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Fulltext Impaction of durian seed in the larynx

Ramza Ramli R, Mohamad I, Mohamad Zaki Z

Acta Inform Med, 2012 Dec;20(4):264-5.
PMID: 23378697 DOI: 10.5455/aim.2012.20.264-265

Common foreign bodies in adults include fish bones and improperly chewed meat A 72-year-old Malay gentleman was brought in by his son to the emergency department after he was seen gasping at home. The patient has an underlying history of stroke with neurological deficit include his gag reflex. According to family members, the patient had the symptom a day after he had allegedly consumed a piece of durian without removing its seed. Patient was then admitted to Intensive care Unit (ICU) for monitoring. His blood gas normalized and was extubated after 2 days in ICU before discharged home the next day.
Fulltext Embolization of brain arteriovenous malformations with squid co-polymer embolic material: Initial experience

Ch'ng LS, Zaki Z, Sobri Muda A

J Interv Med, 2023 Nov;6(4):176-179.
PMID: 38312133 DOI: 10.1016/j.jimed.2023.09.003

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the safety and effectiveness of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) liquid embolic agent Squid (Emboflu, Switzerland) for the treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations.
MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES: Between April 2015 and July 2017, 46 embolization treatments for brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVM) were performed in 25 patients using two Squid formulations (18 and 12). Six female and 19 male patients with a mean age of 34 years (range, 9-62 years) were included. A total of 46 procedures were performed. The BAVMs were classified as Spetzler-Martin grade II in 4 procedures, III in 27 procedures, and 1V in 15 procedures. Among the 25 patients, 15 presented with hemorrhage, 5 with seizures, and 5 with headache and neurology. The BAVMs were located in the temporal lobe in 5 patients, parietal lobe in 7 patients, frontal lobe in 3 patients, posterior fossa in 6 patients, basal ganglia in 3 patients, and parasagittal lobe in 1 patient.
RESULTS: The obliteration rate of the BAVMs ranged from 10% to 100%, with a mean of 33%. Most patients underwent their first or second embolization procedure. Four patients (8%) developed intracranial bleeding post-procedure, with one death (2%). One patient (2%) experienced a seizure during the procedure; however, no intracranial bleeding was observed. Seven patients (15%) experienced perforations during catheter manipulation. One case (2%) of a fractured catheter was recorded, but no significant complications were observed. The average volume of copolymer injected was 0.6 ml per nidus. Thirteen procedures used the Squid-12 formulation, 29 procedures used the Squid-18 formulation, and 3 procedures used a combination of Squid-12 and -18 formulations.
CONCLUSION: Squid is a safe and effective embolic agent for treating BAVMs.
Heavy metals in leachate, impacted soils and natural soils of different landfills in Malaysia: An alarming threat

Hussein M, Yoneda K, Mohd-Zaki Z, Amir A, Othman N

Chemosphere, 2021 Mar;267:128874.
PMID: 33199110 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128874

Landfills are a potential threat to human health and the environment, especially from the detrimental and toxic heavy metals. This study focuses on the assessment of heavy metals contamination in leachate and surface soils from different landfills in Malaysia. Maximum quality rating scale (QRS) values of As (787) and Cr (552) denotes progressive deterioration of leachate contamination in landfill. The impacted soils showed high heavy metal concentrations especially at non-sanitary unlined landfills, as compared to background values, and natural soil nearby the landfills. In addition, to examine the environmental impacts of the landfill area (soil) in more detail, specific indexes; geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution index (PI) and integrated pollution index (IPI) were determined. Maximum As (3.122) and Cd (2.633) for Igeo and As (34.037) and Cd (20.881) for PI revealed that the soil samples in non-sanitary landfills were moderate to strongly polluted. The difference in range of IPI values for sanitary (0.294-0.322) and non-sanitary landfill soils (1.263-1.956) confirmed advanced decline of the soil quality in non-sanitary landfills. Arsenic concentrations were found to be statistically significant (ANOVA) for leachate and impacted soil in landfills investigated. It is also important to realize that rise in metal contents in landfill environments were not only caused by anthropogenic sources such as from the waste disposed, but also some other factors such as redox conditions, anoxic environments, pH, oxidation state of metals and microbial activities. Those conditions will actively promotes leaching of metals from waste and also natural soils in the landfill.
Fulltext Influence of pH Regulation Mode in Glucose Fermentation on Product Selection and Process Stability

Mohd-Zaki Z, Bastidas-Oyanedel JR, Lu Y, Hoelzle R, Pratt S, Slater FR, et al.

Microorganisms, 2016;4(1).
PMID: 27681895 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms4010002

Mixed culture anaerobic fermentation generates a wide range of products from simple sugars, and is potentially an effective process for producing renewable commodity chemicals. However it is difficult to predict product spectrum, and to control the process. One of the key control handles is pH, but the response is commonly dependent on culture history. In this work, we assess the impact of pH regulation mode on the product spectrum. Two regulation modes were applied: in the first, pH was adjusted from 4.5 to 8.5 in progressive steps of 0.5 and in the second, covered the same pH range, but the pH was reset to 5.5 before each change. Acetate, butyrate, and ethanol were produced throughout all pH ranges, but there was a shift from butyrate at pH < 6.5 to ethanol at pH > 6.5, as well as a strong and consistent shift from hydrogen to formate as pH increased. Microbial analysis indicated that progressive pH resulted in dominance by Klebsiella, while reset pH resulted in a bias towards Clostridium spp., particularly at low pH, with higher variance in community between different pH levels. Reset pH was more responsive to changes in pH, and analysis of Gibbs free energy indicated that the reset pH experiments operated closer to thermodynamic equilibrium, particularly with respect to the formate/hydrogen balance. This may indicate that periodically resetting pH conforms better to thermodynamic expectations.