José Rizal University

Introduction: This study explored the impact of central venous catheter (CVC) insertion site selection on the incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) of a tertiary hospital in the Philippines. While CVCs are vital for administering medications, fluids, and renal replacement therapies, they are associated with complications such as CLABSI, a leading cause of ICU morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospitalization. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Asian Hospital and Medical Center from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023. Adult patients (≥19 years old) admitted to any of the hospital’s ICUs who underwent CVC insertion during their stay were included. Patients were categorized into CLABSI and non-CLABSI groups. Data were collected from the Cardiovascular, Medical-Surgical, and Neurology ICUs. Statistical tools used included chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, Welch’s t-test, and logistic regression to evaluate associations between insertion site, patient outcomes, and risk factors. Results: Among 257 patients reviewed, 40 developed CLABSI, corresponding to an overall incidence of 15.56%. The internal jugular vein (IJV) was the most frequently used site, followed by the subclavian and femoral veins. Although variation in infection rates was noted by site, no statistically significant association between insertion site and CLABSI was observed (p = 0.593). However, CLABSI was significantly associated with worse clinical outcomes, including higher mortality (75% vs. 36.87%) and longer ICU stay (mean 29.65 vs. 13.20 days), with both differences reaching statistical significance (p < 0.001). Logistic regression revealed that patient-related risk factors such as immunosuppression, malnutrition, or prolonged hospitalization were significantly associated with CLABSI (p = 0.006), whereas insertion site, age, and sex were not. Conclusions: In conclusion, while site selection remains a relevant procedural decision, it may not independently determine CLABSI risk when standard infection control measures are applied. These findings highlight the importance of focusing on infection prevention strategies and risk factor modification to reduce CLABSI in critically ill patients.

This study examined the difficulties encountered by senior high school learners in the Cookery strand of Home Economics at Manjuyod Senior High School, Division of Negros Oriental. Utilizing a descriptive research design, data were gathered from 61 purposively selected respondents through a validated researcher-made questionnaire. The study aimed to identify learners' demographic profile, assess the level of difficulties encountered in various instructional areas, and determine differences when grouped according to selected variables. Findings revealed that the respondents were predominantly female (75%) and came from families with moderate to high income levels (68%). Among the identified areas of difficulty, assessment of learning obtained the highest weighted mean of 3.92, interpreted as 'often,' indicating that students considered assessment-related tasks as their most significant challenge. This was followed by adequacy of tools and equipment (M = 3.86), teacher competence (M = 3.74), content knowledge (M = 3.69), and objectives (M = 3.52). Further analysis using the Mann–Whitney U test revealed significant differences in the level of difficulties when grouped according to grade level (p = 0.03) and parents' educational attainment (p = 0.02), suggesting that these factors influence students' ability to cope with cookery-related tasks. The study concludes that addressing resource limitations, teacher upskilling, and assessment strategies is essential to enhance cookery instruction. It recommends that the Department of Education allocate additional funds for facilities and training programs to improve the teaching and learning experience in Home Economics.

This article introduces the Special Country Report on the Philippines. It provides a brief history of the governance of labor migration from the Philippines, which officially began with the 1974 Labor Code. The article examines Philippine migration governance and addresses the relationship of the state to other key actors of migration with a particular focus on the government's reliance on labor recruitment agencies. Finally, this article describes the characteristics of Philippine migration, establishing it to be primarily South–South, temporary, and constituting of multinational migration flows.

IntroductionRapid antibody testing is a cornerstone in HIV case finding and management. Without tools for rapid detection and diagnosis of HIV infection, none of the downstream targets for linkage to antiretroviral therapy and viral suppression in the HIV treatment cascade could be achieved. In the Philippines, oral HIV self-testing (HIVST) has not been adapted for use. Moreover, no study has been conducted to determine HIV testing preferences and acceptability of oral HIVST among Filipino men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW). The protocol describes a mixed-method approach to evaluate HIV testing preferences and acceptability of oral HIVST vs currently available testing modalities among MSM and TGW in the Greater Manila Area and determine the factors underlying the participants’ selection of a testing modality.Methods and analysisThis study will use an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. The initial phase will involve a cross-sectional survey with a pre/post questionnaire format design targeting 480 MSM and 478 TGW. A case study phase follows, with 80 in-depth interviews to provide more detailed qualitative insights. Quantitative data will be analysed using multinomial logistic regression models, while qualitative data will be examined using an inductive approach through thematic analysis. A narrative approach will synthesise the quantitative and qualitative findings for a unified interpretation and comprehensive understanding of the results.Ethics and disseminationThis protocol has been approved by the University of the Philippines Manila Research Ethics Board (UPMREB 2023-0579-01). The study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal publications and academic presentations at conferences.

In today's hypercompetitive and rapidly changing business environment, organizations are increasingly turning to advanced technologies to maintain and enhance their market positions. Business intelligence (BI) systems have long been central to corporate strategy by providing data-driven insights. Recently, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into BI has heralded a new era of predictive analytics, enabling organizations to forecast market trends with unprecedented precision and agility. While the promise of AI-driven BI is substantial, its effective implementation requires a confluence of technological prowess, human capital development, and supportive organizational culture. Executives must navigate the challenges of integrating new technologies with legacy systems, upskill their workforce, and foster a data-centric mindset across the organization. Consequently, the competitive advantage derived from AI-driven BI is not merely a function of technology adoption but also a reflection of an organization's ability to leverage its human and organizational resources effectively. Despite the burgeoning literature on AI and business intelligence, there remains a significant gap in understanding the precise mechanisms by which AI-driven market prediction models contribute to competitive advantage. In particular, the interplay between technological integration, human capital development, and strategic outcomes warrants further empirical exploration. The present study addresses the following overarching research problem: How does the integration of AI into business intelligence systems optimize market prediction models, and what is its impact on achieving competitive advantage? JEL Codes: O33, M15, L25 Keywords: Business Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, Market Prediction, Competitive Advantage, Descriptive Correlational Study, Digital Transformation.

Ensuring student discipline and campus security depends on a good incident reporting system with appropriate classification capacity. This work presents an incident categorizing report system based on machine learning for Jose Rizal University's Student Development Office (SDO). The Support Vector Machine (SVM) achieved the best accuracy among K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Naïve Bayes, and Logistic Regression at 83%. Designed with the Django framework, the system is a web-based application including administrative control, automated event classification, and real-time monitoring. University policies drive the technology to independently classify events reported by students as either major or minor offenses. Evaluation of classification performance using a confusion matrix helped to validate the model. Efficiency improved by reducing manual work by means of SVM model integration with an email-based reporting mechanism. Through higher accuracy and speed of identifying student complaints, this study implies that machine learning can enhance incident management. The findings suggest that an automated incident reporting system might improve administrative operations, simplify campus security, and offer a data-driven means of student disciplinary management.

Araceae’s most remarkable genus is Amorphophallus, which is propagated for food, ornamental, and herbal medicine due to its medicinal properties. This checklist includes 241 accepted species of Amorphophallus, featuring their scientific names, covered countries, conservation and distribution status, ecological habitats, and biogeographical regions. Around 83% of Amorphophallus species are native, and 17% were endemic, and found in Burundi, Benin, Cambodia, Cameroon, Congo, China, Equatorial Guinea, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Madagascar, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Thailand is the most species-rich country (66 spp.), while Indo-Malay is the most species-rich biogeographic region (56.65%). Furthermore, limestone areas are the typical ecological habitat in which Amorphophallus species can be found (9.76%). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species documents the genus as ‘Critically Endangered’ (4.15%), ‘Vulnerable’ (2.90%), ‘Endangered’ (0.83%), ‘Near Threatened’ (0.83%), ‘Least Concern’ (0.83%), ‘Data Deficient’ (0.83%); 76.35% (184 species out of 241) were not evaluated because the report’s scope for assessing threatened plants might be inadequate, and 13.70% have no record. This inventory from digital databases will assess a more holistic strategic conservation plan of Amorphophallus species worldwide.

To identify the clinical features of sensorineural tinnitus patients who achieved complete symptom resolution or "cure" after tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) and to determine significant factors that influence tinnitus resolution duration after TRT. A retrospective analysis of sensorineural tinnitus patients who underwent TRT and achieved a cure between January 2017 and January 2022 was performed. Cure of tinnitus was defined as patients experiencing symptoms for less than 5 minutes of awareness per day. Clinical information, including demographics, tinnitus duration, audiometric results, and therapeutic response, was examined. A total of 1,027 patients who achieved a cure for tinnitus were included, with more females (65.4%, n = 672) than males (35.6%, n = 355). The median age was 57 years (range, 12-92), with most having unilateral tinnitus (73.3%, n = 753). More than half had tinnitus with hearing loss (53.3%, n = 549), and the majority was under Jastreboff's tinnitus category 2 (38.7%, n = 397). The median duration of tinnitus before consult was 12 months in range (range, 1-480), whereas the median duration before tinnitus resolution after TRT was 17 months (range, 1-96). In Jastreboff's tinnitus categories, category 4 had the longest resolution time (median, 18 months) and category 1 the shortest (median, 15 months), but the difference was not statistically significant. A moderate correlation was observed between age and tinnitus resolution duration (Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.391, p < 0.05) and between tinnitus duration before consult and tinnitus resolution duration (Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.355, p < 0.05). TRT seems to be a promising treatment option for patients with sensorineural tinnitus. The time to achieve this cure may range from a few months to years after TRT, indicating the heterogeneity of the mechanism and therapeutic response. The younger patients and the earlier management after the onset of tinnitus seem to be good prognostic factors for a shorter tinnitus cure time after TRT.