Kasetsart University

This study aimed to determine the presence and characteristics of locally circulating strains of Streptococcus suis, the most important streptococcal pathogen in swine. Oral swab samples were collected from pigs from 664 representative smallhold farms across nine provinces in the Philippines. Isolates were identified and characterized using PCR assays. The study revealed an isolation rate of 15.8% (105/664, 95% CI: 13.0-18.6) among the sampled farms. Two hundred sixty-nine (269) S. suis isolates were recovered from 119 unique samples. Serotype 31 was the most prevalent (50/269, 95% CI: 13.9-23.2) among the other serotypes identified: 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 21, 27, 28, and 29. The detection of the three 'classical' S. suis virulence-associated genes showed that 90.7% (244/269, 95% CI: 87.2-94.2) were mrp-/epf-/sly-. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis further revealed 70 novel sequence types (STs). Notably, several local isolates belonging to these novel STs formed clonal complexes (CC) with S. suis strains recovered from Spain and USA, which are major pork-exporting countries to the Philippines. This study functionally marks the national baseline knowledge of S. suis in Philippines.

This study evaluated the treatment efficiency of municipal wastewater from Phetchaburi in Thailand in an alternated 5-day flooding and 2-day drying wetland system with two plants species, namely, Canna indica and Heliconia psittacorum . The efficiencies of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) treatment were in the ranges of 90.5% ± 4.8% and 86.9% ± 7.3% for Canna and Heliconia , respectively. Those of chemical oxygen demand (COD) treatment were in the ranges of 75.5% ± 7.9% and 75.3% ± 9.0% for Canna and Heliconia , respectively. Both plants’ removal efficiencies of TN, NH4-N, and TP were greater than 40%. Lead and cadmium accumulation in both plants significantly differed between the upper and lower parts of the plants. However, the lead and cadmium accumulation in Heliconia were greater than their accumulation in Canna. Although Canna had a higher nutrient removal efficiency than Heliconia, there are many varieties of Canna in Thailand. These results indicate that the variety of Canna does not affect the nutrient removal efficiency. In conclusion, a wetland system with alternated flooding and drying conditions can be applied in communities where BOD 5 and COD are the dominant wastewater pollution characteristics. Both ornamental plants are suitable absorbents for lead and cadmium, and although the accumulation is lower in Canna than in Heliconia for both heavy metals, the difference was not significant.

The development and use of renewable energy resources is a crucial solution for a sustainable energy strategy to decrease the dependence on fossil fuels. Lignocellulosic ethanol has gained recognition as a renewable energy resource vital for sustainable development. Currently, the research and industry sectors utilize a single type of lignocellulose biomass for ethanol production. However, this biomass dependency is a potential risk due to the global warming effect on biomass plantations. This study assessed the versatility of rice straw (RS), Napier grass (NG), and sugarcane bagasse (SB) as a mixed biomass for bioethanol production. The mixture of equal proportion of RS, NG, and SB in a 1:1:1 ratio produced higher concentration of bioethanol than individual biomasses. NaOH-pretreated samples were more effective than H 2 SO 4 pretreated and untreated samples in bioethanol production. The NaOH-pretreated mixed sample yielded maximum bioethanol of 0.82% (v/v). About 0.43 g/g and 0.12 g/g of reducing sugars and ethanol, respectively, could be produced using RS, NG, and SB in the ratio of 1:1:1. This research indicates that different biomass types can replace one another in the event of limited resources, thus reducing the dependency on a particular biomass type for biorefinery.

Metronidazole (MTZ) is a 5‐nitroimidazole anti‐bacterial and anti‐protozoal drug. In human and companion animal medicine, MTZ remains widely used due to its effectiveness against anaerobic bacteria and protozoa. In farm animals, however, MTZ is currently prohibited in several countries due to insufficient data on nitroimidazoles. The purpose of this study was to assess its pharmacokinetics (PK) in geese after single intravenous (IV) and oral (PO) administrations. Fifteen‐month old healthy male geese ( n = 8) were used. Geese were subjected to a two‐phase, single‐dose (10 mg/kg IV, 50 mg/kg PO), open, longitudinal study design with a two‐week washout period between the IV and PO phases. Blood was drawn from the left wing vein to heparinized tubes at 0, 0.085 (for IV only), 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 24, and 48 h. Plasma MTZ concentrations were measured using HPLC coupled to an UV detector, and the data were pharmacokinetically analyzed using PKanalix™ software with a non‐compartmental approach. MTZ was still quantifiable and well above the LLOQ at 24 h after both routes of administration. Following IV administration, terminal elimination half‐life, volume of distribution, and total clearance were 5.47 h, 767 mL/kg, and 96 mL/h/kg, respectively. For the PO route, the bioavailability was high (85%), and the mean peak plasma concentration was 60.27 μg/mL at 1 h. When parameters were normalized for the dose, there were no statistically significant differences for any of the PK parameters between the two routes of administration. The study shows that oral administration of MTZ seems to be promising in geese, although comprehensive research on its pharmacodynamics and multiple‐dose studies are necessary before its adoption in geese can be further considered.

Eukaryotes have varying numbers and structures of characteristic chromosomes across lineages or species. The evolutionary trajectory of species may have been affected by spontaneous genome rearrangements. Chromosome fusion drastically alters karyotypes. However, the mechanisms and consequences of chromosome fusions, particularly in muntjac species, are poorly understood. Recent research-based advancements in three-dimensional (3D) genomics, particularly high-throughput chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) sequencing, have allowed for the identification of chromosome fusions and provided mechanistic insights into three muntjac species: Muntiacus muntjak, M. reevesi, and M. crinifrons. This study aimed to uncover potential genome rearrangement patterns in the threatened species Fea’s muntjac (Muntiacus feae), which have not been previously examined for such characteristics. Deep Hi-C sequencing (31.42 × coverage) was performed to reveal the 3D chromatin architecture of the Fea’s muntjac genome. Patterns of repeated chromosome fusions that were potentially mediated by high-abundance transposable elements were identified. Comparative Hi-C maps demonstrated linkage homology between the sex chromosomes in Fea’s muntjac and autosomes in M. reevesi, indicating that fusions may have played a crucial role in the evolution of the sex chromosomes of the lineage. The species-level dynamics of topologically associated domains (TADs) suggest that TAD organization could be altered by differential chromosome interactions owing to repeated chromosome fusions. However, research on the effect of TADs on muntjac genome evolution is insufficient. This study generated Hi-C data for the Fea’s muntjac, providing a genomic resource for future investigations of the evolutionary patterns of chromatin conformation at the chromosomal level.

During the production cycle of poultry farms, pathogens may remain in the next cycle of rearing young chickens. This study was conducted at three industrial chicken farms (A, B, and C) in central Thailand. Results showed that the percentages of E. coli during the resting period in farms A, B, and C were 28.6, 53.8, and 7.8, respectively, and those during the growing period were 45, 68.8, and 75. The most common resistant patterns during the resting period in all farms were AML-AMP-SXT and AML-AMP-DO-SXT, and those during the growing period were AML-AMP and AML-AMP-SXT. The locations of blaTEM-positive E. coli isolates from the inside houses (inside buildings) of all farms included cloacal swabs, floors, water nipples, pan feeders, and husks, whereas that from the outside environment included boots, wastewater, soil, and water from cooling pads and tanks. Our results indicate that the percentage of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its pattern depend on the husbandry period and the strictness of biosecurity. Moreover, our findings derived from samples gathered from broiler farms between 2013 and 2015 align with those of the current studies, highlighting persistent trends in E. coli resistance to various antimicrobial agents. Therefore, enhancing biosecurity measures throughout both the resting and growing periods is crucial, with a specific focus on managing raw materials, bedding, breeding equipment, and staff hygiene to reduce the transmission of antimicrobial resistance in poultry farms.

For a non-negative integer p, the p-Frobenius number, which is one of the generalized Frobenius numbers in terms of the number of representations, is the largest integer represented in at most p ways by a linear combination of nonnegative integers of given positive integers \(a_1,a_2,\ldots ,a_k\) with \(\gcd (a_1,a_2,\ldots ,a_k)=1\). When \(p=0\), it reduces to the classical Frobenius number. One of the most natural questions is to find a closed explicit form of the Frobenius number. When \(k=2\), its explicit formula was discovered in the nineteenth century. When \(k\ge 3\), explicit formulas are very difficult to obtain even for \(p=0\). The case of \(p>0\) is even more difficult, and until recently there was no explicit formula for the Frobenius number even in a single case. However, we finally found explicit formulas for the p-Frobenius number, such as in the case of repunit. In this paper, we give closed formulas for the p-Frobenius number for the generalized repunit. The method is to analyze the structure of the p-Apéry set, which is a more general Apéry set. In the generalized repunit, the structure of the Apéry set is similar, but the position of the element that takes the maximum value is different, making it more difficult to identify.

Mung bean seed coat extract (ME), rich in antioxidants such as vitexin and iso‐vitexin, was encapsulated in egg yolk phosphatidylcholine to enhance its bioaccessibility and expand its application in food products. This study investigated the effect of the food matrix on the physical properties, chemical properties and release properties of bioactive compounds during simulated gastrointestinal digestion and analysed the morphology and chemical interactions of the samples. The ME and mung bean seed coat extract‐loaded phytosome particles (PS) were incorporated with four types of food ingredients including whey protein isolate, rice flour, butter and mixed ingredients. Highest total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity measured using DPPH radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were detected in ME incorporated with whey protein isolate. PS incorporated with butter gave the highest values of TPC, DPPH and FRAP. After simulated intestinal digestion, ME incorporated with whey protein isolate gave the highest TPC, while highest DPPH and FRAP values were found in ME incorporated with rice flour. Higher values of TPC, DPPH and FRAP were observed when PS were incorporated with all types of food ingredients compared to PS alone. Results suggested that addition of PS enhanced the bioaccessibility of food ingredients.

While a large body of studies has captured macro financial inclusion on the supply side, this research paper contributes significantly to the literature on determining financial inclusion in Vietnam from the demand side. The primary target of this paper is to measure an overall financial inclusion index by employing micro data of 1,002 respondents in Vietnam from the World Bank. Additionally, based on the calculation of financial inclusion index, we investigate the determinants of financial inclusion and examine the barriers to financial inclusion in Vietnam. The ordinary least squares regression analysis and logit regression are employed to estimate the effect of demographic characteristics and the barriers to financial inclusion. The main findings reveal that people who are female, wealthier, more educated, or in the workforce exhibit a higher financial inclusion index. Besides, the financial inclusion level of high-income people is not affected by working status, while this level of middle and low-income people does. Women are also less likely to be financially included because they complain that financial institutions are too far away or because another family member has an account. Older people are more concerned about lack of documentation, lack of trust, and demand reasons. To achieve the purposes of robustness, the measurement of financial inclusion was changed following previous studies to confirm robust and stable baseline results. Accordingly, these findings contribute to issuing adequate policies that break the barriers to financial inclusion and enhance financial inclusion, especially for less educated, poor, out of the workforce, and old people.

Background and Aim: Asthma, a chronic disease affecting humans and animals, has recently become increasingly prevalent and steadily widespread. The alternative treatment of asthma using helminth infections or helminth-derived immunomodulatory molecules (IMs) has been evaluated and demonstrated significant amelioration of disease severity index in vitro and in vivo. Trichinella spiralis, a parasitic nematode and its IMs, elicits a potential to relieve asthma and other immune-related disorders. In this study, we investigated the immunomodulatory function of recombinant T. spiralis novel cystatin (rTsCstN) in ameliorating acute inflammatory asthma disorders in a murine model. Materials and Methods: Female BALB/c mice were sensitized using intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin (OVA)/alum and subsequently challenged with intranasal administration of OVA alone or OVA + rTsCstN for 3 consecutive days, producing OVA-induced allergic asthma models. To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of rTsCstN, the inflammatory cells and cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and OVA-specific immunoglobulin E levels in serum were assessed. Histological alterations in the lung tissues were determined by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and eventually scored for the extent of inflammatory cell infiltration. Results: The asthmatic mouse models challenged with OVA + rTsCstN demonstrated a significant reduction of eosinophils (p < 0.01), macrophages (p < 0.05), and cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α (p < 0.05) and interferon (IFN)-γ (p < 0.05) in BALF when compared with the mice challenged with OVA alone. However, the levels of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 remained unchanged. Histological examination revealed that mice administered OVA + rTsCstN were less likely to have inflammatory cell infiltration in their perivascular and peribronchial lung tissues than those administered OVA alone. Conclusion: Recombinant T. spiralis novel cystatin demonstrated immunomodulatory effects to reduce severe pathogenic alterations in asthma mouse models, encouraging a viable alternative treatment for asthma and other immunoregulatory disorders in humans and animals in the future. Keywords: asthma, immunomodulatory molecule, recombinant Trichinella spiralis novel cystatin, Trichinella spiralis.

We present a general-purpose machine learning model for predicting properties of crystals. Specifically, energy of formation, Fermi level energy, band gap, partial charges, and bulk modulus as well as spectral properties, including electronic and phonon densities of states are targeted. Thus, our model can be used to screen materials for specific properties. The model is based on atomic representations which enables it to effectively capture complex information about each atom and its surrounding environment in a crystal. The accuracy achieved for band gap values exceeds results previously published. By design, our model is not restricted to electronic properties discussed here but can be extended to fit diverse chemical databases.

Problems of salt-affected soils can be alleviated by organic amendments, but their nitrogen (N) mineralization pattern, crucial to providing proper N synchronization with crop demand, can differently be influenced by sali-nity and sodicity. An incubation study was carried out objectively to inves-tigate the mineralization and kinetic release of N in three organic wastes (OWs) – rice husk (RH), rice straw (RS), burnt rice husk (BRH) in saline-sodic (SS) and sodic (Sod) soils. The OWs were mixed into the soils and inorganic N was measured under aerobic condition (field capacity) for 28 days followed by waterlogged condition until day-112. The mineral N mineralized from all OWs was, on average, <20% of N input released into the mineral N pool with RS mineralized the highest. Mineralization occurred less in SS than in Sod soil. Nitrogen mineralization peaked at 28 days with net immobilization observed after 21-day of waterlogged condition. The mineralization rate and miner-alizable N pool of these OWs had a better fit to two-pool than first-order model, showing the highest quantities in respective RS, RH and BRH and fast N pools constant rate greater in SS than in Sod soils. Net N mineralization differed among OWs, soils and incubation times. The N mineralization pattern of OWs was a function of both N sources and soil salinity. The pool and rate of mineralizable N were predicted from the initial material’s total N. The findings can lead to proper N management for jasmine rice in salt-affected soils using inorganic wastes to partially supply N

The taxonomic position of two novel Actinoallomurus strains isolated from rhizosphere soil of wild rice ( Oryza rufipogon Griff.) was established using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strains WRP6H-15 T and WRP9H-5 T were closely related to Actinoallomurus spadix JCM 3146 T and Actinoallomurus purpureus TTN02-30 T . Chemotaxonomic and morphological characteristics of both strains were consistent with members of the genus Actinoallomurus , while phenotypic properties, genome-based comparisons and phylogenomic analyses distinguished strains WRP6H-15 T and WRP9H-5 T from their closest phylogenetic relatives. The two strains showed nearly identical 16S rRNA gene sequences (99.9 %). Strain WRP6H-15 T showed 68.7 % digital DNA–DNA hybridization, 95.9 % average nucleotide identity (ANI) based on blast and 96.4 % ANI based on MUMmer to strain WRP9H-5 T . A phylogenomic tree based on draft genome sequences of the strains and representative of the genus Actinoallomurus confirmed the phylogenetic relationships. The genomes sizes of strains WRP6H-15 T and WRP9H-5 T were 9.42 Mb and 9.68 Mb, with DNA G+C contents of 71.5 and 71.3 mol%, respectively. In silico analysis predicted that the strains contain biosynthetic gene clusters encoding for specialized metabolites. Characterization based on chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic, phenotypic and genomic evidence demonstrated that strains WRP6H-15 T and WRP9H-5 T represent two novel species of the genus Actinoallomurus , for which the names Actinoallomurus soli sp. nov. (type strain WRP6H-15 T =TBRC 15726 T =NBRC 115556 T ) and Actinoallomurus rhizosphaericola sp. nov. (type strain WRP9H-5 T =TBRC 15727 T =NBRC 115557 T ) are proposed.

The paper presents the case study of repetitive dam failure of Morasuab dam, a homogeneous dam in Thailand, occurred in 2016, 2017 and 2019 after the appearance of a sink hole in 2012. The dam has failed at the same section, regardless of its rehabilitation. The geotechnical investigation like boreholes, electro resistivity test (ERT) and Kunzelstab penetrometer test (KPT) showed the presence of permeable sandy foundation and shallow deep bedrock at downstream section. However, the two-dimensional (2D) seepage analysis of the affected section (Station 0 + 450 km) showed no failure due to uplift or exit hydraulic gradient. This suggested that sandy foundation and shallow bed rock is not solely responsible for dam breach. When further investigation was carried out, dispersive soil was identified in embankment fill zone during dam excavation. This suggests that dispersive soil is the major cause of piping that led to repetitive dam failure since 2012 and the presence of sandy foundation and shallow bedrock could have accelerated the piping mechanism. Moreover, the post breaching survey of affected section suggested that piping occurred through the embankment section and erupted through the filter.

Aim This study aimed to contrast the associations of five common diet scores with severe non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) incidence. Materials and Methods In total, 162 999 UK Biobank participants were included in this prospective population‐based study. Five international diet scores were included: the 14‐Item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS‐14), the Recommended Food Score (RFS), the Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI), the Mediterranean Diet Score and the Mediterranean‐DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay score. As each score has different measurements and scales, all scores were standardized and categorized into quartiles. Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for confounder factors investigated associations between the standardized quartiles and severe NAFLD incidence. Results Over a median follow‐up of 10.2 years, 1370 participants were diagnosed with severe NAFLD. When the analyses were fully adjusted, participants in quartile 4 using the MEDAS‐14 and RFS scores, as well as those in quartiles 2 and 3 using the HDI score, had a significantly lower risk of severe incident NAFLD compared with those in quartile 1. The lowest risk was observed in quartile 4 for the MEDAS‐14 score [hazard ratio (HR): 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62‐0.94)] and the RFS score [HR: 0.82 (95% CI: 0.69‐0.96)] and as well as in quartile 2 in the HDI score [HR: 0.80 (95% CI: 0.70‐0.91)]. Conclusion MEDAS‐14, RFS and HDI scores were the strongest diet score predictors of severe NAFLD. A healthy diet might protect against NAFLD development irrespective of the specific approach used to assess diet. However, following these score recommendations could represent optimal dietary approaches to mitigate NAFLD risk.

The application times and doses of fresh and dry formulations of Talaromyces tratensis KUFA 0091 were evaluated for their antagonistic activity in controlling mango diseases, anthracnose and stem-end rot diseases, under field conditions on two mango cultivars—namely, Nam Dok Mai Si Thong and Nam Dok Mai No. 4. The results show that three applications result in significantly reduced disease severity than two and one applications in all treatments. However, a high dose of the fresh formulation at 10 ⁸ spores/ mL of the antagonistic fungus resulted in antagonistic activity in controlling mango diseases than the dry formulation and lower doses in both mango cultivars. Treatment of three applications at the flowering, fruit-setting, and fruit-developing stages of the fresh formulation at 10 ⁸ spores/ mL displayed the best disease reduction at 80–87%, followed by the dry formulation, which caused 75–78% disease reduction. Meanwhile, the three applications of fresh and dry formulations at 10 ⁶ spores/mL also displayed significant biocontrol efficacy via 70–79% disease reduction. Its culture filtrate at 50% completely inhibited the spore germination of the anthracnose pathogen. The dry formulation also showed high efficacy suppression on post-harvest disease on mango fruits. Moreover, the antagonistic fungus showed compatibility fungicides at a label rate with propineb (1,750 ppm), azoxystrobin (250 ppm), and mancozeb (1,600 ppm). The results indicate that this fungus can act as an effective biological control or be combined with fungicides for integrated mango disease management.