Covid-19

Life priority and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic of OFW teachers in Thailand

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Aldrin C. Go
Technological University of the Philippines
[email protected]

A B S T R A C T

This study is action research using a quantitative approach to define the influence of Life Priorities based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: physiological, love and belonging, safety and security, self-esteem, self-actualization, and life satisfaction amidst of pandemic. The study’s data comprised 264 OFW Teachers in Thailand via a Google Form questionnaire and utilized non-probability sampling: purposive, convenience, and snowball. G*Power was utilized to calculate the sample size. In SPSS, multiple linear regression was used to test hypotheses at a 0.95 significance level. Demographics of respondents: Gen X has the highest mean rating ratings; females outnumber men; married status is most common; yearly income varies by tenure. The mean rating on the Life priorities and Satisfaction results showed that the respondents were extremely satisfied. The Life Priorities and Life Satisfaction and the demographic assessment showed that boomers II and females were more concerned about love and belonging, married marital status was more concerned about psychological needs, and the greater the income, the more psychological needs. Finally, the study discovered that psychological, love and belonging, safety and security, and self-actualization are the factors that influence life satisfaction. The study recommended the following: the Philippine Government’s Policymakers, Educators, and Psychologists: Develop a program for OFW Teachers in Thailand that can improve the wellness of daily living, leading to extreme life experiences; The OFW Teachers in Thailand: To be involved in the activities that can improve Life satisfaction and encourage others to keep a positive outlook during the pandemic, and future Researchers: it is suggested to increase the number of respondents to normalize data distribution and add additional variable constructs like coping strategies.

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COVID-19 mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine safety and antibodies level among healthcare workers at Centre Hospitalier du Nord

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Rosabelle Chedid, Salam El Samad, Josmar Yammine, Nisrine Chami, Mira Daher
Université Antonine (UA), Baabda, Lebanon
Centre Hopistalier du Nord (CHN), Zgharta, Lebanon
Mira Diet Clinic, Ein Remmane, Lebanon

A B S T R A C T
Studying the levels of the anti-spike protein receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) antibodies as well as the vaccine safety is very important to evaluate the protection level against the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection and to motivate individuals to receive the vaccine. In this study, we evaluate the effect of the mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine using the EUROIMMUN anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA (IgG) for the measurement. We detected the IgG class antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in the human serum, or plasma, of 217 eligible participants aged >18 years, recruited between March and June 2021. These participants were divided into 2 groups: the first group consisted of 149 participants without prior infection, while the second group included 68 participants who had recovered from symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 infections. All the adverse effects were minor local or systematic reactions such as local pain, asthenia, body ache, muscle pain and headache. The level of the adverse effects increased following the second vaccine dose. The adverse effects were higher in participants with previous symptomatic SARS-CoV2 infection (p=0.020). This was due to the presence of anti-S-RBD IgG levels before the vaccination. Moreover, the adverse effects were higher in females than males after the first dose (p=0.025) and the second dose (p=0.01). As for the anti-S-RBD IgG levels, they were all positive at the end of the second dose. The anti-S-RBD IgG levels 21 days after the vaccination dose were higher than the pre-vaccination levels (p=0.000) and they were higher in previously infected participants before getting the first dose (p=0.000). Our results show a good antibody response at the end of the two mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine doses in both previously infected and not infected participants. Moreover, our study highlighted the minor adverse effects reported following each dose.

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Protective face covering: An application of MobileNetV2 detector

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MN Musa, NO Badmos, IR Saidu, U Abdulrazaq
Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna Nigeria
Corresponding Email: [email protected]

A B S T R A C T
COVID-19 has created a global serious health hazard with far-reaching consequences for society, our perceptions of the world, and how we live our daily lives. As a result, the World Health Organization recommended the use of face masks and social isolation to help reduce the rising number of infections. However, subsequent research has revealed that face masks alone can be ineffective, particularly in crowded settings or hospitals. Face shields can also be used in addition or as an alternative for face masks because they are indefinitely reusable and can be washed with soap and water or standard disinfectants. Because most detectors for fighting COVID-19 only focus on the face mask alone, we proposed a transfer learning model by fine-tuning the pre-trained MobilenetV2 architecture, to detect, recognize, and distinguish faces with shield, mask, and those without either. This study applied a standard image recognition pipeline, which is comparable to that used by most traditional recognition programs. In doing this, we first downloaded and scrapped images from search engines to form our dataset, we then pre-processed the images by the application of image augmentation to address the limited availability of the dataset for a better training and validation. After which a multi-class detection system was accomplished. The results of the study achieved 98 percent accuracy on the validated dataset. It is therefore recommended that this model can be improved to capture all forms of face covering and be integrated into CCTV cameras for its detection in important places like hospitals.

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Mathematical realization of diagnosing COVID-19 using Boolean Algebra

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Daeuk Kim, Maria Nessie Sobina Chiang Yu, Ryan Rhay Vicerra, Raouf N.G. Naguib, Ronnie Concepcion II
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines/South Korea
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Corresponding Email: [email protected]

A B S T R A C T
COVID-19 has caused countless deaths across the globe. In developing countries like the Philippines, limited access to health services like ICU beds and PCR tests contributed more to COVID-19 related deaths. It is for this reason that the researchers developed a simple COVID-19 diagnostic tool using basic logic gates to determine whether one has COVID-19 or other related illnesses like flu, colds, and allergy. The researchers first collected information regarding the common symptoms of COVID-19 and similar diseases. The identified symptoms cough, fever, fatigue, loss of taste, and smell were used as the inputs for the circuit, while CODI-19 and other related diseases served as the output. The classification of symptoms was divided into often, sometimes, rarely, and never. In order to generate binary digits, often and sometimes were considered positive symptoms (1) while rarely and never were considered negative (0). Minterms were determined through the truth table of the conceptualized circuit. Furthermore, these are used to generate the Karnaugh map. Consequently, simplifying the Boolean expression for each output variable. This is a mathematical realization through Boolean algebra. Through the logic circuit created from Boolean expression, the researchers were able to successfully predict the expected disease based on the existence of symptoms. Furthermore, the researchers were able to translate the circuit into its complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) counterpart. While the designed tool is affordable and can be easily implemented, however, it still possesses a limitation as other COVID-19 positive patients are asymptomatic. Furthermore, the diagnostic tool was not tested on real-world data. Hence, the accuracy of the tool is based on theoretical experiments only.

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Emergency remote teaching experience: Challenges, actions and suggested measures of STEM research teachers in Pangasinan Philippines

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Mark Angelbert B. Dulay, Shielmyn Kate J. Manuel
Tayug National High School, Pangasinan, Philippines
Daniel Maramaba Memorial National High School, Pangasinan, Philippines
Corresponding email: [email protected]

A B S T R A C T
The Department of Education (DepEd) resorts to using Self-Learning Modules (SLM) with the alternative learning delivery modalities for various types of learners across the Philippines. This sudden change in the methodology of teaching is commonly known as Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). Emergency Remote Teaching is a shift of delivering lessons due to crisis. This phenomenological qualitative research aims to determine the experiences of STEM Research teachers during Emergency Remote Teaching. On this premise, a phenomenological research design was conducted among the STEM Research teacher of Pangasinan Province, Philippines. The researchers seek information on the difficulties encountered, actions taken, and suggested measures of the STEM research teachers using an interview method. The participants were selected by the researchers via purposive convenience sampling since the study was conducted in the middle of a pandemic. Interview questions were done online and phone calls upon the availability of the respondents. The data were interpreted and analyzed after participants shared their experiences as research teachers at the time of the pandemic. The results reveal the following statements. The student’s struggle of understanding the lesson and delivery of instruction is the main difficulties experienced by the respondent-teachers. This is supported by technical difficulties and struggle in monitoring and evaluation. The actions taken by the teacher-respondents to address this were constant and use of different modes of communication. This includes individual consultation and the use of blended learning. The research teachers suggested measures for the stakeholders are the organization of training and creating unified learning materials. While the teacher-respondents also suggested stakeholders’ investment in scientific research.

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