Tarlac State University

Salinity is one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses limiting wheat productivity globally, particularly during early growth stages. In this study, six wheat species (Triticum dicoccoides, T. boeticum, T. dicoccum, T. aestivum, T. monococcum, and T. durum) were subjected to five different salt concentrations (0, 8, 16, 24, and 32 µS/cm NaCl) under controlled in vitro conditions at 24 ± 2 °C and 16/8 h photoperiod to assess their germination and seedling development responses. A completely randomized factorial design with four replications was employed. Germination percentage, root length, and shoot length were measured on 8th and 21st days, respectively. Increasing salinity significantly reduced all measured traits. Notably, T. dicoccum showed the highest salt tolerance with 72% germination, 14.4 cm root length, and 22.6 cm shoot length at 8 µS/cm, while T. monococcum was the most sensitive. These findings indicate that ancient wheat species, particularly T. dicoccum, possess valuable traits for developing salt-tolerant cultivars

This paper introduces the permutation-byte key cipher with reduced-round advanced encryption standard (PBKC-RRAES), a novel enhancement of the AES designed to significantly improve both security and performance. The proposed algorithm integrates key modifications; i) replacing the computationally intensive MixColumns function with an efficient bit permutation technique that achieves superior diffusion while reducing computational overhad by eliminating complex matrix multiplication operations. This substitution enhances security through improved bit-level scrambling patterns, while simultaneously accelerating processing speed through simpler bitwise operations; ii) the addition of AddRoundKey operations between cipher states, iii) enhanced byte substitution operations and round constant additions in the key schedule algorithm before key expansion, and iv) reducing rounds from 10 to 6. These innovations yield heightened sensitivity to plaintext changes, evidenced by a 54.214% avalanche effect, surpassing the standard 50% threshold. Performance evaluations reveal PBKC-RRAES operates 26.90% improvement in encryption time and a 22.73% improvement in decryption time than standard AES, alongside throughput enhancements of 39.48% in encryption and 31.27% in decryption compared to the original AES, critical improvements for bandwidth-constrained applications. These results demonstrate that PBKC-RRAES is a robust and effective alternative for cryptographic applications, particularly beneficial for real-time video streaming, secure cloud storage, mobile payment systems, and IoT device where both security and processing effectivity are paramount.

BACKGROUND: Public health nurses (PHNs) are a significant cadre of the primary healthcare workforce working toward achieving universal health care (UHC). Exploring their work activities is integral to understanding how UHC is implemented better. OBJECTIVES: To describe and explore the work activities, roles, and functions of the PHNs in rendering primary care services in the context of UHC. METHODS: Key informant interviews were conducted with 12 PHNs in Tarlac Province who were working with permanent status in their respective rural health units (RHUs) for at least 1 year. They were selected through selection criteria. Data were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to thematic analysis. RESULTS: Data analysis led to the emergence of 4 themes and 11 subthemes. The four themes were: (a) evolving scope and nature of work, (b) work challenges and barriers toward UHC implementation, (c) UHC outcomes, impact, and insights, and (d) communication and health promotion. CONCLUSIONS: The study underscores the importance of exploring the PHNs’ roles and functions, as it offers a window on how they fulfill their duties toward achieving the goals of UHC. From the viewpoint of the interviewed PHNs, several elements and issues need to be addressed. Consequently, some positive impact on their work activities and functions emerged. Their nature of work brought them professional development and fulfillment as they render primary care and value-driven services despite the challenges and struggles they encountered in public health.

The research about the development and validation of the Filipino dictionary is intended to assist the learners under the new implemented program of the Department of Education in the Philippines which is the K to 12 program. The curriculum is being implemented in the Philippine educational system since 2014, which consist of different tracks in the following disciplines: 1) Academic track; 2) Technical Vocational Livelihood track; 3) Sports track; 4) Arts and designs. Problems in terms and words used in the said curriculum find a bit difficulty in teaching that’s why the researcher develop a material. A Research and Design method was used. All the contents, organization and styles of the instructional material in different tracks were analyzed. There were a total of 800 words included in the dictionary list. The words were chosen carefully based from the most frequently used terminologies in the said curriculum. The function of the words as to how they are used as parts of speech were also included. They were also defined operationally on how the teacher used the word in teaching the tracks. The following criteria: content, organization and style where used to evaluate the material. All the three criteria obtained a perfectly acceptable rating from the validators. The contents had a computed mean of 4.60 while organization received a weighted mean of 4.78. The appropriateness of the disciplines according to the Academic Track of the k-12 Curriculum evaluated and resulted as: 1)Business and accountancy had a general weighted mean of 4.63; 2) Computer technology obtained a 3.70 weighted mean; 3) Communication and Arts garnered 4.63 weighted mean; 4) General education had a computed general weighted mean of 3.91. Thus, majority of the findings resulted the materials in to perfectly acceptance where it gives big help in teaching/learning academic tracks.

The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of teacher commitment on the relationship between burnout and role performance of early childhood teachers. The sample consisted of 207 early childhood teachers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, selected through convenience sampling. Data collection was conducted over a period of 1 month in November 2020 with teachers who agreed to participate in the study. The results of this study were as follows: First, there was a negative correlation between early childhood teachers’ burnout and commitment, and between burnout and role performance. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between teachers’ commitment and role performance. Second, early childhood teachers’ teacher commitment was found to partially mediate the relationship between burnout and role performance. This study is significant in that it is being published at a time when the integration of early childhood education and childcare is just beginning in South Korea, and it addresses the topic of teachers who will be most directly affected by the integration.

MSMEs are critical drivers of national economic development. In Indonesia and the Philippines, these enterprises exhibit diverse profiles in terms of establishment numbers, geographic distribution, sectoral composition, and overall contribution to the economy. However, comparative analyzes addressing differences in product diversity and the extent of governmental support remain limited. This research aims to profile MSMEs in both nations by examining establishment classifications, economic contributions, sectoral challenges, and the nature of responsive government policies. Data from annual trade reports, websites, and surveys analyzed descriptively indicates that while MSMEs in both countries play a similar economic role and face comparable challenges, differences emerge in product diversity and governmental initiatives aimed at market development and product quality enhancement for international competitiveness. The study introduces an integrative analytical framework that synthesizes multiple data sources to offer nuanced comparative insights. These findings suggest that refining strategic government support— particularly in export market access, digitalization, and entrepreneurial skill development could further bolster the growth and global competitiveness of MSMEs.

Many researchers have studied how modifying conventional shear reinforcement into spiral and truss systems improves the behavior of RC beams. However, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the influence of spiral reinforcement, and limited research is available on the flexural capacity of beams utilizing truss reinforcement systems. Additionally, recent designs focused only on the rectangular spiral and rectangular truss systems, underscoring the necessity of incorporating a new design of modifications in the stirrup configurations. These gaps must be addressed to identify the most effective design for achieving the desired flexural capacities. As a result, the present study conducts a simulation and experimentation on RC beams utilizing modified stirrups through the Abaqus software to describe the load-deflection relationship, determine the flexural capacity and ductility, and analyze the failure mode and crack patterns. The present study simulated seventeen finite element models, including one control beam as BN and four various designs that used rectangular spiral (BR-S), rectangular truss system (BT-R), and a new modification, namely vertical X-shaped stirrups (BV-X), and X-shaped truss system (BT-X) with four spacings of 150mm, 125mm, 100mm, and 75mm. The findings reveal that the most effective enhancement in RC beam behavior was observed within the BT-R group, particularly with BT-R 100, which demonstrated a remarkable 6.551% increase in flexural capacity compared to BN. Moreover, stirrup spacing and inclination considerably impact the beam's performance, depending on the various modifications of stirrups in RC beams. Furthermore, uniform failure modes have been observed across all models and specimens, including BN, demonstrating that modified stirrups improve RC beam performance. The present study compared and verified the finite element simulation results through an actual experiment from BN and BT-R 150 models and specimens. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2024-010-06-02 Full Text: PDF

In the rapid evolving digital landscape, the imperative to ensure data security has never been more crucial. This paper addresses the pressing challenges in data security by introducing a file encryption management system, leveraging a modified advanced encryption standard (AES) algorithm with reduced round iterations and bit permutation. This system aims to comprehensively secure various file types, providing a dependable solution for file exchange. Our findings reveal substantial improvements in both encryption and decryption processes using the reduced-round permutation-based AES (RRPBA). The adapted algorithm demonstrates a significant 38.8% acceleration in encryption time and a remarkable 44.86% improvement in decryption time, positioning it as a pivotal component for efficient file operations within the management system. Moreover, the throughput assessments showcase a remarkable 33.73% improvement in encryption and 23.72% in decryption, outperforming the original AES, emphasizing the algorithm's superior computational effectiveness, signaling positive implications for future high-performance applications. In conclusion, the study not only addresses critical security challenges but also presents a viable solution with tangible speed advantages for file encryption and decryption processes within digital file management systems.