Diversity and Species Composition of Midgut Symbiotic Bacteria in Mosquitoes in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka.

Mosquitoes, notorious for their deadly impact as disease vectors, also hold economic value owing to their roles in disease transmission. The present study focuses on the importance of understanding mosquito gut microbiota for implementing innovative vector control strategies, thereby mitigating disease transmission. The study was conducted in the Gampaha Medical Office of Health (MOH) area of Sri Lanka with the focus of elucidating the microbial diversity within the midgut of , a crucial step to support ongoing paratransgenesis efforts.

Correction: Internet of Things (IoT) for Smart Agriculture: Assembling and assessment of a low-cost IoT system for polytunnels.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

: A quantitative approach to assess the correlation of mammographic breast density with selected affecting factors.

Introduction: Breast density plays a significant role in increasing an individual's risk of breast cancer and its mortality rate.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the correlations of mammographic breast density with age, body mass index, weight, height and parity for the first time in Sri Lankan women.

Methods: 52 participants who underwent diagnostic mammographic examinations at a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka were selected for the study.

Internet of things (IoT) for smart agriculture: Assembling and assessment of a low-cost IoT system for polytunnels.

Internet of things (IoT) applications in smart agricultural systems vary from monitoring climate conditions, automating irrigation systems, greenhouse automation, crop monitoring and management, and crop prediction, up to end-to-end autonomous farm management systems. One of the main challenges to the advancement of IoT systems for the agricultural domain is the lack of training data under operational environmental conditions. Most of the current designs are based on simulations and artificially generated data.

Linear and Volumetric Analysis of Maxillary Sinus Pneumatization in a Sri Lankan Population Using Cone Beam Computer Tomography.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the linear and volumetric measurements of the maxillary sinus in relation to sex and side on cone beam computer tomographic (CBCT) images in a Sri Lankan population.

Methods: A total of 20 sets of CBCT images selected from the database at the Division of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, were evaluated. Linear measurements were obtained in a craniocaudal (height), anteroposterior (length), and mediolateral (width) dimensions.

Engineering host resistance against parasitic weeds with RNA interference.

Host genetic resistance is a key component of integrated pest management. The present authors and others are investigating the use of RNA interference (RNAi) as a genetic tool for engineering host resistance against parasitic weeds. The general approach is to transform a host plant with a plasmid encoding a double stranded hairpin RNA (hpRNA) targeted against one or more vital parasite genes.

Tropane alkaloids from Erythroxylum zeylanicum O.E. Schulz (Erythroxylaceae).

Six tropane alkaloids were isolated from the Sri Lankan endemic plant Erythroxylum zeylanicum O.E. Schulz (Erythroxylaceae) and structurally elucidated by NMR and MS measurements.