Displaying publications 2421 - 2440 of 6724 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Fulltext Public facilities guidelines calculator for sustainable housing development
    Norainah Abdul Rahman, Nor Ashikin Ab Manan, Nor Liza Saad, Kamariah Abdullah, Nur Shaffiqa Muhammad Soffian, Aizazi Lutfi Ahmad
    Jurnal Inovasi Malaysia, 2018;1(2):125-144.
    MyJurnal
    Planning guidelines are important tools in controlling the development of housing projects in urban and rural areas to ensure sustainable development (a development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations in meet their own needs). Planning guidelines are used by local planning authorities (PBPT) to ensure uniformity, comfort and safety in land use activities to achieve effective housing development projects which meet the needs of the communities and create a comfortable living environment. The local planning authorities have developed a set of planning guidelines to be adhered to in all development projects in Malaysia. The main problem of the existing planning guidelines is that they are prepared in the form of reports which are not user friendly. In order to address this problem, a digital version of planning guidelines called the Public Facilities Guidelines Calculator for Sustainable Housing Development is invented. The main objective of this invention is to develop a digital version of planning guidelines which are more user friendly to help the users in accessing the ‘exact’ information ‘easily’ and in an ‘express’ manner (3E’s). The calculator is hoped to be able to provide assistance to town planners, consultants, land developers, and students in preparing the development layout which fulfils the development requirements for planning permission applications. Additionally, the calculator is expected to ease the job of local authorities in determining whether the proposed development layout is aligned with the planning guidelines so that timely planning permission can be issued.
  2. Fulltext Study of dissolved nutrient condition at Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu
    Khairul Nizam Mohamed, Godon, Edriana, Nur Aklili Adnan, Quraisha Abdul Rahim, Liew, Cynthia, Aizad Imran Zainal Abidin, et al.
    Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2019;27(2):601-617.
    MyJurnal
    This study compares the distribution of dissolved nutrients (NO3 − and PO4 3−) between two seasons (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon) in Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu. The concentration of dissolved PO4 3− was found to be 16 to 83 times higher during the postmonsoon period (April 2015) compared to the pre-monsoon period (October 2014). On the other hand, the concentration of dissolved NO3 − was two (2) to three (3) times higher during the post-monsoon period (April 2015) compared to the pre-monsoon period (October 2014). These nutrients’ inputs were converted from P limitation condition during the premonsoon period to N limitation condition during the post-monsoon period at our study area. The results of this study suggest that the Northeast monsoon plays an important role in influencing the distribution of dissolved nutrients between seasons in Pulau Perhentian. It is thought that during the post-monsoon period, a considerable input of nutrients from bottom water is responsible for increasing dissolved nutrients in surface water, in particular PO4 3−.
  3. Phytochemical and biological evaluation of Defatted seeds of Jatropha Curcas
    Ul Haq MN, Wazir SM, Ullah F, Khan RA, Shah MS, Khatak A
    Sains Malaysiana, 2016;45:1435-1442.
    In this study, the antimicrobial, antioxidant, phytotoxic and phytochemical properties of defatted seeds of Jatropha curcas were evaluated. A crude methanolic extract of defatted seeds was tested against three fungal strains - Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus - and five bacteria: Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Gram negative) and Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive). The methanolic extract was diluted in dimethylsulfoxide to final concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mg/10 mL. The largest zones of inhibition against K. pneumoniae, M. luteus and B. subtilis were achieved using the concentration of 5 mg/10 mL. The concentration of 1 mg/10 mL was most effective against S. aureus and E. coli. In a 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylahydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, the 5 mg/10 mL concentration of the Jatropha seed extract showed the strongest activity. Higher concentrations of the Jatropha seed extract (10 mg/50 mL and 5 mg/50 mL) significantly inhibited the germination of radish seeds and had negative effects on radish seedling relative water content, shoot length, root length, seedling fresh weight and seedling dry weight (p<0.05). Phytochemical analyses of the defatted seeds detected alkaloids (7.3%), flavonoids (0.39%) and soluble phenolics (mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract). Based on these results, it was inferred that J. curcas seeds contain active ingredients that are effective against pathogenic microbes and therefore could be used to formulate drugs to treat various diseases.
  4. Mathematical model of mixed convection boundary layer flow over a horizontal circular cylinder filled in a jeffrey fluid with viscous dissipation effect
    Syazwani Mohd Zokri, Nur Syamilah Arifin, Muhammad Khairul Anuar Mohamed, Abdul Rahman Mohd Kasim, Mohd Zuki Salleh, Nurul Farahain Mohammad
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:1607-1615.
    This paper delves into the problem of mixed convection boundary layer flow from a horizontal circular cylinder filled in
    a Jeffrey fluid with viscous dissipation effect. Both cases of cooled and heated cylinders are discussed. The governing
    equations which have been converted into a dimensionless form using the appropriate non-dimensional variables are solved
    numerically through the Keller-box method. A comparative study is performed and authentication of the present results
    with documented outcomes from formerly published works is excellently achieved. Tabular and graphical representations
    of the numerical results are executed for the specified distributions, considering the mixed convection parameter, Jeffrey
    fluid parameters and the Prandtl and Eckert numbers. Interestingly, boundary layer separation for mixed convection
    parameter happens for some positive (assisting flow) and negative (opposing flow) values. Strong assisting flow means
    the cylinder is heated, which causes the delay in boundary layer separation, whereas strong opposing flow means the
    cylinder is cooled, which conveys the separation point close to the lower stagnation point. Contradictory behaviours
    of both Jeffrey fluid parameters are observed over the velocity and temperature profiles together with the skin friction
    coefficient and Nusselt number. The increase of the Prandtl number leads to the decrement of the temperature profile,
    while the increase of the Eckert number results in the slight increment of the skin friction coefficient and decrement of
    the Nusselt number. Both velocity and temperature profiles of Eckert number show no effects at the lower stagnation
    point of the cylinder.
  5. Influence of hydrochloric acid volume on the growth of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures by hydrothermal method
    Noor Kamalia Abd Hamed, Noor Sakinah Khalid, Fatin Izyani Mohd Fazli, Muhammad Luqman Mohd Napi, Nafarizal Nayan, Mohd Khairul Ahmad
    Sains Malaysiana, 2016;45:1669-1673.
    Titanium dioxide (TiO2
    ) with various morphologies has been successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method
    at 150o
    C for 10 h using titanium butoxide (TBOT) as a precursor, deionized (DI) water and hydrochloric acid (HCl) on
    a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. The influences of HCl volume on structural and morphological properties
    of TiO2
    have been studied using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM),
    respectively. The result showed that several morphologies such as microsphere, microrods, nanorods and nanoflowers
    were obtained by varying the volume of hydrochloric acid. The crystallinity of titanium dioxide enhanced with the
    increasing of hydrochloric acid volume.
  6. Blood plasma in food from islam and science perspectives
    Mohd izhar ariff mohd kashim, Nur asmadayana hasim, Rizafizahothaman, Mohammad zaini yahaya, Rozida khalid, Muhammad adibsamsudin, et al.
    Sains Malaysiana, 2017;46:1779-1787.
    Makanan dan minuman yang halal dan baik merupakan tuntutan dalam Islam. Pada zaman serba moden ini, timbul
    kebimbangan terhadap status halal plasma darah yang digunakan secara meluas terutamanya dalam industri makanan.
    Objektif penyelidikan ini ialah untuk mengkaji kegunaan, kebaikan dan keburukan plasma darah serta pandangan ulama
    mengenai isu ini. Kajian ini dijalankan dengan menggunakan ulasan kepustakaan secara deskriptif. Kajian mendapati
    bahawa plasma darah mempunyai kemampuan melarut dan pengemulsi yang tinggi, kelikatan yang rendah serta
    kemampuan untuk membentuk gel yang kuat. Selain itu, plasma darah boleh menambah baik tekstur dan menjadi pengikat
    dalam penghasilan produk makanan moden. Ia juga merupakan alternatif protein yang murah bagi pengganti lemak dalam
    penghasilan produk daging rendah lemak. Walau bagaimanapun, kajian mendapati plasma darah mengandungi pelbagai
    mikroorganisma dan hasilan metabolisme yang berkemungkinan merbahaya akibat daripada toksin dan protein darah.
    Kini, terdapat pelbagai kaedah pengesanan yang boleh dijalankan untuk mengesan plasma darah dalam makanan bagi
    menentukan status halal. Terdapat dua pandangan berkenaan hukum penggunaan plasma darah, pandangan pertama
    bersependapat, penggunaan plasma darah dalam produk makanan adalah harus jika telah berlaku proses istihalah
    yang sempurna. Manakala pandangan kedua, mengharamkan plasma darah kerana ia adalah proses tidak sempurna
    (istihalah fasidah). Oleh itu, penentuan hukum terhadap istihalah dalam penghasilan plasma darah mestilah menepati
    kehendak syariat Islam di samping memastikan hukum berkaitan isu ini tidak ketinggalan zaman.
  7. Highly efficient proliferation and regeneration of protocorm-like bodies (plbs) of the threatened orchid, phalaenopsis bellina
    Yee-Chern Chew, Muhammad Husni Abd Halim, Wan Muhamad Asrul Nizam Wan Abdullah, Janna Ong Abdullah, Kok-Song Lai
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:1093-1099.
    Phalaenopsis bellina is an important indigenous fragrant orchid threatened with extinction. In this study, we evaluated
    the effect of medium strength, sucrose, nitrogen (NH4
    NO3
    ) and potato extract on proliferation of P. bellina protocormlike
    bodies (PLBs) to improve micropropagation in this species. Optimal treatment for PLBs proliferation rate with an
    average fresh weight (FW) of 0.97±0.16 g was obtained through culturing on half strength (½) MS medium containing
    20 g/L sucrose, 15 mM NH4
    NO3
    and 20% w/v potato extract supplemented with 0.8 µM 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
    (2,4-D). The optimal treatment produced large, healthy and greenish PLBs with reduction in the occurrence of culture
    browning. In contrast, treatments with high potato extract (>20% w/v) or NH4
    NO3
    (>30 mM) concentrations tend to
    have inhibitory effect and resulted in low PLBs proliferation rate, with an average FW of 0.77±0.15 g and 0.69±0.15 g,
    respectively. Plant regeneration of PLBs was achieved on plant growth regulator (PGR)-free ½ MS medium. In total, 60
    healthy PLBs from the optimal treatment were successfully regenerated, acclimatized with 100% survival percentage and
    grew well in a mixture of soil, sand and vermicompost (8:4:2 (w/w/w)). With the optimal treatment, PLBs proliferation
    rate was enhanced by 27.63%. Our findings offer an improved micropropagation protocol of the endangered P. bellina
    for conservation and commercial production.
  8. Effects of soaking in glycerol and conventional solvents on the grinding of kempas wood (koompassia malaccensis)
    Poh Lee Loh, Noor Azlina Abdul Ghani, Nabilah Suhaili, Zetty Shafiqa Othman, Muhammad Rahimi Yusop, Rizafizah Othaman, et al.
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:1123-1129.
    Glycerol, the main by-product in biodiesel manufacturing, is a useful and environment-friendly solvent for many organic
    and inorganic substrates. This study investigates the effects of soaking using glycerol, silicone oil, dimethyl sulfoxide
    (DMSO) and Organosolv (1:1 water: ethanol) on energy consumption in the process of grinding kempas wood and on
    the particle size of ground kempas. Kempas wood chips were soaked in various solvents at 90°C for 1 h. The structural
    characterisation of untreated and treated kempas was analysed using CHNS, ATR-FTIR and XRD. Meanwhile, the grinding
    energy was calculated based on power per unit time while particle size was analysed using nested column sieves. Glycerol
    has high stability, good compatibility with other chemicals and is environmentally friendly. Glycerol-soaked kempas
    consumed less energy which led to energy saving of up to 0.015 W h and exhibited the smallest average particle size
    (263 µm) close to that of untreated kempas due to glycerol lubricating properties. Therefore, glycerol can be used as
    an alternative to conventional solvents in reducing the grinding energy consumption and particle size of lignocellulosic
    biomass.
  9. Transforming growth factor beta 3 induced human adipose-derived stem cells for auricular chondrogenesis
    Siti Nurhadis Che Omar, Kien-Hui Chua, Bee See Goh, Muhammad Azhan Ubaidah, Lokman Saim, Khairul Anuar Khairoji, et al.
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:2349-2358.
    The limitation of self-repair and proliferation capacity of chondrocytes in cartilage reconstruction lead to alternative
    search of cell source that can improve the auricular regeneration. Human adipose-derived stem cells (HADSC) are an
    alternative cell source that have unique characteristics to self-renew and differentiate into various tissues making it
    suitable for cell therapy and tissue engineering. This study aimed to examine the chondrogenic differentiation potential of
    (HADSC) in monolayer culture by the presence of different transforming growth factor beta’s, TFG-β1, -β2 and -β3. HADSC
    at passage 3 (1.5 × 105 cell/mL) were cultured in chondrogenic medium containing 5 ng/mL of different transforming
    growth factor beta’s, TFG-β1, -β2 and -β3 for 7, 14 and 21 days. Data analysis was evaluated based on the growth
    rate of cells, cells morphological changed, production of collagen type II and glycosaminoglycan sulphate (sGAG). The
    quantitative RT-PCR was carried out to determine the chondrogenic, fibrogenic and hypertrophic gene expression levels.
    Differentiation of HADSC into chondrocytes using TFG-β indicates the occurrence of the chondrogenesis process. The best
    chondrogenic differentiation was observed in HADSC induced by TFG-β3 through the chondrocytes-like cells morphology
    with cells aggregation and high production of proteoglycan matrices compared to other TGF-βs groups. Additionally,
    the expression of chondrocytes-specific genes such as Type II collagen, Aggrecan core protein, Elastin and Sox 9 was
    high. In conclusion, this study has showed that TGF-β3 is the potential growth factor in producing chondrogenic cells
    for auricular cartilage tissue engineering.
  10. Fulltext Association between IL-31 serum levels and other predisposing factors with allergic diseases in HRPZ II and HUSM, Kelantan, Malaysia
    Siti Noor Syuhada Muhammad Amin, Noor Suryani Mohd Ashari, Wan Zuraida Wan Abd. Hamid, Azriani Ab Rahman, Azman Azid
    Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17(2):66-73.
    Interleukin 31 (IL-31)is one of the cytokines which appears to be an important regulator of Th2 responses. Previous study has been done to determine IL-31 serums levels in atopic dermatitis (AD). However, the serum levels of IL-31 in allergic rhinitis (AR) and atopic asthma (AA) is not many reported and still unclear. The objective of this cross sectional study is to determine an association between IL-31 and other predisposing factors with allergic diseases in HRPZ II (Hospital Raja PerempuanZainab II) and HUSM (Hospital UniversitiSains), Kelantan, Malaysia. This study involved 70 patients of AD, 70 patients of AR, 70 patients of AA and 70 healthy controls from staffs and people in HUSM.Five milliliters of blood were withdrawn and centrifuged for 5 minutes at 2000 rpm to obtain the serum and analyzed for IL-31 levels by using enzymelinked immunosorbent (ELISA) kits (Human IL 31 Duoset, R&D System). Simple and multiple logistic regressions were used to analyze the association between IL-31 levels and predisposing factors among allergic diseases. The levels of IL-31 and other predisposing factors showed significant associations in smoking status, occupational exposure and area of living for AD and AR, however in AA, the significant association only found in smoking status and occupational exposure. In conclusion, we found that there were associations between IL-31 serum levels and other predisposing factors with AD, AR and AA. The findings can be the pilot study to determine IL-31 levels in allergic diseases in Malaysia.
  11. Sedimentologi batuan enapan daratan kumpulan gagau (usia kapur awal) di Hulu Sungai Chichir, Terengganu Darul Iman, Malaysia
    Khor WC, Mohd Shafeea Leman, Muhammad Ashahadi Dzulkafli, Kamal Roslan Mohamed, Che Aziz Ali, Jasmi Ab Talib
    Sains Malaysiana, 2017;46:2315-2323.
    Jujukan batuan sedimen Kapur Awal Kumpulan Gagau di kawasan sekitar hulu Sungai Chichir dibentuk oleh batu pasir
    berpebel masif, batu lumpur masif dan lapisan tebal batu pasir dengan pelbagai struktur sedimen serta fosil. Jujukan ini
    boleh dibahagikan kepada tujuh fasies dengan mekanisme pengenapan berbeza. Berdasarkan asosiasi antara pelbagai
    fasies sedimen dapat ditafsirkan bahawa jujukan ini telah terenap dalam pelbagai sekitaran dataran aluvium termasuk
    alur sungai utama, sungai berliku, sungai berburai dan dataran banjir. Fosil yang ditemui memberikan usia Kapur
    Awal kepada jujukan ini. Bukti kehadiran tanah atas di kawasan ini mencerahkan harapan untuk penemuan pelbagai
    fosil hidupan daratan, khususnya fauna vertebrat serta dinosaur yang lebih baik dan lengkap.
  12. Mechanical and bioactive properties of mullite reinforced pseudowollastonite biocomposite
    Farah ‘Atiqah Abdul Azam, Roslinda Shamsudin, Zalita Zainuddin, Muhammad Azmi Abdul Hamid, Min Hwei Ng, Rashita Abdul Rashid
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:2141-2149.
    Bioactive composites consist of pseudowollastonite and mullite synthesized from natural resources was developed for
    bone implant applications. To realize such applications, a mechanical test of these composites and in vitro bioactivity in
    SBF solution were studied. The present paper reports pseudowollastonite synthesized from the rice husk ash and limestone
    reinforced with 10, 20 and 30 wt. % of mullite. Influence of sintering temperature, phase composition, morphology towards
    mechanical properties of various pseudowollastonite-mullite (PSW-M) composites was examined prior to the bioactivity
    test. It was found that pseudowollastonite with the addition of 20 wt. % of mullite sintered at 1150°C gave the best result
    for diametral tensile strength (DTS) and hardness with the value of 8.8 ± 0.15 MPa and 3.79 ± 0.13 GPa, respectively.
    The obvious increment in the mechanical strength was due to the formation of liquid phase CaAl2
    O3
    during sintering at
    1150°C. In addition, the formation of fibrous apatite (HA) layer of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) with Ca/P ratio
    1.8 on PSW20M sample confirmed the good bioactivity of the composite.
  13. Fulltext Structural and electronic properties of orthorhombic phase bi2se3 based on first-principles study
    Muhammad Zamir Mohyedin, Afiq Radzwan, Mohammad Fariz Mohamad Taib, Rosnah Zakaria, Nor Kartini Jaafar, Masnawi Mustaffa, et al.
    Scientific Research Journal, 2019;16(2):77-88.
    MyJurnal
    Bi2Se3 is one of the promising materials in thermoelectric devices and is environmentally friendly due to its efficiency to perform in room temperature. Structural and electronic properties of Bi2Se3 were investigated based on the first-principles calculation of density functional theory (DFT) using CASTEP computer code. The calculation is conducted within the exchange-correlation of local density approximation (LDA) and generalised gradient approximation within the revision of Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (GGA-PBE) functional. A comparative study is carried out between the electronic properties of LDA and GGA-PBE. Lattice parameter and band gap are consistent with the other reports. Calculation from LDA is more accurate and has a better agreement than GGA-PBE in describing the lattice parameter of Bi2Se3. Band gap and density of states of LDA show higher electrical conductivity than GGA-PBE. Both LDA and GGA-PBE have same degree of thermal conductivity due to the occurrence of indirect band gap at same range of wave vector.
  14. Species diversity and distribution of mud crab in Marudu Bay mangrove forest reserve, Sabah, Malaysia
    Nurul Ain Mohd Sharif, Noor Amalia Shaiful Kahar, Muhammad Ali Syed Hussein, Julian Ransangan, Annita Seok-Kian Yong
    Borneo Journal of Marine Science and Aquaculture, 2019;3(1):18-24.
    MyJurnal
    Sabah has extensive mangrove forests surrounded by oceanic waters which provide suitable habitat for many species of animals including mud crabs (Scylla spp.). This study was conducted to obtain information on the species composition, distribution and catch per unit effort in Marudu Bay, Sabah. Samplings were done monthly in five mangrove areas along the river channels in Marudu Bay (06°33’N; 114°44’E) from October 2012 to September 2013 using collapsible baited crab traps. From a total of 1859 mud crab specimens caught in Marudu Bay, three species were identified. Scylla tranquebarica was the dominant species forming 78% of the total followed by S. paramamosain 13% and S. olivacea 8%. The number of males (n=1224) was higher compared to females (n=635) with an average sex ratio male : female of 1.0:0.5. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) showed an average value of 0.55 trap-1 day-1 and revealed a declining trend throughout the sampling. S. tranquebarica was widely distributed in all the rivers surveyed, however, it mostly occurred in near the lower reaches of the river near the areas open to the sea where average water salinity ranged from 12.98 to 14.28 ppt and the environment favoured the growth of Rhizophora sp. Other species, S. paramamosain and S. olivacea, were mostly found in upstream areas covered generally by Nypa sp. and where average water salinity varied from 6.93 to 7.50 ppt. The information on the species composition, distribution and CPUE of the mud crabs in Marudu Bay can be useful for mud crab fisheries resources management in Sabah.
  15. Recent progress in integrated fixed-film activated sludge process for wastewater treatment: A review
    Waqas S, Bilad MR, Man Z, Wibisono Y, Jaafar J, Indra Mahlia TM, et al.
    J Environ Manage, 2020 Aug 15;268:110718.
    PMID: 32510449 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110718
    Integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) process is considered as one of the leading-edge processes that provides a sustainable solution for wastewater treatment. IFAS was introduced as an advancement of the moving bed biofilm reactor by integrating the attached and the suspended growth systems. IFAS offers advantages over the conventional activated sludge process such as reduced footprint, enhanced nutrient removal, complete nitrification, longer solids retention time and better removal of anthropogenic composites. IFAS has been recognized as an attractive option as stated from the results of many pilot and full scales studies. Generally, IFAS achieves >90% removals for combined chemical oxygen demand and ammonia, improves sludge settling properties and enhances operational stability. Recently developed IFAS reactors incorporate frameworks for either methane production, energy generation through algae, or microbial fuel cells. This review details the recent development in IFAS with the focus on the pilot and full-scale applications. The microbial community analyses of IFAS biofilm and floc are underlined along with the special emphasis on organics and nitrogen removals, as well as the future research perspectives.
  16. Assessment of Dimensional Stability, Biodegradability, and Fracture Energy of Bio-Composites Reinforced with Novel Pine Cone
    Jha K, Tyagi YK, Kumar R, Sharma S, Huzaifah MRM, Li C, et al.
    Polymers (Basel), 2021 Sep 24;13(19).
    PMID: 34641075 DOI: 10.3390/polym13193260
    In this investigation, biodegradable composites were fabricated with polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix reinforced with pine cone powder (15%, 30%, and 45% by weight) and compatibilized with graphite powder (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight) in polycaprolactone matrix by compression molding technique. The samples were prepared as per ASTM standard and tested for dimensional stability, biodegradability, and fracture energy with scanning electron micrographs. Water-absorption and thickness-swelling were performed to examine the dimensional stability and tests were performed at 23 °C and 50% humidity. Results revealed that the composites with 15 wt % of pine cone powder (PCP) have shown higher dimensional stability as compared to other composites. Bio-composites containing 15-45 wt % of PCP with low graphite content have shown higher disintegration rate than neat PCL. Fracture energy for crack initiation in bio-composites was increased by 68% with 30% PCP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the composites have shown evenly-distributed PCP particles throughout PCL-matrix at significantly high-degrees or quantities of reinforcing.
  17. Structural probing of HapR to identify potent phytochemicals to control Vibrio cholera through integrated computational approaches
    Tahir Ul Qamar M, Ahmad S, Khan A, Mirza MU, Ahmad S, Abro A, et al.
    Comput Biol Med, 2021 11;138:104929.
    PMID: 34655900 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104929
    Cholera is a severe small intestine bacterial disease caused by consumption of water and food contaminated with Vibrio cholera. The disease causes watery diarrhea leading to severe dehydration and even death if left untreated. In the past few decades, V. cholerae has emerged as multidrug-resistant enteric pathogen due to its rapid ability to adapt in detrimental environmental conditions. This research study aimed to design inhibitors of a master virulence gene expression regulator, HapR. HapR is critical in regulating the expression of several set of V. cholera virulence genes, quorum-sensing circuits and biofilm formation. A blind docking strategy was employed to infer the natural binding tendency of diverse phytochemicals extracted from medicinal plants by exposing the whole HapR structure to the screening library. Scoring function criteria was applied to prioritize molecules with strong binding affinity (binding energy 
  18. Robust biometric system using session invariant multimodal EEG and keystroke dynamics by the ensemble of self-ONNs
    Rahman A, Chowdhury MEH, Khandakar A, Tahir AM, Ibtehaz N, Hossain MS, et al.
    Comput Biol Med, 2022 Mar;142:105238.
    PMID: 35077938 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.105238
    Harnessing the inherent anti-spoofing quality from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals has become a potential field of research in recent years. Although several studies have been conducted, still there are some vital challenges present in the deployment of EEG-based biometrics, which is stable and capable of handling the real-world scenario. One of the key challenges is the large signal variability of EEG when recorded on different days or sessions which impedes the performance of biometric systems significantly. To address this issue, a session invariant multimodal Self-organized Operational Neural Network (Self-ONN) based ensemble model combining EEG and keystroke dynamics is proposed in this paper. Our model is tested successfully on a large number of sessions (10 recording days) with many challenging noisy and variable environments for the identification and authentication tasks. In most of the previous studies, training and testing were performed either over a single recording session (same day) only or without ensuring appropriate splitting of the data on multiple recording days. Unlike those studies, in our work, we have rigorously split the data so that train and test sets do not share the data of the same recording day. The proposed multimodal Self-ONN based ensemble model has achieved identification accuracy of 98% in rigorous validation cases and outperformed the equivalent ensemble of deep CNN models. A novel Self-ONN Siamese network has also been proposed to measure the similarity of templates during the authentication task instead of the commonly used simple distance measure techniques. The multimodal Siamese network reduces the Equal Error Rate (EER) to 1.56% in rigorous authentication. The obtained results indicate that the proposed multimodal Self-ONN model can automatically extract session invariant unique non-linear features to identify and authenticate users with high accuracy.
  19. Fulltext Evaluation of pharmaceutically compounded oral caffeine on the impact of medication adherence and risk of readmission among preterm neonates: A single-center quasi-experimental study
    Ambreen G, Kumar M, Ali A, Shah SAA, Saleem SM, Tahir A, et al.
    PLoS One, 2022;17(11):e0275655.
    PMID: 36350877 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275655
    BACKGROUND: Caffeine is available in an ampoule, used via parenteral and enteral routes in preterm neonates to treat apnea of prematurity (AOP) in neonates of gestational age ≥ 35-40 weeks. A longer duration of therapy has a higher risk of medication non-adherence due to higher costs and inappropriate dosage forms. Pharmaceutically compounded oral caffeine (PCC) could be an appropriate alternate dosage form. The researchers aimed to determine the impact of PCC on medication-related factors influencing medication adherence (MA) and the frequency of hospital readmission with apnea (HRA) in preterm neonates.

    METHODS: We conducted a single-center quasi-experimental study for this quality improvement project using PCC among the preterm neonates admitted in a tertiary care level-III NICU at the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi, Pakistan, received caffeine therapy, and survived at discharge. The researchers compared pre-PCC data (April-December 2017) with post-PCC data (April-Dec 2018) each for nine months, with three months intervals (January-March 2018) of PCC formulation and implementation phase. The study was conducted according to the SQUIRE2.0 guidelines. The Data were collated on factors influencing MA, including the cost of therapy, medication refill rates, and parental complaints as primary outcome measures. The Risk factors of HRA were included as secondary outcomes.

    RESULTS: After PCC implementation cost of therapy was reduced significantly from Rs. 97000.0 (729.0 USD) to Rs. 24500.0 (185.0 USD) (p<0.001), significantly higher (p<0.001) number of patients completed remaining refills (77.6% pre-phase vs 97.5% post-phase). The number of parental complaints about cost, ampoule usage, medication drawing issue, wastage, inappropriate dosage form, and longer duration of therapy reduced significantly in post-phase. HRA reduced from 25% to 6.6% (p<0.001). Post-implementation of PCC (RR 0.14; 95% CI: 0.07-0.27) was a significant independent risk factor for reducing HRA using a multivariate analysis model. Longer duration of caffeine therapy after discharge (RR 1.05; 95% CI: 1.04-1.04), those who were born in multiple births (RR 1.15; 95% CI: 1.15-1.15), and those who had higher number of siblings were other significant independent risk factors for HRA.

    CONCLUSIONS: PCC dispensation in the appropriate dosage form at discharge effectively reduced cost, non-adherence to therapy, and risk of hospital readmissions. This neonatal clinical and compounding pharmacist-led model can be replicated in other resource-limiting setting.

  20. UHPLC-MS phytochemical profiling, biological propensities and in-silico studies of Alhagi maurorum roots: a medicinal herb with multifunctional properties
    Saleem H, Sarfraz M, Khan KM, Anwar MA, Zengin G, Ahmad I, et al.
    Drug Dev Ind Pharm, 2020 May;46(5):861-868.
    PMID: 32352878 DOI: 10.1080/03639045.2020.1762199
    The biological, chemical, and in silico properties of methanol and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of Alhagi maurorum roots with respect to the antioxidant, enzyme inhibition, and phytochemical composition were evaluated. Total bioactive contents were determined spectrophotometrically, and the individual secondary metabolites composition was assessed via ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) analysis. Antioxidant capacities were evaluated using a panoply of assays (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), cupric reducing antioxidant power (CUPRAC), phosphomolybdenum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and metal chelating activity (MCA)). The enzyme inhibition potential was studied against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), α-amylase, α-glucosidase, tyrosinase, urease and lipoxygenase (LOX) enzymes. The methanol extract was found to contain higher total phenolic (105.91 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoid (2.27 mg RE/g extract) contents which can be correlated to its more substantial antioxidant potential as well as AChE, BChE, tyrosinase and α-glucosidase inhibition. However, the DCM extract was the most effective against α-amylase (1.86 mmol ACAE/g extract) enzyme inhibition. The UHPLC-MS analysis of methanol extract identified the tentative presence of a total of 18 secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, saponins, phenolic and terpenoid derivatives. Three compounds named emmotin A, luteolin 5,3'-dimethyl ether, and preferrugone were further investigated for their in silico molecular docking studies against the tested enzymes. The selected compounds were found to have higher binding interaction with AChE followed by BChE, α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and tyrosinase. The results of the present study have demonstrated A. mauroram to be considered as a lead source of natural antioxidant and enzyme inhibitor compounds.
Related Terms
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links