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  1. Gnaneshwar PV, Sudakaran SV, Abisegapriyan S, Sherine J, Ramakrishna S, Rahim MHA, et al.
    Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl, 2019 Mar;96:337-346.
    PMID: 30606541 DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2018.11.033
    Far-flung evolution in tissue engineering enabled the development of bioactive and biodegradable materials to generate biocomposite nanofibrous scaffolds for bone repair and replacement therapies. Polymeric bioactive nanofibers are to biomimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM), delivering tremendous regenerative potentials for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. It's been known from few decades that Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles are enhancing bone growth and providing proliferation of osteoblasts when incorporated with hydroxyapatite (HAp). We attempted to investigate the interaction between the human foetal osteoblasts (hFOB) with ZnO doped HAp incorporated biocomposite poly(L-lactic acid)-co-poly(ε-caprolactone) and silk fibroin (PLACL/SF) nanofibrous scaffolds for osteoblasts mineralization in bone tissue regeneration. The present study, we doped ZnO with HAp (ZnO(HAp) using the sol-gel ethanol condensation technique. The properties of PLACL/SF/ZnO(HAp) biocomposite nanofibrous scaffolds enhanced with doped and blended ZnO/HAp were characterized using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Contact angle and Tensile studies to determine the morphology, functionality, wettability and stability. The in vitro study results showed that the addition of ZnO and HAp enhances the secretion of bone mineral matrix (98%) with smaller fiber diameter (139.4 ± 27 nm) due to the presence of silk fibroin showing potential tensile properties (322.4%), and increased the proliferation of osteoblasts for bone tissue regeneration.
  2. Hajar-Azhari S, Wan-Mohtar WAAQI, Ab Kadir S, Rahim MHA, Saari N
    Food Sci Biotechnol, 2018 Apr;27(2):479-488.
    PMID: 30263772 DOI: 10.1007/s10068-017-0289-6
    In this study, a selected γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-rich Malaysian strain Aspergillus oryzae NSK was collected from soy sauce koji. The strain was used to explore the effect of using renewable native sugar syrup, sugarcane, nipa, and molasses as fermentable substrates for developing a novel functional GABA soy sauce. We evaluated the strain using the chosen native sugars for 7 days using shake flask fermentation at 30 °C. The results showed optimum GABA concentration was achieved using cane molasses as the fermentable substrate (354.08 mg/L), followed by sugarcane syrup (320.7 mg/L) and nipa syrup (232.07 mg/L). Cane molasses was subsequently utilized as a substrate to determine the most suitable concentration for A. oryzae NSK to enhance GABA production and was determined as 50% g/L of glucose standard cane molasses. Our findings indicate that cane molasses can be used as a GABA-rich ingredient to develop a new starter culture for A. oryzae NSK soy sauce production.
  3. Jayakumar S, Bhuyar P, Pugazhendhi A, Rahim MHA, Maniam GP, Govindan N
    Sci Total Environ, 2021 May 10;768:145471.
    PMID: 33736330 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145471
    In this research investigation, three microalgal species were screened (Pleurosigma sp., Amphora sp., and Amphiprora sp.) for lipid content before choosing the potential microalgae for biodiesel production. It was found that the lipid content of Amphiprora sp. was 41.48 ± 0.18%, which was higher than the Pleurosigma sp. (27.3 ± 0.8%) and Amphora sp. (22.49 ± 0.21%). The diatom microalga, Amphiprora sp. was isolated and exposed to a controlled environment. Two different media were prepared, and the main research was on the SiO2-NP medium as the cell wall of diatom was made up of silica. Essential growth parameters were studied such as dry cell weight and chlorophyll a content. The results revealed that Amphiprora sp. cultured in the modified medium showed a higher biomass yield and growth rate in all the analyses. In Soxhlet extraction method, biodiesel yield of Amphiprora sp. in modified medium under 24 μmol m-2 s-1 of light intensity was 81.47 ± 1.59% when using 2% of catalyst amount with 1.5:1 volume ratio of methanol/oil in 3 h reaction time at 65 °C. Results reveled that Amphiprora sp. diatom has a higher yield of oil 52.94 ± 0.42% and can be efficiently optimized with further studies with modified nanomaterial culture medium. The present research revealed the series of experiments on microalgal lipid transesterification and in future investigation different types of nanomaterials should be used in culture medium to identify the lipid production in microalgal cells.
  4. Palanisamy KM, Paramasivam P, Maniam GP, Rahim MHA, Govindan N, Chisti Y
    J Biotechnol, 2021 Feb 10;327:86-96.
    PMID: 33421508 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2020.12.021
    Biomass and lipid production by the marine diatom Chaetoceros affinis were characterized under continuous light with aeration. Media based on palm oil mill effluent (POME; 10, 20 and 30 % v/v in distilled water) were used together with a standard control medium. The maximum biomass concentration on day 12 of batch cultures in control medium was 821 ± 71 mg L-1. Under identical conditions, in the best POME medium (20 % POME v/v in distilled water with other inorganic components), the biomass concentration was reduced by ∼11 % to 734 ± 66 mg L-1. The lipid content of the biomass grown in the control medium was 50.8 ± 4.5 % by dry weight, but was a little lower (48.9 ± 4.1 % by dry wt) in the above specified best POME medium. In the best POME medium, oleic acid was the major fatty acid (72.3 ± 5.2 % by weight) in the total lipids extracted from the biomass and monounsaturated fatty acids were the main type of fatty acids (74.6 ± 5.2 %). POME levels of >20 % in the medium suppressed both biomass and lipid production relative to the medium with 20 % POME.
  5. Rahim MHA, Ibrahim MI, Noor SSM, Fadzil NM
    PMID: 33430195 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18020409
    BACKGROUND: Hand hygiene (HH) is the simplest and most effective way to reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs).

    METHODS: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine factors associated with self-reported HH performance among nurses at Kelantan tertiary care hospitals. A sample of 438 registered nurses was selected through a stratified random sampling method. Self-reported HH performance was assessed using a validated WHO self-administered HH knowledge and perception questionnaire for healthcare workers.

    RESULTS: A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors. The factors that significantly predicted self-reported HH performance among nurses included perception score (beta coefficient (β) = 0.260; 95% CI: 0.200, 0.417; p < 0.001), pediatric department (β = -0.104; 95% CI: -9.335, -2.467; p < 0.001), and orthopedic department (β = -5.957; 95% CI: -9.539, -0.720; p < 0.023), adjusted R2 = 0.102; p < 0.001. Nurses with a strong perception and belief in HH were more likely to have better HH performance. Compared to pediatric and orthopedic, surgical departments were associated with better self-reported HH performance.

    CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the importance of factors that could improve the intervention's performance in HH strategy. Lack of perception and HH program intervention in departments engaged in patient care could lead to poor HH practices, thus increasing HCAIs and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

  6. Rahim MHA, Hasan H, Harith HH, Abbas A
    Bioprocess Biosyst Eng, 2017 Dec;40(12):1753-1761.
    PMID: 28879627 DOI: 10.1007/s00449-017-1830-y
    This study investigates the effects of viscosity, friction, and sonication on the morphology and the production of lovastatin, (+)-geodin, and sulochrin by Aspergillus terreus ATCC 20542. Sodium alginate and gelatine were used to protect the fungal pellet from mechanical force by increasing the media viscosity. Sodium alginate stimulated the production of lovastatin by up to 329.0% and sulochrin by 128.7%, with inhibitory effect on (+)-geodin production at all concentrations used. However, the use of gelatine to increase viscosity significantly suppressed lovastatin, (+)-geodin, and sulochrin's production (maximum reduction at day 9 of 42.7, 60.8, and 68.3%, respectively), which indicated that the types of chemical play a major role in metabolite production. Higher viscosity increased both pellet biomass and size in all conditions. Friction significantly increased (+)-geodin's titre by 1527.5%, lovastatin by 511.1%, and sulochrin by 784.4% while reducing pellet biomass and size. Conversely, sonication produced disperse filamentous morphology with significantly lower metabolites. Sodium alginate-induced lovastatin and sulochrin production suggest that these metabolites are not affected by viscosity; rather, their production is affected by the specific action of certain chemicals. In contrast, low viscosity adversely affected (+)-geodin's production, while pellet disintegration can cause a significant production of (+)-geodin.
  7. Rahim MHA, Dom SHM, Hamzah MSR, Azman SH, Zaharuddin Z, Fahrni ML
    J Pharm Policy Pract, 2024;17(1):2285955.
    PMID: 38205195 DOI: 10.1080/20523211.2023.2285955
    BACKGROUND: Under-utilisation of immunisation services remains a public health challenge. Pharmacists act as facilitators and increasingly as immunisers, yet relatively little robust evidence exists of the impact elicited on patient health outcome and vaccination uptake.

    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of pharmacist interventions on public vaccination rate.

    METHODS: SCOPUS, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched from inception to April 2023 to retrieve non- and randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs). Studies were excluded if no comparator group to pharmacist involvement was reported. Data extraction, risk of bias assessments, and meta-analyses using random-effect models, were performed.

    RESULTS: Four RCTs and 15 non-RCTs, encompassing influenza, pneumococcal, herpes zoster, and tetanus-diphtheria and pertussis vaccine types, and administered in diverse settings including community pharmacies, were included. Pooled effect sizes revealed that, as compared to usual care, pharmacists, regardless of their intervention, improved the overall immunisation uptake by up to 51% [RR 1.51 (1.28, 1.77)] while immunisation frequency doubled when pharmacists acted specifically as advocators [RR 2.09 (1.42, 3.07)].

    CONCLUSION: While the evidence for pharmacist immunisers was mixed, their contribution to immunisation programmes boosted public vaccination rate. Pharmacists demonstrated leadership and acquired indispensable advocator roles in the community and hospital settings. Future research could explore the depth of engagement and hence the extent of influence on immunisation uptake.

  8. Suteris NN, Yasin A, Misnon II, Roslan R, Zulkifli FH, Rahim MHA, et al.
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2021 Dec 29;198:147-156.
    PMID: 34971642 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.12.006
    This article demonstrates the development of nanofibrous cloths by electrospinning of renewable materials, i.e., curcumin-loaded 90% cellulose acetate (CA)/10% poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), for applications in regenerative medicine. The CA is derived from the biomass waste of the oil palm plantation (empty fruit bunch). The nanofiber scaffolds are characterized for the fiber morphology, microstructure, thermal properties, and wettability. The optimized smooth and bead-free electrospun fiber cloth contains 90% CA and 10% PCL in two curcumin compositions (0.5 and 1 wt%). The role of curcumin is shown to be two-fold: the first is its function as a drug and the second is its role in lowering the water contact angle and increasing the hydrophilicity. The hydrophilicity enhancements are related to the hydrogen bonding between the components. The enhanced hydrophilicity contributed to improve the swelling behavior of the scaffolds; the CA/PCL/Cur (0.5%) and the CA/PCL/Cur (1.0%) showed swelling of ~700 and 950%, respectively, in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The drug-release studies revealed the highest cumulative drug release of 60% and 78% for CA/PCL/Cur (0.5%) and CA/PCL/Cur (1.0%) nanofibers, respectively. The in-vitro studies showed that CA/PCL/Cur (0.5 wt%) and CA/PCL/Cur (1.0 wt%) nanofiber scaffolds facilitate a higher proliferation and expression of actin in fibroblasts than those scaffolds without curcumin for wound healing applications.
  9. Zaini NSM, Mansor N, Yusoff MM, Rahim MHA
    J Oleo Sci, 2023 Aug 31;72(9):811-818.
    PMID: 37574285 DOI: 10.5650/jos.ess23036
    This study highlights the use of red palm oil (RPO) as an alternative to dairy fat in a hard ice cream sample in the presence of different stabilizers; maltodextrin (MALTOD) and modified starch (MSTARCH). No stabilizer was added in the control sample (CO), while the different ratios of RPO to each stabilizer were 4:1, 3:2, and 2:3, coded as MALTOD1, MALTOD2, MALTOD3 for maltodextrin, and MSTARCH1, MSTARCH2, and MSTARCH3 for modified starch, respectively. These samples were compared regarding overrun, physical, and sensory properties. For MALTOD, sample MALTOD3 had the highest overrun (49.31±13.78%), while MALTOD2 had the highest viscosity (7.90±0.03 Pa.s) and hardness (1.09±0.07 kg), and MALTOD1 had the lowest melting properties (61.10±0.20%). For MSTARCH, sample MSTARCH1 had the highest hardness (3.39±0.07 kg), MSTARCH2 had the highest overrun (67.64±2.27%), and MSTARCH3 had the highest viscosity (8.19±0.24 Pa.s) and the lowest melting properties (39.83±0.20%). Samples MALTOD3 and MSTARCH1 were selected for comparison with commercial samples in terms of sensory acceptance and preference. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the sensory acceptability of MALTOD3 and MSTARCH1. However, both samples received a significantly lower (p < 0.05) ranking than the commercial samples in terms of appearance, texture, flavour, meltability, and overall acceptance. Future studies are recommended to improve the RPO-based ice cream sample, particularly in terms of its sensory properties.
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