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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how to measure student satisfaction and how its elements influence on its overall perspective earned in e-learning (EL). This study focuses on the context where EL is used as a supplementary tool to enhance instruction. Design/methodology/approach: This study focuses on undergraduate courses that offer EL as a voluntary and supplementary form of instruction in Thailand. The measurement's instrument was adapted from scales widely accepted in management, information systems, and education research to fit the unique characteristics of the online education context. A few course characteristics are outlined to ensure the originality of the context. Survey is the main methodology of this study; reliability and validity of the measure are also tested and discussed in the paper. Findings: The study highlights four dimensions of satisfaction in EL: delivery method, communication facilitation, system operation, and content. It is found from the study that elements of satisfaction measure are altered regarding to different contexts of EL. Each of these dimensions has been found to influence the overall satisfaction in EL. Practical implications: Implications for instruction via EL are suggested in the paper according to the satisfaction elements. The course which the context is similar to this study should be designed differently from the traditional classroom or sole EL instruction methods. Originality/value: This study is conducted in the context where EL is implemented for augmenting the main classroom instruction. Students are satisfied with learning through EL channel differently from learning in either pure traditional in-class or sole EL instructions. This is what educators should concern in improving their instruction. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)

The fermented rice cake is a unique traditional product of Thailand called "Khao-Maak," which is usually made from white or black glutinous rice. Because the germinated black glutinous rice contains high levels of antioxidants and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), as well as epidermis with prebiotic potential, it was used in this study to increase the health benefits and functional values of Khao-Maak. Moreover, the probiotic yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii, was added during fermentation to ensure the synbiotic characteristics. In vitro gastrointestinal tests showed that the developed product had a higher yeast survival rate (97.10 ± 0.87%) compared to the control (< 70%). The prebiotic activity score (PAS) also showed a positive value of 1.81 ± 0.15, indicating its prebiotic characteristics. However, as the germinated rice is hard to digest, its use slowed down the fermentation process. Therefore, the cellulase and amylase each were added at 10 U/g to increase the fermentation rate while resulting in an acceptable score from the consumers. The functional value analysis showed that the developed product contained antioxidants such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, and GABA, each not less than 30 mg per 100 g-product. The shelf life study revealed that the product could be stored at 4 °C for 10 days while maintaining functional values within product specifications and meeting community product standards. This study demonstrated the possibility of increasing health benefits and functional values of rice products, as well as the effective use of food-grade enzymes to improve the productivity and quality of fermented foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LSD is a notifiable disease in Thailand and OIE, consequently no ethical approval was required for the investigations. Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a vector-borne transboundary viral disease affecting cattle and buffaloes which causes significant economic losses in livestock production and trade (Tupparainen et al., 2017; Weiss, 1968). The Department of Livestock Development (DLD) of Thailand is the primary organization that takes responsibility for the LSD outbreak investigation. [Extracted from the article]

The following article from the Nordic Journal of Botany, ' Bauhinia saksuwaniae sp. nov. (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae) from Thailand.' by Sawai Mattapha, Pranom Chantaranothai and Somran Suddee, published online on 11 December 2013 in Wiley Online Library (), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal Editor in Chief, Torbjörn Tyler and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to the publication of a species under the name B. nakhonpranomensis, prior to the publication of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sheath blight disease of rice caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn is economically important disease in most of the world's rice growing areas. The disease causes severe yield losses of >20 % of rice in Thailand. Our previous investigation reported the antifungal activity of Streptomyces philanthi RM-1-138 against R. solani PTRRC-9. In this study, glucose yeast-malt extract medium, initial pH of 7.5 and a temperature of 30 °C were found to be optimum for both cell growth and antifungal activity of S. philanthi RM-1-138. The inhibition of 94 and 100 % on the growth of R. solani PTRRC-9 were achieved from the antifungal metabolites of the 6 and 9-days-old culture filtrates of S. philanthi RM-1-138, respectively. Heat treatment on the culture filtrate had slight effect on its antifungal activity. The culture broth demonstrated higher antifungal activity on growth of R. solani PTRRC-9 (90.4 %) than the culture filtrate (31.5 %) and its effective dose was at 0.1 % (v/v). The present results indicated the possibilities of using either the culture broth or culture filtrate of S. philanthi RM-1-138 to inhibit growth of R. solani PTRRC-9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Diatom assemblages in sandy deposits of the 2004 tsunami at Phra Thong Island, Thailand may provide clues to flow conditions during the tsunami. The tsunami deposits contain one or more beds that fine upward, commonly from medium sand to silty very fine sand. Diatom assemblages of the lowermost portion of the deposit predominantly comprise unbroken beach and subtidal species that live attached to sand grains. The dominant taxa shift to marine plankton species in the middle of the bed and to a mix of freshwater, brackish, and marine species near the top. These trends are consistent with expected changes in current velocities of tsunami through time. During high current velocities, medium sand is deposited; only beach and subtidal benthic diatoms attached to sediment can be incorporated into the tsunami deposit. High shear velocity keeps finer material, including planktonic diatoms in suspension. With decreasing current velocities, finer material including marine plankton can be deposited. Finally, during the lull between tsunami waves, the entrained freshwater, brackish, and marine species settle out with mud and plant trash. Low numbers of broken diatoms in the lower medium sand implies rapid entrainment and deposition, whilst selective breakage of marine plankton (Thalassionema nitzschioides, and Thalassiosira and Coscinodiscus spp.) in the middle portion of the deposit probably results from abrasion in the turbulent current before deposition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent centuries provide no precedent for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, either on the coasts it devastated or within its source area. The tsunami claimed nearly all of its victims on shores that had gone 200 years or more without a tsunami disaster. The associated earthquake of magnitude 9.2 defied a Sumatra–Andaman catalogue that contains no nineteenth-century or twentieth-century earthquake larger than magnitude 7.9 (ref. 2). The tsunami and the earthquake together resulted from a fault rupture 1,500 km long that expended centuries’ worth of plate convergence. Here, using sedimentary evidence for tsunamis, we identify probable precedents for the 2004 tsunami at a grassy beach-ridge plain 125 km north of Phuket. The 2004 tsunami, running 2 km across this plain, coated the ridges and intervening swales with a sheet of sand commonly 5–20 cm thick. The peaty soils of two marshy swales preserve the remains of several earlier sand sheets less than 2,800 years old. If responsible for the youngest of these pre-2004 sand sheets, the most recent full-size predecessor to the 2004 tsunami occurred about 550–700 years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveillance for lyssaviruses was conducted among bat populations in 8 provinces in Thailand. In 2002 and 2003, a total of 932 bats of 11 species were captured and released after serum collection. Lyssavirus infection was determined by conducting virus neutralization assays on bat serum samples. Of collected samples, 538 were either hemolysed or insufficient in volume, which left 394 suitable for analysis. These samples included the following: Pteropus lylei (n = 335), Eonycteris spelaea (n = 45), Hipposideros armiger (n = 13), and Rousettus leschennaulti (n = 1). No serum samples had evidence of neutralizing antibodies when tested against rabies virus. However, 16 samples had detectable neutralizing antibodies against Aravan virus, Khujand virus, Irkut virus, or Australian bat lyssavirus; all were specifically associated with fruit bats P. lylei (n = 15) and E. spelaea (n = 1). These results are consistent with the presence of naturally occurring viruses related to new putative lyssavirus genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on some salient changes and issues concerning the Thai rice farming community during development process. For rural farmers in isolated villages of a developing country, economic problems are largely solved by tradition. Once these villages, however, are integrated into the mainstream of the national economy via transportation and communication systems, the approach to economic decision-making will change. Self-sufficiency becomes less important as farmers are increasingly specialized and commercialized. Besides saving and direct lending to others, farmers may also save through deposits with commercial banks, government savings banks and credit institutions such as cooperatives. Cash hoarding may still exist to some extent in villages far from town and without banking services, but in the villages studied, the practice did not seem to be widespread as the relatively rich had bank accounts. Rice farmers do invest directly in the agricultural sector to improve their own efficiency. Quantification is, however, very difficult.

The article focuses on the study "Bat Nipah Virus, Thailand" conducted by Boonlert Lumlertdacha, Kalyanee Boongird et al. The study reports the evidence of Nipah virus (NV) infection in Thai frugivorous and insectivorous bats. The southern blot analysis is useful for polymerase chain reaction confirmation of the NV RNA. There is a need for a countrywide surveillance to clarify the epidemiology of NV infection in Thailand.

Interspecific germline chimerism mediated by transplantation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) of wild species to domestic hosts promises the conservation of wild birds. Cryopreservation of avian eggs and embryos is impracticable, and currently only frozen PGCs enable conservation of both the male and female descendants. Purebred offspring have been obtained from germline chimeras of wild avian species, proving the feasibility of such technology. In vitro propagation has been optimized for avian PGCs of domestic species; however, evidence is rather limited for successful isolation as well as long-term culture from a single embryo of wild species. With accelerating biodiversity loss, we have committed to preserving current genetic resources by freezing PGCs isolated from individual embryos in addition to their genetic material. We have devised a reliable protocol for the isolation and proliferation of PGCs from wild fowls in the family Phasianidae that are conserved in captive breeding (red junglefowl, bar-tailed pheasant, kalij pheasant, Siamese fireback pheasant, and silver pheasant). We obtained individual isolates of cultured circulating PGCs (49.7%, 79/155) as well as tissue PGCs (92.9%, 144/155). The specific co-culture conditions of autologous embryonic cells, without additional growth factors, facilitated the proliferation of so-called tissue PGCs (the remaining PGCs in embryonic tissue following blood aspiration). Only circulating PGCs left in blood vessels and of PGCs migrating to developing gonads have been previously reported. However, the present study is the first to report on the harvest of ectopic PGCs. The defined conditions sustained continuous proliferation of tissue PGCs for at least six months and maintained PGC identity following cryopreservation. Cultured tissue PGCs of these wild species were extensively characterized for their expression of the germ cell-specific proteins, chicken vasa homolog (CVH) and deleted in azoospermia-like (DAZL), as well as the ability to colonize chicken embryonic gonads. The novel protocol is practical for generating enough PGCs for cryopreservation, transplantation, and additionally, it enables isolation of PGCs from both blood circulation and embryonic tissue simultaneously. For conservation purposes, this approach is potentially applicable more widely to other non-domestic birds than those in the family Phasianidae that were investigated in the present study. • Long-term culture of PGCs from red junglefowl and pheasants were investigated. • Individual isolates were from circulating PGCs and those remained in the tissue. • Conditions of autologous embryonic cells proliferated the so-called tissue PGCs. • Cryopreserved tissue PGCs expressed germ cell proteins and colonized chicken gonads. • Novel protocol enhances the isolation and culture of PGCs for avian conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sand sheets deposited by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and three Holocene tsunami predecessors in western Thailand have been dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). Ages from the modern Indian Ocean tsunami sand sheet allow an assessment of the suitability of OSL to date tsunami-deposited sediment in tropical beach-ridge plain depositional environments. They show that, provided appropriate precautions are taken to correct for incomplete bleaching of sediments, OSL can provide a robust chronology of tsunami recurrence. Ages from the tsunami-deposited sand sheets underlying the 2004 tsunami deposits provide a chronology of the largest tsunamis in western Thailand over the late Holocene. Three sand sheets, likely deposited by tsunamis of similar magnitude to the 2004 event, were dated by luminescence to 380±50, 990±130–1410±190, and 2100±260years before AD 1950 (at 1-sigma precision). The youngest of these compares with previous radiocarbon ages of detrital bark high in buried soils (Jankaew et al., 2008), which suggest that the most recent large-scale predecessor to the 2004 tsunami occurred soon after 550–700cal BP. The OSL ages from the lower two sand sheets, provide constraint on tsunami recurrence that was not previously available from radiocarbon dating. The ages imply that between 350 and 1100years separate successive tsunamis on the Andaman coast of Thailand, with an average tsunami recurrence interval of around 550years. These results contribute to the growing body of research on tsunami recurrence in the Indian Ocean region and show that OSL can provide independent estimates of tsunami recurrence for hazard analysis, particularly in areas where suitable material for radiocarbon dating is unavailable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]