Displaying publications 3721 - 3740 of 10026 in total

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  1. Ooi MK, Gan HM, Rohani A, Syed Hassan S
    Genome Announc, 2016;4(4).
    PMID: 27563048 DOI: 10.1128/genomeA.00876-16
    Here, we report the complete genome sequence of a chikungunya virus coinfection strain isolated from a dengue virus serotype 2-infected patient in Malaysia. This coinfection strain was determined to be of the Asian genotype and contains a novel insertion in the nsP3 gene.
  2. Nikmat AW, Hawthorne G, Al-Mashoor SHA
    ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 2011;12(1):95-101.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: The number of people surviving until old age has been increasing worldwide. Reductions in both fertility and mortality rates, better living standards, nutrition and health care are claimed to be the key factors that increase the proportion of aged people within the population. Nevertheless, growing numbers of older adults also increases the susceptibility to diseases that commonly afflict the elderly, such as dementia. In this article, we discuss on the current issues of dementia in Malaysia and its challenge in providing a
    better management and services for this population. Methods and Results:Review of literature by searching the databases CINAHL, SCOPUS, MEDLINE and PsychINFO from June 2010 to November 2010 was done on the issues involving dementia patients in Malaysia such as ageing trend, awareness and availability of services. Conclusion: Despite a limited number of studies on dementia in Malaysia, literature revealed the importance of
    acknowledging the issues and improving the services for the patients. Efforts should be made by the government and private sectors to promote healthy ageing in Malaysia.
  3. Yeap GY, Hrishikesan E, Chan YH, Mahmood WA
    J Fluoresc, 2017 Jan;27(1):105-110.
    PMID: 27679994 DOI: 10.1007/s10895-016-1938-5
    A new chalcone-based probe containing coumarin and naphthol at both ends has been synthesized via aldol condensation. The uniqueness of the newly derived probe can be ascribed to the presence of naphthol and coumarin units acting as binding site and signaling element, respectively. The fluorogenic behaviors toward various anions were investigated. The probe was characterized by various spectroscopic techniques and the in-depth study led to show excellent selectivity and sensitivity for fluoride ions. The hydrogen bonding thus formed with fluoride anion provides remarkable fluorometric responses. The interactions of the probe with fluoride ions were determined by fluorescence, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopic techniques. The exploratory studies by fluorescent spectral changes augur well for the naked-eye sensing applications.
  4. Low WZ, Khoo BE, Abdullah AF
    J Forensic Sci, 2016 07;61(4):1093-9.
    PMID: 27364293 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13063
    Nondestructive techniques for gathering evidence are important in the field of forensics. Due to the geometry of the substrates, nondestructive visualization of fingermarks on curved surfaces remains challenging. A novel contactless technique was developed for visualizing and recording fingermark patterns on nonporous curved surfaces of circular cross section. The technique utilizes a plane mirror to transmit rays from a light source to illuminate the area of interest for fingermark visualization. The fingermark acquisition system consists of a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, a plane mirror, and a white light source. Mathematical equations are used to calculate the mirror size. Experiments were performed on various curved surfaces to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of the technique. Spectral Image Validation and Verification (SIVV) was used to analyze the captured images. The results of this study indicate that the technique described here is able to reveal fingermark patterns on curved surfaces of circular cross section.
  5. Balaji A, Jaganathan SK, Ismail AF, Rajasekar R
    Int J Nanomedicine, 2016;11:4339-55.
    PMID: 27621626 DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S112265
    Management of burn injury is an onerous clinical task since it requires continuous monitoring and extensive usage of specialized facilities. Despite rapid improvizations and investments in burn management, >30% of victims hospitalized each year face severe morbidity and mortality. Excessive loss of body fluids, accumulation of exudate, and the development of septic shock are reported to be the main reasons for morbidity in burn victims. To assist burn wound management, a novel polyurethane (PU)-based bio-nanofibrous dressing loaded with honey (HN) and Carica papaya (PA) fruit extract was fabricated using a one-step electrospinning technique. The developed dressing material had a mean fiber diameter of 190±19.93 nm with pore sizes of 4-50 µm to support effective infiltration of nutrients and gas exchange. The successful blending of HN- and PA-based active biomolecules in PU was inferred through changes in surface chemistry. The blend subsequently increased the wettability (14%) and surface energy (24%) of the novel dressing. Ultimately, the presence of hydrophilic biomolecules and high porosity enhanced the water absorption ability of the PU-HN-PA nanofiber samples to 761.67% from 285.13% in PU. Furthermore, the ability of the bio-nanofibrous dressing to support specific protein adsorption (45%), delay thrombus formation, and reduce hemolysis demonstrated its nontoxic and compatible nature with the host tissues. In summary, the excellent physicochemical and hemocompatible properties of the developed PU-HN-PA dressing exhibit its potential in reducing the clinical complications associated with the treatment of burn injuries.
  6. Heilat AS, Hamid NN, Ismail AI
    Springerplus, 2016;5(1):1314.
    PMID: 27547688 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-2936-4
    A method based on extended cubic B-spline is proposed to solve a linear system of second-order boundary value problems. In this method, two free parameters, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], play an important role in producing accurate results. Optimization of these parameters are carried out and the truncation error is calculated. This method is tested on three examples. The examples suggest that this method produces comparable or more accurate results than cubic B-spline and some other methods.
  7. Hosseinpoor AR, Nambiar D, Schlotheuber A, Reidpath D, Ross Z
    BMC Med Res Methodol, 2016 10 19;16(1):141.
    PMID: 27760520
    BACKGROUND: It is widely recognised that the pursuit of sustainable development cannot be accomplished without addressing inequality, or observed differences between subgroups of a population. Monitoring health inequalities allows for the identification of health topics where major group differences exist, dimensions of inequality that must be prioritised to effect improvements in multiple health domains, and also population subgroups that are multiply disadvantaged. While availability of data to monitor health inequalities is gradually improving, there is a commensurate need to increase, within countries, the technical capacity for analysis of these data and interpretation of results for decision-making. Prior efforts to build capacity have yielded demand for a toolkit with the computational ability to display disaggregated data and summary measures of inequality in an interactive and customisable fashion that would facilitate interpretation and reporting of health inequality in a given country.

    METHODS: To answer this demand, the Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT), was developed between 2014 and 2016. The software, which contains the World Health Organization's Health Equity Monitor database, allows the assessment of inequalities within a country using over 30 reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health indicators and five dimensions of inequality (economic status, education, place of residence, subnational region and child's sex, where applicable).

    RESULTS/CONCLUSION: HEAT was beta-tested in 2015 as part of ongoing capacity building workshops on health inequality monitoring. This is the first and only application of its kind; further developments are proposed to introduce an upload data feature, translate it into different languages and increase interactivity of the software. This article will present the main features and functionalities of HEAT and discuss its relevance and use for health inequality monitoring.

  8. Al-Mekhlafi ZG, Hanapi ZM, Othman M, Zukarnain ZA
    PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0167423.
    PMID: 28056020 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167423
    Recently, Pulse Coupled Oscillator (PCO)-based travelling waves have attracted substantial attention by researchers in wireless sensor network (WSN) synchronization. Because WSNs are generally artificial occurrences that mimic natural phenomena, the PCO utilizes firefly synchronization of attracting mating partners for modelling the WSN. However, given that sensor nodes are unable to receive messages while transmitting data packets (due to deafness), the PCO model may not be efficient for sensor network modelling. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposed a new scheme called the Travelling Wave Pulse Coupled Oscillator (TWPCO). For this, the study used a self-organizing scheme for energy-efficient WSNs that adopted travelling wave biologically inspired network systems based on phase locking of the PCO model to counteract deafness. From the simulation, it was found that the proposed TWPCO scheme attained a steady state after a number of cycles. It also showed superior performance compared to other mechanisms, with a reduction in the total energy consumption of 25%. The results showed that the performance improved by 13% in terms of data gathering. Based on the results, the proposed scheme avoids the deafness that occurs in the transmit state in WSNs and increases the data collection throughout the transmission states in WSNs.
  9. Singh J, Rahman RA, Rajion ZA, Abdullah J, Mohamad I
    J Craniofac Surg, 2017 Jan;28(1):e64-e70.
    PMID: 27922969 DOI: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000003218
    INTRODUCTION: The human orbit is a complex anatomic region, which plays predominant role in the evaluation of craniofacial complex. A thorough understanding of the relationship of the distance from orbital rim to the important vital structures of the orbital apex is required for the surgeon to perform safe and effective surgery.

    OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and compare the depth and distances from various points of the orbital rim to the fissures and foramina of the orbital apex between genders in the local population.

    METHODOLOGY: Linear measurements were conducted on 60 orbits from 30 patients who had undergone head computed tomography scan. These measurements were done utilizing the multiplanar reconstruction modes on computed tomography images with minimum slice thickness of 1 mm.

    RESULTS: Males have statistically significant larger orbits than females with higher mean measurements in all parameters, except for the distance from posterior ethmoidal foramen to the optic canal which was the same. However, there were no significant differences in all parameters between the right and left orbits.

    CONCLUSION: This study provides the absolute limit of safe internal orbital dissection in respect to the local population. Despite males having larger orbits than females, it is clinically negligible.

  10. Ling TH, Zakaria AF, Abdullah AT
    J Orthop Surg (Hong Kong), 2017 01;25(1):2309499017690459.
    PMID: 28228050 DOI: 10.1177/2309499017690459
    Neck manipulation is associated with spinal cord injury. However, occurrence of such cases is infrequent. This article presents a 33-year-old gentleman who sustained acute tetraplegia after neck manipulation. The aim of this case report is to create awareness that vigorous neck manipulation could cause injury to the spinal cord.
  11. Zambry NS, Ayoib A, Md Noh NA, Yahya ARM
    Bioprocess Biosyst Eng, 2017 Jul;40(7):1007-1016.
    PMID: 28389850 DOI: 10.1007/s00449-017-1764-4
    The present study focused on developing a wild-type actinomycete isolate as a model for a non-pathogenic filamentous producer of biosurfactants. A total of 33 actinomycetes isolates were screened and their extracellular biosurfactants production was evaluated using olive oil as the main substrate. Out of 33 isolates, 32 showed positive results in the oil spreading technique (OST). All isolates showed good emulsification activity (E24) ranging from 84.1 to 95.8%. Based on OST and E24 values, isolate R1 was selected for further investigation in biosurfactant production in an agitated submerged fermentation. Phenotypic and genotypic analyses tentatively identified isolate R1 as a member of the Streptomyces genus. A submerged cultivation of Streptomyces sp. R1 was carried out in a 3-L stirred-tank bioreactor. The influence of impeller tip speed on volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (k L a), growth, cell morphology and biosurfactant production was observed. It was found that the maximum biosurfactant production, indicated by the lowest surface tension measurement (40.5 ± 0.05 dynes/cm) was obtained at highest k L a value (50.94 h-1) regardless of agitation speed. The partially purified biosurfactant was obtained at a concentration of 7.19 g L-1, characterized as a lipopeptide biosurfactant and was found to be stable over a wide range of temperature (20-121 °C), pH (2-12) and salinity [5-20% (w/v) of NaCl].
  12. Selvanathan V, Azzahari AD, Abd Halim AA, Yahya R
    Carbohydr Polym, 2017 Jul 01;167:210-218.
    PMID: 28433156 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.03.023
    A first-of-its-kind, eco-friendly quasi-solid bioelectrolyte derived from potato starch was prepared. Starch was chemically modified via phthaloylation to synthesize amorphous, hydrophobic starch derivative and the attachment of the phthaloyl group was confirmed via FTIR which showed phthalate ester peak at 1715cm-1; and 1H NMR peaks between 7.30-7.90ppm attributed to the aromatic protons of the phthaloyl group. The resulting starch derivative was then infused with ternary natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) made from different molar ratios of choline chloride, urea and glycerol. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) revealed that the highest ionic conductivity was obtained by the system consisting of NADES with choline chloride:urea:glycerol in molar ratios of 4:6:2, with a magnitude of 2.86mScm-1, hence validating the prospects of the materials to be further experimented as an alternative electrolyte in various electrochemical devices.
  13. Ab Rahman AF, Md Sahak N, Ali AM
    Int J Pharm Pract, 2017 Feb;25(1):75-80.
    PMID: 28097717 DOI: 10.1111/ijpp.12336
    OBJECTIVES: Published nomograms to monitor extended-interval dosing (EID) gentamicin therapy were based on a fixed dose of 5 or 7 mg/kg. However, the average dose used for EID gentamicin regimen in our setting was about 3 mg/kg per day. We developed a new method of monitoring based on the duration of drug-free period (DFP) in a 24-h dosing interval.

    METHODS: Hospitalised adult patients on EID gentamicin were selected. We considered a DFP of between 2 and 8 h as appropriate. Data from two blood samples (2 and 6 h postdose) from each patient were used to estimate the duration of DFP (i.e. DFP method 1). DFP was also calculated for the same patient using an empirically estimated elimination rate constant (Ke ) and the same 6 h postdose concentration value (DFP method 2). Correlation between the two methods was made. An alternative graphical method to estimate DFP was attempted.

    KEY FINDINGS: Correlation between Ke and age was favourable (r = -0.453; P = 0.001). Ke derived from this empirical relationship was used to estimate DFP method 2. DFP method 1 correlated well with DFP method 2 (r = 0.742; P 

  14. Adnan AI, Hanapi ZM, Othman M, Zukarnain ZA
    PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0170273.
    PMID: 28121992 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170273
    Due to the lack of dependency for routing initiation and an inadequate allocated sextant on responding messages, the secure geographic routing protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have attracted considerable attention. However, the existing protocols are more likely to drop packets when legitimate nodes fail to respond to the routing initiation messages while attackers in the allocated sextant manage to respond. Furthermore, these protocols are designed with inefficient collection window and inadequate verification criteria which may lead to a high number of attacker selections. To prevent the failure to find an appropriate relay node and undesirable packet retransmission, this paper presents Secure Region-Based Geographic Routing Protocol (SRBGR) to increase the probability of selecting the appropriate relay node. By extending the allocated sextant and applying different message contention priorities more legitimate nodes can be admitted in the routing process. Moreover, the paper also proposed the bound collection window for a sufficient collection time and verification cost for both attacker identification and isolation. Extensive simulation experiments have been performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed protocol in comparison with other existing protocols. The results demonstrate that SRBGR increases network performance in terms of the packet delivery ratio and isolates attacks such as Sybil and Black hole.
  15. Bidier SA, Hashim MR, Al-Diabat AM, Bououdina M
    PMID: 28373813 DOI: 10.1016/j.physe.2017.01.009
    Ti-doped ZnO nanorod arrays were grown onto Si substrate using chemical bath deposition (CBD) method at 93 °C. To investigate the effect of time deposition on the morphological, and structural properties, four Ti-doped ZnO samples were prepared at various deposition periods of time (2, 3.5, 5, and 6.5 h). FESEM images displayed high-quality and uniform nanorods with a mean length strongly dependent upon deposition time; i.e. it increases for prolonged growth time. Additionally, EFTEM images reveal a strong erosion on the lateral side for the sample prepared for 6.5 h as compared to 5 h. This might be attributed to the dissolution reaction of ZnO with for prolonged growth time. XRD analysis confirms the formation of a hexagonal wurtzite-type structure for all samples with a preferred growth orientation along the c-axis direction. The (100) peak intensity was enhanced and then quenched, which might be the result of an erosion on the lateral side of nanorods as seen in EFTEM. This study confirms the important role of growth time on the morphological features of Ti-doped ZnO nanorods prepared using CBD.
  16. Hong-Seng G, Sayuti KA, Karim AH
    Biomed Mater Eng, 2017;28(2):75-85.
    PMID: 28372262 DOI: 10.3233/BME-171658
    BACKGROUND: Existing knee cartilage segmentation methods have reported several technical drawbacks. In essence, graph cuts remains highly susceptible to image noise despite extended research interest; active shape model is often constraint by the selection of training data while shortest path have demonstrated shortcut problem in the presence of weak boundary, which is a common problem in medical images.

    OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study is to investigate the capability of random walks as knee cartilage segmentation method.

    METHODS: Experts would scribble on knee cartilage image to initialize random walks segmentation. Then, reproducibility of the method is assessed against manual segmentation by using Dice Similarity Index. The evaluation consists of normal cartilage and diseased cartilage sections which is divided into whole and single cartilage categories.

    RESULTS: A total of 15 normal images and 10 osteoarthritic images were included. The results showed that random walks method has demonstrated high reproducibility in both normal cartilage (observer 1: 0.83±0.028 and observer 2: 0.82±0.026) and osteoarthritic cartilage (observer 1: 0.80±0.069 and observer 2: 0.83±0.029). Besides, results from both experts were found to be consistent with each other, suggesting the inter-observer variation is insignificant (Normal: P=0.21; Diseased: P=0.15).

    CONCLUSION: The proposed segmentation model has overcame technical problems reported by existing semi-automated techniques and demonstrated highly reproducible and consistent results against manual segmentation method.

  17. Sandai D, Tabana YM, Ouweini AE, Ayodeji IO
    Jundishapur J Microbiol, 2016 Nov;9(11):e37385.
    PMID: 28138373 DOI: 10.5812/jjm.37385
    Candida albicans is a commensal fungus that resides on mucosal surfaces and in the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts in humans. However, it can cause an infection when the immune system of the host is impaired or if a niche becomes available. Many C. albicans infections are due to the organism's ability to form a biofilm on implanted medical devices. A biofilm represents an optimal medium for the growth of C. albicans as it allows cells to be enclosed by a self-produced extracellular matrix (ECM).
  18. Dutt AK, Gill SS, Kutty MK, Omar-Ahmad U
    Med J Malaya, 1968 Sep;23(1):2-4.
    PMID: 4237552
  19. Ariffuddin I, Arman Zaharil MS, Wan Azman WS, Ahmad Sukari H
    Med J Malaysia, 2018 04;73(2):112-113.
    PMID: 29703876 MyJurnal
    High failure rate for recurrent palatal fistulas closure pose a great challenge to plastic surgeons. Tongue and facial artery musculomucosal (FAMM) flaps are the more commonly used flaps for closure of these recurrent fistulas. We report a case of a formerly inset FAMM flap to effectively close a previously repaired oronasal fistula.
  20. Muralidhara DV, Mat Nor MN, Zubaidi AL
    Int J Yoga, 2018 5 15;11(2):148-151.
    PMID: 29755224 DOI: 10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_78_16
    Background: Physical activity is an integral part of one's daily life. Obese (Ob) and undernourished (UN) persons are known to underperform physically as compared to normal weight (N) individuals. In this study, we have measured the energy spent to perform a prefixed exercise on treadmill walking and basal heart rate and blood pressure. Body mass index (BMI) and body fat of participating individuals were assessed. Fasting blood sugar and lipid profile were also evaluated.

    Materials and Methods: Eighty-three young individuals (male: 41; female: 42) of medical faculty, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, who volunteered for the study, were recruited. The mean age of the individuals was 19.8 ± 0 years (P < 1.08). The individuals were grouped as N, UN/underweight, and overweight (Ow)/Ob based on BMI.

    Results: The results of the study revealed that there were no differences in the energy spent on performing the predetermined treadmill walking of 20 min duration among the three groups (a mean of 78 and 70 calories in all male and female subgroups, respectively). The distance covered by the males was 1.6 km while the females covered 1.4 km on treadmill walking in 20 min time. Basal blood pressure and heart rate and fasting blood sugar did not reveal any significant difference among the groups. However, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were marginally higher in the Ow/Ob groups of male and female individuals as compared to other groups.

    Conclusion: Since the study individuals were very young and competitive by nature and possibly had no major metabolic disturbances, the differences in physical activity performances were not obvious. Possibly, such differences would become apparent only at later stages of life as age advances or when the intensity and duration of exercise are set at higher levels.

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