Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 264 in total

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  1. Alnuqaydan AM, Almutary AG, Sukamaran A, Yang BTW, Lee XT, Lim WX, et al.
    AAPS PharmSciTech, 2021 Jun 08;22(5):173.
    PMID: 34105037 DOI: 10.1208/s12249-021-02062-2
    Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a lethal respiratory disease with its first case reported back in 2012 (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). It is a novel, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA beta coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that was isolated from a patient who died from a severe respiratory illness. Later, it was found that this patient was infected with MERS. MERS is endemic to countries in the Middle East regions, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It has been reported that the MERS virus originated from bats and dromedary camels, the natural hosts of MERS-CoV. The transmission of the virus to humans has been thought to be either direct or indirect. Few camel-to-human transmissions were reported earlier. However, the mode of transmission of how the virus affects humans remains unanswered. Moreover, outbreaks in either family-based or hospital-based settings were observed with high mortality rates, especially in individuals who did not receive proper management or those with underlying comorbidities, such as diabetes and renal failure. Since then, there have been numerous reports hypothesising complications in fatal cases of MERS. Over the years, various diagnostic methods, treatment strategies and preventive measures have been strategised in containing the MERS infection. Evidence from multiple sources implicated that no treatment options and vaccines have been developed in specific, for the direct management of MERS-CoV infection. Nevertheless, there are supportive measures outlined in response to symptom-related management. Health authorities should stress more on infection and prevention control measures, to ensure that MERS remains as a low-level threat to public health.
  2. Qureshi S, Iqbal M, Rafiq A, Ahmed H, Malik T, Kalam MN, et al.
    AIMS Public Health, 2023;10(3):553-567.
    PMID: 37842276 DOI: 10.3934/publichealth.2023039
    BACKGROUND: Childhood malnutrition remains a significant public health problem impacting the physical and mental growth if school aged children, particularly in limited-resource countries.

    OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to assess levels of physical activity, patterns of screen time (S.T.), the relationship between physical activity and screen time patterns, and how these factors affect growth status (adjusting for socioeconomic status).

    METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study included 3,834 children between 6-14 years attending pre-selected schools. Teachers, students, and parents were invited to fill out a standardized questionnaire, and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated using Center for disease control (CDC) centile charts. A Chi-square was performed to see the possible association between any height and weight abnormalities and all possible risk factors. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to see the effect of variables significantly associated with univariate analysis.

    RESULTS: Approximately 2,447 (63.8%) children were between 11-14 years old and 1,387 (36.2%) were between 4-10 years old. The mean height was 143.71 ± 16.51 centimetres, the mean weight was 36.5 ± 12.9 kilogram, and the mean BMI was 17.16 ± 3.52. Multivariate logistic regression status and junk food combined affected stunting socioeconomic status was significantly associated with being underweight p = 0.001.

    CONCLUSION: Childhood obesity and stunting remain significant problems in Pakistani school-going children. These are significantly associated with poverty, a lack of physical activity opportunities, and available food quality.

  3. Abdullah M
    ANZ J Surg, 2002 Sep;72(9):660-4.
    PMID: 12269919
    There have been few detailed studies on thyroid cancer (TC) in Malaysia, a multiethnic country with three major races - Malays, Chinese and Indians.
  4. Momani, M.A., Yatim, B., Ali, M.A.M., Abdullah, M.
    ASM Science Journal, 2009;3(2):121-130.
    MyJurnal
    The paper examines the propagation direction and speed of large scale travelling ionospheric disturbances (LSTIDs) obtained from GPS observations of extreme geomagnetic storms during the 23rd solar cycle; these are the October 2003 and November 2003 geomagnetic storms. In the analysis, the time delay between total electron content (TEC) structures at Scott Base station (SBA) (Lat. –77.85º, Long. 166.76º), McMurdo (McM4), (Lat. –77.84º, Long. 166.95º), Davis (DAV1), (Lat. –68.58º, Long. 77.97º) and Casey station (CAS1) (Lat. –66.28º, Long. 110.52º) GPS stations as well as the distance between these stations were employed in the analysis. The measurements during the October 2003 storm showed obvious time delay between the TEC enhancement occurrences at SBA/MCM4, DAV1 and CAS1 stations. The time delay indicated a movement of the ionospheric structures from higher to lower latitudes in a velocity ranging between 0.8 km/s – 1.2 km/s. The first sudden TEC enhancement was observed at SBA/McM4 (Lat. –75.84º) followed by CAS1 station (Lat. –66.28º) and the final TEC enhancement was seen at DAV1 station (Lat. –68.58º) with TEC magnitude decreasing while moving from higher to lower latitudes. One important observation was that although the latitude of the CAS1 station was lower than the DAV1 station, the TEC enhancement was firstly seen at the CAS1 station due to the shorter distance between SBA and CAS1 compared with the distance between SBA and CAS1 of about 500 km. The TEC measurements during the November 2003 storm showed an opposite propagation direction (i.e. poleward direction from lower to higher latitudes) which was seen with a velocity ranging between 0.3 km/s – 0.4 km/s. As similar response was observed using vertical TEC measurements obtained from individual PRN satellites but with higher velocity ranges (1.2 km/s – 2.4 km/s during October
    and 0.5 km/s – 0.7 km/s during November). The equatorward or poleward expansion of LSTIDs during the October and November 2003 storms was probably caused by the disturbances in the neutral temperature which occurred close to the dayside convection throat or due to the neutral wind oscillation induced by atmospheric gravity waves launched from the aurora region.
  5. Asiri AM, Faidallah HM, Sobahi TR, Ng SW, Tiekink ER
    Acta Crystallogr E Crystallogr Commun, 2015 Nov 1;71(Pt 11):e4.
    PMID: 26617187 DOI: 10.1107/S2056989015019271
    In the paper by Asiri et al. [Acta Cryst. (2012), E68, o1154], the title and the chemical name of one of the reagents used in the synthesis are corrected.[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1107/S1600536812011579.].
  6. Asiri AM, Alzahrani KAH, Faidallah HM, Alamry KA, Jotani MM, Tiekink ERT
    Acta Crystallogr E Crystallogr Commun, 2019 May 01;75(Pt 5):565-570.
    PMID: 31110787 DOI: 10.1107/S2056989019004389
    The title compound, 2C14H14N4O·H2O, comprises a neutral mol-ecule containing a central pyrazol-3-one ring flanked by an N-bound phenyl group and a C-bound 5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl group (at positions adjacent to the carbonyl substituent), its zwitterionic tautomer, whereby the N-bound proton of the central ring is now resident on the pendant ring, and a water mol-ecule of crystallization. Besides systematic variations in geometric parameters, the two independent organic mol-ecules have broadly similar conformations, as seen in the dihedral angle between the five-membered rings [9.72 (9)° for the neutral mol-ecule and 3.32 (9)° for the zwitterionic tautomer] and in the dihedral angles between the central and pendant five-membered rings [28.19 (8) and 20.96 (8)° (neutral mol-ecule); 11.33 (9) and 11.81 (9)°]. In the crystal, pyrazolyl-N-H⋯O(carbon-yl) and pyrazolium-N-H⋯N(pyrazol-yl) hydrogen bonds between the independent organic mol-ecules give rise to non-symmetric nine-membered {⋯HNNH⋯NC3O} and {⋯HNN⋯HNC3O} synthons, which differ in the positions of the N-bound H atoms. These aggregates are connected into a supra-molecular layer in the bc plane by water-O-H⋯N(pyrazolide), water-O-H⋯O(carbon-yl) and pyrazolyl-N-H⋯O(water) hydrogen bonding. The layers are linked into a three-dimensional architecture by methyl-C-H⋯π(phen-yl) inter-actions. The different inter-actions, in particular the weaker contacts, formed by the organic mol-ecules are clearly evident in the calculated Hirshfeld surfaces, and the calculated electrostatic potentials differentiate the tautomers.
  7. Yusoff AA, Abdullah J, Abdullah MR, Mohd Ariff AR, Isa MN
    Acta Neurochir (Wien), 2004 Jun;146(6):595-601.
    PMID: 15168228
    Alteration of the tumor suppressor gene p53 is considered to be a critical step in the development of human cancer. Changes in this gene have been detected in a wide range of human tumours, including gliomas. In glioma, the presence of p53 gene alterations has been associated with worse prognosis.
  8. Onwe EE, Ghani FA, Abdullah M, Osman M, Zin RRM, Vivian AN, et al.
    Adv Exp Med Biol, 2020;1292:97-112.
    PMID: 32542457 DOI: 10.1007/5584_2020_521
    Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is a malignancy of epithelial origin in the large bowel. The elucidation of the biological functions of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1), thymidylate synthase (TYMS), and deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) biomarkers including their roles in the pathophysiology of CRC - has led to their applications in diagnostic and chemo-pharmaceutics. We investigated whether PD-L1, TYMS, and DCC protein expression in CRC tumors are predictive biomarkers of treatment outcome for CRC patients. The expressions of PD-L1, TYMS, and DCC were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 91 paraffin-embedded samples from patients who underwent colectomy procedure in Hospital Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. There was high expression of DCC in most cases: 84.6% (77/91). PD-L1 showed low expression in 93.4% (86/91) of cases and high expression in 6.6% (5/91) of cases. Low and high expressions of TYMS were detected in 53.8% (49/91) and 46.2% (42/91) of the CRC cases, respectively. There was a significant association between the TYMS expression and gender (P 
  9. Abdullah, M., Che Ab Aziz, Z.A., Roslan Saub, Murat, N., Sulaiman, E., Hashim, N., et al.
    Ann Dent, 2009;16(1):9-14.
    MyJurnal
    The objectives of this study were to assess the practice of molar root canal treatment (RCT) among general dental practitioners (GDPs), confidence level of GDPs in performing molar RCT and to identify factors that influence their confidence in managing molar RCI. One hundred questionnaires were distributed to GDPs in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Fifty questionnaires were delivered by mail and the remaining fifty were hand-delivered. All data was coded and verified. Fiftysix OOPs rcsponded to the questionnaires. Only fortyfive questionnaires were accepted (n=45) as eleven OOPs had never performed molar RCI. Most of the OOPs followed the standard quality guidelines while performing molar RCT except for vitality testing (36.4%) and rubber dam usage (27.3%). In this study, 100% of the GDPs were confident in making diagnosis of perinidicular diseases and 95.4% were confident in performing molar RCT from history taking until obturation. Patients' tolerance and availability of instruments and materials (97.7%) were two factors that most influence the GDPs' confidence level. The. least influcncing factor was undergraduate training (78.1 %). Attending seminars and lectures on endodontic, large number of molar teeth treated for ReT, patLents' affordability to pay for RCT and postgraduate training also influencc GDPs' confidence to a certain degree. From this study, it can be concluded that majority of OOPs complied standard quality guidelines except for vitality testing and rubber dam usage. Most of them were confident in performing molar RCT and were greatly influenced by the availability or"instruments and materials in their clinic and patients' tolerance in receiving molar RCI.
  10. Che Ab Aziz, Z.A., Abdullah, M., Vello, C.D.S., Thangavelu, K.
    Ann Dent, 2006;13(1):12-17.
    MyJurnal
    Background: Majority of root canal treatment in Malaysia was provided by general dental practitioner. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practice (canal’s preparation, use of materials) by them. Methods: A questionnaire was structured and distributed to 120 registered general dental practitioners in selected areas in Perak, Johor and Klang Valley regarding the provision of root canal therapy in their practices. The questionnaires were hand delivered and collected after 1 to 2 weeks. Results: Reply rate was 95% (n=114). The result demonstrated that 62% respondents indicated that they performed the root canal therapy (RCT) themselves. Out of these only 26% included molars in the treatment. Three quarters of them (77%) used step-back technique and 54% used stainless steel instruments to prepare the canals. The majority of the respondents (69%) used calcium hydroxide as intracanal medicaments. Only 30% used rubber dam for isolation whereas the rest used cotton rolls. The numbers of routine radiographs taken were two for anterior teeth and three for molar. Half of the respondents indicated that they usually completed the RCT for the anterior tooth within two visits whereas three visits were needed for the molar tooth. The results were analyzed descriptively. Conclusions: This study indicates that most of the general dental practitioners’ do not comply with quality standards guidelines such as use of rubber dam as isolation. Cotton roll was the most popular isolation method. In spite of this, most of the respondents tend to update their knowledge and practices with current techniques and materials.
  11. Sulaiman, E., Yaakub, M.S., Zulkifli, N.A., Abdullah, M., Gonzalez, M.A.G.
    Ann Dent, 2010;17(1):9-14.
    MyJurnal
    Purpose of the study: The objective of this study was to investigate the existence of the golden proportion between the width of the maxillary anterior teeth of undergraduate dental students at University of Malaya. Materials and method: Standardised photographs of 100 dental students’ smiles displaying only the lips and the teeth were captured. The images were transferred to a personal computer and the width of the maxillary anterior teeth was measured using an Image
    Analyzer (Leiqa QWin). Calculations were made according to the Theory of Golden Proportion. The
    data were statistically analysed using paired student T-test (α
  12. Ibrahim, N.Z., Abdullah, M.
    Ann Dent, 2008;15(1):20-26.
    MyJurnal
    This study aim to evaluate antimicrobial efficacy of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and ozonated water against Enterococci faecalis biofilm. The bacterial biofilm was exposed to 2.62%, 1.31% NaOCl and 0.1 ppm ozonated water over a range of time periods. The presence of viable cells was determined by enumeration of colony forming units (CFU). All experiments were repeated four times (n=4). The effectiveness of the agents was compared using nonparametric Kruskal- Wallis test. The result revealed that 2.62% of NaOCl can completely kill E. faecalis biofilm in 15 minutes whereas 1.31 % NaOCl required a longer time to produce such effect. 0.1 ppm ozonated, however, did not exhibit any antimicrobial effect within the period of time tested. From this study, it can be concluded that 0.1 ppm ozonated water was not comparable with 2.62% and 1.31% NaOCl in antimicrobial efficacy against E. faecalis biofilm.
  13. Shukor MY, Masdor N, Baharom NA, Jamal JA, Abdullah MP, Shamaan NA, et al.
    Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 2008 Mar;144(3):283-91.
    PMID: 18556817
    A heavy-metal assay has been developed using bromelain, a protease. The enzyme is assayed using casein as a substrate with Coomassie dye to track completion of hydrolysis of casein. In the absence of inhibitors, casein is hydrolysed to completion, and the solution is brown. In the presence of metal ions such as Hg2+ and Cu2+, the hydrolysis of casein is inhibited, and the solution remains blue. Exclusion of sulfhydryl protective agent and ethylenediaminetetraacetic in the original assay improved sensitivity to heavy metals several fold. The assay is sensitive to Hg2+ and Cu2+, exhibiting a dose-response curve with an IC50 of 0.15 mg 1(-1) for Hg2+ and a one-phase binding curve with an IC50 of 0.23 mg 1(-1) for Cu2+. The IC50 value for Hg2+ is found to be lower to several other assays such as immobilized urease and papain assay, whilst the IC50 value for Cu2+ is lower than immobilized urease, 15-min Microtox, and rainbow trout.
  14. Shukor MY, Habib SH, Rahman MF, Jirangon H, Abdullah MP, Shamaan NA, et al.
    Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 2008 Apr;149(1):33-43.
    PMID: 18350385 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-008-8137-z
    A molybdate-reducing bacterium has been locally isolated. The bacterium reduces molybdate or Mo(6+) to molybdenum blue (molybdate oxidation states of between 5+ and 6+). Different carbon sources such as acetate, formate, glycerol, citric acid, lactose, fructose, glucose, mannitol, tartarate, maltose, sucrose, and starch were used at an initial concentration of 0.2% (w/v) in low phosphate media to study their effect on the molybdate reduction efficiency of bacterium. All of the carbon sources supported cellular growth, but only sucrose, maltose, glucose, and glycerol (in decreasing order) supported molybdate reduction after 24 h of incubation. Optimum concentration of sucrose for molybdate reduction is 1.0% (w/v) after 24 h of static incubation. Ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, valine, OH-proline, glutamic acid, and alanine (in the order of decreasing efficiency) supported molybdate reduction with ammonium sulfate giving the highest amount of molybdenum blue after 24 h of incubation at 0.3% (w/v). The optimum molybdate concentration that supports molybdate reduction is between 15 and 25 mM. Molybdate reduction is optimum at 35 degrees C. Phosphate at concentrations higher than 5 mM strongly inhibits molybdate reduction. The molybdenum blue produced from cellular reduction exhibits a unique absorption spectrum with a maximum peak at 865 nm and a shoulder at 700 nm. The isolate was tentatively identified as Serratia marcescens Strain Dr.Y6 based on carbon utilization profiles using Biolog GN plates and partial 16s rDNA molecular phylogeny.
  15. Rao K, Abdullah M, Ahmed U, Wehelie HI, Shah MR, Siddiqui R, et al.
    Arch Microbiol, 2024 Mar 04;206(4):134.
    PMID: 38433145 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-024-03854-3
    Acanthamoeba castellanii are opportunistic pathogens known to cause infection of the central nervous system termed: granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, that mostly effects immunocompromised individuals, and a sight threatening keratitis, known as Acanthamoeba keratitis, which mostly affects contact lens wearers. The current treatment available is problematic, and is toxic. Herein, an amphiphilic star polymer with AB2 miktoarms [A = hydrophobic poly(ℇ-Caprolacton) and B = hydrophilic poly (ethylene glycol)] was synthesized by ring opening polymerization and CuI catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Characterization by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography and fluorescence spectroscopy was accomplished. The hydrophobic drug itraconazole (ITZ) was incorporated in self-assembled micellar structure of AB2 miktoarms through co-solvent evaporation. The properties of ITZ loaded (ITZ-PCL-PEG2) and blank micelles (PCL-PEG2) were investigated through zeta sizer, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Itraconazole alone (ITZ), polymer (DPB-PCL), empty polymeric micelles (PCL-PEG2) alone, and itraconazole loaded in polymeric micelles (ITZ-PCL-PEG2) were tested for anti-amoebic potential against Acanthamoeba, and the cytotoxicity on human cells were determined. The polymer was able to self-assemble in aqueous conditions and exhibited low value for critical micelle concentration (CMC) 0.05-0.06 µg/mL. The maximum entrapment efficiency of ITZ was 68%. Of note, ITZ, DPB, PCL-PEG2 and ITZ-PCL-PEG2 inhibited amoebae trophozoites by 37.34%, 36.30%, 35.77%, and 68.24%, respectively, as compared to controls. Moreover, ITZ-PCL-PEG2 revealed limited cytotoxicity against human keratinocyte cells. These results are indicative that ITZ-PCL-PEG2 micelle show significantly better anti-amoebic effects as compared to ITZ alone and thus should be investigated further in vivo to determine its clinical potential.
  16. Hong CY, Wong NK, Abdullah M
    Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol, 2015 Mar;33(1):26-32.
    PMID: 25840631 DOI: 10.12932/AP0463.33.1.2015
    Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein (THP) and uromodulin are the most abundant glycoproteins in non-pregnant women's/men's and pregnant women's urine, respectively. However, the bioactivities of these glycoproteins are still unclear.
  17. Yip Ch, Bhoo-Pathy N, Daniel J, Foo Y, Mohamed A, Abdullah M, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2016;17(3):1077-82.
    PMID: 27039727
    BACKGROUND: The three standard biomarkers used in breast cancer are the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The Ki-67 index, a proliferative marker, has been shown to be associated with a poorer outcome, and despite absence of standardization of pathological assessment, is widely used for therapy decision making. We aim to study the role of the Ki-67 index in a group of Asian women with breast cancer.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 450 women newly diagnosed with Stage 1 to 3 invasive breast cancer in a single centre from July 2013 to Dec 2014 were included in this study. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association between Ki-67 (positive defined as 14% and above) and age, ethnicity, grade, mitotic index, ER, PR, HER2, lymph node status and size. All analyses were performed using SPSS Version 22.

    RESULTS: In univariable analysis, Ki -67 index was associated with younger age, higher grade, ER and PR negativity, HER2 positivity, high mitotic index and positive lymph nodes. However on multivariable analysis only tumour size, grade, PR and HER2 remained significant. Out of 102 stage 1 patients who had ER positive/PR positive/HER2 negative tumours and non-grade 3, only 5 (4.9%) had a positive Ki-67 index and may have been offered chemotherapy. However, it is interesting to note that none of these patients received chemotherapy.

    CONCLUSIONS: Information on Ki67 would have potentially changed management in an insignificant proportion of patients with stage 1 breast cancer.

  18. Md Yusof K, Mahmud R, Abdullah M, Avery-Kiejda KA, Rosli R
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2021 Apr 01;22(4):1055-1061.
    PMID: 33906296 DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2021.22.4.1055
    INTRODUCTION: The survival rate of female breast cancer survivors has been reported to be higher than other types of cancer in Malaysia. Nonetheless, breast cancer survivors face new challenges from unwanted side effects of treatment or management such as fatigue, psychological disturbance, or arm swelling, which can lead to the decline of quality of life (QOL). This study aims to adapt the Malay version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) to evaluate the QOL and to test its reliability and validity in Malaysian breast cancer survivors.

    METHODS: The Malay version of the FACT-B, with Disabilities of Arms, Shoulders and Hands (DASH), and Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety-Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS) were distributed to female breast cancer survivors which were recruited on a voluntary basis, from cancer support groups based in selected states in Malaysia. Reliability was assessed based on internal consistency (Cronbach's α), whereas concurrent validity was examined by comparing domains in FACT-B with DASH and PHQ-ADS. Finally, total scores of each domain were analysed between lymphedema and without lymphedema groups for known-group validity.

    RESULTS: A total of 113 breast cancer survivors agreed to participate (response rate = 100%) in the study. Our results showed that the Cronbach's α value for Malay FACT-B is 0.88, and each domain ranged from 0.62 to 0.88. A strong correlation was found between the physical well-being domain of FACT-B with DASH. Meanwhile, the breast cancer scale (BCS) displayed significant correlation with the instrument, Patient Health Questionnaire- Anxiety Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS), indicating that multiple factors including psychological distress were measured in the BCS domain. Furthermore, the instrument was able to detect differences in physical, functional and QOL between participants from lymphedema and without lymphedema groups.

    CONCLUSION: The Malay version of the FACT-B demonstrated reliable properties and is effective in assessing QOL and can be applied in Malaysian breast cancer survivors.

  19. Ibrahim MI, Abdullah M, Naing L, Abdullah JM, Idris Z, Aljunid SM
    Asian J Surg, 2007 Oct;30(4):261-6.
    PMID: 17962129
    The aim of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of using baseline neuromonitoring (BNM) compared with multimodality monitoring (M3) for severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).
  20. Idris Z, Ghani RI, Musa KI, Ibrahim MI, Abdullah M, Nyi NN, et al.
    Asian J Surg, 2007 Jul;30(3):200-8.
    PMID: 17638640
    To determine whether or not multimodality monitoring technique would result in a better outcome score than single modality monitoring in severely head injured patients.
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