Publications

Purpose:.To determine if time of Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) determination can be a reliable tool to detect risk to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Method: PWV was determined by a non invasive method using the left external carotid artery as the central point and left dorsalis pedis artery as the peripheral point. Pulses were recorded from electronic sensors simultaneously with a single lead ECG and time delay between the two pulses computed. Shorter time indicates decreased arterial wall elasticity. Family history (FH) taken; waist circumference (WC) and BP measured.
Materials: Total of 339 clinically asymptomatic Filipino subjects in a rural area were examined. Of these 176 w/ FH of CVD; 58 w/ abnormal WC; 58 w/ borderline hypertension; and, 8 w/ definite hypertension. 98 subjects without these negative parameters were considered normal.
Results: PWV time in normal subjecs - 0.151 sec. In abnormal subjects PWV time in sec. - 1) w/ + FH of CVD - 0.140; 2) w/ abnormal WC - Males - 0.132, Females - 0.127; 3) w/ borderline hypertension - 0.122; and 4) definite hypertensives - 0.105 - all significant statistically below the normal
Discussion: Positive FH of CVD, increased WC and hypertension are accepted high risk
factors to develop CVD. In our study, we showed that subjects with these aggravating
parameters showed significantly lower PWV time compared to normals. It follows, therefore, that individuals with low PWV time can be considered to have high risk to develop CVD, It can therefore be a useful screening tool for CVD 

Conclusion: PWV time determination can be a useful tool to detect individuals who have high risk to develop CVD.

In contemporary ethical theorizing, Wittgenstein is categorized as a particularist (O Neill 1996). Moral claims are reached and advanced not in terms of abstract universal principles but in terms of acquired sensitivities to the requirements of particular situations. Because of this, his position is taken to have the same limitations that come with relativism. These include arbitrariness, self refutation and outright endorsement of evil practices. The paper argues that this reading is mistaken. Though Wittgenstein emphasized flexibility and variability, there are passages in his later work which allow for a notion of moral universality that escapes the limitations of relativism. Wittgenstein’s moral position cannot simply be assimilated with existing forms of ethical relativism and moral objectivism. (http://wittgensteinrepository.org/agora-alws/article/view/2829/3382)

This paper proposes a household model that relates various development interventions, such as infrastructure, to rural development. The model is then estimated using data from a household survey in which rural development outcomes are measured in terms of a perception scale. Household perceptions are important early lead indicators of rural development outcomes that manifest later.

Rural poverty is linked to the exposure of the households to economic vulnerability, through their chronic dependence on agriculture for income generation. A starting point in mitigating this vulnerability would be a comprehensive improvement in accessibility. This would substantially reduce transportation cost and thereby lessen the isolation of rural communities from basic welfare services. An advocacy campaign and/or incentive system would be needed to encourage private firms to establish operations in rural areas. More private establishments in rural areas would not only shield households against exposure to vulnerability, but would also serve as a catalyst for microenterprise development. Sustainable rural development would follow, provided that there was an ample corporate social responsibility programme among these firms to avert a widening of inequality. A natural resource management strategy would also be needed for ecological integrity.

Community participation is crucial in identifying development projects; it can help to minimise the wastage of resources on inappropriate projects, and enable resources to be allocated instead it to other productive uses. The provision of rural roads should be bundled properly with support services and capacity-building activities. This can enhance the demand for other infrastructure and services, resulting in a dynamic evolution of essential elements in the pursuit of rural development. Bundles of intervention improve the production efficiency of rural households at the different stages of production, both on and off the farm.

Rural development interventions should pay special attention to the more vulnerable segments of the community, especially, the farmers. Interventions should aim gradually to detach them from complete dependence on agriculture, without putting their food security at risk.

Public investments in infrastructure and in users’ fees can complement each other, in the continuous provision of new infrastructure and the maintenance of existing infrastructure, to create a sustainable track towards rural development. The socialised users’ fee system is a potential tool for preventing widening income disparity in rural areas. The careful selection of a suitable and acceptable basis for the socialised users’ fee rate is important, however. An incorrect choice of rate could be perceived as a disincentive to access or might stimulate distrust among a segment of the rural society, regarding the government's sincerity in promoting rural development. This might eventually create more social issues, rather than bridging inequality.

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A mathematical model that predicts the decimal reduction time (D_72C) of Salmonella Typhimurium (ATTC 13311) as a function of citrus model system (CMS) pH (2.56–4.74), titratable acidity (TA) (0.01–2.76% citric acid) and soluble solids (SS) (4.75–16.85°Brix) was established. The D_72C values of the reference strain in different CMS were fitted into a second order model. Regression analysis of variance and goodness‐of‐fit assessments showed that the model was highly significant (P < 0.0001). The linear influences of pH and SS and quadratic influences of all physicochemical properties on D_72C were significant (P < 0.05). The smallest positive D_72C resulted in pH, TA and SS levels of 3.00, 2.20% citric acid and 16.85°Brix, respectively. Direct and inverse relationships were established between D_72C values and pH and D_72C values and at >0.65% citric acid TA, respectively. Survival rates were optimum at the SS value of 11.50°Brix when pH is 3.00 and TA is 2.20% citric acid.