High Urinary Iodine Concentration Among Breastfed Infants and the Factors Associated with Iodine Content in Breast Milk

Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic element, which may cause toxicity to most organs in the body. Zinc (Zn) and magnesium (Mg) are essential minerals with probable benefits on Cd harmful effects. Finding an efficient and non-pathological treatment against Cd toxicity seems promising. Fifty adult rats were divided into ten experimental groups of five rats each. The Cd group was treated with 1 mg Cd/kg and the control group received 0.5 cm³ normal saline. The other eight groups received Zn (0.5 and 1.5 mg/kg) and Mg (0.5 and 1.5 mg/kg) either alone or in combination with 1 mg Cd/kg through IP injection for 3 weeks. Testis malondialdehyde (MDA), sperm parameters, and testis histopathology were investigated. Cd reduced sperm parameters and increased testis MDA. Moreover, Cd exposure caused a significant histological damage in testis of male rats. However, Zn or Mg treatment prevented and reversed Cd toxic alterations in testis. These findings suggest that co-administration of Zn or Mg could improve cadmium testicular toxicity in male Wistar rats.     

Distribution and Genetic Profiles of Campylobacter in Commercial Broiler Production from Breeder to Slaughter in Thailand

Poultry and poultry products are commonly considered as the major vehicle of Campylobacter infection in humans worldwide. To reduce the number of human cases, the epidemiology of Campylobacter in poultry must be better understood. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the distribution and genetic relatedness of Campylobacter in the Thai chicken production industry. During June to October 2012, entire broiler production processes (i.e., breeder flock, hatchery, broiler farm and slaughterhouse) of five broiler production chains were investigated chronologically. Representative isolates of C. jejuni from each production stage were characterized by flaA SVR sequencing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Amongst 311 selected isolates, 29 flaA SVR alleles and 17 sequence types (STs) were identified. The common clonal complexes (CCs) found in this study were CC-45, CC-353, CC-354 and CC-574. C. jejuni isolated from breeders were distantly related to those isolated from broilers and chicken carcasses, while C. jejuni isolates from the slaughterhouse environment and meat products were similar to those isolated from broiler flocks. Genotypic identification of C. jejuni in slaughterhouses indicated that broilers were the main source of Campylobacter contamination of chicken meat during processing. To effectively reduce Campylobacter in poultry meat products, control and prevention strategies should be aimed at both farm and slaughterhouse levels.     

Uncovering urban transportation infrastructure expansion and sustainability challenge in Bangkok: Insights from a material stock perspective

Development of transportation infrastructure that extends roads and railways in Bangkok has overlooked the negative environmental impact of construction material accumulation. To analyze the extent of this impact, we originally established road and railway's material intensity coefficients and investigated spatially explicit roadway and railway material stock (MS) for the years of 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2037, based upon the master plans’ target year. We further analyzed how MS evolution relates to the city's socio-economic indicators and CO₂ emission. Significant growth is found in transportation MS during 2004–2019, and roadways particularly increased from 122 to 164 million metric tons (Mt). The master plans would require 43 and 6.55 Mt construction materials for roadway and railway extension, respectively, by 2037. More material-intensive roads (cross-provincial highways and major local roads) built to the suburbs of the cities and underground/elevated structures of the mass rapid transit system in dense urban areas will require three times the annual cement and steel consumption of that in the 2004–2019 period. Furthermore, a 2–3 fold increase in the number of registered vehicles and associated CO₂ emissions during the study period have brought questions to the transportation infrastructure MS efficiency. The findings of this study will enable informed decision-making regarding the concern of resource consumption and for considering environmentally friendly approaches in urban transportation planning for Bangkok and other developing cities.     

Bacterial microbiota in upper respiratory tract of COVID-19 and influenza patients

The upper respiratory tract is inhabited by diverse range of commensal microbiota which plays a role in protecting the mucosal surface from pathogens. Alterations of the bacterial community from respiratory viral infections could increase the susceptibility to secondary infections and disease severities. We compared the upper respiratory bacterial profiles among Thai patients with influenza or COVID-19 by using 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing based on MiSeq platform. The Chao1 richness was not significantly different among groups, whereas the Shannon diversity of Flu A and Flu B groups were significantly lower than Non-Flu & COVID-19 group. The beta diversity revealed that the microbial communities of influenza (Flu A and Flu B), COVID-19, and Non-Flu & COVID-19 were significantly different; however, the comparison of the community structure was similar between Flu A and Flu B groups. The bacterial classification revealed that Enterobacteriaceae was predominant in influenza patients, while Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas were significantly enriched in the COVID-19 patients. These implied that respiratory viral infections might be related to alteration of upper respiratory bacterial community and susceptibility to secondary bacterial infections. Moreover, the bacteria that observed in Non-Flu & COVID-19 patients had high abundance of Streptococcus, Prevotella, Veillonella, and Fusobacterium. This study provides the basic knowledge for further investigation of the relationship between upper respiratory microbiota and respiratory disease which might be useful for better understanding the mechanism of viral infectious diseases.     

Beyond the Movie Screen: An Antarctic Adventure

Movies depicting science-related issues often capture the attention of today's youth. As an instructional tool, movies can take us beyond the drama and action and thrilling scenes. In this article we share our experiences of using the movie Eight Below as a centerpiece for developing high school students’ understanding of basic chemistry concepts. In addition to the science concepts developed using the context of the movie, we engaged students in thinking about the ethical dilemmas embedded in the movie.     

Neolignans from Callistemon lanceolatus

Two neolignans, named callislignan A and B together with known C-methyl-flavonoids, a lignan and pentacyclic triterpenoid esters were isolated from the leaves of Callistemon lanceolatus. Their structures were characterized by spectroscopic methods. Callislignan A and B had antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923 and MRSA SK1 with callislignan B having an MIC of 8 μg/mL.     

The Practicality of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery Devices and Progress Toward This Goal

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have been proposed as drug delivery devices for approximately 15 years. The history of in vitro studies has been promising, demonstrating that MSNs have the capability for stimulus-responsive controlled release, good cellular uptake, cell specific targeting, and the ability to carry a variety of cargoes from hydrophobic drug molecules to imaging agents. However, the translation of the in vitro findings to in vivo conditions has been slow. Herein, we review the current state-of-the-art in the use of MSN for systemic drug delivery in vivo and provide critical insight into the future of MSNs as systemic drug delivery devices and directions that should be undertaken to improve their practicality.