limb weakness, unsteady gait & slurred speech, includes Autosomal Recessive Renal Hypouricemia Type 2; childhood stroke; and potential causes of the stroke.

Considering the implications of transnational mobility dynamics within the urban space, the city of Naples shows growing fluidity since territorial reconfigurations intersect with the influx and stabilization of foreign communities. However, forms of socioeconomic vulnerabilities also emerge, associated to filtering-down housing processes, residential differentiation, or even deprivation and spatial segregation. From this case, and in the frame of the cosmopolitism approach, it is possible to discuss, on the one hand, how these socio-spatial dynamics, deriving from global processes, reverberate on the urban fabric reshaping and reinterpreting its functions, traits and characteristics and, on the other hand, which kind of practices may contribute (or not) to a bottom-up social cohesion. This enquiry is the result of a micro-scale qualitative analysis of the urban practices of the Sri Lankans in the Cavone area and Stella neighborhoods, which present the highest incidence of the community within the city, highlighting the evolution of the group's strategies and interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though research on assessing posttraumatic growth has been severely critiqued, some evidence suggests close others can observe and report changes in individuals following traumatic life events and are sensitive to idiosyncratic ways in which changes manifest. We extended these findings by investigating corroboration of self-perceived posttraumatic growth (PTG) and depreciation (PTD) as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory–42 (PTGI-42) among Sri Lankan Tamil war survivors (n = 200). Informants slightly corroborated overall levels of PTG and PTD, while a more nuanced profile analysis procedure revealed overall—but not distinctive—profile agreement. This suggests self–other agreement is modest and may partly reflect shared narratives and collective cultural understandings about how people change after trauma. Results demonstrate further that informants were not sensitive to idiosyncratic ways in which target individuals had changed. Together, the lack of validity evidence suggests that the PTGI-42 may be inadequate in some cross-cultural contexts as a measure of nuanced posttraumatic change (i.e., as a measure of specific changes in the five theorized domains of growth and depreciation). Future work should emphasize culture- and context-sensitive measurement of posttraumatic change, particularly focusing on methods other than retrospective self-reports, such as prospective longitudinal designs. Public Significance Statement: This study suggests a common measure of perceived posttraumatic change may not capture changes among Sri Lankan civil war survivors. Posttraumatic change may manifest differently following collective trauma (e.g., ethnopolitical violence) in collectivistic cultures than it does following idiosyncratic trauma in individualistic cultures (the setting for most posttraumatic change research). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to understand the perspective of unskilled Sri Lankan employees in the manufacturing industry to gain a deeper understanding to learn how to utilize expatriate labor meaningfully in a host country workplace. The structural questionnaire was developed according to previous studies and international labor standards and was validated with an expert in the field. The questionnaire included three parts covering the basic information, perception of workplace hazards, and health and safety awareness of workers. Unfamiliar work practices and processes due to lack of safety and work training have become an impediment. Further investigation of this study shows that language is one of the main barriers to living and working in Korea, the findings of this study indicate where employment permit system (EPS) workers appear to be fervent and our research exhibits the unrevealed image of EPS workers in the Republic of Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and objectives: Leishmania donovani is the causative organism of leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka. Studies on the immunopathology of leishmaniasis due to L. donovani are limited. The objective of this study was to describe the immunopathological characteristics of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a cohort of Sri Lankan patients. Methodology: Fifty skin biopsies of cutaneous leishmaniasis confirmed by detection of organisms by histology, culture, slit-skin smear, and/or polymerase chain reaction were reviewed. The inflammatory infiltrate was characterized by immunohistochemical staining for CD4, CD8, CD20, and CD68. Associations and correlations between immunohistochemical staining pattern and the parasitic load, and patterns of inflammation were determined. Results: The majority of biopsies showed a CD8+/CD4− T lymphocyte predominant infiltrate (84%, n = 42). A CD68 predominant infiltrate was seen in 16%(n = 8). The mean percentage of CD8+, CD4+, CD20+, and CD68+ inflammatory cells in the biopsies were 56.1% (SD = 16.5%), 2.6% (SD = 4.5%), 12.3% (SD = 10.9%), and 25.7% (SD = 15.8%) respectively. There was no association between the predominant inflammatory cell and the degree of inflammation (P =.173), presence of high RPI (P =.922), MRI(P =.367) or presence of granuloma (P =.247).The percentage of CD4+ cells showed a positive correlation with granuloma formation (Correlation coefficient =.411, P =.03). The percentage of CD20+ cells in the infiltrate showed a positive correlation with the degree of inflammation (Correlation coefficient =.491, P =.02) and the RPI (Correlation coefficient =.334, P =.018). Discussion and Conclusion: Skin biopsies from cutaneous leishmaniasis due to L. donovani infection showed a CD8+/CD4− predominant infiltrate. This is similar to the findings of studies on cutaneous leishmaniasis due to some other species and suggests that the cytotoxic T cell response plays a role in infections due to L. donovani. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self‐compassion has been associated with a host of psychological benefits, including subjective happiness. It appears that gender may affect the association between self‐compassion and subjective happiness, although this relationship is not well understood. This study aimed to culturally adapt versions in Sinhala of the Self‐Compassion Scale and Subjective Happiness Scale, to create validated instruments for measuring these constructs in Sri Lankan undergraduates, and to explore the moderating role of gender on the relationship between self‐compassion and subjective happiness. As part of a larger study, the scales were administered to 1,331 undergraduates at a state university in Sri Lanka. The results indicated that self‐compassion is high among the study participants, for which the potential psycho‐socio‐cultural reasons are discussed. The results also indicated the importance of self‐compassion in subjective happiness, and that gender plays a significant and nuanced role—where the association between a lack of self‐compassion and subjective happiness was greater for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces Walking Corpse Syndrome, a common idiom of distress in Tamil Sri Lanka that is characterized by a variety of cognitive difficulties, feelings that an individual is functioning reflexively or impulsively, and acute attacks of dissociation that are accompanied with the sensation of empty-headedness. Walking Corpse Syndrome demonstrates some overlap with Western nosology, although it appears to be its own unique illness category, most likely of Ayurvedic provenance. The article comprises two studies. One is a secondary interview analysis of community members that aimed to identify the key symptoms of Walking Corpse Syndrome, allowing us to determine the local ethnopsychology of the syndrome and to elicit illustrative vignettes. The other study is a survey of Sri Lankan Tamil psychiatrists that aimed to investigate their understanding and experience of the disorder. This article outlines how, in certain cultural contexts, such syndromes emphasise the loss of attentional capacity and forgetfulness; it highlights the importance of "thinking a lot" as an idiom across cultures; and it details the many ways that Walking Corpse Syndrome is a key idiom of distress to assess in order to give adequate mental healthcare to Sri Lankan Tamil populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• I am conducting a long-term study on how Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India take their place and deal with space. • This paper examines the stages between refugeehood and citizenship. • The results suggest that refugeehood is about complex day-to-day living practices that shape identities. • The refugee camp is more than a humanitarian space of assistance, more than a space of exception and biopolitical control. This article looks at subjectivities and regimes of homing from a position of liminality and questions the placements dynamics displayed by Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu, India. Based on long-term and longitudinal fieldwork conducted in Keezhputhupattu refugee camp near Pondicherry between 2010 and 2023, this study analyses the experience of the refugees, which combines a "know-how" that they have developed due to a life in exile since 1983, which is linked, among other things, to a sometimes well-developed diasporic network; and a restrictive agency that has been granted to them by the Indian and Tamil Nadu authorities, which places them in a regime that is intended to be exceptional. The results of the study are significant and show how families spanning three generations may reproduce their new normalcy and negotiate their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing burnout and promoting positive mental health among medical students is important. Relevant research is lacking on positive mental health in medical students, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of Sri Lankan students enrolled in a five-year medical program. Measures included the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, Kessler 10 Psychological Distress Scale, and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory. We investigated relationships between year in program, mental health indicators, and academic performance. Three hundred twenty-seven students participated (35% response rate). Most students had moderate positive mental health (64.8%) and severe psychological distress (40.4%). Final year students reported more psychological distress and burnout than first year students. Female students had higher burnout scores than males. In multivariable models, fourth and fifth year students evidenced lower positive mental health than first year students. Mental health indicators were unassociated with academic performance. Overall, distress rates were higher than those reported among students in other countries. Higher burnout and distress may be driven by increased responsibilities in the final clinical years of training. Bolstering positive mental health through positive emotions, meaning, and social connection may minimize burnout and distress, although extracurricular activities require time. Interventions to reduce medical student distress in Sri Lanka are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Adiposity at birth is a predictor of childhood obesity. Abdominal circumference (AC) at birth has been shown to correlate well with visceral adipose tissue and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue. Adiposity differs according to ethnicity and geography. The aim of this study was to describe the anthropometry derived adiposity phenotype in neonates from Colombo, Sri Lanka and compare it with global data.Methods and Study Design: Birth anthropometry was performed within 12-24 hours by the same investigator as part of a prospective cohort study on healthy term babies, at a tertiary care hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2015-2019. The anthropometry derived adiposity phenotype was indicated by skinfold thickness, AC and upper arm fat area (UFA) derived from the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC).Results: Sri Lankan neonates had a significantly lower weight with significantly higher AC (n=337, 2.9±0.4 kg, 30.6±2.3 cm) compared to Canadian (n=389, 3.5±0.02 kg, 29.9±2.1 cm; p<0.001) and Australian (n=1270, 3.4±0.4 kg, 28.5±1.9 cm; p<0.001) neonates. Anthropometry derived adiposity at birth showed a significant correlation with weight and BMI of both mother and father (p<0.05) as opposed to their income or education (p>0.05).Conclusions: Healthy neonates from Colombo, Sri Lanka demonstrated significantly higher AC despite significantly lower weight, indicating increased abdominal adiposity compared to neonates from high-income countries as well as Indian neonates with the thin-fat phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Sri Lankan species, Methocha ubiquita Krombein, 1982 is newly reported for the fauna of India. Differential characters, figures, distribution map and comparisons of the newly recorded species with original description of type material are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Erythrocyte pyruvate kinase is expressed under the control of the PKLR gene located on chromosome 1q21. Pyruvate kinase catalyzes the final steps of the glycolytic pathway and creates 50% of the red cell total adenosine triphosphate. Pyruvate kinase deficiency is the commonest glycolytic defect causing congenital non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia inherited in an autosomal recessive trait in which homozygotes and compound heterozygotes are common. Over 200 mutations have been described in patients with pyruvate kinase deficiency. This case report identifies a new pathogenic variant in PKLR gene detected in a patient with severe pyruvate kinase deficiency.Case Presentation: A Sri Lankan Sinhalese girl who developed neonatal anemia and jaundice within 24 hours of birth with mild hepatomegaly. She was from a nonconsanguineous marriage and had two siblings who had no hematological disorders. She had repeated admissions due to similar illnesses and at the age of 8 years was found to have pyruvate kinase deficiency associated with a novel homozygous pathogenic variant c.507+1delG in the PKLR gene.Conclusions: A novel genetic variant in PKLR gene, consistent with pyruvate kinase deficiency, was detected in a Sri Lankan girl. This genetic variant may be specific to the Asian population and requires further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antibiotic Resistance is an imminent global public health threat. Antibiotic resistance emerged in healthcare settings and has now moved on to the community settings. This study was conducted to identify the rates of asymptomatic colonization with selected antibiotic resistant organisms, (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp and carbapenem resistant E.coli and Klebsiella spp) - among a group of university students in Sri Lanka. Identification of genetic determinants of MRSA and ESBL was an additional objective of the study.Methods: A self - collected nasal swab and a peri-rectal swab collected after passing stools were obtained. Routine microbiological methods were used for the isolation S.aureus from the nasal swab and E.coli and Klebsiella species from the peri-rectal swab. Antibiotic sensitivity testing was performed as recommended by clinical and laboratory standard institute (CLSI). Three (3) genes that are responsible for ESBL production; blaCTX-M, blaSHV, and blaTEM were tested using previously described primers and PCR procedures. Identification of MecA and PVL genes attributed to MRSA was also done with PCR.Results: A total of 322 participants between 21 and 28 years were recruited representing 5 different faculties of study. Seventy one (22.0%) were colonized with S.aureus and 14 among them with MRSA, making the MRSA colonization rate of 4.3%. Forty five (15%) of the participants were colonized with an ESBL producing E.coli or Klebsiella spp. No one was colonized with carbapenem resistant E.coli or Klebsiella species. Of the 45 ESBL producers the commonest genetic determinant identified was blaCTX-M (n = 36), while 16 isolates had blaTEM and 7 had blaSHV. Similarly, of the 14 isolates identified as MRSA, 3 (21.4%) were found to be PVL positive while 11 (78.6%) were MecA positive.Conclusions: A high rate of colonization with ESBL producing E.coli and Klebsiella species was noted in our study group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new 16 X-short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex PCR system has recently been developed for Sr Lankans, though its applicability in evolutionary genetics and forensic investigations has not been thoroughly assessed. In this study, 838 unrelated individuals covering all four major ethnic groups (Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Indian Tamils and Moors) in Sri Lanka were successfully genotyped using this new multiplex system. The results indicated a high forensic efficiency for the tested loci in all four ethnicities confirming its suitability for forensic applications of Sri Lankans. Allele frequency distribution of Indian Tamils showed subtle but statistically significant differences from those of Sinhalese and Moors, in contrast to frequency distributions previously reported for autosomal STR alleles. This suggest a sex biased demographic history among Sri Lankans requiring a separate X-STR allele frequency database for Indian Tamils. Substantial differences observed in the patterns of LD among the four groups demand the use of a separate haplotype frequency databases for each individual ethnicity. When analysed together with other 14 world populations, all Sri Lankan ethnicities except Indian Tamils clustered closely with populations from Indian Bhil tribe, Bangladesh and Europe reflecting their shared Indo-Aryan ancestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fumaric aciduria resulting from fumarate hydratase deficiency is a rare inherited disorder of the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle that is characterized by neurologic manifestations, a spectrum of brain abnormalities, and the excretion of fumaric acid in urine. We describe a 3 year old Sri Lankan boy who was referred at age 10 months with poor weight gain and hypotonia for further laboratory investigations. In addition to global developmental delay, there were noticeable dysmorphic features with a prominent forehead, low-set ears, micrognathia, and hypertelorism with persistent neutropenia. Urine organic acid assay revealed a massive elevation of fumaric acid on 2 occasions. Molecular analysis revealed a homozygous likely pathogenic missense variant, NM000143.3:c.1048C>T p. (Arg350Trp), in the FH gene, confirming the biochemical diagnosis. Our patient was the first patient in Sri Lanka molecularly diagnosed with fumaric aciduria. This case study highlights the importance of performing organic acid assays in children presenting with neurologic manifestations especially when these are suspected to have a metabolic basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) measures have emerged as an important oral health outcome that is able to reveal the subjective burden of illness due to oral diseases. The association between sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, clinical dental conditions and OHRQoL indicators has been investigated in adolescent populations across the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate key factors associated with oral health-related quality of life of Sri Lankan adolescents. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a sample of 15–19 year-old secondary school students in the Gampaha district of Sri Lanka. The data was collected using two self-administered questionnaires. A modified Sinhalese version of the Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) questionnaire that has been validated for Sri Lankan adolescents was administered. A second questionnaire collected information on socioeconomic characteristics, oral health care seeking and oral health behaviours. A clinical oral examination was performed on each participant. Oral health related quality of life was measured using OIDP domains and total OIDP scores. Poisson regression was used to investigate the key factors associated with the OIDP additive score. Results: A total of 1332 adolescents participated in the study. Negative quality of life impacts were more prevalent in the social and psychological domains of OIDP as compared with the functional domain. Total OIDP scores ranged from 0 to 36 with a mean of 3.16 (SD = 4.71). The multivariable analysis revealed that increasing age, low income, brushing teeth only once per day, and increased number of decayed teeth were found to be associated with poor overall OHRQoL, while male gender, frequent oral healthcare seeking patterns and absent dento-facial anomalies were associated with good OHRQoL. Conclusion: This study identified modifiable behavioural and oral health related factors which are associated with OHRQoL in Sri Lankan adolescents. Oral health interventions should target these modifiable factors to improve the OHRQoL in these populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of sex from the tibial dimensions has been attempted before in different populations. The formulae developed to determine sex of one population are not appropriate to be applied to another. Seven standard variables including the maximum length of tibia, proximal epiphyseal breadth, distal epiphyseal breadth, minimum circumference of shaft, anteroposterior diameter at nutrient foramen, transverse diameter at the nutrient foramen (TDNF), and circumference at the nutrient foramen obtained from 81 adult tibiae (56 male and 25 female) were analyzed to investigate the sexual dimorphism in the tibial dimensions to establish sex estimating formulae from the tibia in a contemporary Sri Lankan population. Results confirmed the existence of sexual dimorphism of the tibia. Discriminant functions obtained resulted in the classification accuracies ranging from 61.9% to 80.2%. The most dimorphic single parameter in males was the TDNF providing an accuracy of 92.9%, while in females, the minimum circumference of shaft provided an accuracy of 70.4%. The best multivariate equation utilizing two tibial dimensions resulted in an accuracy of 80.2% after cross-validation. We envisage that sex estimating formulae established in this study for a contemporary Sri Lankan population will contribute toward the biological profiling and identification of unknown skeletal remains.

Arguing that the past informs our present and indeed our future as migrants, this essay focuses on the history of movement and interaction of the earliest Sri Lankans who emigrated to Australia in the late nineteenth century. Rather than follow a sequential narrative arc, I use a personal essay form that allows me to humanize the migrant by identifying imaginatively with the migrant's sense of self, and through that strategy, question assumptions about singular national, ethnic and religious identity in the light of transnational border-crossings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intake of dietary supplements is widespread among athletes in developed countries. This study evaluated the use of dietary supplements in athletes from a developing country. Dietary supplementation practices of 113 national-level athletes age 15-35 yr in Sri Lanka were assessed. All athletes from track-and-field, badminton, football, swimming, cycling, and karate squads who consented to participate in the study were administered an anonymous questionnaire by an interviewer. Information on number of supplements taken, frequency of use, nature of product, rationale, sources of advice, and reasons for taking supplements was obtained. Most athletes (94%) consumed dietary supplements. On average, 3.7 products/day were consumed. Footballers had significantly lower intake of supplements than other athletes (footballers 71%, others 98%; p < .05). They also consumed fewer products per day (footballers 0.7, others 3.5; p < .05). Popular supplements included multivitamins, vitamin E, calcium, energy foods and drinks, and creatine. Multiple supplement use was common, with 29% athletes taking 4 products/day. The athletes sought advice on supplement use from sports doctors (45%), team coaches (40%), or friends (15%). Most took supplements to improve performance (79%), and 19% claimed to take supplements to improve their overall health status. Dietary supplement use is widespread among national-level Sri Lankan athletes. The ad hoc use of supplements indicates that educational intervention in the sporting community is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gem-bearing reliquary known as the Talisman of Charlemagne is closely associated with the history of Europe. Its legend follows such figures as Charlemagne, Napoleon I, Empress Josephine, Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon III, and Empress Eugénie. This study provides new historical information collected in France, Germany, and Switzerland about the provenance of this exceptional jewel, which contains a large glass cabochon on the front, a large blue-gray sapphire on the back, and an assortment of colored stones and pearls. The first scientific gemological analysis of this historical piece, carried out on-site at the Palace of Tau Museum in Reims, France, has made it possible to identify the colored stones and offer insight into their possible geographic origins. Based on our data and comparison with similar objects of the Carolingian period, we propose that the blue-gray sapphire is of Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) origin, that the garnets originate from India or Ceylon, and that most of the emeralds are from Egypt except for one from the Habachtal deposit of Austria. The estimated weight of the center sapphire is approximately 190 ct, making it one of the largest known sapphires as of the early seventeenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of computer technology in university libraries has made possible the use of information resources via the Internet or Intranet. Since the poor usage of digital resources by students as well as the staff of universities has strained these innovative efforts towards the next information era, there was a need to carry out research to examine the behavior in utilizing electronic information resources in higher educational institutions. The main objective of this study is to examine the behavioral intention to utilize electronic information resources by postgraduate students at the Eastern University, Sri Lanka (EUSL), applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The study was tested with a conceptual model using 208 postgraduate students. The study revealed that the facilitating-conditions and effort expectancy are highly significant to students' behavioral intention to use electronic information resources at the library. Students' computer experience moderated the relationship between facilitating-conditions and intention to use. The intention-to-use behavior highly impacts on students' usage of electronic information resources. The developed model will assist other researchers to understand the students' behavioural intention and influencing factors in respect to introducing new innovative technologies in libraries and it could be used by other higher education institutions to make decisions related to the investment in the modern library systems. Hence, this study recommends further researches to be covered in all the Sri Lankan Universities in order to generalize the results and findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines some marginal stories of subaltern individuals shipped and trans-shipped between the Dutch and British colonial territories of Ceylon, Mauritius and the Cape in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After addressing the difficulties in retrieving traces of their lives and the ambiguities of categories of classification, the article offers insights into everyday cultural ties forged among diverse groups and looks into acts of resistance of individuals ‘of Ceylon’. The experience of Ceylonese or individuals described as ‘of Ceylon’ not only gives insights into the various forms of mobility that shaped the making of societies in the Indian Ocean world, it also helps us capture the remarkable capacity of some of these involuntary migrants to forge fragile communities, preserve practices of meaning and resist the predations of slave owners. The snapshots we offer of people ‘of Ceylon’ can refine our understanding of the way imperial designs affected the lives of dominated people across territories in the Indian Ocean. They also make more explicit the link between the global and the local and how larger processes such as slavery are broken down and lived at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is well known that new technologies enhance consumer welfare, the manner in which these technologies impact the ability to realize economies of scale in consumption is not well understood. We use Sri Lankan household data to examine how the adoption of new technologies by households positively impacts their ability to achieve household economies of scale. This suggests that new technologies not only deliver a greater variety of consumption goods to consumers, but they may also play an important role in enabling large households to escape poverty by lowering the per-capita costs of maintaining a given standard of living. Given the importance of consumption economies of scale in the measurement of poverty, this study provides some insights on the extent to which the number of poor households changes when food consumption scale economies due to technology adoption in the domestic sphere are incorporated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Accurate estimation of the personal stature is important in calculating body mass index, assessing nutritional status and the risk of cardiovascular disease, prediction of energy needs and in adaptation of cytostatic drug doses. However, various situations such as, patients in emergency or critical care settings or immobilized patients who are bed ridden or in wheelchairs make it difficult or even impossible to obtain the personal stature using standardized methods. Thus, the need for an alternate method of personal stature prediction arises. Despite its potential practical utility, little is known concerning the relationship between occipito-frontal circumference (OFC) of the head and personal stature among the adult Sri Lankans. Therefore, the goal of this study was to propose population and sex specific regression formula for personal stature estimation using the OFC. Personal stature and OFC was recorded in a total of 156 cadavers belonging to 55 - 89 years of age: (male: n=74; female: n=82). Subjects with any craniofacial deformities or history of neurological disorders were excluded from the study. The mean stature (cm) (male:162.08 ± 9.02 ; female:157.04 ± 9.59) and OFC (cm) (male: 54.09 ± 3.28 ; female: 52.88 ± 2.83) of the study subjects were found to be significantly different (P< 0.01) between the sexes. Correlation coefficient between the OFC and personal stature was statistically significant and positive in both males (0.62) and females (0.86) indicating a strong relationship between the two parameters. Linear regression formulae for the prediction of personal stature using the OFC were derived as follows: male: 70.52 + 1.69 (OFC); female: 3.48 + 2.92 (OFC). Stature prediction equations that require a measuring tape as the only tool to record the OFC provides a practical alternative for the height estimation of patients who are unable to stand due to various reasons. It is a simple, cost effective, non invasive and objective method for personal stature prediction. Accurate prediction of a patient's stature will in turn, reduce potential errors that may occur when stature is estimated only by visual observation in emergency or clinical situations. Complementary studies are necessary to evaluate the applicability of these equations in other age groups too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Do natural disasters produce effects on preferences of victims in the long run? We test the impact of the tsunami shock on generosity of a sample of Sri Lankan affected/unaffected microfinance borrowers seven years after the event. Specifically, we test the effect of the shock at the extensive margin by comparing damaged with non-damaged individuals in terms of giving and expected giving in a dictator game. Moreover, at the intensive margin, we compare the participants based on the amount of damage experienced and recovery aid received. The advantage of this last comparison is that differences in observables between the groups are minimized. We reduce further identification problems by selecting a random sample of damaged and non-damaged borrowers belonging to the same microfinance organization who are, therefore, likely to share some important common traits that are usually unobservable to researchers. We complete our identification strategy with weighted least squares, instrumental variable estimates and a sensitivity analysis on the exogeneity assumption. The main findings of the paper support the hypothesis that the shock affects participants’ preferences in the long run. First, the tsunami negatively affects generosity at the extensive margin as those who suffered at least one damage give and expect less than those who did not. Second, while large recovery assistance does not directly affect giving and expected giving, it increases especially the latter indirectly, i.e., when interacted with the number of damages. Our results reconcile that part of the literature showing evidence of natural shocks having a detrimental effect on social preferences (Fleming, Chong, Alberto, & Bejarano, 2011; Cassar, Grosjean, & Whitt, 2013) with that supporting, instead, a positive link (Solnit, 2009; Whitt & Wilson, 2007; Cassar, Healy, & Von Kessler, 2011). Furthermore, since our study focuses on the long-run impact of a natural disaster, previous results on short-run effects are not necessarily inconsistent with ours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-cultural adaptation research is an important part of study for foreign students. With theories of Searle & Ward and John W. Berry, mainly from two aspects: psychological adaptation and social-cultural adaptation, the research investigates Sri Lankan students' cross-cultural adaptation in Chongqing Normal University and analyzes the problems of Sri Lankan students' cross-cultural adaptation in Chongqing Normal University in four aspects: Chinese reading and vocabulary, communication and exchange, adaptation of learning and teaching styles and knowledge of Chinese culture. Combined with the survey and problems of Sri Lankan students' adaptation, the research will be used to give relevant suggestions to help Sri Lankan students adapt Chinese culture better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low-grade hepatic encephalopathy (LGHE) comprises minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and grade 1 hepatic encephalopathy. LGHE has no or minimal recognizable symptoms but has mild cognitive and psychomotor deficits. Studies in Western countries have demonstrated increased road accidents (RA) among patients with MHE. Our objective was to investigate the association between Sri Lankan LGHE phenotype and RA. Study design and methods: A prospective, case-control study was conducted in the University Medical Unit, North Colombo Teaching Hospital, Ragama Sri Lanka. Patients with cirrhosis of any aetiology, without OHE, who had been driving during previous 1 month were included. A similar number of age matched, healthy control drivers were also enrolled. Both groups were subjected to five pencil-paper based psychometric tests used to detect LGHE in cirrhotics. Self-reported RA during the previous 1 month were recorded: categorized as 'major' when resulted in hospitalization of the involved, 'minor' when there were injuries, but not serious enough for hospitalization of the involved and 'other' when limited to damages to vehicle or environment without injuries. Results: Among 55 drivers with cirrhosis and LGHE [males, median age 53 years (range 30-60)], 7 (12.7 %) reported RA compared to 6 (10.9 %) among 55 controls [males; median age 51 years (range 30-60)]. There were no 'major' accidents in either group. 2/55 (3.6 %) cases and 2/55 (3.6 %) controls reported 'minor' accidents. Conclusion: There was no increased frequency of RA among Sri Lankan drivers with LGHE compared to healthy controls. This is with the limitation of the study based only on self reported RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiculturalism is a contested concept and policy in the current context. Many European leaders have declared its failure, and scholars have traced a global backlash against multicultural policies, especially in Europe. Canadians, on the other hand, are more likely to view it positively, as a badge of citizenship or belonging. Being multicultural has become closely intertwined with what it means to be Canadian, especially for immigrants and their children. The focus of this paper is to unpack these meanings of multiculturalism among one immigrant group, most of whom are now Canadians, and their children: Sri Lankan Tamils in the Greater Toronto Area. Our aim is to better understand how members of this group view the relationship between their Canadian and Tamil identities in the context of multiculturalism. In particular, we are interested in the 'uptake' of the concept, practice, and policy of multiculturalism among Sri Lankan Tamil newcomers to Canada. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with both immigrants (first generation) and Sri Lankan Tamils born in Canada (second generation), we illustrate some of the ways in which multiculturalism operates as frontstage behaviour and as a more tacit backstage concept among those in the Greater Toronto Tamil diaspora. We argue that Canadian multiculturalism functions as 'banal nationalism' in Canada, as daily practices of tacit nation-building are produced and repeated on a daily basis among Sri Lankan Tamil Canadians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant research has examined women’s under-representation (relative to men) in international careers in respect to prejudice towards women in host countries, organizational resistance to selecting women, women’s own disinterest in taking international work and host country societal expectations of women. Although research has suggested the benefits for global organizations of having management diversity, the literature has given limited consideration to barriers and opportunities for international careers for women from developing countries. This study addresses this gap in examining the perceptions of 243 professional women in Sri Lanka about factors they perceive affect opportunities for international careers. The findings suggest the women perceive that positive female role models and family/husband support may facilitate opportunities, whereas prejudice in host countries, organizational gender discrimination and home country societal values emphasizing a primary responsibility of women as wives, mothers and daughters may hinder opportunities. The research has business implications in that, given a global ageing population and increasing numbers of nontraditional families, organizations seeking to achieve gender and ethnic diversity among their international cross-cultural managers need to be cognizant of supporting employees with extended family responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research conducted in high-income countries suggests psychotic experiences are common in the general population, but evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) remains limited. Sri Lanka is a LMIC affected by three decades of civil conflict and, in 2004, a devastating tsunami. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychotic experiences in a general population sample in Sri Lanka and associations with conflict- and tsunami-related trauma. This is a first National Mental Health Survey conducted in Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional, multi-stage, cluster sampling design was used to estimate the prevalence of psychotic symptoms. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, conflict- and tsunami-related trauma, and psychotic experiences were collected using culturally validated measures in a sample of 5927 participants. The weighted prevalence of psychotic symptoms was 9.7%. Exposure to one or more conflict-related events (adj. OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.40-2.31, p<0.001) and loss or injury of a family member or friend through conflict (adj. OR, 1.83, 95% CI 1.42-2.37, p<0.001) were associated with increased odds of reporting psychotic experiences. Psychotic experiences were more common in individuals directly exposed to tsunami disaster (adj. OR, 1.68, 95% CI 1.04-2.73, P=0.035) and in those who had a family member who died or was injured as result of tsunami (adj. OR, 1.42, 95% CI 1.04-1.94, p=0.029). Our findings suggest that psychotic experiences are common in the Sri Lankan population. Exposure to traumatic events in armed conflicts and natural disasters may be important socio-environmental factors in the development of psychotic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For most transnational Sri Lankans, the ethnic conflict that has submerged the island is often positioned as a significant aspect of their lives. Many transnational writers tend to focus on the ethnic conflict as well as the aftermath of leaving the homeland. Despite leaving, the homeland and the memories of the island tend to travel with the transnationals as they move to a new home. One crucial aspect of the memory of the homeland is the sea which surrounds the island. The sea is often perceived as an image that binds them to their homeland. The sights and sounds of the sea often offer both pleasant and traumatic memories, especially for those who have left the homeland. With this in mind, this paper seeks to discuss the ways in which selected transnational writers of Sri Lanka present their memories of the homeland as expressed through the image of the sea. This paper will probe into two novels by transnational Sri Lankan writers; Nayomi Munaweera's Island of A Thousand Mirrors and Randy Boyagoda's Beggar's Feast. The discussion will be framed by Avtar Brah's notion of home, as being found within the "lived experiences of a locality". The images of the sea as presented by these writers will then be used to determine the possibility of reconciliation with the homeland or the perpetuation of trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide prevention efforts in Asia have increasingly turned to ‘quick win’ means restriction, while more complicated cognitive restriction and psychosocial programs are limited. This article argues the development of cognitive restriction programs requires greater consideration of suicide methods as social practices, and of how suicide cognitive schemata form. To illustrate this, the article contributes an ethnographically grounded study of how self-poisoning becomes cognitively available in Sri Lanka. I argue the overwhelming preference for poison as a method of self-harm in the country is not simply reflective of its widespread availability, but rather how cognitive schemata of poison—a ‘poison complex’—develops from early childhood and is a precondition for suicide schemata. Limiting cognitive availability thus requires an entirely novel approach to suicide prevention that draws back from its immediate object (methods and causes of self-harm) to engage the wider poison complex of which suicide is just one aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Sri Lanka, over one in three women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in their lifetime, making it a serious public health concern. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as child abuse and neglect, witnessing domestic violence, parental separation, and bullying are also widespread. Studies in Western settings have shown positive associations between ACEs and IPV perpetration in adulthood, but few have examined this relationship in a non-Western context. In the present study, we examined the association of ACEs with IPV perpetration among Sri Lankan men surveyed for the UN Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific. We found statistically significant positive associations between the number of ACE categories (ACE score) and emotional, financial, physical, and sexual IPV perpetration among Sri Lankan men. We analyzed the contributions of each ACE category and found that childhood abuse was strongly associated with perpetration of IPV in adulthood, with sexual abuse associated with the greatest increase in odds of perpetration (Adjusted odds ratio 2.36; 95% confidence interval: 1.69, 3.30). Witnessing abuse of one’s mother was associated with the greatest increase in the odds of perpetrating physical IPV (AOR 1.82; 95% CI: 1.29, 2.58), while lack of a male parental figure was not associated with physical IPV perpetration (AOR 0.76; 95% CI: 0.53, 1.09). These findings support a social learning theory of IPV perpetration, in which children who are exposed to violence learn to perpetrate IPV in adulthood. They also suggest that in Sri Lanka, being raised in a female-headed household does not increase the risk of IPV perpetration in adulthood compared to being raised in a household with a male parental figure. The relationship between being raised in a female-headed household (the number of which increased dramatically during Sri Lanka’s recent civil war) and perpetration of IPV warrants further study. Interventions that aim to decrease childhood abuse in Sri Lanka could both protect children now and reduce IPV in the future, decreasing violence on multiple fronts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ending of the war in Sri Lanka in 2009 led to significant changes in the political strategies pursued by Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora groups in the UK. One contentious feature of these groups' campaigns has been their use of the ‘genocide’ frame to describe the actions of the Sri Lankan state, which has been predominantly viewed either as a signal of these groups' strategic naivety or as a coded expression of a wider nationalist agenda. In this article I argue that its growing use in the post-war period is more complex and is best understood in relation to these organizations' strategies of legitimation. Deploying the genocide frame has served two key functions: to demonstrate groups' responsiveness to popular demands, and to challenge dominant international approaches to post-war Sri Lanka. Together these functions served to bolster groups' legitimacy in an environment characterized by political change and high levels of inter-organizational competition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]