Cressa Ria P. Fulong and Maria Pythias B. Espino
Institute of Chemistry
College of Science
UP Diliman
Decabromodiphenyl ether in indoor dust from different microenvironments in a university in the Philippines. Chemosphere 90 (2013) 42–48.
Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) is a known brominated flame retardant that was popularly used in electrical and electronic equipment during the period of 1988 until 2008. It is harmful to some animals and it is now found in the environment making it one of the compounds considered as persistent organic pollutants. One of the suspected routes of exposure to BDE-209 is via inhalation, ingestion, or dermal absorption of indoor dust. This study was conducted to develop an analytical method for the determination of BDE-209 in indoor dust from different microenvironments in a university in the Philippines. University environment is a place where a significant number of people are constantly present. The method developed involves BDE-209 extraction from dust samples by ultrasonication and determination by HPLC-UV. This method was optimized and validated by recovery analysis of spiked blank dust. The linearity for a linear range of 0 – 300 µg L-1 BDE-209 was good (R2 = 0.993). The % absolute recovery and the % RSD for n = 8 spiked dust analysis based on a 0.2 g dust sample was 57% and 19%, respectively. The method detection limit was 285 ng g-1. All dust samples studied showed levels ranging from below detection limit to 4117 ng g-1. The levels of BDE-209 found in the dust samples are comparable to those reported in house
and workplace dusts from other Asian countries. Although not conclusive, it has been shown empirically that BDE-209 concentrations are higher in sampling sites containing more possible BDE-209 sources like electrical and electronic equipment..
Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653512009472
Nestor G. Acala and Noli N. Reyes
Institute of Mathematics
College of Science
UP Diliman
Sampling in a weighted Sobolev space. Comtes Remdus Mathematique de l’Académie des Sciences – Series I , 350 (2012) 941-944.
We encounter sampling in everyday life. For example, in medicine, small blood samples can determine specific organ malfunctions. In telecommunications, for storage and transmission, analog signals are sampled so that the resulting samples allow for an efficient storage and approximate reconstruction of the signal. In our paper, we show that smooth signals are completely determined by appropriate time-frequency samples. We also show how such signals can be reconstructed from these samples.
Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631073X12003184
Impact Factor: 0.384
Maria Lourdes T. Munarriz
SURP
UP Diliman
Land ownership and accessibility of housing service facilities: Their impacts on students’ study behavior and perception. Asia Life Sciences 22 (1)1-19, 2013.
This paper is about student study perception and behavior in low-income communities of Metro Manila. It suggested that land ownership and residential space, housing facilities, education, peer groups and perception of parents affect the study behavior and perception of students. Two communities were surveyed and differences found. More specifically, the voluntary study behavior of students has been observed to go in two different directions in relation to land ownership, residential space and accessibility of facilities. Students in the community with land ownership and relatively larger residential space, and regular accessibility of facilities had relatively higher study time at home. Students in the community without land ownership, with relatively smaller residential space, and no regular accessibility of facilities were influenced by classmates and friends in study at school. Given the smaller space and the lack of facilities can mean a home setting that is less conducive for studying. The school having these facilities and the needed space could explain why students in the community without land ownership and no regular accessibility of facilities are more inclined to study in school than at home. On study perception, students in the community with regular accessibility of facilities shared in the perceptions of their parents that facilities are beneficial to spending more time studying. Students in the community with no regular accessibility of facilities shared in the perceptions of their parents that facilities are convenient to have (better than not having any access at all).
Jose Edgardo A. Gomez Jr.
SURP
UP Diliman
The Billboardization of Metro Manila. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research Volume 37, Issue 1, pages 186–214, January 2013.
This article looks at exciting and potentially emotional urban issues through the scholarly lens of urban planning and political geography. Using a systematic, qualitative-spatial approach, the author uncovers the hidden forces behind the landscape of billboards that adorns as well as blights Metropolitan Manila.
Link to the article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2011.01098.x/abstract
Impact Factor of Journal: 1.339
Juliana Baylon
Division of Biological Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
UP Visayas
Reproductive Biology of the Red Frog Crab, Ranina ranina from Southwestern Mindanao, Philippines. Quarterly ISSN: 0116-6514 ASIAN FISH SOC, C/O LABORATORY MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY, UNIV PUTRA MALAYSIA, INST BIOSCIENCE,SERDANG, MALAYSIA, 43400 UPM.
The red frog crab, Ranina ranina locally known as “curacha”, is a commercially important edible crab. Its body is colored red and when swimming, it exhibits a hopping movement similar to that of a frog. Its flesh has a sweet and delicate taste and is a favorite among local tourists who want to experience eating a “sea cockroach”. They are found in depths of 10–100 m on sandy-smooth substrata in which they bury. To feed, they ambush small fish and other organisms from their hiding places in the sand. They are caught using baited traps made of tangle-nets suspended over flat frames. In Mindanao, they are available year round and in 2011 their price ranges from P300-350 per kilogram, depending on size and abundance.
As a highly priced food commodity, the curacha crab is a potential species for aquaculture, domestication and stock enhancement. Aspects of its reproductive biology, minimum size at maturity, fecundity and breeding season have been reported for populations from Hawaii, Japan, Australia, and Thailand, but none in the Philippines. Larviculture has been attempted in Japan but mass culture has not yet been successful. A one-year study on the reproductive biology of curacha crab from southwestern Mindanao, Philippines was conducted on January to December 2009.
The results showed that in both sexes, gonad activity occurred throughout the year but for females the peak egg-bearing season was November to February (59-87% ovigerous). Body sizes of females carrying eggs (ovigerous) were from 61.9 -148.2 mm carapace length (CL). The greatest prevalence of ovigerous females was in the size range of 90-99 mm CL; the lowest at 140-149 mm CL. Male crabs with mature testes were consistently high (83-100%) in all months of the year. Females had higher gonadosomatic indices (GSI), 4.90–26.64, compared to those of the males which were 1.77–5.36. Gonad indices (GI) varied from 1.77-2.9 for females and from 1.83 to 2.0 for males. The smallest female carrying eggs was 61.9 mm CL and the smallest male with a mature gonad was 40.23 mm CL. The number of eggs (fecundity) per egg mass ranged from 26,225-354,084 eggs per individual.
This information is valuable in the conservation, management and implementation of regulatory measures for wild stock management as well as for future culture and domestication of the red frog crab, Ranina ranina.
Link to the article: http://www.asianfisheriessociety.org/modules/aboutafs/index.php?eid=41
Ronald Villanueva
Marine Science Institute
College of Science
UP Diliman
Tailoring kappa/iota-hybrid carrageenan from Mastocarpus stellatus with desired gel quality through pre-extraction alkali treatment. Food Hydrocolloids. 31 (1), 94-102 (2013)
The gel quality of kappa-iota hybrid carrageenan from Mastocarpus stellatus was controlled through a combination of pre-extraction treatment parameters such as alkali species, alkali concentration and treatment duration. The suit of carrageenan extracts vary in degree of sulfation and 3,6-anhydrogalactose content, thereby various gelation properties were exhibited. This technique in tailoring the gel quality of carrageenan extracts has utility in the diversification of the application of the phycolloid in
food and biotechnology.
Link to the article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268005X12002366
Impact Factor: 3.473
