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Provincial clans and dynasties have long been crucial in Thai electoral politics. Their influence was felt since before the 1969 poll. Post-1988 and post-1992 political space gave clans room to expand in power. But their sway has been interrupted by several factors, including military coups, changing constitutions, and national transformations. Thailand's March 2019 general election, December 2020 provincial administrative organization elections, and March 2021 subdistrict administrative organization elections demonstrated the persistence of provincial clan influence owing partly to the 2019 end of military dictatorship but also to the needs by national parties to partner with provincial political families to achieve success and finally because local clans saw an opportunity to revitalize their power. In 2022 Thailand, provincial clans and dynasties appear to be alive and well. This study examines the historical evolution of provincial dynasties involved in Thai electoral politics in four different provinces. The study analyzes the reasons why only some provinces have experienced clan (familial) domination, strategies for and obstacles to dynastic family control over provincial politics, and the future of dynastic provincial families in Thailand's democratic future.

The discharge phase and time evolution of a 150 kHz high-power pulse burst discharge were observed. A vacuum chamber was constructed by connecting glass tubes on which a solenoid coil was wound. Burst pulses with a width of 1000 μs and a repetition rate of 10 Hz were applied to the solenoid coil. A high-speed video camera and an intensified CCD camera were used to record photographs of the discharges. Observation of the discharge phase using a high-speed camera showed that the discharge occurs at the time of 40 μs and propagates from the wall of the cylindrical reactor. Over time, the discharge pattern evolves, and a branched pattern appears. The number of the branches changes with time. The discharge blinks synchronize with the instantaneous power, which suggests that the discharge is generated and maintained by the electrostatic field generated by the sides of the coil. The propagation velocity calculated from downstream decreases with increasing pressure and increases with increasing power.

Intermediate volatility and semivolatile organic compounds (IVOC/SVOC) are important precursors of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) while SVOC is an important contributor to primary organic aerosol (POA). However, combustion emissions data for volatility classes are limited. This study reports the gas and particle emissions that were sampled with various dilution factors from a sewage sludge incinerator burning fuel oil. Volatility distributions were determined using measurements from online mass spectrometry and offline organic compound analyses. In the low volatility organic compound (LVOC) to IVOC range, volatility bins with organic saturation concentrations of 10–100 μg m–3were most abundant, which was due to organic acids generated from sludge burning. Organic aerosol (OA) emission factors (EFOA) increased 1.4 times after cooling to ambient temperatures in comparison to those of the samples from the hot stack. Upon further isothermal dilution at 25 °C, the EFOAdecreased while organic gas phase EFs increased with increasing dilution. Phase partitioning in volatility bins with saturation concentrations of 10–100 μg m–3was sensitive to isothermal dilution that influenced the EFs. Therefore, gas- and particle-phase measurements alone cannot constrain EFs for these volatility classes. Low dilution factors may overestimate the particle phase and underestimate the gas phase EFs compared with real-world emission conditions.

Delayed elimination of plasma methotrexate (MTX), which leads to elevated toxicity, is often observed in patients receiving high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) therapy, despite of the preventive measures. In this study, we investigated the factors that delay elimination of plasma MTX in patients on HD-MTX therapy. Fifteen patients who received HD-MTX therapy (21 cycles) were classified into two groups: delayed elimination of plasma MTX (38.1%, 8/21) and normal elimination of plasma MTX (61.9%, 13/21). Patient characteristics, plasma MTX concentrations, laboratory values, and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups using Fisher's exact test. Univariate analysis showed that co-administration of calcium channel blockers was significantly associated with delayed elimination of plasma MTX (p = 0.042). This is the first report demonstrating that co-administration of calcium channel blockers may be a predictive factor of delayed elimination of plasma MTX in patients receiving HD-MTX therapy.

The joint conference of the 9th Euro-Asian Pulsed Power Conference (EAPPC 2022) and the 24th International Conference on High-Power Particle Beams (BEAMS 2022) was held on September 18–22, 2022, in hybrid form with the face-to-face venue located in Seoul Olympic Parktel, Seoul, Korea. The conference provided a forum for the exchange of scientific and technical information between academic institutions, research organizations, and industry on the broad range of current and emerging research areas of pulsed-power technology and applications of high-power particle beams.

A compact and lightweight gas treatment system integrated with a high-voltage pulse generator driven by SiC-MOSFET and wires-to-wires electrode. The maximum amplitude and pulse width of the output voltage of the pulse generator without load are 10 kV and 31 ns, respectively, and the maximum energy transfer efficiency reaches 88% with a load resistance of 0.44 kΩ. This pulse generator was applied to multilayered wires-to-wires electrodes, and the streamer discharges propagated between the electrodes were observed. Streamers initially propagate horizontally according to the Laplacian electric field near the high-voltage electrode. When they approach the ground electrodes, they curve and propagate toward the ground electrode due to the high electric field between the streamer head and the ground electrode. The velocity of the streamer propagation is with a velocity of 0.4 to 0.71 × 106m s−1. Ozone production and ethylene removal characteristics are investigated in a sealed vessel. The result shows a high ethylene removal efficiency and high safety by suppressing the ozone concentration in the exhaust gas with a catalyst.

Because emission rates of particulate matter (PM) from stationary combustion sources have been measured without dilution or cooling in Japan, condensable PM has not been included in Japanese emission inventories. In this study, we modified an emission inventory to include condensable PM from stationary combustion sources based on the recent emission surveys using a dilution method. As a result, emission rates of organic aerosol (OA) increased by a factor of 7 over Japan. Stationary combustion sources in the industrial and energy sectors became the largest contributors to OA emissions over Japan in the revised estimates (filterable-plus-condensable PM), while road transport and biomass burning were the dominant OA sources in the previous estimate (filterable PM). These results indicate that condensable PM from large combustion sources makes critical contributions to total PM2.5emissions. Simulated contributions of condensable PM from combustion sources to atmospheric OA drastically increased around urban and industrial areas, including the Kanto region, where OA concentrations increased by factors of 2.5–6.1. Consideration of condensable PM from stationary combustion sources improved model estimates of OA in winter but caused overestimation of OA concentrations in summer. Contributions of primary and secondary OA should be further evaluated by comparing with organic tracer measurements.

The spatial distribution of soil oxidation using a high-voltage pulse generator was evaluated using indigo carmine. The results showed that the amount of indigo carmine decolorization increased with increasing charging voltage and energy input. It was also found that the decolorization of indigo carmine occurred on the surface of the needle electrode, in the discharge path, and near the ground electrode. The probability of discharge penetrating soil increased with decreasing the gap length between the electrode tip and soil surface, which promoted the decolorization reactions. The amount of indigo carmine decolorization per volume decreased with increasing soil depth. When the soil depth was large, discharges reaching the ground electrode could not be confirmed. This suggests that the oxidation reaction of indigo carmine depends on a discharge that penetrates the soil.

In the analysis of actual data, it is important to determine whether there are clusters in the data. This can be done using one of several methods of cluster analysis, which can be roughly divided into hierarchical and nonhierarchical clustering methods. Nonhierarchical clustering can be applied to more types of data than can hierarchical clustering (see e.g., Saito and Yadohisa, 2006), and hence, in this paper, we focus on nonhierarchical clustering. In nonhierarchical clustering, the results heavily depend on the number of clusters, and thus it is very important to select the appropriate number of clusters. Bozdogan (1986) and Manning et al. (2009, Section 16.4.1) used formal information criteria, e.g., Aakaike's information criterion (AIC) and so on, for selecting the number of clusters. In this paper, we verify that such formal information criteria work poorly for selecting the number of clusters by conducting numerical examinations. Hence, we extend a formal AIC by adding a new penalty term, and search for an additional penalty with an acceptable selection-performance through numerical experiments.

In the present study, the degradation of organic contaminants by streamer discharge using a pulsed power generator under water is investigated. The experiments are conducted based on the decolorization of two dyes, Acid Red 1 and Acid Blue 74, and the decomposition of 1,4-dioxane. A gas-liquid separated reactor is developed and employed to achieve degradation with high energy efficiency. A tungsten wire electrode is placed in the gas phase, and a grounded 316 stainless steel wire is immersed in the water. The pulsed high voltage is generated by a magnetic pulse compression circuit and is applied to the wire electrode to generate streamer discharges in the gas region, which propagate into the bubble injected into the water. Oxygen and argon gases are injected to identify the dominant reactions of the degradation of organic contaminants. Acid Red 1 and Acid Blue 74 solutions are successfully decolorized by the discharges. The ozone produced by discharges in the gas region primarily decolorizes the dye solutions. The total organic carbon (TOC) of the 1,4-dioxane solution decreases due to discharge when argon is injected. The decrement rate of TOC does not increase through gaseous ozone injection or by discharges in the case of oxygen injection. These results show that the chemical species produced by discharges and by chemical reactions in the solution, such as hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl radicals, primarily decompose 1,4-dioxane. Iron ions dissolved by electrolysis enhanced the TOC decrement rate according to the Fenton reaction in acidic conditions.

Catheter ablation of the right bundle branch was performed on an 11-month-old infant for the treatment of drug-resistant bundle branch reentrant ventricular tachycardia. The occurrence of right bundle branch block could not be used as an endpoint of treatment because the patient had presented with incomplete right bundle branch block pattern during sinus rhythm. We performed ablation of the right bundle branch and utilized changes of duration and morphology of the QRS complex as indicators. Eight years have passed with no development of any atrioventricular block or tachycardia episode.

Both anabolism and catabolism of the amino acids released by starvation-induced autophagy are essential for cell survival, but their actual metabolic contributions in adult animals are poorly understood. Herein, we report that, in mice, liver autophagy makes a significant contribution to the maintenance of blood glucose by converting amino acids to glucose via gluconeogenesis. Under a synchronous fasting-initiation regimen, autophagy was induced concomitantly with a fall in plasma insulin in the presence of stable glucagon levels, resulting in a robust amino acid release. In liver-specific autophagy (Atg7)-deficient mice, no amino acid release occurred and blood glucose levels continued to decrease in contrast to those of wild-type mice. Administration of serine (30 mg/animal) exerted a comparable effect, raising the blood glucose levels in both control wild-type and mutant mice under starvation. Thus, the absence of the amino acids that were released by autophagic proteolysis is a major reason for a decrease in blood glucose. Autophagic amino acid release in control wild-type livers was significantly suppressed by the prior administration of glucose, which elicited a prompt increase in plasma insulin levels. This indicates that insulin plays a dominant role over glucagon in controlling liver autophagy. These results are the first to show that liver-specific autophagy plays a role in blood glucose regulation.

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations were measured and their composition was analysed at many sites around The Loop Road No. 8 (Traffic 100,000 vehicle/day) to determine the source contribution to SPM in the central part of Tokyo. It was found that SPM concentrations decreased with distance from the road. SPM concentrations decreased with distance by about 20% at 100m from the road. Total SPM in winter was composed of three main components carbon by 40%, ions by 30% and metals by 10%. Principal component analysis was performed for the data set of 16 data and 25 variables and identified three principal components, explaining 86.4% of total variance of SPM. The first principal component, which accounts for 64.3% of the total SPM, is regarded as an overall contamination index. The most plausible source of this component may be waste and biomass burning. The second principal component may be road dust and the third principal component may be attributable to automotive exhaust emissions.

We analyzed the alteration of BRCAIin DNA obtained from 83 individuals of 13 Japanese site‐specific ovarian cancer families and 6 breast‐ovarian cancer families. Six germline mutations were detected in 7 families, which consisted of 4 breast‐ovarian cancer and 3 site‐specific ovarian cancer families, by single‐strand conformation polymorphism analysis, followed by direct sequence determination. The mutations included three framcshifts, two nonsense mutations, and one missense mutation causing loss of a zinc‐binding motif. The frequency of loss of heterozygosity at the microsatellite markers on the BRCAIgene was 57% (8 of 14 cases) in site‐specific ovarian cancer families, and 100% (6 of 6 cases) in breast‐ovarian cancer families. All tumors of the patients carrying a mutation of BRCAIshowed deletion of wild‐type alleles, implicating BRCAIas a tumor suppressor gene. Tbese results suggest tbat germline mutations of the BRCAIgene play an important role in the carcinogen‐esis of breast and/or ovarian cancer in a majority of breast‐ovarian cancer families and in some site‐specific ovarian cancer families.

To clarify the mechanism of reactivation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in pregnancy, cell mediated immunity to CMV was investigated in 108 pregnant and 29 postpartal women employing the leukocyte migration inhibition technique. It was demonstrated that CMV‐specific cell mediated immunity was suppressed as gestation progressed in 20% of the seropositive women during the first trimester, in 78% during the second trimester and in all at term. The suppression of cell mediated immunity during pregnancy ceased 8 weeks after parturition. The results suggested that reactivation of CMV in pregnancy was probably caused by the suppression of CMV‐specific cell mediated immunity.

ETV using a tungsten boat furnace was studied in combination with an axially viewed (end-on) horizontal ICP for improvement in sensitivity. A high-dispersion echelle spectrometer in which wavelength modulation and second-derivative signal detection are incorporated was used. Time-resolved spectra were obtained by using an emission intensity–time–wavelength profiling method. In order to obtain a high S/B, the heating programme of the ETV system, the flow rate of the transport gas and the delay time are important in addition to the plasma conditions. Once the optimum conditions have been established, reproducible peak appearance times can be obtained. The net emission intensity, repeatability and limit of detection (LOD) obtained by ETV end-on ICP-AES were compared with those obtained by end-on pneumatic nebulization ICP-AES. The improved LODs were close to those obtained by pneumatic nebulization ICP-MS. Discrimination between the Fe impurity in the tungsten boat and spiked Fe was possible using time resolution. Trace amounts of Mn and Al in a large amount of Mo and Fe, respectively, were time-resolved at neighbouring wavelengths. The chemical species of the vaporized materials were identified by X-ray microanalysis. The main disadvantage of the method is that nitric and sulfuric acids cannot be used.

Serum methanol extracts were obtained from nine women with the galactorrhea-amenorrhea syndrome, 24 pregnant women in the third trimester, and 18 normal men and women. The serum extract released prolactin (PRL) in significant amounts from rat anterior pituitary in vitro. The extracts from patients with galactorrhea-amenorrhea released PRL in large quantities. A significant positive correlation was observed between the PRL-releasing activity and serum PRL levels in individual samples from the pregnant women and normal subjects but not from the patients with galactorrhea-amenorrhea. Bromocriptine therapy suppressed serum PRL levels of five patients without tumors but increased the PRL-releasing activity in three out of five patients after treatment for 1 or 2 months. Apparently hypothalamic regulation of PRL secretion was disrupted in these three patients after bromocriptine therapy.

Following a previous report [1] we ascertained the effectiveness of sizofiran (Schizophyllan:SPG) to prolong the survival and time to recurrence of the patients with Stage II or III cervical cancer, as evaluated in a 5-year randomized controlled study conducted in 19 institutions in Japan.

Successful in vitro fertilization requires mature oocytes in which the first polar body has been extruded and capacitated sperm capable of penetrating the zona pellucida. In this study we made a time sequential observations on human sperm-egg interactions by SEM in two experimental systems.Human sperm - human zona pellucida interaction: (1) Cytoplasmic processes of corona cell extend around sperm head. (2) Spermatozoa took different angles in attaching or penetrating to the zona pellucida. The head of some spermatozoa bound to the zona were vesiculated, suggesting the progression of the acrosomal reaction. (3) Initially, the anterior part of the sperm head penetrates from the pore of the zona pellucida.Human sperm - zona-free hamster egg interaction: (1) Most spermatozoa lie flat on the vitellus surface covered with numerous microvilli, but a few are oriented perpendicular to the vitellus surface. Most bound sperm had lost their acrosomal caps, because a ridge exists at the leading edge of the equatorial segment. (2) Initially most microvilli appeared to grasp and immobilize the anterior tip of the sperm head. But as gamete interaction proceeded, microvilli were overlying the postacrosomal region and were observed adjacent to the plasma membrane of the postacrosomal region. The postacrosomal region is first incorporated into the ooplasma, the anterior tip of sperm head being the last portion to be incorporated. (3) The microvilli of the oolemmal surface where sperm penetrated did not show major changes in size or in appearance, and the so-called incorporation cone was not observed.

In an experiment performed to investigate the effect of LH-RH on the anterior pituitary of rats, we studied the changes in the concentration of 3′,5′-cyclic AMP in the anterior pituitary and the uridine uptake by the anterior pituitary following the intravenous injection of 100 ng LH-RH. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1) The tissue level of 3′,5′-cyclic AMP in the anterior pituitary reached the highest peak 15 min after the injection of LH-RH. 2) The uridine uptake of the anterior pituitary began to increase 15 min after the LH-RH injection and attained a maximum level (5 to 6 times the normal level) in 30 min. 3) The fact that the uridine uptake was inhibited to a considerable extent by the addition of actinomycin D to the incubation medium suggested that uridine was incorporated into the RNA fraction.

To determine the usefulness of transvaginal ultrasonographic cervical assessment for the prediction of preterm delivery in an apparently normal population, 729 pregnant women (between 15 and 34 weeks' gestation) were randomly enrolled in the study in ten tertiary perinatal centers in Japan. Cervical parameters, including cervical length, internal os dilatation, and funneling depth, were measured by transvaginal ultrasound. The predictive values of these measurements for preterm delivery were investigated in a prospective fashion. Among various cervical parameters, cervical length showed the best correlation with pregnancy outcome. Cervical length (mm) was gradually decreased as the gestational age progressed, the regression line being y = 41.21 - 0.22x. When the mean cervical length minus 1 standard deviation at each gestational age was chosen as a cut-off value, the group with a shortened cervix showed a significantly high preterm delivery rate exclusively in the primigravidae (odds ratio: 4.86, 95% CI: 1.85-12.72). Internal os dilatation, in contrast, was a useful predictor in multiparous women (odds ratio: 6.00, 95% CI: 1.65-21.71). It was concluded that tranvaginal ultrasonographic cervical assessment, especially the measurement of cervical length, was effective for the prediction of preterm delivery in the primigravidae.

High-voltage and plasma applications to keep the freshness and quality of agricultural produce are described focusing on functions of plasma in each application of a post-harvest stage. The high voltage and the plasma are used for decontamination of airborne bacteria in a storage house and a transport container of agricultural produce. The working mechanisms of the decontamination are mainly caused by inactivation through the oxidization process with reactive oxygen species and the collection of airborne bacteria as an electric precipitating process. The plasma is also used to maintain a freshness by decomposition of the agricultural produce exhausting gases such as ethylene, which works as a plant hormone and accelerates ripening of some kind produces in a mix-loading container. The decomposition of the ethylene is mainly an oxidization process by the atomic oxygen in dry gas condition. The ethylene is also decomposed by hydroxyl radical under the humid air condition.

A high-power pulsed sputtering (HPPS) discharge source was evaluated experimentally as the ion source for droplet-free plasma processes. The basic configuration of the HPPS source consisted of a hollow cathode arrangement. A rectangular pulse voltage with an amplitude ranging from ?330 to ?1200 V and a pulse width of 600 ?s was applied. The magnetic field used to reduce electron losses at the gap between the target was 0.2 T and was parallel to the electric field in the ion sheath. The current density on the target with the magnets (HPPS) was approximately 15 kA m?2and was one order of magnitude higher than that without the magnets [hollow-cathode discharge (HCD)]. The ion density of the HPPS discharge was approximately 3.4 × 1018m?3at 30 mm apart from the electrode edge and decreased to 2.2 × 1017m?3by changing from an HPPS discharge to an HCD.

The behavior of argon inductively coupled plasma (ICP) driven by a 150 kHz-band high-voltage pulse burst is investigated using the mutual induction circuit model and a spatially averaged global model. A high-voltage of 4 kV was applied to the 50-turns solenoid coil to generate a magnetic field in the 52 mm inner diameter glass tube. The coil current of 47 A flowed into the solenoid coil with 83 O of equivalent load impedance before the plasma ignition. The coil voltage and current decreased to 2.0 kV and 30 A with plasma ignition. The measured waveforms of the coil voltage and current were used to obtain the electrical characteristics based on the equivalent circuit with the mutual induction circuit model. The magnetic coupling factor was obtained to be in range from 0.6 to 0.7 at various gas pressers and input power. The characterization of the ICP was analyzed using the global model with 200 us width burst pulse. The electron temperature and plasma density were obtained as 2-3 eV and 1019 m[?]3, respectively, at an input power of several kilo-watts. These values were almost consistent with those measured using a double probe. The densities of the exited argon atom were estimated to be 1017 m[?]3.

A poly(vinylsulfonic acid) (PVSA)-grafted poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) was simply prepared by one-pot, γ-ray radiation-induced graft polymerization of the vinylsulfonic acid (VSA) solution dissolving PEEK. The VSA-highly-grafted PEEK membrane possessed high ion exchange capacity (e.g., 7.2 mequiv g−1) and showed proton conductivity in the order of 10−1and 10−3–10−6S cm−1under hydrated and nonhumidified conditions, respectively.

The effect of an AC electric field on the freshness of marine products was experimentally investigated. An AC voltage of 10 kV with 50 Hz in frequency was generated with a transformer and applied to a plane electrode set in an incubator. The biological material was the gonad of purple sea urchin. The AC electric field with 50 Hz in frequency was applied to the gonad at [?]1 degC for 7 days. Freshness was evaluated by measuring protein release and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. The results showed that the protein release and LDH activity in the gonad were suppressed by applying the AC electric field, compared with that without the AC electric field. Moreover, the gonad was treated with the AC electric field at [?]5 degC for 3 days and then preserved at 0 degC for 1 day without the field. This electrical field treatment of the gonad prolonged the freshness date for more than 10 days under 4 degC preservation condition. In addition, the permeability of the cell membrane was suppressed by applying the AC electric field. Concerning the relationship between permeability and AC electric field, the conformational change of bovine serum albumin (BSA) induced by the AC electric field was evaluated on the basis of UV absorption spectra. The results revealed that the secondary and/or higher-order structure gradually changes with preservation period. The conformational change of the BSA molecule was induced by applying the AC electric field.

The influence of sodium carbonate on the decomposition of formic acid by discharge inside bubbles in water was investigated experimentally. Oxygen or argon gases were injected into the water through a vertically positioned glass tube, in which the high-voltage wire electrode was placed to generate plasmas at low applied voltage. The concentration of formic acid was determined by ion chromatography. In the case of sodium carbonate additive, the pH increased owing to the decomposition of the formic acid. In the case of oxygen injection, the percentage of conversion of formic acid increased with increasing pH because the reaction rate of ozone with formic acid increased with increasing pH. In the case of argon injection, the percentage of conversion was not affected by the pH owing to the high rate loss of hydroxyl radicals.

CAA0225 ((2S,3S)-oxirane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid 2-[((S)-1-benzylcarbamoyl-2-phenyl-ethyl)-amide] 3-{[2-(4-hydroxy-phenyl)-ethyl]-amide}) is a cathepsin L-specific inhibitor recently selected out by extensive screening of a series of new epoxysuccinyl peptides. CAA0225 inhibited rat liver cathepsin L with IC50 values of 1.9 nM, but not rat liver cathepsin B (IC50, >1000-5000 nM). We compared effects of CAA0225 on autophagy with those of CA-074 that was previously developed as a cathepsin B-specific inhibitor. In HeLa and Huh-7 cells cultured under nutrient-deprived conditions both CAA0225 and CA-074 significantly and comparably inhibited degradation of long-lived proteins. Meanwhile, CAA0225 effectively inhibited degradation of LC3-II and GABARAP, whereas CA-074-OMe had only a marginal effect on their levels. Therefore, cathepsin L does not seem to play a general role in the degradation of proteins in the lumen of autophagosomes, but is involved more specifically in the degradation of autophagosomal membrane markers.

The most effective catalyst for leading reaction between azidoformate and allylic ethers to formation of 1-alkoxy-1-(alkoxycarbonylimino)alkane is PdCl2(PhCN)2; Pd(PPh3)4can hardly show catalytic activity when pure reactants are employed.