Monitoring the Philippine Economy Year-End Report for 2017

Growing at 6.7% in 2017, the Philippine economy realized robust full-year forecasts despite domestic and international economic challenges. Economic performance: Aggressive government spending on infrastructure projects, the growth of the manufacturing sector, and an uptick in the agriculture sector strengthen the Philippine economy

3D Cell Printed Tissue Analogues: A New Platform for Theranostics

Stem cell theranostics has received much attention for noninvasively monitoring and tracing transplanted therapeutic stem cells through imaging agents and imaging modalities. Despite the excellent regenerative capability of stem cells, their efficacy has been limited due to low cellular retention, low survival rate, and low engraftment after implantation. Three-dimensional (3D) cell printing provides stem cells with the similar architecture and microenvironment of the native tissue and facilitates the generation of a 3D tissue-like construct that exhibits remarkable regenerative capacity and functionality as well as enhanced cell viability. Thus, 3D cell printing can overcome the current concerns of stem cell therapy by delivering the 3D construct to the damaged site. Despite the advantages of 3D cell printing, the in vivo and in vitro tracking and monitoring of the performance of 3D cell printed tissue in a noninvasive and real-time manner have not been thoroughly studied. In this review, we explore the recent progress in 3D cell technology and its applications. Finally, we investigate their potential limitations and suggest future perspectives on 3D cell printing and stem cell theranostics.116Nsciescopu

Effect of interlayer interactions on exciton luminescence in atomic-layered MoS2 crystals

The atomic-layered semiconducting materials of transition metal dichalcogenides are considered effective light sources with both potential applications in thin and flexible optoelectronics and novel functionalities. In spite of the great interest in optoelectronic properties of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, the excitonic properties still need to be addressed, specifically in terms of the interlayer interactions. Here, we report the distinct behavior of the A and B excitons in the presence of interlayer interactions of layered MoS 2 crystals. Micro-photoluminescence spectroscopic studies reveal that on the interlayer interactions in double layer MoS 2 crystals, the emission quantum yield of the A exciton is drastically changed, whereas that of the B exciton remains nearly constant for both single and double layer MoS 2 crystals. First-principles density functional theory calculations confirm that a significant charge redistribution occurs in the double layer MoS 2 due to the interlayer interactions producing a local electric field at the interfacial region. Analogous to the quantum-confined Stark effect, we suggest that the distinct behavior of the A and B excitons can be explained by a simplified band-bending model.1

Room-temperature polariton lasing in quantum heterostructure nanocavities

Controlling light-matter interactions in solid-state systems has motivated intense research to produce bosonic quasi-particles known as exciton-polaritons, which requires strong coupling between excitons and cavity photons. Ultra-low threshold coherent light emitters can be achieved through lasing from exciton-polariton condensates, but this generally requires sophisticated device structures and cryogenic temperatures. Polaritonic nanolasers operating at room temperature lie on the crucial path of related research, not only for the exploration of polariton physics at the nanoscale but also for potential applications in quantum information systems, all-optical logic gates, and ultra-low threshold lasers. However, at present, progress toward room-temperature polariton nanolasers has been limited by the thermal instability of excitons and the inherently low quality factors of nanocavities. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature polaritonic nanolasers by designing wide-gap semiconductor heterostructure nanocavities to produce thermally stable excitons coupled with nanocavity photons. The resulting mixed states of exciton-polaritons with Rabi frequencies of approximately 370 meV enable persistent polariton lasing up to room temperature, facilitating the realization of miniaturized and integrated polariton systems

Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among Preschool Children in Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea

The present study was performed to determine the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among preschool children in Gimhae-si, Korea. A total of 6,921 preschool children in 76 kindergartens were examined using the cellotape perianal swab method. The overall egg positive rate (EPR) was 10.5%. The EPR in boys was higher than that in girls (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.5, P<0.001), and it was higher in rural than in urban children (AOR: 1.2, P=0.022). The present study confirmed that the prevalence of E. vermicularis infection is fairly high among preschool children in Gimhae-si. Therefore, systematic control and preventive measures should be adopted to reduce morbidity associated with this nematode infection

Heating temperature prediction of concrete structure damaged by fire using a Bayesian approach

A fire that occurs in a reinforced concrete (RC) structure accompanies a heating temperature, and this negatively affects the concrete material properties, such as the compressive strength, the bond between cement paste and aggregate, and the cracking and spalling of concrete. To appropriately measure the reduced structural performance and durability of fire-damaged RC structures, it is important to accurately estimate the heating temperature of the structure. However, studies in the literature on RC structures damaged by fire have focused mostly on structural member tests at elevated temperatures to ensure the fire resistance or fire protection material development; studies on estimating the heating temperature are very limited except for the very few existing models. Therefore, in this study, a heating temperature estimation model for a reinforced concrete (RC) structure damaged by fire was developed using a statistical Bayesian parameter estimation approach. For the model development, a total of 77 concrete test specimens were utilized; based on them, a statistically highly accurate model has been developed. The usage of the proposed method in the framework of the 500 ◦C isotherm method in Eurocode 2 has been illustrated through an RC column resistance estimation application