Background: The Philippines is experiencing one of the fastest-growing HIV epidemics in the Western Pacific region, with Cebu City among the most affected urban centers. However, localized forecasting studies remain limited, constraining evidence-based public health planning and resource allocation. This study aims to develop and evaluate an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model for forecasting monthly HIV incidence in Cebu City. Methods: Monthly HIV surveillance data from January 2022 to March 2025 were analyzed using time-series forecasting. Candidate ARIMA models were assessed using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), parameter significance, residual diagnostics, and out-of-sample forecasting accuracy. Results: ARIMA (0,1,1) demonstrated the best predictive performance, achieving a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 25.04% and outperforming Naïve, Simple Moving Average, and Exponential Smoothing models. Forecasts for April to December 2025 project monthly HIV cases to increase from 33 to 36. Although forecasts suggest a persistent rise in HIV incidence, widening confidence intervals indicate greater uncertainty over longer forecasting horizons. Conclusion: The projected increase in HIV incidence signals a continuing public health challenge in Cebu City. ARIMA-based forecasting provides a practical decision-support tool for anticipating disease trends and informing surveillance, targeted prevention, and healthcare resource allocation.
Background: The construction industry is a major contributor to global carbon emissions and resource depletion. Although sustainable construction materials (SCMs) support climate mitigation and circular development, implementation-related research remains less explored despite advances in material innovation and laboratory validation. Methods: This study employed a bibliometric analysis of SCM research indexed in Lens.org from 2010 to 2025. Bibliometric mapping and performance analyses were conducted using Biblioshiny/Bibliometrix (R package) and VOSviewer to examine publication trends, collaboration networks, citation structures, and thematic evolution. Results: A total of 9,601 eligible records were analyzed. SCM research expanded rapidly, with a 23.95% annual growth rate, an average document age of 4.94 years, and 22.38 citations per document. Research outputs were led by China, the United States, Australia, India, and the United Kingdom. Influential journals and studies focused on geopolymers, alkali-activated materials, recycled aggregates, fly ash, durability, and low-carbon cement alternatives. Keyword co-occurrence and thematic analyses highlighted compressive strength, microstructure, durability, geopolymers, and circular economy, while regulation, standardization, scalability, and industry adoption remained underexplored. Conclusion: SCM research has expanded rapidly but remains dominated by studies of material performance and sustainability. Implementation-related themes remain underrepresented, indicating an imbalance between material innovation and practical deployment in the construction sector.
Background: Vlogging has become a dominant form of digital expression. However, the meaning of becoming a vlogger, particularly how identity is constructed and negotiated within algorithmic spaces, remains underexplored among emerging Filipino content creators in Southern Philippines. Methods: This study employed an interpretative phenomenological approach to examine the experiences of 10 emerging vloggers from diverse occupational and content backgrounds. Data were gathered through multimodal interviews and online form responses, based on a common interview guide, and analyzed using idiographic engagement and thematic integration. A theme-excerpt matrix supported analytic transparency. Results: Three interrelated themes emerged. First, motivations included emotional coping, recognition and social validation, financial aspirations to help others, and self-rediscovery. Second, challenges involved platform constraints, role conflict, burnout, technological barriers, and public criticism. Third, identity construction reflected negotiations of authenticity, performance for visibility, and adaptation to algorithmic demands. Conclusion: Becoming a vlogger signifies inhabiting a layered identity – sincere yet staged, personal yet continually reshaped by platform demands. Through dramaturgical and uses and gratifications lenses, vlogging emerged as identity work and meaning-making that fulfill emotional, social, and economic needs. The study theorizes vlogging as dramaturgical identity work embedded in platform economies, enriching scholarship on digital labor, identity, and authenticity.
Background: Higher education institutions (HEIs) must manage change amid technological developments, quality assurance expectations, institutional accountability, and shifting stakeholder expectations. In a Philippine provincial setting, employees’ awareness of these practices reveals how the administration communicates, demonstrates, and implements change management in their institutions. Methods: This study employed a quantitative cross-sectional descriptive-comparative design supplemented by exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Examines change management practices among administrators, faculty members, and non-teaching staff from five HEIs in Southern Leyte, Philippines. Kotter’s Change Model served as the framework. This study was participated in by 392 respondents. Results: Change management was observed to a moderate extent (M = 3.14). Among the factors, increased urgency and creating short-term wins have the highest mean scores (M = 3.17 each), while empowering action (M = 3.08) has the lowest. Administrators rated more favorably on several factors than the faculty members. Exploratory factor analysis showed three thematic areas: "Establishing the Foundation for Change"; "Driving Momentum through Communication and Early Wins"; "Sustaining and Embedding Change." Conclusion: Change management evidently was practiced in these HEIs. However, these were not felt uniformly across different organizational roles. Results highlight the need for role-specific communications and meaningful participation in change administration.
Background: Most people recognize exercise as a central strategy in chronic disease management; however, the global structure and evolution of research in this field remain insufficiently understood. This study presents a scientometric analysis of 14,517 peer-reviewed articles indexed in Scopus from 1938 to 2024 to examine publication trends, intellectual structure, collaboration networks, and thematic evolution within the Exercise-is-Medicine paradigm and integrated care. Methods: Bibliometric methods using Bibliometrix (R) and VOSviewer were applied to analyze citation patterns, co-authorship linkages, and keyword co-occurrence. Results: Results demonstrate sustained growth in research output, with strong concentration in high-income countries, reflecting persistent global inequalities in knowledge production and influence. Citation structures are predominantly anchored in cardiovascular and respiratory clinical guidelines, indicating disciplinary dominance that shapes research priorities and standards. Core themes remain focused on pulmonary rehabilitation and cardiometabolic conditions. At the same time, emerging areas such as digital health, self-management, and primary care integration signal a shift toward implementation-oriented and population-health approaches. These trends indicate a transition from clinically bound rehabilitation models to more integrated care frameworks. Conclusion: Strengthening global collaboration and advancing scalable, system-level implementation strategies are essential to ensure equitable integration of exercise into healthcare systems worldwide.
Background: Precision agriculture has continued to grow as modern farming uses data to manage resources and improve crop yields. This research aims to improve the efficiency of modern agricultural approaches by providing innovative data analysis for effective and sustainable irrigation management. Methods: The ensemble of a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) and an RF is performed using logistic regression as a learner. This ensemble model is used for crop prediction. The study encompasses various databases, including crop and nutrient mapping, sustainable irrigation datasets, and IoT sensor datasets with real-time records of soil moisture, temperature, and other relevant parameters. Results: The research achieved an ensemble model accuracy of 99. 34%, greater than the traditional technique in terms of precision and time efficiency. Conclusion: By leveraging IoT sensor data, this research improves the accuracy and proactivity of agricultural business practices and, therefore, supports the efficient use of agricultural resources.
Background: Current approaches to tackle plastic pollution have significant environmental drawbacks. Biodegradation offers an eco-friendly alternative. Although there is ample literature on the environmental impacts of plastic pollution, a gap exists in studies addressing perceptions and behavioural determinants of willingness to pay (WTP) for biodegradation to mitigate plastic pollution. Methods: This study employs the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical programme focused on the “Biodegradation of plastic waste," and the binary logistic regression model to identify significant and dominant factors associated with the WTP. Results: The WTP estimate, from a sample size of 455, is found to be Bangladeshi taka (BDT) 100 (approximately $0.83) per month. Furthermore, people would have been more willing to pay if they had understood biodegradation, had higher education, resided in smaller households, had confidence in biodegradation as a pollution reduction tool, and felt that improved biodegradation was necessary. The marginal effects indicate that awareness and perceptions of plastic pollution management are the most influential factors in WTP. Conclusion: These findings underscore the significant influence of awareness on individuals' WTP. The estimated WTP derived from the CVM offers stakeholders valuable insights to foster a reduced plastic footprint.
Background: Global university rankings have become an increasingly crucial metric for measuring the quality and performance of universities. This study analyzed the interrelationships among the criteria used in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, identifying underlying patterns across the five criteria: teaching, research, citations, industry income, and international outlook, using data from 1,799 universities across 104 countries. Methods: The study utilized association rule mining with WEKA's Apriori algorithm to identify non-random, co-occurring patterns among the ranking criteria, using preprocessed data from the publicly available THE 2023 ranking of institutions as high- or non-high-performing. Pearson correlation was also used to assess linear relationships among the criteria. Results: Correlation analysis showed positive correlations among all the criteria. Interestingly, Apriori results identified an international outlook as a key factor associated with high citation performance. Strong bidirectional association rules indicate that internationally oriented universities are substantially more likely to achieve high research visibility. Additional rules reveal that a strong international outlook and high citation performance co-occur among institutions that do not necessarily have strong teaching ratings. Conclusion: While teaching and research remain critical for institutional quality, strong international linkages are closely associated with greater global visibility and research impact amongst highly ranked universities.
Background: A hydraulic ram pump is a sustainable technology that can be a good alternative to pumps powered by electricity or diesel fuel. However, various ram pumps are commercially available in the market, ranging from small-scale to large-scale.Methods: This study employed a Life-Cycle Cost Analysis for six selected ram pumps in its economic evaluation at one-, five-, and ten-year periods, respectively. It also used a sensitivity analysis to determine the confidence level for interest rates in recurring and residual values across all evaluation periods. Results: The evaluation shows that small-scale ram pumps may appeal to consumers during the one year due to their low market price and initial project cost. Further evaluations also reveal that small-scale ram pumps surpass the cost investment of large-scale ram pumps in the five and ten-year evaluations because of higher expenses related to maintenance, material replacements, and services. The sensitivity analysis also confirmed that the data calculations have a high confidence level in all evaluation periods.Conclusion: Thus, the study concluded that the uncertainty level is low, and the economic evaluation can serve as a good basis for consumers when purchasing hydraulic ram pumps, considering the sustainable investment cost over an extended period of operation.
Background: Advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) have introduced new possibilities in democratizing access to professional services. Malaysia's non-Muslims can rely on AI-driven tools to draft their wills without legal assistance, but empirical evaluations of LLM chatbots' reliability are absent.Methods: Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model, this study assesses the accuracy, legal validity, comprehensibility, and reliability of five prominent LLM chatbots, namely ChatGPT 3.5, ChatGPT 4.0, Claude Sonnet, Gemini Pro, and Microsoft Copilot.Results: ChatGPT 4.0 consistently outperformed other models across all complexity levels in succession and drafting-related question tasks, showing the highest reliability and accuracy. Gemini Pro performed well for introductory and intermediate queries, particularly in drafting simple wills. In contrast, Copilot and Claude Sonnet exhibited high variability and struggled with complex queries. Across all chatbots, performance declined significantly with increased query complexity. Qualitative assessment reveals inconsistencies, misinterpretations, and occasional legal inaccuracies, particularly when prompts contain incomplete information.Conclusion: While specific LLM chatbots, particularly ChatGPT 4.0, demonstrate potential as reliable tools for basic estate planning, their limitations in handling complex legal instructions underscore the need for caution. By shedding light on the role of AI in legal contexts, this research significantly enriched both scholarly and practical dialogues, enhancing our understanding of AI’s potential to revolutionize the legal landscape, particularly in estate planning.
Background: While Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) learning models are increasingly adopted in higher education, sustaining students’ continued engagement, particularly in STEM programs, remains a critical challenge. This study investigates the factors influencing STEM students' intention to continue using Tri-X, Mapúa University's Hyflex learning system, which enables in-person, online, and asynchronous participation. Methods: A quantitative research design was adopted, involving 600 STEM students enrolled in Tri-X. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was employed to assess the relationships among key determinants and analyze their impact on students' sustained use of the modality. Results: Findings showed that information quality (β = 0.415, p < 0.001) and institutional support (β = 0.261, p = 0.023) significantly influenced perceived performance. Access to technology strongly predicts expectations (β = 0.528, p < 0.001) and also affects perceived performance (β = 0.174, p = 0.029). Perceived performance substantially predicts confirmation (β = 0.794, p<0.001), which enhances satisfaction (β = 0.455, p<0.001). Satisfaction is a strong driver of continuance intention (β = 0.745, p<0.001). Overall, the model explains 55.5% of the variance in students’ intention to continue using Tri-X. Conclusion: The study extends Expectation-Confirmation Theory to HyFlex learning, emphasizing confirmation and satisfaction as key mediators. Practical implications underscore the necessity of high-quality content, robust institutional support, and equitable access to technology to sustain engagement in technology-enhanced learning environments.
Background: Technology has reshaped healthcare delivery, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, by providing faster, safer, and more accessible alternatives to in-person care. However, there is limited evidence on the factors and behavioral drivers of e-health adoption in Pakistan. This study investigates the factors influencing switching intentions among healthcare users in Islamabad, Pakistan. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 930 healthcare service users in Islamabad, Pakistan. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Results: The findings revealed that the push factors of inconvenience (0.251) and perceived risk (-0.221) and the mooring factors of trust (0.442) and switching cost (− 0.211) were significantly associated with switching intentions (p< 0.05), whereas the pull factors of ubiquitous care and opportunity for alternatives had no significant relationship with the switching intentions of healthcare service users. Conclusion: The study concludes that inconvenience with traditional hospital services, risk perceptions, trust in e-services, and perceived switching costs are key drivers of e-health adoption in Islamabad. These findings underscore the need for user-centered digital health strategies that address both infrastructural and behavioral concerns to accelerate equitable healthcare transformation in the new era of technological development.
Background: Magnetite nanoparticles are widely used in DNA extraction due to their magnetic properties. Co-precipitation is a commonly used synthesis method, yet the influence of specific synthesis parameters on DNA extraction performance remains unexplored. Methods: This study investigated a factorial design to evaluate the effects of temperature, pH, and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) ratio on DNA extraction performance, measured by yield and purity. Magnetite was synthesized under various conditions, and DNA was extracted and analyzed for quantity and quality, including PCR amplifiability using a 16S rRNA primer. Results: Among the parameters tested, only the TEOS ratio significantly influenced DNA yield and purity, while temperature and pH showed no significant effects. The optimal conditions identified were 25 °C, pH 10, and a TEOS ratio of 0.25, yielding the highest DNA quality, which could be successfully amplified using PCR. Conclusion: These findings suggest that while co-precipitation is robust, further optimization of the TEOS ratio could enhance DNA extraction efficiency. Future research should explore additional factors influencing magnetite’s DNA extraction capabilities.
Background: Learner engagement is a critical factor in educational success. It reflects the depth of students’ involvement in learning activities and is shaped by both individual and contextual factors within the classroom. Given its multifaceted nature, engagement poses definitional and analytical challenges. This paper explores the dimensions and manifestations of engagement by analyzing its phases in classroom activities. Methods: Adopting a multilayered analysis, we employed Dimensions of Engagement and Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis to analyze two video extracts of kindergarten classroom interactions. We examined how engagement is manifested by different dimensions and how it develops dynamically through verbal and non-verbal interactions. Results: Findings reveal that the type of instructional inputs learners receive influences the dimensions of their engagement. Additionally, engagement is not a single-dimensional construct; rather, it is manifested by learners in an overlapping and interconnected manner where different forms of engagement (e.g., behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) interact progressively. Conclusion: This study contributes to a deeper understanding of learner engagement in early childhood education by highlighting its temporal and multimodal nature, with an emphasis on the role of instructional inputs and classroom interactions in shaping engagement over time.
Background: There is an increasing need for the exploration of alternative sources of antimicrobial agents as a result of the increasing prevalence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens. Bacillus species from diverse soil samples were isolated within Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria. Methods: Six different Bacillus isolates were identified based on cultural, morphological, and biochemical characteristics: P. polymyxa, B. subtilis, B. cereus, B. pumilus, B. megaterium, and B. licheniformis. Antibacterial activities of these isolates were assessed using agar well diffusion against clinically isolated pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results: Results showed that B. licheniformis showed the broadest spectrum with zones of inhibition of (23. 0 ± 0.8 mm) against S. aureus and (14. 0 ± 0.6 mm) against P. aeruginosa. B. subtilis likewise displayed extremely potent inhibitory action against S. aureus (19. 0 ± 1.0 mm) and P. aeruginosa (21. 0 ± 0.7 mm). On the other hand, B. cereus and P. polymyxa displayed moderate activity while B. megaterium and B. pumilus showed little to no zone of inhibition against some of the pathogens. Conclusion: These findings highlight soil-borne Bacillus species as promising candidates for novel antimicrobial drug discovery with potential contributions to addressing the global challenge of antibiotic resistance.
Background: Coconut sugar is a traditional product widely consumed in Indonesia, including by the Javanese community of Somongari. Despite its importance, the knowledge of coconut sugar production in Somongari remains undocumented, as it is passed down primarily through oral tradition. This study seeks to explore the traditional coconut sugar-making practices of the Somongari Javanese community from an ethnobiological perspective. Methods: This study employed a field exploration approach in Somongari Village, Indonesia, incorporating interviews, observation, and documentation. Twenty-four informants, comprising twenty sugar makers and four key informants, were interviewed. Results: Coconut sugar is produced from the sap of coconut flowers (sajeng) and is cooked until thickened and molded. The natural remedy used in the production of coconut sugar is laru. Laru comprises enjet (limestone) and lathi manggis (sap of mangosteens). The manufacturing process utilizes traditional tools and techniques, comprising three stages: ndewan (coconut sap collection), genen (cooking the coconut sap until it thickens), and nitis (molding the coconut sap). Conclusion: The indigenous knowledge of coconut sugar production embodies the close relationship between biodiversity and cultural heritage. The utilization of local plants contributes to both the production and consumption values, highlighting the need to preserve this practice through documentation and integration into educational and community learning to sustain ecological and cultural values.
Background: Macrofungi serve essential ecological functions as decomposers, nutrient recyclers, and symbionts; however, their diversity across many regions of the Philippines remains insufficiently documented. In Biliran Province, researchers have conducted only limited surveys to record local macrofungal species. This study aimed to document the macroscopic fungi present in Barangay Iyusan, Almeria, Biliran, and to develop a taxonomic checklist that contributes to the province's growing inventory of macrofungi. Methods: This investigation involved field sampling across different microhabitats, and specimens were described and identified based on their macroscopic characteristics using standard taxonomic keys. The team conducted classification following established hierarchies at the order, family, genus, and species levels. Results: Overall, 169 macrofungal specimens were documented, comprising seven orders, 19 families, 34 genera, and 69 species. Of these, 28 were identified to genus level and 41 to species level. Agaricales was dominant, with Marasmiellus, Marasmius, Lycoperdon, Delicatula, and Mycena distributed across substrates including wood, leaf litter, twigs, soil, and manure. Conclusion: The study highlights the rich yet understudied macrofungal diversity of Biliran Province, emphasizing the need for further systematic surveys to enhance the Philippines' mycological database.
Contemporary systemic disruptions in finance, supply chains, ecological regimes, governance and critical infrastructure often appear sudden, yet they usually reflect long periods of hidden stress, declining resilience, and structural weakening beneath surface stability. This paper uses the logic of thermodynamic phase change as a disciplined metaphor for interpreting how modern social systems accumulate latent pressures, maintain metastability, and cross thresholds into rapid reconfiguration. Drawing on research in complexity, resilience, and tipping‑point dynamics, the framework identifies recurring features of systemic transitions: the slow erosion of buffers, weakening recovery capacity, and abrupt shifts that occur once critical boundaries are exceeded. Case analyses illustrate both the value and the limits of the analogy, particularly regarding agency, distributional effects, and political context. The paper then develops policy implications centered on buffering, modularity, early warning signals, adaptive governance, and the efficiency‑resilience trade-off. An ethical analysis examines how metaphors influence responsibility and intervention. While the phase‑change lens does not predict specific events, it offers a structured approach for recognising fragility and supporting governance that can absorb stress, anticipate thresholds, and adapt without disproportionate harm.
Background: Bats (Chiroptera) are well-known reservoirs of zoonotic infectious diseases, such as SARS-CoV-2, EBOV, and others, that have caused pandemics and pose challenges to modern society. Bats, being a global species, could pose a threat to human life, domestic animals, agricultural livestock, and wildlife due to environmental spillovers and cross-transmission. Methods: Multiple sequence alignments (MSA) on the nucleotide and protein segment sequences of bat influenza A virus (BIV), including H9N2, H17N10, and H18N11, were performed. Phylogenetic and sequence identity analysis further supported the comparative analysis in the study. Results: The internal gene cassette comprising the polymerase complex (PB2, PB1, PA), nucleoprotein (NP), and matrix protein (MP) demonstrates remarkable conservation across diverse viral lineages. However, the surface glycoproteins, neuraminidase (NA) and hemagglutinin (HA), exhibit high variability. Conclusion: Conserved sequences suggest potential primer designs for detection and serve as targets for long-term vaccines and antivirals, while highly mutated sequences may serve as seasonal targets. Addressing bat-borne diseases is crucial for both human health, environmental sustainability, and animal health, as it helps mitigate the risk of transmission for infectious diseases. However, experimental studies are still needed to pave the way for the clinical use of a possible vaccine target against the bat influenza virus.
