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Purpose: The objective of this study is to determine Education in the Digital World: from the lens of millennial learners. This also identifies the cybergogical implications of the issue with digital education as seen through the lens of the outlier. Method: This study uses a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design. A quantitative method was employed during the first phase and the instruments of the study were distributed using google forms. The survey received a total of 85 responses and the results were analyzed using descriptive methods. Following up with a qualitative method, during the second phase the outliers were interviewed, and the results were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of the mixed methods were interpreted in the form of cybergogical implications. Results: The digital education from the lens of millennial learners in terms of the Benefits of E-Learning and Students' Perceptions of E-Learning received an overall mean of 3.68 which was verbally interpreted as "Highly acceptable". The results reveal that millennial learners' perceptions of digital education are influenced by the convenience in time and location, the fruit of collaboration using online interaction, the skills and knowledge they will acquire using digital resources, and the capability of improving themselves for the future. Conclusion: E-learning significantly improves the quality of the learning and teaching process. Millennial learners with different learning styles and speeds were addressed by its usability and portability features. Millennial learners were able to adopt and learned how to use e-learning. Also, since it is self-paced learning, it allows them to study on their own time and schedule since e-learning can be accessed anytime and anywhere. However, the technological resources of the learners should be considered in the implementation of e-learning. Recommendations--The utilization of e-learning as a medium of instruction for millennial learners. Research Implications--The findings can be used by the institution to create guidelines, procedures, and policies for successfully implementing digital education or E-Learning.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection continues to present a global health issue. Recent studies have explored the potential role of the gut microbiome in HIV infection for novel therapeutic approaches. We investigated the gut microbiome composition of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the Asia–Pacific region. This review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. An electronic search was conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases using keywords such as “HIV”, “PLHIV”, “AIDS”, “gut microbiome”, “gut dysbiosis”, and “metagenomics”. Only peer-reviewed and full-text studies published in English were included. A total of 15 studies from the Asia–Pacific region were included for analysis. Compared to healthy controls, PLHIV showed an increased abundance of Proteobacteria and its genera, which may be considered pathobionts, and decreased abundances of Bacteroidetes and several genera under Firmicutes with known short-chain fatty acid and immunoregulatory activities. Predominant taxa such as Ruminococcaceae and Prevotellaceae were also associated with clinical factors such as CD4 count, the CD4/CD8 ratio, and inflammatory cytokines. This review highlights gut microbiome changes among PLHIV in the Asia–Pacific region, indicating potential bacterial signatures for prognostication. The partial restoration of the microbiome toward beneficial taxa may ensure the long-term success of treatment, promoting immune recovery while maintaining viral load suppression.

Abstract Background Early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is essential towards the improvement of prognosis and patient survival. Circulating markers such as α-fetoprotein (AFP) and micro-RNAs represent useful tools but still have limitations. Identifying new markers can be fundamental to improve both diagnosis and prognosis. In this approach, we harness the potential of metabolomics and lipidomics to uncover potential signatures of HCC. Methods A combined untargeted metabolomics and lipidomics plasma profiling of 102 HCV-positive patients was performed by HILIC and RP-UHPLC coupled to Mass Spectrometry. Biochemical parameters of liver function (AST, ALT, GGT) and liver cancer biomarkers (AFP, CA19.9 e CEA) were evaluated by standard assays. Results HCC was characterized by an elevation of short and long-chain acylcarnitines, asymmetric dimethylarginine, methylguanine, isoleucylproline and a global reduction of lysophosphatidylcholines. A supervised PLS-DA model showed that the predictive accuracy for HCC class of metabolomics and lipidomics was superior to AFP for the test set (100.00% and 94.40% vs 55.00%). Additionally, the model was applied to HCC patients with AFP values

As mudanças climáticas e a tendência de eletrificação causada pelo uso de energias renováveis incentiva a pesquisa em eletrificação de sistemas e direciona parte do interesse a tecnologias de acionamentos elétricos. Dentre os motores usados em acionamentos modernos, os motores de indução trifásicos mostram-se competitivos dado o seu baixo custo, elevada robustez e maturidade tecnológica. Este artigo explora métodos de controle direto de torque e fluxo, com destaque para controles preditivos, promissores por sua resposta dinâmica rápida e flexibilidade com não linearidades. São analisados resultados experimentais do DTC, PTC, PTC-DSVM e MPTC na mesma bancada. Os resultados demonstram por meio das respostas dinâmica, em regime e THD as diferenças entre estratégias e mostram que a frequência fixa do MPTC não se relaciona diretamente à melhor qualidade de energia no acionamento. O custo computacional também é medido para complemento das análises.

Contact tracing is the technique employed by public health units and the national close contact service to track down persons who may have been exposed to COVID-19 by interaction with a suspect, confirmed, or probable case during their infectious period. This study focused on the development of a Log Monitoring System Using Quick Response (QR) Code in Samar State University as an institution’s tracing system for COVID – 19 preventions. The study was designed as a tool for managing the everyday logs of the employees, students, and visitors to track down the person who is in close contact to a COVID – 19 positives. The waterfall model was used in developing the system and descriptive research design was used to determine the effectiveness of the system along with functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability. The participants of the study were the employees, students, and visitors of SSU. Each participant has given an ISO 9126 quality standard questionnaire for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the system. The result revealed that using the system, the conduct of contact tracing of the possible COVID – 19 suspected individuals was done easily and with reliability.

Abstract Background One of the key strategies to reducing maternal mortality is provision of emergency obstetric care services. This paper describes the results of improving availability of, and access to emergency obstetric care services in underserved rural Tanzania using associate clinicians. Methods A prospective cohort study of emergency obstetric care was implemented in seven health centres in Morogoro region, Tanzania from July 2016 to June 2019. In early 2016, forty-two associate clinicians from five health centres were trained in teams for three months in emergency obstetric care, newborn care and anaesthesia. Two health centres were unexposed to the intervention and served as controls. Following training, virtual teleconsultation, quarterly on-site supportive supervision and continuous mentorship were implemented to reinforce skills and knowledge. Results The met need for emergency obstetric care increased significantly from 45% (459/1025) at baseline (July 2014 – June 2016) to 119% (2010/1691) during the intervention period (Jul 2016 – June 2019). The met need for emergency obstetric care in the control group also increased from 53% (95% CI 49–58%) to 77% (95% CI 74–80%). Forty maternal deaths occurred during the baseline and intervention periods in the control and intervention health centres. The direct obstetric case fatality rate decreased slightly from 1.5% (95% CI 0.6–3.1%) to 1.1% (95% CI 0.7–1.6%) in the intervention group and from 3.3% (95% CI 1.2–7.0%) to 0.8% (95% CI 0.2–1.7%) in the control group. Conclusions When emergency obstetric care services are made available the proportion of obstetric complications treated in the facilities increases. However, the effort to scale up emergency obstetric care services in underserved rural areas should be accompanied by strategies to reinforce skills and the referral system.

Summary: Sex disparities in cancer exist along the cancer spectrum, ranging from genomic predisposition and behavioral risk factors to access to screening, diagnostics, treatment, and survivorship care. A growing body of research is studying the biological underpinnings of these differences, from cancer risk to tumor biology to treatment response. It is well known, however, that the social determinants of health play a large role across the cancer disease continuum, which encompasses risk, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, rehabilitation, and palliative care. Less literature focuses on the gendered disparities that are epidemiologic in nature, especially in Southeast Asia (SEA), a diverse region that is home to nearly 670 million people, where most are lower middle income countries, and where socioeconomic and cultural factors increase cancer risk for women. In this review, we highlight the social drivers of gendered disparities, namely the geographic, environmental, sociocultural, economic, and political forces that contribute to the increased mortality and poorer health outcomes in the region.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative treatment for multiple disorders, but deficiency and dysregulation of T cells limit its utility. Here we report a biomaterial-based scaffold that mimics features of T cell lymphopoiesis in the bone marrow. The bone marrow cryogel (BMC) releases bone morphogenetic protein-2 to recruit stromal cells and presents the Notch ligand Delta-like ligand-4 to facilitate T cell lineage specification of mouse and human hematopoietic progenitor cells. BMCs subcutaneously injected in mice at the time of HSCT enhanced T cell progenitor seeding of the thymus, T cell neogenesis and diversification of the T cell receptor repertoire. Peripheral T cell reconstitution increased ~6-fold in mouse HSCT and ~2-fold in human xenogeneic HSCT. Furthermore, BMCs promoted donor CD4+ regulatory T cell generation and improved survival after allogeneic HSCT. In comparison to adoptive transfer of T cell progenitors, BMCs increased donor chimerism, T cell generation and antigen-specific T cell responses to vaccination. BMCs may provide an off-the-shelf approach for enhancing T cell regeneration and mitigating graft-versus-host disease in HSCT.

The study evaluated the bioactive components and antioxidant properties of sugarcane phenolic extracts (SCPE) against lipid oxidation in raw ground pork and beef during refrigerated storage conditions. Results showed that SCPE has a high total phenolic content of 35.9 g GAE/100 g sample majority of which are vanillic (799.77 mg/100 g), sinapic (434.38 mg/100 g), and coumaric (342.37 mg/100 g) acids. These phenolic compounds exhibited strong radical scavenging activities against DPPH (191.00 mg TE/g) and ABTS (359.80 mg TE/g) radical, ferric reducing capacity (97.80 mg TE/g), and lipid peroxidation inhibition (120.20 mg TE/g) activities which are comparable to BHT. Supplementation of SCPE at 400 mg/kg fresh weight of ground pork and ground beef improved the antioxidant activities of meat samples, leading to the delay in TBARS formation, lower reduction in heme iron content, and minimal increase in metmyoglobin content during 14-day refrigerated storage as compared to BHT-treated and control. Moreover, the redness of meat was preserved in SCPE- and BHT-treated samples as measured by a* color value. Correlation heat maps showed that TBARS, metmyoglobin, and ΔE are positively correlated with each other, and at the same time showed negatively correlated with heme iron and a*. This study revealed that antioxidant extracts from sugarcane presented a positive effect on the oxidative stability of raw ground pork and beef during refrigerated storage.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has forced national and local governments to re-consider the relationship between mobility, urban space and health in order to ensure physical distancing while meeting the travel needs of inhabitants. In the first stage, corresponding to the expansion of infection, mobility was limited to essential workers and freight. In the second stage, with the easing of restrictions, limitations still remained for public transport. Limitations associated with perceived risk of infection significantly influenced travel behaviors, pushing a modal repositioning in demand to active mobility (walking, cycling, and use of micro-mobility). On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on mobility during the COVID outbreak are mostly directed at dedicating more urban space to cyclists and pedestrians, especially in densely populated urban areas, thus avoiding crowding on public transport and the use of private cars. In the same direction, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO, 2020) went during periods of stabilization and long-term recovery. It suggests policies and measures for the cities mobility to help people maintain physical distance while moving around the city. In the given conditions, walking becomes predominant for a sustainable mobility scenario, and structural measures (widening of the pathway) or regulatory measures (regulation of pedestrian flows) can be adopted withing the given strategy. Current pedestrian infrastructural offer is severely limited in functional terms by the urban planning and development, therefore measures oriented to enhance non-motorized mobility require the development and planning of new public spaces and infrastructures for pedestrian mobility within the urban layout. Policy makers and town planners need to rethink urban spaces and mobility in the pedestrian perspective. A methodology for classification of pathways, by capacity and level of service, is presented in the paper, on which to base strategies, policies and specific measures to verify pedestrian mobility demand.

This study aimed to use MTB-Task Cards to remediate the learning gaps in Grade 7 mathematics, ultimately leading to the creation of a handbook for developing, producing, and utilizing these cards. It investigated the least mastered learning competencies based on MELCs for the first and second quarters of the 2023-2024 school year, assessed students' performance before and after the implementation of MTB-Task Cards, and determined the mean gain performance. The study also examined whether there was a significant difference between actual accomplishment and the target level of mastery after implementing the MTB-Task Cards. Employing a quasi-experimental design, the research utilized pre-test and post-test evaluations to measure the intervention's impact on a non-random group of 135 Grade 7 students at Emilio V. Quizon National High School. Data were gathered through a researcher-made test and validated MTB-Task Cards, focusing on competencies students struggled with the most. Findings revealed substantial improvements in mathematical competencies such as fundamental operations on integers, estimating square roots, and evaluating algebraic expressions. Students' performance levels increased significantly post-intervention, with mastery levels exceeding 80% in the second quarter, indicating the effectiveness of MTB-Task Cards. The analysis showed a significant difference between actual accomplishment and the target mastery level, with a p-value of 0.000. The study proposed a handbook outlining rules and guidelines for the development, production, and utilization of MTB-Task Cards, emphasizing the importance of standardization, curriculum alignment, quality production, and effective classroom use. Recommendations included continuous monitoring of student progress, professional development for educators, innovative engagement strategies, and ongoing research to enhance the instructional efficacy of MTB-Task Cards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Amaryllidaceae family constitutes an interesting source of exclusive alkaloids with a broad spectrum of biological activity. Galanthamine, the most relevant one, has been commercialized for the palliative treatment of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms since 2001 due to its potential as an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor. In vitro screenings against AChE by applying different Amaryllidaceae species and alkaloids have been reported in the literature; however, they are usually carried out using purified market enzymes. The main goal of this work is to evaluate the AChE inhibitory potential of Hippeastrum papilio (Amaryllidaceae) extracts using zebrafish brain homogenates. The biological assays show that the H. papilio bulb extracts present an interesting AChE inhibitory activity in comparison with the positive reference control galanthamine (IC50 values of 1.20 ± 0.10 and 0.79 ± 0.15 μg/mL, respectively). The chemical profile of H. papilio shows that this species has a high amount of galanthamine, which may contribute to the inhibitory effect on AChE activity of zebrafish brains. Computational experiments were used to build the model for zebrafish AChE and to evaluate the interactions between galanthamine and the enzymic active site. This work suggests that zebrafish could represent an important model in the search for bioactive molecules from the Amaryllidaceae family for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study compares the toxicity of 53 selected medicinal plants commonly used in the Philippines to treat various diseases. It uses as a benchmark Vitex negundo L., which was approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration as an herbal drug for cough and asthma after passing clinical trials for safety and efficacy. The methods were chosen for their simplicity and accessibility even for resource-limited laboratories. Extracts (95 % ethanol) of the medicinal parts of the plants were (1) chemically profiled using qualitative phytochemical tests that detect the presence of key classes of bioactive compounds; and (2) evaluated for toxicity using the brine shrimp (Artemia sp.) lethality assay (BSLA). General phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins in 50 plant extracts, alkaloids in 43, glycosides in 33, flavonoids in 31, steroids in 21, triterpenoids in 20, anthraquinones in 10, and saponins in 8. Extracts from eight plants had LC50 values lower than the potassium dichromate control (approximately 12 μg/mL) and were considered highly toxic; extracts from 21 plants had LC50 values between 12 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL and were considered moderately toxic; extracts from 19 plant extracts, including Vitex negundo and some common vegetables, had LC50 values between 100 μg/mL and 500 μg/mL, and were considered mildly toxic and likely to have reasonable safety margins; five plant extracts, including common vegetables, had LC50 values above 500 μg/mL and were considered essentially nontoxic. No apparent correlation could be found between toxicity and chemical diversity or a specific class of phytochemicals present. Our findings may serve as a guide for herbal drug and nutraceutical development, especially in prioritizing plants for more detailed safety studies.

PURPOSEIn the Philippines, a lower middle-income country in Southeast Asia, 6 of 10 Filipinos die without seeing a doctor. To ensure universal access to cancer care, providers must be equitably distributed. Therefore, we evaluated the distribution of oncologists across all 17 regions in the Philippines.METHODSWe gathered data from the official websites of national medical societies on their members' regional area of practice: Philippine Society of Medical Oncology, Philippine Radiation Oncology Society, Surgical Oncology Society of the Philippines, Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of the Philippines, and Philippine Society of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. We compared this with the regional census to determine the number of board-certified oncologists per 100,000 Filipinos.RESULTSFor a population of almost 110 million, the Philippines has a total of 348 medical oncologists, 164 surgical oncologists, 99 radiation oncologists, 142 gynecologic oncologists, and 35 hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) specialists. This translates to 0.32 medical oncologists, 0.15 surgical oncologists, 0.09 radiation oncologists, 0.13 gynecologic oncologists, and 0.03 HPM specialists for every 100,000 Filipinos. The number of oncologists is highest in the National Capital Region in Luzon and lowest in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. All regions have at least one medical and gynecologic oncologist. Two regions (12%) have no surgical oncologists, five regions (29%) have no radiation oncologists, and eight regions (47%) have no HPM specialists.CONCLUSIONEfforts are needed to increase the number of oncologists and improve equity in their distribution to ensure universal access to cancer care in the Philippines.