The 34-year-old man’s symptoms began with dry heaves “immediately after participation in a hot pepper contest where he ate one Carolina Reaper,” in 2016, said an article published in medical journal BMJ Case Reports.

The man then developed intense neck and head pain, and for several days experienced brief but intense “thunderclap” headaches. Each lasted several seconds.

After seeking emergency care, tests for various neurological conditions came back negative.

In the end, doctors diagnosed him with a temporary brain condition called “reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome” (RCVS), characterised by the temporary narrowing of blood vessels to the brain.

It was the first reported case of a patient being diagnosed with RCVS after eating a chilli pepper, the authors said.

Often accompanied by “thunderclap” headaches, the condition usually occurs as a reaction to certain prescription medications, or after taking illegal drugs.

“It was a big surprise to everyone,” said doctor Kulothungan Gunasekaran of the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, one of the authors of the article that warns of the dangers of playing with chilli fire.

– World’s hottest chilli pepper –

The man’s symptoms cleared up by themselves and a follow-up CT scan five weeks after the event showed that his arteries had returned to their normal width.

Eating cayenne pepper has previously been linked to heart attacks, the study authors said.

“We would recommend the general public be cautious when eating chilli peppers and to seek medical attention straight away if you develop symptoms like this,” Gunasekaran warned.

For those who dare, the Carolina Reaper has a fruity, sweet taste with a hint of cinnamon and chocolate undertones, as well as being extremely hot, according to the website of Guinness World Records.

Last year it named the Carolina Reaper — a cross between Sweet Habanero and Naga Viper chillies — as the hottest pepper on Earth. It is grown by a producer in South Carolina.

It rates at an average of 1,641,183 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), according to tests conducted by Winthrop University in South Carolina in 2017.

A Jalapeno can score anything between 2,500 to 8,000 SHU on the scale, Guinness World Records said.

In November 2016, a new record of 120 grammes (just over four ounces) of Carolina Reaper were eaten in one minute at a competition in Arizona.

IN ITS latest collection of home-furnishing fabrics, Jim Thompson has had Belgian architect-interior designer Gert Voorjans create an exuberant line in keeping with its penchant for vibrant colours.

Voorjans’ designs are notoriously unconventional and always innovative and surprising, and this collaborative collection is no exception, aiming to lure homemakers into embracing exciting and daring combinations.

In a collection ranging from upholstery to wall coverings, the key features include colourful silk weaves and stripes of wool epingle, a rustic check design, bold prints with playful patterns inspired by 20th-century art, and daring trimmings in bright shades.

There’s a sense of juxtaposition as apparent opposites are brought together, like roughness and softness, rusticity and refinement.

Voorjans has designed homes for some of the world’s most important residential and corporate developers, most notably Dries Van Noten stores around the world.

Voorjans studied interior design in Hasselt, holds a post-graduate degree in art history from Siena and a post-graduate degree in styles & arts from Sotheby’s in London.

In 1997 he opened his own architectural and design practice in Antwerp and, in 2013, Gert Voorjans Asia was established in Hong Kong.

Here, Voorjans shares the complex influences behind his work with a Jim Thompson interviewer.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS COLLECTION?

I’ve created fabrics that can be used to furnish complete interiors, ranging from upholstery to wall coverings. It’s an exuberant collection based on our own historic documents, samples and fabrics, but with references to French and Italian colourists and avant-garde artists.

DOES THE COLLECTION HAVE A RUNNING THEME?

We have not only included silks, but I also opted for cotton and linen fabrics, and even passementeries. The collection is very diverse, ranging from rustic and checked fabrics to ivy motifs, sophisticated damasks and colourful trimmings. By using this approach, I hope to reach out to a broad audience, so that more people can enjoy part of my creative universe.

WHAT KEY WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE THE COLLECTION?

Eccentric, richly layered, customised, refreshing, inspiring, colourful, distinctive – to name just a few. But above all, naive, unexpected and artistic.

WHY ARE JIM THOMPSON AND GERT VOORJANS A GOOD MATCH?

I’ve been integrating Jim Thompson fabrics into my projects for as long as I can remember, so designing a collection for the house was a very exciting challenge. And most of all, I am a great admirer of the Jim Thompson story.

I love to create environments that are richly layered with influences from the East and the West, suffused with colours. I believe these characteristics relate well to the Jim Thompson style, and that’s why I think our collaboration is the perfect match.

After the debacle caused by exploding batteries in its Note 7 phablet back in 2016, Samsung has been intent on proving itself as the leading producer of Android phones and it’s living up to this priority with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S9+. An impressive smartphone, the S9+ has outstanding cameras, very fast performance, rapid Internet connection and very good sound quality.

The S9+ is powered by Samsung Exynos 9810 octa core processor with four cores running at 2.7 GHz and four others at 1.7 GHz. It comes with a generous 6 gigabytes of working memory or RAM and 64 GB internal storage that is expandable with a micro SD card up to 400 GB. The smartphone runs on the Android 8.0 operating system.

The fast CPU, hefty RAM and fast storage are behind the impressive performance. I used AnTuTu Benchmark v7.0.7 to measure its performance and it scored 242,958 points.

I compared the result to the ever-growing database of users of the app on March 31 and found that it was ranked first. However, I’m not sure whether the score reflects the newest version of the AnTuTu Benchmark.

I was also impressed by its very fast Internet connection. I tested it on TrueMove H’s LTE network. The S9+ uses LTE Cat 18 protocol and downloaded and uploaded files very fast. My snapshots were backed up to my Google Photos cloud storage in no time.

I used the Ookla Speedtest app to measure its connection and found that it achieved a download speed of 148 Mbps and upload speed of 40.5 Mbps.

Like previous versions, S9+ comes with a curved edge display in Full View format. This time though, Samsung has managed to grow the screen to 6.2 inches without enlarging the body, using a curved super amoled 18:5.9 display with 1,440 x 2,960 pixels and a pixel depth of 529 per inch. And despite the large display, its footprint is only 158×73.8×8.5mm thanks to the shorter upper and lower bezels.

Moreover, the display has great outdoor visibility with adaptive contrast enhancement. I had no trouble reading the screen even in bright sunlight.

With its high resolution and vivid colours, the S9+ is very good for viewing high-resolution photos and HD clips. Its refined Infinity Display that provides edge-to-edge experience was great and I thoroughly enjoyed watching HD movies streamed with the TrueID TV and iflix apps.

Another winner is the great sound quality. The stereo speakers tuned by AKG make the music or dialogue 1.4 times louder than the previous model with Dolby Atmos-powered for three-dimensional sound.

The S9+ also supports the High-Resolution Audio format of FLAC 24bi/192kHz. I tested it with Sony MDR1ABT Hi-Res Audio headphones and was delighted with the detail and powerful bass.

The smartphone comes with dualcamera setup for the rear camera, resulting in impressive performance. It’s made of a wideangle Super Speed 12-megapixel AF sensor with dual apertures of f/1.5 and f/2.4 and a telephoto 12MP A sensor with f/2.4 aperture.

This allows you to capture beautiful portraits with professionally blurred backgrounds. With the Dual Aperture system, the main camera automatically adjusts to lighting condition and helps it to capture goodquality images in both low and bright lighting. The S9+ also comes with MultiFrame Noise Reduction technology that captures 12 photos in quick succession, an increase over the previous three with the Galaxy Note 8. The 12 photos are then automatically combined to create a perfect shot.

To take beautiful portrait shots with blurred background, you must use the Live Focus shooting mode. This shows a bar that you slide to obtain the level of blurred background and a button for adjusting the skin tone.

This mode takes two shots at once  one tele and one close up and combines them into one shot that lets you further change the level of blur in Gallery or Photo Editor.

Another fun mode is the AR Emoji. This uses Augmented Reality and deep learning technology to analyse a 2D image of you by mapping more than 100 facial features and then adding the virtual 2D image to a 3D model form to create an AR Emoji that reflects your facial expression. The Emoji is created as an animated GIF for you to send to your friends via applications, like Facebook Messenger.

Other shooting modes for the rear camera include Food, Panorama, Pro and Auto. The Food mode will emphasise the vivid colours of the food while the Panorama creates a linear image by guiding you to pan the camera either horizontally or vertically. The Pro mode allows you to adjust various shooting parameters, such as ISO sensitivity, exposure value, white balance and light measuring method. If you’re not confident with the parameters, go for Auto and the camera will determines the ideal scene mode for you.

During a recent tasting at the Miracle Grand Convention hotel, I managed to capture beautiful shots even in a lowlight environment, using both the Auto and Food modes.

The rear camera comes with a Super Slowmo mode that records video clips at 960 frames per second for playing at normal speed for a slow motion effect. This will slow 0.2 seconds of action to approximately 6 seconds.

By default, the automatic Motion Detection is on and the camera will begin recording when it detects movement in the frame so you can catch those fleeting moments. The option can be turned off and if you do that, you must start the Super Slowmo recording on your own.

The AR-powered rear camera has another use. Used with Bixby Vision technology – Bixby is Samsung’s virtual assistant – the AR-powered camera enables a Live Translation function that instantly translates both foreign language and currency using AR to read what your eyes can’t. Point your camera at a sign or menu, for example, to get a translation in real time.

Samsung says 33 input languages are automatically detected while 21 others need to be selected. The output language is automatically set to the device’s language and if you want to change it, you can do so manually at the top to the screen.

Bixby Vision also provides information about places, foods, wines and shopping making it an ideal holiday companion.

The front camera uses an 8MP aF sensor with f/1.7 aperture. It allows you to capture wide and normal selfies with beautification technologies. It also has AR Emoji mode and can be used as part of the security function to unlock your phone with Intelligent Scan feature.

The Intelligent Scan is backed by Samsung’s Knox Security platform. It allows for biometric verification that uses both iris scanning and facial recognition to unlock the phone. There is a hidden iris sensor at the front of phone.

I found that the Intelligent Scan fast and had no problem unlocking the phone. I simply pressed the soft home button on the Always On screen and the front camera and iris scanner worked simultaneously.

There is also a fingerprint reader embedded at the back below the rear camera’s lens, which is handy for unlocking both the phone and secured folders.

A nice function of the S9+ in this IoT (Internet of Things) age is the SmartThings app. The app lets you use the smartphone to control compatible devices, such as smart TVs, multiroom speakers, a Wi-Fi washing machine, Wi-Fi air-conditioners and other Wi-Fi connected devices far from your home.

The S9+ is also dust and water resistant, conforming to IP68 rating.

It comes with a large battery of 3,500 mAh capacity and supports fast charging technology and wireless charging.

And you can transform it into a desktop computer with an optional Samsung DeX Station that links to the smartphone to provide an Ethernet port, HDMI port, USB 2.0 port and USB Type C port. Then you can work on Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and OneNote, using a keyboard and a mouse.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ comes in two versions depending on the internal storage. The one with 64 GB storage retails for Bt31,900 and with 128GB storage for Bt33,900.

Considering all the functions, that’s a steal.

Key Specs

– OS: Android 8 (Oreo)

– Network: LTE Cat.18

– CPU: Samsung Exynos 9810 octa core (4×2.7 GHz and 4×1.7 GHz)

– Memory: 6GB

– Storage: 64GB, expandable with microSD by up to 400GB

– SIM: Dual nano SIM slots (one shared with microSD)

– Display: 6.2-inch Quad HD + Curved Super AMOLED, 18.5:99,10 (529ppi)

– Cameras: Rear: Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF sensor (F1.5/F2.4), Telephoto: 12MP AF sensor (F2.4); Front: 8MP AF (F1.7)

– Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, Bluetooth v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, NFC

– Location: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou

– Sensors: Iris, Pressure, Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint, Gyro, Geomagnetic, Hall, HR, Proximity and RGB Light sensors

– Battery: 3,500mAh with QC 2.0 fast-charging, WPC and PMA compatible wireless charging

– Dimensions: 158.1mm x 73.8mm x 8.5mm

– Weight: 189g

Songkran, as the Thai New Year is called, is less than a week away and with millions of people taking to the road next week to return home, the final preparations are being put in place for the ultimate celebrations.

Up in Udon Thani, that celebration is known as  “UD Town Wonder Water Land 2018” and it’s being billed as the greatest Songkran Festival in the Northeast of Thailand.

Now in its ninth year, the mega event, which is being hosted by UD Town in the city’s downtown area from Thursday through April 16, promises to be even bigger and better with more than Bt50 million being poured into the extravaganza, which is expected to draw four times more tourists than the 2017 festival – going from 80,000 to more than 350,000 including plenty of visitors from Thailand’s neighbours.

“Udon Thani is among the destinations that play an important role in the economy,” says Apicha Weerachartyanukul, corporate branding manager at Udon Plaza.

“The province attracts more than three million local and international tourists a year, with the number going up during Songkran, the peak festive season. Visitors will be able to experience the traditional Songkran culture and also participate in a series of events at various tourist attractions around the province. Udon Thani offers comfortable accommodation to fit most wallets and some 40 flights land at our airport daily. UD Town has been holding Songkran celebrations for almost a decade and each year we welcome more visitors. Last year, we saw more than 300,000 people, both locals and tourists, during the five-day event, largely thanks to the success of our ‘Destination Marketing’ strategy that positions UD Town as a major destination for the Northeastern region.

Apicha’s sentiments are echoed by Yos Kuwareewong, product director with Chang International, one of the main sponsors of the event.

“I personally wouldn’t want to miss the Songkran Festival fun at UD Town. It’s the first and I think the only Songkran Festival in Thailand that lasts for a full five days. Our theme is ‘Bring your best friends to the Songkran party as Songkran is more fun when celebrated with your best friends”. We have a tower with sexy girls and premium products,” Yos says.

“UD Town is the biggest centre in Udon Thani for teenagers and the young generation,” adds Laddawan Lertwasin, senior marketing manager at PepsiCola (Thai) Trading, another major sponsor.

“We are delighted to be cooperating with UD Town for the second consecutive year, not least because the mall is a landmark of Udon Thani and serves as a centre for teenage customers who match Pepsi’s main target group. We have observed first hand how the event attracts more and more people so we are confident that we won’t be far off our target numbers,” she says.

“In addition, music is one of Pepsi’s main platforms including EDM, which is now the most popular genre with a new generation out of have fun. And we’re adding to the excitement by creating a zone for hip restaurants offering street food to please the teens.”

More than 8,000 square metres of the mall will be used to host the event, with a portion converted into a “Water Galaxy”, where festival-goers can soak each other in true Thai style.

Five zones are being created to ensure that everyone has fun, no matter their age or preference. One of these is home to Buddha images from nine well-known temples, over which celebrants can sprinkle water in a gesture of worship and respect.

The younger set can enjoy the alcohol-free “Foam Party” while “The Best Street Food” zone will feed the hungry with more than 100 food stalls and restaurants in Udon Thani.

“The Largest Water Tunnel of the Northeastern Region”, which is designed as the water galaxy, provides a 360-degree experience in addition to spectacular lights and sounds, while the last zone houses the stages for the EDM shows that take place every night after sunset. The lineup of international DJs includes Sick Individuals and Quintino from the Netherlands, Gail from France, Fenner from England, electro house specialist DJ Ivy from Korea, Superone from Lao PDR and Ouj from Myanmar. They’ll be backed up more than 30 locals, among them Unmonkey, Yukie, Riviere, Rocky and Gavin.

Dutch duo Sick Individuals featuring Rinze “Ray” Hofstee and Joep “Jim” Smeele, will be manning the decks at UD Town on Thursday night before heading down to Bangkok for a gig next Saturday. EDM fans can also dance to spins by Quintino the same night.

“We are responsible for the LED, laser system, and the water tunnel and will be taking visitors on a journey through space,” enthuses Sermkhun Kunawong, chief executive officer of PM Centre.

“We’ve designed the stage to resemble a galaxy with a giant moving light and lots of laser beams.”

Young heartthrob James Ma, Pepsi’s new presenter, turned out for the press conference, and performed “Mai Bok Ther”, a soundtrack of the “Hormones” series, while DJs 22 Bullet and Yukie took care of the beats.

Plan to get wet

“UD Town Wonder Water Land 2018” takes place at UD Town in Udon Thani from Thursday through April 16 from 11am to midnight.

Tickets for EDM Regular are Bt100 per day, EDM VIP Zone Bt499Bt999 per day, and EDM VIP Zone Bt2,000 for 5 days.

Find out more at (042) 932 999 and http://www.GoUDTown.com or join the conversation at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Sony modelled its MDR1AM2 High-Resolution Audio over-ear headphones after its Signature series, but they’re more affordable. The Fibonacci-patterned frame reduces noise. You have 40mm drivers, a 4.4mm balanced plug for better sound transmission. They’re available in black or grey for Bt9,990.

Jabra’s got your ears

Listen to tunes or make calls with Jabra’s Elite 45e wireless in-ear headset with a soft, lightweight neckband. The box microphone delivers the clearest voice communication of any stereo wireless headphone. The well-designed 10mm audio driver ensures the perfect bass tone. Sweat and dustproof, it’s yours for Bt3,490.

Is Bose the best?

The tiny, portable SoundLink Micro Bluetooth speaker from Bose is water-resistant and uses a 40mm driver and 3.8×3.2cm radiator. It’s a mere 34.8×98.3×98.3mm and weighs just 290 grams. The builtin lithiumion battery can last for six hours. The speaker supports Bluetooth 4.2. It’s in stores for Bt4,700.

Flyer, meet Ionic

The Fitbit Flyer Bluetooth headset is ideal for workouts. It can be a match for Fitbit’s Ionic watch and stream music. The Flyer is durable and sweatproof. It has dual microphones for quality chatting and the cable can be adjusted securely around your neck. Battery life is six hours and the price is Bt5,190.

PTE goes Beyond

Thai brand PTE Intergroup has unveiled the Beyond Gen 12 smartphone with a five-inch display at 960×540-pixel resolution and 5MP cameras both front and rear. The front camera can be used for face recognition to unlock the phone. You get 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage on the Android 6 OS and an 1,800mAh battery. Expect to pay Bt2,490.

Euodia Ensemble is back in Thailand this weekend and will be performing three concerts in Chiang Mai and Bangkok as part of its 2018 World Tour. The Japanese ensemble, along with gospel singer Chu Kosaka and opera singer Bary Tone, will perform at Kad Theatre, Kad Suan Kaew tomorrow night at 7, at Chiang Mai Chinese Church on Sunday at 10am, and at Bangkok Fellowship Church on April 9 at 7pm. Get your free tickets by calling (089) 891 5156, (089) 850 3763 and (089) 891 5156.

The saga of Saga

Benihana at the Avani Atrium Bangkok is offering its guests yet another unfamiliar and exotic taste of Japan this month – Saga beef.

Enjoy this award-winning beef from Saga Prefecture prepared to perfection by the restaurant’s teppanyaki chefs until April 30 for Bt3,600-plus for two.

Make a reservation at (02) 718 20001.

Tasty Thailand in Pattaya

Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya is presenting some of its all-time favourites at Oasis throughout this month. Tuck into fermented sausage with condiments, deep-fried crab sausage, grilled chicken with papaya and sticky rice, fried seafood pancake, and southern deep-fried chicken with shallot.

Book your table at (038) 714 981.

Spend to win

Aeon Thana Sinsap (Thailand) and Bangkok Bank join forces to present a campaign “Get Prizes with Aeon Your Cash”. Get a chance to win prizes worth Bt745,000 including a gold bar worth Bt400,000 and 10 iPhone 8s. Aeon Your Cash cardholders are eligible to participate in the campaign by making cash withdrawals of at least Bt1,000 per sales slip at Bualuang ATMs Bangkok Bank from now until May 31.

Off the page

Neilson Hays Library will organise its next book sale in the grounds of the British Club on May 26 and 27 from 9.30am to 5pm. Popular fundraiser offers books in all genres, with prices starting at Bt20. The club will also provide food and drinks.

Find out more by calling (02) 233 1731 or email info@neilsonhayslibrary.org.

Boonbenja Nitjanan, 58, a resident of Klong Dan in Samut Prakan, is a happy man. A long-time believer in the efficiency of medical school hospitals over local public health facilities, he would have to rise before 4 and take a day off work to travel to either Chulalongkorn or Ramathibodi hospitals to seek treatment.

Today, he gets up at the normal time and does a full day’s work before taking a leisurely 10-minute drive to Ramathibodi Chakri Naruebodindra Hospital in Bang Pla district.

“It’s great. I don’t have to face those awful traffic jams anymore,” says the 58-year-old, as he waits for the doctor at the special evening clinic. And even though he has to pay a little more for the specialist service, he figures it’s worth it compared to the time he would have wasted on the road.

Located in the heart of the Eastern province’s industrial zone, home to factories and hundreds of thousands of low-income workers, the new hospital is on Leabklongsongnam Suvarnabhumi Road in Bang Pla sub-district, about 10 kilometres from Bangna-Trat Road. It’s part of the Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute – CNMI for short – and is run by the Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University.

Prof Piyamitr Sritara, the faculty’s dean and president of the Ramathibodi Foundation, says the CNMI was initiated by His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej to provide health care services to workers and residents of the industrial sprawl east of Bangkok, which is mainly served by private hospitals that few of the residents can afford.

Located on 319 rai, the 460-bed Chakri Naruebodindra Hospital officially opened on December 25. It expects to receive a million outpatient visits and 17,000 inpatient admissions per year and will significantly reduce the pressure on Ramathibodi Hospital, which is today struggling to cope with a annual caseload of some two million patients. When it is fully up and running in 2021, the CNMI will also be the new campus of Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine, complete with a medical research centre, nursing school and two specialist medical science programmes – paramedic and communication disorders – becoming the only medical school in the country to offer such training.

“The CNMI is a project that received great kindness from the late King, who granted the institute its name. This comes from the full title of the late monarch. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the official opening late last year,” says Prof Piyamitr adds.

The hospital currently operates outpatient clinics during the normal hours, special clinics after working hours, an emergency care department and inpatient wards with capacity of 50 beds and 15 beds in the ICU. When in full operation, it will have more than 500 beds spread over every unit.

“We will be running fuller operations in May and be able to undertake complicated surgery and deliver babies in June. Right now, we have about 200 outpatient consultations a day,” says Dr Pairoj Boonkongchuen, the hospital’s director.

“There are no public hospitals in this province that can do complicated surgery like heart surgery and coronary catheterisation. We will also be offering standardised emergency care services such as upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, bronchoscopy, hemodialysis and medical care at the accident and emergency centre, which can transfer patients in need of more complex treatment to Ramathibodi Hospital in Phya Thai,” he adds.

“Ramathibodi Chakri Naruebodindra Hospital has developed its own integrated care model with a patient-centric approach that brings together doctors from different fields in real time. As a result, patients don’t have to make several hospital visits. This approach benefits patients with diabetes who are also afflicted with other conditions such as kidney failure, coronary heart disease, and ischemic stroke, for example. We also have nutritionists on hand to provide dietary advice.”

The rehabilitation ward is equipped with advanced tools including a gait training robot and hydrotherapy. Dr Thanit Veerapong,  a rehabilitation lecturer, says that the robot is a high-end technology aide worth Bt18 million and highly efficient in helping patients walk.

“This robot is priceless is getting a patient to stand and walk. A 30-minute session helps the patient walk 800 steps while with a physical therapist, it no more than 30 steps,” he enthuses.

“Since opening, we’ve been using the robot to treat four to five patients a day, one of them a man who had a stroke and is now able to walk again.”

The hydrotherapy pool is also in constant use and has a therapist on hand to help patients get the most out of it. Both services are much cheaper than in private hospitals, with the gait training costing Bt800 for a 30-minute session and hydrotherapy Bt600.

The CNMI is expected to be fully operational in 2021 when it will also incorporate the medical faculty. The goal is to produce 212 medical graduates, 250 nursing science graduates and 50 graduates from the communication disorders programme every year.

“We have to run the hospital at a certain level so that medical students can get the practice they need,” Prof Piyamitr explains.

The CNMI will also be home to the Queen Sirikit Research and Learning Centre, an operations and research building, a recreational facility, a cluster of residence halls, and a car park.

The Queen Sirikit Research Centre will focus on producing medical and other health-science staff to serve local communities through a competency based curriculum. The centre will feature study rooms and conference rooms, a library, a modern laboratory for student work, an advanced resuscitation lab, a mockup patient ward and a research laboratory.

To achieve its aim of knowledge-based medicine and care, CNMI intends to be model for medical services as well as for education of and practice by newly trained medical staff. A new curriculum for medical students will also be available and offer more elective subjects from which to choose instead of the current practice of one platform for all.

“We will have training in research, in running a hospital as well as in medical engineering. We also provide high-end classrooms and a research centre. Both lectures and students will live here together so they will have more opportunity to support each other instead of meeting only in the classroom. Our aim is to make it a learning place that can produce agents of change through our supportive curriculum and facilities,” says Dr Piyamitr.

The Recreation Building will allow students to work on their interests and refine their studies through teamwork and leadership performances. It will also house a community hall, which will serve as an activity centre for local residents and strengthen engagement with the neighbourhood.

In addition, the CNMI will refine and strengthen logistics and supply chain management by ensuring competency and efficiency at every step of the process.

With a required total investment of more than Bt13 billion, the CNMI still requires more funding to support purchases for diagnostic, monitoring and treatment equipment such as video bronchoscopes and digital radiography systems. These systems require a budget of Bt1.4 billion.

Punsiree Kunakornpaiboonsiri, managing director of the Ramathibodi Foundation, says it has been raising some Bt1 billion every year and this year is aiming to raise enough to help both Ramathibodi hospitals.

As usual, this will come from private donations as well as various activities and promotions organised during the year. These include two new TV commercials featuring Thongchai “Bird” McIntyre, Sukrit “Bie” Wisetkaew, Ann Thongprasom, Akapan “Om” Namatra, and Fonthip “Pooklook” Watcharatrakul, and the “Happy Give Day: Celebrating Birthdays by Saving Millions of Lives” activity that will be launched on May 4 at the BTS activity space in front of Siam Square One.

Original works of art created for the “Thai Thai” collection by ML Chiratorn “Kru Toh” Chirapravati, Somnuek “Kru Parn” Klangnok, and sibling illustrators Pattreeda “Pang” and Nualtong “Nual” Prasarnthong will also go on sale later in the year, as will exclusive wedding gifts designed by some of Thailand’s top designers.

HELP A LITTLE

Donations can be made through:

– Siam Commercial Bank, Ramathibodi branch, current account number 026-3-05216-3;

– Bangkok Bank, Somdech Phra Debaratana Medical Center branch, current account number 090-3-50015-5.

– For more information, contact the Ramathibodi Foundation, 270 Rama VI Road, Rajthewi, Bangkok 10400, call (02) 201 1111 or visit http://www.RamaFoundation.or.th.

The online service is designed to make it easier for customers and travel agents to book chauffeur services for a full day, half a day and airport or city transfers and even comes with a special promotion that gives discounts on rates to customers booking before June 30 by entering “PC# 204306” under the “PC Code” heading.

“The launch of the Hertz Chauffeur website for travellers visiting Asia strengthens Hertz’s comprehensive range of transport solutions, to suit the evolving needs of all our customers,” says Eoin MacNeill, vice president, Hertz Asia Pacific.

“We see Hertz Chauffeur benefiting corporate and leisure travellers seeking the comfort and ease of a personal chauffeur. The service will especially appeal to customers who, due to local legislation, are not permitted to drive in China, and those who simply want to enjoy extra peace of mind when travelling to any of the countries where the service is available.”

The new website allows customers to book a vehicle with a driver in four simple steps, receive email confirmation with booking details, and easily create, manage and edit their own itineraries. In addition, it applies discount codes instantly, including corporate discounts where there’s a Hertz Chauffeur Drive agreement in place.

Guests can choose a favourite vehicle from full size sedans to luxury limousines and enjoy professional English-speaking drivers and be met by a driver upon arrival at the designated airport or pickup point. The driver’s details including phone number and emergency hotline will be sent to the customer via email prior to flight arrival.

Find out more details at http://www.Hertz.com.

Runners considering a holiday on the gorgeous island – a famous and favourite destination for people around the globe – are well advised to join the expected crowd of 2,000 runners.

Kriengkrai Kanjanapokin, founder and group chief executive at Index Creative Village, which organised the Bangkok Kilorun event and drew 2,600 runners, it’s a boon to both the host country’s image and economy.

Celebrities were among the Bangkok participants, who weren’t required to be seasoned veterans. Anyone could join in and run at any pace.

“The concept came out of the trend in health and wellness,” Kriengkrai says. “Running is an affordable activity that anyone can do on a regular basis to keep fit, so people from all walks of life can easily embrace it.

“There’s a huge number of runs and yet demand for more is still rising. We jumped in and turned the usual standards for running events on their heads, resulting in a groundbreaking platform of running, eating and travelling.

“And Kilorun 2018 is expected to boost tourism in Indonesia, which slumped after Mount Agung erupted in the late 2017.”

Also differentiating Kilorun from other similar events is the KG (kilogram) Aroi Run, in which participants get to sample dishes from top local restaurants. In Bali there’ll be chicken satay, chicken noodle soup (soto ayam), stir-fried rice (nasi goreng) and deep-fried soft-boned duck (bebek goreng).

The runners are weighed after crossing the finish line and if they’ve gained a kilo or two, they get a medal.

As in Bangkok, Bali event will also have a KM (kilometre) Breakfast Run, which has a choice of 2.5 kilometres’ distance, 5.5 and 11.

Entrants in either race get a running shirt, an apron and a medal, and there will also be grand prizes, special rewards and exclusive give-aways.

The course passes several attractions, including the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Ubud Palace, Puri Lukisan Museum, Pura Taman Saraswati and Ubud Market.

Check out http://www.Kilorun.com and the “kilorun2018” Facebook page.

Next up for the 36 planet-friendly, conceived-in-Thailand products that recently won Green Design Awards – such as a Shrimp Shell Lamp and a Heat-Relief Partition – will be a bit of commercial polishing and, hopefully, a place on the market.

Kasetsart University’s Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Product Improvement Institute (KAPI) announced the winners of its annual TGDA 2018 competition last month. The winning inventions have been on view at Siam Paragon and will move to RISC on the fourth floor of Magnolias Ratchadamri Boulevard building.

One of the more intriguing ideas earning an award is called Drone for Coconut, an environmentally friendly flying device that could help the owners monitor their palm plantations and coconut reserves.

“We set up our firm, Novy (2018) Co Ltd, earlier this year after winning last year’s UAV-Startup competition organised by the National Innovation Agency and Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency,” says one of the inventors, Kridtat Satharanond.

The 22-year-old is a senior at the Robotics Field Institute, part of King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi.

“That gave us the confidence to go into business, and since winning the Green Design Award in the Life Enhancement category, last month, we’ve had an order for six drones.”

Onchira Senasu, 23, an industrial-design senior in the architecture faculty at Khon Kaen University, earned an honourable mention in the Resource Efficiency category with Grow, a drinks coaster made of seeds.

She’d seen far too many sodden paper coasters chucked in the garbage, so she set out to find an alternative material that

wouldn’t choke the earth after it’s discarded. She settled on recycled paper studded with vegetable seeds.

The neat idea is that, once it’s done being a coaster for a glass, it can be embedded in soil and – voila – you have an instant vegetable garden.

“We got more interest from visitors to the TGDA exhibition, and some business owners are interested too,” Onchira says. “It could well go from our lab to the commercial marketplace.”

Ceramic Worm Composer

Pongtida Santayanon, 30, who has a master’s degree in advanced architecture from Spain, developed a “hydro ceramic” that can reduce heat in buildings. A second runner-up at TGDA in the Energy Saving category, it also has a chance to make it to market.

“The award proves that our product is green and friendly to the environment,” she says. “Several firms are interested in it, so it will be produced for sale in the near future.”

The winner in the Energy Saving category was Ittiya Gotragoun, 38, who came up with the Heat-Relief Partition, a room divider that’s both decorative and cooling thanks to a built-in water system. This was her thesis for a master’s degree in interior design at Silpakorn University.

“It also won the popular vote,” Pongtida beams. “This inspires me to research and develop other products under the same concept, to meet demand in the market in the future.

“As a thesis project, it’s owned by the university, but anyone who’s interested in turning it into a commercial product can contract the university.”

The Shrimp Shell Lamp

The Shrimp Shell Lamp that won Chaiwat Densamerwong, 22, top honours in the Resource Efficiency category was conceived to offset the huge amount of prawn shells that restaurants and seafood factories discard.

The third-year student at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University meanwhile also needed an idea to present in class. This was it – a painstakingly researched process that turns a mass of shells into plastic-like sheets that also happen to be completely odourless.

“The sheets can be transformed into any of several products. I decided to do a lamp,” he says. Chaiwat picked up good feedback at TGDA and is looking for investors.

Dr Singh Intrachooto, head of the TGDA 2018 jury, said the hope is that the competition results will inspire other clever people to develop green products.

“The ideas need to serve the demands of the market, many designers are now need to improve their prototypes from their labs so that they’re commercially viable,” Singh says.

This was the fifth year the Kasetsart Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Product Improvement Institute has organised the awards, he says, and there are four categories – Energy Saving, Resource Efficiency, Life Enhancement and Ageing Society.

People with bright ideas can enter individually as students or non-students (including professional entrepreneurs) or as part of a community enterprise or corporation.

“We’ve seen a steady improvement in the green products’ designs and functionality. Because we want to showcase these innovative green solutions to a wider audience, we collaborate with Siam Piwat to announce the winners and unveil the winning entries at Siam Paragon instead of Kasetsart University as in past years,” Singh says.

“We wanted to open it up to the public more so people can learn about green design in Thailand and so that retailers can see what’s promising. Perhaps people in the business will want to become partners with the inventors to market these green products. This is a way to drive the country towards an innovative and sustainable economy.”

The organisers arrange work shops to guide the designers in their transition from lab to marketplace, covering topics including how to launch a business. Initial distribution of the products is being arranged at

Siam Discovery’s Ecotopia store in downtown Bangkok and other channels are being explored, says Singh.

The Research and Innovation for Sustainable Centre where he serves as chief adviser has also earmarked about Bt5 million to help local startups in 2018, he says, apart from support offered to researchers who want to be entrepreneurs.

“These are all important steps in improving the country to make it the region’s green and innovation hub. When the inventions emerge from the laboratory as commercial products, they will drive the country’s growth and create a green and innovative society.”