Technology Acceptance in the Thai Public Sector: A Manager’s Perspective

This Ph.D. thesis proposes to develop and theorise a model for the process of technology and innovation acceptance and decision making with the individual manager in public organisations as the unit of analysis. Technology and innovation acceptance has been widely researched in the context of end-user acceptance, which has focused on various factors affecting their behaviour. However, such research has not been undertaken in the context of those occupying a managerial position. Thus, this thesis is centred on how managers accept and adopt a new technology in their organisation. The main focus is managers because they are the key decision-makers in an organisation. The nature of such technology and innovation acceptance has features that are different from that of general users and requires further investigation. In this case, managers have the important role of choosing a new technology and innovation for their organisation, or they can provide recommendations to top management regarding the adoption of technology if they are not in the position to decide. In particular, this qualitative study focuses on the middle management position, and investigates the various factors that come to affect and impact on the acceptance and application of technology by middle managers. The core theoretical contribution of this research is a model for understanding technology acceptance by managers, which is based on findings from this research together with ideas from previous studies. The model combines psychological notions, the concept of attitude towards technology and also various impact of innovation factors on an organisation. It explains the decision making of managers in order to understand the overall knowledge employed in technology acceptance up to the point of adoption and investment in a technology within an organisation., Uniquely, this study also helps to reveal why managers in some instances do not bring technology in to use even though they recognise that it may be used to solve problems or be useful in other ways. The model developed in the study can help increase organisational performance in relation to technology adoption management via understanding managerial thinking and decision-making processes.</p

Enhanced Therapeutic Potential of Irreversible Electroporation under Combination with Gold-Doped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles against EMT-6 Breast Cancer Cells

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non-thermal tumor ablation technique that delivers short pulses of strong electric fields to cancer tissues and induces cell death through the destruction of cell membranes. Here, we synthesized gold-doped mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Au-MSNs) via incipient wetness impregnation and evaluated the therapeutic potentials of combination therapy with IRE. The fabricated Au-MSNs had around 80–100 nm of particle size and were successfully end-doped with Au nanoparticles. Combination treatment of IRE (800 V/cm) and Au-MSNs (100 μg/mL) increased cell membrane permeability by 25-fold compared with single IRE treatment. Cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation of EMT-6 cells were significantly increased by 14- and 265-fold, respectively, under combination treatment of IRE (800 V/cm) and Au-MSNs (100 µg/mL). Cytotoxic cell death increased by 28% under a combination treatment of IRE (800 V/cm) and Au-MSNs (100 ug/mL) over single IRE. Our studies suggest that the combination treatment of IRE with Au-MSNs can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of IRE for breast cancer

Effect of harvest seasonal and gamma irradiation on the physicochemical changes in pineapple fruit cv. Pattavia during stimulated sea shipment

Gamma irradiation is used as a phytosanitary treatment for tropical fresh fruit from some producing countries. An experiment was carried out to study the effect of gamma irradiation and season of harvest on the quality ‘Pattavia’ pineapple fruit. Fruit harvested in the summer and the rainy cool (winter) seasons were exposed to gamma radiation at dose levels of 0 and 400–600 Gy from a 60 Cobalt source and the fruit stored at 13°C and 90% RH for up to 21 days. Gamma irradiation did not affect the ratio of TSS/TA, antioxidant content, or ascorbic acid concentration. However, gamma irradiation did delay color development and also induced internal browning over 50% of flesh discolored in fruit stored for 14 days, especially harvested winter fruit. Moreover, harvesting fruit in different seasons had a significant effect on fruit quality after harvest and during stimulated sea shipment storage. The result showed that gamma irradiation can be used as a phytosanitary treatment with minor changes in eating quality. However, the internal browning was greater if fruit were stored longer than 1 week at 13°C

MT1-MMP Responsive Doxorubicin Conjugated Poly(lactic-<i>co</i>-glycolic Acid)/Poly(styrene-<i>alt</i>-maleic Anhydride) Core/Shell Microparticles for Intrahepatic Arterial Chemotherapy of Hepatic Cancer

In this study, we demonstrated that the MT1-MMP-responsive peptide (sequence: GPLPLRSWGLK) and doxorubicin-conjugated poly­(lactic-<i>co</i>-glycolic acid/poly­(styrene-<i>alt</i>-maleic anhydride) core/shell microparticles (PLGA/pSMA MPs) can be applied for intrahepatic arterial injection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PLGA/pSMA MPs were prepared with a capillary-focused microfluidic device. The particle size, observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), was around 22 ± 3 μm. MT1-MMP-responsive peptide and doxorubicin (DOX) were chemically conjugated with pSMA segments on the shell of MPs to form a PLGA/pSMA-peptide-DOX complex, resulting in high encapsulation efficiency (91.1%) and loading content (2.9%). DOX was released from PLGA/pSMA-peptide-DOX MPs in a pH-dependent manner (∼25% at pH 5.4 and ∼8% at pH 7.4) and accumulated significantly in an MT1-MMP-overexpressing Hep3B cell line. An in vivo intrahepatic injection study showed localization of MPs on the hepatic vessels and hepatic lobes up to 24 h after the injection without any shunting to the lung. Moreover, MPs efficiently inhibited tumor growth of Hep3B hepatic tumor xenografted mouse models. We expect that PLGA/pSMA-peptide-DOX MPs can be utilized as an effective intrahepatic drug delivery system for the treatment of HCC

Calcium-Triggered Pulsatile Delivery of Parathyroid Hormone from Microbeads for Osteoporosis Treatment

Recombinant human parathyroid hormone 1-34 (rhPTH 1-34) is the most potent anabolic drug recommended for patients with osteoporosis who do not respond to conventional treatment. However, subcutaneous intermittent injection is the only effective regimen due to its unusual action of mechanism. This regimen is inconvenient and is a big hurdle in clinical applications. In this study, we designed polyelectrolyte microbeads that can deliver rhPTH 1-34 in response to Ca²⁺ concentration, which indicates the osteoporotic status. Dextran photopolymer was synthesized, mixed with anionic monoacrylate, and photopolymerized by passing through capillary microfluidics to obtain the microbeads. The anionic property of microbeads was confirmed by toluidine blue staining. One microbead, loaded with a 1 day dose of rhPTH 1-34 (23.4 ± 0.9 μg), released rhPTH 1-34 in a triggered manner following the addition of Ca²⁺ ion. In vitro cell study demonstrated that rhPTH 1-34 released in a pulsatile manner from the microbeads induced osteogenic markers (ALP, RUNX2, and OPN) and precipitated mineral disposition more effectively

Optimizing protein delivery rate from silk fibroin hydrogel using silk fibroin-mimetic peptides conjugation

Abstract Controlled release of proteins, such as growth factors, from biocompatible silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel is valuable for its use in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and other biological systems. To achieve this, we introduced silk fibroin-mimetic peptides (SFMPs) with the repeating unit (GAGAGS)n. Using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a model protein, our results showed that SFMPs did not affect the GFP function when conjugated to it. The SFMP-GFP conjugates incorporated into SF hydrogel did not change the gelation time and allowed for controlled release of the GFP. By varying the length of SFMPs, we were able to modulate the release rate, with longer SFMPs resulting in a slower release, both in water at room temperature and PBS at 37 °C. Furthermore, the SF hydrogel with the SFMPs showed greater strength and stiffness. The increased β-sheet fraction of the SF hydrogel, as revealed by FTIR analysis, explained the gel properties and protein release behavior. Our results suggest that the SFMPs effectively control protein release from SF hydrogel, with the potential to enhance its mechanical stability. The ability to modulate release rates by varying the SFMP length will benefit personalized and controlled protein delivery in various systems

James Cook viaje al Polo Sur y alrededor del mundo (fragmento)

A new generation of nanosensors based on mesoporous silica nanocapsules with the ability to monitor the onset of metallic corrosion is successfully developed and tested on 304 stainless steel. The core of the nanocapsules contains water insoluble organic molecules that fluoresce during the anodic dissolution of metallic substrates in the corrosion process. The dispersion of the nanosensors in organic coatings applied on metal substrate allows a very sensitive fluorescent detection of the initiation of metal dissolution, close to defects in the substrate. This promising concept offers therefore new perspectives for the development of smart coatings for corrosion sensing