Naresuan University Hospital

Demographic structure plays a crucial role in shaping economic growth, particularly in regions undergoing rapid population changes. West Africa, characterized by a young population, high fertility rates, and urbanization, presents both opportunities and challenges for economic development. While demographic transitions can generate economic dividends, inefficient labour markets and inadequate investments in human capital may hinder growth. This study examines the impact of demographic factors on economic growth in West Africa using econometric analysis. This research employs a panel data regression model to analyze the relationship between economic growth (measured by the logarithm of GDP per capita in levels) and key demographic variables, including age dependency ratio, labour force participation rate, population growth, urbanization, life expectancy, and health expenditure. Secondary data from 16 West African countries between 2000 and 2022 were obtained from the World Development Indicators. The study applies the Random Effects model and Weighted Least Squares regression to address heteroskedasticity and improve estimate efficiency. Findings reveal that a high age dependency ratio and rapid population growth negatively impact economic growth, while urbanization and life expectancy contribute positively. Labour force participation showed a weak negative effect, suggesting labour market inefficiencies. Interestingly, increased health expenditure was negatively associated with growth, indicating potential inefficiencies in resource allocation. The study highlights the complex relationship between demographics and economic growth in West Africa. Policies focusing on reducing dependency ratios, improving labour productivity, and ensuring efficient health investments are essential to harness demographic advantages and foster sustainable development.

Abstract Background: Large idiopathic full-thickness macular holes (FTMH) with minimum diameter >400 μm carry surgical success rates of approximately 56% with standard vitrectomy and gas tamponade. Novel biologic scaffolds have improved closure rates but are limited by intraoperative handling challenges. We report the first clinical application of thermosensitive injectable decellularized human amniotic membrane (dAM) hydrogel as an intraocular scaffold for large FTMH, with four-month anatomical, functional, and electrophysiological outcomes. Methods: A 62-year-old man with a Gass stage 4 idiopathic FTMH (minimum diameter 572 μm) and preoperative BCVA of 20/200 underwent combined phacoemulsification and 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with ILM peeling. Following fluid-air exchange, dAM hydrogel (10 mg/mL, thermosensitive, prepared by detergent decellularization and pepsin solubilization) was injected via a 25-gauge soft-tip cannula, followed by SF6 gas tamponade. Pre-clinical biocompatibility was confirmed by CCK-8 assay and transwell invasion assay prior to clinical use. Results: At one month, SD-OCT confirmed complete Type 1 anatomical closure and BCVA improved to 20/80. At four months (day 121), BCVA further improved to 20/40+1 (logMAR 0.30), with no metamorphopsia, IOP 12.7 mmHg, and sustained Type 1 closure with progressive ellipsoid zone (EZ) reconstitution on OCT. Multifocal ERG (103 segments) confirmed measurable foveal P1 responses (Ring 1: 34.19 nV/deg²) with normal central N1 implicit time (40.2 ms; normal range 36.8–46.4 ms). No intraocular adverse events occurred at any time point. Conclusions: Injectable dAM hydrogel achieves stable Type 1 FTMH closure with progressive visual and electrophysiological recovery over four months. mfERG evidence of preserved foveal photoreceptor function supports this approach as a feasible and safe biologic scaffold for large FTMH repair. Prospective comparative evaluation is ongoing (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT06433284).

Background: Burn injuries remain a major therapeutic challenge, with conventional treatments often failing to achieve complete functional skin regeneration. Stem cell-based interventions, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and exosome derivatives, have demonstrated regenerative and immunomodulatory potential, yet their translation to clinical practice remains limited. Objectives: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of stem cell-based therapies for burn wound healing across pre-clinical and clinical studies. Materials and Methods: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines, four databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane) were searched through April 2025. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials and controlled pre-clinical studies comparing stem cell-based interventions with standard care or placebo. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using RoB 2 and the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation tools, and evidence certainty was rated using GRADE. Results: Four studies met the inclusion criteria: One early-phase clinical trial and two pre-clinical randomized studies (MSC extract and exosome therapy). Pooled analysis of pre-clinical data showed a moderateto- large effect favoring stem cell interventions (standardized mean difference = 1.15; 95% confidence interval 0.54–1.76; I2 = 49.4%). Certainty of evidence was moderate for efficacy and low for safety. Conclusion: Stem cell-based therapies suggest potential benefit in enhancing burn wound healing, yet the evidence remains preliminary and largely pre-clinical. These interventions should be regarded as investigational, pending well-powered multicenter clinical trials with standardized protocols and long-term safety evaluation.

The advancement of intelligent multimedia computing, particularly through deep neural networks (DNNs), has gained remarkable attention across a wide array of research domains and practical applications, such as audio-visual joint processing, image classification, video computing, computer vision, etc. However, the concern for sustainability and inherent black-box characteristics of DNNs have emerged as significant challenges, especially when dealing with multiple data sources. To tackle these challenges, alternative learning models have been actively explored in recent years, with green learning and interpretable learning standing out as two key directions. In this paper, a discriminative correlation perceptron-style neural network (DC-PNN) is proposed for feature representation learning with application to multimodal information computing. By leveraging the joint strength of statistics machine learning (SML) principles and the cascade architecture of a perceptron-style neural network (PNN), the DC-PNN model is green in nature with interpretable properties. To evaluate its effectiveness and generalizability, we conduct experiments on six benchmark databases with different scales and then apply to a real world problem, Glaucoma image classification. The results demonstrate that the DC-PNN model outperforms state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods. In addition, the parameters and FLOP analysis are implemented, validating the advantage of the model in terms of efficiency and resource requirements.

Abstract Microchirita involucrata (family Gesneriaceae) has recently been reassigned to the genus Microchirita ; however, its biological properties and potential applications remain unexplored in Thailand. Although the species is valued for its compact growth habit and attractive floral morphology, its phytochemical potential has received little attention. This study established an in vitro culture platform for M. involucrata , identified explants with high secondary metabolite potential, optimized metabolite accumulation through elicitation, and evaluated the biological activities of elicited root cultures. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) screening revealed that root tissues contained the highest number of antioxidant-active bands; therefore, in vitro –derived root segments were selected for elicitation using methyl jasmonate (MeJA), chitosan (CHT), and β-cyclodextrin (CD), applied individually and in combination (MeJA + CD and CHT + CD). CD alone and combined treatments significantly enhanced antioxidant activity. Root tissue extracts exhibited higher antioxidant capacity, whereas culture medium extracts showed markedly stronger lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory and antibacterial activities. Culture media derived from CD and combined elicitor treatments displayed the highest LOX inhibition, with values ranging from 72.04% to 94.35%. Among all treatments, the MeJA + CD–elicited culture medium extract demonstrated the strongest antibacterial activity, with minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of 0.78 mg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus . Against Escherichia coli , the corresponding MIC and MBC values were 1.56 and 3.13 mg/mL, respectively. Overall, these findings provide new insights into elicitor-induced secondary metabolism in M. involucrata in vitro root cultures, supporting its relevance as a source of biologically active metabolites.

This ethnographic study examines Royal Boat Song (He Ruea Luang) cultural transmission as empirical evidence for evolutionary approaches to imaginative culture. Through ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand (2024-2025), we analyzed how this elite court tradition successfully adapted from royal water processions to community Buddhist merit-making ceremonies while maintaining core musical and ceremonial elements. Our findings demonstrate cultural transmission mechanisms predicted by evolutionary theory: selective retention of adaptive features including four-section musical structure, specialized vocal techniques, and ceremonial significance, combined with contextual modifications serving contemporary community needs through localized poetic content, Buddhist ceremonial integration, and riverbank performance venues. The research reveals how Royal Boat Songs function as adaptive cultural inheritance systems, facilitating group bonding, cultural memory preservation, and religious expression while evolving through community agency. Results show high-fidelity transmission of core musical structures with systematic adaptive variation in textual content, supporting cultural attraction theory predictions about cognitive constraints in cultural evolution. This case study provides empirical support for theories positioning imaginative culture as arising from human nature's evolved capacities for social cooperation, meaning-making, and collective identity formation, while demonstrating that cultural preservation occurs through adaptive evolution rather than static maintenance.

We study the greybody factor of charged hairy black holes (BHs) that arise due to the presence of an axion coupled to the electromagnetic field. Specifically, we consider spin-0 and spin-1 test particles propagating in the background of BHs with axion hair, where the spacetime geometry is modified compared to that of the Reissner-Nordstrom (RN) BH. In contrast to the RN solution, with a given total BH charge, the effective potential for test particles depends on the ratio of electric to magnetic charges. In other words, charged BHs with axion hair breaks the electric-magnetic duality present in the RN solution. We compute the transmission coefficient of test particles plunging into the charged hairy BH and find that the deviation from the RN solution is particularly evident for higher multipole moments. Precise measurements of greybody factors can thus serve as probes for the possible existence of axions coupled to the electromagnetic field, as well as potential signatures of magnetic monopoles.

The notion of e-learning is not new to Bangladeshi HEIs. However, the tidal wave of e-learning turned into a tsunami after the outbreak, thus heightening its acceptance in developing countries like Bangladesh. Literature suggests that e-learning has several benefits a user may reap, but it also has some hurdles that may prevent a user from using it. Literature also claims that a user may discontinue using e-learning after the user has accepted it. Therefore, the study aims to identify factors propelling users to use the system for a sustained time in the post-pandemic era in a developing country. The research model of the study was tested against data from users in a developing country. To collect data from 426 respondents, the study designed an instrument comprising items adopted from prior studies conducted on a similar theme. The respondents of the study included educators working for different HEIs in Bangladesh and students enrolled in these institutions. Most of the respondents were approached on social media platforms and through email, whereas a few were approached directly with paper-based questionnaires. A standard SEM package, namely GSCA, was employed to analyze the research model. The study found a direct and positive impact of network externality and interactivity & control on continuance intention. The variables: technology support, information quality, and system quality, were identified as the components of facilitating conditions. The study urges the key decision-makers of HEIs to communicate the latest advancements in e-learning and e-learning usage with the community to expedite e-learning usage within the institutions. Infrastructure development in all aspects, providing organizational support, arranging training on usage, taking initiatives to enrich knowledge, stakeholder support, and incorporating interactive teaching and learning content into traditional teaching and learning are among the few areas where HEIs should focus on expediting the continuance intention to use e-learning. The study can be an important blueprint for the leaders of HEIs willing to facilitate and expedite e-learning, for policymakers and stakeholders looking for policies to expedite the sustained integration of educational technology, ensuring competencies and readiness to face future uncertainties, and for the commercial vendors envisioning expanding their operations in Southeast Asia. The study contributes to the theory of technology acceptance in the post-pandemic era in a developing country.

ผลิตภัณฑ์ที่มีแอลกอฮอล์เป็นส่วนประกอบเพื่อสุขอนามัยสำหรับมือที่มีปริมาณแอลกอฮอล์ไม่ต่ำกว่าร้อยละ 65 โดยน้ำหนัก มีความต้องการเพิ่มมากขึ้นจนถึงปัจจุบัน แต่พบปัญหาคุณภาพของผลิตภัณฑ์ไม่คงที่ งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์ เพื่อประกันคุณภาพการผลิตเจลแอลกอฮอล์และทดสอบประสิทธิภาพเครื่องมือวัดปริมาณแอลกอฮอล์ในสถานประกอบการ ผลการศึกษาพบว่าการควบคุมจุดวิกฤต 2 จุด โดยจุดที่ 1 เป็นการตรวจสอบคุณภาพวัตถุดิบหลัก ได้แก่ แอลกอฮอล์แปลงสภาพ สารก่อเจล และน้ำบริสุทธิ์ จากเอกสารรับรองผลการวิเคราะห์เพื่อให้แน่ใจว่าสอดคล้องกับเกณฑ์ยอมรับ จุดที่ 2 การวัดปริมาณแอลกอฮอล์ของผลิตภัณฑ์ก่อนการบรรจุด้วยไฮโดรมิเตอร์วัดแอลกอฮอล์ที่มีความคลาดเคลื่อนไม่เกินร้อยละ 1.25 โดยต้องเตรียมตัวอย่างเจลด้วย 5M HCl ก่อนการวัด จุดควบคุมอื่นคือการควบคุมความแม่นและความเที่ยงของเครื่องชั่ง ความสะอาดและความเป็นกลางของเครื่องแก้วและอุปกรณ์ปั่นผสม โดยกระบวนการทั้งหมดสามารถทวนสอบย้อนกลับได้ผ่านระบบบันทึกข้อมูลแบบดิจิทัลโดยใช้โปรแกรมตารางคำนวณ เช่น Microsoft Excel เพื่อรองรับความสามารถในการทำซ้ำของกระบวนการผลิตภัณฑ์ที่ได้มีความคงตัว ค่าพีเอช 5.8 ปริมาณเอทานอลเท่ากับร้อยละ 77 โดยปริมาตร สามารถลดปริมาณเชื้อมาตรฐานในเวลาสัมผัสเชื้อ 1 นาที ได้ค่า log reduction ≥ 5 ดังนั้นการประกันคุณภาพการผลิตเจลแอลกอฮอล์ตามกระบวนการดังกล่าวสามารถยืนยันประสิทธิภาพของผลิตภัณฑ์ได้ตามกฎหมาย