Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 252 in total

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  1. Naef A, Abdullah R, Abdul Rashid N
    Biosystems, 2018 Sep 17;174:22-36.
    PMID: 30236951 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2018.09.003
    Automated methods for reconstructing biological networks are becoming increasingly important in computational systems biology. Public databases containing information on biological processes for hundreds of organisms are assisting in the inference of such networks. This paper proposes a multiobjective genetic algorithm method to reconstruct networks related to metabolism and protein interaction. Such a method utilizes structural properties of scale-free networks and known biological information about individual genes and proteins to reconstruct metabolic networks represented as enzyme graph and protein interaction networks. We test our method on four commonly-used protein networks in yeast. Two are networks related to the metabolism of the yeast: KEGG and BioCyc. The other two datasets are networks from protein-protein interaction: Krogan and BioGrid. Experimental results show that the proposed method is capable of reconstructing biological networks by combining different omics data and structural characteristics of scale-free networks. However, the proposed method to reconstruct the network is time-consuming because several evaluations must be performed. We parallelized this method on GPU to overcome this limitation by parallelizing the objective functions of the presented method. The parallel method shows a significant reduction in the execution time over the GPU card which yields a 492-fold speedup.
  2. Patil SS, Abdul Rashid K, Narayan KA
    MyJurnal
    Background and Objectives: Unmet need for contraception is the gap between women's reproductive intentions and their contraceptive behavior. This community based interventional study was carried out to determine the unmet needs for contraception, the reasons for this and to assess the impact of interventional measures on acceptance of contraception.
    Subjects and Methods: This study was conducted in 52 villages in the state of Maharashtra, India, among 363 married women selected by cluster sampling. Data was collected using an interview guide. An intervention was done for the women who had an unmet need and an assessment of the change was done subsequently. Data was analyzed by using SPSS.
    Results The prevalence of contraceptive usage was 59.2% and the prevalence of unmet need for contraception was 44% (160). The unmet need for spacing births was 53.8%, 38.7% for limiting births and 7.5% women were dissatisfied with the current contraceptive method. The reasons ranged from side effects to contraceptives to source of obtaining contraceptives. Age of the respondents, education and number of living children showed statistically significant association with unmet needs. Post intervention, the contraceptive prevalence rate increased significantly 85.7% and there was a significant reduction in the unmet needs for spacing and limiting births, equally there was a significant reduction of dissatisfaction with using contraception.
    Conclusion: Improvement in the use of contraception and addressing the unmet need for contraception requires community involvement and ongoing, sustained efforts by health workers to ensure quality care to the beneficiaries.
  3. Abdul Rashid AM, Md Noh MSF
    BMC Neurol, 2018 May 29;18(1):76.
    PMID: 29843624 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-018-1079-3
    BACKGROUND: Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome is a rare condition of unknown frequency resulting from brain injury due to a multitude of causes; especially in early life. Characteristics include cerebral hemiatrophy/hypoplasia, contralateral hemiparesis, seizures, and compensatory osseous hypertrophy.

    CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 13-year-old girl who initially presented with headaches, followed by episodic complex-partial seizures; which was controlled via medication. She also had right sided hemiparesis. Computed tomography (CT) showed evidence of left parieto-temporal infarct with cerebral atrophy. Complementary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) did not reveal additional information. Workup for young stroke was negative. Upon further evaluation by Neuroradiology, features suggesting Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome were confirmed. Patient has been under Neurology follow up since.

    CONCLUSIONS: Due to its rarity, Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome may easily be missed by the majority of treating clinicians. Knowledge of its features on imaging enables timely and accurate diagnosis - allowing appropriate management.

  4. Md Noh MSF, Abdul Rashid AM
    BMC Neurol, 2018 Sep 28;18(1):157.
    PMID: 30266082 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-018-1161-x
    BACKGROUND: The computed tomography (CT) finding of a pseudo-subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) may lead the treating physician into a diagnostic dilemma. We present a case of a pseudo-SAH in a patient with post-resuscitative encephalopathy, secondary to a newly diagnosed bleeding pulmonary arterio-venous malformation (AVM).

    CASE PRESENTATION: A 19-year-old female presented acutely with massive hemoptysis. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) followed, and the patient was subsequently intubated for airway protection with intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Urgent CT angiography of the thorax showed a bleeding pulmonary AVM, with evidence of hemothorax. Non-contrasted cranial CT initially revealed cerebral edema. Day 3 post admission, repeat cranial CT showed worsening cerebral edema, with evidence of pseudo-SAH. Patient passed away the next day.

    CONCLUSIONS: Pseudo-SAH, if present, carries a poor prognosis. It should be recognized as a potential CT finding in patients with severe cerebral edema, due to various causes. The diagnosis is vital, to avoid wrongful treatment institution, as well as determination of cause of death.

  5. Najid H, Abdul Rashid AH, Ibrahim S
    J Pediatr Orthop B, 2019 Jan;28(1):79-84.
    PMID: 30252793 DOI: 10.1097/BPB.0000000000000556
    Traumatic elbow dislocation in a child is rare, and it is usually associated with fractures. Simultaneous proximal radioulnar joint (PRUJ) translocation with ulnar nerve palsy is even rarer. We report an unusual case of a missed PRUJ translocation with ulnar nerve entrapment in a 10-year-old child. The key to diagnosing the translocation is the position of the proximal radius, which lies medial to the ulna. This was treated by open reduction and release of the entrapped nerve. The ulnar nerve palsy recovered fully at the 1-year follow-up. Although PRUJ translocation with ulnar nerve entrapment is a rare injury, a successful outcome is possible with timely open reduction and release of the ulnar nerve.
  6. Abdul Rashid N, Lee K, Jamil NA
    Nurs Health Sci, 2021 Dec;23(4):967-973.
    PMID: 34370379 DOI: 10.1111/nhs.12872
    The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably hampered research practices, putting many research activities on hold. Researchers may experience difficulties arising from the unprecedented challenge, specifically during the data collection process. The main difficulties include delayed projects due to the movement control order imposed by the government. However, the advancement of information technology and the broad use of smartphones have favorable implications on qualitative research during the pandemic. This article is based on two qualitative researchers' experience doing fieldwork, specifically the difficulties encountered by the research teams and the strategies adopted to ensure the success of the projects. Both research projects used in-depth interviews as the main method for data collection. Reflective journals and field notes were used to enhance the quality of information obtained in both studies. It is hoped that this article may benefit other qualitative researchers by facilitating a successful data collection process during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  7. Musa H, Ismail II, Abdul Rashid NH
    Paediatr Int Child Health, 2021 May;41(2):158-161.
    PMID: 32937094 DOI: 10.1080/20469047.2020.1816285
    Paediatric scurvy is uncommon in the modern age but cases have been reported in children with neurodevelopmental issues and restricted dietary habits. The broad clinical picture is frequently overlooked as primarily other systemic diseases are considered first leading to extensive investigations and delay in diagnosis. A 4-year-old boy with autism and bilateral lower limb pain and refusal to walk is reported. His restricted diet and radiographic findings were highly suggestive of scurvy which was confirmed by the extremely low levels of ascorbic acid. Treatment with ascorbic acid replenishment and maintenance resulted in remarkable improvement. This case highlights the importance of a high index of suspicion in at-risk children so as to avoid unnecessary invasive investigations and procedures.
  8. Abdul Rashid AM, Lim CTS
    Indian J Nephrol, 2020 11 11;31(6):511-515.
    PMID: 35068756 DOI: 10.4103/ijn.IJN_238_20
    Background: Catheter-related infections remain a threat in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Attempts to improve catheter insertion techniques and catheter type with best infectious outcomes yield heterogenous results. We seek to determine catheter-related infections in two different types of catheters and its microbiological spectrum.

    Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study conducted in Hospital Serdang, Malaysia. We included end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who opted for PD and examined catheter-related infections (peritonitis, exit site infection, and tunnel tract infection) and organisms causing these infections.

    Results: We included 126 patients in this study; 75 patients received the coiled PD catheter (59.5%) and 51 patients received the straight PD catheter (40.5%). The majority of patients were young, under the age of 65 years old (77.3% and 72.5%) in the coiled and straight PD catheter group, respectively, and the main cause of ESRD was diabetes mellitus in both groups (78.7% vs. 92.2%). The demographic and anthropometric data were similar between both groups. Peritonitis rate (0.29 episodes/patient-years vs. 0.31 episodes/patient-years, P value = 0.909), exit site infection rate (0.31 episodes/patient-year vs. 0.37 episodes/patient-year, P value = 0.730), and tunnel tract infection rate (0.02 episodes/patient-year, P value = 0.430) were similar in the coiled versus straight PD catheter groups. The predominant organism causing peritonitis was the gram-negative organism; Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In exit site and tunnel tract infections, there is a predominance of gram-negative organisms; Pseudomonas aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae.

    Conclusions: There was no difference in infectious outcomes between the two different types of catheters. Type of organism in both groups was gram-negative.

  9. Md Noh MSF, Abdul Rashid AM
    QJM, 2018 May 01;111(5):343.
    PMID: 29228291 DOI: 10.1093/qjmed/hcx240
  10. Abdul Rashid AM, Md Noh MSF
    BMC Neurol, 2017 Aug 25;17(1):165.
    PMID: 28841841 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-017-0944-9
    BACKGROUND: Non-traumatic, spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs in approximately 85% of cases where there is a ruptured saccular aneurysm. An additional 10% of cases arise from non-aneurysmal peri-mesencephalic hemorrhages.

    CASE PRESENTATION: We report a rare case of a young female, with underlying Evans syndrome, who was initially thought to have non-hemorrhagic stroke, eventually diagnosed having isolated non-traumatic, non-aneurysmal convexal subarachnoid haemorrhage.

    CONCLUSIONS: Spontaneous non-traumatic, non-aneurysmal convexal subarachnoid hemorrhage is a rare entity - of which there are multiple possible etiologies.

  11. Siti Nur Afiqah Zahari, Yufu Iguchi, Abdul Rashid
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Female Genital Cutting (FGC) is a sensitive issue as this topic is always associated with religion and culture in Malaysia. In the past, FGC is performed by the traditional midwives. However, this practice has been med-icalized nowadays. This study aimed to understand the reasons of performing FGC, the decision making, the practice and the future of FGC among rural community in Northern Malaysia. Methods: Focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted on three groups of young women aged 18-45, older women aged 45 and above and a group of married adult men. All of them were Malay Muslims who were conveniently selected from a rural village in Northern Malay-sia. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct the FGD focusing on the reasons, decision making, the practice and the future of FGC. Data was collected until saturation of information was achieved. These participants were chosen based on their willingness to take part in the discussion and also based on their personality of being talkative and able to give feedback to the questions. Results: The result of the interviews revealed that religion is the reason of practicing FGC. All of the participants from each FGD prefer to go to the doctor in the clinic compared to the traditional midwives. The men in this FGD mentioned that they rarely involved in the decision making of the FGC and only the mother or the grandmother to take the responsibility to decide. Conclusion: Generally, majority Malay Muslims community from the rural areas in Northern Malaysia believed that FGC is compulsory in Islam and they prefer to go to the doctors to perform FGC.
  12. Affa Rozana Abdul Rashid, Nur Insyierah Md Sarif, Khadijah Ismail
    MyJurnal
    The consumption of low-power electronic devices has increased rapidly, where almost all applications use power electronic devices. Due to the increase in portable electronic devices’ energy consumption, the piezoelectric material is proposed as one of the alternatives of the significant alternative energy harvesters. This study aims to create a prototype of “Smart Shoes” that can generate electricity using three different designs embedded by piezoelectric materials: ceramic, polymer, and a combination of both piezoelectric materials. The basic principle for smart shoes’ prototype is based on the pressure produced from piezoelectric material converted from mechanical energy into electrical energy. The piezoelectric material was placed into the shoes’ sole, and the energy produced due to the pressure from walking, jogging, and jumping was measured. The energy generated was stored in a capacitor as piezoelectric material produced a small scale of energy harvesting. The highest energy generated was produced by ceramic piezoelectric material under jumping activity, which was 1.804 mJ. Polymer piezoelectric material produced very minimal energy, which was 55.618 mJ. The combination of both piezoelectric materials produced energy, which was 1.805 mJ from jumping activity.

  13. Wahi Abdul Rashid, Vun, Leong Wan, Mohd Harun Abdullah
    Trop Life Sci Res, 2009;20(1):-.
    MyJurnal
    Heavy metal accumulation and depuration may alter the effectiveness of Meretrix meretrix as a biomonitoring organism for water quality assessment. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of heavy metal accumulation and depuration on M. meretrix, by immersing it in Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), and Lead (Pb)
    solutions under laboratory conditions. The results showed that M. meretrix is able to accumulate Cu, Zn, and Pb at the rate of 0.99, 21.80, and 0.57 μg/g per day, respectively, and depurates at the rate of 0.42, 23.55, and 1.01 μg/g per day, respectively. These results indicate that M. meretrix could be effectively used as a biomonitoring organism for Cu because the accumulation rate is significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than the depuration rate. However, this was not the case for Zn because the accumulation rate was almost similar to the depuration rate, while for Pb, accumulation or depuration did not occur in M. meretrix.
  14. Abdul-Rashid, H.A., Al-Qdah, M.T., Chuah, H.T., Tayahi, M.
    ASM Science Journal, 2008;2(2):129-132.
    MyJurnal
    The operating principle and the performance of chromatic dispersion (CD) measurement technique are discussed through developed numerical models. The performance of the CD measurement technique was studied in terms of the measurement range and sensitivity as the wavelength separation was varied. Based on the numerical model, the technique sensitivity increased with wavelength separation. However, this increase in sensitivity was traded off with a narrower measurement range. The measurement technique was optimized at 5.0 GHz wavelength separation with a sensitivity of 0.009 (dB/ps/nm) and measurement range of 2500 ps/nm.
  15. Ebrahim Jahanshiri, Taher Buyong, Abdul Rashid Mohd. Shariff
    MyJurnal
    Mass valuation of properties is important for purposes like property tax, price indices construction, and understanding market dynamics. There are several ways that the mass valuation can be carried out. This paper reviews the conventional MRA and several other advanced methods such as SAR, Kriging, GWR, and MWR. SAR and Kriging are good for modeling spatial dependence while GWR and MWR are good for modeling spatial heterogeneity. The difference between SAR and Kriging is the calculation of weights. Kriging weights are based on the spatial dependence or so called the semi-variogram analysis of the price data whereas the weights in SAR are based on the spatial contiguity between the sample data. MWR and GWR are special types of regression where study region is subdivided into local sections to increase the accuracy of prediction through neutralizing the heterogeneity of autocorrelations. MWR assigns equal weights for observations within a window while GWR uses distance decay functions. The merits and drawbacks of each method are discussed.
  16. Abdul Rashid, K., Gomathy, S., Ab Manan, A.
    MyJurnal
    Majority of doctors show no interest in research although research is now a requirement and is being done in every field of medicine. The objective of this survey was to describe the involvement in research activities among doctors in Penang and Seberang Jaya hospitals in Penang. A self-administered questionnaire was used. A total of 302 doctors participated in the survey. The differences in age (p=
  17. Wan Maisarah Mukhtar, Nur Auni Marzuki, Affa Rozana Abdul Rashid
    MyJurnal
    This paper reports the effect of microbending losses in single mode optical fiber
    for pressure sensing system application. Several types of periodical corrugated
    plates were fabricated, namely cylindrical-structured surface (Plate A) and
    rectangular-structured surface (Plate B) with thicknesses of corrugated parts
    were varied at 0.1 cm, 0.2 cm and 0.3 cm. Laser sources with excitation
    wavelengths of 1= 1310 nm and 2= 1550 nm were launched at the first end
    of the fiber. The values of losses were recorded by using an optical power
    meter. It was clearly seen that the microbending losses were polynomially
    increased with the increment of applied pressure and the thicknesses of
    corrugated parts of Plate A and Plate B. The maximum microbending losses of
    1.5185 dBm/kPa was resulted as SMF was coupled with corrugated plates B
    with thicknesses of 0.3cm by using excitation wavelength of 1550nm. These
    values reduced to 0.7628 dBm/kPa and 0.4014 dBm/kPa as the thicknesses
    were decreased to 0.2cm and 0.1cm respectively. In comparison with a plain
    plate which acted as a reference indicator, the maximum percentage of
    microbending losses was obtained as 74.29 % for Plate A and 95.02 % for Plate
    B. In conclusions, we successfully proved the ability of SMF as a pressure sensor
    by manipulating the microbending losses experienced by the fiber. The
    employment of 1550nm of laser wavelength results better sensitivity sensor
    where the system able to detect large losses as the pressure applied on the
    corrugated surfaces.
  18. Anna Misya’il Abdul Rashid, Lim, Christopher Thiam Seong
    MyJurnal
    Enterobacter gergoviae is a gram negative rod-shaped opportunistic organism reported to cause urinary and respiratory tract infections, but peritonitis caused by this organism is unknown. We report a case of 50-year-old patient on peritoneal dialysis (PD) presented with Enterobacter gergoviae peritonitis with septic shock. Despite Intraperitoneal (IP) cloxacillin 250mg qid and IP ceftazidime 1gram q24h and subsequent escalation with IP amikacin 2mg/kg q24h and IP vancomycin 15mg/kg q24h within the next 48 hours, his peritonitis remained refractory and required catheter removal. Although Enterobacter gergoviae is naturally sensitive to aminoglycosides, carbapenems and quinolones, it reacts differently to the beta lactam antibiotics. Their resistance to third-generation cephalosporins is fast emerging and treatment with third-generation cephalosporins may cause AmpC-overproducing mutants. The majority of
    Enterobacteriaceae, including Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases producers, remain susceptible to carbapenems. Our report provides an unfavourable course of E. gergoviae peritonitis likely due to acquired secondary drug resistance during the therapy period.
  19. Narayan KA, Khan AR
    Malays J Nutr, 2007 Mar;13(1):9-17.
    PMID: 22692185 MyJurnal
    There has been a change in the lifestyles of populations, including reduced physical activity and consumption of foods high in calories. Overweight and obesity are now replacing the more traditional public health concerns such as under-nutrition and infectious diseases as some of the most significant contributors to ill health. Determination of the body mass index (BMI) profile and nutritional status of adults of two rural coastal villages in Northern Malaysia was part of a community diagnosis in a community survey. Height and weight were measured and BMI calculated. Blood pressure was measured using a manual sphygmomanometer according to WHO guidelines. A standardised questionnaire was used to interview the villagers concerning their health. Out of the total population, 504 were above 20 years of age. Data was available for 441 persons for analysis. There were 210 (47.6%) males and 231 (52.4%) females. The prevalence of underweight was 9.8% (n=43), overweight 25.9% (n=114) and obesity 17% (n=75). The problem of over-nutrition was significantly higher among females, especially housewives. (p< 0.05). Those in ages 41-70 years were the majority with problems of over-nutrition (p=<0.05). More than half (52.9%; n=39) of those who were obese had hypertension (p=<0.05). Results show that a higher number of women especially housewives were obese and more than half of those obese subjects had hypertension. A more thorough nutritional profile using waist, hip and body fat measurement as well as an assessment of the dietary intake and activity regime of these villagers is needed. Interventions need to be carried out before more serious complications of obesity become rooted in this community.
  20. Masoumik SM, Abdul-Rashid SH, Olugu EU
    PLoS One, 2015;10(11):e0143115.
    PMID: 26618353 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143115
    To maintain a competitive position, companies are increasingly required to integrate their proactive environmental strategies into their business strategies. The shift from reactive and compliance-based to proactive and strategic environmental management has driven companies to consider the strategic factors while identifying the areas in which they should focus their green initiatives. In previous studies little attention was given to providing the managers with a basis from which they could strategically prioritise these green initiatives across their companies' supply chains. Considering this lacuna in the literature, we present a decision-making method for prioritising green supply chain initiatives aligned with the preferred green strategies alternatives for the manufacturing companies. To develop this method, the study considered a position between determinism and the voluntarism orientation of environmental management involving both external pressures and internal competitive drivers and key resources as decision factors. This decision-making method was developed using the analytic network process (ANP) technique. The elements of the decision model were derived from the literature. The causal relationships among the multiple decision variables were validated based on the results of structural equation modelling (SEM) using a dataset collected from a survey of the ISO 14001-certified manufacturers in Malaysia. A portion of the relative weights required for computation in ANP was also calculated using the SEM results. A case study is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the method.
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