IPA Recipients for September 2016

Anna Lena Lopez
Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institutes of Health
UP Manila

Evaluation in Cameroon of a Novel, Simplified Methodology to Assist Molecular Microbiological Analysis of V. cholerae in Resource-Limited Settings. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 10 (3): e0004573, 14 pages, 21 March 2016.

Catchy title of research: Use of a simplified methodology for molecular analysis of Vibrio cholera in developing countries

Laboratory confirmation and sample preservation in areas where cholera is a problem is difficult. To improve the ability to identify cholera and understand its epidemiology, we used simplified collection methodologies to facilitate timely molecular characterization of V. cholerae isolates from Cameroon, Mozambique and the Philippines. Enriched specimens as well as cultured isolates were examined, demonstrating that enriched specimens provide sufficient material for genetic analysis. The results of the genetic analyses did not suggest significant genetic diversity within two distinct outbreaks in Cameroon. The study detected a possible relationship between isolates present in Cameroon and two isolates from Mozambique, two geographically distant nations in Africa. Whole genome sequencing can test whether this hypothesis is correct. Our findings set the stage for surveillance and molecular characterization in these areas to elucidate more fully the relationship and disease transmission patterns.

Link to the article: http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0004537
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 3.948

Anna Lena Lopez
Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institutes of Health
UP Manila

Validity of the Estimates of Oral Cholera Vaccine Effectiveness Derived from the Test-Negative Design. Vaccine, 34 (4): 479–485, 20 January 2016.

Catchy title of research: Estimating the effectiveness of oral cholera vaccine using the test negative case control design

Once vaccines are licensed, their effectiveness may be assessed using several study designs. TND is a case control study that is increasingly being used to estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE), e.g. influenza vaccine, rotavirus vaccine. Using the dataset from a Phase III killed OCV trial, we found that TND may be used to estimate VE against cholera. Future application of OCV in the public health settings may use TND to determine OCV effectiveness in the field. 

Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X15017764
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 3.413

Ladylyn L. Mangada
Social Sciences Division
Tacloban College
UP Visayas

Post-Haiyan Adaptation and Institutional Barriers to Women Survivors in Tacloban. Philippine Political Science Journal, 37 (2): 94-110, 2016.

 

Institutions such as local government units and humanitarian agencies are crucial in post disaster adaptation of survivors.These institutions are supposed to provide knowledge and resources to enable the survivors to build their capacity to adapt to the devastation and prepare for future risks. How did formal institutions conduct themselves in both the emergency and rehabilitation phases? Did they contribute to the quick recovery of the survivors? 

Link to the article: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01154451.2016.1196855
Impact  Factor: (2015/2016) 0.042

Mary Madelyn I. Nayga and Jose Perico Esguerra
National Institute of Physics
College of Science
UP Diliman

Green’s Functions and Energy Eigenvalues for Delta-Perturbed Space-Fractional Quantum Systems. Journal of Mathematical Physics, 57(2): 022103, 7 pages, 2016.

Catchy title of research: Energies for space-fractional quantum systems with perturbation

There have been several attempts to formulate more general versions of quantum mechanics that incorporate fractional derivatives. In this work we obtain Green’s functions for space-fractional quantum systems with perturbation and from the Green’s functions extract the energies. In quantum mechanics, the physically measurable quantities are the energies, hence we are interested in how the energies will vary for space-fractional quantum systems. 

Link to the article: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jmp/57/2/10.1063/1.4941086
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 1.234

Dave DG. Centeno
Cesar EA Virata School of Business
UP Diliman

Parasociality and Habitus in Celebrity Consumption and Political Culture: A Philippine Case Study. Asian Journal of Social Science, 44: 441-484, 2016.

Celebrity culture in the Philippines, is a microcosm of democ- ratised capitalism wherein consumers, spectators, cultural industries and even the celebrities, themselves, collectively develop parasociality as a function of cultural influence, in the nexus of celebrity parasociality across space and time, across platforms and social positions. 

Link to the article: http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/15685314-04404002
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.062

Alexander G. Flor and Benjamina G. Flor*
Faculty of Information and Communication Studies
UP Open University
*College of Development Communication
UP Los Baños

“Dysfunctional Digital Demeanors: Tales from (and Policy Implications of eLearning’s Dark Side” in Developing Successful Strategies for Global Policies and Cyber Transparency in eLearning. Gulsun Eby, T. Volkan Yuzer and Simber Atay (editors). Pennsylvania, USA: IGI Global Inc., 2016.

Juancho A. Collera
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
College of Science
UP Baguio

“Symmetry-Breaking Bifurcations in Laser Systems with All-to All Coupling” in Mathematical and Computational Approaches in Advancing Modern Science and Engineering. Jacques Bélair, Ian A. Frigaard, Herb Kunze, Roman Makarov, Roderick Melnik and Raymond J. Spiteri (editors). Switzerland: Springer, 2016.

Michael Daniel C. Lucagbo
School of Statistics
UP Diliman

Comparison of Ordinal Logistic Regression with Tree-Based Methods in Predicting Socioeconomic Classes in the Philippines. Philippine Statistician, 65 (1): 1-14, 2016.

Market researchers often face the problem of identifying a household’s true socio-economic class (SEC). This is so because household heads are normally reluctant to disclose in surveys their true annual income. The solution proposed by the MORES 1SEC team is to ask for other household indicators which people are more willing to provide information on. This study uses the household information compiled by MORES 1SEC to arrive at better methods of predicting a household’s true SEC. In the recent decades, the field of statistical learning has seen the development of so-called tree-based classification methods. The ability of these methods to predict a household’s true SEC is examined in this research. The implications are important in choosing the methodology for predicting SEC in the Philippines.

Link to the article: 
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Florencio C. Reginio Jr., Wilma A. Hurtada* and Erlida I. Dizon
Food Science Cluster
College of Agriculture
*Institute of Human Nutrition and Food
College of Human Ecology
UP Los Baños

Quality and Acceptability of Monascus Biopigment Beverage. International Food Research Journal, 23 (4): 1492-1500, 2016.

Catchy title of research: Functional Beverage with Natural Pigment from Monascus purpureus

The demand for functional beverages has noticeably increased because of its claim of reducing the risk of having lifestyle diseases. Moreover, the increasing awareness of people with regard to healthy and unhealthy foods led to the development of numerous products with the aim of contributing to a sense of well-being in the consumer. Thus, this study was done to develop a functional beverage from angkak or technically known as the Monascus-fermented rice. Angkak is a red mold rice which is traditionally used as coloring and flavoring agents. Aside from the red color, other (a) (b) food additive. Other means of utilizing the product for daily consumption is still an area to find out. If Monascus biopigment is incorporated in the diet, like in beverages, based on previous researches regarding the beneficial effects of Monascus biopigment, the developed product can be categorized as a functional beverage. Recent research and development on Monascus-fermented products include the incorporation of the fermented red rice pigment in beverages or drinks (Srianta et al., 2014). One of the studies was from Kim et al. (2008) which involved the application of fermented rice in the preparation of rice beverages. The product showed greater reducing power, scavenging and chelating abilities, and higher total phenolic content than the uninoculated rice beverage counterpart. secondary products formed during fermentation process are monacolin and citrinin. Monacolin is known for cholesterol- lowering effect while citrinin is a toxin which presumed to have no effect in concentrations within 200 ppm. The study also determined the stability of monacolin and citrinin on different acid concentrations, various temperature treatments, and daylight exposure for 30 days. Results showed that the most acceptable formulation was the sample with 9.7% sugar and 0.3% acidulant. No visible peak was observed in both monacolin and citrinin determination. These secondary products were shown to decrease when subjected to different acid concentrations and temperature treatments as well as when exposed to daylight for 30 days. Conversely, increase in the ratio of monacolin to citrinin was observed in partial heating of Monascus-fermented rice, thus it was included in the extraction method. The study suggested that aside from imparting color, Monascus pigment extract could be incorporated in the beverages to improve its functional properties.

Link to the article: 
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Junie B. Billones
Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics
College of Arts and Sciences
UP Manila

Reverse Docking Study Unravels the Potential Mycobacterium tuberculosis Enzyme Targets of Agelasine F. Oriental Journal of Chemistry, 32 (2): 851-858, April 2016.

Catchy title of research: Computer Simulations Unravels the Potential of Agelasine F as Anti-TB Agent 

Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne infectious disease that afflicts one-third of the world population, claiming 1.5 million deaths worldwide yearly, including 400,000 deaths among HIV-positive people. Among the six WHO regions, South-East Asia had the highest TB incidence. The Philippines was ranked 8^th among countries most afflicted with TB. Tuberculosis is the 6^th leading cause of mortality in the Philippines.
Although drugs have been developed to combat the disease, the emergence of drug resistant bacterial strains make the campaign for successful treatment of tuberculosis more difficult and undermined the Millennium Development Goal of reducing TB incidence to 50% by 2015.Thus, there is a need to develop new therapeutics against TB.
Drug discovery efforts today have been taking advantage of computer-based technologies in order to fast track the intricate stages in drug discovery. One technique called reverse docking has been employed in this study to validate the reported antimycobacterialactivity of a chemical called Agelasine F, that can be found in a marine sponge. Six drug targets were screened against Agelasine F including InhA and its two mutants; and other targets such as the enzymes PS, LipB, and DAPAS.
Among the compounds studied, Agelasine F turned out to be the best inhibitor for the InhA and DAPAS. Moreover, Agelasine F satisfies the criteria of druglikeness such as Lipinski’s rule, polar surface area, number of rotatable bonds, and enzyme inhibitory potential. These results should encourage the development of a new class of antitubercular agents based on Agelasine F architecture.

Link to the article: http://www.orientjchem.org/vol32no2/reverse-docking-study-unravels-the-potential-mycobacterium-tuberculosis-enzyme-targets-of-agelasine-f/
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Jovale Vincent V. Tongco, Evelyn B. Rodriguez*, Willie P. Abasolo and Ramon A. Razal
Department of Forest Products and Paper Science
College of Forestry and Natural Resources
*Institute of Chemistry
College of Arts and Sciences
UP Los Baños

Mineral, Nutritional, and Phytochemical Profile, Total Phenolic Content, and Radical Scavenging Activity of Philippine Bamboo “Bolo” Gigantochloa levis (Blanco) Merr. Leaves. Natural Product Sciences, 22 (1): 60-63, 2016.

Catchy title of research: Drinking tea from the leaves of bolo, a Philippine bamboo, can be good for your health

 

Next time you go out for tea, ask the shop if it carries bamboo tea on the menu. Better yet, be more specific and ask for bolo leaf tea.
Bolo belongs to the genus Gigantochloa which means large grass. It is largely used for its culm which can be fashioned into furniture and handicrafts, and also made into floors, walls, stairs, ceilings and dividers for the bahay kubo or native hut.
As for the leaves, during culm harvest they are removed from the pole to clear the latter for easier handling and transport. The leaves are then left behind and allowed to rot in the field. But maybe sooner than later, bolo farmers will earn extra money from collecting the leaves as well. Our study looked at bolo for possible nutrients and other beneficial chemicals they contain. And we found that the bolo leaves are nutrient-rich as they possess minerals and phytochemicals with possible health benefits or potential commercial use.
Bolo leaves include significant amounts of crude fiber that helps in digestion, as well as protein that can supplement animal-derived products. Important minerals such as silicon, potassium, and calcium which can be used commercially and industrially were also found.
You must have heard about phenolics and flavonoids, the so-called antioxidant phytochemicals that are naturally found in plants which are widely believed to prevent cancer in the human body by minimizing cell damage from reactive free radicals. By doing phytochemical screening, the study detected the presence of these antioxidants. To ascertain the relative amounts and efficacy of these phytochemicals in the leaf extracts, their antioxidant activities were determined using tests widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. Results show that these chemicals are capable of acting like police that can arrest harmful radicals in the human body. 

Link to the article: http://synapse.koreamed.org/DOIx.php?id=10.20307/nps.2016.22.1.60
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Mikel Angelo B. Yap, Haerold Dean Z. Layaoen, Josefa Angelie D. Revilla, Angelo C. Ani and Frederick Moses M. Blanco
Department of Industrial Engineering
College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology
UP Los Baños 

Effectiveness of Substitute Vibration Dampers in Reducing Hand-Arm Vibrations of a Gasoline-Fueled Hand Tractor. Philippine Agricultural Scientist, 99 (2): 191-121, June 2016.

 

 

 

Filipino farmers are exposed to the risk of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) during the operation of gasoline-fueled hand tractors. Use of a combination of commercially available handle grips and engine mounts has been shown to be effective in reducing HAVS. However, these tools are quite expensive for most farmers and so they tend to use improvised materials to serve as vibration isolators for their hand tractors.
This study aimed to evaluate and quantify the effectiveness of substitute vibration dampers when used as a combination of handle grips and engine mounts in reducing hand-arm vibration from a gasoline-powered hand tractor compared with diesel-powered engines. Baseline tri-axial vibration measurements were established through the use of accelerometers at the metacarpal, olecranon, and acromion at various operational speeds. Various combinations of five categories of substitute handle grips and three categories of substitute engine mounts for gasoline-powered and diesel-powered hand tractors were evaluated and compared.
Baseline analysis showed that only the vibrations at the metacarpal exceeded exposure limit values. Results also showed significant reduction of transmitted vibration accelerations for both engine types using the combination of substitute vibration dampers. Further statistical analysis of the results for the best combination between gasoline and diesel showed a significant difference in the vibration reduction between them.

Link to the article: 
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.266

Mili-Ann M. Tamayao
Department of Industrial Engineering
College of Engineering
UP Diliman

Effect of Regional Grid Mix, Driving Patterns and Climate on the Comparative Carbon Footprint of Gasoline and Plug-In Electric Vehicles in the United States. Environmental Research Letters, 11: 044077, 13 pages, April 2016.

Catchy title of research: How do grid mix, driving patterns and climate affect plug-in electric vehicle carbon footprint?  

 

How do grid mix, driving patterns and climate affect plug-in electric vehicle carbon footprint? The effects of regional climate and grid mix on emissions become more important for vehicles with higher degrees of electrification. In contrast, the effect of driving cycle on emissions becomes more prominent for vehicles with lower degrees of electrification. Where then is it best to promote PEV adoption in the US to reduce GHG emissions from transportation? Our results suggest that potential for PEV to reduce GHG emissions is generally highest in urban counties of Texas, Florida, and Southwestern US followed by New England, and is generally lowest in the Midwest and the South.

Link to the article: http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/044007/meta
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 4.134

Leonila Corpuz-Raros
Crop Protection Cluster
College of Agriculture
UP Los Baños

Contribution to the Knowledge of Carabodid Mites (Acari, Oribatida, Carabodidae) of the Philippines. Systematic and Applied Acarology, 21 (8): 1055-1068, June 2016.

Catchy title of research: Discovery of a new species, first records of seven species and redescriptionof one species of carabodidmites from the Philippinesand Oriental region (Acari, Oribatida, Carabodidae)

 

This paper reports the discovery of Cavaecarabodespolilloensis from Polillo Island, Quezon National Park and several localties in the Samar Island Natural Park. The new species is described, illustrated and compared with two morphologically similar species, C. orientalis (Mahunka 1987) from Sabah, Malaysia, and C. hauseri (Mahunka 1989) from Sumatra, Indonesia. A supplementary description and illustrations are provided for important morphological characters that were not included in the original description of an endemic Philippiine species, Bathocepheusmanguiati (Corpuz-Raros 1979). Seven other species which were previously unknown to occur in the country or anywhere else the Oriental region were also identified among Berlese extracts of samples of decomposing forest litter, log and moss from several localities in Luzon, Polillo, Samar, Mt. Malindang in Mindanao Island, and Samal Island, Davao City. These newly recorded species are Austrocarabodesbituberculatus Aoki 2006 and Diplobodes kanekoi Aoki 1958, both originally described from Japan, Gibbicepheusirmayi (Balogh & Mahunka 1969) from Bolivia,G. latohumeralisHammer 1982 from Bali, G. micheliMahunka 1978 and G. rugosus Mahunka 1978 both from Seychelles, and G. tuberculatus Balogh 1970 from New Guinea.   Like other oribatids, carabodids form part of the soil fauna that are important in nutrient cyclesin terrestrial ecosystems. Their ecological roles as shredders of organic debris facilitate chemical action by microbial agents of decomposition. Because of their mobility they disperse propagules of microbes to new undecomposed substrates, thereby facilitating decomposition further. Although these roles are only facilitative, their dominance in the soil in terms of species diversity and numbers cannot be underestimated, so that taxonomic and ecological studies have noticeably accelerated worldwide during the last two decades.In addition, because of their sensitivity to environmental conditions, they are now increasingly used as biological indicators in evaluating and monitoring the state of degradation or recovery of terrestrial habitats.

Link to the article:  http://biotaxa.org/saa/article/view/saa.21.8.6
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 1.378

Jan Robert R. Go
Department of Political Science
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
UP Diliman

Political Leadership and Education Politics: The Mayor and Education Services in Nasugbu, Batangas. Philippine Political Science Journal, 37 (12): 111-134, 2016.

 

 

This study looks at political leadership and education politics at the municipal level. In particular, it looks at the informal rules governing the local education service sector, and how these rules affected the assumed roles of the municipal mayor as the local chief executive and as one of the local school board co-chairs in the municipality of Nasugbu in the province of Batangas. Using a new institutional approach, this study focuses on the informal institutions or the rules-in-use in the context of local education politics, and uses Ostrom’s typology of working rules to identify the specific rules and Leach and Lowndes’ classification of leadership roles. The findings suggest that the municipal mayor, through the informal rules, was able to shape, create, and/or recreate his position. This enabled him to assume specific roles in the local education service sector, which are not necessarily provided in the formal rules. However, there were limitations as to the extent of the effect of rules-in-use and the kind of roles the mayor assumed.

Link to the article: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01154451.2016.1193987
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 0.042

Rogelio Alicor L. Panao
Department of Political Science
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
UP Diliman

Tried and Tested? Dynastic Persistence and Legislative Productivity at the Philippine House of Representative. Asian Politics and Policy, 8 (3): 394-417, July 2016.

Catchy title of research: Are dynastic politicians less productive?

Are lawmakers from political clans less productive? Employing statistical analysis, this new study shows that the passage of a bill into legislation is strongly determined by the personal and political circumstances of its proponent. Members who belong to political clans are generally less inclined to work for the passage of their legislative measures, lending credence to the unhealthy effect of dynastic persistence on electoral accountability. Political accountability is undermined when politicians as agents can choose not to reciprocate people’s votes by circumventing institutional safeguards and capitalizing on family networks, wealth, and influence to ensure electoral success. Reelection bids, consistent with the idea of an electoral exercise as accountability mechanism, facilitate the enthusiasm of legislators to engage in policy production but only up to a point. Neophyte legislators who have yet to gain foothold in the district have all the reason to be proactive in concretizing proposals into actual policies, at least initially. But over time, when the legislative district becomes family turf, entrenchment and its attendant advantages gives incumbents and their successors little incentive to invest in vote-courting activities such as legislative production. Although the findings echo the conventional apprehension about dynastic politicians, they also invite us to collectively reexamine how we exercise our right to elect those who will make policy choices on our behalf. As the estimates show, pedigree does not always translate to competence. Leadership and public management skills are not traits passed down through genes, nor acquired purely by sheer electoral persistence. 

Link to the article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aspp.12262/full
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Betty May R. Villamayor, Rene N. Rollon and Giannina G. Albano*
Institute of Environmental Science & Meteorology
*Marine Science Institute
College of Science
UP Diliman

Impact of Haiyan on Philippine Mangroves: Implications to the Fate of the Widespread Monospecific Rhizophora Plantations against Strong Typhoons. Ocean & Coastal Management, 132: 1–14, November 2016.

Catchy title of research: The Mangrove Story after Haiyan:Agrim fate forRhizophora plantations

 

Typhoon Haiyan caused severe devastation to human lives, infrastructure and livelihood when it hit the Philippines on November 8^th, 2016. Mangrove forests, located at the forefront of coastlines, also suffered intense damage due to the typhoon. In this study,a broad-scale survey across the 28,000 haof affected mangrove forests within the impact corridor was conducted, covering 21 mangrove species andforming a database of some 2,000 trees. In general, the species Sonneratia(pagatpat) and Avicennia (piapi), despite severe debranching, were able to recover by sprouting new leaves from old stem sections (epicormic sprouting).Rhizophora spp.lacked this ability; thus,severe damage to stems led to mortality. In Bantayan Is. (Cebu), where an extensivemonospecific Rhizophora plantation was directly hit by Haiyan, 45% of the 20 ha plantation was severely affected. Mass (>95%) mortality was observed in old (>32 years) plantations; while young (<8 years) plantations were able to fully recover at 2 yearspost-typhoon. An apparent pattern of higher survival was observed for peripheral trees compared to core trees in old plantations implying that, aside from age differences, growth architecture also contributes to the resilience of Rhizophora against strong storms. This paper points out that the eventual fate of all Rhizophora plantations is mass mortality when the threshold age (32 years) is reachedand upon exposure to the next strong typhoon.Thus, this study reiterates the call for the serious rethinking of current mangrove planting practices taking into account typhoon vulnerability as indicated in this study.

Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569116301417
Impact Factor: (2015/2106) 1.696

Leahlizbeth A. Sia and Tiffany Adelaine G. Tan
Business Management Cluster
UP Cebu

The Influence of Organizational Justice on Job Satisfaction in a Hotel Setting. DLSU Business & Economics Review, 26 (1): 1-13, 2016.

Perceived organizational justice in the workplace is a primary factor affecting employee job satisfaction and tenure. This paper examined the relationship between organizational justice and job satisfaction of managers, supervisors, and staff in a hotel setting situated in one of the major cities outside Metro Manila, Philippines, namely Metropolitan Cebu. Specifically, it looked into the influence of the three dimensions of organizational justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional) on the hotel employees’ level of job satisfaction with regards to fairness of manager/supervisor to staff relationships, pay, and schedule (among others). A Likert scale survey instrument was administered to select respondents from 13 departments of nine hotels in Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines: Front Office, Food & Beverage, Housekeeping, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources, Maintenance, Kitchen, Finance, Butchery, Engineering, Administration, Security, and the Executive Office. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied for data analysis. The results revealed that distributive and interactional justice positively affects employees’ job satisfaction, while procedural justice does not have a significant impact.

Link to the article: 
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Victor S. Ticzon
Institute of Biological Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
UP Los Baños

Remote Sensing of Coral Reefs for Monitoring and Management: A Review. Remote Sensing, 8 (2): 118, 40 pages, February 2016.

 

The ability of remote sensing to show reef scale patterns of decline and recovery through time make this an ideal tool to detect large-scale changes in the physical composition of coral reefs. Once used solely for mapping land features, remote sensing technology has progressed rapidly to detect environmental threats and broad scale physico-chemical ocean and climate patterns. In the face of a global decline in coral reef health, spatial data collected at regular intervals have become an important part of sophisticated monitoring programs. Analyses of broad scale spatial data from satellites have become both an alternative and complementary approach in formulating strategies to address the problem of coral reef decline. The paper presents a review on the broad spectrum of spatial information that can be derived from various satellite platforms. The combined spatial data derived from remotely sensed images is currently used by scientists to communicate ecosystem processes and services to resource managers and a broad spectrum of stakeholders. The paper highlights the continued increase in the utility of remote sensing products for monitoring and management programs. Advances in both sensor technology and processing algorithms is expected to continue and drive forward remote sensing capability for coral reef mapping, particularly with respect to spatial resolution of maps, and synthesis across multiple data products. 

Link to the article: http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/8/2/118
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 3.036

Francis M. Mulimbayan and Manolo G. Mena*
Department of Engineering Science
College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology
UP Los Baños
*Department of Mining Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
College of Engineering
UP Diliman

Cyclic Voltammetric Study of the Pitting Corrosion Behavior of Low-Nickel Austenitic Stainless Steels in Citric Acid. Materials Science Forum, 866: 191-195, 2016.

 

The pitting corrosion behavior of AISI 202 stainless steel (SS) – a low-nickel, austenitic SS grade, was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique complemented by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). From the starting potential, the current density decreases and changes its sign at the corrosion potential (E_corr). The anodic response exhibits a well-defined anodic peak followed by a passive region. A noticeable increase in the anodic current density was observed after reaching the breakdown potential (E_b). The second anodic peak which may be attributed to onset of oxygen evolution was also observed. Moreover, the cyclic voltammograms revealed that hysteresis loop is absent for all the studied concentrations, indicating that AISI 202 SS in citric acid is highly resistant to pitting corrosion as also supported by the results of SEM. It was found out that the critical current density (i_crit) increases with increasing citric acid concentration.

Link to the article: http://www.scientific.net/MSF.866.191
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Jaime D.L. Caro
Department of Computer Engineering
College of Engineering
UP Diliman

“Transit Journaling and Traffic Sensitive Routing for a Mixed Mode Public Transportation System” in Intelligent Computing System: Emerging Application Areas. George A. Tsihrintzis, Maria Virvou and Lakhmi C. Jain (editors). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer, 2016.

Alice Joan G. Ferrer
Division of Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
UP Visayas

“Reverting Disused Fishpond Lease Agreement Areas to Mangrove Forests in Region VI (Western Visayas), Philippines” in Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Valuation, Institutions, and Policy in Southeast Asia. Nancy Olewiler, Herminia A. Francisco and Alice Joan G. Ferrer (editors). Singapore: Springer, 2016.

Marlon T. Conato
Institute of Chemistry
College of Science
UP Diliman

Nucleation of FAU and LTA Zeolites from Heterogenous Aluminosilicate Precursors. Chemistry of Materials, 28 (14): 4906-4916, June 2016.

Zeolites are crystalline solids that have been used in the industry as catalysts in the conversion of crude oil to useful petrochemical products among others. These materials have been known for several decades already but the mechanism of how they form still remains a puzzle to scientists. Most researches on the field are focused on its applications such that there are only very few studies on the fundamental aspect of its formation. One limiting factor before, also is the lack of precise and sensitive techniques to monitor the conversion of the crystals from the perceived “gel” precursors. The basic question, hence, has been what is the actual composition of this “gel” and how does it convert into useful zeolites. This work provides new evidences into the formation of these materials by using techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and dynamic light scattering. Two specific type of zeolites namely LTA and FAU are the subject of the investigation and conditions leading to specific structures are reported. A paradigm was proposed based on the evidences. A comparative analysis was also made to other models of zeolite synthesis reported in the literature.

Link to the article: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b01000
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 9.407

Roland Dominic Jamora and Eva Cutiongco-dela Paz*
Department of Neurosciences
College of Medicine
*Institute of Human Genetics
National Institutes of Health
UP Manila

Evidence of TAF1 Dysfunction in Peripheral Models of X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 73 (6): 3205–3215, August 2016.

 

The molecular dysfunction in X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism is not completely understood. Thus far, only noncoding alterations have been found in genetic analyses, located in or nearby the TATA-box binding protein-associated factor 1 (TAF1) gene. Given that this gene is ubiquitously expressed and is a critical component of the cellular transcription machinery, we sought to study differential gene expression in peripheral models by performing microarray-based expression profiling in blood and fibroblasts, and comparing gene expression in affected individuals vs. ethnically matched controls. Validation was performed via quantitative polymerase chain reaction in discovery and independent replication sets. We observed consistent down regulation of common TAF1 transcripts in samples from affected individuals in gene-level and high-throughput experiments. This signal was accompanied by a downstream effect in the microarray, reflected by the dysregulation of 307 genes in the disease group. Gene Ontology and network analyses revealed enrichment of genes involved in RNA polymerase II-dependent transcription, a pathway relevant to TAF1 function. Thus, the results converge on TAF1 dysfunction in peripheral models of X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism, and provide evidence of altered expression of a canonical gene in this disease. Furthermore, our study illustrates a link between the previously described genetic alterations and TAF1 dysfunction at the transcriptome level.

Link to the article: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00018-016-2159-4
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 5.694

Ryan Rey M. Daga
Tacloban College
UP Visayas

k-d Tree-Segmented Block Truncation Coding for Image Compression. MATEC Web of Conferences, 56, 02007, 5 pages, 2016.

Catchy title of research: k-d Zip: k-d Tree-Segmented Block Truncation

 

Image compression has been beneficial in reducing the physical of file size of digital images. This study proposed a new BTC-based compression technique referred to as k-d Tree-Segmented Block Truncation Coding. It was able to significantly reduce the number of bits required in representing an image compared to other existing BTC-based techniques. The superiority of the proposed technique was established and validated by the empirical results in terms of PSNR and bit rate.

Link to the article: http://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/abs/2016/19/matecconf_iccae2016_02007/matecconf_iccae2016_02007.html
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Demetrio L. Valle Jr., Juliana Janet M. Puzon* and Windell L. Rivera*
Institute of Biology
*Natural Sciences Research Institute
College of Science
UP Diliman

Thin Layer Chromatography-Bioautography and Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry of Antimicrobial Leaf Extracts from Philippine Piper betle L. Against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 4976791, 7 pages, 2016.

Piper betle L. belonging to the family Piperaceae is a climbing vine used in alternative medicine due to its numerous therapeutic properties, which include its antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, cytotoxic, antihelminthic, antiprotozoal, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, and immunomodulatory properties. The plant is known to be widely distributed in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Philippines, and other subtropical countries. It has been reported to have broad spectrum antimicrobial activities against various bacterial strains and fungi. Results of our previous studies have proven the great potential of P. betle as a cure for multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Out of 12 Philippine medicinal plants subjected to antimicrobial assays, the P. betle exceptionally presented significant inhibitory effects against selected MDR isolates. Moreover, the antimicrobial activities of the ethanol, methanol, and supercritical CO₂ extracts from P. betle were determined on clinical isolates of MDR bacteria which have been identified by the Infectious Disease Society of America as being among the currently more challenging strains in clinical management. The assay methods used in the study included the standard disc diffusion method and the broth microdilution method for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the extracts for the test microorganisms.

Link to the article: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/4976791/abs/
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 1.931

Raul C. Pangalangan
College of Law
UP Diliman

“Philippine Constitutional Law: Majoritarian Courts and Elite Politics” in Constitutionalism in Asia in the Early Twenty-First Century. Albert H.Y. Cheng (editor). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Ian Vega
National Institute of Physics
College of Science
UP Diliman

Slowly Rotating Black Holes in Einstein-æther Theory. Physical Review D, 93 (4): 044044, 23 pages, February 2016.

Catchy title of research: Do black holes remain “black” in non-Einstein gravity?

Black holes are arguably the most predictions of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. They are regions in the Universe permanently shrouded from outside observers by a boundary called the event horizon. From starting out as a mere theoretical curiosity, black holes have become the centerpiece of much of modern science. They are now known to inhabit the centers of most galaxies, and consequently, play a major role in our understanding of the cosmos. Their existence has also been spectacularly confirmed by the recent detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory.
Einstein’s General Relativity is likely not the final word on gravity, and so much work goes towards exploring viable alternatives. An example is Einstein-aether theory, which is a Lorentz-violating theory that contradicts special relativity. One peculiar aspect of this theory however is that it predicts that certain gravitational disturbances can travel faster than the speed of light. So a natural question arises: can black holes still exist in this theory? Previous work focusing on spherically-symmetric solutions answer this in the affirmative. They show however that the event horizon has to relinquish its role as the causal boundary to a different structure known as the “universal horizon”. But is this merely an artifact of spherical symmetry? Can universal horizons exist in rotating solutions? We show that they do not. This raises that possibility that black holes might not be completely “black” if gravity is described by a Lorentz-violating theory instead of General Relativity.

Link to the article: http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.93.044044
Impact Factor: (2015/2016) 4.506

Jennylyn L. Trinidad, Herra L. Grajo and Jose B. Abucay Jr.
Institute of Chemistry
College of Arts and Sciences
UP Los Baños

“Cereal Root Proteomics for Complementing the Mechanistic Understanding of Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance” in Agricultural Proteomics Volume 2: Environmental Stresses. Ghasem Hosseini Salekdeh (editor). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2016.

Luna S. Cleto
Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature
College of Arts and Letters
UP Diliman

Finding Genoa Finding Myself: Notes on Reading, Language, Travelling and Mobility (Pag- aapuhap ng Sarili, Mga Tala sa Pagbabasa, Sa Wika, at Paglalayag). Humanities Diliman, 13 (1): 62-97, January-June 2016.

 

The essay is an attempt to remember and reminisce about the proponent’s experience as a visiting scholar in Genoa, Italy. Told from the point of view of an academic who personally found ways to learn a new language (Italian), she realized that her training is not enough, and neither are her social skills. She learns, however, to appreciate the value of being a straniera (stranger), since that consciousness has allowed her to re-connect with Filipino migrant-workers in Genoa. Later, she befriends a migrant-refugee from Nigeria who makes her realize not only how lucky she was but also how serious the human degradation and impoverishment other migrants like him are suffering from is. The work ends with the clear resolve that the best learning in whatever field can come only from a lucid acceptance of one’s origins, identity, languages and strengths.   

Link to the article: http://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/humanitiesdiliman/article/view/4931/4443
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Bing Baltazar C. Brillo
Institute for Governance and Rural Development
College of Public Affairs and Development
UP Los Baños

Urban Lake Governance and Development in the Philippines: The Case of Sampaloc Lake, San Pablo City. Taiwan Water Conservancy, 64 (3): 1-16, September 2016.

Many Philippine studies have considered the abiotic and biotic conditions of large lakes throughout the country, however, to date few studies have dealt with the sociopolitical difficulties involved in sustainable development of lakes, this is particularly true for small lakes. Unfortunately, while scientific studies of lake composition are informative, they by no means address the actual issues behind the lack of sustainable development of Philippine lakes – complex sociopolitical factors. This article looks into the governance of Sampaloc Lake, and views it as a microcosm of small lake mismanagement all throughout the country. The governance of Sampaloc Lake is complex since it involves two principal administrative agencies— the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) and the City Government of San Pablo, various overlapping laws representing distinct interests, and stakeholders with varying demands on the utilization of the lake. It further contends that the two key issues in arresting the development of Sampaloc Lake are the lack of formulation of a zoning-management plan and the delay of the demolition-relocation program. Resolving the former entails scientifically-grounded compromises among the three stakeholders’ proposals (namely: [a] the Tourism Council and Environment and Natural Resource Office [TC-ENRO] proposal; [b] the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management [FARMC] proposal; and [c] the Seven Crater Lakes and Watershed Management Council [SCLWMC] proposal). Resolving the latter entails addressing the financial issue of the demolition-relocation program. Overall, this study addresses the scarcity of scholarly works on lakes in the Philippines by placing the Sampaloc Lake on the literature map and expanding the governance and development studies on small lakes in the country.

Link to the article: 
Impact Factor: Not yet available

Emilia A. Lastica-Ternura, Jezie A. Acorda, Arville Mar Gregorio A. Pajas and Ma. Suzanneth Epifania G. Lola*
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences
*Department of Veterinary Paraclinical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
UP Los Baños

Macroscopic and Microscopic Findings in the Heart and Lungs of Captive Reticulated Pythons (Python reticulatus, Schneider 1801) (Reptilia: Squamata: Pythonidae) with Granulomatous Pneumonia and Myocarditis. Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 53 (1): 44-50, January-June 2016.

Catchy title of research: Post-mortem findings in the heart and lungs of pythons with pneumonia and myocarditis

Twelve reticulated pythons, six males and six females from a wildlife rescue center, showing signs of pneumonia were utilized in the study for post-mortem and microscopic examinations of the heart and lungs. A clinical scoring system was used to assess the severity of pneumonia. The snakes were anaesthetised prior to euthanasia, according to theprotocol employed by the institution. Post-mortem examination of the heart showed evidence of hydropericardium and paleness of the atrial muscles. Significant microscopic findings in theheart include granuloma, degenerative heart lesions and enlargement of some of the cells of the cardiac muscle. Cream to white raised nodules were widelydistributed across the lung tissue. Microscopic
findings in the lungs include multiple centres of pus formation in different stages and prominent thickening of the lung walls. The gross and microscopic lesions in the heart and lungs confirmed the presence of granulomatous pneumonia and myocarditis in the snakes.

Link to the article: https://journals.uplb.edu.ph/index.php/PJVM/article/view/1463
Impact Factor: Not yet available