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Zika infection: an update

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Zika-infection-an-update-30287028.html

HEALTH MATTER

DR GERARD LALANDE
The Nation May 31, 2016 1:00 am

The World Health Organisation’s sudden declaration of the Zika infection as a public health emergency of international concern in early 2016 inevitably generated poorly documented and often sensational headlines.

The World Health Organisation’s sudden declaration of the Zika infection as a public health emergency of international concern in early 2016 inevitably generated poorly documented and often sensational headlines. While these press articles have been relatively accurate in reporting geographical extension, route of contamination and Zika’s effects on patients, they have also partly occluded the relevant scientific facts.

Back then, speculation relating to Zika’s potential severity was primarily based on limited epidemiological data. The numerous studies conducted over the past six months have shed new light on the transmission of the disease and its two major complications, and justify a revision of the article published here last February.

So what is known today about this so-called new epidemic threat?

Like the dengue virus, the Zika virus is transmitted by the ubiquitous Aedes mosquitoes, which are found in tropical areas and southern parts of the western hemisphere. Associated with the cross-border movements of people potentially carrying the pathogen, the Zika infection could indeed spread in all these territories. Likewise, international travellers visiting these affected countries could be exposed to the virus and bring it back home when returning. In consideration of the risk, some scientists are urging postponement of 2016 Olympic games in Brazil, the country which has recorded the highest number of Zika cases so far.

In fact, as of last Wednesday, the virus had been identified in 60 countries, 46 of which are experiencing the first Zika outbreaks since 2015. In the other 14 countries, virus transmission has already been active since 2007. Interestingly, four territories, which had evidenced Zika virus transmission prior to 2014, did not report any new cases for the last 18 months, a sign that the epidemics in these locations were already subsiding.

The Zika virus was first identified in 1947 in Uganda. Besides insignificant outbreaks in Africa, Micronesia and in 2013 in French Polynesia, the recent outbreak, in comparison to other widespread and more severe infectious diseases such as influenza and dengue has induced relatively contained public health challenges among these populations.

Two concerns however deserve continuous research and close attention, namely a foetal defect named microcephaly (a congenital brain condition where a baby’s head is much smaller than average size) and the Guillain-Barr? syndrome, a potentially (although rarely) fatal neurological disorder in adults.

Unproven in February 2016, the cause of microcephaly of children born from pregnant women infected by the virus during the first trimester has recently been established through the identification of the virus in the newborns’ brain and imaging studies. The risk of contracting the malformation is however poorly understood and currently varies from 1 to 29 per cent of pregnancies afflicted by Zika infection during the first trimester.

Similarly, the causality of Zika infection with regard to the occurrence of neurological disorders has also been confirmed and the risk of this complication is estimated at 2.4 cases for every 10,000 infections based on the specificities of the 2013 outbreak in French Polynesia.

Researchers have recently suggested that the severe forms of Zika infections may be linked to co-infection with the dengue virus, which is also quite prevalent in the tropical regions.

With regard to sexual transmission of the virus, sexual contamination has occasionally been reported among heterosexual couples and male homosexuals in the USA but is likely to remain negligible in comparison to mosquito bites.

In consideration of these new findings, the recommendations for pregnant women include travelling precautions in endemic areas, protection against mosquito bites, protected sexual relationships when the partner is infected and the monitoring of pregnancy for any women at risk.

Finally, the change of date or location of the next Olympic games remains a controversy. The anticipated number of foreigners attending the August 2016 Rio games is estimated at half a million. This figure represents less than one per cent of all international travellers visiting Latin American countries where the outbreak is already active. While recommendations for pregnant women remain important to follow, the cancellation of the games alone would not effectively impact on the probable progression of this viral illness.

DR GERARD LALANDE is managing director of CEO-Health, |which provides medical referrals for expatriates and customised |executive medical check-ups in Thailand. He can be contacted at |gerard.lalande@ceo-health.com.

One government agency that’s genuinely funny

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/One-government-agency-thats-genuinely-funny-30287027.html

SOOPSIP

The Nation May 31, 2016 1:00 am

Among the multitudes of private businesses maintaining a presence on the social media, a few – like KFC and Hot Pot Buffet – can be quite entertaining, earning fans with their humorous uploads.

AMONG THE MULTITUDES of private businesses maintaining a presence on the social media, a few – like KFC and Hot Pot Buffet – can be quite entertaining, earning fans with their humorous uploads. It’s rare, though, for a government agency to be as playful as it is informative.

The Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) currently has more than 100,000 followers on Facebook thanks to the witty items posted there. Recently it announced that it was hiring, but the ad drew chuckles with lines like “No application fee, no health check-up needed”, mocking the kind of lures that private firms lay. Applicants, it said, must be able to “peel lychee dry” – not spilling any of the juice.

A lot of people asked if the ad was for real, but regular followers knew the page administrator is always coming up with clever stuff like this.

It’s the sort of content the Department of Intellectual Property would elsewhere be working to protect against copyright thieves. The DIP actually patrols the social networks as well for violations of copyright. It recently shut down one Facebook page that was offering pirated movies (prompting whines about stool pigeons in the crowd). One of that page’s fans offered to “follow” the admin to a new address, a comment the DIP captured and posted with the caution, “Would you follow me to jail too?”

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As of last week the DIP is now on Instagram too (@dipthailand), debuting with a threat: “Well, we now have IG too, so don’t think you can get away with selling counterfeit products. We will stalk you everywhere!”

The hashtag was “#I’d like to be fak ran”, referring to the nasty habit of utilising the comments section on celebrity social-media feeds to sell your own stuff.

Lost in translation

English teacher “Ajarn Adam” Bradshaw, who’s also usually pretty entertaining on the social networks, turned serious on Sunday after someone called actress Araya “Chompoo” Hargate a “joke” on Facebook – “a Thai-American who speaks English poorly”.

Adam, who has as his slogan “chad ver” (extremely clear accent), had heard Chompoo being interviewed in English and decided, “I think she speaks fluently and there’s nothing wrong.

“It’s more likely that person just wants to pick on her out of jealousy,” he told his own followers. He would have stayed out if it, he added, except that “that person” (whose name he concealed in his screen capture) claimed to be an English teacher and able to speak three languages despite having never travelled abroad.

The critic declared that “the American in her [Chompoo] should have been more prominent”. Adam, who’s fully American, suggested that, as a teacher, “that person” should be trying to inspire others to learn, not blowing her own trumpet.

“If English teachers look down on students and try to bluff, Thai students will continue to be scared of speaking English and will never be inspired to learn,” he wrote. They won’t want to speak in English because they’re afraid of being mocked by fellow Thais!

 

Migrants as art

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Migrants-as-art-30286734.html

ART

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
ATHENS May 26, 2016 1:00 am

Tear gas canisters and marble statues mix in a new exhibition by Ai Weiwei

ARTIST AI WEIWEI has opened a new show in one of Athens’ top archaeological museums, with Macedonian police tear gas canisters as one of the main exhibits.

“Ai Weiwei at Cycladic”, which opened last Friday at the Museum of Cycladic Art, features a number of works inspired by Europe’s migrant crisis.

One of them, “Tear bottle/tear gas canister” – a display of canisters alongside antique bottles used to collect the tears of mourners – refers to an incident last month when Macedonian police used tear gas and rubber bullets against refugees trying to enter Macedonia from the Greek border camp of Idomeni.

Outside the museum, there are flags in silver and gold – the colour of emergency blankets given to refugees and migrants by aid groups as they emerge from the cold waters of the Aegean Sea.

One of the flags evokes the image of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler whose tiny body was found lying face down on a Turkish beach in September, drawing global attention to the crisis for the first time.

Ai himself caused a stir earlier this year by re-creating Aylan’s death pose on beach on the island of Lesbos, a key hot spot for new arrivals, in a photo shoot for India Today magazine.

Other exhibits titled “Tyre” and “Zodiac Boat” recall the perilous crossing made by hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants in flimsy rubber vessels, wearing makeshift lifejackets often more likely to kill than to help.

The exhibition runs to October 10.

Ai has taken a personal interest in the thousands of refugees and migrants who have risked their lives to get to Europe, only to find their path barred by a barrage of border closures.

Now a regular visitor to Lesbos, Ai has set up a studio and plans to create a refugee memorial on the island.

In February, he draped thousands of life jackets discarded by migrants arriving in Greece around the columns of Berlin’s Konzerthaus concert hall.

And earlier in May, he visited Gaza for a documentary he is filming on the refugee crisis, as hundreds of Palestinians have also made the treacherous journey.

China’s most prominent contemporary artist, Ai helped design the Bird’s Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics and has been exhibited around the globe, but his works have often fallen foul of China’s authorities.

He was detained in 2011 for 81 days over his advocacy of democracy and human rights as well as other criticisms of the government in Beijing.

Going to war over wildlife

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Going-to-war-over-wildlife-30286733.html

ENTERTAINMENT

MANTA KLANGBOONKRONG
THE NATION May 26, 2016 1:00 am
Carter views a carcass left by poachers. Photo/Ivan Carter

Carter views a carcass left by poachers. Photo/Ivan Carter

An elephant kicks up dust on the Savannah. Photo/Ivan Carter

An elephant kicks up dust on the Savannah. Photo/Ivan Carter

Zebra stampede across the grassland. Photo/Ivan Carter

Zebra stampede across the grassland. Photo/Ivan Carter

Ivan Carter and his team keep their eyes peeled for poachers. Photo/Ivan Carter

Ivan Carter and his team keep their eyes peeled for poachers. Photo/Ivan Carter

Hunter-conservationist Ivan Carter takes viewers deep inside Africa on his quest to stop poachers

PROFESSIONAL HUNTER and committed conservationist Ivan Carter makes his television debut in Asia tonight with “Carter’s WAR”, an Outdoor Channel series that takes viewers deep inside Africa to the frontlines of the war being waged with the continent’s wildlife.

Born and raised in Southern Rhodesia, the country that later became Zimbabwe, Carter brings his 25 years of experience as a professional guide to show how the continent’s most precious resource is in danger of extinction. The series takes viewers on a tense and often heart-breaking journey that sees him attempting to confront the wildlife transgressors trying to destroy its habitats for tusks and horns. “WAR” – it stands for wildlife animal response – will also help viewers understand the constant struggle of the African people and the importance of conservation practices.

We chatted with the 46-year-old while he was in Bangkok earlier this month to promote his show.

WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND “CARTER’S WAR”?

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The way coverage of Africa is handled today, you really only see three things. You look at a news channel and you see all the wars, the drought the starvation and the refugees or you look at Discovery Channel and you see the sunsets and the giraffes. The History Channel focuses on the beautiful people of Africa. Not a single programme talks about a place where the people and the animals meet. Yet in Africa today there are more people than ever before and hence more conflict between wildlife and people than ever before.

With this programme, we try to entertain so viewers will want to know what happens next. Then we want to educate them by providing them information that most of the world doesn’t know. And most importantly we want to show them the solution to these problems in such a way that we all become engaged as a global community. I want people to understand that, for example, thinking about the earth on Earth Day doesn’t save the earth. I want the viewers to become emotionally involved so they want to do something about it, to put all their support behind the people on the frontline who really want to solve the problems. It’s not a dark, unhappy programme but one of hope and solutions.

WHY ARE YOU SO DRIVEN TO TELL THESE STORIES?

It’s not about me; it’s all about our children. My children might not go to Africa as adults, maybe they don’t want to, but we have to preserve the choice for them. Every single day in Africa 100 elephants are killed illegally for their tusks. Those tusks end up getting carved and put in people’s houses as ornaments. Do we want our children to inherit the ornaments or be able to see the animals?

It’s also about the people on the frontline who work hard but are not recognised nor supported. Many times they can’t do the preservation work because there’s not enough funding. And they’re not marketing people. I intend to become their voice.

WHAT DO YOU THINK CAUSES WILDLIFE POACHING?

If there’s something of value, people will try to steal it and sell it – whether it’s cocaine, diamonds, money or rhino horns. The higher the value, the more risks they are willing to take to steal it. One ounce of a rhino horn is sold on black market at US$15,000 or about Bt525,000, and a big rhino can have 10 pounds (4.5kg) of horn. You can imagine the money the horns are worth, and people die trying to steal and sell them. It’s the most expensive commodity on earth.

YOU THINK SELLING WILDLIFE ANIMAL PARTS SHOULD BE MADE LEGAL?

Yes. The rhino horn will grow back but a dead rhino can never come back to life. So if you cut the horn, and legally sold that horn, in five years time the horn is back. If we can dream for a minute here: what if there’s a legal way to trade wildlife? Let’s say every year one distributor takes 20 tonnes of horns cut from the animals and leaves them alive from Africa, and sells the horn. Then people in Africa earn money from the rhinos and every community wants to have rhinos so as to make money. What happens today is nobody wants to have rhinos because security is very expensive and you cannot get a any investment return because there is no way to trade.

We have to open our minds to solutions. Unfortunately with wildlife, the emotion stops the solutions because people think it’s not good to “farm” rhinos, that they’re supposed to be wild. Well, they are going to be extinct pretty soon if they continue to think like that. We should not allow our emotions to override our common sense and steer us away from practical solutions.

WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST SURPRISES IN MAKING THE SHOW?

It was a lot harder than I thought to actually capture real-time events. Everything you see in the show is real; none of it was staged or done just for the camera. The scenes are highly dramatic but never easy to film.

SEASON 2 HAS STARTED FILMING. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?

We started filming early this year. We will be covering the use of military tracker dogs to combat poaching, follow some of the world’s foremost anti-poaching teams and get a rare glimpse into what their lives involve. We will also be filming the move of elephants from an area of great conflict into a new national park. It promises to be a very busy, highly compelling and provocative season.

GREAT ADVENTURE

“Carter’s WAR” premieres at 8 tonight on the Outdoor Channel Asia (True Visions 673). New episodes are broadcast each Thursday.

For more details, check http://www.Facebook.com/IvanCarterSAfrica.

 

Mystery in the Palazzo Cipolla

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Mystery-in-the-Palazzo-Cipolla-30286732.html

ART

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
ROME May 26, 2016 1:00 am

Will Banksy show up to an exhibition of his work in the Italian capital?

A MAJOR EXHIBITION of Banksy’s works has opened in Rome and, as ever with the secretive British street artist, there is mystery attached.

What will he make of a project he has not been involved in? Will he show up incognito? If he doesn’t approve, will he make his displeasure known on the walls of Rome?

The collection of more than 100 Banksy paintings, prints and sculptures sourced from private collections around the world is being billed by organisers as the first time such a large collection of the artist’s work has been brought together in a curated, museum exhibition.

“War, Capitalism and Liberty” runs until September 4 at the Italian capital’s Palazzo Cipolla.

The organisers are a private, not-for-profit foundation who readily admit that Banksy is not associated in any way with an exhibition being staged in the kind of mainstream art venue he has long shunned.

Perhaps because of that, the exhibition includes a wry nod to the artist’s views of the art establishment.

The first work visitors come across is a print of Banksy’s image of an arthouse auction with bidders competing over a frame carrying the slogan “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this s**t.”

In rare interviews, Banksy has described himself as conflicted over the impact the high value of his works may have on his integrity, and the need for all artists to sell their output to survive.

“When you look at how society rewards so many of the wrong people, it’s hard not to view financial reimbursement as a badge of self-serving mediocrity,” he told New York’s Village Voice in an e-mail interview in 2013.

But according to London gallery owner Acoris Andipa, one of the curators, the Rome exhibition demonstrates that the Bristol-based artist has always been willing to sell his work to well-heeled buyers.

“Oh heaven, he has always been commercial because that is how he puts food on his plate,” Andipa says.

The dealer said it was important to distinguish between site-specific Banksy works removed from their street settings to be sold, and works he had himself sold or given away.

Asked what he thinks Banksy would make of the exhibition, he quipped: “I have no idea – you will have to ask him.

“You could be him for all I know. I would imagine he will have quite a giggle.”

Andipa was an early spotter of the likely future value of the “romanticism, immediacy and poignancy” embodied in Banksy’s creations and way of operating.

“If there is one thing that defines him it is intelligence. He is very intelligent, and his artwork is very intelligent.

“Each piece contains its own moral or social story, sometimes through humour sometimes through a bittersweet pill to swallow. At the end of the day he is a very smart individual.”

Emmanuele Emanuele, chairman of the foundation hosting the exhibition, says it demonstrates how Banksy had addressed three central themes of 21st Century life.

“War, the changing nature of capitalism and the fight for individual liberty – this is what is radically changing the face of our society.

“His art tells us that if we throw flowers, instead of bombs and deadly weapons, probably life would be better,” he adds in a reference to one of Banksy’s most emblematic images – a youth throwing flowers in the manner of someone launching a Molotov cocktail.

Andipa says he had owned or sold most of the works on display – and that he had no trouble persuading the owners to lend them for the exhibition.

“A lot of these pieces are here because of a few lunches and telephone calls,” he says “It was a miracle. What you see here came together in a matter of weeks.”

Jewellery that’s crystal clear

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Jewellery-thats-crystal-clear-30286731.html

FASHION

KUPLUTHAI PUNGKANON
THE NATION May 26, 2016 1:00 am

Swarovski looks to the oceans for its new summer collection

WHETHER YOU’RE dressing for a day at the office or a night out, Swarovski will help you sparkle this summer with a new collection inspired by shimmering shades of turquoise, aquamarine and bold pink that reflect the ocean and dramatic hues and shapes that emulate aquatic flora.

In Bangkok recently to introduce the new collection, Robert Buchbauer, chief executive of Swarovski’s Consumer Goods Business, spoke enthusiastically of the expansion of the brand’s jewellery categories and the incorporation of the Daniel Swarovski couture line.

“A lot of our pieces are suitable for both day and night. And I am delighted that the couture pieces are now part of our collection,” he told XP.

Founded in 1895 in Austria and now run by the fifth generation of family members, Swarovski Crystal Business has a global reach with approximately 2,480 stores in 170 countries. Together with its sister companies Swarovski Optik, which manufactures optical devices and Tyrolit, which focuses on bonded abrasives, Swarovski Crystal Business forms the Swarovski Group. In 2013, the Group generated revenue of about 3.02 billion euros (Bt120.4 billion) and had some 30,000 people in its employ.

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Buchbauer, who is the great-great-grandson of Daniel Swarovski, notes that the brand is constantly evolving in terms of design yet never abandons its core principles. “At our core is the ability to fashion any kind of facet while making the crystals sparking and unique. We design new products around that principle and thanks to modern technology, we are constantly introducing new colour schemes. Today, we can do more than 100 colours, which is a very wide spectrum. Moreover, our clear crystals are now lead free. We have been working on that for a long time. It’s a huge challenge for our engineers to come up with new solutions while ensuring the same beautiful colours and effect.”

Swarovski produces two seasonal collections a year along with a range of designs for special occasional such as Valentine’s Day or Christmas. Boasting a sophisticated and feminine elegance, the new collection and uses bold colours, geometric shapes and coral-like contours for the starfish, seahorse-inspired curls and shellfish shapes that all feature heavily.

The daring Eminence necklace features stacked crystals, set using the state-of-the-art pointiage technique for maximum impact, and slim baguette crystals for a contemporary look. The Stardust and Slake bangles can be stacked together to create a whirl of colour or worn individually to add sparkle to any outfit. The Slake Dot is also a key feature of the bracelet, a crystal cut in a new and unique way for a truly dazzling effect.

The classic Cupid pendant, featuring crystals set in a pave format against a soft rose gold backdrop, remains a firm favourite.

“Our watch category, which we introduced seven years ago, has grown considerably to the point where we are now calling it a success. We are intensifying our efforts in coming up a ball pen and are further exploring the device category. We already have activity bracelets for both men and women that help track everything you do, the number of steps you take, and at the end of the day tell you if you exercise enough or not,” Buchbauer says.

Swarovski is today recognised the world over for delivering a diverse portfolio of unmatched quality, craftsmanship and creativity that goes beyond the manufacturing of crystal. To illustrate the multi-faceted glamour and variety of its designs, Swarovski (Thailand) has chosen actress Praya Lundberg as its first “Friend of Swarovski” in Southeast Asia. Model Miranda Kerr continues to represent the brand globally.

One of the biggest challenges, Buchbauer says, is to keep the brand alive and this requires focus. “We have to be careful not to do too many things at the same time especially since the constant evolution of technology makes so much possible. It’s hard to keep the focus, so one of my tasks is to ensure people in the organisation concentrate on just a few important things. And while it’s great to have endless possibilities, we need to make the right choices from year |to year to please the consumers,” |he concludes.

 

Tales of an execution

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Tales-of-an-execution-30286730.html

FILM

DONSARON KOVITVANITCHA
SPECIAL TO THE NATION
CANNES, FRANCE May 26, 2016 1:00 am

Singaporean director Boo Junfeng’s prison drama proves popular in Cannes

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT in Singapore has long been criticised by human rights groups, yet the majority of us know little about it other than reading the occasional few sentences in the local media.

Talented director Boo Junfeng set out to change that with his second feature, “Apprentice”, a prison drama that focuses on the men behind the executions. It was selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section and, while it didn’t win a prize, it won a good deal of acclaim from audiences.

Junfeng is a rising talent, whose first feature, the 2011 drama “Sandcastle” screened at Cannes Critics’ Week. While “Sandcastle” was about a teenager about to be enlisted into the army, “Apprentice” has a much more serious bent, focusing on the life of Aiman, a young man who decides to work in a Singapore prison. There he meets Rahim, the prison’s chief executioner and forms a relationship with him. The twist comes when Rahim learns that he was responsible for hanging Aiman’s father.

“I think this is the first time that a film like this has been made in Singapore,” says Junfeng, adding that it shows a side of the city-state that is rarely discussed.

“The film is basically driven by my sense of curiosity. I was fascinated to learn the executioner’s point of view, to look at his job and see what he has to go through,” says Junfeng, who interviewed a real-life executioner in Singapore before making his film.

“I needed to know how they manage to bring themselves to do the job. One of them has been doing it for a long time. And what struck me was how much I liked him when I was talking to him. Before the interview, I was really nervous. I had a certain character in mind and when I met the executioner he was a very nice grandfather type of figure, very funny, very lovable. That completely changed my attitude, and forced me to think hard about the character I wanted to create.”

One of the possible reasons why no Singaporean film has touched this subject before is the strict censorship for which the country is known. Yet the film received financial support from the government’s Media Development Authority.

“We got 40 per cent of the funding from them but we had to find the rest by ourselves. So far I haven’t faced any issue regarding censorship,” he says.

“We decided to cast colour-blind,” he says of his selection of the main characters in the film, all of whom are Malay and speak Malay, also unusual in Singaporean cinema.

“For the characters I created, it doesn’t really matter where they are from. We cast Chinese actors, Malay actors and Indian actors. In the end, Wan Hanafi Su from Malaysia landed the role of the executioner, and Fir Rahman from Singapore was cast as Aiman mainly because of the chemistry between them.”

Wan, a veteran actor, has become something of a film-festival favourite of late, starring in Liew Seng Tat’s “Men Who Save the World” and Dain Said’s “Bunohan”. Fir Rahman, on the other hand, is a TV actor and a rookie to the big screen.

“Since both of them are Malay, we decided to make the dialogue between them Malay. Even though there are Malay filmmakers in Singapore, they are in a minority. That’s purely for commercial reasons though. Singapore is 70-per-cent Chinese and that’s why a lot of Singapore films tend to stick with Mandarin as the language. It didn’t really matter to us as we saw the market of this film as more international than local. What mattered was the chemistry between the characters.”

Filmed partially in Singapore, much of the film was shot in Australia. “We shot a number of the exteriors of the prison in Singapore for which we received permission, but we didn’t ask for permission to shoot inside. I very doubt that it would have been given and even if it had, I don’t think a real prison in Singapore would be a very cinematic space,” says Junfeng with a grin.

He therefore chose an abandoned prison in Sydney, which was built a long time ago and is of a similar design to prison in other countries once under the realm of the British Empire.

“It could easily be a prison in Singapore,” he says. “The architecture is authentic.”

“Apprentice” earned plenty of praise after its screening at Cannes and will shortly go on general release in France.

“It’s been quite overwhelming. People came up to me and told me they had been affected by the film. I am very happy that my cast and crew from all over the world worked so well together.

Lee Chatametikool edited “Apprentice”, says Junfeng, referring to the award-winning Thai director and editor.

“The film will open in Singapore in June. Right now there’s a nice buzz surrounding it, so hopefully we can show it to as many people as possible.”

David Lee McInnis

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SOOPSIP

The Nation May 26, 2016 1:00 am
Actor David Lee McInnis, who generally portrays villains in South Korean TV series has signed on to the Thai drama series 'What Lies Beneath'. Photo courtesy of KBS2

Actor David Lee McInnis, who generally portrays villains in South Korean TV series has signed on to the Thai drama series ‘What Lies Beneath’. Photo courtesy of KBS2

THAIS KNOW David Lee McInnis from several South Korean TV dramas as the English-speaking bad guy, and more recently as the nasty ex-soldier in the series “Descendants of the Sun”.

THAIS KNOW David Lee McInnis from several South Korean TV dramas as the English-speaking bad guy, and more recently as the nasty ex-soldier in the series “Descendants of the Sun”. His mother is Korean, so he does well in that country.

Now we might have a chance to see Dave in person because he’s in Thailand – not meeting the fans like his “Descendants” co-star Song Joong-ki but working on the Thai series “What Lies Beneath”.

The soap opera produced by Shellhut Entertainment and Loei Do Dee Studios will air on True4U Channel 24 and has Wiraporn Jiravechsoontornkul, Patarapon “Ron AF 5” Tooun and Attaporn Theemakorn among its stars.

There’s been no word yet who’s playing the male lead, but it sounds like another actor will be imported from Seoul to fill the role.

The story is about Tim, the publicity guy at an entertainment company who has to constantly tell lies to the media to salvage a wayward actor’s image. Then one of the company’s actresses, Bell, gets involved in a scandal just as she’s auditioning for a Hollywood film being shot in Thailand. Bell and Tim develop a relationship, but it’s not easy when they’re always telling fibs.

McInnis appears as Hollywood actor Harry, in Thailand to make the movie. He describes his character as slick, funny and mysterious, which is intended to leave viewers feeling ambiguous about him. McInnis says working with a Thai production team is quite different from what he’s experienced in South Korea, but he’s enjoying it.

This isn’t his first time in Thailand. He was here for two months 12 years ago shooting the Korean action blockbuster “Typhoon”, starring superstars Lee Jung-jae and Jae Dong-gun.

That time he was playing yet another bad guy – and a Thai one at that, named Somchai, so he had to learn some lines in Thai. He recalls with a laugh that he picked up as much as he needed by translating his Thai lines into Korean so he’d understand them better.

It got him through the picture, but if any Thais saw “Typhoon” his part couldn’t have been that memorable. Even though McInnis is a veteran of many TV shows, his name isn’t familiar here. Only when he arrived in Thailand this time was he recognised by face as the English-speaking guy from Korean TV, usually an evil guy and sometimes even an international terrorist, as was the case in the action series “Iris 1” and “Iris 2”.

What is definitely memorable about McInnis is that, despite being regularly cast opposite Korean superstars, he always manages to steal the scene. Of course, being the only person speaking English in the scene helps him stand out, but his acting abilities deserve credit too, not to mention the choice roles he’s given.

This time around McInnis is spending between 10 and 14 days on the Thai set – and then a good few more on a well-deserved vacation somewhere among our beach-rimmed islands.

Biocompatible implants: |a solution to thinning hair?

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Biocompatible-implants-a-solution-to-thinning-hair-30286728.html

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THANISORN THAMLIKITKUL MD
Special to The Nation May 26, 2016 1:00 am

Like a peacock’s brilliant feathers, the hair on the head is so much more than just protection for the scalp.

Like a peacock’s brilliant feathers, the hair on the head is so much more than just protection for the scalp. The discovery of thinning hair is thus a stressful experience for both sexes and all ages. There are a few treatment options available when hair loss first starts, and both medication and laser treatment can be quite successful in the early stages. However, many people wait too long before realising or admitting their hair loss is getting worse. And while relocating healthy follicles to barren patches can solve the problem, hair transplant procedures are invasive, expensive and new hair takes time to become visible.

Continuing research into improved hair restoration techniques has helped considerably in the long-fought battle against hair loss or hair thinning and today the implant of biocompatible fibres is a plausible alternative or complementary treatment for patients.

Artificial hair implants first began in the 1970s as a quick solution for the coverage of the baldness but slowed as a result of scepticism among physicians due to the lack of clinical trial at that time. That has now changed. A study published in the Journal of Biological Regulators & Homeostatic Agents in 2015 reported the efficacy and safety of hair fibre implants through the three-year follow up of 133 patients. The study concluded that the biocompatible fibre hair implant procedure had been demonstrated to be safe and well tolerated by patients. The procedure involves using a special device to hook the reversible knots at the end of the biofibre hair and insert the strands manually one by one into the scalp, which has been numbed with a local anaesthetic, under aseptic technique until the desired hair density is obtained. The procedure doesn’t require downtime; patients can walk out of the clinic with a much fuller head of hair.

The procedure is considered safe for patients because it uses a synthetic material that’s completely biocompatible, which means it is highly unlikely to be rejected by the body. This biocompatible material has received CE certification in Europe and is also approved for medical use.

The biocompatible fibre hair implant is suitable for patients with a healthy scalp but a poor donor area. It is also ideal for patients who need an immediate result. It can be used to increase volume of a patient’s hair following a hair transplant procedure as well. A consultation with a dermatologist will help identify if the procedure suits you or not.

THANISORN THAMLIKITKUL MD| is a member of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery and |certified in dermatological laser surgery. Send your questions |for her to info@romrawin.com

You give Russia something and it expects maintenance too

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/You-give-Russia-something-and-it-expects-maintenan-30286555.html

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ntsoopsip@gmail.com May 24, 2016 1:00 am
A ceremonial Siamese sabre/Photo credit Gleb Federov

A ceremonial Siamese sabre/Photo credit Gleb Federov

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was so busy signing business deals and buying military gear on his trip to Moscow last week that most news media overlooked an interesting cultural aspect to the jaunt.

Fortunately Russia Beyond The Headlines, a publication occasionally inserted in The Nation, picked up the story. “Thailand to help restore King Rama V’s gifts to Nicholas II” was the headline it used last Thursday.

Years before King Chulalongkorn the Great made his own trek to Europe (and Russia), the young man who would become the last of the Russian tsars came to Siam, and was duly loaded up with sundry Southeast Asian collectibles.

Upon Crown Prince Nicholas’ return home to Saint Petersburg, the items were stored at the former capital’s Kunstkamera, the oldest museum in Russia, and there they remain, a little worse for wear after a century.

They include portraits of Rama V and his Queen, Savang Vattana, a Malay kris (dagger) with a blade fashioned from a meteor, and a pair of sabres, one characteristically Siamese in design and another in the Laotian style.

Russia Beyond The Headlines quotes Prayut as saying, “I offered to send Thai craftsmen to Russia to restore the gifts that King Rama V gave to Tsar Nicholas II 119 years ago.” The premier said he and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, had agreed that the collection would later be exhibited in both Thailand and Russia.

Prince Nicholas came to Asia on his “Great Eastern Journey” in 1890-91 to establish links with the rulers of countries including Siam. Having already visited Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, Ceylon, Singapore and Java and with Vietnam and Japan still on the road ahead, he was bestowed with several gifts by Rama V.

Clearly in no hurry to return to the imperial palace of his dad, Alexander III, Nicholas made his way from Japan to Vladivostok in Russia’s distant east and helped get work going on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

In 1894 there was a large exhibition of the treasures given him during his eastern odyssey and then everything was tucked away at the Kunstkamera, though some goodies also went into storage at the Hermitage, today the country’s most revered museum.

The Bolsheviks seemed uninterested in the Asian hoard when they staged their revolution in 1916 and slaughtered the imperial family. The treasures also survived the fall of the Soviet Union and Russia’s economic decline in the early 1990s, but, despite careful storage, time has taken its toll.

The case holding the sabres is cracked, as has the sheath of the Siamese one, and the steel of both blades has darkened. Restoration can only be entrusted to a highly skilled specialist, the curators agree, someone who’s able to return the valuables to their original lustre.

Handymen are invited to queue to the right and be prepared to pack warmly for the Russian winter.