Siam University

Cyclodextrins (CDs), a group of oligosaccharides formed by glucose units bound together in a ring, show a promising ability to form complexes with drug molecules and improve their physicochemical properties without molecular modifications. The stoichiometry of drug/CD complexes is most frequently 1:1. However, natural CDs have a tendency to self-assemble and form aggregates in aqueous media. CD aggregation can limit their solubility. Through derivative formation, it is possible to enhance their solubility and complexation capacity, but this depends on the type of substituent and degree of substitution. Formation of water-soluble drug/CD complexes can increase drug permeation through biological membranes. To maximize drug permeation the amount of added CD into pharmaceutical preparation has to be optimized. However, solubility of CDs, especially that of natural CDs, is affected by the complex formation. The presence of pharmaceutical excipients, such as water-soluble polymers, preservatives, and surfactants, can influence the solubilizing abilities of CDs, but this depends on the excipients' physicochemical properties. The competitive CD complexation of drugs and excipients has to be considered during formulation studies.

BACKGROUND: Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery has been adopted for thyroid surgery because of its potential for scar-free operation. However, the previous technique still has some limitations. Thus, we present our initial experience in transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOETVA). METHODS: From April 2014 to January 2015, we used a three-port technique through the oral vestibule, one 10-mm port for laparoscope and two additional 5-mm ports for instruments. The CO2 insufflation pressure was set at 6 mm Hg. An anterior cervical subplatysmal space was created from the oral vestibule down to the sternal notch. The thyroidectomy was done endoscopically using conventional laparoscopic instruments and an ultrasonic device. RESULTS: A series of 60 procedures were accomplished successfully. 42 patients had single-thyroid nodules, and a lobectomy was performed. 22 patients had multinodular goiters and two patients had Graves' disease, with total thyroidectomy or Hartley-Dunhill procedures performed. Two had papillary thyroid carcinoma, and total thyroidectomy with central node dissection was performed. The median operative time was 115.5 min (range 75-300 min). The median blood loss was 30 mL (range 8-130 mL). Two patients experienced a transient hoarseness, which was resolved within 2 months. One patient experienced a late postoperative hematoma, which was treated conservatively. No mental nerve injury or infections were found. The patients were discharged in an average of 3.6 days (range 2-7 days) postoperatively. CONCLUSION: TOETVA is safe and feasible, resulting in no visible scarring. This technique may provide a method for ideal cosmetic results.

Fourteen tropical fruits from south Florida (red guava, white guava, carambola, red pitaya (red dragon), white pitaya (white dragon), mamey sapote, sapodilla, lychee, longan, green mango, ripe mango, green papaya, and ripe papaya) were evaluated for antioxidant activity, total soluble phenolics (TSP), total ascorbic acid (TAA), total dietary fiber (TDF), and pectin. ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, radical scavenging activity) assays were used to determine antioxidant activity. The TSP, ORAC, and DPPH ranged from 205.4 to 2316.7 g gallic acid equiv/g puree, <0.1 to 16.7 micromol Trolox equiv/g puree, and 2.1 to 620.2 microg gallic acid equiv/g puree, respectively. The TAA, TDF, and pectin ranged from 7.5 to 188.8 mg/100 g, 0.9 to 7.2 g/100 g, and 0.20 to 1.04 g/100 g, respectively. The antioxidant activities, TSP, TAA, TDF, and pectin were influenced by cultivar (papaya, guava, and dragon fruit) and ripening stage (papaya and/or mango). Antioxidant activity showed high correlations with levels of TSP compounds (r = 0.96) but low correlations with levels of ascorbic acid (r = 0.35 and 0.23 for ORAC and DPPH data, respectively). The antioxidant activities evaluated by both ORAC and DPPH showed similar trends where red guava and carambola exhibited the highest and sapodilla and green papaya exhibited the lowest levels. Guava and mamey sapote exhibited the highest TDF and pectin levels. Many of the tropical fruits were shown to contain an abundance of hydrolyzable tannins, ellagic acid conjugates, and flavone glycosides. Preliminary descriptions are given of the phenols in red/white pitaya (dragonfruit), lychee, and mamey sapote, these fruit being thus far uncharacterized in the literature.

It is increasingly recognized that artificial intelligence has been touted as a new mobile. Because of the high volume of data that being generated by devices, sensors and social media users, the machine can learn to distinguish the pattern and makes a reasonably good prediction. This article will explore the use of machine learning and its methodologies. Furthermore, the field of deep learning which is being exploited in many leading IT providers will be clarified and discussed.

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are recognized as promising pharmaceutical excipients due to their unique ability to form water-soluble inclusion complexes with various poorly soluble compounds. The numerous investigations on CDs and their use in nanomedicine have received considerable attention in the last three decades, leading to the rapid development of new CD-containing formulations that significantly facilitate targeted drug delivery and controlled drug release, with consequent improvements in drug bioavailability. This MiniReview highlights the efficacy and recent uses of CDs for non-invasive drug delivery. Using ophthalmic and nasal drug delivery as examples, an overview of chemical properties, mechanisms of CDs on drug solubilization, stabilization and permeation, along with their toxicological profiles relevant to nasal and ocular administration, are provided and discussed. The recent development and application of CD-based nanocarrier systems for targeted drug delivery are summarized.

This study explores travel motivation on thanatourism of tourists visiting the disaster-hit beach resort of Phuket and identifies differences in tourist motivation between Thais and Scandinavians and between tourists of different age and gender. The findings reveal that curiosity about the outcome of the tsunami, desire to help local people, and safety were the most important travel motivations. Significantly, it is found that curiosity on thanatourism of tourists is not curiosity about death but about the outcome of the disaster and that it motivated only domestic tourists but not inbound tourists. In addition, the study suggests that curiosity acts as both a push and a pull motivation for domestic tourists. The findings also suggest that women are more motivated by safety and desire to help others than are men and that young tourists are the most curious regarding thanatourism.

This study aims to: 1) describe the travel motivations of the types of film tourists proposed by Macionis (2004), specifically, serendipitous tourists, specific film tourists, and general film tourists, in visiting a film-induced tourist destination; and 2) empirically test the assumption that film tourism is incidental and neither the main nor the sole motivation of most tourists traveling to a film destination. A mixed method of quantitative and qualitative (a series of self-complete questionnaire surveys over a period of eleven months and a longitudinal study of interviews and participant observations over a period of four years) was used in the study. Out of 1852 samples, the numbers of specific film tourists (10.5%) and general film tourists (19.5%) are less than serendipitous tourists (70%). Though both business and leisure tourists can be specific film tourists, their number is very small. Furthermore, serendipitous tourists can be distributed into almost equal numbers, namely, “incidental serendipitous tourists,” “disinterested serendipitous tourists,” and “sightseeing serendipitous tourists.” While successful films create destination awareness among all types of film tourists, an individual's favorite film, rather than a successful film, motivated most specific film tourists to take a pilgrimage film trip. This study also highlights the value of the mixed method, of a quantitative and qualitative approach, in explaining film tourism, in regards to unusual behavior of outliers. Whereas the quantitative design increases the generalization of the findings, the qualitative method provides better understanding of contradictory findings without having to eliminate outliers from analysis.

Biocompatible materials that act as scaffolds for regenerative medicine are of enormous interest. Hydrogel-nanoparticle composites have great potential in this regard, however evaluations of their wound healing and safety in vivo in animal studies are scarce. Here we demonstrate that a guar gum/curcumin-stabilized silver nanoparticle hydrogel composite is an injectable material with exceptional wound healing and antibacterial properties. We show that the curcumin-bound silver nanoparticles themselves exhibit low cytotoxicity and enhance proliferation, migration, and collagen production in in vitro studies of human dermal fibroblasts. We then show that the hydrogel-nanoparticle composite promotes wound healing in in vivo studies on rats, accelerating wound closure by > 40% and reducing bacterial counts by 60% compared to commercial antibacterial gels. Histopathology indicates that the hydrogel composite enhances transition from the inflammation to proliferation stage of healing, promoting the formation of fibroblasts and new blood vessels, while target gene expression studies confirm that the accelerated tissue remodeling occurs along the normal pathways. As such these hydrogel composites show great promise as wound dressing materials with high antibacterial capacity.

Abstract This study examined the motivations, inhibitors, and facilitators that influence association members in attending international conferences. Mailed questionnaires were sent to conference participants of the 2000 International Council of Hotel, Restaurant Industry Educators (CHRIE) conference. It was found that “Sightseeing,” “Self-enhancement,” and “Business and association activities” are the underlying dimensions of the conference motivations. The underlying dimensions of conference inhibitors are “Conference and personal constraints” and “Distance, time, and money.” The study also revealed that “Affordability and availability of time,” “Family/spouse,” and “Distance and ease of access” are major conference facilitators.

In this paper, the maximum loading margin (MLM) approach is proposed in finding generation directions to maximize the static voltage stability margin, where the MLM is evaluated at various possible generation directions in the generation direction space. An approximate and simple model representing the relationship between the generation direction and the LM is used to obtain the MLM point. The proposed method is validated in the modified IEEE 14-bus test system and applied to the Thailand power system. LMs of the system with the generation directions are compared for different generator combinations using the proposed technique.

This paper studies generalized spatial modulation (Gen-SM) schemes in multicell multiuser massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems as a promising high-throughput and energy-efficient technique for fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks. A detection algorithm for such systems is proposed based on linear processing techniques. By applying the concept of order statistics, a general framework for approximating the achievable sum rates with linear detection is also given. The probability of detecting antenna combinations is analyzed and is used to approximate the sum-rate performance with practical channel conditions, such as antenna correlation, imperfect channel information, and pilot contamination. The fundamental trade-off between spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE) is also investigated. Despite offering less SE, spatial modulation (SM) with a single active antenna per user is shown to be the most energy-efficient transmission mode among the Gen-SM class. Within the operating range of SM (i.e., in the low-to-moderate SE regime), SM is demonstrated to achieve better EE compared with conventional massive MIMO schemes. The performance in terms of economic efficiency, indicating economic profitability (in monetary unit per second), is also analyzed and is shown to serve as a complementary performance metric, enabling an implicit trade-off between SE and EE.

Background and Objectives: Self-medication with over-the-counter (OTC) medicines is becoming an increasingly popular practice around the world. The global prevalence rate of self-medication ranges from 11.2% to 93.7%, depending on the target population and country. However, there is a lack of data on the prevalence and practices of self-medication among the working-age population, particularly in Thailand metropolitan areas. The current study describes the prevalence of self-medication practices, adverse drug reactions and severity, reasons for self-medication, and basic medication knowledge among people of working age in metropolitan areas in Thailand. Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional study between December 2020 and January 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze self-medication data. A chi-square test was used to assess the association between self-medication and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: This study found high prevalence of self-medication among the working-age population in metropolitan areas of Thailand (88.2%). The most commonly used drug groups were NSAIDs (34.8%) and antibiotics (30.2%). Minor illness and easy access to pharmacies were the most common reasons for self-medication. Almost half of the participants&amp;amp;apos; illnesses (42.6%) for which they self-medicated were not always completely cured, necessitating treatment at a hospital or clinic. Although only a small number of participants (ranged from 0.6 to 6.6%) experienced adverse drug reactions as a result of self-medication, some had severe symptoms that disrupted their daily lives or required hospitalization. In terms of basic medication knowledge, we discovered that study participants misunderstood some antibiotic drug concepts. Conclusions: According to the study findings, it is recommended that more information about the risks of self-medication, drug adverse reactions, antibiotic stewardship, more supervision of the prohibition of over-the-counter drugs and selling practices, and adequate facilities for peoples access to medical services be provided at the policy level.

Four norisoprenoids, alpha-ionone, beta-ionone, beta-cyclocitral, and beta-damascenone, along with their putative carotenoid precursors, were identified in Valencia orange juice using time-intensity GC-O, GC-MS, and photodiode array HPLC. alpha-Ionone and beta-cyclocitral are reported in orange juice for the first time. GC-O aroma peaks were categorized into seven groups with similar sensory qualities: citrus/minty, metallic/mushroom/geranium, roasted/cooked/meaty/spice, fatty/soapy/green, sulfury/solventy/medicine, floral, and sweet fruity. The four norisoprenoids contributed approximately 8% of the total aroma intensity and 78% of the total floral aroma category. The putative carotenoid norisoprenoid precursors, alpha- and beta-carotene, alpha- and beta-cryptoxanthin, and neoxanthin, were identified in the same orange juice using photodiode array HPLC retention times and spectral characteristics.

In this paper, voltage stability assessment with appropriate representations of STATCOM, TCSC and SSSC is investigated and compared in the modified IEEE 14-bus test system. AC and DC representations of STATCOM, TCSC and SSSC are used in the continuation power flow process in static voltage stability study. The appropriate representation provides more practical solutions in the DC parts of these devices. Static voltage stability margin enhancement using STATCOM, TCSC and SSSC is compared in the modified IEEE 14-bus test system

This paper presents a comparison of FACTS devices for static voltage stability study. Various performance measures including PV curves, voltage profiles, and power losses are compared under normal and contingency conditions. Placement and sizing techniques of series FACTS devices and UPFC are proposed for loading margin enhancement. The paper provides a guide for utilities to have an appropriate choice of FACTS device for enhancing loading margin and static voltage stability.

Palm oil was transmethylated continuously at 70°C in an organic solvent with sodium methoxide as a catalyst. The optimum ratio of toluene to palm oil is 1∶1 (v/v). When the methanol‐to‐oil molar ratio was 13∶1, transmethylation was 96% complete within 60 seconds. At higher molar ratio (17∶1), transmethylation was 99% complete in 15 seconds. For lower molar ratios of methanol‐to‐oil (9∶1 and 5.8∶1), yields of palm oil methyl ester (POME) were 84 and 58%, respectively. Benzene was also a good solvent for transmethylation, but the yield of POME was slightly lower than toluene. Tetrahydrofuran did not accelerate transmethylation.

UNLABELLED: In recent years, a large number of groups studied the fate of human stem cells in livers of immunodeficient animals. However, the interpretation of the results is quite controversial. We transplanted 4 different types of human extrahepatic precursor cells (derived from cord blood, monocytes, bone marrow, and pancreas) into livers of nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency mice. Human hepatocytes were used as positive controls. Tracking of the transplanted human cells could be achieved by in situ hybridization with alu probes. Cells with alu-positive nuclei stained positive for human albumin and glycogen. Both markers were negative before transplantation. However, cells with alu-positive nuclei did not show a hepatocyte-like morphology and did not express cytochrome P450 3A4, and this suggests that these cells represent a mixed cell type possibly resulting from partial transdifferentiation. Using antibodies specific for human albumin, we also observed a second human albumin-positive cell type that could be clearly distinguished from the previously described cells by its hepatocyte-like morphology. Surprisingly, these cells had a mouse and not a human nucleus which is explained by transdifferentiation of human cells. Although it has not yet been formally proven, we suggest horizontal gene transfer as a likely mechanism, especially because we observed small fragments of human nuclei in mouse cells that originated from deteriorating transplanted cells. Qualitatively similar results were obtained with all 4 human precursor cell types through different routes of administration with and without the induction of liver damage. CONCLUSION: We observed evidence not for transdifferentiation but instead for a complex situation including partial differentiation and possibly horizontal gene transfer.

Abstract A June 2000 study of 510 tourists examined their image of Thailand as an international travel destination and assessed the effects of the destination's image on the likelihood of the travelers' returning there. Using several statistical analyses, the study indicates that Thailand has a positive image as a rich cultural, natural, and historical travel destination. At the same time, however, Thailand's image is tarnished by pollution, prostitution, and deterioration of some tourist attractions. On balance, most tourists surveyed indicated that they would consider a return visit to Thailand. The only truly unsatisfied customers were certain tourists who had found themselves on a “free” tour that promoted shopping and other types of spending, yet left them in poor restaurants and hotels.

Odor volatiles in three major lychee cultivars (Mauritius, Brewster, and Hak Ip) were examined using gas chromatography-olfactometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and gas chromatography-pulsed flame photometric detection. Fifty-nine odor-active compounds were observed including 11 peaks, which were associated with sulfur detector responses. Eight sulfur volatiles were identified as follows: hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, diethyl disulfide, 2-acetyl-2-thiazoline, 2-methyl thiazole, 2,4-dithiopentane, dimethyl trisulfide, and methional. Mauritius contained 25% and Brewster contained 81% as much total sulfur volatiles as Hak Ip. Cultivars were evaluated using eight odor attributes: floral, honey, green/woody, tropical fruit, peach/apricot, citrus, cabbage, and garlic. Major odor differences in cabbage and garlic attributes correlated with cultivar sulfur volatile composition. The 24 odor volatiles common to all three cultivars were acetaldehyde, ethanol, ethyl-3-methylbutanoate, diethyl disulfide, 2-methyl thiazole, 1-octen-3-one, cis-rose oxide, hexanol, dimethyl trisulfide, alpha-thujone, methional, 2-ethyl hexanol, citronellal, (E)-2-nonenal, linalool, octanol, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, menthol, 2-acetyl-2-thiazoline, (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, beta-damascenone, 2-phenylethanol, beta-ionone, and 4-vinyl-guaiacol.

The present review explores the growing interest in the techniques employed for extracting natural products. It emphasizes the limitations of conventional extraction methods and introduces superior non-conventional alternatives, particularly ultrasound-assisted extraction. Characterization and quantification of bioactive constituents through chromatography coupled with spectroscopy are recommended, while the importance of method development and validation for biomarker quantification is underscored. At present, electrospun fibers provide a versatile platform for incorporating bioactive extracts and have extensive potential in diverse fields due to their unique structural and functional characteristics. Thus, the review also highlights the fabrication of electrospun fibers containing bioactive extracts. The preparation of biologically active extracts under optimal conditions, including the selection of safe solvents and cost-effective equipment, holds promising potential in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries. Integration of experimental design into extraction procedures and formulation development is essential for the efficient production of health products. The review explores potential applications of encapsulating natural product extracts in electrospun fibers, such as wound healing, antibacterial activity, and antioxidant properties, while acknowledging the need for further exploration and optimization in this field. The findings discussed in this review are anticipated to serve as a valuable resource for the processing industry, enabling the utilization of affordable and environmentally friendly, natural, and raw materials.