Publications by authors named "R H Karunarathna"

Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the impact of reverse osmosis (RO) water on the rates of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in North Central Province (NCP) of Sri Lanka between 2010 and 2020.
  • Hospital diagnosis rates of CKD showed a significant increase from 2010 to 2016, but began to decline after 2017, particularly in areas where over 20% of families had access to RO water.
  • The findings suggest that access to RO water may contribute to reducing the incidence of CKD/CKDu in communities within NCP.
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Enterococci and Escherichia coli are opportunistic pathogens of poultry and are associated with embryo and neonatal chick mortality. We have recently demonstrated that 56% of dead broiler chicken embryos in commercial hatcheries in western Canada were due to the coinfection of Enterococcus species and E. coli.

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Objective: We examined heat stress symptoms and urine markers of chronic kidney disease (CKDu) in Sri Lanka to assess differences between endemic vs. non-endemic regions and by occupation.

Sample And Methods: We assessed a total of 475 villagers.

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Synthetic CpG-ODNs can promote antimicrobial immunity in neonatal chicks by enriching immune compartments and activating immune cells. Activated immune cells undergo profound metabolic changes to meet cellular biosynthesis and energy demands and facilitate the signaling processes. We hypothesize that CpG-ODNs induced immune activation can change the host's metabolic demands in neonatal chicks.

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Synthetic DNA containing CpG motifs (CpG-ODN) are potent innate immune stimulators in neonatal and adult broiler chickens against bacterial septicemia. We have recently demonstrated that intrapulmonary (IPL) delivery of CpG-ODN as microdroplets under laboratory conditions can protect neonatal chickens against lethal Escherichia coli septicemia. The objectives of this study were to develop a commercial-scale poultry nebulizer (CSPN) that can deliver CpG-ODN as microdroplets in neonatal broiler chicks in the hatcheries and study the efficacy of CSPN in inducing immune-protective effects under different environmental conditions in 2 geographical locations in Canada.

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