Ensembling methods for protein-ligand binding affinity prediction.

Protein-ligand binding affinity prediction is a key element of computer-aided drug discovery. Most of the existing deep learning methods for protein-ligand binding affinity prediction utilize single models and suffer from low accuracy and generalization capability. In this paper, we train 13 deep learning models from combinations of 5 input features.

Development of an efficient novel method for coronary artery disease prediction using machine learning and deep learning techniques.

Background: Heart disease is a severe health issue that results in high fatality rates worldwide. Identifying cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart attacks through repetitive clinical data analysis is a significant task. Detecting heart disease in its early stages can save lives.

Evaluation of five medicinal plants for the management of in stored rice and identification of insecticidal compound.

is a kind of stored grain pest. This is controlled by using natural pesticides, which are more reliable, cost-effective, biodegradable, and eco-friendly than synthetic pesticides. Several plants show different insecticidal activities against various pests on their different parts (leaves, seeds, etc.

Determinants of instant messenger (IM) adoption and its effect on team performance: Mediating role of knowledge creation and quality communication.

Computer-mediated communication has dramatically transformed the human communication landscape by enhancing speed, content and social presence. The world has been experiencing a sharp decline in using email and phone calls due to organizations' rapid adoption of instant messenger (IM) for their day-to-day communication with their stakeholders. Moreover, the world has been experiencing a sharp decline in using email and phone calls since the beginning of the IM era.

Fingerprint Systems: Sensors, Image Acquisition, Interoperability and Challenges.

The fingerprint is a widely adopted biometric trait in forensic and civil applications. Fingerprint biometric systems have been investigated using contact prints and latent and contactless images which range from low to high resolution. While the imaging techniques are advancing with sensor variations, the input fingerprint images also vary.

E-learning adoption for sustainable higher education.

Electronic learning (-L) is a profound transition that is occurring in education as a new learning platform in countries across the globe. COVID-19 pandemic has forced all higher education institutions in Sri Lanka to adopt e-learning to maintain sustainable teaching. This study identified the relationships between the main influencing factors of e-learning usage behaviour and, in turn, sustainability in teaching.

Towards a More Efficient In and Ex Situ Conservation of Sri Lankan Wild Rice Species.

Five species of wild (, , , and ), including the endemic species , have been recorded in Sri Lanka. These species are facing continuous decline in their populations due to natural and anthropogenic processes, with habitat loss being the main threat. This study aimed to provide information on the distribution, the current status of ex situ and in situ conservation, and to identify high-priority species and sites of wild rice in Sri Lanka, in order to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts.

Will future maize improvement programs leverage the canopy light-interception, photosynthetic, and biomass capacities of traditional accessions?

Maize germplasm has greater latent potential to address the global food and feed crisis because of its high radiation, water and nutrient efficiencies. Photosynthetic and canopy architectural traits in maize are important in determining yield. The present study aimed to screen a subset of local maize accessions in Sri Lanka to evaluate their photosynthetic, biomass and yield related traits and to identify resource efficient germplasm.

Mass screening of rice mutant populations at low CO for identification of lowered photorespiration and respiration rates.

Introduction: Identifying rice () germplasm with improved efficiency of primary metabolism is of utmost importance in order to increase yields. One such approach can be attained through screening genetically diverse populations under altered environmental conditions. Growth or treatment under low carbon dioxide (CO) concentrations can be used as a means of revealing altered leaf photorespiration, respiration and other metabolic variants.

Mangrove management in Sri Lanka and stakeholder collaboration: A social network perspective.

Understanding the extent of collaboration among stakeholders is key to supporting mangrove management. Despite the existence of robust policies, collaboration among stakeholders of mangrove co-management remains largely unexplored in Sri Lanka. This was partly due to the civil war, natural disasters, and other socio-economic changes over the past 30 years.

Does technology assist to continue learning during pandemic? A sentiment analysis and topic modeling on online learning in south asian region.

Online mode of education has been identified as the subtle solution to continue learning during the pandemic. However, the accessibility to online platforms, suitable devices, and connections are not equal across the globe thus raising the question of whether the opinion of the public in the South Asian region where the technology is not comparatively higher as in the western world would be the same as that to the global perspective. This study involves the sentiment analysis of natural language processing on recently tweeted data and concludes that the sentiment of the South Asian public remains positive as online education is the most suitable approach to overcome the learning difficulties during a pandemic.

The Effectiveness of CFRP- and Auxetic Fabric-Strengthened Brick Masonry under Axial Compression: A Numerical Investigation.

Bonded brickwork used for loadbearing walls is widely found in heritage structures worldwide. The evaluation of bonded masonry structures and their strengthening strategies against dynamic actions require appropriate understanding under cyclic loading. Subsequently, a simplified 3D microscale numerical model is developed in this paper to analyse bonded brickwork under cyclic compression.

The functioning of different beetle (Coleoptera) sampling methods across altitudinal gradients in Peninsular Malaysia.

Biodiversity research relies largely on knowledge about species responses to environmental gradients, assessed using some commonly applied sampling method. However, the consistency of detected responses using different sampling methods, and thus the generality of findings, has seldom been assessed in tropical ecosystems. Hence, we studied the response consistency and indicator functioning of beetle assemblages in altitudinal gradients from two mountains in Malaysia, using Malaise, light, and pitfall traps.

DNAzymes, Novel Therapeutic Agents in Cancer Therapy: A Review of Concepts to Applications.

The past few decades have witnessed a rapid evolution in cancer drug research which is aimed at developing active biological interventions to regulate cancer-specific molecular targets. Nucleic acid-based therapeutics, including ribozymes, antisense oligonucleotides, small interference RNA (siRNA), aptamer, and DNAzymes, have emerged as promising candidates regulating cancer-specific genes at either the transcriptional or posttranscriptional level. Gene-specific catalytic DNA molecules, or DNAzymes, have shown promise as a therapeutic intervention against cancer in various and models, expediting towards clinical applications.

Ethnobotanical and Biochemical Study of Royle Collected from Different Areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Royle has a long history of medicinal uses to treat different diseases. It naturally grows on the mountains of Indian subcontinent. Its ethnobotanical and biochemical study from the state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) was not previously explored.

An improved method for efficient recovery of high quality DNA from date palm ( L; ).

Date palm ( L; ) is one of a few fruit trees that can remarkably grow in dessert agroecosystems that are characterized by extreme temperature fluctuations. Due to increasing demands for dates in the global market and commercial cultivation in many countries, the tree is currently under extensive research in many countries, particularly to improve the germplasm using different molecular tools. Most molecular techniques largely depend on good quality DNA in significant quantities, which are highly compromised by the presence of various contaminants in DNA.

Rationally designed DNA therapeutics can modulate human TH expression by controlling specific GQ formation in its promoter.

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the catecholamine (CA) biosynthesis pathway, making TH a molecular target for controlling CA production, specifically dopamine. Dysregulation of dopamine is correlated with neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among others. Previously, we showed that a 49-nucleotide guanine (G)-rich sequence within the human TH promoter adopts two different sets of G-quadruplex (GQ) structures (5'GQ and 3'GQ), where the 5'GQ uses G-stretches I, II, IV, and VI in TH49, which enhances TH transcription, while the 3'GQ utilizes G-stretches II, IV, VI, and VII, which represses transcription.

How mountains and elevations shape the spatial distribution of beetles in Peninsular Malaysia.

This study was conducted to assess the spatial distribution of beetles in mountain ecosystems and their elevational diversity. Malaise, pitfall and light traps were used to collect beetles from nine different mountains in Malaysia from September 2014 to September 2016, where from Gunung Angsi, Gunung Belumut, Gunung Basor and Gunung Tebu samples were collected at 500 m and 1000 m (above sea level) elevations, while beetles were sampled at 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 masl from Gunung Benom, Gunung Inas, Cameron Highland, Gunung Besar Hantu and Gunung Basor. In this study, 9628 beetles belonging to 879 different species were collected with highest representation from family Staphylinidae and Carabidae.

Exploring the molecular subclasses and stage-specific genes of oral cancer: A bioinformatics analysis.

The rate of people getting affected by Oral cancer in Sri Lanka is growing rapidly since the root cause of such cancer, betel quid chewing is tightly coupled with the tradition of the country. The five-year survival rate of the disease is also pretty low as it is typically detected at advanced stages. This urges a comprehensive study on the marker genes of oral cancer for the successful therapeutic revisions that would potentially identify cancer in its early stages.

Impacts of streamflow alteration on benthic macroinvertebrates by mini-hydro diversion in Sri Lanka.

Our study focused on quantifying the alterations of streamflow at a weir site due to the construction of a mini-hydropower plant in the Gurugoda Oya (Sri Lanka), and evaluating the spatial responses of benthic macroinvertebrates to altered flow regime. The HEC-HMS 3.5 model was applied to the Gurugoda Oya sub-catchment to generate streamflows for the time period 1991-2013.

Experimental and Analytical Study of Masonry Subjected to Uniaxial Cyclic Compression.

Structural evaluation of masonry against dynamic seismic actions invariably requires appropriate cyclic compression constitutive models. However, not many research studies have been dedicated to date to investigate the cyclic compression behaviour of masonry. Therefore, series of experimental investigation followed by analytical model verification were employed in this research to better understand the cyclic compression characteristics of masonry.

Performance characteristics of recycled concrete aggregate as an unbound pavement material.

Use of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) as a pavement material is one of the most sustainable engineering applications for the pavement industry. Investigation on the performance characteristics of RCA, such as elastic and plastic deformations of RCA is therefore, needed to assess RCA's application as an unbound pavement material. In this study, repeated load tri-axial (RLT) tests were conducted to investigate the response of RCA to elastic and plastic deformations under dynamic loads.

Allelopathic activity of some Sri Lankan seaweed extracts and the isolation of a new brominated nonaromatic isolaurene type sesquiterpene from red alga harvey.

This study investigated the allelopathic activity of sixteen seaweed extracts using lettuce seed germination bioassay. The results of the preliminary investigation suggested that the methanol extracts of seven seaweeds demonstrated significant properties inhibitory to seed germination. In addition, chemical investigation of an active extract of the alleopathic Harvey led to the isolation of four known compounds as well as a new brominated nonaromatic isolaurene type sesquiterpene.