Aquatic ecosystems are contaminated with heavy metals by natural and anthropogenic sources. Whilst some heavy metals are necessary for plants as micronutrients, others can be toxic to plants and humans even in trace concentrations. Among heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) cause significant damage to aquatic ecosystems and can invariably affect human health. Rice, a staple diet of many nations, and other aquatic plants used as vegetables in many countries, can bioaccumulate heavy metals when they grow in contaminated aquatic environments. These metals can enter the human body through food chains, and the presence of heavy metals in food can lead to numerous human health consequences. Heavy metals in aquatic plants can affect plant physicochemical functions, growth, and crop yield. Various mitigation strategies are being continuously explored to avoid heavy metals entering aquatic ecosystems. Understanding the levels of heavy metals in rice and aquatic plants grown for food in contaminated aquatic environments is important. Further, it is imperative to adopt sustainable management approaches and mitigation mechanisms. Although narrowly focused reviews exist, this article provides novel information for improving our understanding about heavy metal accumulation in rice and aquatic plants, addressing the gaps in literature.

Evidence for the teaching involves transmission of knowledge, superiority of guided transmission is explained in thecontext of our knowledge, but it is also much more that. In this study we have examined General Sir JohnKotelawala Defence University’s cadet and civilian students’ response to constructivist learning theory andparticipatory teaching methods, especially concepts and knowledge on the learning platform in the DefenceUniversity. Target population of this study represents 41 students. All students were given a questionnaire related toconstructivist learning theory and participatory teaching methods. The claims of constructivist teaching/learningtheory that this paper has singled out are the following: 1) learning is an active experience; 2) the ideas students holdabout the subject and topic being taught will form a part of their learning experience; and 3) learning is socially andculturally rooted. Recent developments in Constructivist Teaching/Learning Theory was explained and brieflydescribed in this paper.

Background: The rapid increase in the incidence rate of colorectal cancer has led to the search and identification of biomarkers that can predict risk for and future behavior of this malignancy and management. To study the biological role of the phosphorylated Fas associated death domain (pFADD) gene in colorectal cancer, we performed a GAL4-based yeast two-hybrid screening of a human heart cDNA library. Methods: A series of two yeast hybrid method was used to identification of protein-protein interaction. It was confirmed by glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull down assay and co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP). Three channeled fluorescence microscopy further confirmed the interaction in cellular level. Xenograft in vivo model was developed and knockdown relevant genes by RNAi techniques and confirmed the relationship which leads to colorectal cancer. Results: Using the FADD cDNA as bait, we identified six putative clones as associated proteins. The interaction of pFADD and metallothionein 2A (MT2A) was confirmed by GST pull-down assays in vitro and co-IP experiments in vivo. FADD co-localized with MT2A mostly to nuclei and slightly to cytoplasm, as shown by three channel fluorescence microscopy. Co-transfection of pFADD with MT2A gene inhibited cell apoptosis and induced cell proliferation in colorectal cancer cells compared with control groups. When we used antisense MT2A and pFADD which is serine 194 in the C terminal of FADD gene that has been reported to be phosphorylated to interdict the effect of respective genes the inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis were significantly enhanced in animal model. Conclusions: Further in this study we identify non-canonical nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling up regulated and it was directly linked with the tumor necrosis with MT2A and pFADD genes. pFADD with MT2A can inhibit the apoptosis and promote proliferation, of colorectal cancer cells, and antisense sequence of MT2A and pFADD approaches which might swell the combination of deregulated proliferation and suppressed apoptosis.

"Background- Although Mental health literacy (MHL) among public has been widely studied in many countries, there are few studies on MHL in Srilanka. MHL is important as it is closely related to help seeking behavior and mental health outcomes. Poor MHL has been a major barrier on improving mental health care in Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to describe MHL in terms of ability to recognize mental health problems, knowledge of helpful interventions and professional help available. The association between socioeconomic variables and MHL was also identified. Methods- This descriptive cross-sectional study used a pretested questionnaire on 430 people aged between 18-60, where MHL was assessed using four case vignettes. The vignettes represented depression with suicidal ideation, social phobia, schizophrenia, and dementia. Results- The response rates for recognition as a mental health problem was 83.7% (n=297) for the depression vignette, 80.8% (n=287) for schizophrenia vignette, 56.6% (n= 201) for dementia vignette and 54.4% (n= 193) for social phobia vignette. Satisfactory levels for the ability to recognize professional services were 44.5% (n= 158) for both depression and schizophrenia vignettes and 37.7% (n= 134) for dementia and social phobia vignettes. Satisfactory levels in recognizing helpful interventions were 43.4% (n= 154) for social phobia vignette, 27.9% (n= 99) for schizophrenia vignette, 21.1% (n= 75) for dementia vignette and 20.3% (n= 72) for depression vignette. A statistically significant association was found among the educational level and the ability to recognize mental health problems, the ability to recognize professional services and knowledge of helpful interventions. Conclusion- Though the majority was able to recognize the mental disorders as mental health problems, their knowledge of professional services and helpful interventions were relatively very low. Therefore, the MHL of the target population is inadequate comparing to the most of western countries. There is an urgent need for mental health education initiatives to improve MHL among the public considering their socioeconomic background in Sri Lanka. "

This study examines students' overview of the students' online capabilities of course that we have implemented in the MOODLE platform in a developing country and underlying information technology principles that are critical for an in-depth understanding of elearning. A structured multiple choice questionnaire was distributed among students' who were enrolled in the certificate of teaching in higher education course at the General Sir John Kotelawela Defence University, Sri Lanka. A total of 31 students participated in this study and completed written and online multiple choice questionnaire on MOODLE. The outcome of this study shows that there is a strong positive response on elearning on MOODLE platform. Almost 61% of them were able to get extreme good results in the online examination and observed late submission in both printed and online examination. Although the outcome is preliminary in nature, the results provide cause for concern over the status of e-learning education in MOODLE platform in Sri Lanka which is highly satisfactory.

Climber plants have attracted global attention for their hidden therapeutic potential and are generally rooted on the ground, but leaves often in full sun and blanketing canopies of trees. Climbers rely on some support from other plants and have active and passive climbing mechanisms with great diversity. Tropical forests are the harbors of enormous different fauna and flora species than any other ecosystem on earth and Malaysia is a biodiversity hotspot in Asia with a good amount of tropical forest cover. On the other hand, Iran is an important source of Herbal plants due to the weather and geographical situation. In this review six species of Malaysian and Iranian plants (Hedera helix, Rosa canina, Vitis vinifera, Aristolochia tagala, Gynura procumbens and Antigonon leptopus) are selected and botanical description, geographical distribution, chemical constituent and medicinal properties of each species is discussed. Despite the rich ethno-medicine knowledge behind the traditional uses of climber plants, the current scientific evidence to support these claims remains scant. More research is still needed to validate the medicinal aspects, beginning by increasing the understanding of the biological actions of the climber plants.