Owing to their small size and difficult taxonomic identification, meiofauna are often neglected as part of the benthic ecosystem. Most of the studies done on meiofauna have been limited to soft bottom intertidal or subtidal areas and very few were done on rocky shores. This study was done to characterize the meiofaunal assemblages of a rocky shore site in Southern Guimaras, west central Philippines as part of a long-term sampling program. Following the Natural Geography in Shore Areas (NaGISA) sampling protocol, four transects (3 intertidal and 1 subtidal), along the depth gradient of high tide (HT), mid-tide (MT), low tide (LT), and 1 m subtidal (ST), with 5 replicates each, were laid pa...

Hand tractors are among the major agricultural machines used by Filipino farmers. They aid farmers in the laborious process of preparing the land prior to planting. Though hand tractors enhance efficiency and productivity of farming, they still pose some threat to the user, specifically with the vibration they generate during operation. Prolonged exposure to vibration from hand tractors may lead to the health risk called hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). This study compared the effectiveness of vibration dampeners available in the market when operating a diesel- and a gasoline-powered hand tractor. The experiment was done in a stationary position based on the standards set by IS/ISO 534...

The float-assisted tiller is a popular farm implement used for lowland tillage in the Philippines. Lower cost per hectare is the main advantage of using the float-assisted tiller compared with traditional plowing and harrowing. Different designs of the float-assisted tiller have been developed and are commercially available. However, only a few studies have been published regarding float-assisted tiller design modifications and their corresponding performance evaluation. The present study aimed to determine and compare the puddling performance of three designs (TW1, TW2 and TW3) of tilling wheel for the float-assisted tiller at different shaft speeds (200, 250 and 300 rpm). The experiment...

Maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been used extensively to determine genetic diversity and to guide genetic resource conservation. It is hypothesized that local populations of Chinese Yellow Cattle (Bos taurus) in the Loess Plateau of Western China were produced from Zaosheng cattle, and estimates of genetic diversity in Zaosheng and other derived populations are needed to assist in getting more detailed information about genetic resource conservation. Samples from Qinchuan cattle (QC, n = 171), Zaosheng cattle (ZS, n = 184), Pingliang native cattle (PL, n = 112), and Guyuan native cattle (GY, n = 75) were analyzed using mtDNA D-loop analytical techniques. A total of 140 ...

The study investigated the effect of wine waste extracts on antiproliferative property. Wine wastes were extracted using acetone/methylene chloride (A+M) and methanol (MeOH) and then fractionated using n-hexane, 85% aq. methanol (MeOH), butanol (BuOH) and distilled water. The cytotoxic activity of the wine wastes against AGS human gastric, HT-29 human colon and HT-1080 fibroblast cancer cell lines was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. All the extracts and fractions from the wine wastes decreased the growth of AGS cells, and the effect was concentration-dependent. The MeOH extract showed significantly higher inhibition against th...