bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The village based malaria elimination model for interrupting malaria transmission in Banmauk township, Myanmar
Authors:   , Aung Pyae
Published: September 2023

Different projects engage to eliminate malaria in Myanmar; however, malaria continues to remain a significant public health problem. Therefore, a comprehensive package intervention called “the village-based malaria elimination model” was carried out in one of the malaria-affected townships, Banmauk, in upper Myanmar, during June to November 2018. It is a systemic intervention to address interrupting of malaria transmission in accordance with elimination definition (i.e <1/1000 API) by means of comprehensive malaria control activities which consists of preliminary entomology assessment and KAP survey, routine mass blood survey, assessing diagnostic accuracy of current tools, loudspeakers base health messages announcements, real-time cases reporting and notification through mobile messaging by village malaria workers. Four villages among the most malariaburdened areas were randomly selected: two villages were assigned as the intervention group and two as the control group. Each activity included in the model showed separate effective outcomes. Overall, there were significant improvements in community practice related to malaria care-seeking. In-time reporting systems through mobile messaging were feasible and, more importantly, there was an overall effect in reducing malaria morbidity. In the linear regression model, the factors demonstrated to be significant predictors of decline in malaria by intervention villages were the number of health message announcement activities (p < 0.001), real-time mobile case reporting by malaria workers (p < 0.001), ownership of nets (p < 0.001), and routine mass blood survey (p < 0.05). However, the training showed no statistically significant association (p > 0.05). The steep decline in malaria cases among the intervention villages suggested that this intervention might be effective to reduce the malaria burden among these rural locales. The National Malaria Control Program may consider implementing this standard model and provide support for its sustainability.
Factors affecting utilization of family planning services among married women of reproductive age living in the rural area of Kayin State, Myanmar
Authors:   , Tun Sabai
Published: September 2023

The rewards of promoting family planning services not only restricted to improving maternal or child health but also significantly advanced the fitting occasion to gain higher educational status, better employment, empowerment and greater socioeconomic status especially for girls and women. The main purpose of this study was to assess the utilization proportion of family planning services for contraception and to determine the factors affecting the utilization of contraception among 388 married women of reproductive age living in the rural area of Hpa-an Township, Kayin state, Myanmar. The data was collected by face to face interview in this quantitative cross-sectional descriptive study. This study revealed that the proportion of married reproductive aged women who consume contraception was (87.1%). The most common used methods were injectable and oral contraceptive pills. The key factors affecting the usage of contraception were women age, level of education, number of living children, knowledge level about contraception, affordability for contraceptive cost, distance and transportation to the service point, satisfaction on the services, receiving status of health education about contraception and the number of type of health education they received in bivariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, only women age, level of education, knowledge level and receiving status of health education about contraception are significant after controlling other independent variables. The study also revealed that high education level and high knowledge are the indicators. Though married women received health information up to a certain level, some still want to get more information and health education about contraception.
Socioeconomic inequality in relation to oral health among Thai population : a secondary data analysis
Authors:   , Amornsuradech Sirinthip
Published: September 2023

Since major oral health problems include dental caries, periodontal disease and tooth loss. Studies from many countries reports inequality in oral health which has become challenging worldwide. People with lower socioeconomic position prone to have more severe condition in oral health more than those with higher position. However, there are few studies on socioeconomic inequality in oral health in developing countries, including Thailand. This study aimed to determine the relationship of socioeconomic difference in oral health outcome and oral health behavior among Thai adult population. This study is a cross-sectional analytical study using secondary data from the 7th Thailand National Oral Health Survey (2012). Oral health outcomes are indicated by the number of dental caries, tooth loss, and the CPI index. Socioeconomic status(SES) was indicated by income, education and occupational groups. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine relationship between variables and oral health outcomes. Personal background, access to dental service and oral health-related behaviors were adjusted for analysis. Results show that SES relates to oral health which indicates socioeconomic inequality in oral health for Thai population. Education is the most obvious factors that shows significance among socioeconomic variables comparing to income and occupational groups. People with higher education show better oral health status. Personal background, oral health-related behaviorห and access to dental service also relate to oral health outcomes.
Delay in health seeking behavior among tb patients in Chiang Rai province, Thailand
Authors:   , Sikkhajan Yotsanon
Published: September 2023

The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of health seeking behavior and factors associated with delay in health seeking behavior among tuberculosis patients in border hospitals, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four biggest border hospitals in Chiang Rai province, Thailand during May to July 2018 among 103 identified tuberculosis cases. Data was collected by a structured questionnaire on patients’ general characteristics, HIV status, distance from health service, health seeking treatment with onset symptoms, and patient delay. Collected data was analyzed in SPSS 22. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was employed in data analysis. Chi- square test was applied for the test of association between anemia and designated variables. Later, the variables with p-value <0.20 obtained in bivariate was processed for multivariate analysis and considered significant with p-value <0.05. Finally, adjusted odd ratio (AOR) with 95% of confidence interval (CI) was reported.

     The study found that most of the participants were age more than 60 years old (27.2%), with 48.5% of the patients reported to have no educational background, and 61.2% were single. Thai nationality was found to be the highest nationality of the study’s participants with 61.2%.  Interestingly, the prevalence of delay in health seeking behavior among the study’s participants was high at 65.1%. Government hospital and self-medication were mostly presented for health seeking behavior at 40.8% and 20.4%, respectively. From the result, the factors that significantly related to the delay in health seeking behavior among TB patients in Chiang Rai province were HIV status (AOR = 6.806, 95%CI: 1.174-39.462), Nationality (AOR = 2.824, 95%CI: 1.041-7.660) and duration to health facility (AOR = 18.467, 95% CI: 1.257-271.414). The study showed that delay in appropriate health seeking among TB patients in Chiang Rai province, Thailand were high. Therefore, further intervention emphasizes on the improvement of appropriate knowledge of TB and health seeking behavior to strengthen the TB control.
Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Behaviorby Nurse Coaching through LINE Application among Overweight Women in Community, Phayathai District, Bangkok Thailand:A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors:   , Hongchuvech Yuphaporn
Published: September 2023

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increased rapidly and becoming a  public health problem in many countries of the world including Thailand. Overweight  increases the risk of several NCDs. The prevalence of overweight was higher in female than male. The imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure were the common cause of overweight. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of health promotion program by nurse coaching through LINE application to improve knowledge, perception, and practice of physical activity and healthy eating behavior, body composition, blood pressure, and blood glucose among overweight women.  A randomized controlled trial was conducted amongst a 100 overweight women with the mean BMI and age was 27.78 kg/m² and 53.02 years. The participants were randomly allocated into intervention and control group. The questionnaires and physical examinations were undertaken at baseline and 24 weeks. The intervention group received the program through  LINE app that set up for chatting, sending-receiving and sharing health imformation. Notes and Albums on LINE group were created to retain important health information. The data were analyzed utilizing the Pearson’s chi-square test and independent t-test  at baseline. A paired t-test was used to compare the differences within group. An intention-to-treat analysis was used to analyze the effectiveness of this program. Results showed the intervention group had an increased in mean  of knowledge, perception, food frequency scores and physical activity and decreased in mean of stress score, blood pressure, blood glucose, and %body fat. There were statistically significant different between groups (p <.05). The findings showed the strongly positive of the used of LINE app as a tool to improve health outcomes. For these results, healthcare providers might use the LINE application for improving the health outcomes.
Indonesia's role in humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State of Myanmar (2012- 2017)
Authors:   , Jatmika Muhammad
Published: September 2023

This thesis begins with the question of why does Indonesia consider the humanitarian crisis that occurred in Rakhine State of Myanmar as a very important issue and needs to be taken seriously by conducting soft power diplomacy and humanitarian assistance to address the crisis? Indonesia has the rational choice of conducting soft diplomacy in the form of bilateral and multilateral responses, as well as providing humanitarian assistance in the crisis that occurred in Rakhine state. Theoretical discussion of this paper is carried out on the theory by William D Coplin on various factors that influence the process of foreign policy making and also the theory of humanitarian actions as a form of soft power diplomacy in addressing humanitarian crises. In the policy making of Indonesia in responses to Rakhine state crisis, there were several factors that influenced the policy. First the domestic context, with the social ethic and the rise of solidarity of Indonesian civil society driven by the country’s majority Muslim populations. International context, with the position of Indonesia as a good bilateral partner of Myanmar and its position as ‘de facto’ ASEAN leaders. And third, security context with the interest to protect national security.

        By considering various context, Indonesia put forward soft power diplomacy as rational choices. In accordance with the theory of soft diplomacy, a country need to co-opts the other party rather than coerces to achieve the goal of the diplomacy. By using this concept, conflict resolution is not carried out with an approach that leads to military power, embargo, or criticism, but rather in a more persuasive way, such as bilateral and multilateral diplomacy and providing inclusive humanitarian assistance. The study also recommends further research on ‘humanitarian diplomacy' and the role of non-state actors, especially religious civil society in international relations.
Education And Identity Of Myanmar Migrant Children In Samut Sakhon Province
Authors:   , Li Shan
Published: September 2023

The purpose of this research is to explore the educational status and identity of Myanmar migrant children in Samut Sakhon Province and to analyze the different roles and influences of formal and informal educational models on these children’s identity. For Myanmar migrant children who live in Thailand, due to their living environment are different from their parents, they seem to face identity challenges. The analysis of the identifying characteristics of Myanmar migrant children is not only contributing to the understanding of the current situation of Myanmar migrant children in Thailand but also can broaden the understanding about the factors that influence the attitude and behavior of this group in social integration. The lack of official documents, social protection and education is a common phenomenon for those children. In response to these problems, the Thai government and local authorities have provided assistance and support to them to a certain extent. The research shows that in theory, the right of  Myanmar migrant children to enter school is indeed guaranteed. However, in real life, whether these children can successfully enter school and whether they can receive higher education does not depend on the policy makers and implementers, the opportunities are subjected to material and social constraints. In addition, they should more or less compromise with the Thai society in order to gain the recognition of the Thai people. At the same time, relevant cultural activities and language education which have been designed to preserve their own ethnic or national identity contribute to form their identity. The main findings in the article come from face-to-face interviews with Myanmar migrant children, their parents, headmasters, teachers, etc. in Samut Sakhon Province.
Ethanol dehydration with oxygen cofeeding over palladium catalyst supported on spherical silica particle with ceria modification
Authors:   , Sinchai Kanjanee
Published: September 2023

Ethanol dehydration with oxygen cofeeding over palladium catalyst supported on spherical silica particle with ceria modification was carried out in fixed bed reactor under atmospheric pressure and temperature range of 150 ˚C to 350 ˚C (O2/Ethanol molar ratio = 2.2). The results showed that the effect of ceria modification of Pd/CeO2/SSP catalyst exhibited higher activity than Pd/SSP and CeO2/SSP at 200 ˚C. Pd/CeO2/SSP catalyst yielded very the high ethanol conversion at 200 °C about 57.7 %. However, the preparation method with different sequence of loading has significant effects on crystallite size, surface area, H2-TPR profile and catalytic activity. Pd-CeO2/SSP was synthesized by incipient wetness co-impregnation exhibits the highest ethanol conversion at 200 ˚C about 66.0 % due to its high crystallite size (ca. 5.4 nm) and different interaction between metals and promoter that was proven by H2-TPR. The results also presented that the various amounts of oxygen cofeed of Pd/SSP catalyst had ethanol conversion at 175 ˚C about 29.3 % and ethanol conversion of Pd-CeO2/SSP was observed at 250 ˚C about 31.3 % for decreased oxygen cofeeding (O2/Ethanol molar ratio = 1.1), whereas in the absence oxygen cofeeding, it showed less conversion at high temperature for all catalyst. Furthermore, ethanol can be converted to CO2 from combustion reaction of hydrocarbon with oxygen.
From “Burmese Brides” to Burmese wives : analyzing transnational marriages of women from Myanmar to Chinese Men Along the Myanmar-Yunnan frontier
Authors:   , Luo Xuanyi
Published: September 2023

Since around 2000, there has a growth of Myanmar women who have married men in Yunnan, China.  Media reports from China, Myanmar and the West typically call these women "Burmese brides" and link them to human trafficking, fake marriages, HIV-AIDS, among other issues. This gives the public a negative impression of these women, and views them as mostly vulnerable victims caught in a faceless transnational marriage process. This thesis seeks to correct this limited view and provide a fuller picture of these women and to stress the role of their choice or “agency” in forming their transnational marriages beyond the perspective of “Burmese brides” by examining this growth from a structural (macro) perspective and an individual (agency-centered) perspective. Key structural factors affecting the expansion of transnational marriage include a broad feminization of migration trend, ethnic ties in border areas, economic disparities, gender imbalance and the resulting marriage squeeze in China, civil war and drug-AIDS issues in Myanmar, marriage policies and laws. For individual factors tied to choices and decisions, this thesis examines how Myanmar women exercise their “agency” or decision-making powers by using and expanding social networks so they can actively participate in diverse types of marriage practices, includes voluntary (autonomous) or commercial marriages on their own terms, by following their own varied motivations, rather than merely being passively involved in forced marriages. Both of these perspectives have contributed to the growth of Myanmar women who marry men in the border. This research bases on analyzing media reports about “Burmese brides” issues, 20 interviews with Myanmar women who marry Chinese men conducted between July 2018 and February 2019 in rural and urban areas of Ruili and Tengchong districts, in Dehong prefecture and Baoshan city, respectively as well as visits to local and regional government offices in Yunnan. These analyses aim to show how and why these China-Myanmar transnational marriages increased in the 21st century, stressing the role of Myanmar women’s agency  in marrying men in Yunnan.
New Chinese migrants enterpruner in Thailand: the case study of Jong-Thai Jianming Eiw Ea (Group) Co., Ltd.
Authors:   , Liu Yuge
Published: September 2023

The study of the overseas Chinese in Thailand has been broadly conducted by many scholars. However, such have mainly focused on the overseas Chinese who came from the southeastern part of China, as they were the major part of the Chinese migrants to the Southeast Asian region from the ancient to modern times, and today they still play a great role in this region. Major themes in these studies include the identification of the Chinese migrants (who they were or where they had come from), various Chinese associations, big families of Chinese entrepreneurs and etc. On the contrary, the study of the new Chinese migrants as entrepreneurs from other parts of China, i.e. other than the southeast, has still been limited. This group of Chinese entrepreneurs has no links with the earlier Chinese migrants, so how could they successfully conduct their business in Thailand and what are their connections with the earlier associations? Their presence in Thailand (and indeed in Southeast Asia as a whole) has become a new area for us to study. This thesis focuses on one successful case – that of Jong-Thai Jianming Eiw Ea (Group) Co., Ltd., whose founders are not from the southeastern part of China. The purpose is to examine their business mode, their connection, if any, with the early Chinese associations, and the underlying reasons from their decision to come to operate in Thailand.
The adaption of phở in Vietnam after 1986
Authors:   , Saengul Kunyarat
Published: September 2023

Phở is known as a national dish of Vietnam. It is originated in the north of Vietnam as a labour food. With its popularity, phở spread all over the country adapted to ingredients and way of cooking in each place. After the socio-economic reform (Đổi Mới) in 1986, Vietnam's economy was shifted from centrally planned to market-based. As a result, there are changes in the growth of 3 groups of people; the middle-income class, the overseas Vietnamese, and the rural-urban migrants and low-income class in urban Vietnam. Meanwhile, the reform encouraged the growth of tourism in which pho has been known as the national dish of Vietnam. This thesis studied the adaption of pho in Vietnam after 1986 and analyzed the interconnection of phở and Vietnamese society. A quantitative approach is used in this thesis, namely documentary research, interview with people who have related background and field observation. The finding shows that phở has been commoditized in two areas, daily consumption and consumption in tourism. The daily consumption, there are three forms of presentation which are street food vendor, restaurant and franchise. In tourism, phở has been presented through 2 aspects; superficial and complementary.
Personal branding strategies of influential Youtubers and perceptions of Thai millennials toward them
Authors:   , Phansab Chanamon
Published: September 2023

Personal branding—how individuals establish and communicate their unique traits and skills to facilitate their life goals—has become a topic of interest for many scholars and practitioners alike. One of the most widely used channels through which personal branding is executed is YouTube. There are several YouTubers, as we speak, who strive to promote their channel—their personal brand—by establishing their online identity and communicating such identity to their target audience. The studies have shown that the main target audience on YouTube, whose rising influence boosts the popularity of online video content viewing, is the millennials, especially Thai millennials as Thailand is now one of the top 10 countries with highest YouTube watch time. Despite the potential on YouTube, there are only a handful of influential YouTubers whose personal brands are successfully promoted.

With the use of methodological triangulation of in-depth interviews, content analysis, and online questionnaires, this thesis study has uncovered the personal branding strategies of influential YouTubers with successful personal brands and the perceptions of their target audience (Thai millennials who are their regular viewers and/or subscribers) toward them. It has fulfilled the research objectives of determining how influential YouTubers establish their personal brand, communicate their personal brand, and develop and maintain relationships with their target audience, as well as how Thai millennials perceive them and their personal brand.
Impacts of communication technology and social media on intergenerational relationships in Bangkok
Authors:   , Thomas Marie-Helene
Published: September 2023

The objective of this research is to explore how communication technology and social media affects the intergenerational relationships between older persons and their adult children in Bangkok. Using Bengston and Schrader’s (Bengtson and McChesney 1998) measurement framework for intergenerational relationships, this study examines how communication technology, namely the smart phone and its accompanying applications, Line and Facebook, has impacted the relationship between thirty older persons and their adult children. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from three elderly associations located in different neighbourhoods around Bangkok, data was collected using semi-structured interviews and data was analysed via thematic analysis.

 

The results of this study indicate that while the use of such technological tools may bring about certain negative impacts, when utilised efficiently and to its full potential, these innovations could enrich and foster relationships. Given that older persons are able to overcome the barriers that prohibit their willingness to adopt these tools, data results illustrate that rather than dividing the generations, access to these communicative technological tools have been shown to decrease the generation gap between older persons and their children.
The creation of a "Lanna sense of place" through fine arts in northern Thailand : a case study of hotel lobby decorations in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai
Authors:   , Rani Muhammad
Published: September 2023

This dissertation will observe and evaluate how the Northern region of Thailand had applied various cultural elements and beliefs in creating a “Sense of Lanna” to attract visitors. How these cultural elements had been applied by the various parties will demonstrate the manner of their commercialization - whether in a positive or negative way. The scope of this research is focused on seven 5-star hotels in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. This area was chosen because Chiang Mai is the most award-winning province in Thailand when it comes to tourism especially. This is in addition to the area having many significant cultural attractions in Thailand. This research has two main components in methodology namely: qualitative and quantitative. For the first part of qualitative, observations were done at those seven 5-star hotels in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It was found that Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort Chiang Rai had applied the most number of fine art in the lobby area. Furthermore, the eight items (plant, accessories, furniture, religious objects, sculptures, lighting, ceramics, animal objects) were identified to be more favored in decorating most of these selected hotels. Meanwhile, hotels in Chiang Mai had applied more fine art compared to Chiang Rai hotels. However, both provinces had applied Buddhist art motifs widely in decorating their hotel lobby. Another aspect, the influence of local tradition and belief into form and space, was also found. Only Dhara Dhevi Hotel Chiang Mai and Ratilanna Riverside Spa Resort Chiang Mai had combined these two aspects together. From these seven 5-star hotels, only the Dhara Dhevi Hotel Chiang Mai layout was fully designed to face the east. The second part, quantitative, was derived from the 57 respondents involved. From the findings, aesthetic factor was identified as an influential factor of impression towards fine art as decorations in creating the Lanna style for hotels in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. These respondents were also more satisfied with hotels in Chiang Mai in the way they had decorated their hotel lobby area. In conclusion, the Northern region of Thailand is very rich in various elements from its past civilization. The Northern region also prefers to apply Buddhist art motif as the decorative elements in the lobby area. However, it is extremely essential to disseminate accurate and appropriate information when displaying certain meanings and designs to the public.
The construction of images of "Vietnam" in contemporary Thai writings
Authors:   , Tu Tran
Published: September 2023

This dissertation aims to examine the images of Vietnam portrayed in contemporary Thai writings (1990s-2015) and to analyse the construction of such images. Document research, textual analysis and interview reveal three outstanding images of Vietnam: (1) “Vietnam is a country of wars”, which is initially constructed from old impressions about the Vietnam War of the Thai writers then are soon replaced by their first-hand experience in Vietnam with new aspects of the serious consequences of the wars as well as post-war struggles. (2) Next, Vietnam is in transition to modernity and integration, which is represented by the romanticised traditionality that has difficulty finding a stance in a globalised world, and on the other hand, the active, rapid process of economic development, socio-cultural changes, adjustment of views and policies. (3) Last, Vietnamese people are fighters that can keep their spirit strong both in the wartime and in the present.
Compared with previous periods of time, the contemporary images of Vietnam are no longer affected by the nationalist mindset of the Early Rattanakosin Era and the Cold War Era. Within the contemporary period, the images also have dynamics as a result of a number of factors including the new context of eased atmosphere and warm relations since the early 1990s, the participation of more varied stakeholders in the image construction, and the first-hand experience and the sources of data the Thai writers get during their travels. In general, contemporary Thai writings bring a better understanding of Vietnam and Vietnamese people, as well as reveal Thai perspectives on Vietnam and their own country.
The role of ancestral halls and ancestral worship in Chinese clan associations in Thailand as forms of cultural integration in the age of globalization
Authors:   , Zhang Ying
Published: September 2023

This dissertation focuses on studying the relationship between the ancestral hall and ancestral worship of Thai-Chinese clan associations in the context of contemporary Thai society, Thai local culture and the era of globalization. The research data mainly derives from the journals of the Thai-Chinese communities, news reports, on-site investigations and interviews.

This study indicates that the Thai-Chinese had been living in Thai society and they had established Chinese traditional cultural practices in Thailand and enriched the culture of Thailand. With the development of contemporary Thai society, Thai-Chinese community associations have been transformed into non-governmental organizations and have become part of the Thai NGO network. The income of Thai-Chinese clan associations mainly derived from the contributions of the members of their councils who relied on bureaucratic and community patronage system. The Lim Clansmen Association of Thailand is introduced as an example to analyze its management of human resources, finance and affairs in the typical Chinese clan association in Thailand from 1990s to the present. The architectures of ancestral hall and ancestral worship rites of the Xu Clan Association of Thailand are used as examples to illustrate how the Thai-Chinese ancestral halls and ancestral worship have mixed with local Thai Culture.

Finally, this dissertation proves that the ancestral halls and ancestral worship in clan associations in Thailand serve as an active platform for promoting communication between the Thai-Chinese in the age of globalization from three aspects—the relationship between Thai-Chinese and their ancestral homes after 1978, China’s influence on Thai and Thai-Chinese ancestor worship, and the contribution of Thai-Chinese clans to the world of Chinese clan associations.
Innovation of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH)-modified nanocarrier delivered to induce testicular and mammary cell apoptosis
Authors:   , Boonthum Chatwalee
Published: September 2023

The main overall goal of this study is to investigate the application of modified chitosan as a potential vector for apoptotic gene delivery to gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR)-expressing cells (i.e. testicular cells and mammary cancer cells). This study reported Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone-modified Chitosan (GnRH-CS) nanoparticle as a promising vector for targeted gene delivery, and a GnRH peptide was used for active targeting of a transgene in GnRHR expressing cells. The physiological characterizations of the prepared nanoparticle were investigated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Nanosizer. The prepared GnRH-CS was able to condense DNA to form positively charged nanoparticles. In both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures systems, this alternative gene transfer strategy could specifically deliver the reporter genes to a transiently transfected Human Embryonic Kidney cell line model system expressing GnRHR, mouse-derived spermatogonia cells (GC-1 cell line) and mammary cancer cells (MDA-MB-436). Importantly, GnRH-CS exhibited higher transfection activity and lower cell toxicity compared to unmodified CS at the same ratio. From in vitro to in vivo study, Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-α) was exploited as a therapeutic gene delivered by GnRH-CS in order to induce testicular cell death in male rat via intra-testicular injection. Significant differences in a reduction in testicular volume on day 7 (P<0.001) were found in all treated groups, compared to the pre-treatment volume. The testicular volume continued to reduce on day 14 (P<0.05) and 28 (P<0.05) in GnRH-CS/TNF-alpha and GnRH-CS groups, respectively. On day 35, after castration, testicular weight and volume of dissected testis were significantly lower in GnRH-CS/TNF-alpha and GnRH-CS groups (P<0.001). Serum testosterone levels did not differ (P>0.05) throughout the observation period. Ultrasonographically and histopathologically, GnRH-CS/TNF-alpha and GnRH-CS induced testicular degeneration and death while TNF-alpha and control groups showed normal findings. GnRH-CS/TNF-alpha treated animals showed higher severity degree of testicular degeneration compared to GnRH-CS treated animals. Moreover in pilot study using mammary gland tumor-bearing nude mice showed promising results in tumor suppression when TNF-α was delivered by the GnRH-CS. It was possible that our study might be apply for non-surgical sterilization and mammary cancer treatment in the future.
The effect of monosodium glutamate on brain, liver, kidney, testis, ovary, fertilization and hatching rate in zebrafish (danio rerio)
Authors:   , Sajjaviriya Chortip
Published: September 2023

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is composed of sodium salt and amino acids that is commonly used to enhance food taste. Although it is safe at consumption level, the adverse effect of MSG had been reported. The present research was intended to evaluate the effect of MSG on the brain, liver, kidney, testes, and ovaries of zebrafish (Danio rerio) which were exposed from embryo stage to adult stage, along with the analyzing of the fertilization rate and hatching rate of zebrafish embryos. From the observation of histopathological changing of different organs of zebrafish after exposed to 10, 100, and 1000 ppm MSG for 60 days compared with control group (zebrafish in each group were mating before sacrificed for study the histopathology. In the next day embryos of zebrafish were collected and analyzed for the numbers, survival rate and hatching rate). The results indicated that liver and kidney in MSG exposed group had significantly higher lesion score (p-value <0.05) compared to the control group. Generalized swelling of hepatocytes and blood congestion in the liver as well as the congestion and decreasing number of distal tubule in the kidney from all of the MSG exposed groups had been found. The severity of the lesions from 1000 ppm MSG exposure group was the highest following by the group of 100 and 10 ppm.  However, no detectable lesions in the brain tissue, testes, and ovaries of every group were found. Zebrafish from the 1000 ppm MSG exposed group did not spawn after placing in the mating tank, while in 100 ppm MSG group was lower in the number of embryos than 10 ppm MSG and control group. The survival of fertilized embryos was observed every 24 hours for 120 hours. The result of survival rate in 100 ppm MSG group was significantly lower than the control group. All of zebrafish embryos that can be developed until 96 hours post fertilization were hatching completely. In summary, this study revealed that zebrafish exposed to MSG for 60 days showed liver and kidney lesions and reduced the reproductive performance.
The development of ELISA kit to detect antibody response against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus from colostrum and milk
Authors:   , Srijangwad Anchalee
Published: September 2023

Porcine epidemic diarrhea is caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), which causes swine watery diarrhea and higher mortality rates in piglets less than one week of age. Outbreaks of PED affect to economic loss, especially in a swine industrial country. Many strategies were used for preventing the outbreak and infection of PEDV, especially maternal antibody stimulation in pigs and then transfer to piglet through colostrum or milk. Thus, the investigation of antibody level for the situation on the farm is required. The method which convenient and rapid than viral neutralization (VN) test is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The purpose of this study was to develop ELISA test kits to detect antibodies to PEDV from colostrum and milk of pig by preparing antigens of recombinant protein from the spike gene of PEDV and then a validation test of the ELISA test kit was performed from 250 VN positive and 250 VN negative samples. The results of the study showed that ability to produce the protein called S12. The protein is specific to neutralizing antibodies of PEDV and produced from a conserve region of the PEDV gene. S12 protein is 42 kDa of protein size, can be purified either by purification of glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene fusion proteins or histidine-tag protein. Protein S12 can be used as antigen to coat ELISA plate at 10 µg/ml and 20 µg/ml for immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgA investigation, respectively. In addition, suitable formulations for the test kit were prepared. The precision was verified by the repeatability test, coefficient of variation is less than 10% and has high reproducibility of inter-laboratory results. The correlation between the standardized and ELISA showed strong correlation coefficients from both IgG and IgA. Thus, it can be said that the result is consistent with protection. The cutoff point of optimal density is 0.5, DSN, DSP and accuracy of IgG and IgA were 96.0, 95.6, 95.8 and 94.8, 95.6, 95.2, respectively. As for the cutoff level of the sample to positive ratio (S/P ratio) is 0.4, DSN, DSP and accuracy of IgG and IgA were 95.2, 90.8, 93.0 and 91.6, 93.2, 92.0, respectively. Long term storage of the ELISA kit up to 6 months. In addition, the test kit was used to detect antibodies from feedback and the results show that the ELISA test kit can be used. According to all this study, it can conclude that this ELISA kit can be an alternative possibility for detecting antibody response against PEDV in colostrum and milk.​
Design of plantwide control structure of double effect water/lithium bromide absorption chiller
Authors:   , Prasopsanti Kris
Published: September 2023

Alternative control structures for a parallel double effect aqueous lithium bromide absorption chiller, operated in two modes of operation, has been designed using Skogastad’s plantwide control procedure. In on-demand mode, two complete decentralized control structures with proportional integral (PI) controllers and one structure with a two inputs – two outputs model predictive controller (MPC) were proposed. Their performance was evaluated using MATLAB-Simulink dynamic simulation. The results varied depended on type of disturbance, but overall, the structure with MPC controller provided slightly better results with less liquid holdup changes and faster setting time in average. For on-supply mode, two self-optimizing control variables obtained from minimum singular value (MSV) and null space method were implemented to a decentralized control structure. In general, both variables were able to reduce majority of loss due to change in optimal process conditions. Nevertheless, the null space control variable provided slightly better results for main disturbances, which are cooling utility temperature and amount of heat input.
Surveillance of influenza a viruses in a live bird market, Yangon, Myanmar during 2017-2018
Authors:   , Thurain Khin
Published: September 2023

Live bird markets play a significant role in highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus spread and transmission. In Myanmar, the first HPAI-H5N1 outbreak was reported in 2006. Since 2014, routine influenza A virus surveillance in LBMs have been conducted in Myanmar by the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department in cooperation with FAO. However, there is limited information on virus characterization and evolution of influenza viruses in Myanmar. The objectives of this thesis were to detect influenza virus subtypes circulating in different poultry species from Mingalar-Taung-Nyunt live bird market (MTN-LBM) and to determine genetic characteristics and genetic diversity of influenza A viruses in the MTN-LBM. During December 2017 - December 2018, 455 swab samples were collected from broiler, layer, backyard chicken and ducks from the MTN-LBM.  Screening of all 91 pooled samples for IAVs by real-time RT-PCR showed that 12 samples were positive for influenza A virus (M gene).  In this study, 7 samples were identified as HPAI-H5N1. Among them, 4 IAVs were successfully isolated and characterized. Whole-genome sequence of 4 HPAI-H5N1 was revealed with highly pathogenic avian influenza characteristics. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the Myanmar HPAI-H5N1 viruses were clustered with HPAI-H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1c from China and Vietnam. In conclusion, this study suggests that MTN-LBM can contribute a significant risk of HPAI-H5N1 spread and transmission to poultry and human.
Detection of antimicrobial resistance determinants in vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from cultivated oysters and estuarine waters
Authors:   , Khant Winn
Published: September 2023

In this study, we aimed to detect antimicrobial resistance determinants and virulence factor genes in V. parahaemolyticus isolates from cultivated oysters and estuarine waters in southern Thailand. A total of 594 V. parahaemolyticus isolates were collected from pooled oysters (n=361) and estuarine waters (n=233). The samples were collected monthly between March 2016 and February 2017 from Thap Put district, Phang Nga province in southern Thailand. Confirmation of V. parahaemolyticus was carried out by PCR assay detecting species-specific (tlh) gene and the presence of virulence genes (tdh and trh). Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed in eight antimicrobials, and the occurrence of resistance genes was investigated. All isolates were detected for the presence of SXT elements and class 1, 2, and 3 integrons. The results showed that all presumptive V. parahaemolyticus isolates (n=594) were positive to species-specific (tlh) gene. Four isolates (0.7%) from pooled oysters (n=2) and estuarine waters (n=2) were positive to tdh. None of the trh-positive isolates were observed. In this study, 34% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent and 5.1% of the isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR). Most of the isolates were resistant to erythromycin (54.2%), followed by sulfamethoxazole (34.7%), trimethoprim (28.0%), and ampicillin (11.1%), respectively. Only 0.8% and 0.5% of the isolates were resistant to streptomycin and tetracycline, respectively, and chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin resistance were not observed in all isolates. Among the tested antimicrobials, the prevalence of tetracycline resistance in estuarine waters was significantly higher than oyster (P < 0.05). The most frequent resistance pattern was ERY (21.0%) and the most common MDR phenotype was ERY-SUL-AMP (1.9%). The most commonly found AMR genes were qnr (77.8%) and strB (27.4%), followed by tetA (22.1%), dfr18 (19.5%), ermB (15.2%), and sul2 (14.8%), respectively. However, dfrA1 (7.4%) and blaTEM (0.8%) genes were rarely found AMR genes in this study. The occurrence of qnr and dfr18 genes were significantly different between oysters and estuarine water samples (P < 0.05). None of the isolates were possessed SXT integrase gene (intSXT) and class 1, 2, and 3 integrons. Our results highlighted the need for improving good sanitary practices and consumption of adequate cooked oysters to promote seafood safety for consumption and to reduce the risk of seafood-borne illnesses and antimicrobial resistance infection.
Biomechanical and biological properties of cryopreserved canine amniotic membrane
Authors:   , Withavatpongtorn Nathawan
Published: September 2023

Amniotic membrane (AM) is the innermost fetal membrane. Due to its many known properties, human AM is a favorable corneal graft. Cryopreservation at -80ºC maintains most of biological properties. Due to shortage of supply, AM of other species are studied. The objective of this study is to explore the biomechanical and biological properties of canine AM (CAM) after cryopreservation for 7 and 30 days. CAMs were collected from healthy bitches undergoing cesarean sections. After preservation, they were tested for tensile strength by Universal Testing Machine, transparency by spectrophotometer, sterility by microbial culture, cell viability by trypan blue staining, and histological study by Hematoxylin/eosin and Masson Trichrome stain. J-shaped stress-strain curve was produced on all samples. Maximum stress, extensibility, and Young’s modulus were not statistically different. Transparency and haze were not significantly different. Some bacteria and fungi were identified on both groups. Cell viability of 7-day CAMs was significantly higher than 30-day CAMs. Collagen was found in stromal layer. The stroma of 30-day CAM was significantly flattened. This research showed that cryopreservation for 30 days did not significantly affect biomechanical properties, and only partially affect biological properties. It is suggested that cryopreserved CAM has promising properties suitable for clinical use as corneal graft.
The efficiency of pcso-524 on feline osteoarthritis associated with chronic kidney disease
Authors:   , Dulyapraphant Pemika
Published: September 2023

Twenty-six osteoarthritic cats concurrent with chronic kidney disease (CKD) enrolled in this study. All cats were divided randomly into 2 groups; control group (n=12) received placebo and treatment group (n=14) received PCSO-524 for 60 days. Cats had verified stable CKD stage II and had treated and followed up for CKD more than 3 months were included in our study. Before starting the study (day 0), all cats were taken the coxofemoral joint radiographic imaging. Only cats with the radiographic osteoarthritic lesion(s) were recruited. All of them had blood profile check-up, urinalysis, blood pressure measurement, lameness score assessment, acute and chronic pain assessment, thigh circumference measurement, range of motion (ROM) measurement, and jump test every day 14, 28, 42, and 60. Only radiographic imaging, pain questionnaire, thigh circumference measurement, ROM measurement were assessed at day 0 and 60. In the treatment group, this study revealed significantly declined in blood creatinine concentration and chronic pain score while jump test score found significant rising. In conclusion, PCSO-524 gained high efficiency in coping with chronic pain from osteoarthritis in CKD cats. It also showed a great tendency to decrease blood creatinine level. Dietary restriction and water management together with environmental modification, help promote a better quality of life in osteoarthritic cat concurrence with CKD at its best.