Personal and Emotional Values Embedded in Thai-Consumers’ Perceptions: Key Factors for the Sustainability of Traditional Confectionery Businesses

The confectionery market in Thailand is being overpowered by Western confectioneries. This study proposes and verifies a model of the factors that define consumer behaviour towards traditional Thai confectioneries and consumer willingness to support them. In recent years, there has been a boom in posting various aspects of Thai youth culture, including confectionery, on social networking services (SNS), especially Instagram. In major Thai cities, such as Bangkok, stores are being built with ‘Insta-image’ in mind, strengthening the younger generation’s inclination towards Western confectionery. Under these circumstances, the share of traditional confectioneries, which have long been familiar to Thai people, is declining. Based on survey data collected from 400 consumers in Bangkok, we designed a model to analyse the antecedent factors for consumers’ purchase intention and support behaviour for Thai traditional confectioneries, such as the word-of-mouth (WOM) approach and repeated purchase. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted on the dataset to examine the antecedent factors’ impact on purchase intention and supportive actions. The results revealed that four latent factors, as determining antecedents of purchase intentions, had a significant impact on purchase intentions, resulting in loyalty and word-of-mouth behaviour. Among the determining factors, personal feelings and attachment to traditional confectionery were found to have the greatest impact, surpassing subjective norms. To expand the fan base of Thai traditional confectioneries and to support their businesses, appealing to the value of traditional confectioneries, nostalgic value and long-held Thai personal feelings to support traditional confectionery was found to be an effective marketing strategy for corporates. Such efforts are also meaningful in terms of maintaining the diversity of food culture in the face of increasing Westernisation and a decrease in unique food ingredients and food culture. Furthermore, according to this analysis, willingness to purchase is strongly linked to purchasing behaviour, and the cultivation and securing of loyal customers and their WOM recommendations are important for developing a customer base in the market. WOM recommendations by consumers can activate communication among customers and companies in the market, strengthen the community and stimulate the dissemination of information about traditional confectioneries. This study is expected to be a useful and valuable resource for the development of marketing strategies to ensure the sustainability of traditional confectionery in the Thai sweets market

Muscle Fiber Composition Changes after Selective Nerve Innervation

Facial nerve paralysis interferes with mimetic muscle function. To reconstruct natural facial movement, free muscle flaps are transplanted as new muscles. However, it is difficult to maintain resting tonus. A dual innervation technique in which other nerves such as the hypoglossal nerve or contralateral facial nerve are added is often applied. Using 10-week-old rats (n = 10), the masseteric and hypoglossal nerves were cut, and the distal stump of the masseteric nerve and the proximal stump of the hypoglossal nerve were then sutured (suture group). In the other group, the masseteric nerve was cut and cauterized (cut group). Immunohistochemistry and microarray were performed on the extracted masseter muscle. The immunohistochemistry results suggested that the muscles in the suture group obtained oxidative characteristics. The microarray showed the genes involved in mitochondrial function, including Perm1. In summary, our data support the validity of the dualinnervation technique for facial paralysis treatment

Combined mutation of Apc, Kras and Tgfbr2 effectively drives metastasis of intestinal cancer.

金沢大学新学術創成研究機構ナノ生命科学研究所Embargo Period 12 month

A case of impacted supernumerary teeth occurring in the bilateral mandibular premolar area

In this study, a 1₇–year–old patient, who had regularly visited us from childhood, complained of discomfort in the andibular molar area, and impacted supernumerary teeth was confirmed by radiography. Its position was closely investigated using 3–dimensional CT, excision was performed, and a favorable course has been achieved. Thus, the importance of screening using panoramic radiography was reconfirmed

A case of buccal cellulitis caused by a self–bite to the bilateral buccal mucous membrane

Recently, the development of various antibiotics and increasing awareness of oral hygiene have reduced the incidence of serious cellulitis of the cheek, including dental infections. However, some cases invoive serious disease throughout the mediastinal area in elderly patients and those with underlying diseases. This time, we report a case of cellulitis of the cheek due to a bite to the buccal mucosa. The patient was a 10–year–old male. The patient visited hospital and complained of swelling of the left cheek. At the first examination, diffuse redness and swelling accompanied by spontaneous pain and tenderness from the left cheek to surrounding area of the left orbit as well as trismus and swollen lymph nodes in the left submaxillary were noted. A crateriform traumatic ulcer with a diameter of 2.₅ cm and induration likely due to a bite of the left buccal mucosa and accompanied by tenderness were found. CT revealed a high–density region of the buccal fat layer in the left buccal soft tissues as well as extensive and significant swelling and inflammatory reaction. The infusion of antibiotics, draining the abscess through an incision, and the drainage procedure resulted in effective healing of the cellulitis 6 days after admission. 　Traumatic ulcer and cellulitis may recur due to bite. In addition, for the prevention of adverse habits including teeth grinding and clenching, as well as mental factors due to mental tension and frustration, it is very important to not only undergo dental or oral surgical treatments, but also to consult a psychotherapist or psychiatrist