University of the Philippines Manila

About: University of the Philippines Manila is a education organization based out in Manila, Philippines. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 2218 authors who have published 2357 publications receiving 88781 citations. The organization is also known as: UPM.

Insecticide Residues in Eggplant Fruits, Soil, and Water in the Largest Eggplant-Producing Area in the Philippines

Abstract: This study looked into the insecticide residues in eggplant, soil, and water samples in the largest eggplant-producing community in the Philippines as well as to analyze the fate of insecticides. The study area consisted of eggplant farms in a community in the largest eggplant producer in the Philippines. A total of 20 of the environmental samples were taken from the farms and analyzed using gas chromatography. The samples were distributed spatially over a mean distance of 451 m (s.d. = 20.2 m). For eggplant pesticide application, the mean spraying time of the farmers was 1.4 (sdv = 0.53) h/day, 4.13 (sdv = 1.9) days/week, 3.79 (sdv = 0.22) weeks/month, and 1 year/cropping season. Forty percent of the farm samples of eggplants had positive reading of insecticides cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos between 0.02 and 0.03 mg/kg. There was no positive reading for the 20 water samples. There was only one positive reading of chlorpyrifos in one farm out of 20 soil samples at 0.03 mg/kg. Although Prevathon and Malathion were used by all the farms for eggplant pesticide application, the liter-years of exposure to pesticide was very low for both (0.06, 0.56). Although Brodan and Magnum were not prevalently used, they had the highest liter-years of exposure to pesticide at 4.73 for chlorpyrifos, and 6.09 for cypermethrin. The amount and duration of use of insecticide is important in the determination of its persistence in vegetables and in the environment. In this study, Brodan was the largest and longest used insecticide for eggplants which explains why there was reading for both cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos in the eggplants, but none for Malathion and chlorantraniliprole. The presence of insecticide in water, soil, and plants is also based on its environmental fate. Pesticide regulation and pesticide residue monitoring have been pursued to varying degrees of success in the Philippines, but implementation is considered inadequate. The study also suggests for better implementation of pesticide regulation.

Pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculosis in sorsogon, philippines

Abstract: The clinical epidemiology of pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculosis was investigated in a known endemic municipality of Sorsogon, Philippines. Records of diagnosed tuberculosis patients on treatment and follow up at the local Rural Health Unit over a two year period from 1993 to 1994 were reviewed to provide an overview of pulmonary tuberculosis in the area, specifically to describe the population at risk, the basis for diagnosis and the proportion of case notification who were sputum negative. Patients from the same group of individuals as well as undiagnosed tuberculosis patients with productive cough, fever with chest and/or back pain, or hemoptysis were examined to look into clinical manifestations, duration of symptoms, history of crab-eating and sputum examination results for acid-fast bacilli and Paragonimus. There was difficulty in determining the number of non-responders as the records did not have any provision for the recording of such. Annual tuberculosis case notification rates for the two years (374 and 401 per 100,000 population) were higher than the national figure in 1991 (325 per 100,000 population) indicating that tuberculosis is still a major health problem in the area and tuberculosis control efforts may have to be more aggressive to better contain the disease. Twenty-six out of 160 individuals surveyed were sputum smear positive for Paragonimus. Paragonimiasis rates were not significantly different in the two groups (15.6% vs 16.9%, respectively) indicating that there is a need for routine sputum examination for Paragonimus which is not available at present. Only six patients surveyed were sputum smear positive for acid-fast bacilli. A high index of suspicion is necessary to diagnose paragonimiasis and to be able to differentiate it from tuberculosis. The diagnosis may be suggested by a patient's place of origin being a known endemic area, a long period of chronic cough and the habit of eating raw or insufficiently cooked crabs or crayfish. Laboratories in endemic areas should have the capacity to differentiate between the two infections by being able to provide the routine laboratory procedures necessary for definitive diagnosis and treatment.

Challenges in the management of patients with maple syrup urine disease diagnosed by newborn screening in a developing country

Abstract: Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is a rare inborn error of metabolism resulting from a deficiency in the branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex. MSUD has been reported to be the most common inborn error of metabolism in the Philippines. We described all patients with maple syrup urine disease patients diagnosed through newborn screening during its first 2 years of implementation and the challenges encountered during their medical management. There were 24 patients diagnosed with maple syrup urine disease for the 2-year period. All patients needed hospital admission. The most common complication during hospital admission was infection, needing intravenous antibiotics which were given to 21 of the patients. Out of the 24 diagnosed, 16 patients are alive, while eight have died. Several neurologic and non-neurologic complications have been observed during the follow-up of the patients. The common challenges of MSUD management in a low-resource setting identified in this study were late diagnosis, lack of access to metabolic specialists and medical supplies, nosocomial septicemia, and protein deficiency. Aside from early properly timed collection, improvement in other logistical concerns will also help in earlier diagnosis. Mechanisms of transfer of critically ill patients must be improved. Hospitals in difficult-to-reach areas must be equipped to handle critical metabolic cases when transfers are not possible. Newborn screening has been proven to improve outcome in patients with MSUD but the success of the program in preventing disability is also dependent on improvements in other aspects of healthcare.

Yield Evaluation of Brassica rapa, Lactuca sativa, and Brassica integrifolia Using Image Processing in an IoT-Based Aquaponics with Temperature-Controlled Greenhouse

Abstract: The paper introduced the development of a self-sustainable smart aquaponics system in a temperature-controlled greenhouse with a monitoring and automatic correction system using an Android device through the Internet of Things (IoT) and plant growth monitoring system through image processing using Raspberry Pi. The system involves the acquiring of real-time data detected by the light intensity sensor, and air temperature and humidity sensor. It also includes the monitoring of the pH level and temperature of the recirculating water of the system. If the acquired data is not within the threshold range, the correcting devices, namely grow lights, exhaust and inlet fans, evaporative cooler, aerator, and peristaltic buffer device were automatically triggered by the system to correct and achieve its normal status. The internet remote access includes the effective wireless transmission and reception of data reports between the system and an Android unit with the Android application in real-time. The study focused on the evaluation of two experimental set-ups comparing the plant growth between conventional soil-based farming and the smart aquaponics system using image processing. After data gathering, results showed that the smart aquaponics set-up successfully produced a yield better than the conventional farming set-up.

Extracellular vesicles from maternal uterine cells exposed to risk factors cause fetal inflammatory response.

Abstract: Background Fetal cell-derived exosomes (extracellular vesicles, 40-160 nm) are communication channels that can signal parturition by inducing inflammatory changes in maternal decidua and myometrium. Little is known about maternal cell-derived exosomes and their functional roles on the fetal side. This study isolated and characterized exosomes from decidual and myometrial cells grown under normal and inflammatory/oxidative stress conditions and determined their impact on fetal membrane cells. Methods Decidual and myometrial cells were grown under standard culture conditions (control) or exposed for 48 h to cigarette smoke extract or tumor necrosis factor-α, as proxies for oxidative stress and inflammation, respectively. Exosomes were isolated from media (differential ultra-centrifugation followed by size exclusion chromatography), quantified (nano particle tracking analysis), and characterized in terms of their size and morphology (cryo-electron microscopy), markers (dot blot), and cargo contents (proteomics followed by bioinformatics analysis). Maternal exosomes (109/mL) were used to treat amnion epithelial cells and chorion trophoblast cells for 24 h. The exosome uptake by fetal cells (confocal microscopy) and the cytokine response (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α) was determined. Results Exosomes from both decidual and myometrial cells were round and expressed tetraspanins and endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) protein markers. The size and quantity was not different between control and treated cell exosomes. Proteomic analysis identified several common proteins in exosomes, as well as unique proteins based on cell type and treatment. Compared to control exosomes, pro-inflammatory cytokine release was higher in both amnion epithelial cell and chorion trophoblast cell media when the cells had been exposed to exosomes from decidual or myometrial cells treated with either cigarette smoke extract or tumor necrosis factor-α. In chorion trophoblast cells, anti-inflammatory IL-10 was increased by exosomes from both decidual and myometrial cells. Conclusion Various pathophysiological conditions cause maternal exosomes to carry inflammatory mediators that can result in cell type dependent fetal inflammatory response. Video Abstract.