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Fulltext Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis associated with Burkholderia pseudomallei peritonitis

Aulia Z, Wan Ali WASR, Shahar MA

Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl, 2018 12 28;29(6):1484-1487.
PMID: 30588983 DOI: 10.4103/1319-2442.248318

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a known motile organism in soil. Its infection is usually described in immunocompromised patients. It inflicts serious infection with high mortality and morbidity rate. We report a rare case of an end-stage renal disease patient on regular continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (PD) who developed melioidosis PD peritonitis. Within a short period of time, she developed encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis evidenced by the intraoperative findings of intraabdominal cocooning. Choice and duration of antibiotic are important for proper eradication of the organism. Early diagnosis and treatment of both conditions also may improve the prognoses.
A contingent valuation approach to evaluating willingness to pay for an improved water pollution management system in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Sehreen F, Masud MM, Akhtar R, Masum MRA

Environ Monit Assess, 2019 Jun 22;191(7):457.
PMID: 31230139 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-019-7595-9

The city of Dhaka has been ranked repeatedly as the most polluted, the most populous, and the most unbearable city in the world. More than 19.5 million inhabitants live in Dhaka, and the population growth rate of urban areas in Bangladesh is almost double that of rural areas. Rapid urbanization is one of the leading contributors to water pollution in Dhaka and could prevent the country from achieving sustainable development. Therefore, this study estimates respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) to improve water pollution management systems and identifies factors that influence WTP in Dhaka. This study employed the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate WTP of the respondents. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with CVM questions, which was distributed to households in the study areas. The results revealed that 67% of the respondents are willing to pay for an improved water pollution management system, while 31.8% of households are unwilling to pay. The study also found that socio-economic factors (e.g., income and education) and perception significantly influence WTP. Therefore, this paper will provide directives for policymakers in developing an effective policy framework, as well as sensitize all stakeholders to the management of water pollution in Dhaka. The study suggests that social institutions, financial institutions, banks, non-government organizations (NGOs), insurance companies, and the government could provide effective outreach programs for water pollution management as part of their social responsibility.
Fulltext Association of IL-1 gene polymorphisms with chronic rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyp

Mohamad S, Hamid SSA, Azlina A, Md Shukri N

Asia Pac Allergy, 2019 Jul;9(3):e22.
PMID: 31384577 DOI: 10.5415/apallergy.2019.9.e22

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is one of the most common and complex chronic inflammatory disease of sinonasal mucosa. Even though the pathogenesis of CRS is multifactorial and still unclear, the role of cytokines especially interleukin-1 (IL-1) is being investigated worldwide in different population because of varying results obtained.
Objective: To study the association of IL-1 (A and B) gene polymorphisms with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyp (CRSwNP) and without nasal polyp (CRSsNP), and other factors related.
Methods: This is a case-controlled study which include a total of 138 subjects recruited from Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery clinic in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. Genotyping of the IL-1A (+4845G, +4845T) and IL-1B (-511C, -511T) were performed with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.
Results: There was a statistical significant association between IL-1B (-511C, -511T) polymorphism with CRSwNP and CRSsNP (p < 0.001). The CT genotype of IL-1B was markedly increased in CRSwNP subjects (52.2%). However, there was no significant association found between IL-1A (+4845G, +4845T) with CRSwNP and CRSsNP (p = 0.093). No association was found in factors related to CRS, which included asthma, atopy, allergy, aspirin sensitivity, and family history of nasal polyp (p value of 0.382, 0.382, 0.144, >0.95, and 0.254, respectively).
Conclusion: This study indicates an association of IL-1B (-511C, -511T) polymorphism with CRSwNP and CRSsNP in our population, hence there is a possibility of IL-1B involvement in modulating pathogenesis of CRS. There was no significant association of IL-1A (+4845G, +4845T) polymorphism with CRSwNP and CRSsNP, and other factors related.
Fulltext Poly(2,6-Dimethyl-1,4-Phenylene Oxide)-Based Hydroxide Exchange Separator Membranes for Zinc-Air Battery

Abbasi A, Hosseini S, Somwangthanaroj A, Mohamad AA, Kheawhom S

Int J Mol Sci, 2019 Jul 26;20(15).
PMID: 31357565 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20153678

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries are deemed as the most feasible alternative to replace lithium-ion batteries in various applications. Among battery components, separators play a crucial role in the commercial realization of rechargeable zinc-air batteries, especially from the viewpoint of preventing zincate (Zn(OH)42-) ion crossover from the zinc anode to the air cathode. In this study, a new hydroxide exchange membrane for zinc-air batteries was synthesized using poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) as the base polymer. PPO was quaternized using three tertiary amines, including trimethylamine (TMA), 1-methylpyrolidine (MPY), and 1-methylimidazole (MIM), and casted into separator films. The successful synthesis process was confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, while their thermal stability was examined using thermogravimetric analysis. Besides, their water/electrolyte absorption capacity and dimensional change, induced by the electrolyte uptake, were studied. Ionic conductivity of PPO-TMA, PPO-MPY, and PPO-MIM was determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to be 0.17, 0.16, and 0.003 mS/cm, respectively. Zincate crossover evaluation tests revealed very low zincate diffusion coefficient of 1.13 × 10-8, and 0.28 × 10-8 cm2/min for PPO-TMA, and PPO-MPY, respectively. Moreover, galvanostatic discharge performance of the primary batteries assembled using PPO-TMA and PPO-MPY as initial battery tests showed a high specific discharge capacity and specific power of ~800 mAh/gZn and 1000 mWh/gZn, respectively. Low zincate crossover and high discharge capacity of these separator membranes makes them potential materials to be used in zinc-air batteries.
Forensic Significance of Gunshot Impact Marks on Inanimate Objects: The Need for Translational Research

Nordin FA, Bominathan UR, Abdullah AFL, Chang KH

J Forensic Sci, 2020 Jan;65(1):11-25.
PMID: 31373699 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.14142

Wherever an impact mark is found, either on the surface or on the recovered projectile, it is important for forensic investigators to extract useful information in solving shooting-related cases. This article reviews a collection of works on examination of impact marks upon striking of projectiles on inanimate objects, emphasizing on the retrievable information from a shooting scene and their forensic significance in shooting event reconstruction. Literature suggested that impact marks on target surfaces and the degree of deformation on striking projectiles vary according to different combinations of ammunition and surface materials. It was noted that conditions in real-case scenarios further differed unpredictably in comparison with controlled studies, where forensic investigation should be treated as case-specific basis. Furthermore, the way forensic science is researched and applied operationally has to be reconsidered to reduce the gap via translational approach for more effective use of forensic evidence.
Taurine protects against NMDA-induced retinal damage by reducing retinal oxidative stress

Jafri AJA, Agarwal R, Iezhitsa I, Agarwal P, Ismail NM

Amino Acids, 2019 Apr;51(4):641-646.
PMID: 30656415 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-019-02696-4

This study aimed to evaluate effect of TAU on NMDA-induced changes in retinal redox status, retinal cell apoptosis and retinal morphology in Sprague-Dawley rats. Taurine was injected intravitreally as pre-, co- or post-treatment with NMDA and 7 days post-treatment retinae were processed for estimation of oxidative stress, retinal morphology using H&E staining and retinal cell apoptosis using TUNEL staining. Treatment with TAU, particularly pre-treatment, significantly increased retinal glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase levels compared to NMDA-treated rats; whereas, the levels of malondialdehyde reduced significantly. Reduction in retinal oxidative stress in TAU pre-treated group was associated with significantly greater fractional thickness of ganglion cell layer within inner retina and retinal cell density in inner retina. TUNEL staining showed significantly reduced apoptotic cell count in TAU pre-treated group compared to NMDA group. It could be concluded that TAU protects against NMDA-induced retinal injury in rats by reducing retinal oxidative stress.
The top 50 most-cited articles published in the International Endodontic Journal

Ahmad P, Dummer PMH, Noorani TY, Asif JA

Int Endod J, 2019 Jun;52(6):803-818.
PMID: 30667524 DOI: 10.1111/iej.13083

AIM: To analyse the main characteristics of the top 50 most-cited articles published in the International Endodontic Journal from 1967 to 2018.
METHODOLOGY: The Clarivate Analytics' Web of Science 'All Databases', Elsevier's Scopus, Google Scholar and PubMed Central were searched to retrieve the 50 most-cited articles in the IEJ published from April 1967 to December 2018. The articles were analysed and information including number of citations, year of publication, contributing authors, institutions and countries, study design, study topic, impact factor and keywords was extracted.
RESULTS: The number of citations of the 50 selected papers varied from 575 to 130 (Web of Science), 656 to164 (Elsevier's Scopus), 1354 to 199 (Google Scholar) and 123 to 3 (PubMed). The majority of papers were published in the year 2001 (n = 7). Amongst 102 authors, the greatest contribution was made by four contributors that included Gulabivala K (n = 4), Ng YL (n = 4), Pitt Ford TR (n = 4) and Wesselink PR (n = 4). The majority of papers originated from the United Kingdom (n = 8) with most contributions from King's College London Dental Institute (UK) and Eastman Dental Hospital, London. Reviews were the most common study design (n = 19) followed by Clinical Research (n = 16) and Basic Research (n = 15). The majority of topics covered by the most-cited articles were Outcome Studies (n = 9), Intracanal medicaments (n = 8), Endodontic microbiology (n = 7) and Canal instrumentation (n = 7). Amongst 76 unique keywords, Endodontics (n = 7), Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) (n = 7) and Root Canal Treatment (n = 7) were the most frequently used.
CONCLUSION: This is the first study to identify and analyse the top 50 most-cited articles in a specific professional journal within Dentistry. The analysis has revealed information regarding the development of the IEJ over time as well as scientific progress in the field of Endodontology.
Fulltext Prevalence and associated factors of potentially inappropriate medications among Iranian older adults

Saboor M, Kamrani AA, Momtaz YA, Sahaf R

Med Glas (Zenica), 2019 Feb 01;16(1):121-127.
PMID: 30680986 DOI: 10.17392/989-19

Aim Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in older people are associated with the increased use of health care services. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of PIMs among the elderly being referred to pharmacies in Tehran using the Beers criteria of 2012, and identify factors related to PIMs. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on elderly patients (60 years and above) referred to pharmacies in Tehran, in 2017. The Beers' criteria 2012 were used to evaluate PIMs. The logistic regression analysis was used to find sociodemographic predictors of PIMs. Results The mean age of 1591 patients was 70.51 years. The overall prevalence of PIMs was 26.0%. The most frequent PIMs, in order of frequency, included diclofenac (13.5%), alprazolam (9.3%), and chlordiazepoxide (9.1%) and clonazepam (8.4%). The pain medications were found to be most common PIMs (37.6%). Polypharmacy (OR=3.64, CI 95%: .81-4.70; p<0.001), number of chronic disease (OR=2.371, CI 95%:1.71-3.28; p<0.001) insomnia (OR=1.45, CI 95%: 1.13-1.87; p<0.01) and type of specialists were found as PIMs risk factors. Internal medicine specialists prescribed PIMs significantly fewer times than other specialists(OR=0.59, CI 95%: 0.40-0.88; p<0.01, and the orthopedic specialists prescribed PIMs significantly more times than other physicians (OR=3.23, CI 95%: 5.76-1.81; p<0.001). Conclusion High prevalence of PIMs among Iranian elderly patients implies a need for the development and operationalization of scientific guidelines for the use of medicines. It is also necessary to hold training courses for physicians to be educated in such cases.
Fulltext Prescription pattern among Iranian community dwelling older adults

Saboor M, Momtaz YA, Kamrani AA, Sahaf R

Med Glas (Zenica), 2019 Feb 01;16(1):115-120.
PMID: 30680985 DOI: 10.17392/986-19

Aim To assess prescription pattern among Iranian communitydwelling older adults. Methods This cross-sectional study employed a cluster random sampling to obtain a sample of 1591 patients aged 60 years and over referred to pharmacies in Tehran, 2017. Data were collected using a questionnaire: socio-demographic characteristics, type of pharmacy visited, the municipal district, the university covering the pharmacy, the number and names of prescribed drugs, drug category, type of insurances and physician's socio-demographic profile (age, gender, type of specialization, and work experience). Results The mean age of the patients was 70.51±7.84. A total of 5838 drugs were prescribed, giving an average of 3.73±2.24 drugs per patient (ranging of 1-15). Polypharmacy was noticed in 32.4% patients. Cardiovascular drugs accounted for 20.8% of the prescriptions, antidiabetics 8.8%, nutritional agents and vitamins 7.6%, and analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs and antipyretics accounted for 7.5%. Conclusion Developing educational programs on geriatric pharmacology general practitioners and more supervision among community-dwelling older adults might have effects on prescription pattern. There is a need for prescriber training and retraining with emphasis on the geriatric population.
Public awareness level and occurrence of pharmaceutical residues in drinking water with potential health risk: A study from Kajang (Malaysia)

Mohd Nasir FA, Praveena SM, Aris AZ

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2019 Dec 15;185:109681.
PMID: 31561079 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109681

Studies on the occurrence of pharmaceutical residues in drinking water were conducted especially in developed countries. However, limited studies reported the occurrence of pharmaceutical residues in developing countries. Thus, this study is conducted to fill the knowledge gap of pharmaceutical residue occurrences in developing countries, particularly in Malaysia, along with public awareness level and its potential human health risk. This study investigates public awareness level of drinking water quality and pharmaceutical handling, the occurrence of nine pharmaceutical residues (amoxicillin, caffeine, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, dexamethasone, diclofenac, nitrofurazone, sulfamethoxazole, and triclosan) and potential human health risks in drinking water from Kajang (Malaysia) using commercially competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. In general, the public awareness level of Kajang population showed poor knowledge (82.02%), and less positive attitude (98.88%) with a good practice score (57.3%). Ciprofloxacin was detected at the highest concentration (0.667 ng/L) while amoxicillin was at the lowest concentration (0.001 ng/L) in drinking water from Kajang (Malaysia). Nevertheless, all the reported occurrences were lower than previous studies conducted elsewhere. There was no appreciable potential human health risk for all the pharmaceutical residues as the risk quotient (RQ) values were less than 1 (RQ 
Analysis of Changes in Oil Palm Canopy Architecture From Basal Stem Rot Using Terrestrial Laser Scanner

Azuan NH, Khairunniza-Bejo S, Abdullah AF, Kassim MSM, Ahmad D

Plant Dis, 2019 Dec;103(12):3218-3225.
PMID: 31596688 DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-10-18-1721-RE

Basal stem rot (BSR), caused by the Ganoderma fungus, is an infectious disease that affects oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations. BSR leads to a significant economic loss and reductions in yields of up to Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 1.5 billion (US$400 million) yearly. By 2020, the disease may affect ∼1.7 million tonnes of fresh fruit bunches. The plants appear symptomless in the early stages of infection, although most plants die after they are infected. Thus, early, accurate, and nondestructive disease detection is crucial to control the impact of the disease on yields. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is an active remote-sensing, noncontact, cost-effective, precise, and user-friendly method. Through high-resolution scanning of a tree's dimension and morphology, TLS offers an accurate indicator for health and development. This study proposes an efficient image processing technique using point clouds obtained from TLS ground input data. A total of 40 samples (10 samples for each severity level) of oil palm trees were collected from 9-year-old trees using a ground-based laser scanner. Each tree was scanned four times at a distance of 1.5 m. The recorded laser scans were synched and merged to create a cluster of point clouds. An overhead two-dimensional image of the oil palm tree canopy was used to analyze three canopy architectures in terms of the number of pixels inside the crown (crown pixel), the degree of angle between fronds (frond angle), and the number of fronds (frond number). The results show that the crown pixel, frond angle, and frond number are significantly related and that the BSR severity levels are highly correlated (R2 = 0.76, P < 0.0001; R2 = 0.96, P < 0.0001; and R2 = 0.97, P < 0.0001, respectively). Analysis of variance followed post hoc tests by Student-Newman-Keuls (Newman-Keuls) and Dunnett for frond number presented the best results and showed that all levels were significantly different at a 5% significance level. Therefore, the earliest stage that a Ganoderma infection could be detected was mildly infected (T1). For frond angle, all post hoc tests showed consistent results, and all levels were significantly separated except for T0 and T1. By using the crown pixel parameter, healthy trees (T0) were separated from unhealthy trees (moderate infection [T2] and severe infection [T3]), although there was still some overlap with T1. Thus, Ganoderma infection could be detected as early as the T2 level by using the crown pixel and the frond angle parameters. It is hard to differentiate between T0 and T1, because during mild infection, the symptoms are highly similar. Meanwhile, T2 and T3 were placed in the same group, because they showed the same trend. This study demonstrates that the TLS is useful for detecting low-level infection as early as T1 (mild severity). TLS proved beneficial in managing oil palm plantation disease.
Profiling of cured residue of solvent-based adhesives by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with chemometrics for forensic investigation

Saman SA, Chang KH, Abdullah AFL

J Forensic Sci, 2021 Mar;66(2):608-618.
PMID: 33202056 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.14625

Abuse of solvent-based adhesives jeopardizes world population, especially the young generation. Adhesive-related exhibits encountered in forensic cases might need to be determined if they could have come from a particular source or to establish link between cases or persons. This study was aimed to discriminate solvent-based adhesives, especially to aid forensic investigation of glue sniffing activities. In this study, thirteen brands with three samples each, totaling at 39 adhesive samples, were analyzed using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy followed by chemometric methods. Experimental output showed that adhesive samples utilized in this study were less likely to change in their ATR-FTIR profiles over time, at least up to 2 months. No interference from plastic materials was noticed based on ATR-FTIR profile comparison. Physical examination could differentiate the samples into two groups, namely contact adhesives and cement adhesives. A principal component analysis-score linear discriminative analysis (PC-score LDA) model resulted in 100% and 98.6% correct classification in discriminating the two groups of adhesive samples, forming seven discriminative clusters. Test set with adhesive samples applied glass slide and plastic substrates also demonstrated a 100% correct classification into their respective groups. As a conclusion, the method allowed for discrimination of adhesive samples based on the spectral features, displaying relationship among samples. It is hoped that this comparative information is beneficial to trace the possible source of solvent-based adhesives, whenever they are recovered from a crime scene, for forensic investigation.
Biotechnology of oil palm: strategies towards manipulation of lipid content and composition

Parveez GK, Rasid OA, Masani MY, Sambanthamurthi R

Plant Cell Rep, 2015 Apr;34(4):533-43.
PMID: 25480400 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-014-1722-4

Oil palm is a major economic crop for Malaysia. The major challenges faced by the industry are labor shortage, availability of arable land and unstable commodity price. This has caused the industry to diversify its applications into higher value products besides increasing its yield. While conventional breeding has its limitations, biotechnology was identified as one of the tools for overcoming the above challenges. Research on biotechnology of oil palm began more than two decades ago leveraging a multidisciplinary approach involving biochemical studies, gene and promoter isolation, transformation vector construction and finally genetic transformation to produce the targeted products. The main target of oil palm biotechnology research is to increase oleic acid in the mesocarp. Other targets are stearic acid, palmitoleic acid, ricinoleic acid, lycopene (carotenoid) and biodegradable plastics. Significant achievements were reported for the biochemical studies, isolation of useful oil palm genes and characterization of important promoters. A large number of transformation constructs for various targeted products were successfully produced using the isolated oil palm genes and promoters. Finally transformation of these constructs into oil palm embryogenic calli was carried out while the regeneration of transgenic oil palm harboring the useful genes is in progress.
Fulltext The Modern and Digital Transformation of Oral Health Care: A Mini Review

Alauddin MS, Baharuddin AS, Mohd Ghazali MI

Healthcare (Basel), 2021 Jan 25;9(2).
PMID: 33503807 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9020118

Dentistry is a part of the field of medicine which is advocated in this digital revolution. The increasing trend in dentistry digitalization has led to the advancement in computer-derived data processing and manufacturing. This progress has been exponentially supported by the Internet of medical things (IoMT), big data and analytical algorithm, internet and communication technologies (ICT) including digital social media, augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR), and artificial intelligence (AI). The interplay between these sophisticated digital aspects has dramatically changed the healthcare and biomedical sectors, especially for dentistry. This myriad of applications of technologies will not only be able to streamline oral health care, facilitate workflow, increase oral health at a fraction of the current conventional cost, relieve dentist and dental auxiliary staff from routine and laborious tasks, but also ignite participatory in personalized oral health care. This narrative article review highlights recent dentistry digitalization encompassing technological advancement, limitations, challenges, and conceptual theoretical modern approaches in oral health prevention and care, particularly in ensuring the quality, efficiency, and strategic dental care in the modern era of dentistry.
Fulltext Factors associated with diabetes knowledge among communities in Sungai Petani. [Abstract]

Abdul Rahim NI, Shahar HK, Mohd Nazan NIN

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):49-49.
MyJurnal

ABSTRACTS FOR INTERNATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH CONFERENCE 2019 (I-FaH 2019)
Introduction: Diabetes is a global epidemic and the public knowledge on this progressive disease is important to control the disease. This study aims to determine the diabetes knowledge of a community in Sungai Petani and the associated factors.
Methods: A cross-sectional study using multi-stage sampling was carried out in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia between April to May 2019, by a validated and reliable questionnaire. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 25.0. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis test were used.
Results: Of 370 non-diabetic adults participated in this study with majority of them were females (61.9%), Malays (79.2%), had at least secondary education (53.5%), married (78.6%), overweight (34.6%), not-hypertensive (80.8%), had no family history of diabetes (52.2%) and not-smoking (86.8%). The mean ±SD age was 46.1 ±13. And median (IQR) monthly income was RM3037.40 ±3005.90. The diabetes knowledge median (IQR) score was 26.0 (9.0). Half of respondents did not know about items on “the different types of diabetes”, “diabetics should carry sweets when they are out” and “diabetics should not do-nate blood”. Diabetes knowledge was found to have significant association with diabetes screening uptake, income level, education level, marital status, BMI, family history of diabetes and smoking.
Conclusion: Diabetes knowledge among Sungai Petani community was found to be adequate but there is still misconception regarding diabetes and its management. Collective efforts should be taken to improve the general population’s knowledge on diabetes.
Fulltext Paediatric Palliative Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Malaysian Perspective

Chong LA, Khoo EJ, Kamar AA, Tan HS

Asian Bioeth Rev, 2020 Aug 13.
PMID: 32837563 DOI: 10.1007/s41649-020-00142-2

Malaysia had its first four patients with COVID-19 on 25 January 2020. In the same week, the World Health Organization declared it as a public health emergency of international concern. The pandemic has since challenged the ethics and practice of medicine. There is palpable tension from the conflict of interest between public health initiatives and individual's rights. Ensuring equitable care and distribution of health resources for patients with and without COVID-19 is a recurring ethical challenge for clinicians. Palliative care aims to mitigate suffering caused by a life-limiting illness, and this crisis has led to the awareness and urgency to ensure it reaches all who needs it. We share here the palliative care perspectives and ethical challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.
Objective assessment of vitiligo with a computerised digital imaging analysis system

Shamsudin N, Hussein SH, Nugroho H, Fadzil MH

Australas J Dermatol, 2015 Nov;56(4):285-9.
PMID: 25367709 DOI: 10.1111/ajd.12247

An objective tool to quantify treatment response in vitiligo is currently lacking. This study aimed to objectively evaluate the treatment response in vitiligo by using a computerised digital imaging analysis system (C-DIAS) and to compare it with the physician's global assessment (PGA). Tacrolimus ointment 0.1% (Protopic; Astellas Pharma Tech,Toyama, Japan) was applied twice daily on selected lesions which were photographed every 6 weeks for 24 weeks. The primary efficacy end-point was the mean percentage of repigmentation (MPR), as assessed by the digital method (MPR-C-DIAS) or by the PGA. The response was categorised into none (0%), mild (1-25%), moderate (26-50%), good (51-75%) and excellent (76-100%).
Novel polymorphic microsatellite markers for the helophytic plant species Hanguana malayana (Jack) Merr. (Commelinales: Hanguanaceae)

Rahman SN, Mansor A, Boyce PC, Othman AS

J Genet, 2012;91(1):e15-7.
PMID: 22552339
Fulltext Prevalence of occupational diseases among small and medium industry workers in Malaysia: a systematic review

Muhammad Zubir Yusof, Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod, Nor Azlina A. Rahman, Ailin Razali, Niza Samsuddin, Nik Mohamed Nizan Nik Mohamed, et al.

Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2019;4(2):4-30.
MyJurnal

Occupational diseases are one of the major health problems related to workplace hazards.
However, the epidemiological data for this problem is scarce especially among Small and
Medium Industry (SMI) workers. These workers are vulnerable to occupational health problem
due to lack of knowledge and implementation of health and safety in the workplace. In Malaysia,
most of the SMI workers have limited coverage for basic occupational health services which
may worsen their health. Thus, this article aims to provide a review on the burden of
occupational health problems among them. The electronic and library searches were used to
extract the information from both published and unpublished articles that were not limited to any
year of publication until 2017. One hundred and ninety-six published articles and 198
unpublished articles were retrieved from the database. Only 19 published articles and 25
unpublished articles met the eligibility criteria. Prevalence data of occupational
diseases/poisoning, including overall and body specific (musculoskeletal disorders) was
extracted in raw data from the eligible studies. Prevalent statistics on occupational
musculoskeletal diseases (1.3% - 97.6%), noise-induced hearing loss (29.4% - 73.3%),
occupational skin diseases (10.5% - 84.3%), respiratory (1.9% - 92.2%) and occupational
poisoning (14.9% - 17.7%) among the working population is different within published papers
compared to unpublished ones. In Malaysia, there are no specific statistic that give a true picture
of the burden of occupational diseases in the SMI. However, this review concludes that
musculoskeletal diseases are significant occupational problems among SMI workers.
Fulltext Improving the performance of opportunistic routing using min-max range and optimum energy level for relay node selection in wireless sensor networks

Yee PL, Mehmood S, Almogren A, Ali I, Anisi MH

PeerJ Comput Sci, 2020;6:e326.
PMID: 33816976 DOI: 10.7717/peerj-cs.326

Opportunistic routing is an emerging routing technology that was proposed to overcome the drawback of unreliable transmission, especially in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Over the years, many forwarder methods were proposed to improve the performance in opportunistic routing. However, based on existing works, the findings have shown that there is still room for improvement in this domain, especially in the aspects of latency, network lifetime, and packet delivery ratio. In this work, a new relay node selection method was proposed. The proposed method used the minimum or maximum range and optimum energy level to select the best relay node to forward packets to improve the performance in opportunistic routing. OMNeT++ and MiXiM framework were used to simulate and evaluate the proposed method. The simulation settings were adopted based on the benchmark scheme. The evaluation results showed that our proposed method outperforms in the aspect of latency, network lifetime, and packet delivery ratio as compared to the benchmark scheme.

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