Thursday November 23, 2023 – Faculty of Dentistry, Khon Kaen University reported the success in treatment of patient by customized-temporomandibular joint prosthesis for bilateral total TMJs reconstruction and jaw-in-a-day with fibula free flap reconstruction, at Sirikunakorn Room 3, Sirikunakorn Building, Khon Kaen University.

Assoc. Prof. Saowalak Limmonthon, D.D.S., Head of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery reported that the principle missions of the Department are to provide service in general, a specific oral treatment, and diagnosis for amending oral abnormality. Up to now, the Department has adopted the 3-D technology to treat patients in order to reduce the time spent in the operation hall. This mission was successful and the patient could resume his normal lifestyle. The press conference today has been held to public relate to all sectors about the success of Thai dentists in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery of the success in bone reconstruction innovation and temporomandibular joint prosthesis.
Asst. Prof. Ajiravudh Subarnbhesaj, Ph.D., D.M.D., Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, Khon Kaen University said that he was very happy to join in congratulating another major step of the Faculty in the success of customized-temporomandibular joint prosthesis for bilateral total TMJs reconstruction and jaw-in-a-day with fibula free flap reconstruction, which is the first case of the Northeast, and the two dentists and their team from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
“This is another pride of the Faculty, of the success in treating a patient with the bone reconstruction innovation and temporomandibular joint prosthesis. The success corresponds to the determination of the Faculty of Dentistry of Khon Kaen University in academic service and development of the profession towards advanced dental service to the community with the best quality and standard.”

Doctor Nipon Khlai-on, D.D.S., a lecturer of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery added about treatment with customized-temporomandibular joint prosthesis for bilateral total TMJs reconstruction, that the patient received treatment under the clinical research project after the diagnosis showed that the patient had severe temporomandibular joint disorder, which could be related to the congenital disease, i.e., the connective tissue disease, leading to decomposition of jaw joints. This affected the patient’s daily living from inability to chew by front teeth and inability to close the mouth.

The customized-temporomandibular joint prosthesis consists of two approaches: by TMJ prosthesis and autogenous graft/flap. The dentist team planned the treatment by replacing the jaws with an entire set of false jaws at the joints and at the sockets of the mandibular joints by autogenous flap. The reconstruction was done on both sides. The outstanding point was that there were only few operations performed. The patient did not suffer pain at many points and other tissues were not interfered. Moreover, the patient was able to quickly train in the joint therapy and resume the chewing.

“The work piece was constructed from a simulated model similar to a normal person with the same size. The design technology was from advanced computer program by specialized engineer possessing high skill in constructing false human organs. The materials used were titanium alloy and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. The modern equipment was from CTEC laboratory that received international standard certification. The workpiece is about 8 cm high, 2.5 cm wide and 0.5 cm thick. It was fixed to the remaining part of the patient’s jaw.”
No severe complications were found after the operations. Now, it is the following up stage – during the 5 month period after the operation. Overall, the patient is able to use the false jaw nearly normally, can eat food and the quality of life has been improved.
“The treatment is the first time of Thailand and is a new design with different form from other false jaws. It fitted firmly in the socket. Thus, this marks a chance in the dentistry circle in assisting other patients with the same condition. There are many patients with the loss of the temporomandibular joints from removing tumor, from accidents or from dissolving like this case.”

The patient who is a male aged 57 years said after the treatment that he had had difficult time living especially in chewing food. After the team of dentists from Khon Kaen University treated him, he has been able to resume the normal life and can eat like before. The patient then thanked the dentists and told other patients not to worry and to come to Khon Kaen University for treatment.
Doctor Teerat Joengprapakorn, D.M.D., from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery said that the patient was diagnosed with benign tumor on the lower jaw, and it was necessary to remove it. Therefore, reconstruction was required by the use of leg bone and vein connection.
Reconstruction of temporomandibular joint by using leg bone and vein connection is the method popular for over 40 years. The leg bone reconstructed enables dentist to make false teeth that enable the patient to chew. However, false teeth fixed on leg bone require time and many operations. A patient has to wait 12 to 18 months before false teeth can be fixed in.

The dentists therefore decided to treat by using leg bone to reconstruct the jaw and connecting the vein, after which an implant was fixed by just one operation. This is possible by implanting on the leg bone used on the operation day and planning for dentures within one day. For this operation, a computer program was used together with the use of a customized reconstruction plate.
“The surgery was introduced for the first time in 2013, but in Thailand the first surgery was in 2022, at the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University. The case of patient presented here is the third case of Thailand and the first case in Isan, which was a success.””
After the surgery, the patient recovered well and did not develop any complications from the
operation of leg bone. No other negative condition was found. The implant and dentures could be
used normally. The patient could return home within 2 weeks after being operated. Normally, this should require two operations and 12-18 months altogether before a patient can have the false teeth.

A female patient aged 54 years old related that after she learned that she had oral cancer, she felt completely disparate. Luckily, the team of dentists of Khon Kaen University helped performing operations on her until she is now able to live normally. Her highest hope is not to have a beautiful face, but to be able to live with her children as long as possible. The lady then thanked the dentist team for the assistance.

News: Panit Khatnak

[Thai]

The post KKU Dentistry announces success in treatment of patient with “Bone Reconstruction Innovation – Temporomandibular Joint”, the first case in Thailand and Isan appeared first on KHON KAEN UNIVERSITY.

The Faculty of Associated Medical Science under cooperation with the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Architecture, and the private sector, organized a project (CIGUS) for promoting the production of low-cost side-positioning bed to the community.

Presently, the society is facing the problem of the aging population era, in which there are non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that do not occur from pathogen and do not spread from person to person. The disease, occurring from people behaviors, continuously increases. Thus, analyses have been jointly conducted by the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Associated Medical Science led by Prof. Wichai Ungpinitpong, Ph.D., the inventor of the “Smart Bed – Assisting in Turning Patient to One Side”, and the Faculty of Architecture led by Asst. Prof. Surakan Ruaysoongnern, Ph.D. The project was then initiated, called “The Promotion of Low-Cost Side-Positioning Beds for Bed-ridden Patients to the Community”. This project is under the CIGUS Project (C – community, I – industry, G – government, U – university, S – society), where the bodies of knowledge from Khon Kaen University are transferred to the community to help solving problems. The project has been carried out twice, the first time on September 21-22, 2023 and the second on October 27, 2023 at Ban Ton Sub-district, Phra Yuen District, Khon Kaen.

September 21-22, 2023 – the working team transferred knowledge related to the method of usage and bed making to the community people, both theoretically and practically.

October 27, 2023 – The Faculty of Associated Medical Science led by Asst. Prof. Amornrat Jamniansong, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Administration and Strategies and Prof. Wichai Ungpinitpong, Ph.D., presented 3 side-positioning beds to Ban Ton Sub-district Municipality and 2 side-positioning beds to Nong Waeng Sub-district Municipality, totaling 5 beds. Prof. Wichai Ungpinitpong gave a talk on the use of the side-positioning bed; Asst. Prof. Surakan Ruaysoongnern gave another talk on the process of making the side-positioning bed; and Dr. Worawut Chompoopan talked on care of bed-ridden patients on the side-positioning bed.

News / Photos: Jeeranatcha

[Thai]

     

  

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Solution of pollution from industrial factories and management of waste or biomass is the challenge for industrial factories that do not only need to dispose of wastes correctly, but also to optimally utilize the wastes by environmental friendly methods.

Even though this is a big issue of an industrial factory, Prof. Alissara Ruangsaeng, Ph.D., a lecturer of the Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Technology, Khon Kaen University and her team have the answer and the approach to completely solve this problem.

Professor Alissara explained that the research entitled, “Digestion of Wastewater from Biogas Production and Filter Residues for Two-Stage Hydrogen and Methane Production” is the research query from B.B.G.I Bioethanol (Public Company) Nam Phong Branch. The company wants to use “Filter Cake”, which is the residue remained from filtering and separating sugar cane juice in the sugar manufacturing process, to digest with wastewater from the biogas production process.

“Khon Kaen University opens a space for PhD students to perform research with the industry and solve industrial problems by incorporating the knowledge from Biohythane Prototype Factory of Khon Kaen University. This research is the PhD thesis of Mr. Worapong Wong-amat, a student under the Researcher and Research Development for Industry Project, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Technology.”

Wastewater from biogas production process is the molasses from ethanol production used for producing biogas. It still has high contents of dirtiness and organic matters and cannot thus be discharged into the environment. The wastewater should be recycled in energy production by digesting with filter cakes by the anaerobic two-stage digestive approach, the result of which is hydrogen and methane.

The process yields bioenergy in the form of hydrogen and methane gases, with hydrogen as the outcome of the first step and methane as the outcome of the second step.

“A lot of people are interested in this research, so it can be used for utilization of industrial wastes, especially from sugar and ethanol production processes. The technology is to be transferred to the company that raised the research query, for extension at the industrial level. At the same time, the research team of Khon Kaen University has already published the research work in an international journal and has applied for the petty patent.”

Professor Alissara added that the two-stage hydrogen and methane production by digesting wastewater from biogas process and filter cakes is the research that answers the conceptual issues of BCG (Bio, Circular, and Green Economy Model), for it makes use of agricultural industrial wastes as raw materials to produce clean energy, i.e., hydrogen and methane.

Panit Khatnak

[Thai]

The post A great breakthrough! KKU’s successful research on changing waste from sugar industry – from ethanol to bio-energy that aims at reducing global warming and Zero Waste appeared first on KHON KAEN UNIVERSITY.

Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University and the Plant Breeding and Multiplication Association of Thailand (PBMAT) organized the 8th National Conference on Leguminous Crops under the concept: “Research and innovation of leguminous crops of Thailand for food security”. The Conference was aimed at promoting the crops and the network for producing good seeds adequate for the food chain and sustainable food security.

Tuesday July 25, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. – The 8th National Conference on Leguminous Crops under the concept: “Research and innovation of leguminous crops of Thailand for food security” was organized at Room AG7011, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, by the Faculty of Agriculture and the Plant Breeding and Multiplication Association of Thailand (PBMAT). The opening ceremony was honored to have Assoc. Prof. Darunee Chotishyangkoon, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture presiding over. The ceremony began with Asst. Prof. Piya Kittipadakul, Ph.D., President of the Plant Breeding and Multiplication Association of Thailand (PBMAT) delivering the reporting speech and presenting honorary trophies to the 4 benefactors in the field of leguminous crops of Thailand, namely, 1) Mr. Somsak Itthipong, an official pensioner of the Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives; 2) Mr. Somchai Pa-oplek, Director of the Agricultural Research and Development Center, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives; 3) Asst. Prof. Jirawat Sanitchon, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Administration, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University; and 4) Dr. Nisa Meesaeng, an expert in soil management with plant systems, Division of Research and Development of Land Management, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The next part featured 4 special talks on: “Research Innovations of Leguminous Crops: the Future Food Crops – Opportunities and Challenges for Thailand”; “Deployment of Soybean in Thailand in the Perspective of the Private Sector”; “Research Proposal Writing Technique for Scholarship Award”; and “New Technology for Inspecting Genetic Differences”. The next session was a forum on the topic of “Leguminous Crops – Chance of Survival for Thailand and Food Security”. The Conference also featured presentations of 55 research studies, divided into 14 oral presentations and 41 poster presentations. There were exhibitions at the event of research works and products from the governmental and private sectors. Attendants included 120 researchers, academics, lecturers, students, related and interested people from different departments under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, academic institutions, and private organizations.

Asst. Prof. Piya Kittipadakul, Ph.D., President of the Plant Breeding and Multiplication Association of Thailand (PBMAT) reported that the National Conference on Leguminous Crops is a stage that promotes and supports researchers, academicians, agricultural promotion offices and relevant personnel from different organizations to present their works and research and development progresses related to leguminous crops. Participants are able to exchange knowledge and experiences and obtain useful information for the planning of research and development of leguminous crops. Another objective is to encourage new researchers to see the importance of leguminous crops so that all will cooperate in developing research on leguminous crops towards food security of the country. The Conference has been organized continuously every two years since 2026. The latest was the 7th Conference in 2019 at Lanna Rajamangala University of Technology, Pitsanulok. The Conference was skipped in 2021 due to Covid pandemic. In Khon Kaen, the 3rd Conference was organized in 2011 and this is the second time it has been held in Khon Kaen, on July 25-26, 2023..

Assoc. Prof. Darunee Chotishyangkoon, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture said in her opening speech that leguminous crops have had their important role in Thai economy and society for a long time, for Thailand is both the producer and user of the crops. Each year, there is great circulation of money in this sector from the production, marketing, manufacturing into different products and utilization of the crops, both in the country and abroad, involving many thousands of million baht a year. However, productivity of soybean, mung bean, peanut, and other nuts in Thailand is still low until we need to import some products from foreign countries, especially soybean, which is imported at over 98% of the demand in the country. Thus, it is necessary to conduct research and development of leguminous crops regularly in order to increase the efficiency of production and productivity and to lessen the import. As a result, the research and development will lead to the national food security. This Conference is very useful for the national research and development work, for it is the stage for presentation of research outcomes and for exchanging experiences among researchers and relevant personnel from many sectors. It will increase the efficiency and potentialities in building bodies of knowledge that will lead to improvement of productivity and quality of the crops. The special lectures and forum by experts and the exhibitions would help extending the research works and build broader networks for academic collaboration, leading to food security and sustainability of farmers. The key foundation in this regard is the research and development to increase the competitive competency of the country.

News / Photos: Benjamaporn Mamook

[Thai]

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KKU is molding “agricultural drone pilots”, a new trending occupation that can bring incomes to new-generation farmers in communities by transferring techniques and knowledge in the control of agricultural drones and various agricultural techniques to farmers, getting them ready to plan business models for sustainable occupations.

Labor-saving agriculture by the use of animals has turned to a historical image, while machines such as tillers and sowing trucks have become trendy tools in the present farming and are used in parallel with human labor. However, farmers still face some limitations of human labor that requires a lot of time and costs. At the same time, tillers can get stuck in mudholes during the rainy season or they are not able to enter the area when farm produce grows bigger.
“These problems will be solved with new technologies such as agricultural drones that help reducing costs and time. A drone works efficiently and rapidly by spraying over 3 rais of land in only 10 minutes. Moreover, it can spray chemicals and sow seeds in all areas. In the future, drones are going to be a new trend in agriculture, just like the walking tiller that replaced animals and the driven tiller that replaced the walking tiller.”

Assoc. Prof. Khwantree Saengprachatanarak, Ph.D., a lecturer of the Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University, explained about the rationale of the Agricultural Drone Pilot Occupation Development Project that the Department of Agricultural Engineering has continuously conducted a study and developed the innovations for agriculture, especially the innovation involving agricultural drones for plant protection, assessment of conditions and productivity of plants by the use of drones. The knowledge in this regard has been developed since 2016 until now. The knowledge was extended in the training with an aim to develop community areas and develop farmers to become Smart Farmers.

Agricultural drone left unused because there is no pilot.
The Agricultural Drone Pilot Occupation Development Project began from researchers entering the area to perform surveys on farmers in Chaiyaphum and found that the farmers were facing the problem of shortage of labor. At the same time, the attempt to use technologies to facilitate farmers such as the use of agricultural drones is not successful. Farmers working with big plantation fields were found to own drones, but 70% of which were left unused, for there was no skillful pilot. The Faculty of Engineering by the Department of Agricultural Engineering and Department of Computer Engineering thus joined with the Department of Agricultural Economics, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture; and Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences to conduct the

project after seeing the importance of it.
“The aged society results in shortage of agricultural labor, while a lot of new-generation laborers returned to their hometown after Covid. Khon Kaen University therefore wanted to build a new occupation, the agricultural drone pilots, by training the community new-generation farmers to become “Young Smart Farmers.”
Transfer of knowledge of business models

Assoc. Prof. Khwantree added that the Agricultural Drone Pilot Occupation Development Project surveyed the context of the area and used the results as the topics of the training on the control of drones, drone maintenance, and effective management of the use of batteries, which would make the use of drones worthwhile. The training included topics on the advantages and limitations of each version and size of drones, the selection method for specific use, the selection of appropriate nozzles for spraying, the sizes of droplets, cross-section widths, speeds, and flying heights that are appropriate for each situation, including solution of problems that occur during strong winds.

The training also provided knowledge about the use of spray agents in order to assist decomposition of sugar cane leaves, rice stubbles, and crop remains for reduction of burning and at the same time helps in fertilizing the soil. There were also topics on the accurate selection of chemicals that control weeds by giving example of chemical sets and the right method of mixing for good activation when used on drones as well as the selection of chemicals that are suitable to the type and moisture of soils. A professional drone pilot was the trainer at the workshop for 3 days last May.

“The trainees had a chance to practice controlling the drone. Those who can drive the drone already asked the expert for solutions of different problems. There was a session where the trainer and trainees exchanged knowledge and experiences together, from the technique in preparing the chemicals, drone flying technique, nozzle changing, and maintenance and cleaning of drones.”

A new trending occupation that will bring sustainable income
It was not only training of piloting agricultural drones, but the Project also built a network for coordination from the financial institution, the governmental sector and the private sector in the area, from which a business model for hiring spraying drones has been created in 3 forms. The 70 trainees have understood the sole-investment model, SME hiring model, how to invest on drones, cars and tools or the model of hiring and dividing percentages with the pilot, and the model of drone purchase by big-plantation farmers before the member who is a pilot rents the drone for his job.
“The occupation of agricultural drone pilot in Isan is still a new occupation in which there are a lot of market gaps. The survey showed that this agricultural drone pilot occupation can create 20,000 – 50,000 baht of incomes. In the future, it can be the occupation that makes sustainable income for farmers in the community.”

Although the training under the Agricultural Drone Pilot Occupation Development Project ended, the related knowledge and technologies are not going to stop. The Department of Computer Engineering and the Department of Agricultural Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University have created the online platform called, “Drone Learning Space”, as an area for exchanging of experiences and for information seeking or learning of techniques of agricultural drones. The online drone learning space can be reached at all time and from anywhere, enabling people to train to be a professional agricultural drone pilot.

News: Phanit Khatanak

[Thai]

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