Traditional Healing 2: Poultice made of moss heals wound, relieves pain.

Dr Abe V Rotor

An herbolario treats a minor wound with a common moss. Is there a scientific basis?

A carpet of moss, painting in acrylic, AVR 2009

Closeup of moss gametophytic phase

This is a common practice in the highlands where moss is plentiful and luxuriantly growing. Fresh moss is crashed into a pulp and directly applied on a fresh or infected wound, loosely wrapping it around.

Lourdes V. Alvarez in her masteral thesis at the UST Graduate School demonstrated the effectiveness of moss (Pogonatum neesi) against Staphylococcus bacteria, the most common cause of infection. Moss extract contains flavonoids, steroids, terpenes and phenols, found to be responsible for the antibiotic properties of this lowly, ancient bryophyte. ~


Reference: Living with Folk Wisdom, AV Rotor 2009

Traditional Healing 5: Oregano - best remedy for cough

 Oregano - best remedy for cough
Dr Abe V Rotor

Oregano for sore throat and cough. One or

two leaves taken fresh with juice drink. 

Oregano (Coleus amboinicus) is a popular herbal plant. It is effective in easing cough and sore throat. You chew the young leaf of the oregano while taking the juice, or blanch it, then extract the juice while adding sugar and warm water. It has no side effects.

What a relief! No wonder the plant’s name comes from the Greek words Ore/Oros,, which means mountain, and ganos, which is joy. Joy in the mountain.

The plant is also an insect repellant. It emits an odor which prevents the spread of mosquitoes, flies, fleas and roaches. Its presence in the garden wards off a lot of pest.

Try oregano as spice for dinuguan. This is the secret of Italian cuisine in cooking pork with blood.

Plant oregano in pots by cutting, or the whole shoot or branch. It's very easy to grow. It can grow in the shade or under direct sunlight, with moderate amount of water. During rainy months keep the potted plants away from too much rain water. Oregano grows best in summer, but don't forget to water it regularly. A full grown oregano can be made into cuttings which you can grow in individual plastic pots to supply the neighborhood - for sale or as gift. It takes a cutting to reach full growth in two to three weeks. ~

Warning: Oregano extract is not advisable for pest control, either as spray or sprinkle solution. It has allelophatic substance, which means it is phytotoxic to certain plants, causing stunting or death. Never plant oregano side by side with your favorite garden plants like rose, mayana, anthurium and ground orchid.

Traditional Healing 6: To stop hiccup, jolt the person.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Gulat ang gamut sa sinok.

Now and then anyone may fall into a pit of hiccup for reasons not well understood even in the medical field. But as sudden and unpredictable that it came, just by jolting the person is enough to terminate his hiccup.

This is what you can do to help your friend in a pit. The first remedy is to give him water. If this does not work, gently massage the back of his head. If still this does not work, secretly time the interval of his hiccup. Jolt him up real good coinciding with the next hiccup. Pronto! The hiccup is gone.

Warning: Don't do this if the person has food or water in his mouth. Baka mabulunan. He might choke, instead. The poor fellow may misunderstand you, and this could lead to a fight. Or tampuan that ends in cold relationship. If the fellow is wearing dentures, he might lose them in the process. Or something worst can happen. ~

x x x

Traditional Healing 8: When your tooth aches, press the joint of your jaw.

Dr Abe V Rotor

My friend who grew up in the city complained. “My tooth aches.” It was lunchtime. Sayang. We were going to have lunch, picnic style beside a farm pond we call alug.

“Sumasakit din ang aking ngipin,” I said, … “na hindi ko matikman lahat nito,” I said, my tooth is also aching for not tasting all these, savoring the aroma of pinakbet (famous Ilocano vegetble stew), inihaw na talapia (broiled tilapia on charcoal). And "jumping salad". (Live juvenile shrimp, with calamansi and salt.) It’s like the proverbial Bacchus feast Philippine barrio style.

“Hindi ako nagbibiro,” He said. "May butas, eh." (tooth cavity)

“Okay press the base of your jaw, like this. ” I demonstrated how. Open your mouth and feel the attachment of the jaw, it’s the hollow part. Press it long enough until the pain subsides. He did it and held it there.

“Okay ka na?”

“Masakit pa rin.”

“Saan nga ba ang sumasakit?” Para akong dentista. (Where does it hurt? I was acting like a dentist.)

“Doktor, nga si Dr. Rotor,” I heard kindly Lola Bistra and someone seconded. Other giggled.

“Dito sa left.” My friend opened his jaw.

“Mali ang pinipisil mo, eh. Dapat sa kanan na jaw, ang tapat ng sumasakit na ngipin."
He pressed the wrong side of his aching tooth!

Well, he got relived finally. He was the last at the table - papag, made of bamboo which serves as a portable bed, too.

Masakit pa ba? I complimented sort of. (Is it still painful?)

Kunti a lang. Kasi kunti na lang ang itinira ninyo. (Little, he said, jokingly referring to the food we left after we had our fill.) ~

In this particular case traditional medicine shows these features:

• Healing between friends is assuring
• Palliative is brief relief
  
• "Humor is the best medicine."
  
• Don't spoil the fun.
  

Biology: Part 1 - Exobiology - Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Dr Abe V Rotor

Life forms crowd the inside walls of Mudspring, a volcanic vent of Mt Makiling, Laguna.

How did life originate on Earth? What did the earliest primitive organisms look like? Were they based on RNA, DNA, or on something we would hardly recognize today? Is there life elsewhere in the Universe?

The branch of biology that deals with the search for extraterrestrial life and the effects of extraterrestrial surroundings on living organisms. Also called astrobiology, space biology.

Evidence of life in Martian meteorites or future rock samples from the Red Planet may be easier to identify thanks to microbes living in hot springs at Yellowstone National Park.

Dozens of structures on Saturn's moon Titan that appear to be collapsed slush volcanoes have been revealed by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The heat and chemicals associated with these possible volcanoes could provide a niche for life on the frigid moon.

Figuring out whether Titan is volcanically active is important because volcanoes could be a source of the methane found in relatively large amounts in the moon's atmosphere. The methane is constantly being broken down by sunlight, so it must be replenished somehow.

In a flyby of the moon on 22 July 2008, radar observations revealed dozens of rounded depressions that look like volcanic structures on Earth called calderas. These depressions form on Earth when the ground collapses after lava has drained out from under it in volcanic eruptions.

A Filipina, Dr Donna Lacap, PhD, is among the few exobiologists in the world. She is studying the extreme conditions of life that exist in the craters of volcanoes, including our own Taal and Mayon. Dr. Lacap is a graduate from St Paul University QC, then St Paul College, for her BS Biology, for which I had the chance to be her teacher in biological sciences. She pursued her graduate studies and post doctoral abroad, among them The University of Hong Kong. x x x

Biology: Part 3 - Quest for the Pierian Spring

Dr Abe V Rotor

We often hear and gladly agree that life begins at 40. After all we would like to live life all over again and make up for our shortcomings, catch up with our unfulfilled dreams, look beyond adventure, gather fragments of memories and wisdom, and settle on some comfortable patch of green, before we go deep into it.

But the Ulysses in us does not sleep. We have not stopped searching for the fountain of youth. And we have not learned from Sybil, the Greek prophetess, symbol of prodigious old age. One day a young man asked her, “And what wish do you have this time, Sybil?” Looking at herself wrinkled and spent, she sadly replied, “I only wish to die.”

Will we live a hundred-and-five? Well, the number of American age 100 or older could reach 850,000 by 2050, according to Time, and our descendants could live to be 200 years old. The life expectancy in the US rose from 47 in 1900 to more than 79 in 1999. What really is the secret of old age?

Who does not dream of Utopia? Somewhere out there in an island in the Pacific (Remember South Pacific?), or in Shangrila on the Himalayas (The Lost Horizon) lies that dreamland. And who would like to live in Tokyo, or New York or Manila, if he can help it? But hear this.

The life span of a Japanese in busy Tokyo is 78, while a native of an idle South Pacific island is only 55. If this is so then it is not how much we rest our bodies and minds that we are assured of long life. What then is rest or retirement? Didn’t Dr. Hans Selye, the authority on longevity relate long life is achieved with positive disposition and less tension?

There are a number of tests to determine how long a person is expected to live. These are considerations which are of vital importance in knowing a person’s life span. Compute on the basis of a life span of 65 years.

A. The PLUS factors

1. With regular exercise – plus 3 to 5 years
2. Positive and active life, loves work - plus 3 to 5 years
3. Happily married with manageable family size – plus 3 to 5 years
4. With history of long life – plus 3 to 5 years
5. Clean living – plus 3 to 5 years
6. Food and weight conscious, with regular checkup – plus 3 to 5 years

B. The MINUS factors

1. Chain smoker – minus 5 to 10 years
2. Unmarried in middle age – minus 2 to 3 years
3. With family history of major ailments (eg heart attack,
cancer, diabetes) – minus 3 to 5 years
4. Risky profession – minus 3 years
5. Indulgence in vices (drinking, gambling, etc) – minus 2 to 5 years
6. Obese, inactive life – minus 3 to 5 years

But why should we be preoccupied with how long we are going to live?

Seneca, one of the greatest Roman philosophers, once said, “Men do not care how nobly they live, but how long, although it is within the reach of every man to live nobly, but within no man’s power to live long.”
---------------------------
The longest unambiguously documented human lifespan is that of Jeanne Calment of France (1875–1997), who died at age 122 years, 164 days. She met Vincent van Gogh at age 12 or 13.
The oldest undisputed lifespan for a male supercentenarian is that of Christian Mortensen, who lived for 115 years and 252 days. (Wikipedia)

The Myth of Rip van Winkle

Dr Abe V Rotor

Aestivating Philippine crocodile in a local zoo.

Cicada or kuliglig spends its whole year existence
in the soil in its immature stage, then emerges
at the onset of the rainy season. There are however,
species of cicada that emerge after 17 long years.

The story of Rip van Winkle, the man who slept for twenty long years, may be better remembered for its sociological, rather than its biological significance. Rip found solace on some mountaintop and there he fell into deep slumber. When he woke up he was a very old man. The way Washington Irving, the author described him must be true. Of course, it is only fiction, but it raises the question, “Do we really preserve youthfulness in sleep?” What really happens in prolonged sleep?

We know that life processes slow down when we are asleep, and in the process our body gets the needed rest. When we wake up we feel recharged. Surely sleeping is still the best way to be fit and healthy - and young, too.

But his is not the case of Rip van Winkle, or that of Sleeping Beauty, the beautiful maid who remained asleep until “a prince came and woke her with a kiss.” These cases point out to the similarity of prolonged sleeping with coma. The body operates at low metabolism, but gets no replenishment. After the reserve fat is exhausted, the only source of energy are the muscles and other connective tissues. It is no wonder a bear emerges from hibernation weak and hungry.

The Virus that Sleeps for 20 Years

One of the wonders of biology is the virus. The tobacco mosaic virus, Marmor tabaci, for one, can remain dormant for as long as twenty years even if the tobacco leaves are subjected to flue-curing and re-drying. The virus remains in the cigar or cigarette, so that a smoker can transmit it unknowingly to a living tobacco plant by mere contact. Unlike obligate parasites which can not survive outside of their hosts, the virus may remain as an infective particle after its host is dead or gone.

The virus wakes up once it is inside a living host. By dictating the host, the latter multiplies the virus. Now in countless numbers, the virus spreads throughout the plant. The infected plant, in turn, infects nearby plants and threatens to spread throughout the whole field. Like other viruses that infect animals or other plants, tobacco mosaic virus may cause an epidemic. The seriousness of the disease in the farming community can only be imagined since it is capable of infecting other crops that include those belonging to the same family, Solanaceae, to which tomato, pepper, eggplant and Irish potato are members.

Is the virus then, a living thing? Scientists look at it differently from true living things because it lacks the vital processes of life. It is not recognized to belong to any of the sub-kingdoms of the biological world. As a chemical particle however, it is endowed with the same universal property of living things, Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid or DNA. It is this code of life that it uses as a tool in communicating with a host cell once it has gained entry. The host cell then decodes the virus’ DNA messages. Thus it is the host that actually duplicates the virus because the latter can not reproduce by itself alone.

Aestivating toad (Bufo marinus) matches perfectly with its surroundings

The Physiology of Hibernation

To hibernate is to pass winter in a suspended, dormant, or torpid condition. In this state of lethargy, organisms have a better change to survive cold and food shortage. During hibernation metabolic activity is greatly reduced and body temperature is lowered. A hibernating mammal spends most of the winter in a state close to death; in fact the animal may appear to be dead. Some have body temperature close to that of freezing; respiration is brought down to only a few breaths per minute; and the heartbeat is so slow and gradual as to be barely perceptible. Among mammals, true hibernators are found in the Orders of Chiroptera (bats), Insectivora (hedgehogs), and Rodentia (ground squirrels). There are mammal hibernator that do not only rely on reserve body fat. At intervals of several weeks the animal elevates its body temperature, awakens, moves about, feeds, and then returns to its state of torpor.

Cold-blooded animals hibernate, too. The largest is the North American Alligator which hibernates very much like frogs. Frogs burrow in mud and exists for months in their sun baked chambers.

Aestivation

Aestivation is the counterpart of hibernation in the tropics, or where high temperature and dryness characterize the environment. The physiology involved is also the reduction of metabolic rate while the organism is protected from the harsh environment. Aestivation also applies to plants and animals, and also among protists. These are examples of animals that are known to aestivate.

1. Crocodiles dig into the mud and remain there virtually lifeless.

2. South American alligators bury themselves in mud while the earth above them is baked into a hard crust.

3. Certain Australian frogs become distended with water during the wet season and use this stored water during the aestivating period.

4. Small mammals like the aardvark and some lemurs are not known to aestivate but undergo periods of quiescence.

5. The Australian snails plug the mouth of their shell with a morsel of clay before entering upon the period of aestivation. Land snails secrete several diaphragms across the opening of their shells which protect them from desiccation and enemies.

6. The African snail (Helix desertorum) and the California desert snail (Helix veatchii) may remain in aestivation for as long as five and six years, respectively.

7. Slugs bury themselves in the ground in the season and emerge on the arrival of rain.

8. Bivalve mollusks dig into the mud, thus they can survive in pools and patches of water.

9. Nymphs of dragonfly which are normally aquatic may be forced to aestivate on dry land.

10. Opposite to aestivation the Egyptian jerboa is so closely adapted to dry conditions of the desert that rain and damp atmosphere induce it to pass into a dormant condition.

Bivalves remain dormant encrusted in mud.

Unique characteristics of organisms that under dormancy

For both cases of hibernation and aestivation, these are the general conditions that scientists have observed among organisms that are undergoing either state.

1. Organisms in dormancy, especially large animals, fast during the period.

2. There is a certain stage or stages a certain organisms can remain dormant.

3. There is a reduction in metabolic rate. Heartbeat slows down. There is a reduction in body temperature among warm-blooded animals.

4. Reserve food is used during dormancy. As a general rule, cold-blooded animals have more food reserve and that they use it more economically than do warm-blooded animals.

5. Survival time without food is usually greater among cold-blooded than among warm-blooded animals, since the former do not “burn fuel” in order to maintain a high body temperature.

Environment: Preserve the environment by leaving Nature alone

Reflection by a lake atop Mt.Pulog mural, St. Paul U, QC

Dr Abe V Rotor

I met an old man living by a lake atop Mt Pulog in Benguet, living like Henry David Thoreau, the great American philosopher who left town to live alone by the Walden Pond in a nearby forest. Sitting by a small mountain lake with him, I asked, “What is the best way to preserve nature?”

His answer was unexpected.“Leave Nature alone.”

I expected a different answer because I thought man is the guardian and custodian of living things – and all creation for that matter. Apparently, man has not succeeded.

“Before, the enemy of man was Nature;
Today the enemy of Nature is man.”

Direct assault of man on nature has been without respite throughout the ages –

from hunting-gathering, to agriculture, and ultimately to today’s accelerating

Industrialization.

“Good bye,” said the fox to the Little Prince, “And here is my secret.”

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupery’, The Little Prince)

Life is Beautiful. Let’s make it truly one. It is the best offering we can give to our Creator. ~

ComArt: Teaching: Review # 6 Communication and Socio-cultural Change (True or False, 50 items)

ComArt - Ideas that are Changing Our World: Review #1 - Communication and Socio-cultural Change

1. Ideas Changing the World
(3CA3 and 5CA3) True or False
By Dr. Abe V. Rotor

1. Take the back seat cinema, the so-called movies; save your money and ego. Homegrown producers are in the making in all countries today. In fact Bollywood India makes more than all movies made by Hollywood.

2. And gargantuan corporations that have dominated such small items like Colgate, Gillette,Palmolive, or cartelized coffee, cocoa, shoes, cars, and the like – beware of the changing wind of change, and the triumph of Small is Beautiful.

3. And to universities and schools - put up more and larger campuses, multistory-buildings for classrooms and dormitories to accommodate more and more students as population continues to soar and as knowledge explodes.

4. History tells us time and again that ideas merely influence our thinking as humans, but never will they run the world and keep it spinning; it is money, politics and religion that run our world.

5. The defining challenge of the 21st century will be to face the reality that humanity shares a common fate on a crowded planet. Nationalism, while it remains as the motivating factor in nationhood, must expand into the realm of regional and international cooperation.

6. Customer service, welcome. "Welcome sir, thank you madam." More call centers, more HRM waiters and actresses, bank tellers, nurses. Personalized service is part of red carpet treatment.

7. The key to sustainable development is to make the right choices in our public investments and to find ways to harness and channel, market forces. That is, if we are talking of sustainable development for the whole world – for we cannot enjoy sustainable development while the rest of the world declines.

8. National interests aren’t what they used to be. Our survival requires global solutions. Thus a Filipino works in NASA, China makes goods for the US, Germany supplies airplanes in Saudi, oil tankers serve any country irrespective of ideology or distance or political stability as long as the price is right. This is globalization.

9. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol mandates emission cuts by all countries, particularly the industrialized countries. Two countries did not sign the agreement and they remain indifferent until today – US and Australia

10. In 1999 human population reached 6 billion, and was projected to double in 50 years. But by 2050 stabilization of world population shall then be attained at 8 billion, believed to be manageable under a sustainable development system.

11. In 2000, the UN Millennium Development Goals addressed poverty and education as top agenda. In 2002 ,Health Aid Global Fund was established to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. In 2003, UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan called for Green Revolution in Africa.

12. The end of poverty is seen in 2020. Income of all the world’s poorest can be increased comfortably above 1$ per day.

13. In 2030, Fuel Economy programs will produce plug-in hybrids and new technologies will make cars run 42 km/li . By 2040, Zero Emission programs will succeed in halting climate change through renewable energy and other steps.

14. The End of Customer Services. With self-serve technology, you’ll never have to see a clerk again. It started in 1902, Automat in Philadelphia – a German idea. In 1916, the super market Piggy Wiggly, was first self-serve grocery store, Memphis.

15. The key to the tremendous growth of economy is the discovery of huge oil deposit in ones country such as Saudi Arabia, Holland (North Sea), Yemen, and Russia. Thus our dream of perking up our economy is to tap oil off Palawan.

16. Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991 cooled the world, emitting ash and sulfur that lowered the atmosphere’s temperature – so that the newest field in combating global warming is to induce the eruption of other volcanoes.

17. Aging gracefully means not only extending the years of our life but our productivity as well, thus creating a new work ethic, and slowing down the pace of economy to one the face of growth, among others.

18. Some 5 billion people in 120 countries will live to 60 years old and over. This is not far from now.

19. In 1947 – self-serve pumped gas started in California service stations by George Urich. In 1967, Teller Goodbye. Barclays bank opened the world's first ATM at London Branch. In 1995, Flying Solo Alaska - airplane ticket can be obtained over the internet for the first time

20. The Post-Movie-Star Era is still around. Get ready for more films in which the leading man is not “he” but “who?”

21. The role of women in Bangladesh in micro enterprises contributed immensely to economic growth. For this the Nobel prize award went to Mohammad Yunus, the founder and head of Grameen Bank.

22. In 1970, Stars faded. All-star vehicles give way to non-star fantasies like Star Wars, ET Jurassic Park. 2000s Lights out. Old style stars rise falling into the black hole of no-name epics and stories.

23. Reverse Radicalism to terrorism? No way. Start talking to terrorists who stop themselves instead. Prisoners incarcerated for Jihad crimes in Indonesia have been persuaded to cooperate with police, many of them have been released after serving time. This is different from the way the US treats terrorism.

24. Ramon Magsaysay, then defense secretary dismantled the Hukbalahap Movement through persuasion and integrated the members into the stream of society. Rebel returnees program of the Philippines is an alternative solution to today's terrorism.

25. About Kitchen Chemistry - the squishy art of cooking is giving way to cold, hard science - molecular gastronomy, which assures us not only better tasting food but healthier and more nutritious.







ANSWERS: All true, except 3, 4, 6, 12, 15, 20 and 25. Based on Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid lessons

Environment: A self-administered test on Energy

 A single flash of lightning generates power sufficient to provide the power needs of a city for days, but we have yet to tame this natural element and store its power for our use. 

 Energy - Self-Administered Test on Energy (True or False, 50 items)
Dr. Abe V. Rotor and Ms. Melly Tenorio

Lessons on Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid DZRB 738 AM,

8 to 9 Evening Class, Monday to Friday

1. You need less energy to boil water on the lowland (sea level) than on the highland (mountaintop)

2. When water boils at sea level, and you want to increase the temperature, all you need to do is burn more fuel, and even prolong it.

3. The temperature of boiling water inside a pressure cooker can be raised higher than 100ºC.

4. It is cooler on the mountain top than on the lowland, because the air is thinner.

5. One-half of the fossil fuels we use for heating, electricity, machines is actually lost; it’s really a waste of energy.

6. All over the world, the percentage contributions of these main energy sources are as follows: oil and gas 35 %, coal 60%, nuclear 5%.

7. Worldwide eighty (80) percent of energy used for cooking comes from firewood.

8. Generally firewood smoke is harmless to health and the environment. If fact it drives pest and other vermin, induces flowering and fruiting of fruit trees.

9. The most popular local firewood comes from madre de cacao (Gliricida sepium) and ipil-ipil (Leucaena glauca).

10. Firewood farming can be integrated with the forestry program, in mixed tree farming, strip and contour farming; it helps reduce erosion and siltation.

11. SALT means Sloping Agricultural Land Technology, a program of the DA and DENR to protect our hillsides and uplands.

12. Forests, irrespective of its kind and location, increase O², absorb CO², create a mini-climate, attract cloud and increase rainfall. They provide food, energy, shelter and serve as wildlife sanctuary.

13. Biofuel refers to energy derived from farm wastes, oil from plants such as Jatropha, consuelda, castor bean, lumbang, bitaog.

14. Gasohol or alcogas is a mixture of ethanol and kerosene.

15. Car maintenance includes observing carless day, planned route, and car pool,

16. There will be one billion cars in the world by 2018. There are some 600 million cars in the world today which consume 20 million barrels of oil a day.

17. Driving at 100 kph on NLEX is more economical than driving at 80 kph.

18. It takes 1000 people to travel on 125 cars, 10 buses, 1 train.

19. House plan and design should be environment friendly, low in energy consumption, and easily and economical maintenance.

20. Measure the energy you use, monitor monthly consumption. 1,000 watts = 1 kw; 1,000,000 watts = 1 MW; 1 b watts – 1 gigawatt (1GW)

21. Practice recycling to reduce energy requirement – water, re-heat food, waste utilization (wood), scrap metal, used tires, plastics, metals (bauxite most efficient in recycled metal).

22. Austerity in electric energy consumption is necessary. Philippines has the highest cost of electric energy cost, yet it has the lowest GDP per capita.

23. The world continues to build new nuclear power plants, even if the US and Sweden have not built new ones..

24. The world’s worse nuclear power plant accident (meltdown) happen in Cernobyl, Kiev, and three-mile island in the US.

25. Energy of falling water is also called gravitational energy. Hydroelectric plants make use of this principle.

26. SWIP means Small Water Impounding Project is self contained for small communities providing them electric power generation, irrigation, fisheries and forestry.

27. Energy efficiency in agriculture and industry is part of sustainable productivity. It take advantage of the greenhouse effect.

28. Cars, cars, cars. Here are examples of people to car ratios: 1.8 US; 2.9 Russia 24; Peru 52; China 1374

29. Some 1 million cars are manufactured everyday, 80 percent are sold in developed countries.

30. The old Dutch windmills are coming back in the form of wind power farms. (Remember the windmill Don Quijote fought in Miguel de Cervantes’ novel – Don Quijote?)

31. Ethanol comes from sugarcane, sugar beets and root crops (cassava). One objection to biofuels is the direct competition between food and fuel, thus affecting food supply and nutrition.

True.

32. Home Biogas generators are most found in China and India. We have in the Philippine a commercial biogas models at the Madamba Maya Farms in Rizal.

33. These are the used of Solar energy: reflected light (mirror concentrator) to generate electricity, desalination for potable and irrigation water, direct drying, solar panels, solar battery/cell.

25. Fire in the Earth means geothermal energy from hot rocks and volcanic vents. Water is pump to the ground circulates in the cracks, becomes hot up to 200 centigrade and comes through a borehole which then turns a turbine that generate electricity. True. Anglo-French link – the Old Red Sandstone – produces 76 ºcentigrade, hot enough to heat buildings. We trapping volcanic heat at Los Baños.and Tiwi. True.

26. New sails for sea vessels are being developed – but this is not significant to reduce energy of sea vessels which would rather run on fuel. False. New sails can replace engine power.

27. Surging energy of the sea - waves, tides, heat content, salty water, ocean currents – are just dreams yet to come true as alternative energy sources. False. There are pioneer projects such as gully wave generator, wave power, OTEC Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, CLAM – British wave pressure system, Japanese osmosis system at estuaries. .

28. There are now biodegradable plastics for biogas and compost production.

29. Nuclear Powers are North Korea and Iran. While they stirred fear and criticism led by the US and Japan imposing sanction on North Korea, South Korea appears undisturbed by the issue of having a bomb at the other side of its fence.

30. Walking saves on energy, in fact it is therapy and leisure when you combine and harmonize your body, mind and spirit with nature.

31. Energize, instead of exercise. It is exercise that restores gait and adds strength, while it brings inner peace. The mind becomes sharper; sensitivity is honed.

32. Oil from wild plants lighted the homes of our ancestors.

33. One source of oil is lumbang (Aleurites moluccana). Its seeds yield 62 percent lamp and industrial oil. Just pick its ripe berry and light it. It produces a bright bluish flame.

34. Among the alternative sources of oil which are being investigated in the light of spiraling oil price, are the following species of Family Euphorbiaceae, to which the rubber tree belongs.

• Soro-soro (Euphorbia neriifolia),

• Gatas-gatas (E. pilulifera),

• Consuelda (E. tirucalli),

• Physic nut (Jatropha curcas),

• Castor-oil plant or tangantangan (Ricinus communis)

35. Generally the ultimate source of energy is the sun, either directly or indirectly.

36. If you direct all the light of the stars and harness them collectively you will be able to amass tremendous energy.

37. We have succeeded in inventing the “Perpetual machine,” a long dream of mankind.

38. The human body is a perfect machine in terms of energy conversation and utilization, which no human invention can compare.

39. There are now hydrogen powered car running on the streets – the promise to replace fossil fuels.

40. Magnetic shield protects the earth from deleterious radiation from space. .

41. Living organisms do not use energy during dormancy – aestivation and hibernation.

42. Hydrogen bomb works on the principle of fusion, while the atomic bomb works of the principle of fission.

43. Polysaccharides or complex sugars directly release energy in the body.

44. Prisoners become emaciated when, due to prolonged and extreme lack of food, the body converts adipose and muscle tissues into energy.

45. The nemesis of moving parts that reduce fuel efficiency is friction.

46. Synergy means there is more energy than the sum of energies.

47. The ultimate end result when energy is transformed from one form to another is low level heat.

48. Energy is neither created nor destroyed.

49. A single lightning bolt, if only it can be stored, is enough to light a community for days.

50. Overall conclusion and recommendation in conserving energy can be summarized into

“Less is More”

Hydro-electric energy is the main source of electricity in the world. Village size plants can be tapped for power and irrigation, and lately eco-tourism.

ANSWERS
1. False, at sea level water boils at 100ºC; 3,000m – 90ºC; 6,000m – 81ºC; 9,000m – 75ºC)
2. False, Water boils at 100ºC, and remains at this temperature, water will simply change from liquid to gaseous form – steam.
3. True, usually at 120ºC for typical pressure cookers.
4. True. Air absorbs and conserves heat. There is less at higher elevation.
5. True. 50% is wasted
6. False. Oil and gas 60%, coal 35% nuclear 5%
7. True. In rural communities firewood is the main cooking fuel.
8. True. Environment-friendly. Too much exposure is harmful though.
9. True. Philippines, as well as in tropical countries where these trees grow naturally.
10. True
11. True
12. True. Forest also “catch” smog (suspended layer of fog and smoke).
13. True
14. False. Alcohol and gasoline
15.True
16. False, consumption is based on 1 billion cars.
17. False
18. False. 500 only, on the average.
19. True
20. True
21. True
22. False, exaggerated data. But practice energy conservation, such as fewer and more efficient light bulbs, limit laundry (ex. sun dry, bulk washing and ironing), forego using electricity in bath, pressurized water system)

23. True. There are 500 nuclear plants all over the world – now there is a slowdown for new ones. France, Germany, Belgium and Japan will produce more electricity from nuclear reactors
24. True
25. True
26. True
27. True
28. True
29. True
30. True. But there are only 20,000 wind turbine generators (WTGs) in the world with 15,000 located in California. Total production is only 5,000 MW.

31. True. Just like what the Greeks believed in, exercise is the fountain of youth, it could be the missing key to “a healthy mind in a healthy body.”
32. Other than the coconut which is the main source of oil in the country, there are plants growing in the wild that yield lamp oil, among them a large tree called palomaria or bitaog (Calophyllum inophyllum) whose large seed is a rich source of oil called domba or “laurel-nut” oil. The seed or kernel yields 70 to 75 percent oil, and is rich in resin (28.5 percent) making bitaog oil an excellent natural varnish. The resin however, is poisonous. Old folks also use bitaog bark for tanning because of its high tannin content (19.12 percent)
33. True. Other than the coconut which is the main source of oil in the country, there are plants growing in the wild that yield lamp oil, among them a large tree called palomaria or bitaog whose large seed is a rich source of oil called domba or “laurel-nut” oil. The seed or kernel yields 70 to 75 percent oil, and is rich in resin (28.5 percent) making bitaog oil an excellent natural varnish. The resin however, is poisonous. Old folks also use bitaog bark for tanning because of its high tannin content (19.12 percent)

34. False. You may be referring to hanga, a small tree whose mature berries directly burn with bluish flame. It is plentiful in the highlands, such as in Benguet. One can visit the collection of hanga trees at the DENR field station in Loakan, near the Baguio airport.

34. True. However, many of these potential energy sources are in the pioneering stage of development.
35. True. Including fossil fuels, wind and water energy.
36. False. So far no one has succeeded.
37. False. The rule is, “energy in, energy out.” We still have to contend with friction, decay, imprecision, etc.
38. True
39. False. By and large, the Hydrogen engine is still on experimental stage.
40.. True. Magnetic lines run from South Pole to North Pole, creating beautiful aurora borealis and aurora austalis
41. False. Energy consumption takes place at very low rate.
42. True.
43. False. Hydrolysis before respiration/oxidation.
44. True
45. True.
46. True, say the maximum weight the left hand can lift is 20 kg and the right hand is 20 kg, both hands can lift not only 40 kg, but more - perhaps 50 kg. This is not follow the laws of physics.
47. True
48. True.
49. True. We don’t have the technology to “catch and store the energy of lightning”
50. True. Conserve and there will be sufficient energy for everyone.

ComArt - Green Revolution: Review #3 Communication and Socio-cultural Change (Self Administered Test, 25 items)

3. GR Dr Abe V Rotor and Ms Melly Tenorio
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid DZRB 738 KHz AM Band
8 to 9 o'clock in the evening, Monday to Friday

Green Revolution in the seventies - crowning glory of Philippine Agriculture

1. Botanically speaking, the parts of these plants we eat are classified as follows: cassava tuber is a root, so with kamote, peanut is a fruit, potato tuber is a stem, onion bulb is a leaf.

2. The production capacity of genetically modified crops of corn, potato, and soybean – the most common GMO food we are taking every day - has increased even without increasing the supply of nutrients in the soil. GMOs are the world’s ultimate recourse to feed an ever increasing population now approaching the 6.5 billion mark.

3. These are Lazy Man’s plants, or what we consider literally as tanim ng tamad, a syndrome many Filipinos fall into, a little bit of every thing (tingi-tingi), ningas kogon, makakalimutin, kulang sa tiyaga, and mapabaya’: papaya, malunggay, siling labuyo, katuray, ube, patola, kondol, upo, alugbati, talinum, patani, batao, segidillas, kumpitis.

4. Talinum is a small tree that is why it is so easy to grow, and will last for a long time, season after season and you have vegetables throughout the year. Alugbati is tree like malunggay. In fact they usually grow together in some forgotten corner, along dikes and fences, around open well, and does not need care at all practically speaking. Alugbati is best as salad, cooked with mungo, beef stew, sinigang, bulanglang.

5. Agro-ecology will always clash – there is no compromise. Either you are an ecologist or you are an economist. Take eco-tourism, eco-village, etc.

6. The area required for a Homesite for the Golden Years is greatly variable and flexible; it can be as small as 100 square meters to 10 hectares in area. This allows evolution of as many models as one could think of.

7. Value-added, a term in manufacturing gave rise to a new taxation E-VAT. To cope up with the added burden on the part of both entrepreneur and consumer, why not process your product and get instead the benefit of the new law? Example. Don’t just sell your palay harvest, have it milled sold as rice, make flour out of it, make puto and bihon, and others.

8. Based on the same question above, to get the benefits of VAT, market your own produce; be an entrepreneur, a middleman/trader and of course, a producer.

9. Start by planting the seeds of the following crops if you go wish into immediate commercial production – because the seeds of these plants are plentiful, you have no problem of supply: chico, guava, orange, mango, rambutan, lanzones, avocado, tiesa, atis, guayabano – as well as others that produce plenty of seeds. That’s how nature intended it to be.

10. Seeds always turn out genetically true to type. Big mango fruits come from seeds of big mango fruits, big guava means big guava, sweet pomelo – sweet pomelo, seedless atis – seedless atis, red pakwan from red pakwan.

11. Just follow the direction of the sun when you plant by rows and plots – north to south, so that there is less overshadowing of plants. In this case you may increase your harvest by as much as 10 percent.

12. Extend the shelf life of fruits such as mango, avocado, atis, guayabano, nangka, by rubbing salt at the end of the stem, the base of the fruit.

13. Ampalaya has many recipes. All you need is buy a bundle of fresh ampalaya tops made into salad and dipped with bagoong and vinegar. Or add ampalaya leaves to mungo and dried fish or sautéed pork. Pinakbet anyone? Native or wild ampalaya cut in half or quarter without severing the cut. Ampalaya at delatang sardinas.

14. If there is a Luther Burbank, the American plant wizard, in the Philippines we have Nemesio Mendiola, foremost plant breeder of the Philippines.

15. Lowland ricefields during the monsoon season make a contiguous lake that is a an abode to many edible species of freshwater fish, crustaceans, mollusk and amphibians. T

16. Palay-isdahan means converting spent fishponds to rice production since rice is an aquatic plant.

17. Rice can be grown commercially on any elevation from lowland, upland, hillside to highland. This is true to corn, mango and coconut. F

18. The sea is limitless in resources considering that more than 70% of the earth’s surface is water. For this matter, the world’s population can safely increase further without fear of shortage in food and other needs. It is only a matter of improving and disseminating technology and direct it to this purpose.

19. The most allergenic food is cow’s milk. Yet cow’s milk is most recommended for babies and adults alike, in countless preparations from ice cream to cakes to cream, etc.

20. Milk from animals is an invention of countries with winter, when there are no direct source of vitamins and minerals which are fruits and vegetables. Thus, in tropical countries where there are green food all year round requires very little milk – if at all.

21. Converting mangrove swamps into fishponds is a solution to food crisis because fishponds produce more food that what the mangrove swamps normally contribute to the natural supply of food.

22. GM rice or golden rice contains yellow pigment of daffodils which is rich in Vitamin A. Vit A may be needed by the body but an overdose of it is not good to health, among the effects is allergy. This is the first case of “biopharming” – implanting drugs and medicine in food plants to act as food and medicine at the same time.

23. There is limit to growth; it cannot be a perfect progression. Somehow the curve becomes an inverted C – which means that the factors of growths become the antithesis of growth itself.

24. WB warns of social unrest in the event that the impending food shortage cannot be contained on time and by solutions acceptable by the masses. Revolution starts with hungry stomach as history can attest. French Revolution, Russian, Chinese to mention some. These support Marxist philosophy of justifying socialism over aristocracy and capitalism.

25. Ordinary people like anyone of us can secure for ourselves and family enough food and proper nutrition. This is food security in action. It is food security that gives us real peace of mind. The biological basis does not need farther explanation. It is the key to unity and harmony in the living world. Queuing for rice defeats the image of a strong economy. High prices of food do not give a good reflection either. How about ASEAN, UN, WHO? ASEAN commitment to regional food security, food aid from the UN or US may simply ease the impact of food shortage or inequity in its distribution, but they are but palliative measures. And having a dreamer Joseph in public food depot is not reliable either. It is green revolution at the grassroots that assures us of not only food but other necessities of life – and self employment. It is that piece of Paradise that has long been lost that resurrect in some corner of your home. Paradise is not lost, if you create one. Do you agree?














Answers: 1t, 2f, 3t, 4f, 5f, 6f, 7t, 8t, 9f, 10f, 11f, 12f, 13t, 14t, 15t, 16f, 17f, 18f, 19t, 20t, 21f, 22t, 23t, 24t, 25t

ComArt - Photography: Review #4 for Communication and Socio-cultural Change

5. Photography (Modified True or False, 50 Items)
By Dr Abe V Rotor

___1. For best results there is no substitute to having a manual camera with semi-automatic system for photographic art – kahit digital camera pa.
__ 2 . When taking pictures, the rule is that the source of light must be at the back of the photographer.
___3. The lens of a camera is like the pupil of the human eye.
___4. Single lens reflex (SLR) means you are looking at the subject through the lens of the camera.
__ 5. Satellite imaging can detect weather disturbances, pollution; it can predict crop yield levels, and in fact even hideouts of terrorists.
___6. Satellite imaging is used in cartography, that is, the science of mapping the features of the earth.
__ 7. Deeper interpretation of contrast is in the subject of the photo, rather than interplay of light and shadow, colors and lines.
__ 8. The larger the lens opening the better is the depth of field.
__ 9. If the background is bright and your subjects are posed against it, what you can do to counteract glare is to use flash.
__10. Filters emphasize outlines, increases contrast of light and shadow, warm and cool and colors. It is also used in silhouette photography.
__11. The opening of a flower bud step by step is recorded by means of time lapse photography, a technique that compresses time to enable the eye to witness the event in a short time frame.
__12. Buildings appear in concentric circle converging at the top if you use fisheye lens.
__13.When using a wide angle lens for a group photo, those on the sides appear to be very thin while those at the center are fat. (F, it is the opposite).
__14. Telezoom lenses extend the view, compressing distance, thus they are used in war zones.
__15.Allow the pupil of the eye to narrow down by sending a series of faint flashes before the real flash is made. This is to prevent red eye in the photograph.
_ 16. With the state-of-the-art digital photography, a poorly taken photo can be edited anyway - so, why worry?
__17. Black and white photos are simpler to process and print than color photographs.
__18. The computer is equipped with a software to correct blurred, burned, incomplete and misaligned photos to appear normal.
__ 19. As a rule do not retouch a historical documentary photos; they are more authentic in their original state.
__ 20. It is easier to photograph emotions rather than features, because they come naturally, while you have to do a lot of script in the latter.
__21. A famous photograph – a naked young girl, her body burned by napalm (Orange Agent) running along a highway with other children, while soldiers simply didn’t mind, was taken during the recent Iraq war.
__22. A lone man standing in front of a column of tanks was taken during the Vietnam war. The photo freezes the action as if the man succeeded in his suicidal act.
__23. Today, photography – from shooting to printing - can be done in a home studio, and therefore offers a good business opportunity. In fact documentaries and short movies can be done.
__24. Composition is the key to telling a story, be it a painting, a poem, a novel – or a photograph.
__25. The elements of art – are also the elements of photography.
__26. Foreshortened effect is shown on traffic signs written on the highway.
__27. 400 ASA/ISO/DIN film is more sensitive than 100 ASA/ISO/DIN film, in the same way as 4 megapixels is more sensitive than say, 2 megapixels.
__28. As the number increases - 30, 60, 100, 250, 500, 1000 – it means the shutter mechanism proportionately slows down or decreases speed.
__29. Here are three ways to improve your photo when lighting is poor: use tripod, use flash, increase ASA or DIN – in any combination, or all of them at the same time.
__30. You can get multiple exposures in a single shot of fireworks even without a tripod.
__31. Adjust shutter to B and mount camera on tripod when shooting night scenes – a busy street, Christmas lights, stars, constellation, etc.
__32. Today’s digital camera is more versatile, relatively cheaper, easier to operate – but not necessarily superior in quality - to film camera.
__33. Some digital cameras can used the lenses of film cameras, particularly SLRs.
__34. The most advanced digital cameras are made by Kodak.
__35.When a close up of flower is blurred, the subject is too close.
__36. Basketball player in air totally blurred – shutter speed is too slow.
__37. Sunny outdoor view is rough, with dot matrix like in “pointillism.” – ASA value too high.
__38. Photo is too light all over, no accent, clarity poor – insufficient light, lens opening too small, or both
__39. When having your picture taken, relax your shoulder and your face muscles will also relax.
__40. “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” and “Micro Safari” have one in common – micro photography.
__41. Light microscope reveals the world of microorganisms – countless of them in a single drop of water.
__42. Electron microscopy produces photographs of extremely small objects up to 50,000 times in a myriad of colors like a rainbow.
__43. Radio telescope enables the human eye to see very far objects like stars using the same principle of lens telescope.
__44. One area of photography that enables us to see fast moving objects normally invisible to the eye is through slow motion photography.
__45. The aura emitted by our body is visible through photography.
__46. Photography brings to the eyes of the world good things to appreciate, and evil things to correct.
__47. Photojournalism is a risky profession, like other media men, they risk their lives. In fact the Philippines has the most number of fatalities among media men, second to Iraq.
__48. War is the arena of photography – war against poverty, graft and corruption, environmental degradation, diseases, ignorance, terrorism, and the like.
__49. Yet photography offers the newest, most modern, technologically advanced, now popularized to be enjoyed by millions of people everyday.
__50. Photography is the extension of our eyes and other senses, in fact our intellect, our feeling and our soul. x x x


















ANSWERS: 1f,2t,3f,4t,5t,6t,7t,8f,9t,10t,11t,12t,13f,14t,15t,16f,17t,18f,19f,20f,
21f,22f,23t,24t,25t,26t,27t,28f,29t,30f,31t,32t,33t,34f,35t,36t,37t,38t,39t,40t,
41t,42f,43f,44t,45t,46t,47t,48t,49t,50t.

ComArt - Functional Literacy Tips Review #5 for Communiucation and Socio-Cultural Change

Dr. Abe Rotor

Functional literary is the thrust today for grassroots education. It is key to socio-cultural and eco-environmental change.

1. Lightning spawns mushrooms, and fertilizes the earth through nitrogen fixation. When lightning strikes, nitrogen, which comprise 78 percent of the air is combined with oxygen (21 percent of the air) forming nitrate (NO3). Scientists call this process, nitrogen fixation or nitrification. Nitrate, which is soluble in water, is washed down by rain. Electrical discharge also aids in the fixation of other elements such as sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium into soluble compounds. Common species of mushroom growing in the wild are: Volvariella (rice hay or banana mushroom), Plerotus (abalone mushroom), Auricularia (tainga ng daga), and a host of other wild species.

2. Wounding a tree, like mango, induces it to fruit. It is a practice to wound a tree with bolo to induce it to flower – but will the flowers set into fruits? There were five callers; one answered no; the others, yes. Answer: In most instances yes, but severe and repeated wounding may eventually kill the tree or shorten its life

3. What seaweed is highly regarded, in fact it is called “food for the gods”? Answer: gamet (Ilk) or nori (Porphyra sp) which is cultured in Japan.

4. Lighted candle drives flies away. It is a practice to wound a tree with bolo to induce it to flower
but will the flowers set into fruits? There were five callers; one answered no; the others, yes. Answer: In most instances yes, but severe and repeated wounding may eventually kill the tree or shorten its life

5. Kapok laden with pods means there’s going to be a poor harvest.
Ceiba pentandra, or cotton tree, has large secondary roots to compensate for its lack of primary root that can penetrate the deeper source of water. Nature endowed this plant with fleshy trunk and branches to store large amount of water for the dry season. Insufficient rains or early onset of summer triggers flowering, as it is the same case in many species subjected under stress. Thus a fruit-laden kapok tree is an the indicator of poor harvest farmers rely on. It has been observed that a bumper crop of kapok fiber (mainly used for pillow fillers), occurs during El Niño, a climatic phenomenon characterized by prolonged drought.

6. Ring around the moon means a storm is coming.
High humidity in the air causes an optical illusion of a halo around the moon. It is also observed around bright stars. This means the air is heavily laden with water vapors, which is potential rain. Everything is still, not a breeze is felt. There’s an uneasy feeling. Take heed if the barometer reading drops.

7. Red and gray sunsets are signs it’s going to rain. Or a storm is coming.
High relative humidity builds clouds. Suspended water vapors reflect the rays of the setting sun red, orange and crimson in many shades and hues, while the thick clouds form a gray overcast.

8. During full moon crabs are lean.
Crabs feed in the moonlight. They are mainly saprophytic, subsisting on dead organisms, but they are also great hunters and predators. They become fat in preparation for the new moon, living on their food reserve during the dark nights. That is why crabs are fatter just before new moon.

9. In the northern hemisphere a typhoon or storm moves in a circular manner. Is it (a) clockwise, or (b) counterclockwise? There were four callers, two answered clockwise, while the other two answered counterclockwise. The answer is counterclockwise. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is clockwise. This is due to the rotation of the earth influenced by the Corriolis Effect.

10. Land and sea breeze occurs alternately. On a fine day, at around 10 o’clock in the morning, breeze starts to build up. What is the direction of the breeze? (a) from land to sea or (b) sea to land? Five called up, only one got the correct answer – a.
Explanation: Land absorbs heat faster than water does. Since warm air is lighter than cool air, it rises and the cool air from the sea blows in. In the late afternoon and early evening, air movement is exactly the opposite. Land cools off faster than water does, so that the cool air above the land blows out to the sea to replace the rising warm air. (sea breeze). This is the reason many people put up homes along coastlines, and why big cities are located between land and sea, among other reasons. (Manila, Cebu, Davao, Vancouver, New York, Tokyo, Hongkong, etc).

11. Without tasting it, you can tell if lemonade is already sweet or it still needs more sugar. If the seeds of calamansi float it means you need more sugar – true or false? Of the seven callers three got the right answer.

12. In the open sea, where big fish eat small fish, the accumulated pesticide residues and toxic metals is mostly concentrated in the (a) liver, (b) flesh or muscle, (c) fat tissues. Of the seven callers, 3 got the right answer – liver, while 3 answered flesh or muscle. Even fish in lakes and rivers where there is heavy pesticide and fertilizer application carries the poisonous materials mostly in the liver. This is true to animals, domesticated and wild because of toxic wastes they can pick up from agriculture and industry.

13. Which of these families of vegetables is the most sprayed? Cabbage family (Crucifers), Bean family (Legumes), Tomato family (Solanaceae). Squash family (Cucubits)
Answer: Cabbage family which include pechay, lettuce, cauliflower, and broccoli is the most sprayed. Of the seven callers, 5 got the right answer, one answered legumes and one, Solanaceae. All these families of plants received variable amounts of spray chemicals.

14. Crabs – alimango, alimasag, talangka – are fattest during (a) new moon, (b) full moon, (c) all phases of the moon. There were four callers, and no one got the answer, which is new moon. During full moon crabs are lean. Crabs feed in the moonlight. They are mainly saprophytic, subsisting on dead organisms, but they are also great hunters and predators. They become fat in preparation for the new moon, living on their food reserve during the dark nights. That is why crabs are fatter just before new moon.

15. Spirulina is the oldest living vegetable, a one-celled and blue green? Three callers got the term right. The name is Spirulina, meaning small spirals because this blue-green alga appears like a spiral under the microscope. It is Dr. Domingo Tapiador, a former UN-FAO expert who propagated the use of Spirulina in the Philippines and around the world.

16. What is the name of fatless fat in the US market? Olestra. Three callers answered it right. Olestra is a large molecule made up of 7 or more fatty acids around a molecule of glyceride; while normal fat is made up of three fatty acids around a molecule of sugar. Because it is too large, olestra is not absorbed by the small intestine so that it goes straight right through, oftentimes causing embarrassment. Bioethics: Don’t overindulge in food – it causes obesity while it exacerbates starvation and poverty. The problem today is that “half of the world is starving while the other has simply too much food.” (Susan George)

17. What ocean is the ring of fire located? (a) Pacific, (b) Atlantic, or (c) Indian Ocean. There were 5 callers and all got the right answer – Pacific Ocean. The ring of fire, also known as seismic belt is actually a crack of the earth’s crust shaped like a circle that covers mainly southeast Asia – beginning on New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, up to Alaska, down to Oregon in the US (Mount St. Helens) and along the fringes of California to Mexico then to Middle America and crossing the hundreds of Islands in the north and south Pacific and finally reaching Australia. Most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen along the ring of fire.

18. There are animals that remain dormant in summer (aestivate) as well as in winter (hibernation). How do we classify the dormancy of mudfish (dalag) ensconced under the mud in carabao wallows? There were 6 callers; two got the right answer which is aestivation

19. When you are angry, does the pitch of your voice go (a) up, (b) down, or (c) remains the same? There were six callers, 3 answered (a) - higher pitch, and the other three, (b) lower pitch. None answered (c) pitch remains the same

20. What is the fastest growing plant, its stem can grow up to 2 meters or more in a day? Answer: Bamboo There were four callers – two got the answer right, one answered kamote tops, and another squash. Other plants grow also very fast such as ube, but none can surpass the bamboo’s rate of elongation..

21. Botanically speaking, is peanut a (a) root, or (b) fruit? Of the eight callers, only two got the answer correct – fruit. Peanut is a product of pollination and fertilization. The flower is bright yellow which after it is pollinated and fertilized will form a juvenile pod that penetrates into the ground and there it fully develops into a nut which we harvest after a month of so.

22. The queen termite can grow to a size of a finger (a) yes (b) no There were six callers, four got the answer correctly. Yes, the queen termite can grow real big. For ceratin species, the queen can even be larger. It is full of eggs, laying all the time to keep the population of soldiers and workers.

23. A macapuno coconut tree usually bears (a) all nuts macapuno, (b) 50-50 macapuno normal nuts, (c) only few macapuno, most are normal nuts. There were five callers, 3 got the answer correct. Only few nuts in a single tree are macapuno. However, UPLB has developed a technique to produce more macapuno nuts in a sigle tree. Macapuno is a diseased condition caused by a virus which fortunately is not harmful to humans. It was Dr. Gerardo Ocfemia, a professor of mine studied the coconut diseases among them the nature of the macapuno nut.

24. Bringing salt under a sour fruit-bearing tree will cause the fruits to fall. True (a) False (b) Answer: Naturally. What goes better than a pinch of salt when eating juvenile sampaloc, kamias, kasoy or green mango?

25. Old folks tell us that before a sea turtle is slaughtered it cries. Is this really true? True (a) False (b) Seven listeners called up, and except for two, they believe the story to be true. The scientific explanation is that a sudden change in environment activates the tear glands to secrete fluid and prevent the eyes from drying up, which we attribute as tears. Such a sight draws pathetic feelings that may save the life of the fated creature. Because sea turtles are endangered species, their tears mean much more to the fate of man. Analogously, “the bell tolls, but tolls for thee.”

26. How do we know if honey is pure? Pure honey does not solidify if refrigerated. If adulterated the sugar will form into crystals. How about vinegar? Natural vinegar is soothing to the nostril, while glacial acetic acid is sharp. Natural vinegar improves with time; glacial acetic acid loses its strength. Glacial acetic acid is banned as food; it is for industrial use only.

27. When buying bagoong the patis may be found at the top (a), at the middle (b), or at the bottom (c). Which one indicates the best kind of bagoong? Answer: when the patis layer is clearly on top.

28. Do not arrange your bed with your head pointed north, otherwise blood will be drawn to your head causing headache and hypertension. True or False? Only one of the four callers believed in it. There is not evidence that the magnetism of the North Pole will have this reported deleterious effect.

29. Antibiotics is not effective in treating cold. cough, and flu. Of the six callers, three believe it is effective. Antibiotics kills only bacteria – not viruses. Flu is cause by virus.

30. Hybrid corn, hybrid rice, hybrid cattle are not GMOs. Of the seven callers, only one got the wrong answer. Hybrids are not GMO; they are products of the conventional breeding process involving the union of the male and female gametes

31. June 22 - Today is the longest day in the northern hemisphere. Is it the same as in the southern hemisphere? Is it also summer in Australia or in New Zealand? Eight callers got the answer right. Seasons in the southern hemisphere are exactly the opposite with those in the northern hemisphere because of the tilting of the globe.

32. The right brain is for creativity while the left is for reasoning, True or False. Of the seven callers two got it wrong. The left brain is for reason and the right for imagination and creativity

33. What is the specialized tool in teaching that delivers a lesson using animals as characters? Who is the great teacher who used this teaching tool? Answer: Fable and Aesop

34. What insect has the most powerful digestive system; it can even feed on natural cellulose? There were 9 callers – 6 got the right answer; 3 answered ant, housefly and locust. Answer: termite. Termites live on wood and other natural cellulose which is digested by protozoa living in their digestive tract while the termite harbors them in return – a relationship developed through co-evolution.

35. How do you know if a diamond is real? Of the six callers, two got the answer correctly. Other answers are: strike the diamond with hammer (It should not break), look at it against the light and creates a prism, diamond emit a bright blue color. Thje right answer is, real diamond scratches glass. That is why glass cutters are made up of diamond in the sun. Diamond-tip cutters and drills last longer. Only diamond can cut diamond because it is the hardest matter on earth. Thus its dust is used to cut itself.

36. What is the kind of fish Christ blessed, which multiplied - and together with bread - fed the people (multitude) assembled around Him on the shore of Galillee? It is the same fish the fishermen caught in abundance when He instructed them to cast their net at the other side of the boat after a catchless night in the Sea of Galillee? Answer: Tilapia (T. nilotica). It was Dr. Deogracias Villadolid who introduced tilapia in the Philippines in the fifties. Today, like the biblical story, it is tilapia that is most abundant and affordable fish for Filipinos. Four callers got the correct answer; one answered bangus, our national fish.

37. Dogs show intelligence over and above mere instinct. A scientist by the name Pavlov tested it this way: Every time he gave food to his dog, he would ring a bell. After sometime, just by ringing the bell the dog began to salivate. What do you call this kind of learning? Answer: Conditioned learning. Does it also apply to humans? Answer: Yes

38. This is a favorite dish of Ilocanos known as “jumping salad.” What is it really? There were five callers who got the correct answer. Except one who said he learned about this rare dish from a friend, the callers apparently Ilocanos, said they have actually tasted jumping salad. This dish is prepared from newly caught small to medium shrimps from the estuaries and rivers, and while they are still very much alive are served right there and then with calamansi and salt, momentarily agitating the fated creatures. Pronto! The shrimps, on removing the cover, frantically jump out of the plate, save the dazed one. You should be skillful in catching them from the table (and even on the floor) deftly picking them by the head, taking caution so as not to get hurt by their sharp rostrum. You can imagine the danger you face as the creature makes its last attempt to escape. You must get a firm hold before putting the struggling creature into your mouth, tail first and quickly bite off the head, severing the sharp dagger in your hold. The creature wriggles in the cave of your mouth and you can actually feel its convulsion fading as it undergoes the initial process of digestion. Being an Ilocano myself, eating jumping salad is an adventure and rarely do you experience having one nowadays, unless you are living near the sea, river or lake, or a good friend brings live shrimps to town in banana stalk container to keep them alive. Try it; it’s one for the Book of Guinness.

39. Only the female mosquitoes bite for blood. Males feed on plant juices and exudates. Four out of six callers got the answer correct.

40. The British named their bombers and reconnaissance planes in World War II, Mosquito, so with the Italians for their anti-tank rockets – a tribute to the superb agility of this pesky minutia.

41. It’s a word for thrift, frugal, named after a people who actually practice it. It’s also a term which means KKB (kanya-kanyang bayad). Answer: Dutch. The Dutch are real frugal people mainly because of the extreme condition of their environment – “a land borrowed from the sea.” They are however very progressive and their country is among the most developed industrialized countries in Europe. The counterpart of the Dutch when iy come to frugality are the Ilocanos.

42. He is the teacher of Alexander the Great who said, “It is easier to make war than peace. Always strive to make peace.” Answer: Aristotle Of the six callers, one answered Socrates, another Plato, while the rest got the correct answer.

43. Who is the most famous violin maker in the world? There are only very few violins he made which carry his name. Lately the price paid for a 300-year old original violin he made was $3.5 million, the highest ever for a musical instrument sold in auction. Of the seven callers, four got the correct answer

44. What is the world’s number one vegetable? Answer: Onion, a close relative of garlic, Family Liliaceae.

45. Can you breed a carabao with a tamaraw and make a hybrid? True or false Answer: No. The tamaraw has completed speciation (the process of species formation which takes hundreds if not thousands of years), having originated with a common stock with the carabao. One of the tests whether or not related organisms have reached complete speciation is that they have lost the ability of interbreeding.

46. The three scientific breakthroughs are
• Splitting of the atom (nuclear power, atomic bomb);
• Invention of the microchip (electronics, computers); and
• Cracking the DNA code (Human Genome Project, genetic engineering).

47. It is a laboratory procedure in separating and reading the chromosomes of man (and other organisms, too). Answer: Karyotyping. This method has been used in determining chromosomal aberrations and gene- as well as sex-linked abnormalities. What is the name of a bold project to map the chromosomes, and therefore the genes and the traits they carry, in man. Answer: Human Genome Project (HGP). In the near future man will be carrying his “gene map” which will show his genetic makeup to doctors, employers, insurance agents, to his chosen mate. HGP opened a new field of medicine – Gene Therapy. Even before a disease is expressed, through the gene map, the defective gene undergoes repair.

48. What wildlife species was named after Rizal? Describe this creature. Answer: Flying lizard – Draco rizali - a small relative of the monitor lizard that glides from tree to tree. Rizal found this in the forest of Dapitan where he was exiled.

49. There are persons prone to mosquito bites. Generally, they are those who
• Don’t take a bath regularly
• Wear dark clothes, especially black,
• Have relatively higher body temperature,
• Have relatively thin and tender skin,
• Love to stay in corners and poorly lighted places, and
• Are not protected by clothing, screen and lotion

50. Dogs eat grass for self-medication, so with parrots eat clay. Dogs eat grass – it sounds strange. But they do once in a while to get rid of toxins from their body. Thus we see them browsing on grass and herbs which induce vomiting. These also act as expectorant and laxative. Many birds, like the parrot, eat clay after eating poisonous fruits. ~