Research Papers - Dept of Information Technology
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Publication Open Access The Potential of Arboreal Tiger Beetle (Derocrania scitiscabra Walker) as a Natural Enemy for the Control of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda JE Smith)(Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, 2025-01-15) Kasige R.H.; Abeywardhana D.L; Pallewatta N; Perera M.T.M.D.R; Dangalle C.DPurpose: The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a serious pest of maize, sugarcane, and other crops in Sri Lanka. Natural predators and parasitoids are considered the best methods to control this insect pest. The present study investigates the possibility of using an endemic tiger beetle, Derocrania scitiscabra, as a natural predator for the larval stages of S. frugiperda. Research Method: The feeding preferences of D. scitiscabra to live prey versus dead prey, live prey types including different instar stages of S. frugiperda were investigated in the laboratory using choice tests. Fresh minced meat was used as dead prey, while red ants, earthworms and the six larval instar stages of S. frugiperda were used as live prey. Findings: Red ants were the most preferred prey type of D. scitiscabra, and dead prey, earthworms and mature S. frugiperda larvae were not consumed. Early larval instar stages of S. frugiperda were selected as prey, and the beetle showed a high feeding preference for the second larval instar stage. This feeding preference was observed irrespective of whether red ants were present or absent in the same environment. D. scitiscabra may have selected the second larval instars of S. frugiperda due to their small size, high prey density, mobility, and being devoid of injury. Research Limitations: The tests were conducted under laboratory conditions in insectary facilities. However, field investigations are essential to understand the ecological dynamics that affect insect behavior and survival. Originality/value: An endemic beetle is introduced to control S. frugiperda infestations in their early stages of development. The finding may provide an environmentally safe and economically beneficial method to control S. frugiperda.Publication Embargo Comparison of ARIMA and LSTM in Forecasting the Retail Prices of Vegetables in Colombo, Sri Lanka(IEEE, 2022-12-09) Fonseka, D.D; Karunasena, AIdentification of vegetable price trends is important to make better decisions in the production and market. Due to several factors, including seasonality, perishability, an imbalanced supply-demand market, customer choice, and the availability of raw materials, vegetable prices fluctuate quickly and are highly unstable. In this study price prediction was concluded using two models ARIMA and LSTM with retail price data for Cabbage, Carrot, and Green beans in Colombo from 2009 to 2018. According to the decision criteria of RMSE and MAPE, the LSTM model is superior to the ARIMA model in predicting the retail prices of vegetables. There were no studies have focused on predicting prices with novel technology in the Sri Lankan vegetable market. Hence the results of this study can be used to build an advanced forecasting model by the government and decision-makers in agriculture in Sri Lanka.Publication Embargo System to Improve the Quality of Water Resources in Sri Lanka Using Machine Learning and Image Processing(IEEE, 2022-12-09) Liyanage, M. H. S; Gajanayake, G.M.B. S; Wijewickrama, O; Fernando A, S.D.S. A; Wijendra, D; Gamage, A. IWater covers approximately 71% of the earth’s surface, but only 1.2% of it can be used for drinking. However, due to the amount of waste water released into water resources, the presence of harmful microorganisms, and natural occurrences such as eutrophication, even that water cannot be used directly for drinking purposes without purification. One method of purifying water is chlorination. However, if the chlorine level exceeds the standard, it can cause both long-term and short-term illnesses. As a result, a system is imposed to solve four problems: predicting the pH value of chlorinated drinking water, determining the quantification value of active sludge in a wastewater plant, detecting microorganisms in drinking water, and predicting the percentage of eutrophication in a water resource.Publication Embargo Machine Learning Based Solution for Improving the Efficiency of Sugar Production in Sri Lanka(IEEE, 2022-12-26) Kulasekara, S; Kumarasiri, K; Sirimanna, T; Dissanayake, D; Karunasena, A; Pemadasa, NAlthough sugar is a popularly used commodity in Sri Lanka, sugar manufactured within the country fulfill only a very small portion of the demanded amount. Sugar production is an intricate process which requires a considerable amount of expertise especially in the areas of cultivation, production and revenue prediction which may not exist in novice farmers. This research proposes a methodology which provides novice sugarcane farmers with expert knowledge on four main areas related to farming including weather forecast, sugarcane maturity estimation, production forecast and prediction of return sugarcane amounts from lands. ARIMA model is used for weather forecast whereas machine learning methods and multiple regression models were used for sugarcane maturity estimation and production of forecasts and returns respectively. The final ARIMA time series model was validated with p-value greater than 0.05 for Ljung-Box test with three different lag values. The Support Vector Machines model was identified as the best model with an accuracy of 81.19% for the sugarcane maturity estimation. The SVM model was trained using the HSV and texture features extracted from sugarcane stalk images using image processing techniques. The prediction of sugar production received a testing R-squared score of 87.75% and mean squared error of 0. Prediction of yield received a mean squared error of approximately 0 and R squared score of 98% on test data. The methodology used in this research could be used by novice farmers to increase their cultivation as well as sugar production.Publication Open Access Diagnosing autism in low‐income countries: Clinical record‐based analysis in Sri Lanka(Wily, 2022-06-16) Samarasinghe, P; Wickramarachchi, C; Peiris, H; Vance, P; Dahanayake, D. M. A.; Kulasekara, V; Nadeeshani, MUse of autism diagnosing standards in low-income countries (LICs) are restricted due to the high price and unavailability of trained health professionals. Furthermore, these standards are heavily skewed towards developed countries and LICs are underrepresented. Due to such constraints, many LICs use their own ways of assessing autism. This is the first retrospective study to analyze such local practices in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted at Ward 19B of Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) using the clinical forms filled for diagnosing ASD. In this study, 356 records were analyzed, from which 79.5% were boys and the median age was 33 months. For each child, the clinical form together with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) value were recorded. In this study, a Clinically Derived Autism Score (CDAS) is obtained from the clinical forms. Scatter plot and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient were used to benchmark CDAS with CARS, and it was found CDAS to be positively and moderately correlated with CARS. In identifying the significant variables, a logistic regression model was built based on clinically observed data and it evidenced that “Eye Contact,” “Interaction with Others,” “Pointing,” “Flapping of Hands,” “Request for Needs,” “Rotate Wheels,” and “Line up Things” variables as the most significant variables in diagnosing autism. Based on these significant predictors, the classification tree was built. The pruned tree depicts a set of rules, which could be used in similar clinical environments to screen for autism.