Scopus 2024
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Item Metadata only Microwave-assisted extraction of Tiliacora triandra leaves for functional ice cream production(2024-01-01) Boonman N.; Wanna C.; Chutrtong J.; Wongwiwat P.; Chunchob S.; Phakpaknam S.; Boonman N.; Mahidol UniversityIce cream is widely enjoyed by consumers of all ages, but its high sugar and fat content may have adverse effects on health. This research aimed to develop a functional form of ice cream by incorporating Tiliacora triandra leaves, which are rich in antioxidants. The substances from the leaves were extracted using high-power microwaves at 600 W for 30 sec, repeated three times. The extract was then incorporated into the ice cream recipe, which utilized skim milk powder instead of fresh milk and stevia syrup instead of sugar. The antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH and ABTS assays, while the total phenolic compounds were measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. The findings indicated that ice cream supplemented with the extract at a 20% leaf ratio (T20) exhibited the highest antioxidant activity against DPPH and ABTS, with values of 54.30 ± 1.42% and 73.83 ± 1.90%, respectively. Additionally, the highest total phenolic compounds content was observed at 3.48 ± 0.10 mg GAE/g sample. The addition of T. triandra leaf extract resulted in a significantly darker green color and a firmer texture. However, the ice cream’s ability to resist melting showed slight change. Sensory assessment revealed that ice cream enhanced with 5% (T5) and 10% leaf ratios (T10) of the extract received higher scores for taste, color, odor, and overall acceptance compared to T20, and showed no difference from the control (T0). These finding suggest that T10 could serve as a viable alternative for health-conscious consumers seeking functional ice cream options.Item Metadata only Audiovisual Translation and Queer Media in China: From Thai Soap Operas to Thai Boys’ Love Series(2024-01-01) Saejang J.; Saejang J.; Mahidol UniversityChina’s cultural imperatives of spreading soft power through the commercialized media sector and depoliticized cultural exports have in turn led to the ubiquity of domestic and foreign queer media including Thai soap operas featuring queer characters as well as Thai and Chinese BL (short for boys’ love) audiovisual productions. However, due to China’s ban on queer media and the Chinese public’s low exposure to queerness, linguistic and extralinguistic shifts are inevitable. This chapter demonstrates the erasure of queer identities and platinization of queer relationships in Thai soap operas officially dubbed and aired on Chinese TV and the dilution of camp talk—the speech style ascribed to queer identities—in those fansubbed and circulated online. Thai BL productions, on the other hand, are distributed exclusively online and fansubbed by Tianfu Taiju and Xifan, two of the biggest Chinese subtitling groups specializing in Thai drama, among others. Although these fansubbing groups are under constant threat from state clampdown themselves, they adhere steadfastly to the party line when nationalism is concerned as evidenced in the case of a quarrel between Chinese and Thai netizens in April 2020 unintentionally instigated by a Thai BL actor.Item Metadata only On Creating an English-Thai Code-switched Machine Translation in Medical Domain(2024-01-01) Pengpun P.; Tiankanon K.; Chinkamol A.; Kinchagawat J.; Chairuengjitjaras P.; Supholkhan P.; Aussavavirojekul P.; Boonnag C.; Veerakanjana K.; Phimsiri H.; Sae-Jia B.; Sataudom N.; Ittichaiwong P.; Limkonchotiwat P.; Pengpun P.; Mahidol UniversityMachine translation (MT) in the medical domain plays a pivotal role in enhancing healthcare quality and disseminating medical knowledge. Despite advancements in English-Thai MT technology, common MT approaches often underperform in the medical field due to their inability to precisely translate medical terminologies. Our research prioritizes not merely improving translation accuracy but also maintaining medical terminology in English within the translated text through code-switched (CS) translation. We developed a method to produce CS medical translation data, fine-tuned a CS translation model with this data, and evaluated its performance against strong baselines, such as Google Neural Machine Translation (NMT) and GPT-3.5/GPT-4. Our model demonstrated competitive performance in automatic metrics and was highly favored in human preference evaluations. Our evaluation result also shows that medical professionals significantly prefer CS translations that maintain critical English terms accurately, even if it slightly compromises fluency. Our code and test set are publicly available https://github.com/preceptorai-org/NLLB_CS_EM_NLP2024.Item Metadata only Risk-Optimized Crypto Trading Bot(2024-01-01) Sivaraksa M.; Kaihatsu R.; Phisithaporn K.; Rusuwannakul P.; Pritranun T.; Sivaraksa M.; Mahidol UniversityCryptocurrency has become one of the biggest digital assets. One of the problems arising in the cryptocurrency market is that the investors/traders cannot maximize the profit due to the volatility and ability to accurately the future price. Moreover, the investor must monitor the progress 24 hours to maximise profits and prevent lossesThis paper introduces a bot that can work 24 hours and can monitor, predict and trade so that it is best to maximize the benefits. Our tool provides suggestions for buy and sell point and price prediction using random forest regression. The regression results show a high r-squared value of more than 0.9.The trading bot also provides three different trading strategies, which are aggressive, conservative, and moderate modes which suit different types of users. The aggressive mode is more suitable for users who prefer higher risks with an opportunity for high returns. On average, the aggressive mode yields the best profits but can result in huge losses in return. However, the conservative strategy provides the lower risk strategy, which creates minimum loss but results in less benefit. Finally, the moderate strategy provides a combination of the two strategies. The result shows that the moderate strategy is the most balanced strategy between profit and loss.This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the development process, from system architecture to the deployment of the trading bot. It also evaluates the performance of the model using various metrics such as r-squared(R2) and mean squared error (MSE) and highlights the potential risks and limitations of automated trading systems.Item Metadata only Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory(2024-01-01) Sun X.; Lu Y.; Jian C.; Zhang H.; Sun X.; Mahidol UniversityBackground: Orthorexia nervosa refers to an unhealthy preoccupation with maintaining a perfect diet, which is marked by highly restrictive eating habits, rigid food rituals, and the avoidance of foods perceived as unhealthy or impure. In recent years, the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI) has gained recognition as a promising tool for assessing orthorexia tendencies and behaviors, addressing the limitations of existing ON-specific measures. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the ONI. Methods: A total of 717 participants (Mage = 20.11 years, 78.66% female) completed the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI) alongside the Chinese version of the Düsseldorf Orthorexia Scale (C-DOS). The ONI was translated into Chinese using the Brislin traditional translation model, following formal authorization from the original author. This translation process included literal translation, back translation, and cultural adaptation to ensure both linguistic and contextual fidelity. Item analysis was employed to assess item differentiation. Scale reliability was determined by measuring internal consistency. Furthermore, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to investigate and confirm the underlying factor structure and overall validity of the scale. Results: The Chinese version of the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory (ONI) consists of 24 items across three dimensions. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.956, indicating excellent internal consistency. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the individual dimensions were 0.894, 0.933, and 0.848, respectively, demonstrating high reliability for each dimension. Additionally, McDonald’s ω was 0.957 for the entire scale, reflecting strong stability in internal consistency, with individual dimensions having McDonald’s ω coefficients of 0.895, 0.934, and 0.854. The Spearman-Brown split-half reliability coefficient was 0.931, and McDonald’s ω for the split-half reliability was also 0.931, indicating excellent consistency across the scale’s two halves. The test–retest reliability was 0.987, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.978 to 0.993, suggesting excellent stability over time and strong consistency across different measurement points. All model fit indices fell within acceptable ranges, affirming the structural validity of the Chinese version. The results from both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses further supported this conclusion. Conclusion: This study successfully translated and culturally adapted the ONI into Chinese, followed by a comprehensive evaluation of its psychometric properties. The findings demonstrate that the Chinese version of the ONI possesses strong reliability and validity. In the context of varying cultural backgrounds and dietary habits, this scale serves as a valid tool for assessing and screening the Chinese ON population.Item Metadata only Deepfake Voice System for Spoofing(2024-01-01) Poopradit W.; Saebe P.; Chinnasri V.; Phienthrakul T.; Poopradit W.; Mahidol UniversityThis paper presents a deep fake voice spoofing system. To develop this system, the concept of a voice modulation system for altering and replicating human voices are explored. Tacotron2, Glow-TTS, and XTTS-V2 are studied, and they demonstrate the significant advancements in voice replication technology. The methodology involves a comprehensive process of audio data collection, and model implementation, followed by integration into a user-friendly website. The evaluation phase employs user acceptance testing with the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) as the primary metric, where participants rate the quality and resemblance of the synthesized voice compared to the original. The results highlight the voice modulator's effectiveness in achieving high-fidelity voice replication, with positive user feedback.Item Metadata only Lightweight Deep Residual Network for Motorcyclist Behavior Recognition Using Inertial Sensors(2024-01-01) Hnoohom N.; Mekruksavanich S.; Jitpattanakul A.; Hnoohom N.; Mahidol UniversityMotorcyclist behavior recognition (MBR) is a significant factor in improving road safety and preventing accidents. Inertial sensors, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers, have shown promising potential for capturing the dynamic behavior of motorcyclists. However, existing approaches often require complex models and significant computational resources, limiting their deployment in real-world scenarios. This study presents a MotoNeXt architecture, which is a light deep residual network for correctly identifying the behavior of motorcyclists using data from inertial sensors. Our approach leverages the power of deep learning while maintaining a compact model size, making it suitable for resource-constrained environments. The proposed network incorporates multi-kernel residual blocks to facilitate the learning of hierarchical features and improve gradient flow during training. We evaluate our method on a publicly available benchmark dataset, MB-IMU, collected from multiple riders under various riding conditions. Experimentation has shown that our lightweight model achieves cutting-edge performance, outperforming a variety of existing techniques. In Scenario I, using accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer data, MotoNeXt achieved an accuracy result of 78.90088% along with an F1-score of 81.56738%. According to Scenario II, which included additional sensor data such as VelInc, OriInc, and Euler angles, MotoNeXt further improved its performance, achieving an accuracy result of 83.29735% along with an F1-score of 84.95352%. The proposed approach offers a practical solution for real-time MBR, enabling the development of intelligent transportation systems and rider assistance technologies. Our experiments highlight the effectiveness of lightweight deep learning models in extracting meaningful patterns from inertial sensor data. This opens up opportunities for further investigation in this field.Item Metadata only Visual prognosis in retinoblastoma patients with multimodality treatments: Visual Prognosis in Retinoblastoma Patients(2024-12-11) Chokchaitanasin R.; Asawaworarit N.; Dieosuthichat W.; Hongeng S.; Pakakasama S.; Anurathapan U.; Songdej D.; Pongphitcha P.; Aroonroch R.; Kaewkhaw R.; Chanthanaphak E.; Rojanaporn D.; Chokchaitanasin R.; Mahidol UniversityPurpose: This study evaluates factors associated with globe preservation and long-term visual outcomes according to clinical characteristics and treatment modalities in intraocular retinoblastoma patients. Design: A retrospective review of medical records enrolled intraocular retinoblastoma patients between January 1, 2007, and June 30, 2020. Methods: • Setting: Single-centered. • Patient or study population: Intraocular retinoblastoma patients treated at Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. • Main outcome measure: A statistically significant factor associated with visual prognosis corresponds to baseline characteristics, staging, anatomical involvement, and multimodal treatments. Results: 86 patients (124 eyes) were included. Median age of disease bilaterality onset was significantly younger than unilaterality. Three-quarters of patients were in advanced stages (groups D or E in either ICRB or IIRC and up to cT2a from AJCC). Globe salvage rate was 54.0 % (67 eyes). ICRB Groups D-E, IIRC Groups D-E, and AJCC cT2a and more advanced stages are the globe removal-associated independent risk factors (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] [95 % CI] = 7.40 [1.36, 40.09], 8.33 [1.55, 44.73], 14.73 [1.55, 139.79], respectively). Compared to other classification, IIRC provided the highest statistical correlation from univariate analysis. IIRC Groups A-C is a good visual acuity-associated independent risk factor (AOR [95 % CI] = 4.64 [1.05, 20.43] and P = 0.042). Macular involvement is a worse visual acuity-associated independent risk factor (AOR [95 % CI] = 0.14 [0.02, 0.82] and P = 0.03). Systemic chemotherapy (86.29 %) is the mainstay treatment in our study and is the only good visual outcome-associated treatment. Subgroup analysis of all eyes receiving systemic chemotherapy reveals statistically significant preventive factors for globe removal for tumor staging with ICRB and IIRC groups A-C and AJCC stages cT1a–cT1b (odds ratio [95 % CI] = 15.75 [4.38, 56.65], 15.67 [4.34, 56.53], 9.97 [2.75, 36.18], respectively; P=<0.001) and prevents the worse visual outcome in these stages, (odds ratios [95 % CI] = 4.57 [1.28, 16.27], 6.61 [1.74, 25.11], and 7.50 [1.86, 30.16], respectively; P =< 0.05). Conclusions: All recent advanced clinical stagings are globe removal outcome-associated independent risk factors. IIRC staging is the best visual results predictor. IIRC Groups A-C were associated with a good visual outcome. Macular involvement tumors are strongly associated with poor visual outcome, despite successful globe preservation from multimodality treatment. Systemic chemotherapy remains a crucial globe-saving treatment and prevents worse vision–especially in ICRB and IIRC Groups A-C and AJCC stage cT1a-cT1b.Item Metadata only DataDecon: Data Cleansing Tools for Large Language Model with Efficient Decontamination Techniques(2024-01-01) Yuenyong S.; Buppodom N.; Sangkaew K.; Boonmeeprakob K.; Boonkwan P.; Jaroenkantasima J.; Khlaisamniang P.; Lertpiya A.; Piyatumrong A.; Rojratchadakorn P.; Rugsujarit T.; Saengsukhiran T.; Saetan K.; Sukprapa I.; Thavornmongkol T.; Thongthungwong N.; Triamamornwooth P.; Utupon C.; Viriyayudhakorn K.; Witchutanon P.; Wongprayon S.; Supnithi T.; Yuenyong S.; Mahidol UniversityLarge language models (LLMs) play an important role in modern NLP technology as they are versatile for a wide array of NLP tasks. However, constructing an LLM is challenging due to concealed construction pipelines, the lack of cleansed datasets, and hyperparameter settings, making it almost irreproducible. This paper presents an efficient pipeline for constructing an LLM tailored to a low-to-medium-sourced language with a high level of data contamination and tools to cleanse the dataset. Following our pipeline, we constructed OpenThaiGPT, an LLM for Thai, with only open-sourced datasets such as CC100, OSCAR, and mC4, and achieved the state-of-the-art accuracies on our downstream tasks. Here, we disclosed the data statistics and all hyperparameter settings for reproducibility.Item Metadata only Speech Lab VR: A Virtual Reality System for Improving Presentation Skills(2024-01-01) Tangsripairoj S.; Nunthapatpokin N.; Saelim P.; Savittrakul C.; Tangsripairoj S.; Mahidol UniversityPresentation skills are considered as the essential communication skills for university students to be successful in their academic studies and future professional careers. Despite their importance, many university students encounter difficulties during the presentations, such as low confidence, unclear speech, wrong pronunciation, difficulty of managing nervousness, lack of eye contact, and ineffective time management. Moreover, delivering an effective presentation contributes to creating a credible and professional image, and facilitating future career advancement. Inspired by these challenges, this research aims to design and develop a virtual simulation environment named Speech Lab VR by applying the virtual reality technology. The Speech Lab VR system enables university students to self-practice their presentations in a controllable setting and provides them with constructive feedback for self-improvement. The goal of this research project is to enhance the university students' presentation skills which can lead to improve performance in their academic presentations and better prepare them for future career opportunities.Item Metadata only Treatment Outcomes of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Early-stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and Lung Metastasis(2024-01-01) Boonyawan K.M.D.; Nanna T.M.D.; Puataweepong P.M.D.; Suwatanapongched T.M.D.; Boonyawan K.M.D.; Mahidol UniversityBackground and rationale: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a highly precise localized high-dose per fraction radiation treatment used mainly in lung cancer. Despite SBRT’s increasing use, no clear predictive factors of outcome exist. Objectives: To report local control rates, patterns of failure, and incidence of treatment-related toxicity, and to determine factors predicting SBRT outcomes for primary and secondary lung tumors at Ramathibodi Hospital using competing risk analysis. Materials and methods: This retrospective study included all patients diagnosed with primary early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and lung metastasis in our radiosurgery and radiotherapy database registry between January 2009 and September 2018. Results: Fifty-nine patients (98 lung tumors) were studied; primary NSCLC and lung metastasis were 15.3% and 84.7%, respectively. Median follow-up was 16.8 months. The overall 1-year local control rate was 90.8%. The most common pattern of failure was distant failure (46.9%). The incidence of radiation pneumonitis (RP) grade ≥2 was 9.2%, and one of four patients with an ultra-central tumor developed grade 5 pulmonary toxicity. The predictive factor for local failure was the mean biological equivalent dose (BED) of the planning target volume (PTV), and for RP grade ≥2, the tumor’s maximal diameter. BED PTV mean <100 Gy had higher local failure than BED PTV mean ≥100 Gy (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio 8.26; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.76–38.68, p=0.007). Patients with tumors with maximal diameters ≥5 cm compared with those with maximal diameters <5 cm had more RP grade ≥2 (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio 5.34; 95% CI 1.52–18.69, p=0.009). The overall 1-year survival rate was 73.5%. Conclusions: Local control of lung tumors using SBRT was high with acceptable toxicity. BED PTV mean was a local control predictor. Large tumors correlated with symptomatic RP grade ≥2. SBRT should be used judiciously for ultra-central lung tumors.Item Metadata only Scheduled Machine Sampling (SMS): A Hybrid Approach for Glucose Forecasting(2024-01-01) Kongpana K.; Phienthrakul T.; Kongpana K.; Mahidol UniversityThis paper introduces Scheduled Machine Sampling (SMS), a technique to improve Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) based time series forecasting by combining machine learning models with scheduled sampling. Unlike traditional Scheduled Sampling, which probabilistically blends one-step-ahead predictions with ground truth, SMS uses a blend of in-step predictions from a machine learning model and ground truths sampled from an exponential distribution with a fixed decay constant. Evaluated on the OhioT1DM dataset using a minimal feature set, the incorporation of SMS significantly improved forecasting accuracy, yielding average enhancements of 15.11% in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and 14.42% in Mean Absolute Error (MAE) across various models and sequence lengths, specifically for 15-minute, 30-minute, 1-hour, and 2-hour intervals. The resulting RMSE values were recorded at 10.6, 13.9, 21.5, and 32.5 mg/dl, while MAE values achieved were 10.06, 12.7, 19.0, and 28.3 mg/dl, respectively. Furthermore, models utilizing SMS exhibited only a minimal increase in inference time of 0.35 milliseconds per step on average, despite the added complexity, highlighting the effectiveness of incorporating machine-derived features as signals into RNNs.Item Metadata only Using orange data mining for meat classification: The preliminary application of machine learning(2024-11-01) Phoemchalard C.; Senarath N.; Malila P.; Tathong T.; Khamhan S.; Phoemchalard C.; Mahidol UniversityOrange Data Mining study on the classification of buffalo, beef, and goat meats, Machine Learning (ML) classifiers including Support Vector Machine (SVM), Neural Network (NN), and Naïve Bayes (NB) are well performed to achieve 100% accuracy across all features. Random Forest (RF) demonstrated the best performance more than 97% in AUC, CA, F1, and MCC. Other models such as Gradient Boosting (GB), AdaBoost, CN2 Rule Induction (CN2), Decision Tree (DT), and k-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) are performed better but there were less efficient. In the application of specific classifiers for species-based meat quality attributes, SVM, NN and NB should be considered as the best options.Item Metadata only The Creation of Solo Piano Compositions(2024-07-01) Mookdamuang A.; Pidokrajt N.; Mookdamuang A.; Mahidol UniversityThis paper aims to present Khaen melodies (an Isan musical instrument) by analyzing the original notes and arranging them for piano, using Western music composition theory to adapt the notes to suit beginner-level piano players. Based on qualitative research and creative music research, the creative process emphasizes preserving the original accents and primary melodies of the Khaen. Additionally, it develops the musical structure and harmonies to align with contemporary Western classical music. The analysis of the original Khaen melodies reveals rapid note values and rhythms, as well as harmonies with more than one voice, accompanied by irregular interval jumps throughout the melody. To make the piano arrangement suitable for both beginners and general enthusiasts to appreciate Isan music’s distinctive sound, the following strategies are used: 1) changing the time signature, expanding rhythm values, and adjusting the placement of notes in certain measures; 2) re-arranging Khaen melodies following Western practices including phrases, cadence, motif, and repetition; 3) arranging accompaniment with basso ostinato from drone; and 4) creating chords and progression from solo Khaen melodies. In addition, this music creation supports the development of contemporary piano with Isan attributes and promotes the value of folk music culture in the area. By raising awareness among beginner piano learners or interested individuals, this arrangement makes the music more accessible through easier practice with these notes.Item Metadata only Editorial: Sustainability, Socio-Political Activism, and International and Interregional Relations(2024-01-01) Husa L.C.; Husa L.C.; Mahidol UniversityItem Metadata only Clinical outcomes of using 3D-printed applicators for high-dose-rate brachytherapy in gynecological malignancy(2024-01-01) Sittiwong W.; Dankulchai P.; Puangragsa U.; Prasartseree T.; Tuntapakul P.; Sathitwatthanawirot C.; Kittikornchaichan J.; Kongkum S.; Piputpanukul N.; Rojanapan K.; Sittiwong W.; Mahidol UniversityPurpose: To investigate the clinical outcomes and toxicities of using 3D-printed applicators for image-guided adaptive brachytherapy (IGABT) in gynecological cancer patients. Material and methods: Fourteen patients with gynecological cancers, both primary and recurrent, treated with in-house 3D-printed applicators between 2021 and 2022 were included in the study, and their data were retrospectively reviewed. Timing and patterns of response to treatment were recorded. Kaplan-Meier estimates at 2 years post-treatment were analyzed to obtain local relapse-free survival (LRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) rates. Actuarial rates of genitourinary (GU), gastrointestinal (GI), and skin and mucosal toxicities were also reported. Results: The median follow-up time for all patients was 27 (IQR: 15.4-32.5) months. Among the primary cases, 2 patients had cervical cancer and 3 had extra-mammary Paget’s disease of the vulva. For the recurrent cases, all patients had vaginal relapses. The most common primary cancers were cervical cancer (44.4%) and ovarian cancer (33.3%). At 3 months post-treatment, 13 patients (92.9%) achieved a complete response (CR), and 1 patient (7.1%) showed a partial response (PR). The 2-year rates of LRFS, DMFS, PFS, and OS for primary/recurrent cases were 100%/74.07%, 100%/88.9%, 100%/64.8%, and 100%/88.9%, respectively. The actuarial rates of ≥ grade 2 acute GU and GI toxicities were 7.1% for both groups. For late GU and GI toxicities, the actuarial rates were 14.3% and 21.4%, respectively. In terms of skin and mucosal toxicities, 4 patients (28.6%) developed acute grade 3 toxicity, and 1 patient (7.1%) experienced persistent grade 3 vaginal toxicity. Conclusions: IGABT treatment using 3D-printed applicators for HDR brachytherapy in challenging cases due to incompatibility of the standard applicators with the patient’s anatomy or highly advance disease, has demonstrated encouraging outcomes and acceptable toxicity profiles.Item Metadata only Sweet potato, morning glories, bindweeds: an overview of Convolvulaceae(2024-01-01) Simões A.R.G.; Huerta-Ramos G.; Moreira A.L.C.; Paz J.R.L.; Ramos-Allende J.; Pisuttimarn P.; Rattanakrajang P.; Barbosa J.C.J.; Simão-Bianchini R.; Kojima R.K.; Paixão C.P.; Declercq M.; Kagame S.P.; Luna J.A.; Pace M.R.; Alcantara C.; Williams B.D.; Duque L.O.; Gowda V.; Shimpale V.B.; Eserman L.; Simões A.R.G.; Mahidol UniversityConvolvulaceae are an economically and ecologically important plant family, including the crop sweet potato, ornamental morning glories, bindweeds and dodders. In the past 20 years, much progress has been made in the taxonomy and systematics of the family at several scales. The integration of molecular phylogenetics has revolutionised our understanding of the species and their relationships. Other fields such as ecology, evolution, phytochemistry, palynology, anatomy and genomics have also taken significant leaps. These new insights have levered a fast-paced progress that we are now experiencing, enhanced by the power of international collaborations. In this review, we summarise and reconcile the most meaningful advances in several fields that have impacted Convolvulaceae in recent years, pointing to the outstanding questions that will be the priority for the upcoming research in this plant family. Standardised guidelines for best practices in some techniques are also provided, such as field collection, photography and molecular techniques, drawing from the combined experience of researchers working on this family.Item Metadata only Fracture Resistance of the Crown Retained By Milled Computer-Aided Design-Computer-Aided Manufacturing Unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Composite Post(2024-01-01) Boriboon N.; Urapepon S.; Boriboon N.; Mahidol UniversityThe study aimed to compare the fracture resistance of the crown retained by milled computer - aided design - computer - aided manufacturing ( CAD - CAM) unidirectional fiber - reinforced composite posts across two distinct designs with a commercial post. Twenty-one extracted permanent mandibular premolars were endodontically treated and randomly divided into three groups of seven specimens. The first group received one-piece CAD-CAM unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite posts and cores (MPC). The second group received CAD-CAM milled posts in combination with composite cores (MP). The control group used commercial fiber posts (RelyXTM fiber post). After cementing the post, core, and crown, each specimen was subjected to a compressive load at an angle of 60 degrees to the long axis of the tooth at a speed of 1 mm/min until fracture. The fracture characteristics were observed in two aspects: external crack position and internal debonded position. The fracture resistance of the MPC group (2047.5 ± 238.6 N) was significantly higher than the MP (1625.6 ± 211.1 N) and control group (1651.1 ± 261.7 N). Only internal debonded positions found differ between groups, not external crack positions. One-piece fiber-reinforced composite posts showed superior fracture resistance and may be used as an alternative treatment for post-restored teeth.Item Metadata only Assessment of genetic conservation units of an endangered glacial relict insular species, Amentotaxus formosana, based on fine-scale genetic structures of multiple fragmented mountainous populations in Taiwan(2024-01-01) Ko Y.Z.; Shih H.C.; Ho C.S.; Chen C.T.; Hsu T.W.; Shiao M.S.; Chiang Y.C.; Ko Y.Z.; Mahidol UniversityInsular species are usually endemic and prone to long-term population reduction, low genetic diversity, and inbreeding depression, which results in difficulties in species conservation. The situation is even more challenging for the glacial relict species whose habitats are usually fragmented in the mountainous regions. Amentotaxus formosana is an endangered and endemic relict tree species in Taiwan. It is typically found scattered across different mountain regions, leading to fragmented and discontinuous populations in various habitats. Consequently, reproductive isolation may lead to deep and cryptic population structures between and within populations. To test this hypothesis and assess the most effective conservation units for the species, comprehensive genetic analyses were conducted using multiple microsatellite loci to uncover fine-scale population structures in three mountainous regions. In this study, a substantial sample of over 600 individuals, predominantly middle-aged, was collected, representing a majority of the existing individuals in the Chachayalaishan and Dawu habitats. Population genetic structure analyses were conducted using three complementary Bayesian clustering approaches (STRUCTURE, InStruct, and GENELAND) to ensure robust identification of distinct genetic clusters in three key habitats (CHA, DAWU, and DL). Results indicated low genetic diversity, distinct genetic differentiation, and severe inbreeding within fragmented populations. Additionally, demographic analysis suggested a substantial downfall in effective population sizes and limited gene flow within and between populations. Based on these findings, we recommend several management strategies to ensure the effective preservation of A. formosana: (1) establishing genetic conservation units corresponding to distinct genetic clusters in the CHA (CG-8-1 to CG-8-8), DAWU (DG-15-1 to DG-15-15), and DL (LG-6-1 to LG-6-6) populations; (2) implementing interpopulation cross-breeding programs to enhance genetic diversity; (3) promoting habitat restoration efforts to establish connectivity among fragmented populations; and (4) implementing vegetative propagation of selected trees for ex-situ conservation, along with establishing conservation nurseries and seed production areas. These localized conservation approaches, combined with the comprehensive genetic insights provided by this study, serve as crucial directives for the genetic monitoring, policy formulation, and sustainable conservation of A. formosana.Item Metadata only Exploring the composition of placental microbiome and its potential origin in preterm birth(2024-01-01) Saadaoui M.; Djekidel M.N.; Murugesan S.; Kumar M.; Elhag D.; Singh P.; Kabeer B.S.A.; Marr A.K.; Kino T.; Brummaier T.; McGready R.; Nosten F.; Chaussabel D.; Terranegra A.; Al Khodor S.; Saadaoui M.; Mahidol UniversityIntroduction: For years, the placenta was believed to be sterile, but recent studies reveal it hosts a unique microbiome. Despite these findings, significant questions remain about the origins of the placental microbiome and its effects on pregnancy and fetal health. Some studies suggest it may originate from the vaginal tract, while others indicate that oral bacteria can enter the maternal bloodstream and seed the placenta. However, research analyzing the vaginal, oral, and placental microbiomes within the same cohort is lacking. Additionally, it’s unclear whether the placental microbiome differs between healthy pregnancies and those with complications like preterm birth (PTB), which remains a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Methods: In this study, we performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate the composition of the oral and placental microbiome in samples collected from 18 women who experienced PTB and 36 matched controls who delivered at term (TB), all of whom were part of the Molecular Signature in Pregnancy (MSP) study. We leveraged on the multisite microbiome sampling from the MSP participants and on our previously published vaginal microbiome data to investigate the potential origins of the placental microbiome and assess whether its composition varies between healthy and complicated pregnancies. Results and Discussion: Our analysis revealed distinct profiles in the oral microbiome of PTB subjects compared to those who delivered at term. Specifically, we observed an increased abundance of Treponema maltophilum, Bacteroides sp, Mollicutes, Prevotella buccae, Leptotrichia, Prevotella_sp_Alloprevotella, in the PTB group. Importantly, Treponema maltophilum species showed higher abundance in the PTB group during the second trimester, suggesting its potential use as biomarkers. When we assessed the placenta microbiome composition, we found that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria were the most dominant phyla. Interestingly, microorganisms such as Ureaplasma urealyticum were more abundant in PTB placenta samples. Our findings suggest that the placenta microbiome could originate from the oral or vaginal cavities, with a notable increase in the crosstalk between the vaginal and placental sites in cases of PTB. Specifically, our data revealed that in PTB cases, the placental microbiome exhibited a closer resemblance to the vaginal microbiome, whereas in term pregnancies, the placental microbiome was similar to the oral microbiome.