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	<title>BKR Blog</title>
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	<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net</link>
	<description>Filipino researchers blogging for Philippine science</description>
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		<title>Papers published in Nature journals with Filipino researchers as co-authors</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/11/05/papers-published-in-nature-journals-with-filipino-researchers-as-co-authors/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/11/05/papers-published-in-nature-journals-with-filipino-researchers-as-co-authors/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Nov 2011 06:44:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mines and geosciences bureau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nature publishing index]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[university of san carlos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[university of the philippines]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=161</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Nature is one of the top-notch interdisciplinary science journals available today. It publishes peer-reviewed research on the basis of its “originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance, and surprising conclusions”. With an impact factor of 36.101, it is currently one of the most highly cited science journals. With the launching of Nature Publishing Index &#8211; Asia-Pacific, it is now easier to track research papers published in Nature journals from the Asia-Pacific region. According to the Index&#8217;s website, “The Index provides many different options for users to delve into the data: users can analyze data by institution, country, or Nature journals, and can access historical data and graphs.”  It ranks institutions and countries based on the number of papers published in the Nature journals and is updated weekly. See figure below showing the number of articles from the top 5 countries + the Philippines from 2000 to 2010. Curious if the Philippines makes it to the list, I checked the latest country rankings.   As of Nov. 2, 2011, Japan is on top with 334 papers. It is followed by China with 186 papers, then Australia with 144 papers, and Korea with 71 papers. Completing the top five is Singapore with 49 papers. Surprisingly, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/11/05/papers-published-in-nature-journals-with-filipino-researchers-as-co-authors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Research productivity and the knowledge economy</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/10/11/research-productivity-and-the-knowledge-economy/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/10/11/research-productivity-and-the-knowledge-economy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:04:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Research News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ASEAN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[knowledge economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[knowledge index]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scientific output]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=140</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Several years ago, we reviewed the scientific publication performance of the Philippines and some of its neighboring countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Using the Science Citation Index Expanded, we looked at the number of publications coming from these countries between 1980 and 2006. See Box 1. Our findings showed that Malaysia and Thailand were already ahead of the Philippines in 1980, but the Philippines was still ahead of Indonesia and Vietnam. By mid 1990s, Indonesia had overtaken the Philippines, and by mid 2000s, Vietnam had overtaken the country as well. The data also showed that the Philippines had the lowest publication growth rate of all countries considered. BOX 1 Publication of 5 ASEAN countries between 1980 and 2006 Fast forward to 2011, a similar publication review [1] is recently published in Scientometrics. The authors examined the scientific output of the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) including the countries mentioned above plus Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Singapore. As a measure for scientific output, they used bibliometric data from the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) and analyzed the number of scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 1991 and 2010. Furthermore, they also [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/10/11/research-productivity-and-the-knowledge-economy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Intense terahertz emission from undoped GaAs/n-type GaAs and InAs/AlSb structures grown on Si substrates</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/10/04/intense-terahertz-emission-from-undoped-gaasn-type-gaas-and-inasalsb-structures-grown-on-si-substrates/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/10/04/intense-terahertz-emission-from-undoped-gaasn-type-gaas-and-inasalsb-structures-grown-on-si-substrates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Oct 2011 02:42:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>baggy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Research News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GaAs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[InAs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[terahertz]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=125</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Post contributed by Dr. Elmer Estacio, currently affiliated with the Far Infrared Center, University of Fukui. His area of research is on MBE-grown terahertz semiconductor emitters  and development of high-speed terahertz time-domain spectroscopy techniques. The terahertz (THz, 1012 Hz) frequency region bridges the gap between electronics (microwave band) and photonics (IR and visible light bands).  Electromagnetic radiation having frequencies that fall within ~0.1 THz to ~10 THz is referred to as a THz wave or T-ray (see Box 1). Until recently, the THz regime has remained widely unexplored. In the past 2 decades, however, THz spectroscopy and imaging have been proven to be increasingly feasible for applications in pharmaceutical and semiconductor testing, environment sensing, medicine, and even law enforcement. This wealth of possible applications is primarily owed to THz spectroscopy being (1) sensitive to carrier dynamics of semiconductors and other materials without requiring low-temperature conditions; and (2) the “fingerprint” spectra of major biomolecules are located in the THz region and thus, building a comprehensive spectroscopic database for these complex molecules appears to necessitate THz science. BOX 1 The electromagnetic spectrum showing the relative location of the THz band. It bridges the electronics and photonics regimes.  The rapid development of THz [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>DNA barcoding of the ichthyofauna of Taal Lake, Philippines</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/09/07/dna-barcoding-of-the-ichthyofauna-of-taal-lake-philippines/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/09/07/dna-barcoding-of-the-ichthyofauna-of-taal-lake-philippines/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:19:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Research News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dna barcoding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[taal lake]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=121</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Everyone may be familiar with barcodes usually printed as parallel lines in labels of most commercial products. It is basically a machine-readable representation of data that makes possible the efficient management and accurate retrieval of information about the product. Now, instead of parallel lines, imagine using a short genetic marker in the organism’s DNA sequence as the barcode, then we have what is referred to as DNA barcoding. DNA barcoding is a method to identify an organism as belonging to a particular species using short, standardized gene regions. It is used to identify an unknown sample by comparing the barcode with a known classification.  It is also useful in discriminating specifies of highly similar morphology, flagging certain specimens for further taxonomic analysis, and assisting in the discovery of new species. In a recent study [1], a team of researchers from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Divine Word College of Legaspi, and Angeles University Foundation used DNA barcoding to identify the different species of fish found in Taal Lake. The study represents the first molecular survey of the ichthyofauna of Taal Lake and the first DNA barcoding attempt of Philippine fishes. The findings of the study appeared in a [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>2011 QS Asian University Rankings: 4 Philippine Universities in Top 200</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/09/05/2011-qs-asian-university-rankings-4-philippine-universities-in-top-200/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/09/05/2011-qs-asian-university-rankings-4-philippine-universities-in-top-200/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:08:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ateneo de manila university]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[de la salle university]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[philippine universities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[qs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[saint louis university]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[silliman university]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[university of san carlos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[university of santo tomas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[university of the philippines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[university rankings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[xavier university]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=111</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As part of an expansion to the QS World University Rankings, the QS Asian University Rankings was first published in 2009. It ranks Asia’s top universities based on academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, papers per faculty, and citations per paper, among others. This year marks its third year and the rankings are now out. This year&#8217;s top 5 Asian universities are: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong) University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)  National University of Singapore (Singapore) The University of Tokyo (Japan) The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Four universities from the Philippines are included in the top 200, see Table 1 below. The University of the Philippines jumps to 62nd from 78th last year. On the other hand, Ateneo de Manila University moves to 65th from 58th. The University of Santo Tomas is currently ranked 104th, while De La Salle University is ranked 107th. &#160; TABLE 1: QS Asian University Rankings (2010 &#38; 2011) University Rank (2011) Rank (2010) University of the Philippines 62 78 Ateneo de Manila University 65 58 University of Santo Tomas 104 101 De La Salle University 107 106 &#160; Aside from the overall rankings, universities are also ranked in 5 [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/09/05/2011-qs-asian-university-rankings-4-philippine-universities-in-top-200/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Learning from Success Stories</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/31/learning-from-success-stories/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/31/learning-from-success-stories/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:45:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>baggy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peer-review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[philippine science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=106</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[by Prof. Raul Suarez Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara When we examine success stories in Philippine science, we see common features.  For example, at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, the National Institute of Physics and the Marine Sciences Institute have both embraced the culture of proper publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.  At the International Rice Research Institute, highly productive Filipinos, working alongside and publishing with international scientists, have blurred the boundaries between basic and applied research concerning rice.  The Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center has become a publication-oriented institution that conducts international caliber research that benefits the country. It is when people recognize what is wrong with certain practices and ways of thinking that institutions are able to change and make progress.  However, that change is required for progress to occur is a message that is not always welcome.  There are still those who believe that there should be PhD programs in the sciences, scientific journals, science institutes, academies, policy making bodies and funding agencies run by those who do not publish actively and never have.  There are those who believe that government investment in endeavors that [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/31/learning-from-success-stories/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Controlling dengue from within</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/30/controlling-dengue-from-within/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/30/controlling-dengue-from-within/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Aug 2011 03:01:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Research News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aedes aegypti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dengue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wolbachia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=101</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease that’s becoming an increasing problem in tropical and subtropical regions. It is an infection that causes a severe influenza-like illness, and sometimes a deadly complication called dengue haemorrhagic fever. Some of the symptoms of dengue include sudden onset of high fever which may last 2 to 7 days, joint and muscle pain, weakness, and skin rashes, among others. In the Philippines alone, some 29,000 cases were reported between 1 January and 10 July 2010, an increase of 34.7% during the same period in 2009 according to the Department of Health. A traditional measure to control the spread of the disease is to reduce the population of the mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, which carries the virus. But this has had little success in reducing the incidence of dengue, and therefore more effective alternatives are urgently needed. In a recent issue of the journal Nature (25 August 2011), two papers[1,2] showed that the bacteria called Wolbachia can be used to control the infection of mosquitoes with the dengue virus by infecting them with a strain of the bacteria. The research team also demonstrated that Wolbachia infection can be spread effectively to natural mosquito populations when infected [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/30/controlling-dengue-from-within/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>From Kids to Scientists</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/27/from-kids-to-scientists/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/27/from-kids-to-scientists/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:52:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Salamin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/27/from-kids-to-scientists/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When we think of great names in science, say Darwin, Einstein, or Curie, we mostly focus on their exceptional achievements, not necessarily on the persons themselves. But like everyone else, long before they became great names, they were children. What were the things that influenced them as they were growing up? As we know, children’s minds are like clay that can be molded. The early years of a child’s development will strongly influence his or her career path later in life. Therefore, the environment plays a major role in steering a child’s interest towards science. Families, parents, role models and mentors will be indispensable in germinating and nurturing this interest. More importantly, a society that fosters a scientific culture will be necessary to ensure that this interest will be sustained. In Tsukuba, for instance, the city has an annual summer program called “Tsukuba Chibikko Hakase,” where children are encouraged to visit scientific research institutes throughout the city, thus earning their “Junior Dr.” titles. Just imagine how would it be, if in the Philippines, there would be such numerous opportunities for a child to be exposed to science at an early age? Just imagine if a child can take advantage of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/27/from-kids-to-scientists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Viability of production of biodiesel and biogas from microalgae: A net energy analysis</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/20/viability-of-production-of-biodiesel-and-biogas-from-microalgae-a-net-energy-analysis/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/20/viability-of-production-of-biodiesel-and-biogas-from-microalgae-a-net-energy-analysis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Aug 2011 05:23:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Research News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biodiesel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biofuel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=73</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Recently, there has been a growing interest in finding alternative forms of energy. This is mostly driven by increasing prices of oil, concerns over greenhouse gases emission from fossil fuels, and some form of government subsidies. One of the alternatives which has been gaining much public and scientific attention is biofuel, a type of fuel which is derived in some way from biological materials of living or recently living organisms. This includes biodiesel, made from vegetable oil, animal fats, or recycled greases that have been chemically modified so that its physical properties resemble those of diesel fuel. It is usually used as diesel additives to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide emission, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Although environmentally friendly, the use of these alternative forms of energy has not been without criticism. One of the issues is the associated consumption of water and land resources which could have been used for the production of food. Thus, to help policy makers decide on which is more advantageous, it is necessary to have a quantitative assessment of the viability of various potential systems for producing biofuels. One of the simplest, and oldest, approaches is net energy analysis. In simple terms, the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/20/viability-of-production-of-biodiesel-and-biogas-from-microalgae-a-net-energy-analysis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>ISI-journal myths and phobias</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/02/isi-journal-myths-and-phobias/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2011/08/02/isi-journal-myths-and-phobias/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 2011 02:40:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>baggy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISI-journal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=69</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[by Raul Suarez Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Some recent messages may appear to sanctify ISI-indexed journals as well as to demonize local journals and everything published in them. A consequence of “rule of thumb” generalizations might be a lack of awareness and understanding of issues and realities concerning journals and publishing. Myths and phobias concerning these often come up when I visit the Philippines and talk to scientists. I have written this with graduate students and beginning researchers in mind. It supplements an earlier article (http://www.philsciletters.org/pdf/20103.pdf). Since I went to graduate school in Canada in 1976 and up to the present, I have never heard anyone in North America or Europe make a big deal of ISI-indexing or use it as a criterion for anything. ISI-indexing is a non-issue because among the thousands of journals in the list (and that is really all it is), there are many that publish junk. As one colleague put it, the fact that a journal is ISI-indexed simply means “It exists”. The “push” for publication in ISI-indexed journals is a relatively recent phenomenon in the Philippines. As many are aware, the UP now gives its faculty [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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