Survey of arthropods associated with cattle fever ticks (Rhipicephalus microplus) (Acari: Ixodidae) in Batangas Province, Philippines

With increasing concerns regarding environmental safety, rise in cost of chemical controls, potential resistance of ticks to acaricides, and transmission of several pathogens to humans, the use of biological control agents (BCA) is important in the management of cattle fever tick (CFT), Rhipicephalus microplus. A preliminary survey of the BCAs of R. microplus was done in Padre Burgos, Batangas Province, Philippines to identify arthropods with possible association with cattle fever ticks using the sweep net technique, yellow pan trap, sticky trap, and pitfall trap as collection methods. Engorged R. microplus were collected from the ears, neck, dewlap, and flank of cattle at the livestock auction market. Majority of the ticks were used as bait attached to the different collecting traps to attract BCAs. A total of 4,542 arthropods were collected and predominantly in the orders Diptera, Hymenoptera, Thysanoptera, Homoptera, and Hemiptera. The use of BCAs for tick management in the Philippines is relatively new and is primarily in its research phase. More extensive survey will be done to explore additional BCAs of CFT in the Philippines. The discovery of the BCA of CFT will help in the control of CFT in the Philippines and other countries where this pest is a major problem in livestock. © Rushing Water Publishers Ltd. 2019

Cross sectional study on the academic performance of regular first year medical students of AY 2017-2018 of De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute who are residing in and outside of dormitories

The cross-sectional study of a student\u27s living condition and their General Weighted Average are substantially in the field of medicine, specifically for parents and/or students that are indecisive and still at lost by the pros and cons of living in a dormitory. The sample population was regular first year medical students of DLSMHSI that finished and passed A.Y. 2017-2018. Students who failed any subjects during the previous years and who have filed for a leave of absence were excluded in the study. The sampling technique that was utilized was purposive sampling wherein the students from the whole population who fulfill the researchers\u27 criteria were included in the study. Students were asked for their student ID numbers and whether they were dormers and non-dormers. Data were gathered using a questionnaire and was analyzed through Spearman\u27s Correlation Coefficient and Prevalence RAtio. Among the 220 first year regular medical students AY 2017-2018, 164 (74.55%) are residing in dormitories and 56 (25.45%) are not. Moreover, among theses 220 students, 64 (29.09%) had an average academic performance and 156 (70.91%) had an above average. Using both Prevalence Ratio and Spearman\u27s Correlation Coefficient is -00498, which is close to zero, thereby, indicating that there is no association between the two variables. On the other hand, the computed prevalence ratio was 1.1154, which indicate that there was an association between two variables, however, the increase was not significant. This reveals that the living conditions and the academic performance of the first-year regular medical students have no association and are independent for each other