The featured guests of Tuklas UPLB in July showed that UPLB remains true to its mission to serve the public through its research and extension activities, especially during this pandemic. They discussed the role and applications of mathematics in improving the government’s response to COVID-19, and the potential of edible landscaping technology toward food self-sufficiency of Filipinos.
Category: COVID 19-RELATED RESPONSE
The Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies (DBSES) and Department of Food Science and Technology (DFST) and the Department of Humanities (DH) of UP Mindanao in partnership with the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) Mindanao put forward a public service program for Mindanao researchers and collaborators through research assistance coupled with technical support on species identification. The sets of data generated from this research may contribute to a broad range of applications from taxonomy, biodiversity conservation programs, and opportunities for bio-economy in Mindanao that can significantly help Philippine biodiversity.
Edible landscaping is gaining importance as rising food prices, food nutrition and food security remain major pressing issues today, said Fernando Sanchez Jr., professor and project leader of the UPLB-CAFS Edible Landscaping unit. Currently, approximately two out of three Filipino households experience food insecurity, he cited.
Sanchez said edible landscaping aims to achieve the four goals of aesthetics, functionality, health and wellness, and self-sufficiency. “With edible landscaping, we can establish attractive and functional spaces.”
The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), University of The Philippines-Manila (UPM), and Fondazione Italiana Fegato (FIF) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) seeking to develop and promote scientific and technological cooperation on translational hetapology through joint research and development, grant of scholarships and research fellowships, and exchange of scientists, experts and researchers for studies, and training.
The clinical trial on tawa-tawa (Euphorbia hirta) as a potential adjunctive treatment for mild and moderate cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is nearing completion, according to Dr. Philip Ian Padilla, vice chancellor for academic affairs of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV).
Padilla, a professor of Microbiology, is the principal investigator of the trial – a collaborative effort of UPV, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City, Philippine Red Cross-Manila, and Quezon Institute.
The UP-PGH clinical trials on VCO had been given the green light by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June last year at the height of the pandemic lockdowns in the country. Recruitment and enrollment of participants, however, started only last November.
The R&D study is one of four funded by the DOST to back up claims of the medicinal benefits of VCO especially in curing COVID-19.
SIBOL is UPOU’s program under the European Union-funded “Advancing Equity and Access to Higher Education through Open and Distance Learning” or BUKA project. It aims to build a network of institutions that shall form the core of zonal open and distance learning centers in the Philippines.
“The SIBOL program aims to establish a surgical innovation laboratory for the conduct of researches and projects in a surgical device innovation in the UP College of Medicine and the PGH as well as a surgical innovation skills laboratory that will serve as a pre-clinical trial laboratory for investigational surgical devices,” he said.
He cited that the scientists and engineers from UP Diliman were also involved in the program.
Under the program, the Surgical Innovation and Biotechnology Laboratory or SIBOL Laboratory will be established. It will be located on the 9th floor of the new Henry Sy, Sr. Medical Sciences Building of UP Manila, which is currently under construction.
De la Peña said the program is also expected to increase the capacity of clinicians and surgical device innovation researchers and become a premier hub for surgical device innovation researches and projects.
Recent years have seen marked changes in terms of young Filipinos’ health, values, and behavior. These include technological and cultural breakthroughs, new forms of engagements, and more prominently, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic—to which young people have been forced to adapt their lives in many ways.
To probe these trends and issues faced by today’s youth, the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) has involved a wide range of stakeholders in developing the design and tools of the 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS5), the fifth in a series of nationwide cross-sectional studies on the Filipino youth.
In line with the Teacher Development agenda, Open Education Week 2021 was held last 1 to 5 March 2021. To celebrate, UPOU lined up activities such as OPEN Talk, the new magazine program that was launched last 3 March 2021. OPEN Talk is broadcasted real-time over the UPOU Networks website and UPOU Networks Facebook page every other Wednesday at 6-7 PM. Another activity that was highlighted during the Open Education Week 2021 was the promotion of the availability of the Open Educational Resources (OER) available via the UPOU Networks as well. Both programs and activities are free of charge for the public viewership.