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The promotion of resilience among young people is essential to maintain a healthy mental state. Resilient individuals withstand better life stressors, such as poverty, health problems, or family conflict. They avoid responding to unfavorable circumstances with negative behaviours, such as violence and substance abuse (Cutuli & Herbers, 2018; Shumba, 2010; Werner, 1995). They are more inclined to see problems as opportunities for growth. Positive emotions, such as joy, interest, contentment, and love, are known to foster resilience (Amstadter et al., 2014; Cohn & Fredrickson, 2010; Emmons & Shelton, 2002; Kashdan et al., 2006; Ong et al., 2006). Although prior studies demonstrate that resilient individuals tend to be more grateful and have happier dispositions, the relationship of resilience, gratitude, and happiness has not been sufficiently studied among young people, particularly in collectivist societies, like in Asian countries (Balgiu, 2017; Çerkez, 2017; George & Moolman, 2017; Miljevic-Ridicki et al., 2017; Tecson et al., 2019). As factors initiating the process of resilience require a more thorough investigation, in this short research report, the authors focus on assessing young people's resilience in the Philippines and examine whether gratitude amplifies both happiness and resilience.

We assessed the impact on soft skills in among 60 marine engineering students after completing a 36-month long community service program. A Soft Skills-Graduate Attribute Scale was developed to measure the following outcomes, namely, professional competence, critical thinking skills, communication skills, lifelong learning, social and ethical responsibility, productivity, and interpersonal skills. Our results show that the students who participated regularly in volunteer activities possess significantly higher measures of graduate attributes relating to professional competence, communication skills, and social and ethical responsibility compared to non-regular and first-time volunteers. These specific soft skills were aligned with the expected outcomes based on the program design of the volunteer activities. Our study adds to the growing literature on the value of service-learning programs in higher education as community-oriented programs can potentially result in improving soft skills and cross-cultural competencies of students, especially in the technical fields.

Purpose: This study is designed to create platforms to train students in higher education to be caring and responsible citizens. This is the third academe extension mission that aims to tap into the expertise and its knowledge to help the community. Based on the framework of community empowerment, the researchers measured the long-term impact of a 44-month community extension program in the Philippines. The extension program described in this study was implemented between March 2009 and December 2015 to address the capacity-building needs of a low-income community. This paper highlights some key development activities which includes partnership with local government, training needs assessment through grassroot-level participation and design of practical education-training programs. Methodology: The study follows a descriptive research design. The Community Outcome Scale (COS) was developed to measure perceived knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle of the beneficiaries. Fifty-four community residents were purposively selected based on their attendance to the community-based education and training programs. The ANOVA method with post hoc analysis was employed to determine the differences between perceived knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle among residents stratified according to the degree of completion of the training programs. Findings: There was a moderate improvement in community knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle based on the survey which was performed one-and-a-half years after the completion of the extensions programs. Based on the results, improved long-term outcomes were noted only amongst the regular and occasional participants. Significance: There is an increasing appreciation of the impact of higher education extension in the teaching and learning process as students apply their disciplinary knowledge to help address real-world problems. This work may be of interest to higher education institutions (HEIs) which are designing community extension programs with optimized societal outcomes.

Work values refer to the business ethics and personal work preferences of individuals. Using the Filipino Work Values Scale, we characterised 10 work values of 141 full-time Filipino college students. Interpersonal, intellectual-achievement and occupational work values emerged as the most salient work values among the students. The rest appeared as either "weak" (environmental, material, managerial, religious, organisational and family-centred) or "very weak" (variety). Reflective of family influence over career orientation, some of the work values correlated with parents' educational and professional backgrounds. As student work values are considered to influence long-term career choices and employability, comprehensively characterising work values may be useful in tailoring career counselling interventions that can help improve career pathing and job placements of students.

The first species of the genus Neurigona is described from the Philippines. The diagnosis, description and molecular data based on the partial DNA sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene were documented. The Neurigona species exhibits distinct characteristics, including a subapical dorsal stylus resembling an arista, a peduncle on the seventh abdominal segment, a flat dorsal postcranium, elongated legs devoid of prominent setae or bristles, and a distinctive rectangular bend in wing vein M. Based on the DNA sequence analysis, the unknown species is 90.06% similar to Cyrtona sp. and Neurigona zhejiangensis. However, 10% of its DNA sequences are significantly variable making it a totally different species. The specimen was verified by a dipterist as a species belonging to Genus Neurigona under Family Dolichopodidae. These flies are recognized for their lengthy legs and sizable yellow bodies. The species is named as N. susanrocesae as a tribute to the late Susan Roces, the "Queen of Philippine Movies". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With its high nutritional and bioactive content, bee pollen is recognized as a functional food. However, its composition is highly dependent on a range of factors, such as geographical location. In this research, we used DPPH to determine the antioxidant activity of several stingless bee (Tetragonula biroi) pollen samples sourced from five different areas in the Philippines and compare their phenolic and flavonoid content. Additionally, we compared two extraction methods: maceration (or soaking of samples) for three days and sonication for 30 minutes. Interestingly, our findings show that the phenolic content of bee pollen is weakly associated with antioxidant activity, indicating that other bioactive chemicals may play a more significant part in the antioxidant characteristics of bee pollen. Antioxidant properties based on the DPPH assay of pollen harvested from Calamba are higher compared to other samples from different geographic areas, i.e., Quezon Province, Sorsogon, Laguna, and Albay. When compared to the maceration approach, extracts generated from the sonication process had lower antioxidant activity. These findings suggest that Philippine stingless bee pollen is a potential source of bioactive compounds, and the choice of extraction method and geographic source are significant factors affecting its antioxidant activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The City of Meycauayan is an industrial powerhouse in the Philippines. It is considered as one of the most polluted cities in the developing world on the account of industrial discharges of toxic materials to the environment. This work investigated the sources of the heavy metal pollution in Meycauayan by analyzing soil and sediment samples for heavy metals like Chromium (Cr), Mercury (Hg), Nickel (Ni), and Lead (Pb) together with selected environmental indicators such as Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Organic Matter (TOM), and Total Phosphorus (TP) located along the Meycauayan River. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal components analysis (PCA), and Pearson correlation analysis (CA) were used to identify the sources of the metals. Our results show delineated locations of severe levels of heavy metal pollution downstream of the river because of the concentration of industrial activities. Cr is due to proliferation of tanneries discharging untreated wastewaters to the river. Significant input of Pb and Hg from Pb-acid battery recycling and gold smelting industries were also found. The risk assessments also indicate severe levels of heavy metal pollution in locations where industrial activities are concentrated. Our findings indicate that the heavy metals have similar impacts to K, TN, TOM, and TP in the soil and sediments. Our study shows the serious need to address heavy metal pollution in Meycauayan aside from the ongoing cleanup of solid wastes as part of rehabilitation efforts by the local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenotypic screening in plant breeding is essential for identifying superior mutant lines for ornamental plant variety development. However, the process is tedious and time-consuming involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. To fast-track phenotypic screening, artificial intelligence (AI) presents a promising tool with higher efficiency and minimal standard error in identifying mutant lines for registration. Thus, in this study, an algorithm for classifying novel ornamental plant varieties is proposed. After training a convolutional neural network (CNN) model with the images of radiation mutant BG regale and control, Sansevieria rorida, comparisons of model loss and accuracy were done with Adam, SGD, RMSprop, and Adadelta optimization techniques. Among the optimization techniques, RMSProp achieved the lowest model loss (3.68%), the highest accuracy (98.44%), precision (98.44%), recall (98.39%), and F1-score (98.39 %). In this "proof-of-concept" study on the Philippines' PHP 10 M (equivalent to USD 178,700; PHP 1 = USD 55.96) BG Regale, one of the world's most expensive ornamental plants, we introduce the idea of AI-aided facilitation of large-scale phenotype selection during mutation breeding and varietal screening for SEPOPs (or super-expensive Philippine ornamental plants priced at more than PHP 100,000 per leaf). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA demethylating agents are used to reverse epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressors in cancer therapeutics. Understanding of the molecular and cellular factors involved in DNA demethylation-induced gene desilencing and senescence is still limited. We have tested the involvement of two stress chaperones, Pexl9p and mortalin, in 5-Aza-2' deoxycytidine (5AZA-dC; DNA demethylating agent)-induced senescence. We found that the cells overexpressing these chaperones were highly sensitive to 5AZA-dC, and their partial silencing eliminated 5AZA-dC-induced senescence in human osteosarcoma cells. We demonstrate that these chaperones modulate the demethylation and chromatin remodeling-dependent (as accessed by p[16.sup.INK4A] expression) and remodeling-independent (such as activation of tumor suppressor p53 pathway) senescence response of cells. Furthermore, we found the direct interactions of 5AZA-dC with these chaperones that may alter their functions. We conclude that both mortalin and Pexl9p are important mediators, prognostic indicators, and tailoring tools for 5AZA-dC-induced senescence in cancer cells.

Aging is an inevitable biological phenomenon. Attempts to understand its mechanisms and, consequently, to therapeutically decelerate or even reverse the process are limited by its daunting complexity. Rapid and robust functional genomic tools suited to a wide array of experimental model systems are needed to dissect the interplay of individual genes during aging. In this article, we review principles that transcend the view of RNA, from a molecule merely mediating the flow of genetic information, into a unique molecular tool. In the form of catalytic molecular scissors (ribozymes), antibody-like antagonists (aptamers) and gene silencers (interfering RNAs, RNAi) can be effectively used to dissect biofunctions conserved throughout the evolution. In this review, application of recent RNA tools in aging research is discussed.

Propolis is a natural resinous substance collected by honeybees from buds and exudates of trees. The material has attracted much attention in recent years as a functional food component since it possesses various biological properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidative, and anti-ulcer properties. In this study, the performance of accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) was assessed and compared with varying methods of extraction: soaking (maceration), ultrasonication, and microwave-assisted methods. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and other spectroscopic techniques, such as absorbance and fluorescence, were employed to assess the efficiency in the extraction of natural products. The antioxidant activity and phenolic content of the different extracts were also determined. Results showed samples obtained from the microwave method showed the highest yield in the extraction of bioactive compounds. Although microwave showed the best method in this study, some issues and recommendations on ASE application for extracting natural products from bee propolis were discussed. Given the ease in controlling extraction temperature with ASE, this technique has a great potential to be a better method for extraction of heat-labile natural products from propolis should optimization of conditions for extraction were further performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ayurveda is one of the ancient systems of health care of Indian origin. Roughly translated into "Knowledge of life", it is based on the use of natural herbs and herb products for therapeutic measures to boost physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony and improve quality of life. Although sheltered with long history and high trust, ayurveda principles have not entered laboratories and only a handful of studies have identified pure components and molecular pathways for its life-enhancing effects. In the post-genomic era, genome-wide functional screenings for targets for diseases is the most recent and practical approach. We illustrate here the merger of ayurveda and functional genomics in a systems biology scenario that reveals the pathway analysis of crude and active components and inspire ayurveda practice for health benefits, disease prevention and therapeutics.

There is accumulating evidence suggesting that ACE2, the host cell receptor for the spike (S) protein of the SARS-CoV-2, mediates viral entry and infection, is under epigenetic control. Here, we discuss studies suggesting a nutritional strategy for down-regulating ACE2 expression in tissues of offspring through the phenomenon of maternal epigenomic reprogramming mediated by maternal diet. The "thrifty hypothesis" was first proposed by Hales and Barker, which posits that specific genes are programmed based on early-life experience to promote efficient fat deposition and storage in adulthood. Our analysis of the proposed mechanism for "early life programming" in this paper via nutritional modulation of histone acetylation and DNA methylation goes beyond the physiological consequence of boosting the innate cellular resistance to a viral transmission. During the pandemic, where there is still no specific antiviral drug or a widely disseminated vaccine for COVID-19, we hypothesize that an epigenomic nutrition approach may be a practical approach to help mitigate viral transmission offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]