Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 131 in total

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  1. Shahzad A, Lee M, Xiong NN, Jeong G, Lee YK, Choi JY, et al.
    Sensors (Basel), 2016;16(3).
    PMID: 26950129 DOI: 10.3390/s16030322
    In Industrial systems, Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, the pseudo-transport layer of the distributed network protocol (DNP3) performs the functions of the transport layer and network layer of the open systems interconnection (OSI) model. This study used a simulation design of water pumping system, in-which the network nodes are directly and wirelessly connected with sensors, and are monitored by the main controller, as part of the wireless SCADA system. This study also intends to focus on the security issues inherent in the pseudo-transport layer of the DNP3 protocol. During disassembly and reassembling processes, the pseudo-transport layer keeps track of the bytes sequence. However, no mechanism is available that can verify the message or maintain the integrity of the bytes in the bytes received/transmitted from/to the data link layer or in the send/respond from the main controller/sensors. To properly and sequentially keep track of the bytes, a mechanism is required that can perform verification while bytes are received/transmitted from/to the lower layer of the DNP3 protocol or the send/respond to/from field sensors. For security and byte verification purposes, a mechanism needs to be proposed for the pseudo-transport layer, by employing cryptography algorithm. A dynamic choice security buffer (SB) is designed and employed during the security development. To achieve the desired goals of the proposed study, a pseudo-transport layer stack model is designed using the DNP3 protocol open library and the security is deployed and tested, without changing the original design.
  2. Ahmad N, Javaid A, Basit A, Afridi AK, Khan MA, Ahmad I, et al.
    Int J Tuberc Lung Dis, 2015 Sep;19(9):1109-14, i-ii.
    PMID: 26260834 DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.15.0167
    Although Pakistan has a high burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), little is known about the management and treatment outcomes of MDR-TB patients in Pakistan.
  3. Kalam S, Basu A, Ahmad I, Sayyed RZ, El-Enshasy HA, Dailin DJ, et al.
    Front Microbiol, 2020;11:580024.
    PMID: 33193209 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.580024
    Acidobacteria represents an underrepresented soil bacterial phylum whose members are pervasive and copiously distributed across nearly all ecosystems. Acidobacterial sequences are abundant in soils and represent a significant fraction of soil microbial community. Being recalcitrant and difficult-to-cultivate under laboratory conditions, holistic, polyphasic approaches are required to study these refractive bacteria extensively. Acidobacteria possesses an inventory of genes involved in diverse metabolic pathways, as evidenced by their pan-genomic profiles. Because of their preponderance and ubiquity in the soil, speculations have been made regarding their dynamic roles in vital ecological processes viz., regulation of biogeochemical cycles, decomposition of biopolymers, exopolysaccharide secretion, and plant growth promotion. These bacteria are expected to have genes that might help in survival and competitive colonization in the rhizosphere, leading to the establishment of beneficial relationships with plants. Exploration of these genetic attributes and more in-depth insights into the belowground mechanics and dynamics would lead to a better understanding of the functions and ecological significance of this enigmatic phylum in the soil-plant environment. This review is an effort to provide a recent update into the diversity of genes in Acidobacteria useful for characterization, understanding ecological roles, and future biotechnological perspectives.
  4. Nadeem MA, Qamar MAJ, Nazir MS, Ahmad I, Timoshin A, Shehzad K
    Front Psychol, 2020;11:553351.
    PMID: 33192804 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.553351
    The purpose of this study is to investigate how investor's money attitudes shape their stock market participation (SMP) decisions. This study followed the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and a survey was conducted to collect the responses from active investors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for the analysis of proposed relationships among the constructs, and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to check the interrelation of the variables and validity of the constructs. This research has concluded that investor's money attitudes are significant to affect their stock market participation decisions. Further, it was found that risk attitudes partially mediate the relationship between money attitudes and stock market participation. Moreover, financial knowledge and financial self-efficacy positively moderated the relationship between money attitudes and stock market participation. This research is one of the early attempts at studying the money attitudes of investors and introduces financial self-efficacy as a moderating construct between money attitudes and stock market participation. The sample size for this study was 250 respondents which can be increased in future research, and the same relationships can be tested by using a larger sample. Moreover, this study has used money attitudes as predictors of stock market participation. Still, many other variables, like personal value, can also be taken to investigate their influence on stock market participation.
  5. Saleem H, Htar TT, Naidu R, Zengin G, Ahmad I, Ahemad N
    Nat Prod Res, 2020 Sep;34(18):2602-2606.
    PMID: 30600720 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2018.1543684
    In this study, phytochemical composition, antioxidant, enzyme inhibition and cytotoxic activities of methanol and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of Bougainvillea glabra (B. glabra) flowers were investigated. Methanol extract was found to have higher total bioactive contents and UHPLC-MS analysis of methanol extract revealed the presence of well-known phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Antioxidant activities were performed by radical scavenging (DPPH and ABTS), reducing power (FRAP and CUPRAC), phosphomolybdenum (TAC) and metal chelating assays. From our result, we observed that methanol extract had many antioxidant compounds. The DCM extract exhibited higher cholinesterases and α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition, while methanol extract showed significant urease inhibition. Both extracts exhibited strong to moderate cytotoxicity against MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, CaSki, DU-145 and SW-480 cancer cells with IC50 values ranging from 88.49 to 304.7 µg/mL. The findings showed the B. glabra to possess considerable antioxidant, enzyme inhibition and cytotoxic potentials and therefore has potential to discover novel bioactive molecules.
  6. Rizwan K, Khan SA, Ahmad I, Rasool N, Ibrahim M, Zubair M, et al.
    Molecules, 2019 Aug 29;24(17).
    PMID: 31470508 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24173138
    Viola betonicifolia (Violaceae) is commonly recognized as "Banafsha" and widely distributed throughout the globe. This plant is of great interest because of its traditional, pharmacological uses. This review mainly emphases on morphology, nutritional composition, and several therapeutic uses, along with pharmacological properties of different parts of this multipurpose plant. Different vegetative parts of this plant (roots, leaves, petioles, and flowers) contained a good profile of essential micro- and macronutrients and are rich source of fat, protein, carbohydrates, and vitamin C. The plant is well known for its pharmacological properties, e.g., antioxidant, antihelminthic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and has been reported in the treatment of various neurological diseases. This plant is of high economic value. The plant has potential role in cosmetic industry. This review suggests that V. betonicifolia is a promising source of pharmaceutical agents. This plant is also of significance as ornamental plant, however further studies needed to explore its phytoconstituents and their pharmacological potential. Furthermore, clinical studies are needed to use this plant for benefits of human beings.
  7. Cader RA, Mei Yee AK, Yassin A, Ahmad I, Haron SN
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2018 Dec 25;19(12):3551-3555.
    PMID: 30583682
    Background: Malignancies are among the leading causes of death in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
    patients with studies reporting a higher prevalence of malignancy in SLE patients compared to the general population.
    We wanted to determine the frequency of cancer in a cohort of SLE patients and identify its associated risk factors.
    Methods: Cross-sectional study involving SLE patients attending the nephrology outpatient clinic, Universiti
    Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre between January and June 2014. Results: We recruited 228 patients (207 female,
    21 male), aged 40.48 ± 12.86 years with mean SLE duration of 11.65 ± 6.46 years. Majority (87%) had lupus nephritis
    and were in remission with a median SLEDAI score 2 (0, 14). Majority (89%) were on corticosteroid with either a
    steroid sparing agent like mycophenolate mofetil (15.4%), azathioprine (36.8%) or ciclosporin (15.4%). One hundred
    and sixty (70.2%) patients were either receiving or had received intravenous cyclophosphamide with median dose
    of 5,173.6 ± 3,242.4 mg. Seven female patients were diagnosed with cancer during the course of their SLE with 56
    (34-78) years being median age at malignancy and SLE duration of 4 (0-12) years. Majority (5/7) had lupus nephritis
    and all patients a median dose of prednisolone 10 (2.5, 10) mg with 10 (4-24) years of steroids. Two patients had a
    family history of cancer with majority developing cancer after the diagnosis of SLE. Two patients received intravenous
    cyclophosphamide prior to the development of cancer for their SLE compared to overall cohort of 160. Three patients
    had colorectal cancer, 2 had cervical cancer, 1 had breast cancer, and one patient had germ cell tumour and one thyroid
    cancer. All patients had their cancer successful treated with no signs of recurrence. Conclusion: We found a lower
    occurrence of cancer in our SLE patients as compared with the reported literature.
  8. Saleem H, Htar TT, Naidu R, Ahmad I, Zengin G, Ahmad M, et al.
    J Pharm Biomed Anal, 2019 Mar 20;166:128-138.
    PMID: 30640043 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2019.01.007
    In this study, different solvent extracts (methanol, dichloromethane and n-hexane) from aerial and stem parts of Buxus papillosa C.K. Schneid (Buxaceae) were investigated for a panoply of bioassays. Biological profiles were established by determining antioxidant and enzyme inhibition profiles. Toxicity was tested using MTT cell viability assay on five different human cancer cell lines i.e, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, CaSki, DU-145 and SW-480. For chemical fingerprinting, total bioactive contents and UHPLC-MS secondary metabolites profile were determined. Generally, both aerial and stem methanol extracts had highest total bioactive contents, radical scavenging and reducing power potential. DCM and n-hexane extracts were found to be most active for total antioxidant and metal chelating activity. The UHPLC-MS analysis of methanol extracts revealed the presence of several phenolic, flavonoid, alkaloid, saponin and depsipeptide derivatives. All the extracts were significantly active against butyrylcholinesterase, whereas moderate inhibition was observed for acetylcholinesterase, α-glucosidase and urease. Similarly, a considerable level of cytotoxicity was observed against all the tested cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 26 to 225.9 μg/mL. Aerial methanol and stem n-hexane extracts were found to be most cytotoxic. Principal component analysis was also performed to find any possible correlation between biological activities and total bioactive contents. On the basis of our findings, B. papillosa may be considered as promising source of bioactive molecules.
  9. Saleem H, Htar TT, Naidu R, Nawawi NS, Ahmad I, Ashraf M, et al.
    Food Chem Toxicol, 2019 Jan;123:363-373.
    PMID: 30419323 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2018.11.016
    We investigated into the effects of methanol and dichloromethane extracts from aerial and roots of Filago germanica (L.) Huds (Astearaceae) on key enzymes (cholinesterases, α-glucosidase and urease), antioxidant capabilities, cytotoxic potential and secondary metabolomics profile. Total phenolic and flavonoids were determined by spectrophotometric technique and secondary metabolites composition by UHPLC-MS. Antioxidant activities were assessed employing free radical scavenging, ferric reducing power and phosphomolybdenum assays. The cell-toxicity was evaluated by MTT assay against breast (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231), cervix (CaSki) and prostate (DU-145) cancers. Overall, methanol extracts were found to have higher total bioactive contents and antioxidant potential. UHPLC-MS analysis revealed significant variation in the secondary metabolites in the methanol extracts. The most common derivatives belong to seven groups i.e. alkaloids, benzoic acids, flavones, flavonols, flavan-3-ols, terpenoids and saponins. The major polyphenolic compounds were found to be kampferol, robinin, luteolin, ferulic acid, benzoic acid and salicylic acid. All the extracts showed moderate cholinesterases inhibition, whereas methanol extracts exhibited highest urease inhibition and all extracts presented a relatively high inhibition against α-glucosidase. Similarly, all extracts showed strong to moderate cytotoxicity with IC50 values ranging from 53.02 to 382.7 μg/mL. Overall, results have suggested F. germanica to be a lead source for novel natural products.
  10. Ahmad W, Jabbar B, Ahmad I, Mohamed Jan B, Stylianakis MM, Kenanakis G, et al.
    Materials (Basel), 2021 Feb 22;14(4).
    PMID: 33671689 DOI: 10.3390/ma14041037
    Polymer composites are favorite materials for sensing applications due to their low cost and easy fabrication. In the current study, composite nanofibers consisting of polyethylene oxide (PEO), oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles with 1% and 3% of fillers (i.e., PEO-CuO-MWCNT: 1%, and PEO-CuO-MWCNT: 3%) were successfully developed through electrospinning for humidity sensing applications. The composite nanofibers were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDX analysis. Firstly, they were loaded on an interdigitated electrode (IDE), and then the humidity sensing efficiency was investigated through a digital LCR meter (E4980) at different frequencies (100 Hz-1 MHz), as well as the percentage of relative humidity (RH). The results indicated that the composite nanofibers containing 1% and 3% MWCNT, combined with CuO in PEO polymer matrix, showed potent resistive and capacitive response along with high sensitivity to humidity at room temperature in an RH range of 30-90%. More specifically, the PEO-CuO-MWCNT: 1% nanocomposite displayed a resistive rapid response time within 3 s and a long recovery time of 22 s, while the PEO-CuO-MWCNT: 3% one exhibited 20 s and 11 s between the same RH range, respectively.
  11. Din SMU, Mehmood SK, Shahzad A, Ahmad I, Davidyants A, Abu-Rumman A
    Front Psychol, 2020;11:600570.
    PMID: 33613358 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.600570
    The study aimed to investigate the impact of behavioral biases on herding for Islamic financial products with the mediation of shariah literacy. An adopted questionnaire from several published studies was used to collect data. The data were collected from 410 respondents and were analyzed with SmartPLS. The results for the direct impact showed that self-attribution, illusion of control, and information availability have a positive and significant impact on herding for Islamic financial products while shariah literacy showed an insignificant impact on herding. The results for mediation showed that previously significant and positive impact turned to insignificant when shariah literacy was introduced as mediating variable between the illusion of control, self-attribution, information availability, and herding. From a theoretical perspective, this study would contribute to the existing body of knowledge of financial decision making from shariah literacy point-out. On the other hand, the findings of this study may be useful for investors to avoid herding in the Islamic financial markets. The authors synthesize the contribution made by behavioral finance studies in extending the knowledge of herding behavior in Islamic financial products with a mediating role of shariah literacy. The key limitation of the study includes data that were collected from three districts of Punjab, Pakistan.
  12. Saleem H, Zengin G, Ahmad I, Htar TT, Naidu R, Mahomoodally MF, et al.
    Food Res Int, 2020 11;137:109651.
    PMID: 33233230 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109651
    Anagallis arvensis (L.) is a wild edible food plant that has been used in folklore as a natural remedy for treating common ailments. This study aimed to explore the biochemical properties and toxicity of methanol (MeOH) and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of A. arvensis (aerial and root parts). Bioactive contents were assessed spectrophotometrically, and the secondary metabolites were identified by UHPLC-MS analysis. DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, CUPRAC, phosphomolybdenum, and metal chelating assays were employed to assess antioxidant activity. Inhibitory potential against key enzymes (α-glucosidase, urease, lipoxygenase (LOX), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE)) were also assessed. MTT assay was employed to test toxicity against SW-480, MDA-MB-231, CaSki, MCF-7, and DU-145 cancer cell lines. Methanolic extracts showed highest phenolic (aerial-MeOH: 27.5 mg GAE/g extract; root-MeOH: 21.17 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoid (aerial-MeOH: 26.15 mg QE/g extract; root-MeOH: 19.07 mg QE/g extract) contents, and potent antioxidant activities. The aerial-MeOH extract was most potent for DPPH (IC50: 231 ug/mL), ABTS (131.12 mg TE/g extract), FRAP (82.97 mg TE/g extract), and CUPRAC (137.15 mg TE/g extract) antioxidant assays. All extracts were cytotoxic towards tested cancer cells with IC50 values ranging from 12.57 to 294.5 µg/mL and conferred a comparatively strong inhibition against α-glucosidase (aerial-DCM extract showed the highest inhibition against α-glucosidase with IC50 value of 20.97 µg /mL), while aerial extracts were also considerably active against BChE (aerial-MeOH IC50: 224.63 µg /mL), LOX (aerial-DCM IC50: 385.7 µg /mL). Likewise, aerial-MeOH extract was most active against urease enzyme (IC50: 129.72 µg /mL). UHPLC-MS investigation of methanolic extracts showed the existence of important phenolics, flavonoids, and saponins, including methyl gallte, quercetin, lanceoletin, and balanitesin, amongst others. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) highlighted the correlation amongst bioactive contents and observed biological activities. A. arvensis extracts could be regarded as a natural source of bioactive antioxidants, enzyme inhibitors and anticancer agents and can be further investigated as a lead source for food and pharmaceutical products. However, further studies to isolate, purify, and to characterize its bioactive phytochemicals are needed.
  13. Khan SA, Khan SU, Fozia, Ullah N, Shah M, Ullah R, et al.
    Molecules, 2021 Apr 02;26(7).
    PMID: 33918531 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26072048
    Admittedly, the disastrous emergence of drug resistance in prokaryotic and eukaryotic human pathogens has created an urgent need to develop novel chemotherapeutic agents. Onosma chitralicum is a source of traditional medicine with cooling, laxative, and anthelmintic effects. The objective of the current research was to analyze the biological potential of Onosma chitralicum, and to isolate and characterize the chemical constituents of the plant. The crude extracts of the plant prepared with different solvents, such as aqueous, hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and butanol, were subjected to antimicrobial activities. Results corroborate that crude (methanol), EtoAc, and n-C6H14 fractions were more active against bacterial strains. Among these fractions, the EtoAc fraction was found more potent. The EtoAc fraction was the most active against the selected microbes, which was subjected to successive column chromatography, and the resultant compounds 1 to 7 were isolated. Different techniques, such as UV, IR, and NMR, were used to characterize the structures of the isolated compounds 1-7. All the isolated pure compounds (1-7) were tested for their antimicrobial potential. Compounds 1 (4',8-dimethoxy-7-hydroxyisoflavone), 6 (5,3',3-trihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavanone), and 7 (5',7,8-trihydroxy-6,3',4'-trimethoxyflavanone) were found to be more active against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella Typhi. Compound 1 inhibited S. typhi and S. aureus to 10 ± 0.21 mm and 10 ± 0.45 mm, whereas compound 6 showed inhibition to 10 ± 0.77 mm and 9 ± 0.20 mm, respectively. Compound 7 inhibited S. aureus to 6 ± 0.36 mm. Compounds 6 and 7 showed significant antibacterial potential, and the structure-activity relationship also justifies their binding to the bacterial enzymes, i.e., beta-hydroxyacyl dehydratase (HadAB complex) and tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase. Both bacterial enzymes are potential drug targets. Further, the isolated compounds were found to be active against the tested fungal strains. Whereas docking identified compound 7, the best binder to the lanosterol 14α-demethylase (an essential fungal cell membrane synthesizing enzyme), reported as an antifungal fluconazole binding enzyme. Based on our isolation-linked preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) data, we conclude that O. chitralicum can be a good source of natural compounds for drug development against some potential enzyme targets.
  14. Noh IC, Ahmad I, Suraiya S, Musa NF, Nurul AA, Ruzilawati AB
    Biomedicines, 2021 Aug 30;9(9).
    PMID: 34572300 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9091115
    Cytokines play an important role in modulating inflammation during viral infection, including hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Genetic polymorphisms of cytokines can alter the immune response against this infection. The objective of this study was to investigate the possible association between chronic hepatitis C virus infection susceptibility and cytokine gene polymorphism for interleukin-10 (IL-10) rs1800896 and rs1800871, interleukin 6 (IL-6) rs1800795, TNF-α rs1800629, and TGF-β1 rs1800471 in Malay male drug abusers. The study was conducted on 76 HCV-positive (HP) male drug abusers and 40 controls (HCV-negative male drug abusers). We found that there were significant differences in the frequencies of genotype for IL-10 rs1800871 (p = 0.0386) and at the allelic level for IL-10 rs1800896 A versus G allele (p = 0.0142) between the HP group and the control group. However, there were no significant differences in gene polymorphism in interleukin 6 rs1800795, TNF-α rs1800629 and TGF-β1 rs1800471. These findings suggest significant associations between gene polymorphism for IL-10 rs1800871, IL-10 rs1800896 (at the allelic level) and susceptibility to HCV infection among Malay male drug abusers.
  15. Javaid A, Ahmad N, Afridi AK, Basit A, Khan AH, Ahmad I, et al.
    Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2018 06;98(6):1629-1636.
    PMID: 29611497 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.17-0936
    To evaluate the predictive value of time to sputum culture conversion (SCC) in predicting cure and factors associated with time to SCC and cure in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients, a retrospective study was conducted at programmatic management unit of drug resistant tuberculosis (TB), Peshawar. A total of 428 pulmonary MDR-TB patients enrolled at the study site from January 1, 2012 to August 31, 2014 were followed until treatment outcome was recorded. Survival analysis using Cox proportional hazards model and multivariate binary logistic regression were, respectively, used to identify factors associated with time to SCC and cure. A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Overall, 90.9% patients achieved SCC, and 76.9% were cured. Previous use of second-line drugs (SLDs) (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.637; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.429-0.947), ofloxacin resistance (HR = 0.656; 95% CI = 0.522-0.825) and lung cavitation (HR = 0.744; 95% CI = 0.595-0.931) were significantly associated with time to SCC. In predicting cure, sensitivities of SCC at 2, 4, and 6 months were 64.1% (95% CI = 58.69-69.32), 93.0% (95% CI = 89.69-95.52), and 97.6% (95% CI = 95.27-98.94), respectively, whereas specificities were 67.7% (95% CI = 57.53-76.73), 51.5% (95% CI = 41.25-61.68), and 44.4% (95% CI = 34.45-54.78), respectively. Furthermore, patients' age of 41-60 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.202; 95% CI = 0.067-0.605) and > 60 years (OR = 0.051; 95% CI = 0.011-0.224), body weight > 40 kg (OR = 2.950; 95% CI = 1.462-5.952), previous SLD use (OR = 0.277; 95% CI = 0.097-0.789), lung cavitation (OR = 0.196; 95% CI = 0.103-0.371) and ofloxacin resistance (OR = 0.386; 95% CI = 0.198-0.749) were significantly associated with cure. Association of SCC with cure was substantially stronger at 6 months (OR = 32.10; 95% CI = 14.34-71.85) than at 4 months (OR = 14.13; 95% CI = 7.92-25.21). However in predicting treatment outcomes, the combined sensitivity and specificity of SCC at 4 months was comparable to SCC at 6 months. Patients with risk factors for delayed SCC were also at high risk of unsuccessful outcomes.
  16. Hussain G, Abbasi MA, Rehman A, Siddiqui SZ, Shah SAA, Ahmad I, et al.
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2018 May;31(3):857-866.
    PMID: 29716866
    In this work, a new series of 2-[4-(2-furoyl)-1-piperazinyl]-N-aryl/aralkyl acetamides has been synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial potential. The synthesis was initiated by the reaction of different aryl/aralkyl amines (1a-u) with 2-bromoacetylbromide (2) to obtain N-aryl/aralkyl-2-bromoacetamides (3a-u). Equimolar quantities of different N-aryl/aralkyl-2-bromoacetamides (3a-u) and 2-furoyl-1-piperazine (4) was allowed to react in acetonitrile and in the presence of K2CO3, to form 2-[4-(2-furoyl)-1-piperazinyl]-N-aryl/aralkyl acetamides (5a-u). The structural elucidation was done by EI-MS, IR and 1H-NMR techniques of all the synthesized compounds. All of the synthesized molecules were active against various Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial strains. Among them 5o and 5c showed very excellent MIC values. The cytotoxicity of the molecules was also checked to find their utility as possible therapeutic agents, where 5c (0.51%) and 5g (1.32%) are found to be least toxic in the series.
  17. Nassir AM, Shahzad N, Ibrahim IAA, Ahmad I, Md S, Ain MR
    Saudi Pharm J, 2018 Sep;26(6):876-885.
    PMID: 30202231 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsps.2018.03.009
    Resveratrol (RL), a natural polyphenol, is known for its diverse biological effects against various human cancer cell lines. But low aqueous solubility, poor bioavailability, and stability limit its efficacy against prostate cancer. In this study polymeric nanoparticles encapsulating resveratrol (RLPLGA) were designed and their cytotoxic and mode of apoptotic cells death against prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP) was determined. Nanoparticles were prepared by solvent displacement method and characterized for particle size, TEM, entrapment efficiency, DSC and drug release study. RLPLGA exhibited a significant decrease in cell viability with 50% and 90% inhibitory concentration (IC50 and IC90) of 15.6 ± 1.49 and 41.1 ± 2.19 μM respectively against the LNCaP cells. This effect was mediated by apoptosis as confirmed by cell cycle arrest at G1-S transition phase, externalization of phosphatidylserine, DNA nicking, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species generation in LNCaP cells. Furthermore, significantly greater cytotoxicity to LNCaP cells was observed with nanoparticles as compared to that of free RL at all tested concentrations. RLPLGA nanoparticles presented no adverse cytotoxic effects on murine macrophages even at 200 μM. Our findings support the potential use of developed resveratrol loaded nanoparticle for the prostate cancer chemoprevention/ chemotherapy with no adverse effect on normal cells.
  18. Anuar N, Idris NS, Mohd Zin F, Abdul Rahman R, Ahmad I, Ibrahim MI
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2019 Nov 01;20(11):3353-3359.
    PMID: 31759359 DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.11.3353
    OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness of the smoking prevention module towards knowledge on smoking and its harmful effects and smoking refusal skills among secondary school students in Kelantan, Malaysia.

    METHODS: A quasi experimental interventional study involving 166 non-smokers adolescents, aged 13 to 14 years old were carried out in two schools located in two different suburbs. Both schools had equal number of participants. One school was given the smoking prevention module for intervention while the control school only received the module after the study had been completed. The knowledge on smoking and its harmful effects and smoking refusal skill score were assessed using a set of validated Malay questionnaires at baseline, two weeks and eight weeks after the intervention. Repeated measure ANCOVA was used to analyse the mean score difference of both groups at baseline and after intervention.

    RESULT: Baseline analysis shows no significant difference in knowledge score between the study groups (p = 0.713) while post intervention, it shows significant inclination of knowledge score in intervention group and the difference was significant after controlling the gender [F(df) = 15.96(1.5), p <0.001]. The mean baseline for refusal skills score in the control and intervention groups were 30.89(6.164) and 28.02(6.241) respectively (p= 0.003). Post intervention, there is a significant difference in the crude mean and the estimated marginal means for smoking refusal skills score between the two groups after controlling for sex [F(df) = 5.66(1.8), p = 0.005].

    CONCLUSION: This smoking prevention module increased the level of knowledge on smoking and its harmful effects and smoking refusal skill among the secondary school students. Thus, it is advocated to be used as one of the standard modules to improve the current method of teaching in delivering knowledge related to harmful effects of smoking and smoking refusal skill to the adolescents in Malaysia.
    .

  19. Manan FAA, Hong WW, Abdullah J, Yusof NA, Ahmad I
    PMID: 30889711 DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2019.01.082
    Novel biosensor architecture based on nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC)/CdS quantum dots (QDs) nanocomposite was developed for phenol determination. This nanocomposite was prepared with slight modification of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) with cationic surfactant of cetyltriammonium bromide (CTAB) and further decorated with 3-mercaptopropionic acid (3-MPA) capped CdS QDs. The nanocomposite material was then employed as scaffold for immobilization of tyrosinase enzyme (Tyr). The electrocatalytic response of Tyr/CTAB-NCC/QDs nanocomposite towards phenol was evaluated using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The current response obtained is proportional to the concentration of phenol which attributed to the reduction of o-quinone produced at the surface of the modified electrode. Under the optimal conditions, the biosensor exhibits good linearity towards phenol in the concentration range of 5-40 μM (R2 = 0.9904) with sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD) of 0.078 μA/μM and 0.082 μM, respectively.
  20. Saleem H, Zengin G, Ahmad I, Lee JTB, Htar TT, Mahomoodally FM, et al.
    J Pharm Biomed Anal, 2019 Jun 05;170:132-138.
    PMID: 30921647 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2019.03.027
    The current research work was conducted in order to probe into the biochemical and toxicological characterisation of methanol and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of Bougainvillea glabra (Choisy.) aerial parts. Biological fingerprints were assessed for in vitro antioxidant, key enzyme inhibitory and cytotoxicity potential. Total bioactive contents were determined spectrophotometrically and the secondary metabolite components of methanol extract was assessed by UHPLC mass spectrometric analysis. The antioxidant capabilities were evaluated via six different in vitro antioxidant assays namely DPPH, ABTS (free radical scavenging), FRAP, CUPRAC (reducing antioxidant power), phosphomolybdenum (total antioxidant capacity) and ferrous chelating activity. Inhibition potential against key enzymes urease, α-glucosidase and cholinesterases were also determined. Methanol extract exhibited higher phenolic (24.01 mg GAE/g extract) as well as flavonoid (41.51 mg QE/g extract) contents. Phytochemical profiling of methanol extract identified a total of twenty secondary metabolites and the major compounds belonged to flavonoids, phenolics and alkaloid derivatives. The findings of antioxidant assays revealed the methanol extract to exhibit stronger antioxidant (except phosphomolybdenum) activities. Similarly, the methanol extract showed highest butyrylcholinesterase and urease inhibition. The DCM extract was most active for phosphomolybdenum and α-glucosidase inhibition assays. Moreover, both extracts exhibited significant cytotoxic potential against five (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, CaSki, DU-145, and SW-480) human carcinoma cell lines with half maximal inhibitory concentration values of 22.09 to 257.2 μg/mL. Results from the present study highlighted the potential of B. glabra aerial extracts to be further explored in an endeavour to discover novel phytotherapeutics as well as functional ingredients.
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