Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 80 in total

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  1. Ahmad K, Ibrahim H, Othman BF, Vong E
    Int J Speech Lang Pathol, 2013 Feb;15(1):37-41.
    PMID: 23323816 DOI: 10.3109/17549507.2012.757709
    The current paper is a response to the Wiley, McAllister, Davidson, and Marshall lead article regarding the application of the World Report on Disability (WRD) to people with communication disorders. The current paper directly addresses recommendation 5 (improvement of human resource capacity) and indirectly addresses recommendations 7, 8, and 9 (related to improving local knowledge and data on communicative disabilities) indirectly. The paper describes Malaysia's initiatives in the early 1990s, in developing its local professional capacity to provide services for people with communication disorders (PWCD). It charts the history of development of a local undergraduate entry-level degree program for speech-language pathology (SLP) from the point of conceptualization to full execution. The article provides glimpses to the processes and challenges faced by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia as the pioneer university in the South East Asia region to undertake the training and education of the SLP profession and highlights relevant issues faced by newly introduced professions in a country where resources and practice traditions were previously unavailable. It underscores the important role played by government institutions and an international professional network in driving forward-looking policies to implement and sustain the program.
  2. Nasarudin NM, Mohd Saiboon I, Ismail AK
    Eur J Emerg Med, 2013 Oct;20(5):335-8.
    PMID: 22976462 DOI: 10.1097/MEJ.0b013e328358fa40
    Dengue fever is endemic in Malaysia and poses a significant problem to the national health system. Because of its nonspecific clinical features, it creates clinical and administrative uncertainties. We evaluated the role of an emergency department short-stay ward (EDSSW) in the management of dengue fever in the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC).
  3. Azmi MN, Din MF, Kee CH, Suhaimi M, Ping AK, Ahmad K, et al.
    Int J Mol Sci, 2013;14(12):23369-89.
    PMID: 24287912 DOI: 10.3390/ijms141223369
    Resveratrol, a natural stilbene found in grapes and wines exhibits a wide range of pharmacological properties. Resveratrol is also known as a good chemopreventive agent for inhibiting carcinogenesis processes that target kinases, cyclooxygenases, ribonucleotide reductase and DNA polymerases. A total of 19 analogues with an amide moiety were synthesized and the cytotoxic effects of the analogues on a series of human cancer cell lines are reported. Three compounds 6d, 6i and 6n showed potent cytotoxicity against prostate cancer DU-145 (IC50=16.68 µM), colon cancer HT-29 (IC50=7.51 µM) and breast cancer MCF-7 (IC50=21.24 µM), respectively, which are comparable with vinblastine. The resveratrol analogues were synthesized using the Heck method.
  4. Hassan V, Hassan S, Seyed-Javad P, Ahmad K, Asieh H, Maryam S, et al.
    Med J Malaysia, 2013;68(1):34-8.
    PMID: 23466764
    Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are immune mediated diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Several environmental factors in concert with genetic susceptibilities can trigger IBDs. Recently, one of the important environmental factors contributing to the development of autoimmune diseases is vitamin D (VitD) deficiency. Furthermore, some new evidence points to VitD deficiency and its receptor dysfunction as an underlying factor for the emergence experimental IBDs. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the correlation between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and IBD activity in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. Sixty patients with confirmed diagnosis of IBD were recruited for a cross sectional study. Most of the identified confounders affecting serum VitD concentrations were excluded. Disease activity was assessed using validated questionnaires, including Truelove for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn Disease Activity Index (CDAI) for Crohn disease. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were determined by chemiluminescent assay. Serum 25(OH)D≤10 (ng/ml) was considered as VitD deficiency and 11≤25(OH)D<29(ng/ml) as VitD insufficiency. Mean serum 25(OH)D value was 13.1 ± 11.1(ng/ml) in IBD patients. Almost 95% of patients were vitamin D insufficient or deficient. Forty one percent of IBD patients had active disease. VitD deficiency was not associated with IBD activity (p=0.23). However, VitD deficiency was significantly associated with a history of IBD related intestinal surgery (p=0.001). In conclusion, this cross-sectional prospective study suggested that there is no association between vitamin D deficiency and disease activity in a relatively small number of IBD patients in a short period of time.
  5. Arshad ZI, Amid A, Yusof F, Jaswir I, Ahmad K, Loke SP
    Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 2014 Sep;98(17):7283-97.
    PMID: 24965557 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-014-5889-y
    This review highlights the use of bromelain in various applications with up-to-date literature on the purification of bromelain from pineapple fruit and waste such as peel, core, crown, and leaves. Bromelain, a cysteine protease, has been exploited commercially in many applications in the food, beverage, tenderization, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and textile industries. Researchers worldwide have been directing their interest to purification strategies by applying conventional and modern approaches, such as manipulating the pH, affinity, hydrophobicity, and temperature conditions in accord with the unique properties of bromelain. The amount of downstream processing will depend on its intended application in industries. The breakthrough of recombinant DNA technology has facilitated the large-scale production and purification of recombinant bromelain for novel applications in the future.
  6. Lim GC, Aina EN, Cheah SK, Ismail F, Ho GF, Tho LM, et al.
    BMC Cancer, 2014;14:212.
    PMID: 24650245 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-14-212
    BACKGROUND: Cancer is the leading cause of deaths in the world. A widening disparity in cancer burden has emerged between high income and low-middle income countries. Closing this cancer divide is an ethical imperative but there is a dearth of data on cancer services from developing countries.
    METHODS: This was a multi-center, retrospective observational cohort study which enrolled women with breast cancer (BC) attending 8 participating cancer centers in Malaysia in 2011. All patients were followed up for 12 months from diagnosis to determine their access to therapies. We assess care performance using measures developed by Quality Oncology Practice Initiative, American Society of Clinical Oncology/National Comprehensive Cancer Network, American College of Surgeons' National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers as well as our local guideline.
    RESULTS: Seven hundred and fifty seven patients were included in the study; they represent about 20% of incident BC in Malaysia. Performance results were mixed. Late presentation was 40%. Access to diagnostic and breast surgery services were timely; the interval from presentation to tissue diagnosis was short (median = 9 days), and all who needed surgery could receive it with only a short wait (median = 11 days). Performance of radiation, chemo and hormonal therapy services showed that about 75 to 80% of patients could access these treatments timely, and those who could not were because they sought alternative treatment or they refused treatment. Access to Trastuzumab was limited to only 19% of eligible patients.
    CONCLUSIONS: These performance results are probably acceptable for a middle income country though far below the 95% or higher adherence rates routinely reported by centres in developed countries. High cost trastuzumab was inaccessible to this population without public funding support.
  7. Ismail AK, Abdul Ghafar MA, Shamsuddin NS, Roslan NA, Kaharuddin H, Nik Muhamad NA
    J Emerg Med, 2015 Sep;49(3):287-93.
    PMID: 26022936 DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.02.043
    Prehospital care (PHC) pain evaluation is an essential patient assessment to be performed by paramedics. Pain intensity is frequently assessed using Verbal Numerical Rating Scale (VNRS) or Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
  8. Ulum MF, Nasution AK, Yusop AH, Arafat A, Kadir MR, Juniantito V, et al.
    J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater, 2015 Oct;103(7):1354-65.
    PMID: 25385691 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.b.33315
    Iron-bioceramic composites have been developed as biodegradable implant materials with tailored degradation behavior and bioactive features. In the current work, in vivo bioactivity of the composites was comprehensively studied by using sheep animal model. Five groups of specimens (Fe-HA, Fe-TCP, Fe-BCP composites, and pure-Fe and SS316L as controls) were surgically implanted into medio proximal region of the radial bones. Real-time ultrasound analysis showed a decreased echo pattern at the peri-implant biodegradation site of the composites indicating minimal tissue response during the wound healing process. Peripheral whole blood biomarkers monitoring showed a normal dynamic change of blood cellular responses and no stress effect was observed. Meanwhile, the released Fe ion concentration was increasing along the implantation period. Histological analysis showed that the composites corresponded with a lower inflammatory giant cell count than that of SS316L. Analysis of the retrieved implants showed a thicker degradation layer on the composites compared with pure-Fe. It can be concluded that the iron-bioceramic composites are bioactive and induce a preferable wound healing process.
  9. Mohd Ibrahim H, Mohamed Yusoff FH, Ahmad K, Van Dort S
    Med J Malaysia, 2015 Dec;70(6):321-5.
    PMID: 26988203 MyJurnal
    INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the treatment outcomes of children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) receiving surgical care for primary lip and palate closure in Malaysia.

    OBJECTIVES: This study examined the speech and hearing status of Malay-speaking children with CLP residing in Kuala Lumpur.

    METHODS: Parents whose children were between the age of 5 and 7 years were recruited via the Cleft Lip and Palate Association of Malaysia (CLAPAM) registry. Parents completed a survey and the children completed a speech and hearing assessment at the Audiology and Speech Sciences Clinic, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

    OUTCOMES: Speech measures include nasality rating, nasalance scores, articulation errors and speech intelligibility rating, while hearing measures include hearing thresholds and tympanometry results for each child.

    RESULTS: Out of 118 registered members who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 21 agreed to participate in the study. The overall speech and hearing status of children in this sample were poor. Only four (19%) participants had normal speech intelligibility rating and normal hearing bilaterally. In terms of overall cleft management, only four (19%) participants were seen by a cleft team while seven (33%) had never had their hearing tested prior to this study.

    CONCLUSION: Participants in this sample had poor outcomes in speech and hearing and received uncoordinated and fragmented cleft care. This finding calls for further large scale research and collaborative efforts into improving and providing centralised, multidisciplinary care for children born with CLP.

  10. Adamu Ahmad K, Sabo Mohammed A, Abas F
    Molecules, 2016 Mar 14;21(3):256.
    PMID: 26985885 DOI: 10.3390/molecules21030256
    The use of chitosan as a delivery carrier has attracted much attention in recent years. In this study, chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NP) and chitosan-ΦKAZ14 bacteriophage-loaded nanoparticles (C-ΦKAZ14 NP) were prepared by a simple coercavation method and characterized. The objective was to achieve an effective protection of bacteriophage from gastric acids and enzymes in the chicken gastrointestinal tract. The average particle sizes for CS-NP and C-ΦKAZ14 NP were 188 ± 7.4 and 176 ± 3.2 nm, respectively. The zeta potentials for CS-NP and C-ΦKAZ14 NP were 50 and 60 mV, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of C-ΦKAZ14 NP gave an onset temperature of -17.17 °C with a peak at 17.32 °C and final end set of 17.41 °C, while blank chitosan NP had an onset of -20.00 °C with a peak at -19.78 °C and final end set at -20.47. FT-IR spectroscopy data of both CS-NP and C-ΦKAZ14 NP were the same. Chitosan nanoparticles showed considerable protection of ΦKAZ14 bacteriophage against degradation by enzymes as evidenced in gel electrophoresis, whereby ΦKAZ14 bacteriophage encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles were protected whereas the naked ΦKAZ14 bacteriophage were degraded. C-ΦKAZ14 NP was non-toxic as shown by a chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) toxicity assay. It was concluded that chitosan nanoparticles could be a potent carrier of ΦKAZ14 bacteriophage for oral therapy against colibacillosis in poultry.
  11. Aftab SM, Mohd Rafie AS, Razak NA, Ahmad KA
    PLoS One, 2016;11(4):e0153755.
    PMID: 27104354 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153755
    One of the major flow phenomena associated with low Reynolds number flow is the formation of separation bubbles on an airfoil's surface. NACA4415 airfoil is commonly used in wind turbines and UAV applications. The stall characteristics are gradual compared to thin airfoils. The primary criterion set for this work is the capture of laminar separation bubble. Flow is simulated for a Reynolds number of 120,000. The numerical analysis carried out shows the advantages and disadvantages of a few turbulence models. The turbulence models tested were: one equation Spallart Allmars (S-A), two equation SST K-ω, three equation Intermittency (γ) SST, k-kl-ω and finally, the four equation transition γ-Reθ SST. However, the variation in flow physics differs between these turbulence models. Procedure to establish the accuracy of the simulation, in accord with previous experimental results, has been discussed in detail.
  12. Ahmadi P, Muharam FM, Ahmad K, Mansor S, Abu Seman I
    Plant Dis, 2017 Jun;101(6):1009-1016.
    PMID: 30682927 DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-12-16-1699-RE
    Ganoderma boninense is a causal agent of basal stem rot (BSR) and is responsible for a significant portion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) losses, which can reach US$500 million a year in Southeast Asia. At the early stage of this disease, infected palms are symptomless, which imposes difficulties in detecting the disease. In spite of the availability of tissue and DNA sampling techniques, there is a particular need for replacing costly field data collection methods for detecting Ganoderma in its early stage with a technique derived from spectroscopic and imagery data. Therefore, this study was carried out to apply the artificial neural network (ANN) analysis technique for discriminating and classifying fungal infections in oil palm trees at an early stage using raw, first, and second derivative spectroradiometer datasets. These were acquired from 1,016 spectral signatures of foliar samples in four disease levels (T1: healthy, T2: mildly-infected, T3: moderately infected, and T4: severely infected). Most of the satisfactory results occurred in the visible range, especially in the green wavelength. The healthy oil palms and those which were infected by Ganoderma at an early stage (T2) were classified satisfactorily with an accuracy of 83.3%, and 100.0% in 540 to 550 nm, respectively, by ANN using first derivative spectral data. The results further indicated that the sensitive frond number modeled by ANN provided the highest accuracy of 100.0% for frond number 9 compared with frond 17. This study showed evidence that employment of ANN can predict the early infection of BSR disease on oil palm with a high degree of accuracy.
  13. Aftab SMA, Ahmad KA
    PLoS One, 2017;12(8):e0183456.
    PMID: 28850622 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183456
    The Humpback whale tubercles have been studied for more than a decade. Tubercle Leading Edge (TLE) effectively reduces the separation bubble size and helps in delaying stall. They are very effective in case of low Reynolds number flows. The current Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study is on NACA 4415 airfoil, at a Reynolds number 120,000. Two TLE shapes are tested on NACA 4415 airfoil. The tubercle designs implemented on the airfoil are sinusoidal and spherical. A parametric study is also carried out considering three amplitudes (0.025c, 0.05c and 0.075c), the wavelength (0.25c) is fixed. Structured mesh is utilized to generate grid and Transition SST turbulence model is used to capture the flow physics. Results clearly show spherical tubercles outperform sinusoidal tubercles. Furthermore experimental study considering spherical TLE is carried out at Reynolds number 200,000. The experimental results show that spherical TLE improve performance compared to clean airfoil.
  14. Ahmad K, Win T, Jaffri JM, Edueng K, Taher M
    AAPS PharmSciTech, 2018 Jan;19(1):371-383.
    PMID: 28744617 DOI: 10.1208/s12249-017-0843-9
    This study aims to investigate the use of palm olein as the oil phase for betamethasone 17-valerate (BV) emulsions. The physicochemical properties of the formulations were characterized. In vitro drug release study was performed with the Hanson Vertical Diffusion Cell System; the samples were quantified with HPLC and the results were compared with commercial products. Optimized emulsion formulations were subjected to stability studies for 3 months at temperatures of 4, 25, and 40°C; the betamethasone 17-valerate content was analyzed using HPLC. The formulations produced mean particle size of 2-4 μm, viscosities of 50-250 mPa.s, and zeta potential between -45 and -68 mV. The rheological analyses showed that the emulsions exhibited pseudoplastic and viscoelastic behavior. The in vitro release of BV from palm olein emulsion through cellulose acetate was 4.5 times higher than that of commercial products and more BV molecules deposited in rat skin. Less than 4% of the drug was degraded in the formulations during the 3-month period when they were subjected to the three different temperatures. These findings indicate that palm olein-in-water emulsion can be an alternative vehicle for topical drug delivery system with superior permeability.
  15. Syed M Haq AH, Md Yusof FA, Chan PL, Chok MCF, Phua GSY, Teoh CJ, et al.
    Curr Pharm Teach Learn, 2018 07;10(7):854-874.
    PMID: 30236423 DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2018.04.005
    BACKGROUND: The pharmacy internship program is designed to provide comprehensive training for interns to perform various roles in pharmacy practice. In Malaysia, the current internship program has been in place since 2004 in public health facilities, but has never been extensively evaluated.

    AIM: To assess the level of job satisfaction and perception of Provisionally Registered Pharmacists (PRP) towards the internship training provided.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional nationwide survey was conducted amongst all PRPs undergoing training between December 2015 and February 2016 to assess their level of job satisfaction and perception towards the training requirements stipulated by the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia.

    RESULTS: A total of 733 PRPs participated in the survey and the response rate was 95.8%. On the basis of the response received, 92.5% (n = 678) felt that the one year training period was 'just nice', 30.5% (n = 223) felt that the logbooks were 'too complicated', and 33.2% (n = 241) said the targets set by the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia were 'too high'. On a scale of 1 to 5, respondents rated 3.32 (SD 0.54) for mean score of job satisfaction. Significant factors influencing mean score of job satisfaction were: perceived fairness at the work place; perceived self-competence after one year of training; preceptors' competence; and pharmacy as a chosen career pathway.

    CONCLUSION: Intern pharmacists were fairly satisfied with the internship training in government facilities in the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. A review of the internship logbooks and the practicality of targets set by the Pharmacy Board warrant further improvement.

  16. Abdullah A, Ramly R, Mohammad Ridzwan MS, Sudirwan F, Abas A, Ahmad K, et al.
    J Fish Dis, 2018 Sep;41(9):1459-1462.
    PMID: 30027657 DOI: 10.1111/jfd.12843
  17. Ahmad K, Ariffin MFM, Deraman F, Ariffin S, Abdullah M, Razzak MMA, et al.
    J Relig Health, 2018 Oct;57(5):1649-1663.
    PMID: 29075949 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-017-0507-9
    This study was conducted to identify and describe the patients' perceptions of Islamic medicine based on gender, age, marital, educational level and working status among the Malaysian Muslim population. A nationwide interviewer-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in 2013. An open-ended questionnaire pertaining to Islamic medicine was used to increase the probability of capturing maximum data. This survey implemented a multistage design, stratified by state, proportionate to the size of the state population and was representative of the Malaysian population. Post-survey classification of results was performed accordingly. Complex data analysis was carried out using SPSS 16.0. The discussion was identified and categorised into various sections. The paper concludes that Islamic medicine has a major influence in the Malaysian Muslim community compared to other alternatives. Further, its potential for growth and importance especially for treating spiritual ailments cannot be denied. The respondents indicated that two factors motivate Islamic medicine in Malaysia: (1) the Muslim community opts for alternative healing because of their dissatisfaction with conventional methods; (2) Islamic medicine focuses only on healing spiritual-related problems. The average perception of respondents is that the function of Islamic medicine in healing physical diseases is undervalued and that it is not suitable to replace the functions of modern health institutions.
  18. Anis FN, Umat C, Ahmad K, Hamid BA
    Cochlear Implants Int, 2019 01;20(1):12-22.
    PMID: 30293522 DOI: 10.1080/14670100.2018.1530420
    OBJECTIVE: This study examined the patterns of recognition of Arabic consonants, via information transmission analysis for phonological features, in a group of Malay children with normal hearing (NH) and cochlear implants (CI).

    METHOD: A total of 336 and 616 acoustic tokens were collected from six CI and 11 NH Malay children, respectively. The groups were matched for hearing age and duration of exposure to Arabic sounds. All the 28 Arabic consonants in the form of consonant-vowel /a/ were presented randomly twice via a loudspeaker at approximately 65 dB SPL. The participants were asked to repeat verbally the stimulus heard in each presentation.

    RESULTS: Within the native Malay perceptual space, the two groups responded differently to the Arabic consonants. The dispersed uncategorized assimilation in the CI group was distinct in the confusion matrix (CM), as compared to the NH children. Consonants /ħ/, /tˁ/, /sˁ/ and /ʁ/ were difficult for the CI children, while the most accurate item was /k/ (84%). The CI group transmitted significantly reduced information, especially for place feature transmission, then the NH group (p 

  19. Ben Hameid AS, Al-Sindi TA, Allow AK, Nafie EM, Alahmad BE, Faisal GG
    Oman Med J, 2019 May;34(3):238-243.
    PMID: 31110632 DOI: 10.5001/omj.2019.45
    Objectives: Estradiol (E2) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of fenugreek seed aqueous (FSA) extract on serum E2 levels in a rat model of OHSS.

    Methods: A total of 34 female Sprague Dawley rats, aged 18 days old, weighing 40 to 45 g, were randomly divided into negative control, positive control, and treatment groups. A daily dose of 1500 mg/kg per body weight of FSA extract was administrated orally to rats in the treatment group for 13 days. On day eight of the study, OHSS was induced in both positive control and treated groups by subcutaneous injection of pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin 50 IU for four consecutive days, followed by human chorionic gonadotropin 25 IU on the fifth day. The effect of FSA extract was evaluated by measuring the concentration of serum E2 using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    Results: FSA extract reduced serum E2 level significantly in the treated OHSS model (p-value < 0.050) compared to the positive control group.

    Conclusions: The finding has important implications on the development of female infertility adjuvant drugs for safe assisted reproduction technology cycles in terms of OHSS prevention.

  20. Haider MR, Ahmad K, Siddiqui N, Ali Z, Akhtar MJ, Fuloria N, et al.
    Bioorg Chem, 2019 07;88:102962.
    PMID: 31085373 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2019.102962
    A series of 9-(2-(1-arylethylidene)hydrazinyl)acridine and its analogs were designed, synthesized and evaluated for biological activities. Various biochemical assays were performed to determine the free radical scavenging capacity of synthesized compounds (4a-4j). Anticancer activity of these compounds was assessed against two different human cancer cell lines viz cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and liver cancer cells (HepG2) as well as normal human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK 293). Compounds 4b, 4d and 4e showed potential anti-proliferative effects on HeLa cells. Based on results obtained from antioxidant and cytotoxicity studies, 4b, 4d and 4e were further studied in detail for different biological activities. 4b, 4d and 4e reduced the cell growth, inhibited metastatic activity and declined the potential of cell migration in HeLa cell lines. Topoisomerase1 (Top1) treated with compounds 4b, 4d and 4e exhibited inhibition of Top1 and prevented DNA replication. Molecular docking results validate that interaction of compounds 4b, 4d and 4e with Top1-DNA complex, which might be accountable for their inhibitory effects. Further it was concluded that compounds 4b, 4d and 4e arrests the cells at S phase and consequently induces cell death through DNA damage in HeLa cells.
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