University Premises Research Articles

Seasonal Variation of Indoor Radon Concentration Levels in Different Premises of a University Building

In the present study, we aimed to determine the changes of indoor radon concentrations depending on various environmental parameters, such as the outdoor temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure, in university building premises of different applications and heights. The environmental parameters and indoor radon concentrations in four different premises were measured each working day over an eight-month period. The results showed that the indoor radon levels strongly depended on the outside temperature and outside relative humidity, whereas the weakest correlations were found between the indoor radon levels and indoor and outdoor air pressures. The obtained indoor radon concentration and environmental condition correlations were different for the different premises of the building. That is, in two premises where the ventilation effect through unintentional air leakage points prevailed in winter, positive correlations between the radon concentration and outside temperature were obtained, reaching the values of 0.94 and 0.92, respectively. In premises with better airtightness, negative correlations (R = −0.96 and R = −0.62) between the radon concentrations and outside temperature were obtained. The results revealed that high quality air isolation in premises could be an important factor for higher indoor radon levels during summer compared to winter.

<i>Leucocoprinus birnbaumii</i> (Agaricales: Basidiomycota), attractive yellow houseplant mushroom, revisited after 100 years

Sulphur yellow color fruiting bodies of a mushroom at several stages of development were found growing indoors, on decaying mosses (peat) inside a glass box in the University premises at Peradeniya in November 2018. The fungus was examined and identified by its morphological features, described previously, as Leucocoprinus birnbaumii. The present paper reports L. birnbaumii 110 years after its first record in Ceylon and describes its morphology using growth stages and color images for easy recognition.

Cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr) from Streptomyces sp. 150: Exploiting in vitro Potential in Controlling Foodborne Pathogens and Phytopathogens

Background: In the prokaryotic unicellular bacteria, Streptomyces species are the most frequent producers of bioactive secondary metabolites. Our continuous quest for new antibiotics from Actinomycetes genera put us forward for isolation of a strain Streptomyces sp. 150 from the soil samples collected at the Daegu University premises in Korea. Objective: The aims of this study was to isolate and identify bioactive compounds from the isolated microorganism and assess the efficacy of the compounds in controlling foodborne pathogens and phytopathogens. Methods: The isolated bacterium was characterized by the taxonomic analyses and a compound was isolated from the fermentation broth by applying different chromatographic techniques e.g. column chromatography, TLC and PTLC. The structure of the compound was established by UV, IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectral data analyses. The antibacterial and antifungal efficacy of the compound was assessed by disc diffusion assay, poisoned food technique, MIC determination and SEM analysis. Results: Different chromatographic techniques resulted in isolation and purification of a secondary metabolite from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces sp. 150. The analyses of the spectroscopic data identified the compound as cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr). The compound exhibited potential efficacy in controlling all the seven foodborne pathogenic bacteria with corresponding inhibition zone and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 15.1 to 20.1 mm and 15.6 to 62.5 μg/mL respectively, and tested phytopathogenic fungi with mycelium growth inhibition varying from 57.1 to 68.5% and MIC from 125 to 250 μg/mL. Moreover, in scanning electron microscopy, morphological changes in Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19166 at MIC dose of compound was observed. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the possibility to use the compound cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr) in food and agrochemical industries to control foodborne pathogens and phytopathogens.

Self–efficacy and student satisfaction in the context of blended learning courses

ABSTRACT Higher education institutions are increasingly looking for the adoption of new ways to improve education quality, enhance student engagement, and manage knowledge resources. Technological developments have a significant impact on education, and technology-mediated learning is steadily progressing, with blended learning being implemented in education institutions. This article focuses on student satisfaction resulting from the introduction of a blended course, which was implemented in a ‘Management’ course, in university premises. In particular, we investigate Learning Management System (LMS) factors that affect its self-efficacy and the impact it has on student satisfaction. The results show that LMS self-efficacy positively impacts students’ satisfaction with their education. Moreover, we identify the content of the system, system accessibility, and system components related to the enhancement of critical thinking, to be important determinants of LMS self-efficacy.

Helminthiasis in dogs of University of Peradeniya premises: a potential public health problem

A sizable population of stray dogs are wandering in the premises of the University of Peradeniya and they ramble and defecate inside the faculty buildings and student hostels. This may pose a public health risk due to wide range of zoonotic parasites strays might harbour. Here we carried out a cross-sectional, coprological survey to assess the canine helminthiasis in the Peradeniya university premises. Fresh feacal samples were collected from March to June 2018 and were analyzed using a modified Sheather’s sucrose flotation technique. Sixty dogs were sampled, of which 76.6% was infected with one or more enteric helminths with a higher prevalence in stray dogs (88.6%) than owned dogs (60.0%). Seven helminth genera were recorded: Toxocara (26.7%), Spirocerca (26.7%), Strongyloides (10.0%), Trichuris (5.0%), Dipylidium (3.3%), Capillaria (3.3%) and Ancylostoma (73.3%). All seven genera were recorded in the stray dogs while Trichuris was not recorded in the owned dogs. Ancylostoma was the most prevalent infection with the highest intensity (103.4 ±198.4 Eggs per gram: EPG). There was no difference in the prevalence of Ancylostoma infections between strays (60.0%) and owned dogs (46.7%) but the intensity of infection was higher in owned dogs (155.2 EPG); range 2 - 755 EPG) than strays (71.6 EPG; range of 1 – 546 EPG), irrespective of de-worming. It could be due to development of antihelminthic resistance as routine use likely to accelerate the development of resistance in canine helminths. Except for Capillaria, other six helminths recorded were zoonotic, with a potential of humans acquiring the infections when there is close contact with dogs. Stray dogs may act as reservoirs of these infections for owned dogs and humans and vise versa. In order to control the zoonotic infections, the stray dog population in and around faculties and residential halls, has to be controlled implementing strict rules on feeding strays inside the university premises.

Identifying Potential Tourist Attractions at Central Philippines State University: Basis for Development

The Philippines has various Agri and eco-tourism activities and destinations for incoming tourists with completely different propensities. The competitive edges of the country from other countries its natural ambiance, picturesque attractions in addition to mouthwatering food choice that are excellent for rest, relaxation, and recreation. Also, its climate is ideal for outdoor recreational activities. Agri-ecotourism is an aggregate of the words ‘Agri-tourism’ and ‘Ecotourism’. This kind of tourism aims to preserve the culture, tradition, and nature of the area while promoting agriculture as a tourism attraction. Both eco-tourism and agri-tourism are taken into consideration as nature-primarily based tourism as it each relies upon on nature. However, eco-agritourism particularly focuses on sustainable yet community-based total tourism, which is the present trend inside the tourism enterprise nowadays. This sort of tourism calls for the participation of the local community living within the locality to generate jobs as well as deliver them a solid source of income (Medallon, et. Al. 2014). Being an archipelago, the country communes with thousands of attractions and destinations for tourists' great satisfaction and relaxation. The country’s numerous government agencies are incessantly engaging in product and activity improvements to sell tourist destinations (Alejandrino, 2002). According to the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), there are several reasons why the local community is critical to be taken into consideration in tracking and comparing an eco-tourism task. First, local people create excellent first-hand information and possess an excellent deal of local knowledge. Second, local collaboration helps establish a stronger link between the design and management of ecotourism and its beneficiaries or local stakeholders. Lastly, involving local people within the monitoring and evaluation process motivates them to plan and sustainably manage activities. Some pragmatic impacts of agri-eco tourism to the locality consistent with the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) are revenue-generation, job opportunities, stronger economic relations, environmental education, pride, and environmental appreciation. From which, revenue comes from the entrance or environmental fees, which are charged directly to tourists for gaining access to, and performing particular activities or, for the usage of a special device in an ecotourism site. Job opportunities are the biggest gain from operating tourism or an ecotourism project since there'll hiring for guides, guards, offices, or managers for tourism-associated job increases. Moreover, agri-eco tourism also facilitates to alleviate the monetary fame of the locals living inside the college compound. Along this line, the researchers are propelled to conduct a study in determining the Potential Agri-Ecotourism Sites and Activities at Central Philippines State University. This study aims to determine different potential agri-eco tourism sites inside the university compound to formulate findings as to the basis for development within the context of sustainability. On the other hand, considering the number of opportunities that eco-agritourism sites and activities can generate, many threats and problems within the pipeline include; environmental exploitation, geographical location, waste management, economic instability, crowding, and excessive development. Nonetheless, this study is specifically significant to students, teachers, university personnel, government units, community, and future researchers which considered as stakeholders in which their participation is extremely important in developing part of the university premises into an agri-eco tourism site.

Optimización de la Producción de Xilanasa Bacteriana a Partir de Bacillus sp. K1 con el Uso de Residuos Lignocelulósicos

Las xilanasas son enzimas que hidrolizan el xilano, produciendo azúcares fermentables tales como xilosa y xilobiosa con aplicaciones industriales muy diversas entre las que destaca el biobleaching y la producción de bioetanol de segunda generación. El objetivo principal del presente estudio se enfoca en la optimización de la producción de xilanasa bacteriana por parte de la bacteria Bacillus sp. K1. La misma ha sido previamente aislada de muestras de madera en putrefacción recolectadas en las premisas de la Universidad de Lakehead para su Departamento de Biología. Las variables investigadas para la optimización fueron físicas tales como pH, temperatura y volumen de inóculo; y de composición del medio de fermentación tales como fuente de carbono, fuente de nitrógeno orgánico e inorgánico y relación porcentual entre dichos componentes. Adicionalmente, se determinó el efecto de iones metálicos (sodio, potasio, magnesio, calcio, ferroso, niqueloso, cúprico, cobaltoso y manganoso) y surfactantes (Polisorbato-20, dodecil sulfato de sodio y Triton X-100) en la actividad enzimática de la xilanasa producida. La mayor producción de xilanasa fue tras 36h de fermentación y las condiciones físicas óptimas asociadas a la producción de xilanasa fueron pH 6, temperatura 35 ºC y volumen de inóculo 1%. La composición óptima del medio de fermentación determinada está constituida por: Afrecho de trigo 4%, Glucosa 0,5%, NH4NO3 0,5%, K2HPO4 0,1%, KCl 0,1%, MgSO4 0,05%, peptona 0,5%, SDS 0,1%. La actividad enzimática generada es de 264,96±7,89 IU/L, con un 248,79% de incremento con respecto al inicial. Los inhibidores más importantes fueron los iones cúprico y manganoso con 32,00% y 49,16% de inhibición comparado con el experimento de control.

CrownLabs—A Collaborative Environment to Deliver Remote Computing Laboratories

The coronavirus pandemic hit the entire education sector hard. All students were sent home and lectures started to be delivered through video-conferencing systems. CrownLabs is an open-source project providing an answer to the problem of delivering remote computing laboratories. Simplicity is one of its main characteristics, requiring nothing but a simple web browser to interact with the system and being all heavyweight computations performed at the university premises. Cooperation and mentoring are also encouraged through parallel access to the same remote desktop. The entire system is built up using components from the Kubernetes ecosystem, to replicate a “cloud grade” infrastructure, coupled with custom software implementing the core business logic. To this end, most of the complexity has been delegated to the infrastructure, to speed up the development process and reduce the maintenance burden. An extensive evaluation has been performed in both real and simulated scenarios to validate the overall performance: the results are encouraging, as well as the feedback from the early adopters of the system.

Inconveniences of Studying During a Pandemic – a Case Study

Introduction: The presented work is an attempt at diagnosing how much the restrictions connected with the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the lifestyle of students of the Faculty of Physical Education and Health (the University of Physical Education in Warsaw, the Branch in Biała Podlaska) and which inconveniences hindering normal studying are the most painful for them. Material and methods: The study included students of the aforementioned Faculty participating in classes dedicated to decision-making techniques as a part of subjects connected with the theory of organization and management. After those classes they worked out at home their answers referring to issues occurring within the following techniques: 1) the Daily Time Budget, 2) the Brainstorming, 3) the Fishbone Diagram, 4) the Borda-Kendall Method. The results were analysed with the “Statistica” computing package (13.3 version). The significance of intergroup differences (between students of different fields and men and women) was analysed with the χ². Results: It has been found out that there was a significant increase in the time devoted to self-study, watching the Internet and TV, homework. There were no classes in university premises as well as a decrease in social contacts. Among the factors that made studying more difficult, the lack of practical classes was ranked first, Internet problems second, and additional household chores came third. Conclusions: What turned out the most significant among inconveniences of online studies during the pandemic was limitation – or just lack – of practical classes, what is a problem requiring considerations and a systemic solution.

Online Blood Bank System with the Help of Web Applications for Donors

In today’s world, web application plays a vital role by providing easy accessibility, availability, centralized and highly secured information of any system. This paper actually focuses on the Online Blood Bank System developed for the students. It discusses about the benefits, challenges and solutions for those who are interested in blood donation. This web application provides better management in case of organizing blood donation camps inside university premises.

Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) and Anticipated Performance Index (API) of plants found in Matara city area, Sri Lanka: An approach for recommending plants for landscaping city areas

This study aims to recommend plant species for urban landscaping based on a biomonitoring study accompanied by comparison of Air Pollution Tolerance Indices (APTI) and Anticipated Performance Indices (API) of five tree species (Mangifera indica, Muntingia calabura, Cassia fistula, Azadirachta indica, Ficus benjamina) and four ornamental species (Bougainvillea spectabilis, Ixora coccinea, Ervatamia coronaria, Nerium indicum) found in Matara city area, Sri lanka. APTI was determined by combining the four biochemical and physiological parameters Relative water content (RWC), Total chlorophyll content (TChl), Ascorbic acid content (AA) and Leaf extract pH using a pre-defined formula. Each parameter of all the species was compared with that of it for the control site, Wellamadama premises of University of Ruhuna. Results suggested that RWC, TChl and pH were lower, and AA was higher for the city area in comparison to control site. APTI varied in the decreasing orders C. fistula (13.09), A. indica (11.23), M. indica (11.12), F. benjamina (10.68), M. calabura (9.12) for tree species and E. coronaria (10.22), I. coccinea (10.20), N. indicum (8.85), B. spectabilis (8.43) for ornamental species. Based on APTI, M. indica, C. fistula, A. indica were intermediately tolerant and other species were sensitive to air pollution. The calculated API values suggest, M. indica is ‘excellent’, C. fistula is ‘very good’, F. benjamina and A. indica are ‘good’ and M. calabura is ‘moderate’ in their suitability to be planted on urban landscape as tree species. API values of the tested ornamental plant species showed that B. spectabilis, I. coccinea, E. coronaria as ‘moderate’ and N. indicum as ‘poor’ for urban landscaping. The overall results highlight the suitability of APTI and API as simple, inexpensive, and convenient methods for recommending plant species for urban areas with sound automobile pollution.

EFFECTS OF SODIUM BENTONITE ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF RECYCLED PLASTICCOMPOSITES AS POTENTIAL GEOMEMBRANE

This paper investigates the utilization of post--consumer waste plastic sachets as potential geomembrane in landfills. This study promotes recycling of plastic wastes in Adamson University premises and supports the government advocacy in Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. To confirm the plastic compositions, the plastic waste sachets were subjected to Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy analysis. FTIR result shows that plastics were made of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polyester (PET). Subsequently, sodium bentonite (SB) was added to shredded waste plastics at varying percentages of 0, 5, 10 and 15 percent by weight. Then, it was subjected to melt intercalation and compression molding process to produce recycled plastic composites (RPC). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was performed to determine the melt--intercalation and compression molding temperatures. Consequently, RPC was subjected to different physico--mechanical tests such as density, water absorption, flexural, tensile, izod impact and abrasion tests. Maximum water absorption capacity and tensile strength were observed in RPC with 15% SB. The highest density and flexural strength were observed in RPC with 10% SB content. Moreover, RPC with 5% SB exhibited the highest impact strength and abrasive resistance. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) divulged the poor interfacial adhesion between the polymer blends and unequal dispersion of SB with recycled plastics. Overall, the surface response optimization corroborates that the ultimate percentage of SB was achieved at 10.4% content which has a great potential as geomembrane.

Bacteriological Status of Street Foods in Different University Premises of Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Street food contamination is common and has a potential health hazards throughout the world. These categories of foods are very popular among the students of Academic Institutions (Universities) of Dhaka city, Bangladesh for their appealing look and reasonable cost. This study was conducted to determine the presence of E. coli, Shigella sp. and Vibrio sp. in the street foods. Two hundred and forty-two food samples were collected from 20 University premises of Dhaka city. Biochemical tests were performed on suspected colonies for the identification of the relevant bacteria obtained from the samples. E. coli, Vibrio sp., and Shigella sp. were identified in 18% samples, where E. coli was found in 12%, Vibrio sp. was identified in 5%, and Shigella sp. in <1.0% food sample studied. The samples from which E. coli and food borne pathogens were obtained were considered unsatisfactory for human consumption.Presence of enteric bacteria in street foods indicates that the students of different Universities in Dhaka city might be at high risk of food borne disease
 Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 36 Number 1 June 2019, pp 45-47

Soil attributes and weed seedbank spatial correlation

The crop yield potential is affected by the crop-weed competition and their control create a dependence on herbicide use who brings, as consequence, soil impacts. Knowing the weed’s spatial distribution on the field is a feasible alternative for improving the crop yield. The goal of this paper is the identification of the spatial variability on physical and chemical attributes of soil as well as the weed’s seedbank so that, when correlated, may find standards to help on field management. The experiment was conducted on Uberlandia Federal University premises at soybean no-till area. Using georeferenced soil samples, were analyzed the physical and chemical attributes as well as the weed’s seedbank. The weed population on controlled environment was quantify, sorting out broadleaf and grassy weeds species. The obtained data were analyzed by descriptive statistic and geostatistics for a semivariogram modeling, interpolation by the kriging methodology and the spatial variability maps achievement. The average value, coefficient of variation (CV%), asymmetry, kurtosis coefficient and the significant linear correlations interfered on data spatial variability which we concluded by the spatial dependences on the attributes that had a linear correlation between them. The semivariograms presented varied range between 202 to 752 meters. Using the maps, verified two different regions for the broadleaf and grassy weeds seedbank. For both situations there was influence by the soil attributes on infestation level, which makes it possible to target the herbicide management reducing costs and the environmental impact. From the analyzed data we conclude that there is a spatial dependence for the physical and chemical soil attributes and their spatial distribution explains the weed seedbank spatial variability.

Hard, Soft, Cow And Mixed Administration Methodologies Impact on the Development of Students in the University of Agriculture Peshawar-Pakistan

The Study was carried out in the University of Agriculture Peshawar in the period 1989 and 2019. The study major objective was that to know the impact of hard, soft mixed, and cow administration methodologies impact on the development of agriculture students. Since August 1989 to 2019 worked as participant observer and used four methodologies during administration and teaching in the University. As a teacher taught different subjects to student of rural development while as a administrator performed the additional duties as a Warden, Monitoring officers, Staff proctors in the university. The hard methodology was used for 20 years and the impact was found better in the start on the students while in the long run found worse. Large number students had created problems for me in my daily life. Some students at night were raising different type voice on me while sometime cut the seat of my motor car and wagon at my house. The drop out of the students was more. Similarly also listen abused language when I was on the way in my motor car. The majority quality of the students was found better and the produced students’ talent was found more. Similarly soft methodology was also applied but the impact on the student was not found good. The student did not come to class and hostel in time. The students’ number was found less in the class and noising was found in the university premises and hostel. They all came late to class and hostel and no one ask why did you come late? In this period the student quality was found worse. The mixed and cow methodologies were also applied for controlling the students and staffs but the result was found better than the above mentioned methodologies. The environment was found friendly and no noising and disturbance was found in the university by the students. The student drop out was less than before in this period. Cow methodology was also observed in the universities for attracting students into class, seminars and conference for transferring knowledge. This methodology was found interesting in the University while it was found very costly. Similarly different Vice chancellor of the university era was studied and the mixed methodology result was found better than the other administration methodologies. On the basis of problems few recommendations are given below for uplifting the students’ quality in the University. Friendly environment should be developed in the University premises among the students and teacher and other staff. Never criticize one another and use good manner in daily affair of the University. Always do good behaved with one another. Never do fighting in the University Premises by students and administration. Some time for control purpose punishment should be also given to University students and staffs for controlling the disturbance and corruption. Honest staff in the UDC should be put up for favorable environment in the University. Good and train teacher should be selected for teaching and administration purpose. Never appoint those people in the Universities who have no experience and talents but belong to political parties. Administrator should be selected those people who follow the rule regulations of the University properly and they have more experience in their fields.

The research of disinfective properties of kontravir for disinfection of veterinary objects

In this field, complex disinfectants were contrasted using effective concentrations against bacteria and spore-forming microorganisms. A significant problem for the owners is the emergence of resistance of strains of microorganisms in the existing production and the same disinfectants. Investigation of trusted working concentrations of disinfectants that do not have a corrosive effect on metal structures. According to the results of research and production, contrast is an effective disinfectant for reducing E. coli and S aureus at 0,3 – 0,5% concentration at exposure for 30 min. and consumption of 100 - 400 cm3 / m2.
 Laboratory researches were carried out in laboratories of microbiological faculties of veterinary medicine of Sumy National Agrarian University. Disappearance gaps and disinfection on the market in Kyiv. Samples were drawn in the refrigerators from the walls, ceilings and floors. Refrigerated chambers made of stainless steel are made up of rubber and plastic elements. Metals are very vulnerable to corrosion with more concentrated acids and alkali. This was taken into account when choosing a disinfectant and its effective organizations. As a disinfectant used the drug contrast (manufacturer PE "Kronos Agro", Ukraine). The disinfectant was taken at a dose of 100 ml per 1 m2. To produce the culture was prepared basic products containing 1000 mg of the drug in 1 ml of distilled water. The experimental solutions were prepared for study with the main formulations developed. Representatives had extraordinary effects. The disks were leaked through the disinfectant to obtain a zone of retention of high bacteria and fungi.
 The reliability of disinfectant destroying the micro-organisms of E. coli and S. aureus test cultures was also known. For the trusted production preparations, the contrast at the trusted enterprises was carried out by the rehabilitation of the premises of the educational laboratory of the Sumy National Agrarian University (premises for animals, dairies, refrigeration chambers).
 Renovation and test activities were performed at 0,1, 0,25 and 0,5 % of exposed contrast with exposure for 60, 30 and 10 min. the disinfectant was consumed 250 cm3 / m2. Upon completion of the studies, the investigated tests were investigated with distilled water (flow rate - 1000 cm3 / m2). Water that has been washed away test products, presented in specially prepared capabilities. Test results for this after disinfection were also investigated with distilled water, which was found on the disinfectant. To study the corrosion activity of the disinfectant used metal plates 1h1sm2. The metal samples were welded to the fifth mark after the commission before and after the study. 0,5; 1,0; 1,5; 2,5 % contrast solutions were used in the study. For comparison, in the experiments used 2% of productive. M. bovis mycobacterial cultures were grown on Pavlovsky's glycerol medium. The bacterial culture was transferred into sterile vials and sterile isotonic material containing 0,05 cm3 / mg was added. A large amount of delay zone in Petri dishes containing 0,5 % of S. aureus disinfectant, 3,5 times S. cholerase 1,8 S. Enteritidis 2 more than 0,5% formal form . Higher indicators of bacterial properties of the disinfectant contrast at a concentration of 0,5%.

Design and Implementation of University Network

Information technology is being used at numerous places fulfilling various purposes. Doing work at one place by professors and sharing it at another place either to faculty members and students becomes quite difficult. As doing tasks on one PC, a professor might have to visit different classes and labs due to various reasons. Similarly a student working on a project might have to access a particular project document in multiple labs and classes. Head of Department has to visit various rooms and classes in a particular day. It would be very tedious job to carry laptop everywhere. There might be a situation when a user wants to share a particular data with more than 1 user. There can also be a situation when a particular message/ information need to be shared with the entire university. So this research work proposes a novel approach to communicate among various users that are present at different sites at the same time where at university premises network system is being proposed which would help departments to share information among faculty members and students Proposed approach takes the help of sharing common network domain by DNS and applies heterogeneous BUS topology model to explore various concepts like topology design, creating dynamic host configuration protocol, sub net masking, DNS and VLAN within a single network with the help of Cisco Packet Tracer to make the network more secured and cost effective.

Demographic Rise Effect on Water Supply Systems in Urban Higher Learning Institutions; Case Study of Kenyatta University

In the past ten years, public institutions including Kenyatta University have experienced a surge in population growth, exacerbated by a demand for higher education. The university population has increased eight times more between the year 2006-2016 leading to inadequacy in accommodation services within university premises, thus three quarters of these students reside in the neighboring areas. This study aimed at looking at the impact of this population increase on the water systems. Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed; three FGDs, key informant interviews and 220 respondents were interviewed comprising of; students, households, caretakers and small business owners. The study established that 62% of the residents used water from municipal water integrated to borehole supply. There were high water shortages marked with rationing as supply was only 2-3 times a week during student peak sessions. Most residents reverted to boreholes that were sunk without following set standards. 60% stored water in locally made tanks with low storage capacity inadequate to meet demand. The respondents felt the need to have an integrated holistic approach and coordination among all relevant stakeholders including; government, management institutions, households, students, public institution administrators, and businesses in order to comprehensively manage the water resources effectively

Breeding and Territorial Behaviour of Indian Black Robin (Copsychus fulicata leucoptera) in Mihintale, Sri Lanka

Indian Black Robin (Copsychus fulicata leucoptera) ( Lesson, 1840) is one of the territorial birds often found in all climatic zones in Sri Lanka. Territory size of this birds species is vary according to the breeding season and habitats that they occupy. The present study was carried out to understand the breeding ecology and territorial behavior of Indian Black robin both in breeding and non-breeding periods. The study was carried out at the Mihintale sanctuary and the Faculty premises of Rajarata university of Sri Lanka. Eleven breeding pairs of Black robins were observed to collect using scan and focal animal sampling methods from 2014 to 2017. Territory mapping was done using ArcGIS 10.3 and % behavioral act was calculated using Microsoft excel. Two breeding seasons were identified during March to September. The average nest building period was13.25±0.96 days. Total of 10 nests were recorded, seven were successful nests but chicks were observed from only three of them while in other four of them were damaged due to several reasons. Three nests were abandon by the female bird with eggs which may considered as pseudo nests. The eggs were whitish in colour with small brownish blotches. The clutch size ranged from 2-4. The average incubation period was 11± 3.4 days. The identified foraging sites are nearby roads, human settlements and live foliage. Fifteen territories were recorded during the study period in the open land areas, sparse grasslands or scrublands. The territory sizes of non-breeding season ranged from 617 to 5504 m2 while territories of breeding season ranged from 1335 to 8736 m2.

Composition and Diversity Variation of Avifauna, along Different Vegetative Habitat Types in a Human-Modified Area, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

Role of conservation of birds has been least considered during modification of vegetative habitats, in studies conducted on birds in protected areas and urban landscapes in Sri Lanka. The present study was intended to assess the relationship between landscape and the composition and distribution of avifauna in University of Kelaniya, a human-modified area. The study was conducted selecting 8 habitats including open ground, low, moderately, and highly wooded habitats. A survey was conducted from 0530 to 0730 hr in the morning and 1630-1830 hr in the evening from August to December 2016 ensuring eight sampling events at each habitat. Point counting method (15 m radius) was used along a 100 m line transect. Species diversity parameters were analyzed. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to characterize the habitats with bird species. A total of 40 species were recorded. Species richness (r = 27) and species heterogeneity (H′ = 3.09) were the highest in Mee amba sevana habitat while species evenness (J = 0.977) was the highest in medical center area habitat. Total abundance (n = 135) was recorded in Saiba ground. Asian brown flycatcher (Saiba ground, medical center area, Mee amba sevana, Girls’ Hostel complex, and English language unit habitats) and white-bellied drongo (Saiba ground, medical center area, Girls’ Hostel complex, English language unit, and Thal weta premises) were widely distributed (z > 0, Kruskal-Wallis, Minitab 14). The second largest distribution was recorded by black-hooded oriole, blue-tailed bee-eater, cattle egret, feral pigeon, brown-headed barbet, red-vented bulbul, and rose-ringed parakeet within four habitats (z > 0, Kruskal-Wallis). According to the PCA, Saiba ground habitat was categorized by open ground dwelling birds, and Mee amba sevana was characterized by frugivorous birds, while Girls’ Hostel complex habitat was characterized by carnivorous birds. Comparatively, medical center area habitat contributes to the highest species diversity with many flowering and fruiting trees while providing sufficient food resources and high floral structural complexity. Recorded avifaunal community composition ensures considerable conservation value to university premises of Kelaniya. Awareness and monitoring programs are recommended for sustainable conservation of bird species in Kelaniya.