bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Developing a model for the integration of Bajau traditional ecological knowledge in the management of locally managed marine area: a case study of Wakatobi regency, Indonesia
Authors:   , Ariando Wengki
Published: September 2023

Attaining sustainable resource management encompasses multilevel challenges and interdisciplinary approaches from grassroots efforts to international agreements. In the context of coastal and marine management, the complexities represented by the variety of local entities, regimes, and institutional supports are captured as current challenges in sustainability efforts. Such challenges, unfortunately, persist in the group of customary communities such as those of the Bajau, who live in coastal and marine areas. In an effort to address the aforementioned challenges, this research proposes a model for integrating the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of the Bajau into Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA) scheme in Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi. A qualitative approach involving multi-sited ethnography and interviews was employed in this study. TEK as a concept is drawn upon to strengthen the local practices for sustainable resource use and therefore develop policy recommendations. However, in the case of Bajau communities, the dimensions of the TEK encompass conservation practices, ethno-fisheries, cultural beliefs, customary laws, weather and cultural astronomy, and adaptive management. The manifestation of the TEK needs to add the term 'exchange knowledge' due to the history and nature of former nomadic groups that interacted and exchanged knowledge and goods with other groups with whom they were in contact. Intercultural relations between the Bajau and dominant customary groups in Wakatobi position the Bajau as migrants and second-class people, both socio-culturally and in the context of various conservation activities. The co-management programs that involve the Bajau do not seem to consider the basic needs and practices of this group in current sustainable resource management. This situation indirectly contributes to the marginalization and growing development threats for the Bajau in Wakatobi. In addition, the complexities in the realm of contemporary Bajau society are not adequately considered in Wakatobi's development priority programs. The culturally inclusive projects and LMMA model do not engage Bajau communities, even though this group is pivotal in nurturing marine ecology in alignment with multiple TEK practices and a maritime culture orientation. In brief, the output model of this research examines the various terms to disentangle the challenges in cultural identity, intellectual property and rights, capacity building, livelihood diversification, and communal space in the Bajau communities in Wakatobi. In advance of making recommendations to implement the model, this research explored key attributes related to Bajau customary institutions, local government, and Wakatobi National Park.
Digital literacy for enhancing preparedness capacity to climate related risks among ageing population in Bankgok, Thailand
Authors:   , Sawangnate Chandhit
Published: September 2023

The elderly population is amongst the most vulnerable group confronting climate related risks. This research aims to assess flood hazards distribution and investigate factors influencing flood literacy and preparedness actions among the elderly in Bangkok, Thailand. The AHP-GIS technique, land-use, drainage density, and annual maximum rainfall are the most important factors that influence flood hazard in Bangkok while land subsidence, past flooding events, and slope of the city have the lowest scores. Around 50% (784.089 sq.km.) of total area, mainly situated in the economic centers, is defined as high hazard. The results of policy analysis found that lack of integration of ageing population policy and disaster risk reduction were the key barriers to reduce vulnerability to flood hazard. SWOT analysis found that lack of effective integrated policy for ageing population and flood preparedness, limited training session on flood management, and low literacy skills of the elderly were the key barriers to strengthening flood resilience. A questionnaire survey was conducted with elderly respondents (n = 736) who are living in Bangkok. The results revealed that many senior citizens have limited experience in using information communication technology and low digital and media literacy for flood preparedness. Approximately 75% had neither communicated nor shared flood information and preparedness actions via social network platforms. Almost half of the respondents reported negative feelings of fear and fatalism toward flood disasters. Approximately 13% of respondents obtained information before flood events via Facebook and Line applications. Less than 2% of the elderly assessed to the national/provincial web-based platform. Elderly females showed higher flood literacy and tended to take more preparedness action than male counterparts (p < 0.05). Education and income significantly affected their flood literacy and preparedness actions. Elderly residing in low hazard areas tended to have lower flood preparedness literacy, but higher flood preparedness action. In the Protection Motivation Theory, statistical analysis revealed that there were significant positive correlations among risk perception, understanding of preparedness measures, perceived self-efficacy, feeling of helplessness, past flood experiences, and threat appraisal of perceived flood probability and consequences and ability for flood preparedness and response action (p < 0.01). To enhance flood preparedness literacy and flood preparedness action amongst ageing population, promoting flood literacy by using information and communication technology for elderly, ease-of-use and availability, flood preparedness action in advance, strengthening emotional well-being to cope with flood, enhancing disaster risk perception, empowering elderly integration into disaster and climate related policies, and arranging flood training program are policy recommendations.
Do issuers affect derivative warrants overpricing? evidence of Thailand
Authors:   , Thupthong Sarunporn
Published: September 2023

Derivative warrants have become increasingly popular in many countries. However, numerous literatures provide the empirical evidences that derivative warrants are overpriced relative to the comparable options. Many researchers found that the derivative warrant overpricing can be explained by hedging cost, liquidity premium, market power, and asymmetric information of investors. These explanations are likely to be related to characteristics of derivative warrant issuer. Therefore, this paper comes up with the objective to reconfirm the overpricing phenomenon in Thailand and investigate the issuer identity effect on the derivative warrant overpricing as well as examine what issuer’s characteristics cause the level of overpricing differ across issuers. The results demonstrate that Thai derivative warrants tend to be overpriced and the nature of the overpricing phenomenon has changed due to the SEC revised disclosure regulation and the underlying market conditions. Furthermore, the results also show the existence of issuer identity effect on the overpricing level. The overpricing level is different across issuers and ranging from 2.77 to 66.15 percent. The findings can be explained through the issuer’s characteristics, namely, market share of issuer, credit risk of issuer, foreign issuer, and style of calculating time decay.
Diversification benefits of commodity indices versus Islamic stock indices
Authors:   , Khan Sita
Published: September 2023

The objective of this study is to investigate conditional correlations between the Dow Jones Emerging Market index and commodity indices (i.e., agriculture, energy, industrial metals, livestock, precious metals) and Islamic stock indices (i.e., JKII, KLFTEMSI, MSCI Bahrain, MSCI Kuwait, and MSCI Qatar). Additionally, this paper classifies the properties of assets whether it is a diversifier, a hedger, or a safe-haven assets to the Dow Jones Emerging Market index. The estimation method is the dynamic conditional correlation generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (DCC-GARCH) model to estimate the conditional correlations during the period of 2007-2021 which covers the Global financial crisis (GFC) and Covid-19 pandemic. The finding indicates that all commodity and Islamic stock indices serve as a diversifier in general. However, MSCI Bahrain, MSCI Kuwait, and precious metals act as a safe-haven asset during certain periods of the GFC and Covid-19 crises. Interestingly, KLFTEMSI and JKII present the highest hedging effectiveness over the study period.
Analysis of ancient storm deposits along coastal areas of Andaman sea, Thailand and coastal areas of south china sea, Vietnam
Authors:   , Kongsen Stapana
Published: September 2023

The frequency of high energy storm and tsunami events is crucial for apprehending the vulnerability of coastal communities. Identifying and dating sedimentary evidence deposited by such high energy events can assist in the planning and installation of suitable protection measurements. The Andaman Sea coast of Thailand is particularly vulnerable to such events as illustrated by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004 IOT) and the South China Sea coast of Vietnam has been experienced from the past severe storm event. Here, the authors study the high energy sediments. The selected area of Andaman Sea coast Thailand is Laem Son National park, while the South China Sea coast of Vietnam is located in Hoa Duan, Thua Thein Hue.

The results indicate that in Laem Son area, two high energy sediment layers are discovered including the 2004 IOT layer and a storm layer. The depositional age of the storm event occurred more than 350 years ago. For Hoa Duan coastal area, six layers of high energy events belonged to storm and fluvial flood layers were discovered. Two layers of storm event and one layer of fluvial flood event occured during 130±10 years ago and two layers of storm event and one layer of fluvial flood event occurred more than 130±10 years ago.
Trace elements and color-causing role in spinel and tanzanite
Authors:   , Pluthametwisute Teerarat
Published: September 2023

This research is aimed to investigate the significant trace elements and their color-causing roles in tanzanite and spinels (7 color varieties) by focusing on their concentrations, valencies, and site occupancy since no palpable research has been reported previously either before or after heating of both gems. According to this finding, natural tanzanites usually show strongly trichroic colors of violet, blue, and brown in different directions. However, this characteristic is easily changed to violet-blue dichroism after heat treatment. As the result, the violet-blue absorption band (centered around 450–460 nm) is obviously decreased after heating, and XAS analysis indicates the higher valency state of vanadium. Consequently, vanadium is strongly suggested as the significant coloring agent in tanzanite which is also supported by its dominant concentration.

Based on this finding, natural spinels contain trace elements which may cause various hues. Red color is attributed by the combination of significant Cr and V ratios. Magenta and purple to blue and green colors are affected by significant Fe content, whereas orange color shows contribution to significant V content. After heating, XAS indicates a greater oxidation state as well as disordering of iron and vanadium, while Cr stays consistent. Broadening of the dominant peak at around 406.2 cm-1 and the occurrence of additional small peak at around 715.2-719.8 cm-1 in Raman spectra as well as broadening of the 685 nm and poorly defined structure of additional peaks in photoluminescence spectra are significant indicators of inverse spinels (heated spinel) which strongly benefits gem-testing laboratory to recognize the heat-treated spinel.
Surface activation of rice husk-derived hydrochar as an adsorbent for atrazine and ammonium
Authors:   , Phan Kim
Published: September 2023

Due to the agricultural intensity, studies of sustainable solutions for atrazine and nitrogen contamination have attracted more attention. This study is aimed to develop rice husk hydrochar as an adsorbent for atrazine and ammonium adsorption. Effects of microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization (MHTC) conditions including temperature (150 – 200°C), residence time (20 – 60 min), and liquid to solid ratio (5:1 – 15:1 mL/g) on the atrazine and ammonium adsorption capacity were investigated. Surface activation of rice husk hydrochar samples was synthesized using potassium hydroxide (KOH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with various concentrations. The results showed that higher MHTC temperature with higher residence time and lower liquid to solid ratio significantly increased the adsorption capacity of these contaminants on rice husk hydrochar. The characterization of pristine and activated hydrochars using BET, FT-IR, and XPS revealed that rice husk hydrochar contained abundant oxygen-containing functional groups, which increased even more after KOH treatment. The results of kinetic and isotherm studies suggested that atrazine adsorption was best fitted with pseudo-second-order and Freundlich models (R2 > 0.99), with the maximum adsorption capacity of 4.06 mg/g for KOH-activated hydrochar. Hydrogen-bonding and π-π electron donor-acceptor interactions played dominant roles for atrazine adsorption of KOH-activated hydrochar and H2O2-activated hydrochar, respectively. Compared to atrazine, the ammonium adsorption onto rice husk hydrochar was very low even though the KOH treatment enhanced its CEC values. Therefore, rice husk hydrochar can be considered a promising candidate for atrazine adsorption in the environment, and future studies are recommended to apply this material as a nitrogen slow-release fertilizer.
Cost-effectiveness analysis of managed care for osteoporotic hip fractures
Authors:   , Kotnarin Benchaporn
Published: September 2023

Osteoporotic fracture patients are still unidentified, untreated for osteoporosis. This group of patients is likely to have recurrent fractures and has more morbidity, these problems put a burden on the high cost of taking care of patients and poor clinical outcomes. The intervention for improving the quality of osteoporosis treatment, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH) calls “Managed care”. Managed care has an orthopedist who plays a crucial role in fragility fracture and long-term osteoporosis treatment. The purpose of this study is to access the cost-effectiveness of managed care for patients aged 50 years and over with osteoporotic hip fractures compared to “Conventional care” which focuses on only perioperative management does not provide secondary fracture prevention. 

The economic evaluation is used a Markov decision-analytic model to estimate the incremental cost and effectiveness of each group and used provider perspective. Conventional care is recruited from 2012 to 2013 (N=110), managed care is recruited from 2017 to 2019 (N=82). At a one-year follow-up, the study found that the death rate is decreasing from 11.8% in conventional care to 3.7% in managed care (P=0.045). The rate of the initiated osteoporosis drug, rate of BMD test, adherence, and the number of OPD visits are significant increases in managed care when compared to conventional care (P<0.001). For base-case analysis, the average cost of conventional care is 419,353 baht and yielded the average life-year gained at 8.2 life-year gained. In addition, the average cost of managed care is 263,474 baht and yielded the average life-year gained at 12.3 life-year gained. From the result of the incremental cost, the managed care is cost-saving at 38,019 baht for one additional life-year gained. In conclusion, managed care is post-fracture recurrent prevention which can be closed the osteoporosis treatment gap and decrease fracture complications after sustained osteoporotic hip fracture and is suggested to be cost-saving.
Portfolio selection problem based on exponential loss function under independent binomial model in SET50
Authors:   , Charoenying Krerkkiat
Published: September 2023

In this thesis, we investigate the portfolio allocation problem in the Stock Exchange of Thailand by considering the stocks of the 48 biggest companies in terms of market capitalization, with the requirement that an investor wants to invest under these 48 assets only and their risk is measured by the exponential loss function. The stocks under consideration must be independent and the prices of the stocks at the maturity time are assumed to follow the well-known binomial model. The Pearson correlation test is used for selecting stocks with independence property. In this study, we are interested in an investor investing in two, three, and four distinct stocks. Anywise, we suppose that an investor buys assets at an initial time with an initial wealth and holds them until maturity time without rebalancing. Finally, we examine the efficiency of the obtained optimal portfolio with the backtesting method.
Spray dried asiatic acid-palm oil nanoemulsion with improved characteristics and antihypertensive effect study in rat model of hypertension
Authors:   , Pradana Aditya
Published: September 2023

Hypertension is a risk factor for premature death worldwide.It is characterized by an increase in blood pressure, so it needs therapy to regulate it and keep the value normal. Asiatic acid (AA) and palm oil (PO) were alternative antihypertensive agents that were promising to be developed. Both were natural compounds obtained from the Centella asiatica and Elaesis guineensis plants. However, low solubility, low absorption, rapid metabolism, low bioavailability and high oxidation were the limitation for both of them as an active compounds. Thus, a combination of nanoemulsion formulation and drying with a spray dryer was necessary to improve the physicochemical characteristics of the products and the effectiveness as an anti-hypertensive agent. From a series of evaluations, it was found that a spray-dried nanoemulsion product had been formed. This spherical microparticle had good physicochemical characteristics and stability, with the ability to quickly disperse into nanodroplets. Furthermore, LTM2 with optimum characteristics, highest solubility and rapid dissolution rate was selected to be continued in the activity study in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The results of the study showed that spray-dried nanoemulsion AA succeeded in lowering blood pressure and acted as an ACE-inhibitor better than asiatic acid powder.
Influence of seasonal variations on contamination level and ecological risk of heavy metals in the surface sediments of the inner Gulf of Thailand
Authors:   , Lapat-atiwat Phuttiphat
Published: September 2023

The Inner Gulf of Thailand is a marine resource that provides ecological and economic value. Meanwhile, its can be acted like pollutions sink, especially heavy metals. After that, the extensions of industrialization, agriculturalization, and urbanization can degenerate to the inner Gulf environment quality. Therefore, this thesis was aimed to study the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of heavy metal concentration (Cd, Pb, Cu, Co, Ni, Mn and Zn) in surface sediment including the Mae Klong, the Tha Chin, the Chao Phraya and the Bangpakong River estuaries. Moreover, the contamination status and ecological risk were also evaluated. The results shown the seasonal mean values of Cd, Pb, Cu, Co, Ni, Mn, Zn are in a range of 0.13−0.19, 12.48−16.76, 7.40−15.49, 19.22−23.95, 47.64−73.03 mg/kg, respectively. The contamination status in this study, the comparison of heavy metals with Thailand’s sediment quality guidelines (SQGT) and NOAA (TEL−PEL) shown that Pb, Cu, Co, Ni, Mn, and Zn were exceeded over guideline values. For enrichment factor (EF) and geo-accumulation index (Igeo), the enrichment factor of Cd (0.05−10.03) and Zn (0.01−11.98) are considered as minor enrichment to severe enrichment level. And the enrichment factor of Cu (0.09−3.49) and Pb (0.19−5.18) are considered as minor enrichment to moderately severe enrichment. But the geo-accumulation index of all stations is considered as low contamination. The potential ecological risk (Er) and risk index (RI) are considered as low risk level. The result show that the influence of seasonal variation to heavy metal concentration of Cd and Zn in southwest monsoon season (Jul 2017 and Jul 2018) are not significantly different but higher than other seasons (p<0.05), Cu and Mn average concentration in both southwest monsoon season (Jul 2017 and Jul 2018) and northeast monsoon season (Dec 2017) are not significantly different but higher than dry season (May 2018) and Ni and Co in southwest monsoon season 2018 are the highest as significant (p<0.05) although contamination status and potential ecological risk following the heavy metals concentration distribution.
Ecological risk assessment of microplastics and heavy metals in central industrial wastewater treatment plant
Authors:   , Phuprasert Thamonwan
Published: September 2023

Microplastics become a big concern in environment. Their small particle size can absorb a variety of pollutants from the nearby environment when discharged into the environment, especially heavy metals. Central industrial wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is an important source of microplastics in the environment. In this study, wastewater and sludge were collected from two industrial estates in Thailand. Wastewater was collected from 4 points i.e., influent, post grit chamber, post aeration tank, and post sedimentation tank while sludge was collected from sludge storage. Concentration of microplastics, heavy metals and heavy metals on microplastics were examined to evaluate ecological risk assessment. Based on the results, microplastics concentration in effluent and sludge were 11.04 ± 0.08 particles/L, 2,398.00 ± 11.37 particles/kg from WWTP A, while 33.53 ± 0.55 particles/L, 1,930.00 ± 7.57 particles/kg from WWTP B, respectively. In addition, main shape, size, colors, and polymer were pellet, range 100 – 500 µm, white/clear, and polypropylene polymer from both sites, respectively. In terms of heavy metals, zinc was the most detected in wastewater, sludge, and on microplastics. The risk assessment was carried out. The result found that polymer risk index (H) showed 35,835 in WWTP A and 45,652 in WWTP B, which high toxic level. High risk of pollution load index (PLI) with category IV (97.82) was showed in WWTP A, while PLI of WWTP B were presented in category II (12.76). For geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), all heavy metals presented in low degree level, except Cd and Se from WWTP A presented as low toxic (0.7) and moderate toxic (1.2), respectively. Potential ecological risk (PER) of microplastics presented extreme danger (48,893 and 20,087 from WWTP A and WWTP B, respectively.), while PER of heavy metals also showed low toxic level with 70.71 and moderate toxic with 96.61 from WWTP A and WWTP B, respectively. Furthermore, PER of heavy metals on microplastics exhibited 48,936.63 and 20,183.61 from WWTP A and WWTP B, respectively, which extreme danger level.
Cryptocurrency trading with ensemble machine learning algorithm
Authors:   , Assavakijphanich Siwat
Published: September 2023

In this project, we aimed to use ensemble machine learning algorithms to trade ten cryptocurrencies along with attempting to add more external factors. Cryptocurrency included in this project were Cardano (ADA), Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin (BTC), DOGE, DOT, Ethereum (ETH), LINK, Polygon (MATIC), Uniswap (UNI), and Ripple (XRP). Furthermore, ten external factors, which are ten major stock indices, were added to the algorithm. All machine learning algorithms in this project are used to trade for four trading circumstacnes, an 1-hour interval, six-hour interval, daily interval and weekly interval. There are six machine learning models in this project which will be separated as based and ensemble models. XGBoost (XGB), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) are based, models. Next, three based models are used to combine with three ensemble methods which are Equally Weighted Forecast Combinations (EW), Adaptive Regression by Mixing (ARM), and Aggregation of Forecasts Through Exponential Reweight (AFTER). Models are evaluated under two criterias, accuracy and Sharpe Ratio. As a result, XGBoost outperformed other models for all trading invervals while Equally Weighted Forecast Combination ranked second in both accuracy and Sharpe Ratio.
Factors influencing on successfulness of Thailand's banning policy on single-use plastic cups and straws
Authors:   , Stithyudhakarn Natcha
Published: September 2023

The present research aims to find out factors influencing on successful implementation of Thailand's SUP cups and straws banning policy which has been implementing since January 2022. Target groups of the study are consumers in Bangkok and vicinity (Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom). As serious Covid-19 pandemic situation during the data collection period (April 18-June16, 2022), the questionnaire survey was conducted via Google form online survey platform, but additional onsite survey at a school in Bangkok was conducted on June 16, 2022, where the pandemic situation has become better. Total 718 respondents in the study areas were achieved, but up to 75% of which are those living in Bangkok, 66% are females and 80% are those having bachelor degree and higher, while similar distribution in occupation, age, and income. Regarding beverage consumption behavior, the study found that about 47.2% prefer self-prepare at home, and most of which are senior and elderly. While another 52.8% who prefer buying at shop are those in all age ranges, income, occupation, and education level. The study on beverage buying frequency found that up to 44.2% buy once in a while, another 44.7% buy 1-5 cups per week, and only 11.1% buy more than 5 cups per week. By the way, PR or campaign on the banning policy together with building knowledge about microplastic from SUP and oxo-plastic via social media are recommended. Upon the survey of consumer's opinion as well as reports from other relevant studies found that effective factors for the banning policy should be stop both production and consumption. Legal enforcement is recommended for producers and beverage sellers, while any measures without extra payment and penalty are recommended for consumers in the Thai context.
Global analysis of a discrete sirs epidemic model with nonlinear incidence rate
Authors:   , Chaihao Butsayapat
Published: September 2023

In this thesis, we prove some behaviors of a discrete SIRS epidemic model with a nonlinear incidence rate and a distributed time-delay. This model is constructed from the discretization of the corresponding continuous model by using a nonstandard finite difference method. The basic properties including the positivity and the boundedness of the solutions are established. We derive the existence of the disease-free equilibrium and the endemic equilibrium of the model. In addition, by applying Lyapunov function techniques, we prove that the disease-free equilibrium is globally attractive. Moreover, we give a sufficient condition for the permanence of the model. In order to illustrate our analytical results, finally, some numerical simulations are also included.
Hamiltonian decompositions of hypergraphs
Authors:   , Saengchampa Chutima
Published: September 2023

In this dissertation, we first discuss four versions of  Hamiltonicity in  hypergraphs. We mainly study the existence problem of Hamiltonian decompositions of uniform hypergraphs based on two  versions of Hamiltonian cycles, so called ``KK-definition" and ``WJ-definition". For KK-definition, we create  a recursive construction of KK-Hamiltonian decomposition of complete 3-uniform hypergraphs. 
Our construction method uses a   KK-Hamiltonian decomposition of the complete  3-uniform hypergraph, Kt(3), and some well-known graph decompositions to obtain a KK-Hamiltonian decomposition of the complete t-partite 3-uniform hypergraph, Kt(n)(3), when t=4,8 (mod12), n>=2, as well as a KK-Hamiltonian decomposition of K2t(3). Therefore, together with the current results in literatures, our method provides 
a  KK-Hamiltonian decomposition of the complete  3-uniform hypergraph, Kt(3), and the complete t-partite 3-uniform hypergraph, Kt(n)(3), when t=2m, 5*2m, 7*2m, 11*2m  and m>=2, and n>=2. Furthermore,  we establish a WJ-Hamiltonian decomposition of  the complete 4-uniform bipartite hypergraph, Kn,n(4), where n=1(mod 4) and n is a prime number.
Integer-valued polynomials over discrete valuation domains
Authors:   , Meesa Rattiya
Published: September 2023

The classical theorem of Lucas states that binomial polynomials, which form a basis for integer-valud polynomials, satisfy a congruence relation, modulo a prime, related to their digits in the base prime representation. In this thesis, we define the Lucas property in the setting of discrete-valued structures and investigate when and where the Lucas property holds.  General criteria are derived for bases of integervalued polynomials in this setting to satisfy the Lucas property. Examples of bases including those of Lagrange type and of Carlitz-like polynomials are worked out. In addition, one of the best known properties of binomial polynomials in the classical case is the Pascal triangle equality, which equates the sum of two binomial coefficients to the one in the following line. In the second part of the thesis, we define a general Pascal property and prove a characterization for polynomials which satisfy this Pascal property. Examples of bases of integer-valued polynomials satisfying such a Pascal property, which embrace the classical case, are derived.
Association between gene expression and promoter methylation of CGB3, GSTP1 and NOP56 genes and their potential in biomarker development - associated cervical cancer.
Authors:   , Singh Palak
Published: September 2023

Binding of DNMT1-E7 complex can induce promoter methylation in tumor suppressor genes, such as CCNA1, CADM1 leading to their expression suppression and thus, cause cancer progression. This research establishes the association between methylation-related expression of CGB3 and NOP56 genes in cervical cell lines treated with 5-Azacytidine drug. Using MSP-PCR and qPCR, it was found that the methylation of CGB3 and NOP56 were significantly decreased as concentration of 5-Aza increased and this was inversely related with their expression. This demonstrated the association between gene methylation and the regulation of gene expression which were assessed by 5’-aza drug treatment. Of note, the identification of malignancy in screening PAP samples (included ASC-US) based on cytology and histology, were determined by evaluating the performance of methylation status of CGB3 and NOP56 genes using MSP-PCR. Based on statistical results using Python programming, CGB3 gene showed high sensitivity and specificity compared to NOP56 with significant diagnostic ability to distinguish between the “Normal” and “Abnormal” samples. This indicates that CGB3 has more potential to distinguish and identify the malignancy in cervical screening PAP samples at their early stage.
Epigenetic regulation of reactive oxygen species-induced tumor progression in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors:   , Phoyen Suchittra
Published: September 2023

Oxidative stress is a consequence of an imbalance of antioxidants and reactive species. The most common form of reactive species is derived from oxygen, called reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS involve in pathogenesis of several diseases including cancers. Cancer genesis and progression are contributed through both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Histone modification, a post-translational modification at histone tails, is one of the epigenetic mechanisms known to participate in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Although the ROS-induced histone modification alteration has been demonstrated in some cancers, the change in histone methylation and gene expression by ROS in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is scarcely reported. This study aimed to investigate the effect of ROS on tumor progression via histone modification in HCC cell lines. Expression of inactive chromatin (H4K20me3, H3K9me3) and active chromatin (H3K4me3) marks and their clinical significance were also investigated. The result showed that ROS promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HCC cells, indicated by reduced expression of E-cadherin, and enhanced expression of α-SMA and SNAIL. Cell migration, invasion, and colony formation were higher in HCC cells treated with ROS than the untreated controls. Co-treatment with antioxidant attenuated oxidative stress, inhibited EMT and decreased tumor progressivity in HCC cells exposed to H2O2. H4K20me3, H3K9me3, H3K4me3 and histone methyltransferases (SUV420H2, SUV39H1 and SMYD3) was upregulated in H2O2-treated HCC cells compared with the untreated controls. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing demonstrated that alteration of histone methylation (H4K20me3 and H3K4me3) by ROS was associated with upregulation of genes involved in DNA repair pathway (MRE11, BRCA1, MMS22L and RBBP8,) telomere maintenance (DCLRE1B, TERF1 and TERF2), and EMT pathway (SOS1 and RHOA) in HCC cells. The transcript expression of MRE11, BRCA1, MMS22L, RBBP8, DCLRE1B, TERF1 and TERF2 in HCC cells were increased following the H2O2 treatment. RBBP8 was selected to validate in the human HCC tissues, and it was overexpressed in the HCC tissues compared with the non-cancerous liver tissues. Expression of H4K20me3 was also higher in HCC tissues than the non-cancerous tissues. Elevated expression of H4K20me3 was associated with tumor recurrence and poor survival in HCC patients. In conclusion, ROS-induced oxidative stress promoted HCC progression through chromatin remodeling that subsequently upregulated genes related to EMT and DNA repairing pathways. H4K20me3 was upregulated in the HCC tissues, and its overexpression was clinically associated with the poor prognosis. The findings suggested that histone methylation, specifically H4K20me3, might be a promising marker for HCC prognosis, and it could be a target for development of HCC therapeutic agent in the future.
Integrative transcriptomic analysis and validation of non-coding RNA in liver cancers
Authors:   , Virushkul Varunya
Published: September 2023

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) are the most common and cause cancer-related deaths. Due to the lack of sensitivity and specificity of conventional markers, such as AFP, CA19-9 and CEA. Thus, this study aimed to identify miRNAs as a diagnostic biomarker for HCC and iCCA. First, in discovery set, RNA sequencing and small RNA sequencing data of 992 HCC and adjacent tissues and 116 iCCA and adjacent tissues were downloaded from the GEO database. After that, the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was constructed and analyzed for the differential expression of lncRNA (DElncRNA), miRNA (DEmiRNA), and mRNA (DEmRNA). Then, the significant DEmiRNAs from the network were compared to miRNA data from the TCGA database. The significant differences in miRNA expression of tumor tissues compared to adjacent tissues from the TCGA database were selected according to the inclusion criteria including fold change and P-value <0.05. In validation set, there were three serum miRNAs in HCC, including miR-122-5p, miR-182-5p, and miR-199b-3p were found to be upregulated in HCC when compared to the CHB group. In addition, there were four serum miRNAs in iCCA, including miR-139-3p, miR-148a-3p, miR-221-3p, and miR-222-3p, were significantly higher in iCCA patients when compared to healthy controls. Moreover, ROC curves of candidate miRNAs were analyzed. The result showed area under the curve (AUC) of 0.67, 0.62 and 0.54 for miR-199b-3p, miR-122-5p, miR-182-5p, respectively. In addition, in iCCA, AUC was 0.99, 0.90, 0.87 and 0.86 for miR-222-3p, miR-221-3p, miR-148a-3p and miR-139-3p, respectively. In conclusion, serum miR-122-5p, and miR-199b-3p could potentially serve as diagnostic biomarkers for HCC. And serum miR-139-3p, miR-148a-3p, miR-221-3p, and miR-222-3p could potentially serve as diagnostic biomarkers for the iCCA.
Development of a human viable heavy chain antibody against the alpha folate receptor as a molecule for targeted application by phage display technology
Authors:   , Parakasikron Nattihda
Published: September 2023

Alpha folate receptor (FRα) is currently under investigation as a target for the treatment of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), since it is highly expressed in tumor cells but is largely absent in normal tissue. In this study, a novel human variable domain of a heavy-chain (VH) antibody fragment specific to FRα was enriched and selected by phage bio-planning. The positive phage clone (3A102 VH) is specifically bound to FRα and also cross-reacted with FRβ, as tested by ELISA. Clone 3A102 VH was then successfully expressed as a soluble protein in an E. coli shuffle strain. The obtained soluble 3A102 VH demonstrated a high affinity for FRα with affinity constants (Kaff) values around 7.77± 0.25 x 107 M−1, with specific binding against both FRα expressing NSCLC cells and NSCLC patient-derived primary cancer cells, as tested by cell ELISA. In addition, soluble 3A102 VH showed the potential desired property of a targeting molecule by being internalized into FRα-expressing cells, as observed by confocal microscopy. This study inspires the use of phage display to develop human VH antibody (Ab) fragments that might be well suited for drug targeted therapy of NSCLC and other FRα-positive cancer cells.
Effects of curcumin and B1-6-12 on alterations in cell viability, oxidative stress, expression of tight junction proteins and barrier property of endothelial cell and pericyte induced by cisplatin and oxaliplatin in vitro
Authors:   , Tothonglor Amornrat
Published: September 2023

Cisplatin and oxaliplatin are platinum chemotherapeutic drugs that can cause peripheral neuropathy. Nowadays, the pathogenesis of cisplatin/oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy has not been completely elucidated. Emerging evidence revealed that both drugs cause vascular complications. Both drugs might damage nerve capillaries leading to cisplatin/oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of curcumin and B1-6-12 on cisplatin and oxaliplatin-induced alterations in cell viability, apoptosis (caspase-3), oxidative stress (ROS and GSH/GSSG ratio), expression of tight junction proteins (claudin-5, occludin, ZO-1, and ZO-2), and barrier property in endothelial cell and pericyte in vitro. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) and human brain vascular pericyte (HBVP) were utilized as a model of endothelial cells and pericytes, respectively. Cisplatin caused the reduction of cell viability, induction of caspase-3, overproduction of oxidative stress, depletion of tight junction protein expression, and barrier dysfunction in both HUVEC and HBVP. Co-treatment with curcumin improved these toxic effects in both cells. Moreover, co-treatment with B1-6-12 improved all damage except oxidative stress in both HUVEC and HBVP. Oxaliplatin also caused alterations in HUVEC and HBVP similar to cisplatin and curcumin relieved the alterations in both cell types. In contrast, B1-6-12 was not effective against oxaliplatin-induced cytotoxicity in both HUVEC and HBVP. The combination of curcumin and B1-6-12 was not significantly more effective than curcumin or B1-6-12 alone in most parameters. Both curcumin and B1-6-12 are effective against cisplatin-induced endothelial cell and pericyte cytotoxicity: however, only curcumin is the potential treatment against oxaliplatin-induced microvascular damage. In addition, it is not worth combining these two agents for the management of platinum chemotherapy-induced microvascular toxicity.
Precise extratemporal pattern and intramuscular distribution of the facial nerve
Authors:   , Uruwan Sukanya
Published: September 2023

An arborization of the branches of the facial nerve has the most complexity and variability. Moreover, knowledge of the facial nerve has great importance for surgical and non-surgical interventions in the face region. However, few studies have attempted to determine the entire course and pattern of terminal branching of the facial nerve in the extratemporal and intramuscular parts of the face. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the precise detail of the facial nerve in extratemporal and intramuscular parts. This study was conducted in forty-two hemifaces of embalmed cadavers by conventional dissection, fourteen hemi-faces of embalmed cadavers by histological study, and sixteen hemi-faces of soft cadavers by Sihler’s staining technique to investigate the characteristics of the branches of the facial nerve. The results revealed that the mean number of the temporal, zygomatic, buccal, marginal mandibular, and cervical branches of the facial nerve were 2.57 ±0.83, 1.83 ±0.69, 3.10 ±0.82, 1.36 ±0.49, and 1.07 ±0.26 branches respectively. The branches of the facial nerve were distributed deep to the parotido-masseteric fascia, temporo-parietal fascia, superficial musculo-aponeurotic system, and platysma muscle depending on each branch of the facial nerve. In conclusion, a caution area of each branch of the facial nerve should be carefully performed based on intensive nerve distribution to prevent complications and unexpected outcomes.
Proteomics analysis of bt-474 and skov-3 cancer cell lines treated with purified compounds from bee pollen and cerumen
Authors:   , Ittiudomrak Teeranai
Published: September 2023

Breast and gynaecological cancers are the main causes of global cancer death in females. So far, several compounds have been identified from traditional medicine components and natural products that exhibited anticancer activity. Previously, α-mangostin (α-MG) and apigenin (APG) had been extracted and purified from cerumen of Tetragonula laeviceps and bee pollen of Apis mellifera respectively. Preliminary studies reported that these compounds express antiproliferative activity in several cancer cell lines. In this study, α-MG and APG were investigated for antiproliferation effect in breast cancer cell line BT-474 and ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line SKOV-3 using MTT assay, fluorescent staining coupled with flow cytometry analysis, caspase activity assay, and quantitative real-time PCR of interest genes. From BT-474 cell line result, both compounds caused necrotic death by induction of inflammation, as observation of COX2 gene upregulation. In SKOV-3 cell line, APG induced apoptosis via an intrinsic pathway while α-MG led to necrosis that was associated with upregulation of COX2 gene expression. Both compounds arrested cell progression at G2/M phase. In addition, the half proximal inhibition concentration (IC50) of both compounds in normal cell lines was higher than cancer cell lines representing less cytotoxicity on normal cells. Regarding the antiproliferation effect of APG in SKOV-3, it is interesting how APG regulated cellular mechanisms to suppress cell proliferation. To clarify this question, 11-plex TMT labelling phosphoproteomics was performed at an early response time to observe the global changes of phosphoproteins after APG exposure. Gene set enrichment analysis appeared that APG treatment altered regulation of transcription via epigenetics, histone modification, and organisation associated with demethylation, and activated various signalling pathways especially signalling through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). APG inhibited cyclin-dependent kinase 1, 2, and 4 (CDK1, CDK2, and CDK4) activities, and activated stress response and cell survival signalling from NetworKIN and Kinase set enrichment analysis (KSEA). Notably, inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activity by enhancing activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK1 and PDK2) presumed that conversion of energy metabolism and aerobic glycolysis occurred in SKOV-3 cells after exposure with APG. Taken together, α-MG and APG exhibit antiproliferative activity on a different mechanism and knowledge from this study provide a better understanding of cellular response to the compounds that could become useful as a therapeutic or co-treatment agent for cancer medication.
Clinical efficacy of silk sericin dressing with collagen for split-thickness skin graft donor site treatment
Authors:   , Punjataewakupt Apirujee
Published: September 2023

Sericin dressing containing collagen hydrolysate (SDC) was evaluated in this study, consisting of two phases of clinical trials. The clinical safety of SDC was determined using a patch test in 103 healthy volunteers (phase I). Most of the results (around 90%) in the SDC group were interpreted as negative and doubtful reactions, and the remaining results (around 10%) were weak reactions. After that, the clinical efficacy and safety of SDC were investigated in 21 patients with 30 split-thickness skin graft (STSG) donor sites (phase II). Each donor site was divided into two equal sites. SDC or the commercial dressing (Bactigras®) was randomly applied as the primary dressing at each site. It was found that SDC (15.00 ± 7.00 days) significantly reduced the wound healing time when compared to Bactigras® (16.00 ± 8.00 days), p=0.015. The scar quality after complete healing were also examined by both subjective (Vancouver scar scale; VSS and patient part of Patient and Observer Scar Scale; POSAS) and objective methods (Mexameter®, Tewameter®, Corneometer®, and Cutometer®). The findings from all measurements at 0, 1, 3, and 6 months seemingly agree that SDC could improve the scar quality. The darkness and redness of the scar appear to be better in the SDC group. The scar pliability evaluated by VSS in SDC treated sites was also preferable to Bactigras® treated sites. Moreover, the recovery of epidermal functions and scar maturation might be enhanced by SDC. The patient’s satisfaction in SDC treated site also seems to be superior to the control-treated site. The pain scores in both dressings were relatively low and comparable. There was no infection and adverse effects in both dressings’ applications. The moisture control and the synergistic effects from sericin and collagen hydrolysate might facilitate STSG donor healing, leading to faster healing and better scar quality. Accordingly, it can be concluded that SDC is possibly used as the alternative dressing for STSG donor sites.
Effect of 5-o-(n-boc-l-alanine)-renieramycin t in the suppression of lung cancer stem cells
Authors:   , Suksamai Darinthip
Published: September 2023

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) drive aggressiveness and metastasis by utilizing stem cell-related signals. In this study, 5-O-(N-Boc-L-alanine)-renieramycin T (OBA-RT) was demonstrated to suppress CSC signals and induce apoptosis. OBA-RT exerted cytotoxic effects with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of approximately 7 µM and mediated apoptosis as detected by annexin V/PI and nuclear staining assays. Mechanistically, OBA-RT exerted dual roles, activating p53-dependent apoptosis and concomitantly suppressing CSC signals. A p53-dependent pathway was indicated by the induction of p53 and the depletion of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 and Bcl-2 proteins. Cleaved PARP was detected in OBA-RT-treated cells. Interestingly, OBA-RT exerted strong CSC-suppressing activity, reducing the ability to form tumor spheroids. In addition, OBA-RT could induce apoptosis in CSC-rich populations and tumor spheroid collapse. CSC markers, including CD133, Oct4, and Nanog, were notably decreased after OBA-RT treatment. Upstream CSCs regulating active Akt and c-Myc were significantly decreased; indicating that Akt may be a potential target of action. Computational molecular modeling revealed that OBA-RT could interact with an Akt molecule with high affinity. This study has revealed a novel CSC inhibitory effect of OBA-RT via Akt inhibition, which may improve cancer therapy.