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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

The DAMA/LIBRA experiment (∼ 250 kg of highly radio-pure NaI(Tl)) is running deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the I.N.F.N. Here we briefly recall the results obtained in its first phase of measurements (DAMA/LIBRA–phase1; total exposure: 1.04 ton × yr). DAMA/LIBRA–phase1 and the former DAMA/NaI (cumulative exposure: 1.33 ton × yr) give evidence at 9.3 σ C.L. for the presence of DM particles in the galactic halo by exploiting the model-independent DM annual modulation signature. No systematic or side reaction able to mimic the exploited DM signature has been found or suggested by anyone over more than a decade. At present DAMA/LIBRA–phase2 is running with increased sensitivity.

The DAMA project develops and uses new/improved low background scintillation detectors to investigate the Dark Matter (DM) particle component(s) in the galactic halo and rare processes deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the I.N.F.N.. Here some highlights of DAMA/LIBRA (Large sodium Iodide Bulk for Rare processes) as a unique apparatus in direct DM investigation for its full sensitive mass, target material, intrinsic radio-purity, methodological approach and all the controls performed on the experimental parameters are outlined. The DAMA/LIBRA–phase1 and the former DAMA/NaI data (cumulative exposure 1.33 ton × yr, corresponding to 14 annual cycles) have reached a model-independent evidence at 9.3 σ C.L. for the presence of DM particles in the galactic halo exploiting the DM annual modulation signature with highly radio-pure NaI(Tl) target. Some of the perspectives of the presently running DAMA/LIBRA–phase2 are summarised and the powerful tools offered by a model independent strategy of DM investigation are pointed out.

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.

The results obtained with the total exposure of 1.04 ton × yr collected by DAMA/LIBRA–phase1 deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the I.N.F.N. during 7 annual cycles are summarized. The DAMA/LIBRA–phase1 and the former DAMA/NaI data (cumulative exposure 1.33 ton × yr, corresponding to 14 annual cycles) give evidence at 9.3 σ C.L. for the presence of Dark Matter (DM) particles in the galactic halo, on the basis of the exploited model independent DM annual modulation signature by using highly radio-pure NaI(Tl) target. No systematic or side reaction able to mimic the exploited DM signature has been found or suggested by anyone over more than a decade. The same data of DAMA/LIBRA–phase1 have also been analyzed searching for possible DM second-order diurnal effect; at present, the DM diurnal modulation amplitude – expected because of the Earth diurnal motion – evaluated on the basis of the DAMA Dark Matter annual modulation results is below the reached experimental sensitivity. Some of the perspectives of the presently running DAMA/LIBRA–phase2 are outlined.

The results obtained with the total exposure of 1.04 ton × yr collected by DAMA/LIBRA–phase1 deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) of the I.N.F.N. during 7 annual cycles are briefly summarized. The DAMA/LIBRA–phase1 and the former DAMA/NaI data (cumulative exposure 1.33 ton × yr, corresponding to 14 annual cycles) give evidence at 9.3 σ C.L. for the presence of Dark Matter (DM) particles in the galactic halo, on the basis of the exploited model independent DM annual modulation signature by using highly radio-pure NaI(Tl) target. The modulation parameters are well in agreement with those expected for DM particles. No systematic or side reaction able to mimic the exploited DM signature has been found or suggested by anyone over more than a decade. Some of the perspectives of the presently running DAMA/LIBRA–phase2 are outlined.

An experiment to search for double beta processes in 106Cd by using cadmium tungstate crystal scintillator enriched in 106Cd (106CdWO4) in coincidence with the four crystals HPGe detector GeMulti is in progress at the STELLA facility of the Gran Sasso underground laboratory of INFN (Italy). The 106CdWO4 scintillator is viewed by a low-background photomultiplier tube through a lead tungstate crystal light-guide produced from deeply purified archaeological lead to suppress γ quanta from the photomultiplier tube. Here we report the first results of the experiment after 3233 hours of the data taking. A few new improved limits on double beta processes in 106Cd are obtained, in particular T1/22νεβ+ ≥ 8.4 × 1020 yr at 90% C.L.

Cadmium tungstate crystal scintillators enriched in 116Cd to 82% (116CdWO4, total mass of ≈1.2kg) are used to search for 2β decay of 116Cd deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the INFN (Italy). The radioactive contamination of the116CdWO4 crystals has been studied carefully to reconstruct the background of the detector. The measured half-life of 116Cd relatively to 2ν2β decay is T1/22ν2β = [2.8 ± 0.05(stat.) ± 0.4(syst.)] × 1019 yr, in agreement with the results of previous experiments. The obtained limit on the 0ν2β decay of 116Cd (considering the data of the last 8696 h run with an advanced background 0.12(2) counts/yr/kg/keV in the energy interval 2.7−2.9 MeV) is T1/2 ≥ 1.0 × 1023 yr at 90% C.L. The sensitivity of the experiment to the 0ν2β process is lim T1/2 = 3 × 1023 yr at 90% C.L. over 5 years of the measurements and it can be advanced (by further reduction of the background by a factor 3−30) to the level of lim T1/2 = (0.5-1.5) × 1024 yr for the same period of the data taking.

Radiopure ZnWO4 crystal scintillators with mass (0.1–0.7 kg) have been developed and put inmeasurement in the Gran Sasso National Laboratories of the INFN to search for rare processes. The radioactive contamination of the crystals have been estimated and the double beta decay of zinc and tungsten isotopes was searched for, reaching a sensitivity at the level of 1018−1021 yr; in addition a new half-life limit on alpha transition of 183W to the metastable excited level of 179Hf has also been obtained. The achieved radiopurity of the ZnWO4 crystals make them very promising detectors for ββ decay investigations while their anisotropic features make them very interesting detectors to investigate dark matter particles directionality.

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.

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.

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 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.