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This case series reports eight eyes with keratoconus treated with laser implantation of one or two segments of progressive thickness corneal intrastromal ring (PT-ICRS). In this case series, it was evident that the insertion of PT-ICRS induces more pronounced corneal flattening at the thickest point, causing a reduction in distortion (coma) and lower astigmatism, resulting in a remarkable improvement in vision. Compared to the implementation of traditional intrastromal rings, the PT-ICRS variant showed superior results despite the small sample size. However, the same degree of asymmetry enhancement was not observed in cases in which a 330° PT-ICRS was implanted, despite the improvement in visual results when replacing a 320° traditional ring with a 330° PT-ICRS. These conclusions are limited as this is a case series with few cases.

The outbreak of the virus during this pandemic gave so many struggles in the different countries around the world which also shook the world economy. Universities are also affected since the outbreak started which brought changes to the way students live while they are pursuing their degrees in college. This study explored the psychological problems encountered by college students amid the pandemic. The study used descriptive phenomenology as its research design. The researcher invited nine students to participate in the study using purposive sampling. As part of the ethical considerations, the researcher used code names to hide the identity of the participants. Colazzi’s method of analysis was used by the researcher to identify the themes. This study revealed four themes related to students’ psychological problems which are Intense Power of Stress and Pressure, Battling with the spirits of Anxiety and Depression, Living in the Shadow of Death, and Fear of Uncertainty in Life. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends that the universities must actively guide their students by having mental health webinars, and most especially the guidance counselors must follow up with those students who are struggling mentally. The instructors must also give the utmost leniency to help the students cope with the adversities brought by this pandemic. Future researchers may also consider studying the challenges of students academically and their coping mechanisms.

Several studies discovered that private teachers have a higher probability of losing their jobs than public school teachers during the Global Financial Crisis. This appears to be the case in many low- and middle-income countries throughout the current crisis or covid-19 pandemic. This phenomenon is generating a lot of problems, particularly as voiced out by private school teachers in the context of developing countries. This motivates the researcher to investigate and discuss the problems faced by private school teachers in the Philippines in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Specifically, the researcher described their motivation factors teaching in the private school and their challenges during a Covid-19 pandemic. The researcher used a descriptive phenomenological research approach and an in-depth interview. Using purposive sampling, seven (7) participants were selected to participate in the study. To preserve the confidentiality of the research participants, ethical measures were also implemented. The responses of the participants were thematically analyzed using Colaizzi’s methods of descriptive phenomenology. Results revealed 3 themes on the motivation factors: Passion in Teaching, Teaching as a Calling and Promotion in Public School and 5 themes related to challenges which include Financial Constraints, Mental Health Issues, Working beyond Contract, Lack of Teaching Resources and Poor Relationship with the School Heads. Indeed, private teachers are also encountering problems that need to be addressed by the national government. As voiced out by the participants they received nothing from the government as compared to the public teachers during the pandemic. This study recommends that the national government must also look at how to help private teachers who are affected by the pandemic, such as financial assistance. Private school institutions may also consider creating policies to address some issues encountered by their employees.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to notice and manipulate language sounds in their base form (phonemes). It is associated with emerging literacy skills and predictive of skilled reading. The aim of the present study was to investigate phonemic awareness in German and its association with speaking a German-origin, but predominantly unwritten language. We investigated speakers of Hunsrückisch, a Brazilian minority language predominantly used in its spoken form. Participants were literate Brazilian Portuguese speakers who spoke Hunsrückisch and German or Hunsrückisch only. The results show faster, more accurate performance in the phonemic awareness task among participants who spoke Hunsrückisch and German, relative to those who spoke Hunsrückisch only. Participants who spoke Hunsrückisch only were able to perform the phonemic awareness tasks but having learned to read and write in German allowed for faster, more accurate performance, especially in relation to pseudowords.