• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2667-2671
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• 2013

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the western world and also ranks as the fifth-leading malignancy and death in Thailand. This study aimed to provide a present outlook of colorectal diseases among Thai patients with special emphasis on CRC in Hatyai, Songkhla, southern Thailand. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study covered ten year data of CRC, benign colorectal tumors and non-colorectal tumors from the Department of Pathology in Hatyai Hospital, Songkhla, Thailand, between years 2003-2012. Incidence rates based on age, gender, ten year incidence trends, and distribution of histopathological characteristics of patients were calculated and demonstrated. Results: Out of 730 biopsies, 100 cases were benign colorectal tumors, 336 were CRC and 294 were non-colorectal tumors. Colorectal tumors (both benign and CRC) (60.1%) were more common than non-colorectal tumors (39.9%). CRC (77.1%) were more common than benign colorectal tumors (32.9%). Colorectal tumors were mainly found in patients aged over sixty whereas non-colorectal and benign colorectal tumors were found in those under sixty (P=0.01). sAmong CRC, adenocarcinoma contributed about 97.3% of all cases with well differentiated tumors being the most frequent (56.9%). Both benign colorectal tumors and CRC were more commonly found in males (63%) than females (37%). The incidence trend of CRC demonstrated increase from 2003-2012. Conclusions: The incidence of CRC increased in Hatyai from 2003-2012. CRC tends to be more common in people older than sixty, thus, screening programs, cost-effective analysis of treatment modalities, and treatment protocols for the elderly should be examined. Proper implementation of preventive measures such as changing lifestyle factors might enhance control of colorectal disease.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.1
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• pp.352-355
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• 2006

In this study, the seasonal and inter-annual variation of sea surface current in the Gulf of Thailand were revealed through the use of WOD temperature and salinity data and monthly sea surface dynamic heights (SSDH) from TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-2 altimetry data during 1995-2001. The mean dynamic height and mean geostrohic current were derived from the climatological data while SSDH data gave monthly dynamic heights and their geopstrophic currents. The mean geostrophic current showed strong southward and westward flow of South China Sea water along the gulf entrance. Counterclockwise eddy in the inner gulf and the western side of the gulf entrance associated with upwelling in the area. Seasonal geostrophic currents show basin-wide counterclockwise circulation during the southwest monsoon season and clockwise circulation during the northeast monsoon season. Upwelling was enhanced during the southwest monsoon season. The circulation patterns varied seasonally and inter-annually probably due to the variation in wind regime. And finally we found that congregation, spawning, and migration routes of short-bodied mackerel conform well with coastal upwelling and surface circulation in the gulf.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.529-532
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• 2013

Cholangiocarcinoma, though very rare in Western countries, is one of the commonest liver malignancies in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand. More than half of the patients present with advanced stage disease. Given the poor treatment outcomes of adjuvant therapeutic options, many patients undergo only biliary drainage for palliative treatment. Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes after biliary stenting were here analyzed for a total of 224 uresectable cholangiocarcinoma cases, 58.9% in men. The mean age was 61.5 years. Hilar involvement was the most common location. The patients underwent biliary drainage using plastic and metallic stents equally, early stent occlusion being encountered in 21.4% and 10.7%, respectively. The median survival time was 4.93 months for patients who received plastic and 5.87 months for patients who received metallic stents.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.479-481
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• 2003

Large number of coral reefs in Thailand waters make the use of satellite imagery probably the only practical method for their monitoring. This paper reports the result of detecting small shallow-water coral reef by using maximum likelihood classification technique. Combination of blue/green and near-infrared band ratio are used as spectral signatures derived from a Landsat 7 imagery covering western portion of the Gulf of Thailand. Result assessment reveals accuracy significantly over 60 percent. The result is encouraging and would be a basis for further study to realize the full potential and limitation of this technique.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.138-146
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• 2022

Objective: The objective of the current study was to investigate the influences of conventional (CO) and deep litter (DE) systems on antimicrobial resistance in fecal Escherichia coli (E. coli). Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out to detect antimicrobial resistance to E. coli in swine fecal samples in CO and DE systems located in western and northeastern Thailand. Individual rectal swab samples were taken only from healthy pigs. A total of 215 individual and healthy pigs were randomly selected for isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility test of E. coli by the disc diffusion method. The test panel included amoxicillin (AMX), colistin, doxycycline (DOX), enrofloxacin, gentamicin (GEN), kanamycin, neomycin (NEO), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT). Results: There were significant (p<0.05) lower resistance levels for GEN, NEO, and SXT in the DE farms compared to those in the CO farms. There was a lower number of antimicrobial resistance agents (p<0.001) in the DE farms compared to those in the CO farms. This result was consistent with those in western (p<0.01) and northeastern (p<0.01) Thailand. Overall, antibiograms of AMX-SXT and AMX-DOX-SXT were found in the CO (19.09% and 20.91%, respectively) and the DE (16.19% and 24.76%, respectively) farms. No antimicrobial resistance (5.71%) was found and AMX (13.33%) resistant pigs in the DE farms, whereas the pattern of AMX-GEN-SXT (6.36%) and AMX-DOX-GEN-SXT (11.82%) resistant pigs was found in the CO farms. Conclusion: The DE system for pig farming was superior to conventional pig farming by lowering the resistance level of fecal E. coli to GEN, NEO, and SXT, with decreasing the number of antimicrobial resistance agents and inducing a small proportion of pigs to be free from antimicrobial resistance.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.3-6
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• 2005

In this paper, the real scenario of water situation (e.g. water management, water availability and flooding) in an irrigated rice cultivation area in Suphanburi Province, Central-West Thailand is discussed together with the NDVI time series data. The result shown is derived by our classifier named 'Peak Detector Algorithm (PDA)'. The method discriminated 5 classes in terms of irrigation activities and cropping intensities, namely, Non-irrigated, Poorly irrigated - 1 crop/year, Irrigated - 2 crops/year, Irrigated - 3 crops/year and Others (no cultivation happens in a year or other land covers). The overall accuracy of all classified results (1999-2001) is around $77\%$ against independent ground truth data (general activities or function of an area). In the classified results, spatial and temporal inconsistency appeared significantly in the Western and Southern areas of Suphanburi. The inconsistency resulted mainly by anomaly of rainfall pattern in 1999 and their temporal irrigation activity. The algorithm however, was proved that it could detect actual change of irrigation status in a year.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.213-247
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• 2018

Thailand in 2017 the public sentiment has turned against the military government. The four pledges the military declared immediately after the 2014 coup, restoration of democracy, addressing of divisive politics, eradication of corruption, and stimulation of the economy have all failed. In the same year, however, Thai military junta began to recover it's diplomatic relationship with western countries including US and EU owing to promulgation of the new constitution endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the lavish funeral of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej which was attended by huge number of condolence delegations from around the world including US Defense Secretary James Mattis. Since the 2014 coup, US has sanctioned the country under military junta led by General Prayuth Chan-o-cha for urging them back to the barracks. EU also joined this sanction measures. US signaled change in it's policy when General Prayuth got the chance to visit US and meet President Donal Trump in 2017. General Prayuth Chan-o-cha's military junta could start to restore it's reputation internationally. Domestically, he used absolute powers based on section 44 of the interim constitution, also guranteed in the new constitution. Oversea and national human rights groups have criticized that the interim constitution for permitting the NCPO, Thai military junta's official name, to carry out policies and actions without any effective oversight or accountability for human rights violations. On 1 December 2017, Thailand marked the one-year anniversary of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's accession to the throne as the country's new monarch, Rama X. In the first year of King Rama X's reign, arrests, prosecutions, and imprisonment under Article 112 of Thailand's Criminal Code (lese-majeste) have continued unabated in Thailand. NCPO has continued to abuse Article 112 to detain alleged violators and curb any form of discussion regarding the monarchy, particularly on social media. In this worsening human rights environment General Prayuth Chan-o-cha enforced continuously campaign like Thai-style democracy- an effort to promote largely autocratic 'Thainess' in such a way that freedom of expression is threatened. It is a resurgence of 'Sarit Model'. In the beginning of 2017 Thai military government raised the slogan of 'opportunity Thailand' in the context of 'Thailand 4.0' project which attempts to transform Thai economy based on industry-driven to innovation-driven for recovering robust growth. To consider freedom and liberty as a source of innovation, 'Thailand 4.0' led by 'Sarit Model' without democracy would be skeptical.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4281-4284
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• 2012

Background: Osteosarcoma is the most common bone cancer in children, responsible for a high rate of amputation and death. This is the first long-term, population-based, epidemiologic and survival study in Thailand. Objective: To study the incidence and survival rates of pediatric osteosarcoma in Khon Kaen. Method: Childhood osteosarcoma cases (0-19 years) diagnosed between 1985-2010 were reviewed. The data were retrieved from the population-based data set of the Khon Kaen Cancer Registry and medical records from Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. All cases were censored until the end of April 2012. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) was calculated using the standard method. Survival experience was analyzed using the standard survival function (STATA 9.0) and presented with a Kaplan-Meier curve. Results: 58 cases were enrolled. The overall ASR was 14.1 per million. Males and females were equally affected. The peak incidence was for 15-19 year-olds in both sexes (ASR=10.4 per million in males and 8.5 in females). The 5-year overall survival rate was 27.6% (95% CI: 15.8-40.8%). The median survival time was 1.6 years (95% CI: 1.2-2.1). In a subgroup analysis, the patients who received only chemotherapy survived longer (5-year survival 45.7%, median survival time 4.1 years, p=0.12). Conclusion: The incidence rate for childhood osteosarcoma was slightly less than those reported for Western countries. The survival rate was also lower than reports from developed countries. Further evaluation of the treatment protocol and risk factor stratification is needed.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.137-143
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• 2009

1. Objective : This study aims to evaluate the medical tourism structures in countries with prosperous medical tourism industry such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and India in order ro propose optimal strategies that can promote the medical tourism in Korea. 2. Methods : All pertinent literature concerning medical tourism directly and indirectly were assessed, and reviews of medical tourism strategies found in various countries were evaluated. 3. Results : Evaluation of related literature reveals that medical tourism is a recent burgeoning industry that has grown In market size considerably in the last five to ten years. Also, it shows that oriental medicine is a highly likely candidate amidst the various medical fields for attraction foreign patients. 4. Conclusion : The Korean government should support and install appropriate legal and administrative bodies in order to attract medical tourists; Korea-specific medical tourism programs (ie. traditional Korean medicine package tours) should be developed in order to attract medical tourists from the western world and the middle-east. In addition, low-price policy of medical tourism is not a proper strategies for the competition against advanced medical tourism destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and India. Differentiated medical tourism package such as oriental medical tourism program rather than provision of low-price policy seems to be more effective strategy for the medical tourism in Korea. Future studies on strategies for promoting medical tourism should focus on how foreigners recognize traditional Korean medicine, what diagnostic approach might be appealing to them and how the legal system concerning the medical procedures may be altered and modified.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.245-271
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to examine and assess the major characteristics and changes of politics, economy, and diplomacy in Thailand in 2016. Specifically, it reviewed the New Constitution that was passed in 2016, the confrontation between different political forces and the trend of military regime around the New Constitution, and the political instability caused by the accession of the new king to the throne. This study also set out to figure out changes to the economy and foreign relations of the country, including its relations with South Korea, under the military regime and make predictions for the impact and future prospects of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's death on the politics and economy of the country. In 2016, the politics of Thailand took a step further toward the transfer of power to civil government and established a foundation for an authoritarian system. The draft of the New Constitution, which does not seem to be democratic, was approved by a referendum and enabled the military authorities to continue their political interventions, even after the general election. The New Constitution, in particular, reduces the power of political parties itself in addition to simply keeping the Thaksin's party in check; thus, anticipating ongoing conflicts between the military authorities and political parties. In this situation, the absence of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who used to play a decisive role in promoting the political stability of the country, and the accession of the new king to the throne raise concerns about the acceleration of political instability, which has continued after the coup and influenced the diplomatic relations of the country. Today, Thailand is distancing itself from Western nations that do not recognize the current military regime including the U.S.A. and EU member states and instead maintains a rapidly friendly and close relation with China. In 2016, the economy of Thailand made a gradual recovery rather than high growth. The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej has exerted limited direct economic impacts only on individual consumption and tourism and is not likely to cause a recession. An economic crisis will, however, be unavoidable if the political confrontations escalate before the general election to transfer power to the civil government.