IPA Recipients for January 2017

Kate Tungpalan
Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
College of Engineering
UP Diliman

The Influence of Veins on Mineral Liberation as Described by Random Masking Simulation. Minerals Engineering, 100: 109–114, January 2017.

Catchy title of research: Influence of veins on mineral liberation described by random masking simulation

The research describes the role of vein structures to better understand and interpret the origin of mineral liberation based on random masking simulation. Semicircular slabs from a copper porphyry deposit were selected and analysed in the MLA.  Classified MLA images were then subjected to image processing to identify and separate the veins from the disseminated grains. Random masking was applied on the images to simulate breakage and determine liberation of sulphides. The results provided an indication of the contribution of veins in the liberation of minerals at coarser size and the increased degree of liberation. The work also suggests cutting drill cores and using slabs for texture analysis provides more intact textural features of the ore both at micro and mesoscale thus providing a better understanding of the origin of mineral liberation.

Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892687516303612
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 1.813

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Manuel Joseph C. Loquias
Institute of Mathematics
College of Science
UP Diliman

Rational Digit Systems Over Finite Fields and Christol’s Theorem. Journal of Number Theory, 171: 358–390, February 2017.

Catchy title of research: A Numeration System whose Base is a Quotient of Polynomials

In this article, a numeration system whose base is a rational function is developed for polynomials and for formal Laurent series over finite fields.  Uniqueness and automatic properties of expansions in this numeration system are investigated.

Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022314X16302049
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.596

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Renier Mendoza
Institute of Mathematics
College of Science
UP Diliman

A Two-Phase Segmentation Approach to the Impedance Tomography Problem. Inverse Problems, 33 (1): 015001, 24 pages, January 2017.

Catchy title of research: An Image Segmentation Approach to the Electrical Impedance Tomography Problem

Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) is a cheaper alternative imaging technique, similar to CT-scan or MRI, that uses the electrical potential and conductivity of a given body. Because of the difficulty of the problem, several approaches in solving EIT can be found in the literature. In this paper, the use of a multi-phase segmentation technique was studied in solving the EIT problem. The numerical simulations done show promising results.

Link to the article: http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0266-5611/33/1/015001/meta
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 1.651

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Fernando dlC. Paragas
Department of Communication Research
College of Mass Communication
UP Diliman

Determinants of Mobile Consumers’ Perceived Value of Location-Based Advertising and User Responses. International Journal of Mobile Communications, 14 (2): 99-117, 2016.

Catchy title of research: Consumer Motivation and Responses to Location-Based Advertising

Little is known about the relationship between consumers and location-based advertising, the new and potentially high-profit frontier for the advertising industry. This study shows that privacy concerns have a stronger negative effect on perceived LBA value than perceived sacrifice, while perceived utility, utilization of contextual information and trust positively predict perceived LBA value. Moreover, perceived LBA value increases consumers’ responses to purchase advertised brands, followed by searching for brand information and passing LBA to others.
Data for this study were collected from a nationally representative web survey of 605 respondents who fit the demographic quotas of mobile consumers in Singapore. A parallel study in the Philippines can be conducted to examine cross-cultural differences in the relationship between consumers and LBAs. 

Link to the article: http://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJMC.2016.075019
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.765

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Fernando dlC. Paragas
Department of Communication Research
College of Mass Communication
UP Diliman

Organizing and Reframing Technological Determinism. New Media & Society, 18 (8): 1528-1546, December 2016.

Catchy title of research: What is our relationship with technology?

New devices are the reason for supposedly shortening attention span of young people nowadays – a commonplace argument nowadays technological determinism (TD). However popular such arguments are, it remains that TD has been critiqued as reductionist, a historical, and simplistic.
This paper shows, however, that TD is complex and can be located across four typologies according to the axes of objective/subjective dimension and regulation/radical change sociologies, the axes of Burrell and Morgan’s Four paradigms for the analysis of social theory.
Through a survey of literature and theoretical arguments about new media and their possible consequences on political, economic, and cultural systems, the article shows how TD and social determinism constitute a continuum, rather than a dichotomy, of theories about the relationship of technology and society. It recommends the revisiting of Burrell and Morgan’s concepts and their utility in organizing other communicating theories. 

Link to the article: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444814562156
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 3.110

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Carl Abelardo T. Antonio and Emerito Jose A. Faraon
Department of Health Policy and Administration
College of Public Health
UP Manila

GBD 2015 Maternal Mortality Collaborators. Global, Regional, and National Levels of Maternal Mortality, 1990–2015: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053): 1775–1812, 8 October 2016. 

Catchy title of research: GBD 2015_Child Mortality

Gains in child survival have been large, widespread, and in many places in the world, faster than what was anticipated based on improving levels of development. Yet some countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, still had high rates of under-5 mortality in 2015. Unless these countries are able to accelerate reductions in child deaths at an extraordinary pace, their achievement of proposed SDG targets is unlikely. Improving the evidence base on drivers that might hasten the pace of progress for child survival, ranging from cost-effective intervention packages to innovative financing mechanisms, is vital to charting the pathways for ultimately ending preventable child deaths by 2030.

Link to the article: http://thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31575-6/fulltext
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 44.002

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Carl Abelardo T. Antonio and Emerito Jose A. Faraon
Department of Health Policy and Administration
College of Public Health
UP Manila

Global, Regional, National, and Selected Subnational Levels of Stillbirths, Neonatal, Infant, and Under-5 Mortality, 1980–2015: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053): 1725–1774, 8 October 2016.

Link to the article: http://thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31575-6/fulltext
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 44.002

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Desiree M. Hautea, Lourdes D. Taylo, Anna Pauleen L. Masanga and Maria Luz J. Sison
Crop Science Cluster
College of Agriculture
UP Los Baños

Field Performance of Bt eggplants (Solanum melongena L.) in the Philippines: Cry1Ac Expression and Control of the Eggplant Fruit and Shootborer (Leucinodes orbonalis Guenée). PLoS ONE, 11 (6): e0157498, 22 pages, June 2016.

Catchy title of research: Philippine Bt eggplants (Solanum melongena L.) in the field: Cry1Ac protein expression and control of the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (Leucinodes orbonalis Guenée)

Eggplant is a popular vegetable grown throughout Asia. It is known to be heavily treated with insecticides to control the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB). This study is the first publicly available data on field performance in Asia of the eggplant engineered to produce the Bt Cry1Ac protein. It replicated field trials with five Bt eggplant open-pollinated (OP) lines from transformation event EE-1 and their non-Bt comparators in Pangasinan from 2010 to 2012.
The field trials documented levels of Bt protein expressed in plants and evaluated their efficacy against the primary target pest, EFSB. Cry1Ac concentrations ranged from 0.75 to 24.7 ppm dry weight with the highest in the terminal leaves (or shoots), and the lowest in the roots. Cry1Ac levels significantly increased from the vegetative to the reproductive stage. Bt eggplant lines demonstrated excellent control of EFSB. Bt eggplant lines and their non-Bt comparators were significantly different for all field efficacy parameters tested. Bt eggplant lines controlled EFSB shoot damage by 98.6–100%, and fruit damage by 98.1–99.7%. It also reduced EFSB larval infestation by 95.8–99.3% under the most severe pest pressure during Trial 2. Moths that emerged from larvae collected from Bt plants in the field and reared in their Bt eggplant hosts did not produce viable eggs or offsprings demonstrating that Bt eggplant lines provide outstanding control of EFSB and can dramatically reduce the need for conventional insecticides.

Link to the article: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0157498
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 3.057

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Allan Abraham B. Padama, Rovi Angelo B. Villaos and Jason R. Albia
Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics
College of Arts and Sciences
UP LOs Baños

CO-Induced Pd Segregation and the Effect of Subsurface Pd on CO Adsorption on CuPd Surfaces. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 29 (2): 025005, 8 pages, 18 January 2017.

In designing CuPd-based materials for hydrogen purification and storage, hydrocarbon production, and separation membranes, the interaction of CO with CuPd is an important consideration. The manner in which CO is adsorbed on the surface dictates the dynamics of movement, temperature dependence, and overall surface mobility, among others. There had also been reports that the adsorption of CO on CuPd has the tendency to modify the CuPd configuration. In this work, we performed a DFT (density functional theory) calculation using van der Waals density functional (vdW-DF2), implemented on Quantum Espresso to investigate the dynamics of the CO interaction with CuPd surface. To model comprehensively CO adsorption on CuPd we considered various surface configurations/stoichiometry such as (Cu₃Pd, Cu₂Pd₂, CuPd₃). In addition, we also investigate the Pd segregation in Cu-rich CuPd surface by considering nonstoichiometric Cu₃Pd structure. Results show that the calculated adsorption sites and corresponding adsorption energies agree well with experimental findings. Among the different nonstoichiometric Cu₃Pd(111), the surface with ordered structure of bulk Cu₃Pd () is the energetically most stable. The adsorption of CO induces Pd segregation to surface layers due to stronger CO-Pd than CO-Cu interaction. Lastly, we found that the presence of Pd subsurface atoms enhances CO adsorption. We believe that our findings will provide helpful insights to future investigations on reactions involving CO and CuPd-based systems.

Link to the article: http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0953-8984/29/2/025005/meta
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 2.209

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Alonzo A. Gabriel
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
College of Home Economics
UP Diliman

Utility of UV-C Radiation as Anti-Salmonella Decontamination Treatment for Desiccated Coconut Flakes. Food Control, 71: 117–123, January 2017.

Coconut is one of the chief exports of the Philippines. Desiccated coconut is one of the food products derived from this commodity and is used in baking and confectionery. Unfortunately, cases of Salmonella contamination on exported Philippines desiccated coconut have been reported. The use of bactericidal UV (UV-C) in decontaminating Salmonella on desiccated coconut and its effect on the sensorial characteristics upon use as ingredient and in macaroon making has been explored in this study.

Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713516303334
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 3.388

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Fernando P. Siringan
Marine Science Institute
College of Science
UP Diliman

Coral-Based Holocene Sea Level of Paraoir, Western Luzon, Philippines. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 123: 61–66, 1 June 2016.

Catchy title of research: Shallow-water corals in Paraoir, western Luzon, Philippines as indicators of past sea level

Sea level change was reconstructed using shallow-water corals from Paraoir, western Luzon, Philippines. This was done to to document deglacial sea level rise of the western Pacific. The sea level records obtained were consistent with those of north western Luzon and the western Australia coast. Discrepancies exist with the sea level records reported for Tahiti. The difference in sea level between the Philippines and Tahiti result from spatial variations of glacial isostatic adjustment of the two sites.

Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1367912016300682
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 2.647

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Rosario R. Rubite and Margaret C. De Guzman
Department of Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
UP Manila

Begonia titoevangelistae (sect. Baryandra, Begoniaceae) A New Species from Catanduanes Island, the Philippines. Phytotaxa, 282 (4): 273-281, 1 November 2016.

Catchy title of research: A new species of Begonia discovered in Catanduanes, Philippines

Begonia titoevangelistae from Nahulugan Falls, Gigmoto, Catanduanes Island is described as a new species endemic to the Philippines. Based on International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list criteria, B. titoevangelistae was assessed to be critically endangered, since it consists of one population with 300 individuals on a 100 m area around the waterfalls, which is being developed into a tourist spot.

Link to the article: http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.282.4.4
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 1.087

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Jaimie Kim B. Arias*, Rowena A. Dorado*, Maria Emilinda T. Mendoza** and Vicente G. Ballaran***
Department of Economics*
College of Economics and Management
Department of Social Development Services**
College of Human Ecology
Institute of Agricultural Engineering***
College of Engineering and Agro-industrial Technology
UP Los Baños

“Exploring the Potentials of a Technology-Based Flood Early Warning System in Laguna, Philippines: A Cost-Benefit Analysis” in Cost-Benefit Studies of Natural Resource Management in Southeast Asia. David James and Herminia A. Francisco (editors). Singapore: Springer, 2015.

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Kevin Carl P. Santos and Erniel B. Barrios
School of Statistics
UP Diliman

Improving Predictive Accuracy of Logistic Regression Model using Ranked Set Samples. Communications in Statistics – Simulation and Computation, 46 (1): 78-90, 2017.

Catchy title of research: Ranked Set Sampling: A Tool for Better Predictive Ability of Fitted Logistic Regression Model

Many real-life scenarios produce binary data such as in health sciences when a person can be classified as “positive” or “negative” of a certain disease, in credit scoring when predicting a customer if he would pose high risk to creditors or not, and in market research wherein they are interested in determining if a consumer would choose Product A or its competitor, Product B. In these instances where the response variable is binary, Logistic Regression is most commonly used. This research proposes the use Ranked Set Sampling (RSS) in selecting observations to ensure that the predictive ability of the fitted logistic regression model is better and more reliable than using Simple Random Sampling, avoiding the occurrence of the separation of likelihood. Furthermore, the paper found that RSS also works well even when the event of interest is rare in the population.

Link to the article: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03610918.2014.955113
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.397

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Jhoirene B. Clemente
Department of Computer Science
College of Engineering
UP Diliman

“Advice Complexity of the Online Search Problem” in Combinatorial Algorithms: 27th International Workshop, IWOCA 2016 Helsinki, Finland, August 17-19, 2016 Proceedings. Veli Mäkinen, Simon J. Puglisi and Leena Salmela (editors). Switzerland: Springer, 2016.

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Aileen O. Salonga
Department of English and Comparative Literature
College of Arts and Letters
UP Diliman

“Serving the World, Serving the Nation: Everyday Nationalism and English in Philippine Offshore Call Centres” in Borders in Service: Enactments of Nationhood in Transnational Call Centres. Kiran Mirchandani and Winifred R. Poster (editors). USA: University of Toronto Press, 2016.

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Arnisson Andre C. Ortega
Population Institute
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
UP Diliman

Neoliberalizing Spaces in the Philippines: Suburbanization, Transnational Migration and Dispossession. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Lexington Books, 2016.

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Victor B. Ella and Nathaniel C. Bantayan*
Institute of Agricultural Engineering
College Engineering and Agro-industrial Technology
Institute of Renewable Natural Resources*
College of Forestry and Natural Resources
UP Los Baños

Hydrologic Impact Evaluation of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Palico Watershed, Batangas, Philippines Using the SWAT Model. Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 19 (1): 96-107, June 2016. 

Catchy title of research: Effect of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Streamflow in Palico Watershed, Batangas, Philippines

This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on the streamflow of Palico watershed in Batangas, Philippines using a mathematical model known as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Results showed that reduction in forest cover and rangeland leads to increase in surface runoff and decreases in baseflow or dry season flow and groundwater recharge. LULC change affects the water quantity and timing of occurrence. Subbasin with 22% increase in both forest cover and rangeland increased the baseflow by 1% to 15% and reduced the streamflow by 1% to 17% during the rainy months. Another subbasin with 54% forest loss resulted to more pronounced rainfall-runoff response with 11% to 17% decrease in baseflow and 4% to 24% increase in streamflow during rainy months.  Results of this study may be used for devising sustainable watershed management schemes.

Link to the article: https://journals.uplb.edu.ph/index.php/JESAM/article/view/1492/pdf_50
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.146

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Michelle Grace V. Paraso, Mark Joseph M. Desamero, Jussiaea Bariuan and Maria Amelita C. Estacio
Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
UP Los Baños

Effects of Consumption of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Walking Catfish (Clarias batrachus) from Laguna de Bay On the Uterus of Ovariectomized ICR Mouse. Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 53 (1): 34-43, 2016.

Catchy title of research: Consumption of Tilapia and Walking Catfish from Laguna de Bay led to Changes in the Uterus of Ovariectomized Mouse

The effect of consumptionof tilapiaand walking catfish from Laguna de Bay was studied using female ICR mice. Ninety-five 6-week old ovariectomized mice were randomly distributed into the following groups: 1) distilled water (negative control); 2) 1% homogenized catfish meat; 3) 3% homogenized catfish meat; 4) 1% homogenized tilapia meat; 5) 3% homogenized tilapia meat; 6) 1% homogenized catfish roe; and 7) 1% homogenized tilapia roe. Treatment was given via stomach tube three times a week for 28 days. Tilapia meat (3%) and catfish roe (1%) significantly increased both uterine wet and relative weights whereas tilapia roe (1%) only increased uterine wet weight. Groups given the tilapia (3%) and catfish meat (3%) had greater uterine epithelial and myometrial thickness, respectively. Weight gain, feed consumption and uterine width were unaffected by the treatments. The results are suggestive of fish contamination with estrogenic chemicals in the lake. The observed estrogenic effects brought about by the consumption of contaminated fish could have potential health implications.

Link to the article: https://journals.uplb.edu.ph/index.php/PJVM/article / view/1462
Impact Factor: Not yet available

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J. Neil C. Garcia
Department of English and Comparative Literature
College of Arts and Letters
UP Diliman

Myth and The Poetics of the Self: The Critical Corpus of Gémino H. Abad. Kritika Kultura, 26: 762-771, 2016.

The article unpacks the prolific body of critical writings of eminent Filipino writer and scholar Gemino H. Abad by identifying the humanist and romantic theories of poetic subjectivity that underlie them. It reconsiders the postfoundational critique of essentialist notions of the self through the prism of mythopoesis, and argues that in the case of Abad at least, the persistent championing of the sovereign imagination is historically explainable as necessary, precisely because it provides the impetus for the continued interrogation of literary and creative practices from the perspective of their interested natures as social constructions on one hand, and of the mythmaking imperative on the other, through which minoritized voices may be able to promote their own respective sociopolitical causes.

Link to the article: http://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/kk/article/view/KK2016.02643
Impact Factor: Not yet available

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Carl Abelardo T. Antonio
Department of Health Policy and Administration
College of Public Health
UP Manila

GBD 2015 Maternal Mortality Collaborators. Global, Regional, and National Levels of Maternal Mortality, 1990–2015: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053): 1603-1658, 8 October 2016.

Link to the article: http://thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31460-X/fulltext
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 44.002

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Carl Abelardo T. Antonio and Emerito Jose A. Faraon
Department of Health Policy and Administration
College of Public Health
UP Manila

Global, Regional, and National Life Expectancy, All-Cause Mortality, and Cause-Specific Mortality for 249 Causes of Death, 1980–2015: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053): 1459–1544, 8 October 2016.

Globally, the average life expectancy has risen from 61.7 years in 1980 to 71.8 years in 2015. These gains were largely attributed to reductions in HIV/AIDS and malaria deaths, as well as to reductions in neonatal birth complications and maternal disorders. Although global trends generally show reduced death rates from injuries, war and interpersonal conflict are taking more lives in certain regions like the Middle East. Currently, about 70% of deaths are now caused by non-communicable diseases. This is a category that includes basically any illness that is not infectious, such as heart disease, stroke, or diabetes. The fact that these outcomes have large lifestyle components is not a coincidence, especially since high blood pressure, smoking, and obesity were leading risk factors for early death or illness in 2015. When looking for causes of ill health—rather than death—the leading causes were lower back and neck pain, sight and/or hearing loss, depression, and iron deficiency. Consequences of drug use, especially cocaine or opioids, are also large contributors. On the plus side, levels of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cervical cancer, ischemic heart disease, and asthma are showing drops.

Link to the article: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31012-1/fulltext
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 44.002

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Carl Abelardo T. Antonio
Department of Health Policy and Administration
College of Public Health
UP Manila

Measuring the Health-Related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 Countries: A Baseline Analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053): 1813-1850, 8-14 October 2016.

The current study marks the first annual assessment of SDG health performance and will be launched at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 21. The Lancet's report shows that, overall, good progress has been made toward health-related SDGs. For instance, under-5 neonatal mortality, universal healthcare, and family planning have all shown improvement. On the other side of the coin, some areas beyond the MDGs have not shown such improvements. Areas such as hepatitis B rates, childhood overweight, intimate partner violence, and rates of harmful alcohol consumption have worsened. As the MDG era comes to a close, The Lancet's report aims to provide a tool for global accountability as we head toward the 2030 SDG targets. With some solid numbers in place, governments, aid organizations, and other official bodies will be better able to identify the wins and the gaps, allowing them to prioritize intelligently.

Link to the article: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31467-2/fulltext
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 44.002

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Oscar T. Serquiña
Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts
College of Arts and Letters
UP Diliman

“The Greatest Workers of the World”: Philippine Labor Out-Migration and the Politics of Labeling in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Presidential Rhetoric. Philippine Political Science Journal, 37 (3): 207-227, 2016.

This paper initiates a critical analysis of the State of the Nation Addresses (SONA) and occasional speeches through which the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo constructed figures of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). First, it connects the former Philippine head of state’s banner vision of a “Strong Republic” to labor out-migration. Second, it surveys the labels Macapagal-Arroyo tapped to refer to or categorize migrant workers. And finally, it problematizes the politics behind state labeling and its participation in migrant discourses within and beyond the Philippine nation. Results show that Arroyo hailed migrant workers as the country’s “greatest export,” as its “investors, proprietors, stakeholders, and philanthropists,” and as its “full partners in developmental, demographic and democratic transformation.” By calling OFWs names based on market economies, the former president tried to rhetorically transform migrant identities and subjectivities usually immersed in sacrifice, hardship, and pity into something more appealing for the “modern” and “global” status to which the Philippine nation-state aspires. In this light, rhetorical enterprises such as presidential speeches may be seen as a crucial communicative technology of a political institution that perpetrates practices of control toward its exported human labor, and that employs discursive apparatuses to manage labor exportation.

Link to the article: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01154451.2016.1253822
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.042

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Ivan Christian V. J. Imperial and Joyce A. Ibana
Institute of Biology
College of Science
UP Diliman

Addressing the Antibiotic Resistance Problem with Probiotics: Reducing the Risk of Its Double-Edged Sword Effect. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7: 1983, 10 pages, December 2016.

Catchy title of research: How can we effectively use probiotics to mitigate the global problem of antibiotic resistance?

Probiotics use has a very good potential in mitigating the global problem on antibiotic resistance.  Multiple studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of probiotic use in the health of both livestock and humans.  The use of probiotics in lieu of antibiotic therapy to address certain health conditions in both animals and humans may alleviate these antibiotic-mediated selective pressures which hasten the development of antibiotic resistance.  However, without proper regulation, probiotic strains are also capable in spreading antibiotic resistance genes.  As such, we underscore the need to screen probiotic strains that are used in both livestock and human applications to assure their safety and to mitigate their potential in significantly contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in our natural environments.

Link to the article: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01983/full
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 4.165

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Lilian A. De Las Llagas and Lisa Grace S. Bersales*
Department of Parasitology
College of Public Health
UP Manila
School of Statistics*
UP Diliman

Aedes Dengue Vector Ovitrap Surveillance System: A Framework for Mosquito Density Prediction. Southeast Asian Journal Of Tropical Medicine And Public Health, 47 (4): 712-718, July 2016.

Dengue has been a major global public health problem. The rising dengue cases especially among children makes it all the more imperative to find new methods to counter this vector-borne disease. Vector surveillance is a key component in prevention and control program for vector-borne diseases. Vector surveillance, when not done actively and regularly, can be unreliable as means of preventing dengue transmission. Meanwhile, implementing a successful vector control program calls for the understanding of the different factors that regulate mosquito population as well as mosquito reaction to control measures.
As of date, there is no single available instrument to monitor the mosquito population as means to predict dengue transmission and spread. 
Thus, the researchers proposes a framework for mosquito density prediction that would enable a clearer understanding of the advantages and merits of using the ovitrap system and its measurement, the ovitrap index (OI). The framework is empirically derived from past researches and is an integration of variables depicting the interrelationships of mosquito population growth and development. These interrelated indicators include the climate such as temperature and relative humidity; the ecologoical-sociological vector control such as the presence of containers; and the cycle of mosquito development.
These components, logically integrated into a framework, potentially arrives at a prediction of mosquito density. With recognition, the framework opens up the possibility of determining the risk of dengue transmission without having to do active surveillance. 

Link to the article: http://www.tm.mahidol.ac.th/seameo/2016-47-4/16-CPH087p712.pdf
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.773

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Marloe B. Sundo*, Karl N. Vergel**, Ricardo G. Sigua** and Jose Regin F. Regidor**
Department of Civil Engineering*
College of Engineering and Agro-industrial Technology
UP Los Baños
Institute of Civil Engineering**
College of Engineering
UP Diliman

Methods of Estimating Energy Demand and CO2 Emissions for Inter-Regional Road Transport. International Journal of GEOMATE, 11 (23): 2182-2187, July 2016.

Catchy title of research: Energy Demand and CO2 Emissions for Inter-Regional Road Transport

Given the increasing scientific understanding of the threat of global climate change and the decline of oil production to meet the demand, many countries are now finding ways to make energy consumption efficient and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The study presents a new technique and methodology of estimating energy demand and CO2 emissions for public and freight transport using inter-regional passenger and freight flow data.
The estimated CO2 emissions from the selected policy scenarios was compared with the reference “BAU” scenario. The study shows that the shift to better fuel such as CNG for buses and trucks provide a very substantial reduction in the estimated inter-regional CO2 emission in Luzon compared with the other selected scenarios.
Findings of this study will further strengthen the government’s existing policies to promote the utilization of compressed natural gas (CNG) in the transport sector under the Natural Gas Vehicle Program for Public Transport (NGVPPT).

Link to the article: 
Impact Factor: Not yet available

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