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Fulltext HDG-select: A novel GUI based application for gene selection and classification in high dimensional datasets

Hameed SS, Hassan R, Hassan WH, Muhammadsharif FF, Latiff LA

PLoS One, 2021;16(1):e0246039.
PMID: 33507983 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246039

The selection and classification of genes is essential for the identification of related genes to a specific disease. Developing a user-friendly application with combined statistical rigor and machine learning functionality to help the biomedical researchers and end users is of great importance. In this work, a novel stand-alone application, which is based on graphical user interface (GUI), is developed to perform the full functionality of gene selection and classification in high dimensional datasets. The so-called HDG-select application is validated on eleven high dimensional datasets of the format CSV and GEO soft. The proposed tool uses the efficient algorithm of combined filter-GBPSO-SVM and it was made freely available to users. It was found that the proposed HDG-select outperformed other tools reported in literature and presented a competitive performance, accessibility, and functionality.
Fulltext Toxicity effect of nigella sativa on the liver function of rats

Dollah MA, Parhizkar S, Latiff LA, Bin Hassan MH

Adv Pharm Bull, 2013;3(1):97-102.
PMID: 24312819 DOI: 10.5681/apb.2013.016

The aim of this study was to determine the toxic effect of Nigella sativa powder on the liver function which was evaluated by measuring liver enzymes and through histopathological examination of liver tissue.
Fulltext Sexual dysfunction in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome in Malaysia

Dashti S, Latiff LA, Hamid HA, Sani SM, Akhtari-Zavare M, Abu Bakar AS, et al.

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2016;17(8):3747-51.
PMID: 27644611

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a combination of chronic anovulation, obesity, and hyperandrogenism and can affect sexual function in women of reproductive age. It is also associated with endometrial cancer. Our aim was to evaluate the frequency and predisposing factors of sexual dysfunction in PCOS patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 16 married women with a definite diagnosis of PCOS were recruited. Sexual function was assessed in the domains of desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain using the female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaire. Patients were also assessed for mental health using the depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) questionnaire. Presence of hirsutism was assessed using the Ferriman-Gallwey (FG) scoring system. Demographic data were obtained from patients during in-person interview.

RESULTS: Sexual dysfunction was present in 62.5% of patients with the domains of arousal and lubrication particularly affected (93.8% and 87.5%, respectively). Patients with symptoms of depression and anxiety were significantly more likely to suffer sexual dysfunction than those without these symptoms (p=0.04 and p=0.03 respectively). Patients with stress symptoms reported higher orgasm dysfunction than those without (p=0.02). No significant difference in any of the FSFI score domains was observed between patients with and without hirsutism.

CONCLUSIONS: PCOS patients markedly suffer from sexual dysfunction and therefore it seems appropriate to be screened for intervention. Poor mental health conditions that may be the result of infertility or other complications of PCOS should also be considered as curable causes of sexual dysfunction in these patients.
Fulltext A review on the assessment of the efficacy of common treatments in polycystic ovarian syndrome on prevention of diabetes mellitus

Dashti S, Latiff LA, Zulkefli NABM, Baharom AB, Minhat HS, Hamid HA, et al.

J Family Reprod Health, 2017 Jun;11(2):56-66.
PMID: 29282412

Objective: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition amongst women of reproductive age that can result in increased mortality and morbidity in women due to increased risk of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of common treatments of PCOS on the predictors of diabetes in non-diabetic PCOS women. Materials and methods: An extensive search was performed on the publications in three medical databases including pubmed, scopus and google scholar from 1995 till 2017. The articles were screened based on their quality and included in this systematic review. A total of 25 articles including cohort, randomised controlled trial, review and meta-analysis were included in the review. Results: This systematic review revealed that the effect of lifestyle modification might be low in PCOS subjects due to high drop-out rate while the benefits of this intervention including weight and fat reduction may not be achieved by medical interventions. Metformin treatment may result in improvements in insulin sensitivity while its weight reduction effect is still not documented in PCOS subjects. Thiazolidendiones might be tolerated by the PCOS subjects and may result in similar effects as metformin but this effect should be documented by further studies. Conclusion: Combination of lifestyle modification with metformin or thiazolidinedions might improve the outcome of the prevention strategies. On the other hand this study revealed a different response to treatments in non-obese compared with obese PCOS subjects.
Fulltext Barriers to breast self examination practice among Malaysian female students: a cross sectional study

Akhtari-Zavare M, Juni MH, Ismail IZ, Said SM, Latiff LA

Springerplus, 2015;4:692.
PMID: 26587360 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-015-1491-8

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer and the second reason of cancer deaths among woman worldwide, including Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to assess the practice of breast self-examination (BSE) and identify the barriers of BSE practice among undergraduate female students in Malaysia.
Breast cancer prevention information seeking behavior and interest on cell phone and text use: a cross-sectional study in Malaysia

Akhtari-Zavare M, Ghanbari-Baghestan A, Latiff LA, Khaniki H

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2015;16(4):1337-41.
PMID: 25743795

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second principal cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, including Malaysia. This study focused on media choice and attempted to determine the communication channels mostly used and preferred by women in seeking information and knowledge about breast cancer.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out to examine the breast cancer prevention information seeking behavior among 450 students at one private university in Malaysia.
RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 25±4.3 years. Common interpersonal information sources were doctors, friends, and nurses and common channel information sources were television, brochure, and internet. Overall, 89.9% used cell phones, 46.1% had an interest in receiving cell phone breast cancer prevention messages, 73.9% used text messaging, and 36.7% had an interest in receiving text breast cancer prevention messages. Bivariate analysis revealed significant differences among age, eduation, nationality and use of cell phones.
CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of health information seeking behavior is important for community health educators to target populations for program development.
Knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination practice among Iranian women in Hamedan, Iran

Akhtari-Zavare M, Ghanbari-Baghestan A, Latiff LA, Matinnia N, Hoseini M

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(16):6531-4.
PMID: 25169482

BACKGROUND: In Iran, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women and a major public health problem.
METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out to determine knowledge on breast cancer and breast self- examination (BSE) practices of 384 females living in the city of Hamadan, Iran. A purposive sampling method was adopted and data were collected via face-to-face interviews based on a validated questionnaire developed for this study.
RESULTS: Among respondents 268 (69.8%) were married and 144 (37.5%) of the respondents reported having a family history of breast cancer. One hundred respondents (26.0%) claimed they practiced BSE. Level of breast cancer knowledge was significantly associated with BSE practice (p=0.000). There was no association with demographic details (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: The findings showed that Iranian women's knowledge regarding breast cancer and the practice of BSE is inadequate. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection of breast cancer.
Electrical Impedance Tomography as a Primary Screening Technique for Breast Cancer Detection

Akhtari-Zavare M, Latiff LA

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2015;16(14):5595-7.
PMID: 26320422

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a new non-invasive, mobile screening method which does not use ionizing radiation to the human breast. It is based on the theory that cancer cells display altered local dielectric properties, thus demonstrating measurably higher conductivity values. This article reviews the utilisation of EIT in breast cancer detection. It could be used as an adjunct to mammography and ultrasonography for breast cancer screening.
Fulltext Knowledge of female undergraduate students on breast cancer and breast self-examination in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Akhtari-Zavare M, Latiff LA, Juni MH, Said SM, Ismail IZ

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2015;16(15):6231-5.
PMID: 26434821

BACKGROUND: In Malaysia, breast cancer is the first cancer among females regardness of race.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge and BSE practice among undergraduate female students at four public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 820 undergraduate female students using a self-administered questionnaire covering socio-demographic data, knowledge of breast cancer and BSE practice.

RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 21.7±1.2 years. The majority of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 16.5% of respondents had a family history of breast cancer. This study showed low level of knowledge on breast cancer and breast self-examination among participants. Only 19.6% participants were performing BSE regularly. Knowledge of breast self-examination was significantly associated with BSE practice (p=0.00). Also, there were significant associations between performing BSE with age, marital status and being trained by a doctor for doing BSE (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that the rate of BSE practice and knowledge of breast cancer is inadequate among young Malaysian females. A public health education program is essential to improve breast cancer prevention among this group.
Fulltext Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Akhtari-Zavare M, Juni MH, Ismail IZ, Said SM, Latiff LA

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2015;16(9):4019-23.
PMID: 25987079

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in women and the most common cause of cancer death worldwide.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 792 female undergraduate students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia, from January to April 2011. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire developed for this study.

RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 21.7±1.2 years. Most of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 150 (19.6%) claimed they had practiced BSE. There was a significant differences between performers and non-performers correlated to age, marital status, check breast by doctor, and being trained about BSE. Performers had lower mean scores for perceived barriers and susceptibility and higher mean score for confidence. Stepwise logistic regression analysis yielded four significant predictor variables.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall our findings indicate that the practice of BSE while perceived as being important is not frequently practiced among female in Malaysia. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection of breast cancer.
Fulltext Result of randomized control trial to increase breast health awareness among young females in Malaysia

Akhtari-Zavare M, Juni MH, Said SM, Ismail IZ, Latiff LA, Ataollahi Eshkoor S

BMC Public Health, 2016 08 08;16:738.
PMID: 27502284 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3414-1

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second principal cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide as well as in Malaysia. Breast self-examination (BSE) has a role in raising breast cancer awareness among women and educational programs play an important role in breast cancer preventive behavior. The aim of this study is to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of Breast Health Awareness program based on health belief model on knowledge of breast cancer and breast-selfexamination and BSE practice among female students in Malaysia.
METHODS: A single-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out among 370 female undergraduate students from January 2011 to April 2012 in two selected public universities in Malaysia. Participants were randomized to either the intervention group or the control group. The educational program was delivered to the intervention group. The outcome measures were assessed at baseline, 6, and 12 months after implementing the health educational program. Chi-square, independent samples t-test and two-way repeated measures ANOVA (GLM) were conducted in the course of the data analyses.
RESULTS: Mean scores of knowledge on breast cancer (p<0.003), knowledge on breast self examination (p<0.001), benefits of BSE (p<0.00), barrier of BSE (0.01) and confidence of BSE practice (p<0.00) in the intervention group had significant differences in comparison with those of the control group 6 and 12 months after the intervention. Also, among those who never practiced BSE at baseline, frequency of BSE practice increased 6 and 12 months after the intervention (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: The Breast Health Awareness program based on health the belief model had a positive effect on knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination and practice of BSE among females in Malaysia.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: The ANZCTR clinical trial registry ( ACTRN12616000831482 ), retrospectively registered on Jun 23, 2016 in ANZCTR.org.au.
Fulltext Insufficient Knowledge of Breast Cancer Risk Factors Among Malaysian Female University Students

Abu Samah A, Ahmadian M, Latiff LA

Glob J Health Sci, 2016;8(1):277-85.
PMID: 26234996 DOI: 10.5539/gjhs.v8n1p277

Despite continuous argument about the efficacy of breast self-examination; it still could be a life-saving technique through inspiring and empowering women to take better control over their body/breast and health. This study investigated Malaysian female university students' knowledge about breast cancer risk factors, signs, and symptoms and assessed breast self-examination frequency among students.