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  1. Lambak Z, Abdul Rahman F, Mokhtar MR, Tengku IA
    Opt Express, 2009 Feb 16;17(4):2926-37.
    PMID: 19219196
    The method of lines (MoL) has been developed to study coupling efficiency on hemispherical lens. In this paper, the physical shape of the lens is approximated by cascading a number of straight waveguide segments. The perfectly matched layer (PML) is applied as an absorber for the MoL to reduce numerical reflection in the simulation region. Analysis is done by calculating coupling efficiency at the plane of integration where the coupling efficiency is an overlap integral between laser diode field and fiber field. The result of coupling efficiency in this analysis is compared to the experiment and ABCD matrix. It is found that MoL gives good result accuracy.
  2. Imran A, Azidah AK, Asrenee AR, Rosediani M
    Med J Malaysia, 2009 Jun;64(2):134-9.
    PMID: 20058573 MyJurnal
    Depression among elderly primary care patients is a serious problem with significant morbidity and mortality. This is a cross sectional study to determine the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among the elderly patients attending the outpatient clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital. This study utilized Malay version Geriatric Depression Scale 14 (M-GDS 14) to screen for elderly depression among Malaysian population. It also looked into associated risk factors for elderly depression using sociodemographic, family dynamics, and medically related questionnaires. Out of 244 subjects, 34 or 13.9% were found to have depression. Three variables were found to be significantly associated with depression. Elderly patient with any illness that limits the patient's activity or mobility has more risk of developing depression (OR 2.68 CI 1.15 - 6.24). Elderly patients who were satisfied with their personal incomes (OR 0.29 CI 0.10 - 0.85), and who had children or son/daughter-in-law to take care of them when they are sick (OR 0.10 CI 0.01 - 0.83) have a lower chance of having depression. Screening the elderly for depression, would help in diagnosing the elderly depression better and offer them the treatment needed.

    Study site: Outpatient clinics, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM)
  3. Philip R, Imran AG, Dinsuhaimi S, Shahid H
    Med J Malaysia, 2006 Jun;61(2):233-5.
    PMID: 16898319 MyJurnal
    Various complications are associated with the use of indwelling voice prostheses. We present problems faced by a patient with his Voice-Master prosthesis, the ingestion of the prosthesis followed by a potentially fatal aspiration. The Voice-Master is unique in that in can be re-inserted. The safety strap is removed after primary insertion once the prosthesis is secure. However, during re-insertions this safety mechanism is no longer present. Therefore we recommend the placement of a temporary stitch or tie to minimize the risks of ingestion or aspiration of the prosthesis during re-insertions.
  4. Aida Maziha Z, Imran A, Azlina I, Harmy MY
    Malays Fam Physician, 2018;13(2):19-25.
    PMID: 30302179 MyJurnal
    Introduction: Nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms are associated with higher rates of relapse. It has been shown that combining behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy leads to a higher long-term abstinence rate in those who quit smoking. Al-Quran recitation has been proven to reduce anxiety among athletes before tournaments and pulse and heart rates among patients awaiting cardiac operations. As most of the patients who wish to stop smoking experience high-anxiety states, we postulate that Al-Quran recitation will also able to reduce craving among smokers attempting to quit smoking.

    Methods: Fifty smokers from an outpatient clinic were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. They were taught different ways of coping with smoking urges, i.e., counseling using the 12'M' method (control group) versus Al-Quran recitation (intervention group). They met for four consecutive weeks of counselling and to fill out a withdrawal scale. Carbon monoxide (CO) levels were tested at baseline and at week 4. At week 12, the number of cigarettes smoked was measured again. The decrease in the number of cigarettes considered to be clinically significant for the calculation of sample size was based on expert opinion.

    Results: The reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked was 7 cigarettes in the counselling group and 9 cigarettes in Al-Quran recitation group over 12 weeks duration. There was a statistically significant difference in the number of cigarettes smoked between the groups. There was also a statistically significant difference in the change in cravings between the groups at week 4 (p-value = 0.005). However, the difference in the changes in CO levels between the two groups was not statistically significant.

    Conclusion: Al-Quran recitation produced a statistically significant reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked at week 12 and a significant change in cravings at week 4 among smokers attempting to quit. Difference in smoking abstinence rates was not measured in this study.
  5. Hasan SS, Shamala R, Syed IA, Basariah N, Chong DW, Mei TK, et al.
    J Pharm Pract, 2011 Oct;24(5):485-93.
    PMID: 21844213 DOI: 10.1177/0897190011415684
    OBJECTIVES: To assess the anticoagulation knowledge and international normalized ratio (INR) control among patients on warfarin.
    METHODS: A cross-sectional study with 156 randomly sampled patients from physician- (non-medication therapy adherence clinic [non-MTAC]) and pharmacist (MTAC)-run anticoagulation clinics using a validated interviewer-administered questionnaire. Patients' INR readings from 2008 to 2010 were recorded.
    RESULTS: Patients on warfarin scored an average of 66.5% ± 36.0% for their knowledge on how warfarin works, 42.9% ± 44.9% for interaction between warfarin and alcohol, and 49.2% ± 21.1% for adverse effects. No significant differences were found between MTAC and non-MTAC patients on their knowledge. There was a negative correlation between patients' knowledge and age (P = .001, r (s) = -.293) and a positive correlation between patients' knowledge and education level (P = .001, r (s) = .365). MTAC patients were found to have better INR control than non-MTAC when compared for mean percentage days in range (63.4% ± 18.9% vs 52.5% ± 18.2%; P = .006) and mean percentage visits in range (58.8% ± 17.9% vs 46.8% ± 18.6%; P = .001).
    CONCLUSIONS: MTAC patients were found to have better INR control compared to non-MTAC patients. A joint cooperation between physicians, pharmacists, and nurses should exist to achieve desired therapeutic outcomes.

    Study site: warfarin patients
    attending the anticoagulation clinics
  6. Khan SQ, Khabeer A, Al Harbi F, Arrejaie AS, Moheet IA, Farooqi FA, et al.
    Saudi J Med Med Sci, 2017 04 20;5(2):145-148.
    PMID: 30787773 DOI: 10.4103/1658-631X.204860
    Objective: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the frequency and status of root canal-treated teeth in patients treated at the College of Dentistry, University of Dammam in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

    Materials and Methods: A total of 3701 patients visited the clinics during the study period. Through the use of radiographs, 161 patients were initially selected who had endodontically treated teeth. However, after applying the inclusion criteria, the total number of eligible cases was reduced to 155. Patients were divided into three groups according to age (children 1-12 years, adults 13-65 years and geriatrics >65 years).

    Results: On average, each patient had 2.28 ± 1.88 root canal-treated teeth and 24.02 ± 5.03 teeth without root canal treatment. The average number of endodontically treated teeth increased with an increase in age. The adult group showed the highest number of root-filled teeth 314 (93.4%). Of the 336 endodontically treated teeth, only 75 (22.3%) teeth exhibited periapical radiolucency. First molars (28.43-36.36%) and second premolars (20.1-27.27%) were the most frequently root-filled teeth in both jaws, followed by the first maxillary premolars (11.76%). Periapical lesions showed an almost similar pattern with the highest number of radiolucencies found in the first molars in both jaws (29.3-33.3%) followed by the second premolars in the mandible (30.6%) and first premolars in both jaws (20.8-25%).

    Conclusion: The first molars and second premolars were the most frequently root-filled teeth in both jaws, followed by maxillary first premolars. Periapical lesions showed an almost similar pattern among teeth with a higher number of radiolucencies found in the first molars in both jaws, followed by the second premolars in the mandible and the first premolars in both jaws.

  7. Kamil S, Biswas M, Imran A, Islam R, Mukhtar A, Joshi S
    Libyan J Med, 2009 Jun 01;4(2):83-5.
    PMID: 21483516 DOI: 10.4176/081220
    We report a case of a 48-year-old Indian male who presented with swelling and firmness in his left upper part of the abdomen of one month duration with anorexia and weight loss. Initial examination revealed an intra abdominal mass of around 16.8x11.0x24.5cm with minimal left sided pleural effusion. A biopsy from the mass confirmed the diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GISTs) as supported by immmunohistochemistry results which showed strong positivity for c-kit while stains for smooth muscle actin, desmin, myoglobin, S100 Protein and cytokerstin remained negative. The patient was not suitable for surgical intervention in view of advanced tumor, and Imatinib Mesylate 400mg daily was started with the aim of making the tumor operable. Such therapy lasted for twenty months and was tolerated well by the patient. It then resulted in gradual tumor regression, following which the patient underwent successful tumor resection. Post surgical resection patient had no radiological evidence of intra abdominal tumor but mild left sided pleural effusion with left lower lobe atelectasis. The patient had uneventful post operative recovery and he is currently on Imatinib mesylate and tolerating treatment well with mild skin rash. The experience with preoperative imatinib on surgical resection rates and post operative outcomes is limited especially with primary locally advanced GISTs. In our case successful surgical resection was possible for a huge locally advanced GIST with unusually prolonged treatment of twenty months with imatinib preoperatively.
  8. Al-Joudi FS, Iskandar ZA, Imran AK
    Med J Malaysia, 2007 Mar;62(1):6-8.
    PMID: 17682561 MyJurnal
    Survivin is a 16.5-kDa intracellular protein also known as AP14 or BIRC5. It inhibits apoptosis and regulates cell division and belongs to the inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) gene family. In the majority of neoplasms investigated for survivin expression, high levels of the IAP proteins were predictive of tumour progression, either in terms of disease-free survival or overall survival, thus providing significant prognostic information. Hence, the prognostic value of survivin expression in tumour masses of invasive ductal carcinoma has been investigated. It was found that negative and low expression of survivin correlated significantly with favourable outcomes. Conversely, high expression correlated with unfavourable outcomes. The five-year survival rate was higher among the cases with low and negative survivin expression, compared to those with higher survivin expression. However, this correlation was found to be insignificant statistically. Furthermore, a statistical model has been devised to explain the combined effects of survivin expression and its sub-cellular localisation, p-53 expression and lymph nodal involvement, on the outcomes of these patients.
  9. Al-Joudi FS, Iskandar ZA, Imran AK
    PMID: 18041310
    This work studied the correlations between survivin, bcl-2 and p53 in infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast. A total number of 382 cases were collected from 3 hospitals in northeastern Malaysia. Survivin, bcl-2 and p53 were detected by immunohistochemistry on samples prepared from tissue blocks. Significant correlations were found between tumor histological grades and tumor size and lymph node involvement. Highly significant statistical correlations (p<0.001) were found in expression of the markers under study. It is concluded that such significant correlations may imply that the alterations in the expression take place in a concerted fashion, implying that many of these cases may share common abnormalities.
  10. Yehya AH, Yusoff NM, Khalid IA, Mahsin H, Razali RA, Azlina F, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2012;13(5):1869-72.
    PMID: 22901138
    BACKGROUND: To assess the diagnostic potential of tumor-associated high molecular weight DNA in stool samples of 32 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients compared to 32 healthy Malaysian volunteers by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

    METHODS: Stool DNA was isolated and tumor-associated high molecular weight DNA (1.476 kb fragment including exons 6-9 of the p53 gene) was amplified using PCR and visualized on ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels.

    RESULTS: Out of 32 CRC patients, 18 were positive for the presence of high molecular weight DNA as compared to none of the healthy individuals, resulting in an overall sensitivity of 56.3% with 100% specificity. Out of 32 patients, 23 had tumor on the left side and 9 on the right side, 16 and 2 being respectively positive. This showed that high molecular weight DNA was significantly (p=0.022) more detectable in patients with left side tumor (69.6% vs 22.2%). Out of 32 patients, 22 had tumors larger than 1.0 cm, 18 of these (81.8%) being positive for long DNA as compared to not a single patient with tumor size smaller than 1.0 cm (p<0.001).

    CONCLUSION: We detected CRC-related high molecular weight p53 DNA in stool samples of CRC patients with an overall sensitivity of 56.3% with 100% specificity, with a strong tumor size dependence.

  11. Ruzilawati AB, Wahab MS, Imran A, Ismail Z, Gan SH
    J Pharm Biomed Anal, 2007 Apr 11;43(5):1831-5.
    PMID: 17240100
    In this study, the development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for determination of repaglinide concentration in human plasma for pharmacokinetic studies is described. Plasma samples containing repaglinide and an internal standard, indomethacin were extracted with ethylacetate at pH 7.4. The recovery of repaglinide was 92%+/-55.31. Chromatographic separations were performed on Purospher STAR C-18 analytical column (4.8 mm x 150 mm; 5 microm particle size). The mobile phase composed of acetonitrile-ammonium formate (pH 2.7; 0.01 M) (60:40, v/v). The flow rate was 1 ml/min. The retention time for repaglinide and indomethacin were approximately 6.2 and 5.3 min, respectively. Calibration curves of repaglinide were linear in the concentration range of 20-200 ng/ml in plasma. The limits of detection and quantification were 10 ng/ml and 20 ng/ml, respectively. The inter-day precision was from 5.21 to 11.84% and the intra-day precision ranged from 3.90 to 6.67%. The inter-day accuracy ranged 89.95 to 105.75% and intra-day accuracy ranged from 92.37 to 104.66%. This method was applied to determine repaglinide concentration in human plasma samples for a pharmacokinetic study.
  12. Kunwar MA, Muhammad I, Khan MN, Sumreen B, Soomro NA, Naseeb K, et al.
    Cureus, 2020 Jun 03;12(6):e8419.
    PMID: 32642335 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.8419
    Background Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of worldwide cardiac morbidities and mortalities. Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a common complication of MI. The severity of ischemic MR (IMR) can range widely, both clinically and hemodynamically. Mitral valve (MV) repair by lifting annuloplasty is a surgical procedure used to correct the pathology of IMR. The immediate outcomes of this technique have not yet been determined. The present study, therefore, evaluated the immediate results of MV annuloplasty performed to complement MV repair in patients with IMR. Methodology All adult patients with IMR who underwent lifting posterior mitral annuloplasty (LPMA) plus concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were included. Immediate outcomes were evaluated by transesophageal color Doppler echocardiography. The frequency of successful outcomes was compared in patients with different baseline characteristics. Results Posterior mitral annuloplasty was successful in 93.1% of patients, including in 92.8% of men and 94.1% of women. The percentages of successful immediate outcomes differed significantly in patients with and without diabetes and hypertension, and in patients with two- and three-vessel disease. Conclusion LPMA resulted in a high percentage of successful immediate outcomes in patients with IMR. Further studies should compare rates of immediate, intermediate, and late outcomes of this technique.
  13. Al-Joudi FS, Iskandar ZA, Hasnan J, Rusli J, Kamal Y, Imran AK, et al.
    Singapore Med J, 2007 Jul;48(7):607-14.
    PMID: 17609820
    INTRODUCTION: Survivin is a 16.5-kDa intracellular protein that inhibits apoptosis and regulates cell division, and belongs to the inhibitors of apoptosis gene family. It appears to have an important role in regulating apoptosis at the cell cycle checkpoints. Survivin has been found to have a differential distribution in cancer compared to normal tissue, as it is over-expressed in malignant tumours.
    METHODS: In addition to the demographical analysis of the disease, data from 382 women with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast were collected from three hospitals in Northeast Malaysia, and analysed for survivin expression by immunohistochemistry.
    RESULTS: Invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast was found to be the most prevalent breast cancer type. Survivin was detected in 260 (68.1 percent) study cases. In addition, significant correlations have been shown between survivin expression on one hand, and tumour size and lymph node involvement on the other hand (p-value is less than 0.05). However, no significant correlations were found with other clinicopathological factors, such as tumour histological grade, tumour side, oestrogen and progesterone receptors. Nuclear expression of survivin was detected in 16.5 percent of the study cases, cytoplasmic expression was detected in 24.1 percent, and 27.5 percent of the cases expressed survivin in both nuclear and cytoplasmic locations simultaneously. The subcellular localisation of survivin was significantly correlated (p is less than 0.001) with the lymph node involvement indicating its value in predicting the aggressiveness of tumour cells, since it increases the resistance to apoptosis and promotes cell proliferation.
    CONCLUSION: This is the fi rst known report on survivin expression in cancer in West Malaysia and Southeast Asia. It emphasises the importance of the detection of survivin in breast cancer to aid in diagnosis, confirm malignancy, and to assess the disease progress and response to therapy.
  14. Fareed F, Saeed F, Afzaal M, Imran A, Ahmad A, Mahmood K, et al.
    J Food Sci Technol, 2022 Dec;59(12):4812-4821.
    PMID: 36276519 DOI: 10.1007/s13197-022-05567-1
    In the current study, the probiotic (Lactobacillus acidophilus) was encapsulated using Gum Arabic and polyvinyl alcohol blended nanofibers by electrospinning. Obtained nanofibers were characterized in terms of particle size, diameter, mechanical strength, and encapsulation efficiency. The molecular and internal structure characterization was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction respectively. Thermo Gravimetric (TGA) analysis was conducted to determine the thermal features of PVA/GA/probiotics nanofibers. Free and encapsulated probiotics were also subjected to in vitro assay under different detrimental conditions. Images obtained using SEM indicated that probiotics were successfully encapsulated in blends by a nano-spider. FTIR and XRD spectra showed bonding interactions between the wall and core materials. In-vitro assay indicated that probiotics with encapsulated showed significantly (P 
  15. Shehzad MT, Hameed A, Al-Rashida M, Imran A, Uroos M, Asari A, et al.
    Bioorg Chem, 2019 11;92:103244.
    PMID: 31541804 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2019.103244
    The role of aldose reductase (ALR2) in diabetes mellitus is well-established. Our interest in finding ALR2 inhibitors led us to explore the inhibitory potential of new thiosemicarbazones. In this study, we have synthesized adamantyl-thiosemicarbazones and screened them as aldehyde reductase (ALR1) and aldose reductase (ALR2) inhibitors. The compounds bearing phenyl 3a, 2-methylphenyl 3g and 2,6-dimethylphenyl 3m have been identified as most potent ALR2 inhibitors with IC50 values of 3.99 ± 0.38, 3.55 ± 0.26 and 1.37 ± 0.92 µM, respectively, compared with sorbinil (IC50 = 3.14 ± 0.02 μM). The compounds 3a, 3g, and 3m also inhibit ALR1 with IC50 value of 7.75 ± 0.28, 7.26 ± 0.39 and 7.04 ± 2.23 µM, respectively. Molecular docking was also performed for putative binding of potent inhibitors with target enzyme ALR2. The most potent 2,6-dimethylphenyl bearing thiosemicarbazone 3m (IC50 = 1.37 ± 0.92 µM for ALR2) and other two compound 3a and 3g could potentially lead for the development of new therapeutic agents.
  16. Shehzad MT, Imran A, Njateng GSS, Hameed A, Islam M, Al-Rashida M, et al.
    Bioorg Chem, 2019 06;87:857-866.
    PMID: 30551808 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2018.12.006
    Aldose reductase is an important enzyme in the polyol pathway, where glucose is converted to fructose, and sorbitol is released. Aldose reductase activity increases in diabetes as the glucose levels increase, resulting in increased sorbitol production. Sorbitol, being less cell permeable tends to accumulate in tissues such as eye lenses, peripheral nerves and glomerulus that are not insulin sensitive. This excessive build-up of sorbitol is responsible for diabetes associated complications such as retinopathy and neuropathy. In continuation of our interest to design and discover potent inhibitors of aldo-keto reductases (AKRs; aldehyde reductase ALR1 or AKR1A, and aldose reductase ALR2 or AKR1B), herein we designed and investigated a series of new benzoxazinone-thiosemicarbazones (3a-r) as ALR2 and ALR1 inhibitors. Most compounds exhibited excellent inhibitory activities with IC50 values in lower micro-molar range. Compounds 3b and 3l were found to be most active ALR2 inhibitors with IC50 values of 0.52 ± 0.04 and 0.19 ± 0.03 μM, respectively, both compounds were more effective inhibitors as compared to the standard ALR2 inhibitor (sorbinil, with IC50 value of 3.14 ± 0.02 μM).
  17. Shehzad MT, Khan A, Halim SA, Hameed A, Imran A, Iqbal J, et al.
    Future Med Chem, 2021 07;13(14):1185-1201.
    PMID: 34148377 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2020-0060
    Aim: Indole is an important component of many drug molecules, and its conjugation with thiosemicarbazone moiety would be advantageous in finding lead compounds for the development of diabetic complications. Methodology: We have designed, synthesized and evaluated a series of 17 indole-thiosemicarbazones (3a-q) as aldose reductase (ALR2) and aldehyde reductase (ALR1) inhibitors. Results: After in vitro evaluation, all indole-thiosemicarbazones showed significant inhibition against both enzyme ALR1 and ALR2 with IC50 in range of 0.42-20.7 and 1.02-19.1 μM, respectively. The docking study was also carried out to consider the putative binding of molecules with the target enzymes. Conclusion: Compound 3f was found to be most active and selective for ALR2. The indole-thiosemicarbazones series described here has selective hits for diabetes-mellitus-associated complications.
  18. Younas K, Afzaal M, Saeed F, Shankar A, Kumar Bishoyi A, Khare N, et al.
    J Sci Food Agric, 2024 Oct 30.
    PMID: 39474642 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.13953
    Each year, approximately million tons of waste is generated from eggshells disposed of in landfills. This waste is challenging to manage because of the odor and microbiological development. However, eggshells have potential applications as a solid byproduct. They can be modified and used in various industries such as metal, polymer and ceramic composites, in the production of biodiesel, heavy metal absorption from wastewater, and even as a biomaterial to substitute bone tissues. Furthermore, eggshells can be used as a cheap adsorbent for the treatment of contaminated waterways. They are also a great source of calcium and fertilizer for plants, animals and humans. Chicken eggshells can even be used as a catalyst for converting waste frying oil into biofuel. This review highlights the challenges and opportunities of eggshell waste valorization in the food industry. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
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