De La Salle University Senior High School’s Dan Alden Baterisna, who won a bronze medal at the 31st International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in Baku, Azerbaijan last year, backed up his top-ranked status as he scored 609 points to place first in the recently-concluded National Olympiad in Informatics (NOI.PH), held online last August 8-9.
After winning bronze in last year’s 31st IOI held in Azerbaijan, Dan Alden Baterisna from De La Salle University Senior High School topped this year’s NOI.PH Finals to once again secure a slot in the national team. (Photo courtesy of NOI.PH)
Coming in second was Steven Chua of British School Manila, who scored an impressive 574.54 points. Baterisna received a gold medal and Php 6,000 cash prize, while Chua secured silver and Php 3,000.
With the finish, they automatically clinched two of the four spots on the Philippine team in the IOI.
The NOI.PH Finals was participated in by the top 31 finishers out of 148 during the national eliminations held in January. The finalists each solved five challenging programming tasks in each day’s five-hour session. Contestants used their programming and analytical skills to create data structures and algorithms to solve each task using a program.
Also securing places in the top 10 were:
3rd place – Steven Reyes of Saint Jude Catholic School (565.74 points)
4th place – Dion Stephan Ong of the Ateneo de Manila Senior High School (503 points)
5th place – Frederick Ivan Michael Tan of Philippine Science High School – Main (493 points)
6th place – Rapahael Dylan Dalida of PSHS Main (468.08 points)
7th place – Ron Mikhael Surara of PSHS Bicol (449.68 points)
8th place – Enruco Rolando Martinez of PSHS Main (273.96 points)
9th place – Harvey Shawn Chua of PSHS Main (271.9 points)
10th place – Marc Joshua Ayalde of PSHS SOCCSKSARGEN (268.11 points)
The remaining two slots in the national team will be filled after a training session among the top finalists.
NOI.PH President Marte Soliza congratulated the winners and urged the finalists to do their best in the training session.
“The organizing committee would like to thank the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) for their generous support for the event. We would also like to thank our volunteers from Ateneo de Manila University’s (ADMU) Computer Society of Ateneo (CompSAt) and the University of the Philippines’ Association for Computing Machinery (UP ACM), as well as our testers and illustrators for helping out. We hope for your continued support as we move to the selection of our delegation to the International Olympiad in Informatics 2020,” Soliza said.
Likewise, DOST-SEI’s Director, Dr. Josette Biyo, congratulated NOI.PH for a successful full-online national finals.
“Informatics as a field is something exciting for young Filipinos and we are very glad that the NOI.PH leads in developing the innate analytical and computing talents of our students. We congratulate the winners and look forward to their journeys, not just in the IOI, but in their other endeavors,” Biyo disclosed.
The IOI 2020, which was originally set in July in Singapore, is moved to September 21-22 and will be held online. (30)
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Pagtukoy sa mga bahagi ng lumang jeepney na maaaring
i-recycle, na-develop na
Ang mga bahaging maaari pang isalba o mapakinabangan sa isang end-of-life vehicle o ELV, tulad ng sikat na ‘jeepney’, ay maaari nang tukuyin sa tulong ng recyclability index.
Sa ilalim ng proyektong “Recycling and Recyclability Index for End-of-Life Jeepneys” na pinondohan ng Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development o DOST-PCIEERD at kasalukuyang isinasagawa ng University of Asia and the Pacific-School of Social Engineering (UA&PSSE), nadebelop ang isang rating system na maaaring kwentahin ang recyclability at recovery ng vehicle components o mga parte ng isang sasakyan.
Ang naturang rating ay una sa buong bansa at sumusuporta sa Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program o PUVMP ng pamahalaan.
Ayon sa nasabing pag-aaral, natukoy na maaaring umabot sa P30,000.00 ang halaga nang dismantled o nakalas na na bahagi o components ng jeepney model at hindi pa kasama rito ang makina.
Upang mas higit na mapataas ang halaga at mapakinabangan ang kinalas na mga parte ng isang ELV-Jeepney, isang preliminary feasibility study ang isinasagawa na nagmumungkahi sa pagtatayo ng isang scrappage facility sa loob at paligid ng Greater Metro Manila na siyang mangangasiwa sa proseso ng pagtatanggal ng mga naturang parte ng sasakyan.
Inirekomenda rin ng mga mananaliksik ang pagtatayo ng mas malaking scrappage facility na maaari namang pangasiwaan ng regional consortium of junk shop owners.
Ang iba pang resulta ng pag-aaral ay nauna namang ibinahagi sa Department of Transportation (DoTR) – Road and Infrastructure Sector na siyang direktang nangangasiwa sa PUVMP.
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PH COVID-19 cases lower compared to wealthier nations – scientist says
“The number of COVID-19 cases in the country, compared with the cases of the wealthier nations attests to the government’s efforts in managing the pandemic,” Dr. Cynthia P. Saloma, Executive Director of the Philippine Genome Center, University of the Philippines, said during a webinar on “Understanding the Science of COVID-19 Testing.”
The COVID-19 cases in selected countries vary: in the US, there were 6.2 million cases with 567 deaths per million population; in the UK there were 337,168 cases and 611 deaths per million population; and Canada has 129,182 cases with 242 deaths per million population. On the other hand, the Philippines recorded 33 deaths per million population which is much lower.
“We should stop shooting ourselves. We are not bad versus South America, Europe, US, Canada,” Saloma added.
In her presentation on “PCR-based tests for COVID-19, Saloma reported that there are 113 licensed testing laboratories in the country. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a total of 242 COVID-19 test kits broken down into the following: 85 PCR based, 88 rapid antibody, 59 immunoassay and 10 others. As of 31 August 2020 about 2.39% of the country’s population were already tested.
Diagnostic tests for COVID-19 are of two types: the first is the RT-PCR, which detects the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus and uses respiratory specimen, and the second is the antibody-based tests, which detects the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, and uses serological samples or blood tests.
Some of the common errors in using RT-PCR are operator-related, reagent/kit related, and machine/software related. In handling COVID-19 test kits, Saloma, reminded those administering it to systematically assess all possible sources of error, ensure that personnel are properly trained, religiously follow proper molecular biology techniques, store proper reagents and samples, properly maintain the equipment, and call a friend when in doubt.
Worldwide, there are 25.7 Million COVID-19 cases and 856,826 deaths.
“This is a new challenge so we are all learning and refining methods as the pandemic unfolds,” Saloma said.
The webinar is a part of “COVID-19: Where We Are and Where We Want To Be,” series organized by the Department of Science and Technology-National Academy of Science and Technology (DOST-NAST). (S&T Media Service, Geraldine Bulaon-Ducusin)