Mahidol University

About: Mahidol University is a education organization based out in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Malaria. The organization has 23758 authors who have published 39761 publications receiving 878781 citations.

Service brand equity and employee brand commitment

Abstract: Purpose – The aims of this article are to measure the brand equity of service firms (luxury hotels) using a customer perspective, to identify factors that predict customers’ brands relationships and to explore the links between service brand equity and employee brand commitmentDesign/methodology/approach – Two surveys were conducted to achieve the research objectives. The first survey objective was to measure brand equity using a sample of 250 international customers of five‐star hotels in Bangkok. The second survey objective was to collect information regarding employee brand commitment in each selected hotel using a sample of 250 employees.Findings – Results show that hotels belonging to the same category have different brand equity and that brand differentiation and brand trust are the variables that have the major influence on customer brand relationships. Perceived service quality and associations related to hotel core services are not related to brand relationships. High hotel brands equity have a s...

A randomized controlled trial of chloroquine for the treatment of dengue in Vietnamese adults.

Abstract: Background There is currently no licensed antiviral drug for treatment of dengue. Chloroquine (CQ) inhibits the replication of dengue virus (DENV) in vitro.

Evidence of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Multidrug Resistance to Artemisinin and Piperaquine in Western Cambodia: Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine Open-Label Multicenter Clinical Assessment.

Abstract: Western Cambodia is recognized as the epicenter of Plasmodium falciparum multidrug resistance. Recent reports of the efficacy of dihydroartemisinin (DHA)-piperaquine (PP), the latest of the artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) recommended by the WHO, have prompted further investigations. The clinical efficacy of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine in uncomplicated falciparum malaria was assessed in western and eastern Cambodia over 42 days. Day 7 plasma piperaquine concentrations were measured and day 0 isolates tested for in vitro susceptibilities to piperaquine and mefloquine, polymorphisms in the K13 gene, and the copy number of the Pfmdr-1 gene. A total of 425 patients were recruited in 2011 to 2013. The proportion of patients with recrudescent infections was significantly higher in western (15.4%) than in eastern (2.5%) Cambodia (P <10(-3)). Day 7 plasma PP concentrations and median 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of PP were independent of treatment outcomes, in contrast to median mefloquine IC50, which were found to be lower for isolates from patients with recrudescent infections (18.7 versus 39.7 nM; P = 0.005). The most significant risk factor associated with DHA-PP treatment failure was infection by parasites carrying the K13 mutant allele (odds ratio [OR], 17.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1 to 308; P = 0.04). Our data show evidence of P. falciparum resistance to PP in western Cambodia, an area of widespread artemisinin resistance. New therapeutic strategies, such as the use of triple ACTs, are urgently needed and must be tested. (This study has been registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry under registration no. ACTRN12614000344695.).

Lactic acidosis and hypoglycaemia in children with severe malaria: pathophysiological and prognostic significance

Abstract: Serial clinical and metabolic changes were monitored in 115 Gambian children (1.5-12 years old) with severe malaria. Fifty-three children (46%) had cerebral malaria (coma score < or = 2) and 21 (18%) died. Admission geometric mean venous blood lactate concentrations were almost twice as high in fatal cases as in survivors (7.1 mmol/L vs. 3.6 mmol/L; P < 0.001) and were correlated with levels of tumour necrosis factor (r = 0.42, n = 79; P < 0.0001) and interleukin 1-alpha (r = 0.6, n = 34; P < 0.0001). Admission blood venous glucose concentrations were lower in fatal cases than survivors (3.2 mmol/L, vs. 5.8 mmol/L; P < 0.0001). Treatment with quinine was associated with significantly more episodes of post-admission hypoglycaemia when compared with artemether or chloroquine. After treatment, lactate concentrations fell rapidly in survivors but fell only slightly, or rose, in fatal cases. Plasma cytokine levels fluctuated widely after admission. Sustained hyperlactataemia (raised lactate concentrations, 4 h after admission) proved to be the best overall prognostic indicator of outcome in this series. Lactic acidosis is an important cause of death in severe malaria.