Bacterial Community Structure, Diversity, and Fertility of Soil with and without Press Mud in Two Sites in Panay, Philippines

Sugarcane farmers commonly use press mud as organic fertilizer to improve the properties of soil and increase crop production. This study compared the effects of press mud on bacterial community structure, bacterial diversity, and physicochemical parameters of sugar mill soil in two sites, the URC Passi Sugar Central and Passi Sugar Central, Inc. both in Panay, Philippines. DNA and soil analyses were conducted to characterize the soil samples with and without press mud from both sites. The results showed that all nutrient contents increased in both areas after press mud application, except in URC Passi Sugar Central, where no increase in phosphorus and sulfur was observed. Bacterial diversity did not significantly increase six months after press mud application. Community pattern results showed that if soil samples within sites were compared, soil with press mud was significantly higher compared to the soil without press mud in terms of OTU richness (Capiz sugar central: 46.00±1.00, 40.00±1.50, respectively; URC Passi Sugar Central: 48.00±0.50, 45.00±0.00, respectively) and carrying capacity (Capiz sugar central: 169±7.36, 125±9.48, respectively; URC Passi Sugar Central: 181±3.80, 162±0.00, respectively) (p0.05). The phylogenetic tree analysis showed that Massilia sp. is closely related to Burkholderia arboris, and Lysobacter sp. is closely related to both Massilia sp.and B. arboris. Generally, press mud application helps increase the available nutrients, diversity, and community patterns in soil, making it good organic fertilizer

Baro, aad caawiside :ensiapuopas somaliyhteisölle

Tämän toiminnallisen opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tuottaa selkeä ensiapuopas, joka on suunnattu somaliyhteisölle. Tavoitteena oli tuottaa kaksikielinen opas, suomenkielinen sekä sen perusteella käännetty somalin kielinen versio. Somalin kielisestä oppaasta hyödyn tulevat saamaan somalialainen yhteisö ja suomen kieltä taitamattomat. Oppaan suomenkielistä versioita voidaan hyödyntää somalin kieltä taitamattomien kanssa. Opas on tehty yhteistyössä Suomen Punaisen Ristin Korson toimipisteen edustajien kanssa. Opinnäytetyön kohderyhmänä on somaliyhteisö, jonka äidinkielelle opas on käännetty. Yhteisön lisäksi opinnäytetyötä voi jatkossa hyödyntää myös ensiapukoulutuksissa. Opinnäytetyön kirjallinen tietoperusta perustuu ensiaputeoriaan ja ensiapuaiheet määrittelivät oppaassa käsiteltävänä olleet aiheet. Luotettavaa aineistoa kerättiin Suomen Punaisen ristin kautta kirjallisessa ja sähköisessä muodossa. Oppaan käyttöönotto tapahtui työelämänkumppanin järjestämän koulutuksen yhteydessä, jonka tarkoituksena oli oppaan käytännönläheisyyden tarkasteleminen ja sen käytön luotettavuuden toteaminen. Koulutustapahtumaan osallistuneet ihmiset saivat antaa palautetta vapaaehtoisesti, anonyymisti ja heidän antamien palautteiden avulla haluttiin saada jatkokehittämistä varten ideoita. Osallistujien itsemääräämisoikeutta kunnioitettiin antamalla heille mahdollisuus osallistumiseen ja palautteen antamiseen vapaaehtoisesti Tulokseksi palautteiden perusteella havaittiin oppaan tarpeellisuus ja käytännönläheisyys. Kehittämisehdotus oppaan jatkolle voisi olla kuvien lisääminen ja aiheiden yksityiskohtaisempi käsittely. Ehdotukseksi saatiin myös opetusvideon tuottaminen oppaan materiaaleista, sillä ensiapumateriaaleja ei löydy Suomesta somalin kielellä.The purpose of this functional thesis was to produce a clear first aid guide which is directed to the Somali community. The goal was to produce a bilingual guide in Finnish and a translated version of it in Somali. The Somali version of the guide will benefit the Somali community and the ones who do not speak Finnish. The Finnish version of the guide can be used to benefit the ones who do not speak Somali. The guide was made in collaboration with the Finnish Red Cross representatives in Korso's office. The target group of the thesis was Somali community, whose mother tongue the guide was translated into. In addition to the community, the thesis could be beneficial in first aid trainings. The theoretical framework was based on first aid theory and the first aid topics defined the topics that were discussed in the guide. Reliable data was gathered through Finnish Red Cross in written and electronic form. The introduction of the guide took place at the training orga- nized by the working life partner. The goal was to look at the practicality of the guide and the reliability of its use. The people who participated in the training event could give feedback voluntarily, anonymously and with the help of their feedback the authors wanted to receive ideas for further development. The participants’ self-determination was respected by giving them a chance to participate and give feedback voluntarily. The feedback revealed the necessity and practicality of the guide. Development proposal for the continuation of the guide could be adding pictures and dealing each topic in detail. The authors were also asked to produce an educational video based on the guide’s material to be used as first aid material that does not exist in Finland in Somali

Effectiveness of the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) as training dataset in forecasting Philippine stock prices using neural networks

The health of the stock market is considered critical to a country’s economic development. The volatility of stock prices which are influenced by inflation rates, interest rates, tax changes, and other monetary policies, makes the prediction and analysis a very challenging task. With the use of advanced intelligent techniques such as deep learning, we can improve stock market prediction. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of using the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) as a training dataset of three artificial neural networks (ANNs), namely, Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) in forecasting the daily closing prices of local stocks AbaCore Capital Holdings, Inc. (ABA) and San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Based on the mean squared error (MSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), the models using MLP with the activation function of hyperbolic tangent (tanh) are the suitable neural network model for both ABA and SMC

Determinants of Plant Growth-promoting Ochrobactrum lupini KUDC1013 Involved in Induction of Systemic Resistance against Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum in Tobacco Leaves

The plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Ochrobactrum lupini KUDC1013 elicited induced systemic resistance (ISR) in tobacco against soft rot disease caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum. We investigated of its factors involved in ISR elicitation. To characterize the ISR determinants, KUDC1013 cell suspension, heat-treated cells, supernatant from a culture medium, crude bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and flagella were tested for their ISR activities. Both LPS and flagella from KUDC1013 were effective in ISR elicitation. Crude cell free supernatant elicited ISR and factors with the highest ISR activity were retained in the n-butanol fraction. Analysis of the ISR-active fraction revealed the metabolites, phenylacetic acid (PAA), 1-hexadecene and linoleic acid (LA), as elicitors of ISR. Treatment of tobacco with these compounds significantly decreased the soft rot disease symptoms. This is the first report on the ISR determinants by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) KUDC1013 and identifying PAA, 1-hexadecene and LA as ISR-related compounds. This study shows that KUDC1013 has a great potential as biological control agent because of its multiple factors involved in induction of systemic resistance against phytopathogens

Journeyman: A short feature film

The purpose of this short film is to highlight the current situation in the Philippines, with regard to crime and killing. It explores the lives of an experienced contract killer and his young apprentice, employed by a drug kingpin to execute high-value targets. With this, the film looks to bring more attention to drug-related casualties and extrajudicial killings even going as far as making its audience question the moral standards of these acts. The film touches on the subject of child exploitation, where their innocence and freedom are compromised. It also addresses poverty, the proliferation of delinquency, and the culture of violence and crime as a means of living, especially among the youth. It follows the transformation of the main character, Arman, from a mere amateur to a journeyman as a gun-for-hire, defined in a study by MacIntyre, Wilson, Yardley, and Brolan as capable, experienced, and reliable but not an especially exceptional performer (17)

An integrated marketing communications campaign for Mc Cafe

McCafé is a coffeehouse chain owned by McDonalds. The coffeehouse offers hot and cold beverages that cater not only to coffee drinkers, but to non-coffee drinkers as well. Based on the groups surveys and interviews, McCafé is a well-known brand but most people do not buy their products because they think that it is too expensive and they lack recommendations. Due to the presence of specialty coffeehouses like Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Figaro, and others, McCafé is not the consumers top of mind when it comes to coffee. Since McCafé is associated to McDonalds, the brand does not seem to have an identity of its own. The campaign aims to give an identity to McCafé. The campaigns objectives are: 1.) To change the consumer‟s perception of the brand, 2.) To reinforce the markets brand recall towards McCafé, and 3.) To heighten their awareness about the brand and encourage trial. This will be achieved through an interactive campaign that will be done digitally. The target market for the campaign are male and female college students, ages 16 to 21 belonging to socio-economic class AB and Upper C. These are college students that are technologically-driven and socially-active. This is why the campaign is aimed towards capturing the attention of this target group and involving them in the campaign through their ability to influence and their exposure to technology. Additionally, the market will be reached with the help of influential business and marketing school organizations