Browse publications by year: 2017

  1. Juahir H, Ismail A, Mohamed SB, Toriman ME, Kassim AM, Zain SM, et al.
    Mar Pollut Bull, 2017 Jul 15;120(1-2):322-332.
    PMID: 28535957 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.04.032
    This study involves the use of quality engineering in oil spill classification based on oil spill fingerprinting from GC-FID and GC-MS employing the six-sigma approach. The oil spills are recovered from various water areas of Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah (East Malaysia). The study approach used six sigma methodologies that effectively serve as the problem solving in oil classification extracted from the complex mixtures of oil spilled dataset. The analysis of six sigma link with the quality engineering improved the organizational performance to achieve its objectivity of the environmental forensics. The study reveals that oil spills are discriminated into four groups' viz. diesel, hydrocarbon fuel oil (HFO), mixture oil lubricant and fuel oil (MOLFO) and waste oil (WO) according to the similarity of the intrinsic chemical properties. Through the validation, it confirmed that four discriminant component, diesel, hydrocarbon fuel oil (HFO), mixture oil lubricant and fuel oil (MOLFO) and waste oil (WO) dominate the oil types with a total variance of 99.51% with ANOVA giving Fstat>Fcritical at 95% confidence level and a Chi Square goodness test of 74.87. Results obtained from this study reveals that by employing six-sigma approach in a data-driven problem such as in the case of oil spill classification, good decision making can be expedited.
    MeSH terms: Fuel Oils; Malaysia; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry*; Total Quality Management; Petroleum Pollution/analysis*
  2. Varghese E, Samson RS, Kumbargere SN, Pothen M
    BMJ Case Rep, 2017 May 22;2017.
    PMID: 28536237 DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2017-220506
    MeSH terms: Cephalometry/methods*; Female; Humans; Radiography, Dental/methods*
  3. Mohammed Abubakar B, Mohd Salleh F, Shamsir Omar MS, Wagiran A
    PMID: 28536641 DOI: 10.1155/2017/1352948
    In the last two decades, there has been a tremendous increase in the global use of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) due to their claimed health benefits. This has led to increase in their demand and consequently, also, resulted in massive adulteration. This is due to the fact that most of the traditional methods cannot identify closely related species in a process product form. Therefore the urgent need for simple and rapid identification methods resulted in the discovery of a novel technique. DNA barcoding is a process that uses short DNA sequence from the standard genome for species identification. This technique is reliable and is not affected by external factors such as climates, age, or plant part. The difficulties in isolation of DNA of high quality in addition to other factors are among the challenges encountered using the DNA barcoding in the authentication of HMP. These limitations indicated that using DNA barcoding alone may ineffectively authenticate the HMP. Therefore, the combination of DNA barcoding with chromatographic fingerprint, a popular and generally accepted technique for the assessment and quality control of HMP, will offer an efficient solution to effectively evaluate the authenticity and quality consistency of HMP. Detailed and quality information about the main composition of the HMPs will help to ascertain their efficacy and safety as these are very important for quality control.
  4. Johari SA, Mohtar M, Syed Mohamad SA, Mohammat MF, Sahdan R, Mohamed A, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2017;2017:8032865.
    PMID: 28536702 DOI: 10.1155/2017/8032865
    Previously we have discovered a synthetically derived pyrrolidone alkaloid, MFM501, exhibiting good inhibitory activity against 53 MRSA and MSSA isolates with low cytotoxicity against three normal cell-lines with IC50 values at >625 µg/ml. Time-kill assay, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, in vivo oral acute toxicity test, and mice peritonitis model were carried out in this study. In the time-kill study, MFM501 showed a less than 3 log10 decrease in bacterial colony concentration value (CFU/ml) which represented a bacteriostatic action while displaying a time-dependent inhibitory mechanism. Following that, SEM analysis suggested that MFM501 may exert its inhibitory activity via cytoplasmic membrane disruption. Moreover, MFM501 showed no toxicity effect on treated mice at an estimated median acute lethal dose (LD50) value of more than 300 mg/kg and less than 2000 mg/kg. For the efficacy test, a mean effective dose (ED50) of 87.16 mg/kg was obtained via a single dose oral administration. Our data demonstrated that MFM501 has the potential to be developed further as a new, safe, and effective oral-delivered antibacterial agent against MRSA isolates.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents/toxicity; Humans; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Pyrrolidinones/administration & dosage*; Pyrrolidinones/pharmacology*; Pyrrolidinones/toxicity; Staphylococcal Infections/drug therapy*; Staphylococcal Infections/microbiology; Mice; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects*; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/ultrastructure
  5. Abd Rahman AN, Tett SE, Abdul Gafor HA, McWhinney BC, Staatz CE
    Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet, 2017 Dec;42(6):993-1004.
    PMID: 28536776 DOI: 10.1007/s13318-017-0420-3
    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Mycophenolic acid (MPA) provides effective treatment for lupus nephritis patients. Owing to its large pharmacokinetic variability, it is questionable whether standard fixed dose therapy can achieve optimal MPA exposure. The aim of this study was to develop a population pharmacokinetic model of MPA and its metabolite, 7-O-MPA-β-glucuronide (MPAG), to identify important covariate influences and better predict patient dosing requirements.
    METHODS: MPA and MPAG concentration-time profiles were collected from 25 patients receiving mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) with or without cyclosporine (CsA) co-therapy. Samples were collected pre-dose and at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h post-dose on one or two occasions.
    RESULTS: A total of 225 and 226 concentration-time measurements of MPA and MPAG, respectively, were used to develop the model, utilizing NONMEM® software. A two-compartment model with first-order absorption and elimination for MPA and a one-compartment model with first-order elimination and enterohepatic circulation (EHC) for MPAG best described the data. Apparent clearance of MPAG (CL/F MPAG) significantly decreased with reducing renal function and extent of EHC was reduced with concomitant CsA use. Simulations using the final model showed that a 70-kg subject with a creatinine clearance of 90 mL/min receiving concomitant CsA would require 1.25 g of MMF twice daily while a similar subject who did not receive concomitant CsA would require 0.75 g twice daily to achieve a MPA area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 12 h (AUC0-12) of 45 mg·h/L.
    CONCLUSION: A 'tiered' dosing approach considering patient renal function and CsA co-therapy, rather than a 'one dose fits all' approach, would help individualize MMF therapy in adult lupus nephritis patients to ensure more patients have optimal MPA exposure.
    Study site: Nephrology and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Clinics, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    MeSH terms: Adult; Computer Simulation; Drug Interactions; Female; Hospitals, University; Humans; Immunosuppressive Agents/blood; Immunosuppressive Agents/pharmacokinetics; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use; Lupus Nephritis/blood; Lupus Nephritis/drug therapy*; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Models, Biological; Mycophenolic Acid/analogs & derivatives; Mycophenolic Acid/blood; Mycophenolic Acid/pharmacokinetics*; Mycophenolic Acid/therapeutic use*; Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; Cyclosporine/pharmacology; Glucuronides/blood; Glucuronides/pharmacokinetics; Drug Dosage Calculations*; Young Adult
  6. Nugraha B, Paternostro-Sluga T, Schuhfried O, Stucki G, Franchignoni F, Abdul Latif L, et al.
    J Rehabil Med, 2017 Jun 28;49(6):469-474.
    PMID: 28537344 DOI: 10.2340/16501977-2232
    BACKGROUND: Evaluation of the initial list of proposed abstract topics for Congresses of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) was needed in order to ensure its feasibility for use in future congress announcements and invitations for abstract submission.

    METHODS: The initial proposals were based on 5 main areas of PRM research: biosciences in rehabilitation, biomedical rehabilitation sciences and engineering, clinical PRM sciences, integrative rehabilitation sciences, and human functioning sciences. This list became a model for structuring the abstracts for the 9th and 10th World Congresses of PRM, held in Berlin, Germany (2015) and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2016), respectively. The next step was to evaluate the implementation of this model in both congresses.

    RESULTS: It was found that the 5 main research areas were still used as the main principles (chapters) in which to organize the abstracts. However, some modifications have been made to cover topics that were not included in the initial proposal.

    CONCLUSION: A more comprehensive list of topics has been developed, not only for topic list announcements, but also for the structuring and classification of abstracts for future international, regional or national PRM congresses.

    MeSH terms: Congresses as Topic/organization & administration*; Humans; Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine/organization & administration*; History, 21st Century
  7. Wan Zukiman WZH, Yaakup H, Zakaria NF, Shah SAB
    J Palliat Med, 2017 10;20(10):1127-1134.
    PMID: 28537462 DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2016.0450
    BACKGROUND: Limited comparative data are available on the symptom severity and burden of dialyzed versus nondialyzed end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and their association with negative emotional states.

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of symptom burden and severity of ESRD patients and correlate the findings with their psychological status.

    METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of dialyzed (N = 87) and nondialyzed (N = 100) patients. The symptom burden and severity were determined using the Dialysis Symptom Index (DSI) and the psychological assessment using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21).

    RESULTS: Symptom severity evaluated using the DSI was comparable in both groups with fatigue as the most common symptom (n = 141, 75.4%), followed by sleep-related, sexual dysfunction, and dry skin problems. The symptom burden for worrying, dry skin and mouth, decreased appetite, numbness, and leg swelling were significant in not dialyzed group (p 

    MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emotions*; Female; Renal Dialysis/psychology*; Humans; Kidney Failure, Chronic/psychology*; Kidney Failure, Chronic/therapy*; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Quality of Life/psychology*; Surveys and Questionnaires; Severity of Illness Index; Patient Satisfaction/statistics & numerical data*; Renal Replacement Therapy/psychology*
  8. Kwan MK, Chiu CK, Chan TS, Chong KI, Mohamad SM, Hasan MS, et al.
    Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 2017 Jun 01;42(11):838-843.
    PMID: 28538525 DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000001902
    STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cohort study.

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine and evaluate the trajectory of surgical wound pain from day 1 to day 14 after posterior spinal fusion (PSF) surgery in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

    SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Information regarding how the postoperative pain improves with time offers invaluable information not only to the patients and parents but also to assist the clinician in managing postoperative pain.

    METHODS: AIS patients who were planned for elective PSF surgery from September 2015 to December 2015 were prospectively recruited into this study. All patients underwent a similar pain management regimen with patient-controlled anesthesia (PCA) morphine, acetaminophen, celecoxib, and oxycodone hydrochloride.

    RESULTS: A total of 40 patients (36 F:4 M) were recruited. The visual analogue score (VAS) pain score was highest at 12 hours postoperation (6.0 ± 2.3). It reduced to 3.9 ± 2.2 (day 4), 1.9 ± 1.6 (day 7), and 0.7 ± 1.1 (day 14). The total PCA usage in all patients was 12.4 ± 9.9 mg (first 12 hours), 7.1 ± 8.0 mg (12 to 24 hours), 5.6 ± 6.9 (24-36 hours), and 2.1 ± 6.1 mg (36-48 hours). The celecoxib capsules usage was reducing from 215.0 ± 152.8 mg at 24 hours to 55.0 ± 90.4 mg on day 14. The acetaminophen usage was reducing from 2275 ± 1198 mg at 24 hours to 150 ± 483 mg at day 14. Oxycodone hydrochloride capsules consumption rose to the peak of 1.4 ± 2.8 mg on day 4 before gradually reducing to none by day 13.

    CONCLUSION: With an adequate postoperation pain regimen, significant pain should subside to a tolerable level by postoperative day 4 and negligible by postoperative day 7. Patient usually can be discharged on postoperative day 4 when the usage of PCA morphine was not required.

    LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.

    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Analgesics/therapeutic use*; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Pain Measurement; Pain, Postoperative/diagnosis; Pain, Postoperative/drug therapy*; Postoperative Period; Scoliosis/surgery*; Severity of Illness Index; Spinal Fusion/adverse effects*; Spinal Fusion/methods; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled; Young Adult; Pain Management
  9. Wasenda EJ, Kamisan Atan I, Subramaniam N, Dietz HP
    Menopause, 2017 Oct;24(10):1185-1189.
    PMID: 28538602 DOI: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000898
    OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of hormone therapy (HT) use on pelvic organ support.

    METHODS: A retrospective observational study involving postmenopausal women with pelvic floor dysfunction attending a tertiary urogynecology center between January 2012 and March 2015. All underwent a clinical examination including International Continence Society Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification and 4D translabial ultrasound imaging. Information on current or former use of systemic HT and current local estrogen use was collected. Main outcome measure was pelvic organ support.

    RESULTS: One thousand four hundred forty-three women were seen during the study period. On univariate analysis, current HT was significantly associated with sonographically determined descent of the rectal ampulla (β [95% confidence interval] 3.4 mm [0.4-6.5], P = 0.03) and Gh + Pb (-0.45 mm [-0.8 to -0.1], P = 0.005). Past HT use, duration of HT use, or current vaginal estrogen use was not associated with pelvic organ support. On multivariate analysis controlling for age, parity, body mass index, history of forceps delivery, and avulsion, the association between current HT on the one hand and Gh + Pb as well as increased descent of the rectal ampulla on ultrasound, remained significant (P = 0.008 and P = 0.012, respectively).

    CONCLUSION: HT may have a minor negative effect on pelvic organ support; however, the effect is likely too small to be clinically relevant.

    MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Connective Tissue/drug effects; Estrogens/adverse effects*; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies; Ultrasonography; Postmenopause*; Pelvic Floor/physiopathology; Statistics, Nonparametric; Hormone Replacement Therapy/adverse effects*; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/chemically induced; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/epidemiology; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/physiopathology*
  10. Moghaddam AB, Moniri M, Azizi S, Rahim RA, Ariff AB, Saad WZ, et al.
    Molecules, 2017 May 24;22(6).
    PMID: 28538674 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22060872
    The potential ability of a new yeast strain, Pichia kudriavzevii, in the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) through a green method was explored in this study. The effect of reaction time (12, 24 and 36 h) on the structure of the resulting ZnO nanoparticles was investigated. From the XRD and TEM results, the ZnO-NPs with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and a particle crystal size of ~10-61 nm was formed at different reaction times. Combing XRD, TEM, and PL results, it was revealed that the sample prepared at intermediate duration (24 h) has the most favorable nanosized structure with the lowest defect concentration. The biomedical properties of ZnO-NPs as free radical scavenging activity, cytotoxicity and antibacterial agents were characterized. Biosynthesized ZnO-NPs showed strong DPPH free radical scavenging and a dose dependent toxicity with non-toxic effects on Vero cells for concentrations below 190 µg/mL. Desirable bactericidal activity was shown by the ZnO-NPs on Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aurous) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens). A maximum inhibition zone of ~19 mm was observed for Staphylococcus epidermidis at a concentration of 100 µg/mL for sample prepared at 24 h. The results from this study reveal that ZnO-NPs possesses potential for many medical and industrial applications.
    MeSH terms: Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology*; Anti-Infective Agents/chemistry*; Antioxidants/pharmacology*; Antioxidants/chemistry*; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Pichia/drug effects*; Zinc Oxide/chemistry*; Nanoparticles/chemistry*
  11. Al-Talib H, Al-Khateeb A, Hameed A, Murugaiah C
    An Bras Dermatol, 2017 5 26;92(2):212-216.
    PMID: 28538881 DOI: 10.1590/abd1806-4841.20175273
    Acne vulgaris is an extremely common condition affecting the pilosebaceous unit of the skin and characterized by presence of comedones, papules, pustules, nodules, cysts, which might result in permanent scars. Acne vulgaris commonly involve adolescents and young age groups. Active acne vulgaris is usually associated with several complications like hyper or hypopigmentation, scar formation and skin disfigurement. Previous studies have targeted the efficiency and safety of local and systemic agents in the treatment of active acne vulgaris. Superficial chemical peeling is a skin-wounding procedure which might cause some potentially undesirable adverse events. This study was conducted to review the efficacy and safety of superficial chemical peeling in the treatment of active acne vulgaris. It is a structured review of an earlier seven articles meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The clinical assessments were based on pretreatment and post-treatment comparisons and the role of superficial chemical peeling in reduction of papules, pustules and comedones in active acne vulgaris. This study showed that almost all patients tolerated well the chemical peeling procedures despite a mild discomfort, burning, irritation and erythema have been reported; also the incidence of major adverse events was very low and easily manageable. In conclusion, chemical peeling with glycolic acid is a well-tolerated and safe treatment modality in active acne vulgaris while salicylic acid peels is a more convenient for treatment of darker skin patients and it showed significant and earlier improvement than glycolic acid.
    MeSH terms: Acne Vulgaris/therapy*; Chemexfoliation/adverse effects; Chemexfoliation/methods*; Erythema/etiology; Glycolates/therapeutic use*; Humans; Keratolytic Agents/therapeutic use*; Salicylates; Treatment Outcome; Salicylic Acid/therapeutic use*
  12. Ishak AR, Hamid FS, Mohamad S, Tay KS
    Waste Manag Res, 2017 Jul;35(7):739-746.
    PMID: 28539097 DOI: 10.1177/0734242X17707572
    The treatment of stabilized landfill leachate (SLL) by conventional biological treatment is often inefficient due to the presence of bio-recalcitrant substances. In this study, the feasibility of coagulation-flocculation coupled with the Fenton reaction in the treatment of SLL was evaluated. The efficiency of the selected treatment methods was evaluated through total organic carbon (TOC) removal from SLL. With ferric chloride as the coagulant, coagulation-flocculation was found to achieve the highest TOC removal of 71% at pH 6. Then, the pretreated SLL was subjected to the Fenton reaction. Nearly 50% of TOC removal was achieved when the reaction was carried out at pH 3, H2O2:Fe2+ ratio of 20:1, H2O2 dosage of 240 mM and 1 h of reaction time. By coupling the coagulation-flocculation with the Fenton reaction, the removal of TOC, COD (chemical oxygen demand) and turbidity of SLL were 85%, 84% and 100%, respectively. The ecotoxicity study performed using zebrafish revealed that 96 h LC50 for raw SLL was 1.40% (v/v). After coagulation-flocculation, the LC50 of the pretreated SLL was increased to 25.44%. However, after the Fenton reaction, the LC50 of the treated SLL was found to decrease to 10.96% due to the presence of H2O2 residue. In this study, H2O2 residue was removed using powdered activated charcoal. This method increased the LC50 of treated effluent to 34.48% and the removal of TOC and COD was further increased to 90%. This finding demonstrated that the combination of the selected treatment methods can be an efficient treatment method for SLL.
    MeSH terms: Adsorption; Charcoal; Flocculation; Hydrogen Peroxide; Iron; Oxidation-Reduction; Refuse Disposal*; Water Pollutants, Chemical*
  13. Alsabery AI, Chamkha AJ, Saleh H, Hashim I
    Sci Rep, 2017 05 24;7(1):2357.
    PMID: 28539585 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02241-x
    This work analyses free convection flow of a nanofluid in an inclined square enclosure consisting of a porous layer and a nanofluid layer using the finite difference methodology. Sinusoidal temperature boundary conditions are imposed on the two opposing vertical walls. Nanofluids with water as base and Ag or Cu or Al2O3 or TiO2 nanoparticles are considered for the problem. The related parameters of this study are the Darcy number, nanoparticle volume fraction, phase deviation, amplitude ratio, porous layer thickness and the inclination angle of the cavity. A comparison with previously published work is performed and the results are in good agreement. Detailed numerical data for the fluid flow and thermal distributions inside the square enclosure, and the Nusselt numbers are presented. The obtained results show that the heat transfer is considerably affected by the porous layer increment. Several nanoparticles depicted a diversity improvement on the convection heat transfer.
    MeSH terms: Aluminum Oxide; Hot Temperature; Temperature; Water; Porosity; Convection; Nanoparticles; Physical Phenomena
  14. Sami W, Ansari T, Butt NS, Hamid MRA
    Int J Health Sci (Qassim), 2017 Apr-Jun;11(2):65-71.
    PMID: 28539866
    Globally, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is considered as one of the most common diseases. The etiology of T2DM is complex and is associated with irreversible risk factors such as age, genetic, race, and ethnicity and reversible factors such as diet, physical activity and smoking. The objectives of this review are to examine various studies to explore relationship of T2DM with different dietary habits/patterns and practices and its complications. Dietary habits and sedentary lifestyle are the major factors for rapidly rising incidence of DM among developing countries. In type 2 diabetics, recently, elevated HbA1c level has also been considered as one of the leading risk factors for developing microvascular and macrovascular complications. Improvement in the elevated HbA1c level can be achieved through diet management; thus, the patients could be prevented from developing the diabetes complications. Awareness about diabetes complications and consequent improvement in dietary knowledge, attitude, and practices lead to better control of the disease. The stakeholders (health-care providers, health facilities, agencies involved in diabetes care, etc.) should encourage patients to understand the importance of diet which may help in disease management, appropriate self-care and better quality of life.
    MeSH terms: Developing Countries; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diet; Feeding Behavior; Health Facilities; Humans; Quality of Life; Risk Factors; Self Care; Smoking; Exercise; Incidence; Disease Management; Diabetes Complications; Sedentary Lifestyle
  15. Ngu LH, Ong Peitee W, Leong HY, Chew HB
    Mol Genet Metab Rep, 2017 Sep;12:28-32.
    PMID: 28540187 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgmr.2017.05.002
    Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) II or Hunter syndrome is a chronic, progressive, multi-systemic illness associated with significant morbidity and early mortality. Available evidence in Asian populations shows that Hunter syndrome has a mean age of onset of 2 to 5 years and a life expectancy of 13 years in more severely affected individuals, with respiratory failure reported as the leading cause of death. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with idursulfase (Elaprase, Shire Pharmaceuticals) and idursulfase beta (Hunterase, Green Cross Corp) are the only approved treatment for patients with MPS II. While these agents have the same amino acids, they have different glycosylation patterns because they are produced in different cell lines via different manufacturing processes. In previous studies, the beneficial effects of idursulfase beta have been confirmed in patients up to 35 years of age, without serious treatment-related safety concerns. The major drawbacks associated with ERT include the potential development of serious infusion-related anaphylactic reactions and up to 50% of treated patients develop anti-IDS antibodies. Here we report the case of a 13-year-old Malaysian patient with attenuated MPS II who developed troublesome infusion-associated reactions while receiving idursulfase treatment but tolerated and responded favorably to idursulfase beta.
  16. Elbardisi H, Agarwal A, Majzoub A, Al Said S, Alnawasra H, Khalafalla K, et al.
    Transl Androl Urol, 2017 Apr;6(2):264-270.
    PMID: 28540234 DOI: 10.21037/tau.2017.03.56
    BACKGROUND: We examined the impact of the number of veins ligated during varicocelectomy on post-surgical improvement of pain in a group of men presenting with clinical varicocele and pain as an indication for surgery.

    METHODS: This is a retrospective study of patients presenting with clinical left varicocele to the male infertility unit at a teaching hospital in Qatar. Files of all patients who underwent sub-inguinal microsurgical varicocelectomy were retrieved and categorized into three groups indicating the number of spermatic veins ligated during varicocelectomy. The presence of pain was assessed during pre- and post-operation (at 3 and 6 months). Statistical analysis was performed using Kruskal-Wallis test (K) and Chi-square test (C).

    RESULTS: Out of 675 records, 207 (30.7%) patients did left varicocelectomy for pain. Their mean age was 35.3±9.2 years. Pain was assessed in 106/207 (51.2%) patients post operatively, of whom 89 (84%) reported complete resolution of symptoms. This improvement was maintained irrespective of the number of veins ligated during surgery (<5 veins: 90.0%, 5-10 veins: 81.5%, and >10 veins: 85.7%).

    CONCLUSIONS: Microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy is a valid treatment method for patients with a symptomatic clinical varicocele. While a significant post-surgical (at 6 months) reduction of pain was detected, the number of veins ligated intraoperatively was not predictive of post-operative improvement of pain in this study population.

  17. Peng Y, Zhou F, Cui J, Du K, Leng Q, Yang F, et al.
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2017 Jul;24(19):16206-16219.
    PMID: 28540543 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-9221-0
    The Three Gorges Dam's construction and industrial transfer have resulted in a new air pollution pattern with the potential to threaten the reservoir eco-environment. To assess the impact of socioeconomic factors on the pattern of air quality vairation and economical risks, concentrations of SO2, NO2, and PM10, industry genres, and meteorological conditions were selected in the Three Gorges Reservoir of Chongqing (TGRC) during 2006-2015. Results showed that air quality had improved to some extent, but atmospheric NO2 showed an increased trend during 2011-2015. Spatially, higher atmospheric NO2 extended to the surrounding area. The primary industry, especially for agriculture, had shown to be responsible for the remarkable increase of atmospheric NO2 (p 
    MeSH terms: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution*; China; Environmental Monitoring; Meteorological Concepts*; Socioeconomic Factors; Particulate Matter
  18. Chua EW, Maggo S, Kennedy MA
    Methods Mol Biol, 2017;1620:65-74.
    PMID: 28540699 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7060-5_3
    Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an oft-used preparatory technique in amplifying specific DNA regions for downstream analysis. The size of an amplicon was initially limited by errors in nucleotide polymerization and template deterioration during thermal cycling. A variant of PCR, designated long-range PCR, was devised to counter these drawbacks and enable the amplification of large fragments exceeding a few kb. In this chapter we describe a protocol for long-range PCR, which we have adopted to obtain products of 6.6, 7.2, 13, and 20 kb from human genomic DNA samples.
    MeSH terms: DNA/genetics*; Humans; Genome, Human/genetics*; Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods*; DNA Primers; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/methods*
  19. Salman M, Khan AH, Adnan AS, Syed Sulaiman SA, Shehzadi N, Asif N, et al.
    Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl, 2017 5 26;28(3):517-523.
    PMID: 28540887 DOI: 10.4103/1319-2442.206451
    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients suffer from multiple comorbidities and complications as a cause or consequence of kidney disease. Information regarding medication- prescribing patterns in predialysis patients is sparse. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the medication prescription patterns among predialysis patients. Medical records (both paper based and computerized) of patients at CKD Resource Centre, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, were reviewed. A total of 615 eligible cases were included in the study. The mean number of medications prescribed per patient was 8.22 ± 2.81, and medication use was correlated to the renal function (stage 3a < stage 3b < stage 4 < stage 5; P <0.001). The top three prescribed medication groups were found to be lipid-lowering agents, calcium channel blockers, and antiplatelet agents. Some medication classes such as nonaluminum/noncalcium phosphate binders, erythropoietin-stimulating agents, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers, particularly in advanced stage, were found to be underutilized. In conclusion, predialysis patients are prescribed a large number of medications. Our findings highlight the need for assessing the impact of current medication-prescribing patterns on morbidity and mortality rates in Malaysian predialysis population.
    MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Hypolipidemic Agents/therapeutic use*; Calcium Channel Blockers/therapeutic use*; Female; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Practice Patterns, Physicians'/trends*; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors/therapeutic use*; Drug Prescriptions; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Comorbidity; Drug Utilization Review/trends; Polypharmacy; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/diagnosis; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/drug therapy*; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/epidemiology
  20. Mallhi TH, Khan AH, Khan YH, Adnan AS, Sarriff A
    Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl, 2017 5 26;28(3):667-669.
    PMID: 28540914 DOI: 10.4103/1319-2442.206453
    MeSH terms: Dengue*; Humans; Acute Kidney Injury*
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