Effects of drama-based activities and Facebook on Thai secondary school students’ English speaking skills, attitudes and motivation

This study explored Thai secondary school students’ English language learning with an aim to investigate the effects of integrating drama-based activities and Facebook on the students’ English speaking skills, attitudes towards and motivation in learning the English language. The study used a mixed methods approach to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 40 students from two Grade 12 classes and 2 teachers of English at Srinakarindra the Princes Mother School, Nongbualamphu, Thailand participated in this study. They were selected using purposive sampling and assigned to two groups of 20 students each: the experimental group (using drama-based activities and Facebook) and the control group (using traditional face-to-face learning activities). The data was collected through English speaking tests, Attitude and Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaires, classroom observations, classroom evaluations and interviews. Throughout the data collection process, reflective journals were used to help the students reflect on learning activities as the study progressed. The findings of the study indicate that the integration of drama-based activities and Facebook had positive effects on the students’ speaking skills. The integration technique encouraged the students to be more active in their learning and increased their motivation and positive attitudes towards learning the English language. The integration technique also provided the students with more interaction and a flexible learning environment to actively communicate and collaborate with their teachers of English and peers. The activities also led the students to develop not only their speaking skills but also other skills that are important for language learning in the classroom, such as discussion and writing skills. The findings of the study may be beneficial to researchers and teachers who aim to develop students’ EFL speaking skills and active learning, while enhancing positive motivation and attitudes towards learning and speaking English. The study offers alternative English teaching methods that integrate a social media platform such as Facebook with drama-based learning activities to produce an interactive and motivated learning approach. The findings of the study also provide insightful descriptions of how drama-based activities and Facebook can be effectively integrated into the curriculum to assist Thai EFL secondary school students to develop their English-speaking skills

Identifying Text File Similarities in Forensic Disk Images Using Fuzzy Logic

Digital storage is evolving with the growth of technology. Individuals and corporations can access large amounts of digital storage, leaving digital forensics investigators with large amounts of data to collect and analyze in their forensic investigation cases. In addition, analyzing forensic disk images that contain hundreds of thousands of files can cause a problem with time since the investigators’ workloads can vary based on how many cases they are assigned. Fuzzy logic provides a pattern recognition system that could assist in identifying patterns in data. The purpose of this study was to determine if fuzzy logic could reliably aid in identifying similarities between text files for digital forensics investigators analyzing large amounts of data in the preliminary stage of the investigation. In addition, this study was used to determine if fuzzy logic was unreliable in identifying similar text files at the 20% - 60% granularity levels. However, at the 70% - 90% granularity levels, fuzzy logic was reliable in identifying similar text files. Based on these two statements, fuzzy logic was not trustworthy overall since it could not correctly identify similar text files at all granularity levels

Recurrence stroke of ischemic stroke patients in Thailand: a nationwide study

Stroke is a global health problem and a leading cause of mortality and disability. Patients who survived an initial stroke are at risk for a recurrence stroke of the same type or another. However, few studies have documented at a national level. This research aimed to investigate the magnitude of recurrence stroke among ischemic stroke patients. This descriptive study used the data from neurology database collected between 2006 to 2020 in hospitals under the National Health Security System (NHSO) of Thailand. Among 511,322 ischemic stroke patients, recurrence of all types of strokes occurred in 85,968 patients or 16.81% (95% CI: 16.71-16.92). The prevalence was highest among patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus at 18.89% (95% CI: 18.54-19.26), atrial fibrillation at 18.79% (95% CI: 18.42-19.15), and ischemic heart disease at 18.59% (95% CI: 18.05- 19.15). Furthermore, patients who received recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) treatment (12.15% %, 95%CI: 11.75-12.55) and rehabilitation (14.39%, 95% CI: 14.25-14.54) had a lower prevalence. Co- morbidities were an important factor had a high recurrence and treatment factors that patients receive had a low recurrence. Therefore, policymakers and health institutions could use these findings to implement treatment and monitoring policies for recurrence stroke

ADAPTACYJNY RÓŻNICZKOWY ALGORYTM EWOLUCYJNY ZE STRATEGIĄ DOSTOSOWYWANIA GRANIC DO ROZWIĄZYWANIA NIELINIOWYCH PROBLEMÓW IDENTYFIKACJI PARAMETRÓW

Real-world parameter identification problems require determining the bounds that cover the unknown solutions. This paper presents an adaptive differential evolution algorithm with a bound adjustment strategy (ADEBAS) for solving nonlinear parameter identification problems. The adjustment strategy detects the parameter-bound violations of mutant vectors during the evolution process and gradually extends the bounds. The algorithm adaptively uses two mutation strategies and two ranges of crossover rate to balance the population diversity and convergence speed. Experimental results show that ADEBAS can solve 24 nonlinear regression tasks from the National Institute of Standards and Technology benchmark with accurate estimation and reliability. It also outperforms the compared methods on real-world parameter identification problems.Problemy identyfikacji parametrów w świecie rzeczywistym wymagają określenia granic, które pokrywają nieznane rozwiązania. W artykule przedstawiono adaptacyjny różniczkowy algorytm ewolucyjny ze strategią dostosowywania granic (ADEBAS) do rozwiązywania nieliniowych problemów identyfikacji parametrów. Strategia dostosowywania wykrywa naruszenia granic parametrów zmutowanych wektorów podczas procesu ewolucji i stopniowo rozszerza granice. Algorytm adaptacyjnie wykorzystuje dwie strategie mutacji i dwa zakresy szybkości krzyżowania, aby zrównoważyć różnorodność populacji i szybkość zbieżności. Wyniki eksperymentów pokazują, że ADEBAS może rozwiązać 24 zadania regresji nieliniowej z benchmarku National Institute of Standards and Technology z dokładnym oszacowaniem i niezawodnością. Przewyższa również porównywane metody w rzeczywistych problemach identyfikacji parametrów

In vitro Plant Regeneration from Pseudobulb Segments of Bulbophyllum capillipes C.S.P. Parish & Rchb.f. (Orchidaceae)

บทคัดย่อ กล้วยไม้สิงโตก้านหลอด (Bulbophyllum capillipes C.S.P. Parish & Rchb.f.) เป็นกล้วยไม้ที่ปัจจุบันถูกลักลอบนำออกจากป่ามาเพื่อการค้าอย่างต่อเนื่อง จนอาจจะส่งผลให้สถานภาพในอนาคตถูกคุกคามและเสี่ยงต่อการสูญพันธุ์ได้ ดังนั้นการหาวิธีการช่วยขยายพันธุ์ให้ได้เป็นจำนวนมากในเวลาอันรวดเร็วโดยวิธีเพาะเลี้ยงเนื้อเยื่อ จึงเป็นวิธีที่น่าเหมาะสม จากการเลี้ยงส่วนลำต้นเทียมของกล้วยไม้สิงโตก้านหลอดในสภาพปลอดเชื้อบนอาหารสูตรดัดแปลง Vacin and Went (VW, 1949) ที่เติมสารควบคุมการเจริญเติบโตในกลุ่มไซโทไคนิน (Kinetin, BAP, Thidiazuron) หรือออกซิน (IAA, IBA, NAA) ที่แปรผันความเข้มข้น 0 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 และ 4.0 มิลลิกรัมต่อลิตร เพาะเลี้ยงเป็นเวลา 12 สัปดาห์ พบว่า ลำต้นเทียมของสิงโตก้านหลอดที่เลี้ยงบนสูตรอาหาร VW ที่เติม BA 1.0 มิลลิกรัมต่อลิตร ส่งผลให้มีการเจริญเกิดต้นใหม่ (1.2 ต้น) ได้ดีไม่แตกต่างจากชุดควบคุมอย่างมีนัยสำคัญทางสถิติ อีกทั้งการเติม IAA 2.0 มิลลิกรัมต่อลิตร ยังช่วยชักนำให้ลำต้นเทียมเกิดการพัฒนาให้มีรากจำนวนมากและรากมีการยืดยาวออกมาที่สุด และต้นอ่อนสิงโตก้านหลอดมีอัตราการรอดชีวิต 100 เปอร์เซ็นต์ หลังการนำออกปลูกในสแฟกนัมมอสหรือกาบมะพร้าวเมื่อเลี้ยงเป็นระยะเวลา 12 สัปดาห์ ในโรงเรือนเพาะชำ ABSTRACT Bulbophyllum capillipes C.S.P. Parish & Rchb.f. is now smuggled out of the forest for illegal commercialization. This orchid may become threatened and risk of extinction in the near future. Therefore, rapid mass propagation of this species via tissue culture technique will be performed. Pseudobulb segments of Bulbophyllum capillipes C.S.P. Parish & Rchb.f. were in vitro cultured on modified semi-solid Vacin and Went (1949) medium supplemented with different cytokinins; Kinetin (Kn), Benzylaminopurine (BAP), Thidiazuron (TDZ) or auxins; Indole-acetic acid (IAA), Indole-butyric acid (IBA), Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg.L-1 for 12 weeks. The results showed that the highest average shoot numbers (1.2 shoots) were obtained when they were cultured on the medium augmented with 1.0 mg.L-1 BAP with no significant difference when compared to the control. Moreover, adding 2.0 mg.L-1 of IAA to the medium could induce better root formation number and root elongation from pseudobulb segments than the other. One hundred percent of the plantlets survived during the acclimatization procedure of B. capillipes plantlets could be observed after 12 weeks under greenhouse condition when sphagnum moss and chopped coconut husk were used as planting materials.

The role of Diabetes mellitus comorbidity on Tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Nepal: A prospective cohort study

Aim: The Objective of this study was to assess the effect of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) on treatment outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) patients in the Central Development Region of Nepal. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in central Nepal. The study population of n=408 was consecutively recruited from treatment centers of all 19 districts of central Nepal. The TB cases (n=306) and TB with DM (n=102) cases were followed up for the estimation of blood glucose level, HbA1c level, and sputum examination on 2, 5, and 6 months after TB treatment started. The Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) was performed to identify the risk ratio among TB and TB with DM cases on treatment outcome. Results: Our study identified that the magnitude of treatment failure among the tuberculosis cases was 19.7% (95% CI: 17.44-21.95). The GEE analysis observed that factors associated with the treatment failure had uncontrolled DM (HbA1C ≥7 %) (adj.RR=5.24, 95% CI: 2.58-10.62, P value <0.001), aged ≥ 45 (adj.RR= 6.13, 95% CI: 2.55-14.76, P value <0.001), had inadequate financial status (adj.RR= 2.33, 95% CI: 1.07-5.06, P value 0.033) and had prior TB (adj.RR=2.33, 95% CI: 1.09-4.97, P value 0.028) respectively.  Conclusion: The prevalence of worsening TB treatment among patients with TB and DM was significantly higher than those who had TB only. Poor glycaemic control, increasing age, inadequate financial status, and previous history of tuberculosis were strong predictors of worsening tuberculosis treatment outcomes

Phenolic Compounds and Potential Health Benefits of Pigmented Rice

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important staple plant foods for global population especially in Asian countries. Pigmented rice including red rice, black, and purple contains a range of bioactive compounds including phenolics acids and flavonoids. Anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins are recognized as a major functional component in pigmented rice. Recently, pigmented rice varieties have received increasing attention from consumers due to its high nutritional values and bioactive compounds, providing its potential health benefits including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antidiabetic. Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to provide an up-to-date coverage of a systematic and advanced isolation, extraction and analytical methods, and potential health benefit studies related to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic cardiovascular disease risk inhibition potential and anti-neurodegenerative potential of pigmented rice

Health behavior, stress and obesity among working age women in Myanmar

Aim:  This study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to investigate the association between socioeconomic factors, health behaviors, health literacy, knowledge, attitude, physical and mental health status, and overweight and obesity among working age women in Myanmar. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,094 women aged 18 to 59 years old who were recruited by using multistage random sampling from 12 townships out of 6 districts among three states/regions. A structured questionnaire was developed and applied to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) was performed to determine the association between dependent and independent variables after controlling the effects of covariates presenting adjusted OR and 95% confidence interval. Results: More than half of the respondents were with overweight and obesity (51.28%; 95%CI: 48.31-54.23). The multivariable analysis indicated that factors significantly associated with overweight and obesity included; aged 31-59 years (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.72, 95%CI:1.22-2.40), living without family (AOR= 2.07, 95%CI:1.20-3.57), average monthly income ≥200,000MMK (AOR= 1.38, 95%CI:1.05-1.82), parity≥1 (AOR= 1.61, 95%CI: 1.17- 2.23), high fat & protein consumption ≥5-days per week (AOR= 2.90, 95%CI:1.91-4.39), alcohol consumption (AOR= 2.53, 95%CI:1.91-3.36) and moderate-severe stress (AOR= 1.47, 95%CI:1.11-1.94). Conclusion: More than half of working age women were with overweight and obesity. Socioeconomic status, health behavior and stress are the factors behind over nutrition. The findings provide relevant evidence to develop the appropriate policies and public health interventions in order to minimize the burden of overweight and obesity. Likewise, it is anticipated that this outcome would support the prevention of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. &nbsp

Factors Associated with Chemical Pesticide use among Farmers in Eastern Part of Cambodia

BACKGROUND: Chemical pesticides are known to have adverse impact on human health. However, little is known about the magnitude and factors influencing chemical pesticide use in Cambodia. The study aimed to describe and determine factors influencing chemical pesticide use among farmers in the Eastern part of Cambodia. SUBJECT AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 287 farmers were selected by multistage random sampling proportional to size of the population from 8 communes in the Eastern part of Cambodia. The questionnaire was developed to measure variables under study. A multiple logistic regression was applied to estimate the factors influencing chemical pesticide use. RESULTS: 53.66% of the sample was female. Mean age= 41.01, and SD= 10.8 years old. The average monthly income was 460,000 Riel (112 US$). The illiteracy rate was 15.68%. All of these farmers planted rice, cassava and caisim. 72.13% of all farmers used chemical pesticide. 68.13% of 182 rice farmers used 2,4-D. 92.48% of 133 cassava farmers used glyphosate, and 54.89% used 2,4-D. 71.43% of 35 caisim farmers used fipronil, and 68.57% used malathion. Factors significantly associated with chemical pesticide use were illiteracy (OR= 2.60; 95% CI= 1.02 to 6.62; p= 0.045) and increase in farm size per m2 (OR= 2.12; 95% CI= 1.59 to 2.84; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Chemical pesticide use was very high in Cambodia. Some used prohibited chemical. Illiteracy and farm size affect chemical pesticide use among farmers in Cambodia. Keywords: chemical pesticide use, Cambodia, farme