Government of Thailand

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health issue with widespread implications for public health. Primarily stemming from non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, Studies have shown that in the eastern economic corridor there is a high risk of chronic non-communicable diseases has seen a substantial increase in mortality. Researchers have developed the 'Ticare' mobile health application (mHealth) for CKD patients. The primary objective of this research is to create a model mHealth app focusing on improving public access to healthcare. Data collection for app development was carried out through surveys, interviews, and insights from healthcare experts. The 'Ticare' app is compatible with all operating systems and offers key functionalities, including a disease news information system, hospital search and navigation, online service reservation, telemedicine, in-app medication ordering, and data visualisation. The satisfaction survey involving 400 participants revealed a high level of user satisfaction.

To promote self-reliance in vaccine production, a chimeric Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) based vaccine (NDV-HXP-S) was developed in Bangkok, Thailand, with the support of PATH. The interim results of phase 1 on initial safety and immune responses of five formulations: 1 µg, 3 µg, 10 µg, 1 µg+ CpG, and 3 µg+CpG adjuvant were reported. The 3 µg and 3 µg+CpG formulations were selected to advance into phase 2. The full one-year follow-up of safety and immune responses of the NDV-HXP-S vaccine from a pooled phase 1/2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in vaccine naïve individuals with no prior SARS-CoV-2 infection was reported here. The two-dose NDV-HPX-S primary series was safe and elicited a strong immune response over one year, especially in the 3 µg+CpG and 10 µg groups. The 3 µg+CpG group had a significantly higher geometric mean fold rise (GMFR) than the 3 µg group (57.1 vs 40.0, p = 0.028) 14 days after the second dose.

Numerous studies have employed the Task-technology fit (TTF) theory to examine the impact of information systems used for training. While some of these studies reported positive outcomes, others presented mixed results on the impact of the systems improving users' performance in problem solving and learning. One possible explanation for these inconsistencies is likely caused by additional factors beyond the task and technology characteristics emphasized in TTF. This research is a preliminary study to enhance understanding of TTF and its impact on system usage and work performance. The study argues that task-technology alignment should also consider users' skills and the fit between the task and technology. Therefore, this research explores the effects of task characteristics, technology characteristics, and users' skills on system usage and work performance. Data from 210 participants of the Revenue Department of Thailand was analyzed using a two-way factorial multivariate analysis (Factorial MANOVA) to assess the impact of Task-technology-skill fit (TTSF) on system usage and work performance. Additionally, a simple regression analysis was conducted to examine the effect of system usage on work performance. The findings indicated that the fit among tasks, technology, and skills significantly impacts system usage and work performance. However, the system usage does not directly affect work performance. This study proposed a factorial design to depict the task-technology-skill fit, the first to introduce this integrated framework.

For individuals in prisons, the management of diabetes and hypertension is resource-intensive and presents substantial challenges. This qualitative descriptive study explored the experiences of incarcerated individuals in accessing health-care resources for these conditions. In total, 60 participants (mean age = 44.3 ± 12.6 years), including 30 individuals at risk for and 30 diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension, were purposively enrolled by prison nurses. Data were collected through 12 focus group discussions and nonparticipatory observations conducted in 6 prisons in Thailand between September and December 2023. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework. The findings revealed 3 key themes: "resource constraints," reflecting struggles with inadequate provisions (such as dietary ones); "neglect," reflecting inequalities in diabetes and hypertension screening and limited clinical monitoring; and "self-reliance," reflecting how participants coped with stress and managed life-threatening situations on their own. In conclusion, the study highlights substantial inequalities in diabetes and hypertension management in prisons. Targeted strategies are urgently needed to improve chronic disease management in prison settings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has damaged and taken human lives and still affects their daily routine and way of living. There is a connection between COVID-19 incidence and fine particulate matter which is a type of air pollution that causes issues to human health, especially in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Daily estimation of the incidence of COVID-19 can assist Thailand in planning to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 incidents. Unfortunately, some COVID-19 data are missing, and as a result, it may yield inaccurate results for planning policies using missing data. A novel class of estimators engaging transformation to transform an auxiliary variable is suggested under simple random sampling without replacement, whilst assuming the population mean of an auxiliary variable is not available under uniform nonresponse. The new estimators are used to estimate the official cases of COVID-19 per day and the total patients diagnosed with pneumonia and are on high-flow oxygen therapy in Chiang Mai, Thailand using fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns concentration as the auxiliary variable. The estimators that were brought forward performed well compared to the existing ones with a reduced bias and mean square error. The best-proposed estimator gave the estimated daily confirmed cases of around 101 cases and the total number of patients diagnosed with pneumonia and are on high-flow oxygen therapy around 16 cases. The highest efficiency is above 500 more percentage relative efficiency in contrast to the mean imputation method. The suggested estimators are more practical to use with real-world data as they do not require the population means associated with the auxiliary variable.

Abstract This study investigates the optimization of stress-relief heat treatment for overlay weld repair of severely used rail tracks. The research focuses on 900A rail steel samples that have been in service for over 20 years, exhibiting significant wear and plastic deformation. Pre-welding heat treatments at 300 °C, 400 °C, and 500 °C were applied to reduce service-induced residual stresses before flux core arc welding (FCAW) repair using high-Mn filler material. The effects of these treatments on residual stress distribution, microstructure, hardness, and wear resistance were systematically analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray residual stress analysis, microhardness testing, and pin-on-disc wear tests were employed to characterize the samples. Results indicate that stress relief at 300 °C and 400 °C effectively reduces residual stress while maintaining or enhancing hardness and wear resistance. However, treatment at 500 °C led to over-tempering, resulting in decreased hardness and increased wear rates. The 400 °C treatment emerged as the optimal temperature, providing a balanced combination of reduced residual stress, favorable microstructure, and improved mechanical properties across all welded zones.

Molnupiravir (1) is one among the limited therapeutic options for treating COVID-19 infection and exhibits pan-antiviral potency. Because of urgent demands during the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of methods were developed to offer more efficient routes. In this report, we present a facile 2-step and scalable synthesis of molnupiravir for batch processing and show the implementation of continuous flow biocatalysis to improve the efficiency in synthesis. Our key step entails immobilized lipase and isobutyric anhydride to facilitate regioselective esterification. In batch process, transamination of cytidine (2) provides N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC, 3) with 75 % yield followed by esterification of NHC to give molnupiravir with 64 % yield, providing 48 % overall yield and 99.98 % purity (HPLC). Compared to batch approach in the esterification step, the continuous flow process provides similar product yield and purity and highlights the advantages including 2.42-fold better productivity (mol/day), 2.47-fold improved reaction time, and 30-fold higher space-time-yield. The optimized batch and continuous flow biocatalysis enhance synthesis efficiency and reduce environmental impact, offering a sustainable approach for industrial molnupiravir production.

The study titled " Civil Society Politics in Public Legal Space: A Case Study of the Internet Law Reform Dialogue 2009-2020" has the following research questions: (1) What laws restricted freedom and political expression in Thailand during 2009-2020? (2) How did the Internet Law Reform Dialogue engage with civil society politics between 2009-2020? (3) What roles did the Internet Law Reform Dialogue play in collecting, campaigning, promoting, or monitoring laws and enhancing civil society politics during 2009-2020? The objectives of the study were (1) to investigate Thai politics during 2009-2020 that impacted the enforcement of laws related to public spaces for political expression, (2) to study the role of the Internet Law Reform Dialogue in promoting people's politics in Thai society during 2009-2020, (3) to examine civil society organizations that could collect, campaign, promote or monitor laws during that period. The study employed qualitative research methods, utilizing documentary research and in-depth interviews. Related documents of the Internet Law Reform Dialogue and relevant laws were studied. Interviews were conducted with 30 samples: six project staff, four academics, and 20 general public. The findings showed that the Internet Law Reform Dialogue included three main roles: (1) supporting expression of opinions in public political spaces and supporting political movements of the people, (2) building a legal database and driving political movements in important public political spaces, especially collecting data on political movements during 2019-2020, and (3) supporting civil society politics that allowed the public to participate in driving social policies and monitoring laws. The study also found that political power relations limited the public political spaces for the people, especially the restriction during 2009-2020 when the state selectively enforced many laws limiting political expression and activities. Therefore, it is crucial to support organizations that build public understanding of laws and political expression in public spaces, similar to the Internet Law Reform Dialogue, in Thai society.

In this study, we introduce a new nondestructive measurement technique based on a thermal approach for the determination of substandard amoxicillin. The quality control of amoxicillin is critical for patient safety, and one of the essential parameters for its evaluation is the content of the active ingredient. Traditional methods for assessing amoxicillin content are defined by their time-consuming nature, reliance on skilled personnel, and frequent necessity for specific reagents. The proposed device aims to provide a rapid and low-cost alternative that can accurately measure the amoxicillin content without damaging the sample. The method validation results indicate coefficient of determination (R2) exceeding 0.99, with percent recoveries falling within the range of 98.70-103.40%. The calculated values for limit of detection and limit of quantitation were determined to be 28.11 and 85.17 mg/L, respectively. Our experiments employed amoxicillin samples with predetermined concentrations, all of which were below the standard quality. It was observed that the proposed analytical device effectively quantifies the amoxicillin content in aqueous solutions. Each measurement took no more than 10 min, underscoring the efficiency of the analysis process. The experiments were validated through independent testing at the Government Pharmaceutical Organization in Thailand and the department of engineering science in Oxford, which provides strong evidence for the effectiveness and robustness of the technique. Overall, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using a thermal approach for the nondestructive measurement of substandard amoxicillin.

BackgroundThe geographic distribution and host-parasite interaction networks of Sarcocystis spp. in small mammals in eastern Asia remain incompletely known.MethodsExperimental infections, morphological and molecular characterizations were used for discrimination of a new Sarcocystis species isolated from colubrid snakes and small mammals collected in Thailand, Borneo and China.ResultsWe identified a new species, Sarcocystis muricoelognathis sp. nov., that features a relatively wide geographic distribution and infects both commensal and forest-inhabiting intermediate hosts. Sarcocystis sporocysts collected from rat snakes (Coelognathus radiatus, C. flavolineatus) in Thailand induced development of sarcocysts in experimental SD rats showing a type 10a cyst wall ultrastructure that was identical with those found in Rattus norvegicus from China and the forest rat Maxomys whiteheadi in Borneo. Its cystozoites had equal sizes in all intermediate hosts and locations, while sporocysts and cystozoites were distinct from other Sarcocystis species. Partial 28S rRNA sequences of S. muricoelognathis from M. whiteheadi were largely identical to those from R. norvegicus in China but distinct from newly sequenced Sarcocystiszuoi. The phylogeny of the nuclear 18S rRNA gene placed S. muricoelognathis within the so-called S. zuoi complex, including Sarcocystisattenuati, S. kani, S. scandentiborneensis and S. zuoi, while the latter clustered with the new species. However, the phylogeny of the ITS1-region confirmed the distinction between S. muricoelognathis and S. zuoi. Moreover, all three gene trees suggested that an isolate previously addressed as S. zuoi from Thailand (KU341120) is conspecific with S. muricoelognathis. Partial mitochondrial cox1 sequences of S. muricoelognathis were almost identical with those from other members of the group suggesting a shared, recent ancestry. Additionally, we isolated two partial 28S rRNA Sarcocystis sequences from Low’s squirrel Sundasciurus lowii that clustered with those of S. scandentiborneensis from treeshews.ConclusionsOur results provide strong evidence of broad geographic distributions of rodent-associated Sarcocystis and host shifts between commensal and forest small mammal species, even if the known host associations remain likely only snapshots of the true associations.Graphical