Book of Abstracts: July 2013 Paliwanagan sa UP Diliman July 2013 | Page 28

Dr. Ramos is a recipient of several distinguished awards including: Outstanding
Research and Development in Advanced Science and Technology of PCASTRDDOST in 2003; the 2005 Advanced Technology Award of the University of the
Philippines; and Gawad Chanselor Awards in 1996 and 1998. He has been Visiting
Scientist (on five occasions from 1984 to 2000) to the Institute of Plasma Physics,
Nagoya, Japan under the auspices of the Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science.

RAPID AND ACCURATE DETECTION KIT FOR
AMEBIASIS PATIENTS THROUGH SALIVARY IGA
Windell L. Rivera, Angeline Odelia C. Concepcion
& Alexander Edward Dy
Worldwide, deaths due to amebiasis may reach up to 100,000 annually. The
infection is prevalent in areas where proper sanitation systems are lacking. In the
Philippines, prevalence rate is between 2% and 8%. Current diagnostic tools for
amebiasis all require stool samples, which are inconvenient to acquire and may
even cause further contamination. One of these methods, stool microscopy or
fecalysis, yields results within hours of submitting a sample but requires a nomeat diet of three to four days. Other diagnostic methods have no dietary
requirements and also provide results in a matter of hours; however, they are
more expensive than stool microscopy.
The present invention features an Amebiasis Kit that provides a more convenient
and a cheaper tool to diagnose amebiasis infections. The Kit only requires saliva
samples rather than stool samples from patients. It is also self-contained and
results can be visualized in about 3.5 hours. The Kit has a sensitivity of 94.1%
and specificity of 97.6% with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 98% when
compared with Polymerase Chain Reaction. Its cost is much cheaper than other
E. histolytica detection kits currently available in the market.
A Philippine patent application has been filed for this invention on 28 November
2008 (Application No. 1-2008-000437; patent pending).
About the Inventors
Dr. Windell L. Rivera received his PhD degree in Medical Science (Molecular and
Cellular Microbiology) from Nagasaki University, Japan in 1999. Currently, he is an
Associate Professor of Microbiology at the Institute of Biology and the Director of
the Natural Sciences Research Institute of UP Diliman. He was conferred the title

52 Paliwanagan sa UP Diliman

UP Scientist II in 2012. His research interests include molecular diagnostics and
epidemiology, molecular protozoology and medical biotechnology. He received
numerous awards from various agencies, among which are: 2006 Ten Outstanding
Young Men (TOYM) award in Medical Science and Microbiology, 2006 Outstanding
Young Scientist in Medical Science, 2009 Philippine Society for Microbiology, Inc.
(PSM) Outstanding Microbiologist, 2010 NRCP Achievement Award in the Biological
Sciences, 2010 UPD Gawad Chanselor para sa Natatanging Guro, and 2013
UPAA Distinguished Alumnus in Science and Technology.
Dr. Angeline Odelia C. Concepcion finished her BS Biology degree from UP Diliman
as valedictorian in 2005, where she did research on developing a methodology to
detect E. Histolytica by Salivary IgA ELISA and to test its sensitivity and specificity.
She went on to study medicine at UP Manila and is currently an Internal Medicine
resident at the Philippine General Hospital. She plans to go into Medical Oncology
and nurture her passion for research and both spiritual and medical care for
patients.
Dr. Alexander Edward S. Dy is currently an otorhinolaryngology resident at the
national university hospital, the Philippine General Hospital. Aside from saving
lives, which has been his lifelong dream, he is also into research. He has won
research awards (Allianz Research Award in the 20th European Students
Congress in Germany; Best Poster in the Student Scientific Sessions in Sri Lanka)
and presented in various international conventions (e.g. Unite for Sight Global
Health and Innovation Conference in Yale, Connecticut; 13th Biological Sciences
Graduate Congress in the National University of Singapore). Someday, he wishes
to make a difference in other people’s lives.

SEAMOY™: SEAWEED-BASED AIR FRESHENER
Marco Nemesio E. Montaño & Banaag Glorioso-Lajera
Many air fresheners contain substances that are harmful to the nervous system
and respiratory tract. They can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, watery eyes,
and chest pain. Thus, healthier and natural alternatives to commercial airfresheners are needed.
Seamoy™, a seaweed-based air freshener, uses a minimal amount of chemicals
and does not generate any hazardous waste. It makes use of whole seaweeds
as base, instead of the extracted polysaccharide, thus reducing production costs.
Although the gel produced using the whole dried seaweed is not translucent in
form, the gel strength remains the same as that of the carrageenan-based gel.

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