Methodologies in Identification, Analysis, and Measurement of Visual Pollution: The Case Study of Intramuros

The problem of visual pollution in the Philippines has been increasingly evident, and people are becoming aware of it. But to create effective solutions, a deep understanding of the problem should first be established. This paper was aimed to identify, analyze, and measure the visual pollution present in Intramuros, a heritage city in the Philippines that encapsulates the Philippine colonial architecture in the 1890s. The site is known for its preservation of its city image but also modern landscape changes. To achieve the goal, the application of the Indirect and Direct Method of Landscape Evaluation was executed. These methods led to two results: (1) the identification of components— which are landscape attributes and indicators, that make up a visual landscape; and (2) the understanding of how it is perceived by the observer through a survey and interviews, which are quantified by ratings. To further understand the relationship of indicators and ratings with each other, a series of correlational studies was done. This resulted to the establishment of Disturbance, Stewardship, and Image Rating as the primary descriptors of visual pollution. A weighted average formula was then established, which quantified the visual pollution of Intramuros through indicator values and response ratings. It was concluded that visual pollution in Intramuros, through research-based methodology, can be identified, analyzed, and measured. Specific viewpoints in the district were identified as unacceptably visually-polluted. Magallanes St. cor. Victoria St. in Intramuros had the highest VP Score at -4.886. Elements that contributed to visual pollution were also identified

Distinct regulation of c-myb gene expression by HoxA9, Meis1 and Pbx proteins in normal hematopoietic progenitors and transformed myeloid cells

The proto-oncogenic protein c-Myb is an essential regulator of hematopoiesis and is frequently deregulated in hematological diseases such as lymphoma and leukemia. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying the aberrant expression of c-Myb in myeloid leukemia, we analyzed and compared c-myb gene transcriptional regulation using two cell lines modeling normal hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) and transformed myelomonocytic blasts. We report that the transcription factors HoxA9, Meis1, Pbx1 and Pbx2 bind in vivo to the c-myb locus and maintain its expression through different mechanisms in HPCs and leukemic cells. Our analysis also points to a critical role for Pbx2 in deregulating c-myb expression in murine myeloid cells cotransformed by the cooperative activity of HoxA9 and Meis1. This effect is associated with an intronic positioning of epigenetic marks and RNA polymerase II binding in the orthologous region of a previously described alternative promoter for c-myb. Taken together, our results could provide a first hint to explain the abnormal expression of c-myb in leukemic cells

Firm characteristics and effective tax rate as determinants of capital structure: Empirical evidence from selected Philippine publicly-listed companies

Firm characteristics and corporate tax rates have always been an important factor for firms in choosing their capital structure. Along this line, previous studies have noted significant relationships between the total debt to assets ratio of firms and size, profitability, liquidity, tangible assets, non-debt tax shields, volatility, and corporate tax rates. Results from regressions on a unique dataset of 102 non-financial publicly-listed companies in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) for the years 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011 show that in a general model including all non-financial firms in the sample, capital structure does not have a significant relationship with firm specific variables and effective tax rates. However, from a per sector analysis, there is empirical evidence indicating that the holding sector does take into account the effective tax rate and other variables whenever it chooses its level of debt financing. Notably, profitability and liquidity are significant in majority of the sectors, and are recognized as the factors, that firms take into account whenever they raise external financing. It is also evident that determinants of capital structure differ across the industries. Therefore, in the Philippine case, different industries consider unique factors whenever they are faced with capital structure decisions and policy changes on tax rates have a significant effect on the capital structure of firms in the holding sector, but may not have an impact on others

Comparative analysis of level of confidence among second year medical students with human biology and non-human biology pre-medicine degrees in the College of Medicine De La Salle Health Sciences Institute, School Year 2012-2013

In a cross sectional study, 188 second year medical students from DLSHSI were asked to answer a questionnaire with questions about age, pre-medicine degree and levels of confidence. Stratified random sampling was used to identify the respondents. The Revised Janis -Filed Scale was the actual questionnaire used to collect the data. Data was analysed using frequency distribution, percentage distribution, and chi-square. Low levels of confidence were more prevalent among non-human biology graduates than the human biology graduates. The male gender of the second year medical students was less likely to have low levels of confidence. The second year medical students with ages 20 years old and younger were also more likely to have low levels of confidence. Overall, among the second year medical students of DLSHSI College of Medicine, there was a relationship between being a female non-human biology graduate and having an age of 20 years old and younger and have low levels of confidence. However, there relationships were minimal and statistically insignificant