Displaying publications 201 - 220 of 533 in total

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  1. Investigating the myth of smokeless industry: environmental sustainability in the ASEAN countries and the role of service sector and renewable energy
    Ahmad F, Draz MU, Chandio AA, Su L, Ahmad M, Irfan M
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2021 Oct;28(39):55344-55361.
    PMID: 34137008 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14641-8
    Since the development of the service sector and renewable energy reduce fossil-based energy consumption which mitigates CO2 emissions and this nexus provides a better understanding of the environmental sustainability. Considering the substantially increasing contribution of service sector and tremendous potential for renewable energy in ASEAN5 countries, leaning forward from ASEAN's energy and growth nexus, this study examines the impact of service sector contribution and renewable energy on the environmental quality of ASEAN5 using annual data from 1990 to 2018. The results of the fully modified ordinary least squared, dynamic ordinary least squared, and canonical co-integrating regressions depicted that the service sectors of Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore augment CO2 emissions; however, the service sectors of Malaysia and Indonesia could reduce CO2 emissions. The increasing share of renewable energy can enhance environmental quality, but its magnitude varies in ASEAN5 economies; non-renewable energy, population, and economic development deteriorate the environment. Our results confirm the existence of environmental Kuznets curve in all the ASEAN5; the Gregory-Hansen test confirmed that results are robust. Finally, the Granger causality designated that economic development and non-renewable energy have a significant causal relationship with CO2 emission of ASEAN5 countries. These findings suggest that the ASEAN5 economies need to optimize their economic structure for promoting sustainable development in the long run.Graphical abstract.
  2. Fulltext Bioassay-guided antidiabetic study of Phaleria macrocarpa fruit extract
    Ali RB, Atangwho IJ, Kaur N, Abraika OS, Ahmad M, Mahmud R, et al.
    Molecules, 2012 Apr 30;17(5):4986-5002.
    PMID: 22547320 DOI: 10.3390/molecules17054986
    An earlier anti-hyperglycemic study with serial crude extracts of Phaleria macrocarpa (PM) fruit indicated methanol extract (ME) as the most effective. In the present investigation, the methanol extract was further fractionated to obtain chloroform (CF), ethyl acetate (EAF), n-butanol (NBF) and aqueous (AF) fractions, which were tested for antidiabetic activity. The NBF reduced blood glucose (p < 0.05) 15 min after administration, in an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) similar to metformin. Moreover, it lowered blood glucose in diabetic rats by 66.67% (p < 0.05), similar to metformin (51.11%), glibenclamide (66.67%) and insulin (71.43%) after a 12-day treatment, hence considered to be the most active fraction. Further fractionation of NBF yielded sub-fractions I (SFI) and II (SFII), and only SFI lowered blood glucose (p < 0.05), in IPGTT similar to glibenclamide. The ME, NBF, and SFI correspondingly lowered plasma insulin (p < 0.05) and dose-dependently inhibited glucose transport across isolated rat jejunum implying an extra-pancreatic mechanism. Phytochemical screening showed the presence of flavonoids, terpenes and tannins, in ME, NBF and SFI, and LC-MS analyses revealed 9.52%, 33.30% and 22.50% mangiferin respectively. PM fruit possesses anti-hyperglycemic effect, exerted probably through extra-pancreatic action. Magniferin, contained therein may be responsible for this reported activity.
  3. Fulltext Behavioural and emotional issues among primary school pupils with congenital colour vision deficiency in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A case-control study
    Thomas BAWM, Kaur S, Hairol MI, Ahmad M, Wee LH
    F1000Res, 2018;7:1834.
    PMID: 30815251 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.17006.1
    Background: Congenital colour vision deficiency (CCVD) is an untreatable disorder which has lifelong consequences. Increasing use of colours in schools has raised concern for pupils with CCVD. This case-control study was conducted to compare behavioural and emotional issues among age, gender and class-matched pupils with CCVD and normal colour vision (NCV). Methods: A total of 1732 pupils from 10 primary schools in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur were screened, of which 46 pupils (45 males and 1 female) had CCVD. Mothers of male pupils with CCVD (n=44) and NCV (n=44) who gave consent were recruited to complete a self-administered parent report form, Child Behaviour Checklist for Ages 4-18 (CBCL/ 4-18) used to access behavioural and emotional problems. The CBCL/ 4-18 has three broad groupings: Internalising, Externalising and Total Behaviour Problems. Internalising Problems combines the Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints and Anxiety/ Depression sub constructs, while Externalising Problems combines the Delinquent and Aggressive Behaviour sub constructs. Results: Results from CBCL/ 4-18 showed that all pupils from both groups had scores within the normal range for all constructs. However, results from the statistical analysis for comparison, Mann-Whitney U test, showed that pupils with CCVD scored significantly higher for Externalising Problems (U=697.50, p=0.02) and Total Behaviour Problems (U=647.00, p= 0.01). Significantly higher scores were observed in Withdrawn (U=714.00, p=0.02), Thought Problems (U=438.50, p<0.001) and Aggressive Behaviour (U=738.00, p=0.04). Odds ratios, 95% CI, showed significant relative risk for high Total Behaviour Problem (OR:2.39 ,CI:1.0-5.7), Externalising Problems (OR:2.32, CI:1.0-5.5), Withdrawn (OR:2.67, CI:1.1-6.5), Thought Problems (OR:9.64, CI:3.6-26.1) and Aggressive Behaviour (OR:10.26, CI:3.4-31.0) scores among pupils with CCVD. Conclusion: Higher scores among CCVD pupils indicates that they present more behavioural and emotional problems compared to NCV pupils. Therefore, school vision screenings in Malaysia should also include colour vision to assist in the early clinical management of CCVD children.
  4. Fulltext An innovative probabilistic hesitant fuzzy set MCDM perspective for selecting flexible packaging bags after the prohibition on single-use plastics
    Jeon J, Krishnan S, Manirathinam T, Narayanamoorthy S, Nazir Ahmad M, Ferrara M, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2023 Jun 23;13(1):10206.
    PMID: 37353615 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37200-2
    The probabilistic hesitant elements (PHFEs) are a beneficial augmentation to the hesitant fuzzy element (HFE), which is intended to give decision-makers more flexibility in expressing their biases while using hesitant fuzzy information. To extrapolate a more accurate interpretation of the decision documentation, it is sufficient to standardize the organization of the elements in PHFEs without introducing fictional elements. Several processes for unifying and arranging components in PHFEs have been proposed so far, but most of them result in various disadvantages that are critically explored in this paper. The primary objective of this research is to recommend a PHFE unification procedure that avoids the deficiencies of operational practices while maintaining the inherent properties of PHFE probabilities. The prevailing study advances the hypothesis of permutation on PHFEs by suggesting a new sort of PHFS division and subtraction compared with the existing unification procedure. Eventually, the proposed PHFE-unification process will be used in this study, an innovative PHFEs based on the Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment Method-Analytic Hierarchy Process (WASPAS-AHP) perspective for selecting flexible packaging bags after the prohibition on single-use plastics. As a result, we have included the PHFEs-WASPAS in our selection of the most effective fuzzy environment for bio-plastic bags. The ranking results for the suggested PHFEs-MCDM techniques surpassed the existing AHP methods in the research study by providing the best solution. Our solutions offer the best bio-plastic bag alternative strategy for mitigating environmental impacts.
  5. Fulltext Development and usability testing of mobile application on diet and oral health
    Akmal Muhamat N, Hasan R, Saddki N, Mohd Arshad MR, Ahmad M
    PLoS One, 2021;16(9):e0257035.
    PMID: 34495979 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257035
    In several nations, caries in pre-school children remain a significant oral health issue. In an outbreak period such as the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), remote contact and education aimed at the prevention of oral diseases and the preservation of children's oral health are more relevant than ever. Currently, the amount of published applications is far higher than the published scientific studies while the problems of usability remains vulnerable. The goal of this paper was to comprehensively document the phase of development and usability testing of a mobile application for diet and oral health, namely Gigiku Sihat, which was primarily intended to be used by parents and guardians of pre-school children. The mobile application was developed using the System Development Life Cycle principle. Apart from searching for the available oral health application on Android platform, the initial requirement gathering process consisted of situational analysis, concept generation, content development, and features and functional requirement determination. The mobile application design and implementation evolved at each phase before being finalised. Gigiku Sihat was successfully developed in the Bahasa Malaysia. Finalised Gigiku Sihat was installed on mobile devices to determine the usability using translated and validated System Usability Scale questionnaire namely Skala Kebolehgunaan Aplikasi Mudah Alih (SKAMA). The mean score usability with score of 68 and above was deemed to have good usability. This study found that Gigiku Sihat mean (SD) usability score was 77.0 (14.18). The results were promising as they showed that Gigiku Sihat had a good usability. Thus, the development of this mobile application focusing on diet and oral health served as a new source of oral health education and provided a necessary foundation in developing future improved mobile application development for parents in the prevention of early childhood caries.
  6. Fulltext A new hybrid algorithm for intelligent detection of sudden decline syndrome of date palm disease
    Magsi A, Mahar JA, Maitlo A, Ahmad M, Razzaq MA, Bhuiyan MAS, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2023 Sep 16;13(1):15381.
    PMID: 37717081 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41727-9
    Date palm is an important domestic cash crop in most countries. Sudden Decline Syndrome (SDS) causes a huge loss to the crop both in quality and quantity. The literature reports the significance of early detection of disease towards preventive measures to improve the quality of the crop. The number of prevailing detection methods limits to consideration of a certain aspect of disease identification. This study proposes a new hybrid fuzzy fast multi-Otsu K-Means (FFMKO) algorithm integrating the date palm image enhancement, robust thresholding, and optimal clustering for significant disease identification. The algorithm adopts a multi-operator image resizing cost function based on image energy and the dominant color descriptor, the adaptive Fuzzy noise filter, and Otsu image thresholding combined with K-Means clustering enhancements. Besides, we validate the process with histogram equalization and threshold transformation towards enhanced color feature extraction of date palm images. The algorithm authenticates findings on a local dataset of 3293 date palm images and, on a benchmarked data set as well. It achieves an accuracy of 94.175% for successful detection of SDS that outperforms the existing similar algorithms. The impactful findings of this study assure the fast and authentic detection of the disease at an earlier stage to uplift the quality and quantity of the date palm and boost the agriculture-based economy.
  7. Effect of calcined clay and marble dust powder as cementitious material on the mechanical properties and embodied carbon of high strength concrete by using RSM-based modelling
    Bheel N, Benjeddou O, Almujibah HR, Abbasi SA, Sohu S, Ahmad M, et al.
    Heliyon, 2023 Apr;9(4):e15029.
    PMID: 37089348 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15029
    In the last decade, there has been an increase in research on ecologically benign, cost-effective, and socially useful cement alternative materials for concrete. Alternatives involve industrial and agriculture waste, the potential advantages of which may be recognized by recycling, repurposing, and recreating techniques. Important energy reserves and a decrease in Portland cement (PC) consumption may be attained by using these wastes as supplementary and substitute ingredients, contributing to a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) production. Consequently, the incorporation of marble dust powder (MDP) and calcined clay (CC) as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in high strength concrete may lower the environmental effect and reduce the amount of PC in mixes. This study is conducted on concrete containing 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of MDP and CC as cementitious materials alone and in combination. The main objectives of this investigations are to examine the effect of MDP and CC as cementitious materials on the flowability and mechanical characteristics of high strength concrete. In order to examine the ecological effect of CC and MDP, the eco-strength efficiency and embodied carbon were considered. In this context, there are so many trial mixes were performed on cubical specimens for achieving targeted compressive strength about 60 MPa after 28 days. After getting it, a total of 273 concrete specimens (cubes, cylinders, and prisms) were used to test the compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength of high strength concrete correspondingly. Moreover, when the amount of MDP and CC as SCM in the mixture grows, the workability of green concrete decreases. In addition, the compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile strength are increased by 6.38 MPa, 67.66 MPa, and 4.88 MPa, respectively, at 10% SCM (5% MDP and 5% CC) over a period of 28 days. In addition, using ANOVA, response prediction models were generated and confirmed at a 95% level of significance. The R2 values of the models varied from 96 to 99%. Furthermore, increasing the amount of CC and MDP as SCM in concrete also reduces the amount of carbon embedded in the material. It is recommended that the utilization of 10% SCM (5% MDP and 5% CC) in high strength concrete is providing optimum outcomes for construction industry in the field of Civil Engineering.
  8. Inhibition of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell proliferation and synergism of cisplatin with silvestrol and episilvestrol isolated from Aglaia stellatopilosa
    Daker M, Yeo JT, Bakar N, Abdul Rahman AS, Ahmad M, Yeo TC, et al.
    Exp Ther Med, 2016 Jun;11(6):2117-2126.
    PMID: 27284293
    Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a type of tumour that arises from the epithelial cells that line the surface of the nasopharynx. NPC is treated with radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapeutic drugs such as cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. However, current strategies are often associated with potential toxicities. This has prompted efforts to identify alternative methods of treatment. The present study aimed to investigate silvestrol and episilvestrol-mediated inhibition of cell proliferation in human NPC cells. The growth kinetics of NPC cells treated with silvestrol or episilvestrol were monitored dynamically using a real-time, impedance-based cell analyzer, and dose-response profiles were generated using a colorimetric cell viability assay. Furthermore, apoptosis was evaluated using flow cytometry and high content analysis. In addition, flow cytometry was performed to determine cell cycle distribution. Finally, the effects of combining silvestrol or episilvestrol with cisplatin on NPC cells was examined. Apoptosis was not observed in silvestrol and episilvestrol-treated NPC cells, although cell cycle perturbation was evident. Treatment with both compounds induced a significant increase in the percentage of cells in the G2/M phase, as compared with the control. In vitro cultures combining silvestrol or episilvestrol with cisplatin showed synergistic effects against NPC cells. The results of the present study suggested that silvestrol and episilvestrol had an anti-tumour activity in NPC cells. Silvestrol and episilvestrol, particularly in combination with cisplatin, merit further investigation, so as to determine the cellular mechanisms underlying their action(s) as anti-NPC agents.
  9. The predictive machine learning model of a hydrated inverse vulcanized copolymer for effective mercury sequestration from wastewater
    Ghumman ASM, Shamsuddin R, Abbasi A, Ahmad M, Yoshida Y, Sami A, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2024 Jan 15;908:168034.
    PMID: 37924888 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168034
    Inverse vulcanized polysulfides (IVP) are promising sulfur-enriched copolymers with unconventional properties irresistible for diverse applications like Hg2+ remediation. Nevertheless, due to their inherent hydrophobic nature, these copolymers still offer low Hg2+ uptake capacity. Herein, we reported the synthesis of IVP by reacting molten sulfur with 4-vinyl benzyl chloride, followed by their functionalization using N-methyl D-glucamine (NMDG) to increase the hydration of the developed IVP. The chemical composition and structure of the functionalized IVP were proposed based on FTIR and XPS analysis. The functionalized IVP demonstrated a high mercury adsorption capacity of 608 mg/g (compared to <26 mg/g for common IVP) because of rich sulfur and hydrophilic regions. NMDG functionalized IVP removed 100 % Hg2+ from a low feed concentration (10-50 mg/l). A predictive machine learning model was also developed to predict the amount of mercury removed (%) using GPR, ANN, Decision Tree, and SVM algorithms. Hyperparameter and loss function optimization was also carried out to reduce the prediction error. The optimized GPR algorithm demonstrated high R2 (0.99 (training) and 0.98 (unseen)) and low RMSE (2.74 (training) and 2.53 (unseen)) values indicating its goodness in predicting the amount of mercury removed. The produced functionalized IVP can be regenerated and reused with constant Hg2+ uptake capacity. Sulfur is the waste of the petrochemical industry and is abundantly available, making the functionalized IVP a sustainable and cheap adsorbent that can be produced for high-volume Hg2+ remediation. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: This research effectively addresses the removal of the global top-priority neurotoxic pollutant mercury, which is toxic even at low concentrations. We attempted to remove the Hg2+ utilizing an inexpensive adsorbent developed by NMDG functionalized copolymer of molten sulfur and VBC. A predictive machine learning model was also formulated to predict the amount of mercury removal from wastewater with only a 0.05 % error which shows the goodness of the developed model. This work is critical in utilizing this low-cost adsorbent and demonstrates its potential for large-scale industrial application.
  10. Fulltext Stability risk assessment of slopes using logistic model tree based on updated case histories
    Ahmad F, Tang XW, Ahmad M, González-Lezcano RA, Majdi A, Arbili MM
    Math Biosci Eng, 2023 Nov 29;20(12):21229-21245.
    PMID: 38124595 DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2023939
    A new logistic model tree (LMT) model is developed to predict slope stability status based on an updated database including 627 slope stability cases with input parameters of unit weight, cohesion, angle of internal friction, slope angle, slope height and pore pressure ratio. The performance of the LMT model was assessed using statistical metrics, including accuracy (Acc), Matthews correlation coefficient (Mcc), area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and F-score. The analysis of the Acc together with Mcc, AUC and F-score values for the slope stability suggests that the proposed LMT achieved better prediction results (Acc = 85.6%, Mcc = 0.713, AUC = 0.907, F-score for stable state = 0.967 and F-score for failed state = 0.923) as compared to other methods previously employed in the literature. Two case studies with ten slope stability events were used to verify the proposed LMT. It was found that the prediction results are completely consistent with the actual situation at the site. Finally, risk analysis was carried out, and the result also agrees with the actual conditions. Such probability results can be incorporated into risk analysis with the corresponding failure cost assessment later.
  11. Fulltext Effect of wheat straw ash as cementitious material on the mechanical characteristics and embodied carbon of concrete reinforced with coir fiber
    Bheel N, Kumar S, Kirgiz MS, Ali M, Almujibah HR, Ahmad M, et al.
    Heliyon, 2024 Jan 30;10(2):e24313.
    PMID: 38298623 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24313
    The use of supplementary cementitious materials has been widely accepted due to increasing global carbon emissions resulting from demand and the consequent production of Portland cement. Moreover, researchers are also working on complementing the strength deficiencies of concrete; fiber reinforcement is one of those techniques. This study aims to assess the influence of recycling wheat straw ash (WSA) as cement replacement material and coir/coconut fibers (CF) as reinforcement ingredients together on the mechanical properties, permeability and embodied carbon of concrete. A total of 255 concrete samples were prepared with 1:1.5:3 mix proportions at 0.52 water-cement ratio and these all-concrete specimens were cured for 28 days. It was revealed that the addition of 10 % WSA and 2 % CF in concrete were recorded the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths by 33 MPa, 3.55 MPa and 5.16 MPa which is greater than control mix concrete at 28 days respectively. Moreover, it was also observed that the permeability of concrete incorporating 4 % of coir fiber and 20 % of WSA was reduced by 63.40 % than that of the control mix after 28 days which can prevent the propagation of major and minor cracks. In addition, the embodied carbon of concrete is getting reduced when the replacement level of cement with WSA along with CF increases in concrete. Furthermore, based on the results obtained, the optimum amount of WSA was suggested to be 10 % and that of coir fiber reinforcement was suggested to be 2 % for improved results.
  12. Fulltext Freshwater fishes (Actinopterygii) of Kenyir Reservoir, Peninsular Malaysia: Updated checklist, taxonomic concerns and alien species
    Aqmal-Naser M, Ali NA, Azmi NU, Fahmi-Ahmad M, Rizal SA, Ahmad AB
    Biodivers Data J, 2023;11:e100337.
    PMID: 38327369 DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.11.e100337
    BACKGROUND: A total of 87 freshwater fish species from 30 families were recorded from the Kenyir Reservoir, Peninsular Malaysia, where 75 are native and 12 are introduced species. Few species still have unstable taxonomy identities which urge further studies. Most of the species were categorised as Least Concern (LC) and two were threatened species; Endangered and Critically Endangered (EN and CR). One introduced species, Gambusiaaffinis is widespread in the human-associated area, while other introduced fish species can be considered low in numbers.

    NEW INFORMATION: Twenty five fish species are recorded for the first time in the Kenyir Reservoir.

  13. Fulltext Boosting-based ensemble machine learning models for predicting unconfined compressive strength of geopolymer stabilized clayey soil
    Abdullah GMS, Ahmad M, Babur M, Badshah MU, Al-Mansob RA, Gamil Y, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2024 Jan 28;14(1):2323.
    PMID: 38282061 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52825-7
    The present research employs new boosting-based ensemble machine learning models i.e., gradient boosting (GB) and adaptive boosting (AdaBoost) to predict the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of geopolymer stabilized clayey soil. The GB and AdaBoost models were developed and validated using 270 clayey soil samples stabilized with geopolymer, with ground-granulated blast-furnace slag and fly ash as source materials and sodium hydroxide solution as alkali activator. The database was randomly divided into training (80%) and testing (20%) sets for model development and validation. Several performance metrics, including coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean squared error (MSE), were utilized to assess the accuracy and reliability of the developed models. The statistical results of this research showed that the GB and AdaBoost are reliable models based on the obtained values of R2 (= 0.980, 0.975), MAE (= 0.585, 0.655), RMSE (= 0.969, 1.088), and MSE (= 0.940, 1.185) for the testing dataset, respectively compared to the widely used artificial neural network, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, multivariable regression, and multi-gen genetic programming based models. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis result shows that ground-granulated blast-furnace slag content was the key parameter affecting the UCS.
  14. Fulltext Crystal structure of 4-meth-oxy-N-(piperidine-1-carbono-thio-yl)benzamide
    Suhud K, Hasbullah SA, Ahmad M, Heng LY, Kassim MB
    Acta Crystallogr E Crystallogr Commun, 2017 Oct 01;73(Pt 10):1530-1533.
    PMID: 29250374 DOI: 10.1107/S2056989017013317
    In the title compound, C14H18N2O2S, the piperidine ring has a chair conformation. Its mean plane is twisted with respect to the 4-meth-oxy-benzoyl ring, with a dihedral angle of 63.0 (3)°. The central N-C(=S)-N(H)-C(=O) bridge is twisted with an N-C-N-C torsion angle of 74.8 (6)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along the c-axis direction. Adjacent chains are linked by C-H⋯π inter-actions, forming layers parallel to the ac plane. The layers are linked by offset π-π inter-actions [inter-centroid distance = 3.927 (3) Å], forming a supra-molecular three-dimensional structure.
  15. Night eating and its relationship with BMI, stress, sleep quality and duration of study among university students
    Emmy HKI, Boleh NC, Ali MS, Jakiwa J, Mardiyati NL, Ahmad MF
    Med J Malaysia, 2024 Mar;79(Suppl 1):134-139.
    PMID: 38555898
    INTRODUCTION: Night eating is a very common dietary behaviour among university students. This study aims to investigate the relationship between night eating and BMI, stress, sleep quality and duration of study among university students.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 385 university students including foundation and undergraduate students took part in this study. Self-administered online surveys were used to obtain sociodemographic data, and anthropometry measurements including weight and height, night eating during studying, duration of the study, opinion on eating and academic performance, sleep quality, level of depression, anxiety, and stress of the respondents. Questionnaires were validated and IBM SPSS Statistics Software version 26.0 was used to analyse categorical and continuous variables.

    RESULTS: The findings showed that there was an association between night eaters and coffee consumption with BMI (p<0.001) and sleep quality (p<0.05). However, there was no association (p>0.05) found between the types of food eaten during night studying and the mean duration of the study. The results showed drinking coffee had an association with depression, anxiety, and stress (p<0.05) among Malaysian university students.

    CONCLUSION: Coffee consumption was common among undergraduate students during studying. Awareness of the risk of overconsumption of caffeine intake should be implemented in the future. However, this study did not include all types of food choices and drinks. Thus, frequency of eating energy dense food during night studying among students should be conducted in the future.

  16. Uptake and clearance analysis of Technetium99m labelled iron oxide nanoparticles in a rabbit brain
    Nadeem M, Ahmad M, Saeed MA, Shaari A, Riaz S, Naseem S, et al.
    IET Nanobiotechnol, 2015 Jun;9(3):136-41.
    PMID: 26023157 DOI: 10.1049/iet-nbt.2014.0012
    Nanoparticles as solid colloidal particles are extensively studied and used as anticancer drug delivery agents because of their physical properties. This current research aims to prepare water base suspension of uncoated iron oxide nanoparticles and their biodistribution study to different organs, especially the brain, by using a single photon emission computed tomography gamma camera. The water-based suspension of iron oxide nanoparticles was synthesised by a reformed version of the co-precipitation method and labelled with Tc99m for intravenous injection. The nanoparticles were injected without surface modification. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques were used for characterisation. Peaks of XRD and EDS indicate that the particles are magnetite and exist in aqueous suspension. The average diameter of iron oxide nanoparticles without any surface coating determined by TEM is 10 nm. These particles are capable of evading the reticuloendothelial system and can cross the blood-brain barrier in the rabbit. The labelling efficiency of iron oxide nanoparticles labelled with Tc99m is 85%, which is good for the biodistribution study. The sufficient amount of iron oxide nanoparticles concentration in the brain as compared with the surrounding soft tissues and their long blood retention time indicates that the water-based suspension of iron oxide nanoparticles may be an option for drug delivery into the brain.
  17. Fulltext Evaluation of α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Effect of 50% Ethanolic Standardized Extract of Orthosiphon stamineus Benth in Normal and Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats
    Mohamed EA, Ahmad M, Ang LF, Asmawi MZ, Yam MF
    Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2015;2015:754931.
    PMID: 26649063 DOI: 10.1155/2015/754931
    In the present study, a 50% ethanolic extract of Orthosiphon stamineus was tested for its α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. In vivo assays of the extract (containing 1.02%, 3.76%, and 3.03% of 3'hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, sinensetin, and eupatorin, resp.) showed that it possessed an inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase in normal rats loaded with starch and sucrose. The results showed that 1000 mg/kg of the 50% ethanolic extract of O. stamineus significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the plasma glucose levels of the experimental animals in a manner resembling the effect of acarbose. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, only the group treated with 1000 mg/kg of the extract showed significantly (P < 0.05) lower plasma glucose levels after starch loading. Hence, α-glucosidase inhibition might be one of the mechanisms by which O. stamineus extract exerts its antidiabetic effect. Furthermore, our findings indicated that the 50% ethanolic extract of O. stamineus can be considered as a potential agent for the management of diabetes mellitus.
  18. Fulltext Fabrication and characterization of novel semolina-based antimicrobial films derived from the combination of ZnO nanorods and nanokaolin
    Jafarzadeh S, Alias AK, Ariffin F, Mahmud S, Najafi A, Ahmad M
    J Food Sci Technol, 2017 Jan;54(1):105-113.
    PMID: 28242909 DOI: 10.1007/s13197-016-2441-3
    This study aimed to provide novel biopolymer-based antimicrobial films as food packaging that may assist in reducing environmental pollution caused by the accumulation of synthetic food packaging. The blend of ZnO nanorods (ZnO-nr) and nanokaolin in different ratios (1:4, 2:3, 3:2 and 4:1) was incorporated into semolina, and nanocomposite films were prepared using solvent casting. The resulting films were characterized through field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The mechanical, optical, physical, and antimicrobial properties of the films were also analyzed. The water vapor permeability of the films decreased with increasing ZnO-nr percentage, but their tensile strength and modulus of elasticity increased with increasing nanokaolin percentage. The UV transmittance of the semolina films were greatly influenced by an increase in the amount of ZnO-nr. The addition of ZnO-nr: nanokaolin at all ratios (except 1:4) into semolina reduced UV transmission to almost 0%. Furthermore, the ZnO-nr/nanokaolin/semolina films exhibited a strong antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. These properties suggest that the combination of ZnO-nr and nanokaolin are potential fillers in semolina-based films to be used as active packaging for food and pharmaceuticals.
  19. Fulltext Reliability and Validity of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire in Bahasa Malaysia for Patients with Cancer
    Rajah HDA, Chie QT, Ahmad M, Leong WC, Bhoo-Pathy N, Chan CMH
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2021 Aug 01;22(8):2487-2492.
    PMID: 34452562 DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2021.22.8.2487
    OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this study was to identify the psychometric properties and validate   the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire among patients with cancer.

    METHODS: A total of 129 newly diagnosed patients with cancer were consecutively sampled. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire were tested using translation validity, test-retest reliability, Principal Component Analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient for domains and item-total correlation.

    RESULTS: The questionnaire indicates excellent test-retest reliability. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) is 0.60 for the two-factor structure of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire of the Bahasa Malaysia version which consists of cognitive illness representation and emotional illness representation.

    CONCLUSION: The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire in the Bahasa Malaysia version is a useful tool to use among patients with cancer in Malaysia context despite moderate psychometric properties. This is based on the premise that the questionnaire can be used as a quick tool to assess illness perceptions among Malaysian with cancer in routine oncology practice.

  20. Fulltext The prevalence and its associated factors of psychological stress among middle school students in China: pooled evidence from a systematic scoping review
    Hao L, Mat Ludin AF, Ahmad M, Meng X, Zhong Lei H
    Front Public Health, 2024;12:1358210.
    PMID: 38694991 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1358210
    Psychological issues are of significant concern in present-day society, as poor mental well-being results in depression and suicidal behavior. Understanding the current situation of psychological stress among secondary school students will help policy makers to formulate targeted measures to help them cope with stress, and at the same time evaluate the effectiveness of the existing policies to address the shortcomings and enhance the diversification of interventions. The main purpose of this review was to map the existing evidence on the prevalence and levels of psychological stress among adolescents in China, and to identify the associated risk factors. This review strictly adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A comprehensive search was performed spanning Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases. Studies involving only humans and full text in English were selected. Selection was limited to samples from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Variables were extracted, exploring the factors that affected the mental wellness of Chinese middle school students. A final 15 articles and 1 report were included. The findings revealed psychological stress is prevalent among Chinese middle school population, with the degree of prevalence from low to severe stress levels. Three dimensions of psychological stress affecting Chinese secondary school students: school, family and lifestyle. Within the school, the factors included academic stress, peer relationships etc. Family-related factors were comprised of parent-child relationship, parents' mental health status etc. Lastly, lifestyle-related factors included poor diet, sedentary and inactivity etc. Our findings suggest that policy makers should reduce the excessive emphasis on examination results and focus on the all-round development of students, and that schools should organize a variety of extra-curricular activities to reduce students' stress. Parents should create a harmonious family atmosphere to minimize conflicts and maintain close communication with teachers.

    SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: OSF; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/HEFCP.

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