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Displaying publications 21 - 28 of 28 in total

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New magnetic Schiff's base-chitosan-glyoxal/fly ash/Fe3O4 biocomposite for the removal of anionic azo dye: An optimized process

Malek NNA, Jawad AH, Abdulhameed AS, Ismail K, Hameed BH

Int J Biol Macromol, 2020 Mar 01;146:530-539.
PMID: 31917215 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.01.020

In this study, a new magnetic Schiff's base-chitosan-glyoxal/fly ash/Fe3O4 biocomposite (Chi-Gly/FA/Fe3O4) was successfully synthesized by direct compositing of magnetic chitosan (Chi) with fly ash (FA) powder particles, and followed by Schiff's base formation via cross-linking reaction with glyoxal (Gly). Various techniques such as BET, XRD, FTIR, and SEM-EDX were utilized to characterize of Chi-Gly/FA/Fe3O4 biocomposite. The effectiveness of Chi-Gly/FA/Fe3O4 as an adsorbent was evaluated for the removal anionic azo dye such as reactive orange 16 (RO16) from aqueous environment. The effect of adsorption process parameters namely adsorbent dose (A: 0.02-0.1 g), solution pH (B: 4-10), temperature (C: 30-50 °C), and contact time (D: 5-20 min) were optimized via Box-Behnken design (BBD) in response surface methodology (RSM). The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second order (PSO) kinetic, and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum adsorption capacity of Chi-Gly/FA/Fe3O4 biocomposite for RO16 dye was recorded to be 112.5 mg/g at 40 °C. The RO16 dye adsorption mechanism was attributed to various interactions such as electrostatic, n-π, H-bonding, and Yoshida H-bonding. Furthermore, the Chi-Gly/FA/Fe3O4 biocomposite exhibited a high ability to separate from the aqueous solution after adsorption process by external magnetic field.
Fulltext Marine electrical imaging reveals novel freshwater transport mechanism in Hawai'i

Attias E, Thomas D, Sherman D, Ismail K, Constable S

Sci Adv, 2020 Nov;6(48).
PMID: 33239299 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd4866

Conventional hydrogeologic framework models used to compute ocean island sustainable yields and aquifer storage neglect the complexity of the nearshore and offshore submarine environment. However, the onshore aquifer at the island of Hawai'i exhibits a notable volumetric discrepancy between high-elevation freshwater recharge and coastal discharge. In this study, we present a novel transport mechanism of freshwater moving from onshore to offshore through a multilayer formation of water-saturated layered basalts with interbedded low-permeability layers of ash/soil. Marine electromagnetic imaging reveals ∼35 km of laterally continuous resistive layers that extend to at least 4 km from west of Hawai'i's coastline, containing about 3.5 km3 of freshened water. We propose that this newly found transport mechanism of fresh groundwater may be the governing mechanism in other volcanic islands. In such a scenario, volcanic islands worldwide can use these renewable offshore reservoirs, considered more resilient to climate change-driven droughts, as new water resources.
Fulltext A Mobile Phone App for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes in Malaysian Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Protocol for a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Benton M, Iman I, Goldsmith K, Forbes A, Ching SM, Papachristou Nadal I, et al.

JMIR Res Protoc, 2022 Sep 08;11(9):e37288.
PMID: 36074545 DOI: 10.2196/37288

BACKGROUND: Over 50% of women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) will develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) in later life. Asian women experience a disproportionate risk of both GDM and T2D compared to women from other ethnic backgrounds. Lifestyle interventions and behavior change can delay or even prevent the onset of T2D. We have developed a digitalized diabetes prevention intervention for the prevention of T2D in Malaysian women with GDM.
OBJECTIVE: The protocol describes a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the feasibility of undertaking a definitive trial of a diabetes prevention intervention, including a smartphone app and group support. Secondary aims are to summarize anthropometric, biomedical, psychological, and lifestyle outcomes overall and by allocation group, and to undertake a process evaluation.
METHODS: This is a two-arm parallel feasibility RCT. A total of 60 Malaysian women with GDM will be randomized in the antenatal period to receive the intervention or standard care until 12 months post partum. The intervention is a diabetes prevention intervention delivered via a smartphone app developed based on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills model of behavior change and group support using motivational interviewing. The intervention provides women with tailored information and support to encourage weight loss through adapted dietary intake and physical activity. Women in the control arm will receive standard care. The Malaysian Ministry of Health's Medical Research and Ethics Committee has approved the trial (NMRR-21-1667-60212).
RESULTS: Recruitment and enrollment began in February 2022. Future outcomes will be published in peer-reviewed health-related research journals and presented at national, regional, or state professional meetings and conferences. This publication is based on protocol version 2, January 19, 2022.
CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this will be the first study in Malaysia that aims to determine the feasibility of a digital intervention in T2D prevention among women with GDM. Findings from this feasibility study will inform the design of a full-scale RCT in the future.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05204706; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05204706.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/37288.
Fulltext An application of a hybrid MCDM method for the evaluation of entrepreneurial intensity among the SMEs: a case study

Rostamzadeh R, Ismail K, Bodaghi Khajeh Noubar H

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:703650.
PMID: 25197707 DOI: 10.1155/2014/703650

This study presents one of the first attempts to focus on critical success factors influencing the entrepreneurial intensity of Malaysian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as they attempt to expand internationally. The aim of this paper is to evaluate and prioritize the entrepreneurial intensity among the SMEs using multicriteria decision (MCDM) techniques. In this research FAHP is used for finding the weights of criteria and subcriteria. Then for the final ranking of the companies, VIKOR (in Serbian: VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) method was used. Also, as an additional tool, TOPSIS technique, is used to see the differences of two methods applied over the same data. 5 main criteria and 14 subcriteria were developed and implemented in the real-world cases. As the results showed, two ranking methods provided different ranking. Furthermore, the final findings of the research based on VIKOR and TOPSIS indicated that the firms A3 and A4 received the first rank, respectively. In addition, the firm A4 was known as the most entrepreneurial company. This research has been done in the manufacturing sector, but it could be also extended to the service sector for measurement.
Fulltext The Accuracy of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Algorithm for Screening to Detect Major Depression: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis

He C, Levis B, Riehm KE, Saadat N, Levis AW, Azar M, et al.

Psychother Psychosom, 2020;89(1):25-37.
PMID: 31593971 DOI: 10.1159/000502294

BACKGROUND: Screening for major depression with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) can be done using a cutoff or the PHQ-9 diagnostic algorithm. Many primary studies publish results for only one approach, and previous meta-analyses of the algorithm approach included only a subset of primary studies that collected data and could have published results.
OBJECTIVE: To use an individual participant data meta-analysis to evaluate the accuracy of two PHQ-9 diagnostic algorithms for detecting major depression and compare accuracy between the algorithms and the standard PHQ-9 cutoff score of ≥10.
METHODS: Medline, Medline In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, PsycINFO, Web of Science (January 1, 2000, to February 7, 2015). Eligible studies that classified current major depression status using a validated diagnostic interview.
RESULTS: Data were included for 54 of 72 identified eligible studies (n participants = 16,688, n cases = 2,091). Among studies that used a semi-structured interview, pooled sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) were 0.57 (0.49, 0.64) and 0.95 (0.94, 0.97) for the original algorithm and 0.61 (0.54, 0.68) and 0.95 (0.93, 0.96) for a modified algorithm. Algorithm sensitivity was 0.22-0.24 lower compared to fully structured interviews and 0.06-0.07 lower compared to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Specificity was similar across reference standards. For PHQ-9 cutoff of ≥10 compared to semi-structured interviews, sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) were 0.88 (0.82-0.92) and 0.86 (0.82-0.88).
CONCLUSIONS: The cutoff score approach appears to be a better option than a PHQ-9 algorithm for detecting major depression.
Investigation on thermochemical behaviour of low rank Malaysian coal, oil palm biomass and their blends during pyrolysis via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)

Idris SS, Abd Rahman N, Ismail K, Alias AB, Abd Rashid Z, Aris MJ

Bioresour Technol, 2010 Jun;101(12):4584-92.
PMID: 20153633 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.01.059

This study aims to investigate the behaviour of Malaysian sub-bituminous coal (Mukah Balingian), oil palm biomass (empty fruit bunches (EFB), kernel shell (PKS) and mesocarp fibre (PMF)) and their respective blends during pyrolysis using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The coal/palm biomass blends were prepared at six different weight ratios and experiments were carried out under dynamic conditions using nitrogen as inert gas at various heating rates to ramp the temperature from 25 degrees C to 900 degrees C. The derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) results show that thermal decomposition of EFB, PMF and PKS exhibit one, two and three distinct evolution profiles, respectively. Apparently, the thermal profiles of the coal/oil palm biomass blends appear to correlate with the percentage of biomass added in the blends, thus, suggesting lack of interaction between the coal and palm biomass. First-order reaction model were used to determine the kinetics parameters for the pyrolysis of coal, palm biomass and their respective blends.
Shift in parasitic infections during the Corona pandemic: a hospital-based retrospective study

Hawash Y, Ismail KH, Abdel-Wahab M

Trop Biomed, 2021 Jun 01;38(2):94-101.
PMID: 34172696 DOI: 10.47665/tb.38.2.038

The Corona pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) calls on the Saudi government to take action to control the infection. The government closed borders, prohibited travel, limited outdoor movements, and told primary and secondary care facilities to reduce all regular non-urgent health services. It is not known whether these measures have impacted the prevalence of parasitic intestinal infections. This study has therefore been carried out to investigate this issue. Dataset of 217 stool samples submitted to the King Faisal Medical Complex (KFMC) Microbiology Laboratory in Taif, Saudi Arabia for parasitological examination during the pandemic (January-June 2020) and 649 samples submitted during the corresponding months of the previous year (January-June 2019) were extracted and analyzed. Overall, 24.1% (209/866) of samples were parasitespositives; 26.6% (173/649) before and 16.5% (36/217) during the pandemic, with 79% reduction. There was a significant difference in gender-parasitism between the two periods where the majority of parasitism were for males (p<0.001). Infections were frequent in patients aged 5- 14 years both before (84/649; 12.9%) and during (12/217; 5.5%) the pandemic, with significant difference observed between the two cohorts (p<0.002). Moreover, the majority of infected patients were non-Saudi (67.9%; 142/209), with a significant difference in nationality reported, (p=0.024). Protozoa were identified in 21.8% (189) of all samples investigated, of which, Blastocystis hominis, Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Cryptosporidium species were identified in 6.1% (53), 5.4% (47), 5.0% (44), 2.8% (25), and 2.3% (20), respectively. Helminths were diagnosed in 2.3% (20/866) of samples. Eggs of hookworm, Ascaris, Taenia spp, and Hymenolepis nana were detected in 0.9% (8), 0.5% (5), 0.3% (3) and 0.4% (4), respectively. In parallel with our research hypothesis, a substantial decrease in the burden of intestinal parasitic infections was recorded with the lock-down measures taken during the Corona pandemic.
Fly ash modified magnetic chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol blend for reactive orange 16 dye removal: Adsorption parametric optimization

Malek NNA, Jawad AH, Ismail K, Razuan R, ALOthman ZA

Int J Biol Macromol, 2021 Oct 31;189:464-476.
PMID: 34450144 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.08.160

A magnetic biocomposite blend of chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol/fly ash (m-Cs-PVA/FA) was developed by adding fly ash (FA) microparticles into the polymeric matrix of magnetic chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol (m-Cs-PVA). The effectiveness of m-Cs-PVA/FA as an adsorbent to remove textile dye (reactive orange 16, RO16) from aquatic environment was evaluated. The optimum adsorption key parameters and their significant interactions were determined by Box-Behnken Design (BBD). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicates the significant interactions can be observed between m-Cs-PVA/FA dose with solution pH, and m-Cs-PVA/FA dose with working temperature. Considering these significant interactions, the highest removal of RO16 (%) was found 90.3% at m-Cs-PVA/FA dose (0.06 g), solution pH (4), working temperature (30 °C), and contact time (17.5 min). The results of adsorption kinetics revealed that the RO16 adsorption was better described by the pseudo-second-order model. The results of adsorption isotherm indicated a multilayer adsorption process as well described by Freundlich model with maximum adsorption capacity of 123.8 mg/g at 30 °C. An external magnetic field can be easily applied to recover the adsorbent (m-Cs-PVA/FA). The results supported that the synthesized m-Cs-PVA/FA presents itself as an effective and promising adsorbent for textile dye with preferable adsorption capacity and separation ability during and after the adsorption process.