Displaying publications 681 - 700 of 9998 in total

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  1. Spatial effect of new municipal solid waste landfill siting using different guidelines
    Ahmad SZ, Ahamad MS, Yusoff MS
    Waste Manag Res, 2014 Jan;32(1):24-33.
    PMID: 24241167 DOI: 10.1177/0734242X13507313
    Proper implementation of landfill siting with the right regulations and constraints can prevent undesirable long-term effects. Different countries have respective guidelines on criteria for new landfill sites. In this article, we perform a comparative study of municipal solid waste landfill siting criteria stated in the policies and guidelines of eight different constitutional bodies from Malaysia, Australia, India, U.S.A., Europe, China and the Middle East, and the World Bank. Subsequently, a geographic information system (GIS) multi-criteria evaluation model was applied to determine new suitable landfill sites using different criterion parameters using a constraint mapping technique and weighted linear combination. Application of Macro Modeler provided in the GIS-IDRISI Andes software helps in building and executing multi-step models. In addition, the analytic hierarchy process technique was included to determine the criterion weight of the decision maker's preferences as part of the weighted linear combination procedure. The differences in spatial results of suitable sites obtained signifies that dissimilarity in guideline specifications and requirements will have an effect on the decision-making process.
  2. Fulltext Hybrid mesh for nasal airflow studies
    Zubair M, Abdullah MZ, Ahmad KA
    Comput Math Methods Med, 2013;2013:727362.
    PMID: 23983811 DOI: 10.1155/2013/727362
    The accuracy of the numerical result is closely related to mesh density as well as its distribution. Mesh plays a very significant role in the outcome of numerical simulation. Many nasal airflow studies have employed unstructured mesh and more recently hybrid mesh scheme has been utilized considering the complexity of anatomical architecture. The objective of this study is to compare the results of hybrid mesh with unstructured mesh and study its effect on the flow parameters inside the nasal cavity. A three-dimensional nasal cavity model is reconstructed based on computed tomographic images of a healthy Malaysian adult nose. Navier-Stokes equation for steady airflow is solved numerically to examine inspiratory nasal flow. The pressure drop obtained using the unstructured computational grid is about 22.6 Pa for a flow rate of 20 L/min, whereas the hybrid mesh resulted in 17.8 Pa for the same flow rate. The maximum velocity obtained at the nasal valve using unstructured grid is 4.18 m/s and that with hybrid mesh is around 4.76 m/s. Hybrid mesh reported lower grid convergence index (GCI) than the unstructured mesh. Significant differences between unstructured mesh and hybrid mesh are determined highlighting the usefulness of hybrid mesh for nasal airflow studies.
  3. Fulltext Solving fuzzy fractional differential equations using Zadeh's extension principle
    Ahmad MZ, Hasan MK, Abbasbandy S
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:454969.
    PMID: 24082853 DOI: 10.1155/2013/454969
    We study a fuzzy fractional differential equation (FFDE) and present its solution using Zadeh's extension principle. The proposed study extends the case of fuzzy differential equations of integer order. We also propose a numerical method to approximate the solution of FFDEs. To solve nonlinear problems, the proposed numerical method is then incorporated into an unconstrained optimisation technique. Several numerical examples are provided.
  4. Assessment of heavy metals in tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) from the Langat River and Engineering Lake in Bangi, Malaysia, and evaluation of the health risk from tilapia consumption
    Taweel A, Shuhaimi-Othman M, Ahmad AK
    Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2013 Jul;93:45-51.
    PMID: 23642778 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2013.03.031
    Concentrations of the heavy metals copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni) were determined in the liver, gills and muscles of tilapia fish from the Langat River and Engineering Lake, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. There were differences in the concentrations of the studied heavy metals between different organs and between sites. In the liver samples, Cu>Zn>Ni>Pb>Cd, and in the gills and muscle, Zn>Ni>Cu>Pb>Cd. Levels of Cu, Cd, Zn and Pb in the liver samples from Engineering Lake were higher than in those from the Langat River, whereas the Ni levels in the liver samples from the Langat River were greater than in those from Engineering Lake. Cd levels in the fish muscle from Engineering Lake were lower than in that from the Langat River. Meanwhile, the Cd, Zn and Pb levels in the fish muscle from the Langat River were lower than in that from Engineering Lake, and the Ni levels were almost the same in the fish muscle samples from the two sites. The health risks associated with Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb and Ni were assessed based on the target hazard quotients. In the Langat River, the risk from Cu is minimal compared to the other studied elements, and the concentrations of Pb and Ni were determined to pose the greatest risk. The maximum allowable fish consumption rates (kg/d) based on Cu in Engineering Lake and the Langat River were 2.27 and 1.51 in December and 2.53 and 1.75 in February, respectively. The Cu concentrations resulted in the highest maximum allowable fish consumption rates compared with the other studied heavy metals, whereas those based on Pb were the lowest. A health risk analysis of the heavy metals measured in the fish muscle samples indicated that the fish can be classified at one of the safest levels for the general population and that there are no possible risks pertaining to tilapia fish consumption.
  5. Fulltext A study on dispersion and characterisation of α-mangostin loaded pH sensitive microgel systems
    Ahmad M, Yamin BM, Mat Lazim A
    Chem Cent J, 2013;7:85.
    PMID: 23680098 DOI: 10.1186/1752-153X-7-85
    α-Mangostin was extracted with methanol from the rind of mangosteen fruit and purified by using silica gel column chromatography technique. The compound is characterised using infrared, (13)C and (1)H NMR as well as UV-vis spectroscopy. The α-mangostin dispersion in colloidal systems was studied by incorporating it with an ionic microgel, poly (N-Isopropylacrylamide)-co-2VP at different pH.
  6. Fulltext Inflammatory pseudotumour of skull base - diagnostic challenge and treatment outcome
    Kahairi A, Ahmad RL, Wan Ishlah L, Norra H
    Med J Malaysia, 2012 Oct;67(5):526-8.
    PMID: 23770873
    We report a case of an inflammatory pseudotumour (IP) involving the floor of the skull base, which demonstrated aggressive behavior both clinically and radiologically. In this case, the diagnosis was established by clinical presentation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), histopathological examination (HPE) and the dramatic response towards high dose steroid therapy. The clinical features improved with oral cyclophosphamide in combination with oral steroid, which were given for a period of three months.
  7. Quality of life in Malay and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan, Malaysia
    Yusuf A, Ahmad Z, Keng SL
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2013;14(1):435-40.
    PMID: 23534769
    BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Malaysia. A diagnosis is very stressful for women, affecting all aspects of their being and quality of life. As such, there is little information on quality of life of women with breast cancer across the different ethnic groups in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of life in Malay and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive study involved 58 Malays and 15 Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer prior to treatment. Quality of life was measured using the Malay version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and its breast-specific module (QLQ-BR23). Socio-demographic and clinical data were also collected. All the data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0.

    RESULTS: Most of the women were married with at least a secondary education and were in late stages of breast cancer. The Malay women had lower incomes (p=0.046) and more children (p=0.001) when compared to the Chinese women. Generally, both the Malay and Chinese women had good functioning quality-of-life scores [mean score range: 60.3-84.8 (Malays); 65.0-91.1 (Chinese)] and global quality of life [mean score 60.3, SD 22.2 (Malays); mean score 65.0, SD 26.6 (Chinese)]. The Malay women experienced more symptoms such as nausea and vomiting (p=0.002), dyspnoea (p=0.004), constipation (p<0.001) and breast-specific symptoms (p=0.041) when compared to the Chinese.

    CONCLUSIONS: Quality of life was satisfactory in both Malays and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan. However, Malay women had a lower quality of life due to high general as well as breast-specific symptoms. This study finding underlined the importance of measuring quality of life in the newly diagnosed breast cancer patient, as it will provide a broader picture on how a cancer diagnosis impacts multi-ethnic patients. Once health care professionals understand this, they might then be able to determine how to best support and improve the quality of life of these women during the difficult times of their disease and on-going cancer treatments.

  8. Physico-chemical changes occurring in oil when atmospheric frying is combined with post-frying vacuum application
    Ahmad Tarmizi AH, Niranjan K, Gordon M
    Food Chem, 2013 Jan 15;136(2):902-8.
    PMID: 23122143 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.08.001
    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of atmospheric frying followed by drainage under vacuum on the stability of oil, compared to similar frying with drainage at atmospheric pressure. Changes in the oil were assessed by the free fatty acid (FFA) content, p-anisidine value (AnV), colour, viscosity, fatty acid profile and concentration of tocols. The rate of FFA formation in the case of vacuum drainage was found to be about half that of atmospheric drainage. Oil deterioration by oxidation and polymerisation was also reduced by the use of vacuum drainage. The AnV of the oil after vacuum drainage was lower by about 12%, the total colour difference was improved by 14% and viscosity was slightly reduced after 5 days of frying, compared to the values for oil that had been drained at atmospheric pressure. There was a reduction in the loss of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the case of vacuum drainage after 5 days of frying but differences in retention of tocols were only evident in the first two days of frying.
  9. Fulltext Psidium guajava and Piper betle leaf extracts prolong vase life of cut carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) flowers
    Rahman MM, Ahmad SH, Lgu KS
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:102805.
    PMID: 22619568 DOI: 10.1100/2012/102805
    The effect of leaf extracts of Psidium guajava and Piper betle on prolonging vase life of cut carnation flowers was studied. "Carola" and "Pallas Orange" carnation flowers, at bud stage, were pulsed 24 hours with a floral preservative. Then, flowers were placed in a vase solution containing sprite and a "germicide" (leaf extracts of P. guajava and P. betle, 8-HQC, or a copper coin). Flowers treated with 8-HQC, copper coin, and leaf extracts had longer vase life, larger flower diameter, and higher rate of water uptake compared to control (tap water). The leaf extracts of P. guajava and P. betle showed highest antibacterial and antifungal activities compared to the other treatments. Both showed similar effects on flower quality as the synthetic germicide, 8-HQC. Therefore, these extracts are likely natural germicides to prolong vase life of cut flowers.
  10. The effects of progressive muscle relaxation and autogenic relaxation on young soccer players' mood states
    Hashim HA, Hanafi Ahmad Yusof H
    Asian J Sports Med, 2011 Jun;2(2):99-105.
    PMID: 22375225
    This study was designed to compare the effects of two different relaxation techniques, namely progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and autogenic relaxation (AGR) on moods of young soccer players.
  11. Vocal fold vibratory characteristics of healthy geriatric females--analysis of high-speed digital images
    Ahmad K, Yan Y, Bless D
    J Voice, 2012 Nov;26(6):751-9.
    PMID: 22633334 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2011.12.002
    A high proportion of the geriatric population suffers from presbylaryngis and presbyphonia; however, our knowledge of vibratory patterns in this population is almost nonexistent. In this study, we investigate the vocal fold vibratory patterns of healthy elderly females to determine which features or combination of them could best describe the geriatric voices.
  12. Fulltext Neuropsychiatric manifestation after a stroke: newly developed symptoms or side-effect of drug?
    Tan EC, Aziz NA, Ahmad S
    BMJ Case Rep, 2012;2012.
    PMID: 22907854 DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2012-006518
    A 55-year-old woman presented with sudden onset of left-sided body weakness and numbness, which was diagnosed as multifocal cerebral infarct with right thalamic bleed. She had concurrent hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease. She suffered from central poststroke pain and reactive depression as poststroke complications, for which amitriptyline was prescribed. Unfortunately, she developed symptoms suggestive of mania and psychosis upon initiation of medications, which resolved upon withdrawal of amitriptyline. Amitriptyline is effective for treatment of poststroke pain and particularly useful in concomitant depression. Unexpectedly, this patient developed new psychopathologies after initiation of this medication. This case highlights the development of new psychopathologies that could be due to the antidepressant, underlying bipolar disorder or a complication of the stroke itself. Primary care providers need to actively enquire regarding neuropsychiatric symptoms because they can adversely affect the patient's quality of life as well as impede rehabilitation efforts.
  13. Fulltext The health seeking trajectories of Malaysian women and their husbands in delay cases of breast cancer: a qualitative study
    Yusoff N, Taib NA, Ahmad A
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2011;12(10):2563-70.
    PMID: 22320956
    The aim of this study was to assess why women delay in getting treatment (i.e. surgery) for breast cancer, as well as to explore on what type of issues are involved in such delay cases. Basic interpretative of qualitative methodology was applied to construct the reality of delay phenomena, and its interaction with social worlds. Six themes were identified: new conception of breast cancer treatment, psychological defenses, health support system, symtomatology experience, model and barriers. The delay issue in breast cancer requires attention as a multidimensional problem as this will facilitate more comprehensive and effective intervention to reduce delay.
  14. Fulltext Medication adherence among hypertensive patients of primary health clinics in Malaysia
    Ramli A, Ahmad NS, Paraidathathu T
    Patient Prefer Adherence, 2012;6:613-22.
    PMID: 22969292 DOI: 10.2147/PPA.S34704
    Poor adherence to prescribed medications is a major cause for treatment failure, particularly in chronic diseases such as hypertension. This study was conducted to assess adherence to medications in patients undergoing hypertensive treatment in the Primary Health Clinics of the Ministry of Health in Malaysia. Factors affecting adherence to medications were studied, and the effect of nonadherence to blood pressure control was assessed.
  15. Fulltext The inference of breast cancer metastasis through gene regulatory networks
    Ahmad FK, Deris S, Othman NH
    J Biomed Inform, 2012 Apr;45(2):350-62.
    PMID: 22179053 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2011.11.015
    Understanding the mechanisms of gene regulation during breast cancer is one of the most difficult problems among oncologists because this regulation is likely comprised of complex genetic interactions. Given this complexity, a computational study using the Bayesian network technique has been employed to construct a gene regulatory network from microarray data. Although the Bayesian network has been notified as a prominent method to infer gene regulatory processes, learning the Bayesian network structure is NP hard and computationally intricate. Therefore, we propose a novel inference method based on low-order conditional independence that extends to the case of the Bayesian network to deal with a large number of genes and an insufficient sample size. This method has been evaluated and compared with full-order conditional independence and different prognostic indices on a publicly available breast cancer data set. Our results suggest that the low-order conditional independence method will be able to handle a large number of genes in a small sample size with the least mean square error. In addition, this proposed method performs significantly better than other methods, including the full-order conditional independence and the St. Gallen consensus criteria. The proposed method achieved an area under the ROC curve of 0.79203, whereas the full-order conditional independence and the St. Gallen consensus criteria obtained 0.76438 and 0.73810, respectively. Furthermore, our empirical evaluation using the low-order conditional independence method has demonstrated a promising relationship between six gene regulators and two regulated genes and will be further investigated as potential breast cancer metastasis prognostic markers.
  16. Vocal fold vibratory characteristics in normal female speakers from high-speed digital imaging
    Ahmad K, Yan Y, Bless DM
    J Voice, 2012 Mar;26(2):239-53.
    PMID: 21621975 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2011.02.001
    The purpose of the study was to investigate relationships between vocal fold vibrations and voice quality. Laryngeal images obtained from high-speed digital imaging (HSDI) were examined for their open-closed timing characteristics and perturbation values. A customized software delineated the glottal edges and used the Hilbert transform-based method of analysis to provide objective quantification of glottal perturbation. Overlay tracings of the transformed glottal cycles provided visual patterns on the overall vibratory dynamics. In this paper, we described the use of this method in looking at vibratory characteristics of a group of young female speakers (N=23). We found that, females with no voice complaints and who had been perceived to have normal voices were not a homogeneous group in terms of their glottal vibratory patterns during phonation. Their vibratory patterns showed characteristics similar to exemplar voices targeted to be clear (50%), pressed (27%), breathy (15%), or a mixed quality (8%). Perturbation range in terms of cycle-to-cycle frequency and amplitude was small and did not discriminate patterns. All these patterns yielded perceptually normal voices suggesting that in normal young speakers, the level of perturbation may be more important to the judgment than the actual pattern of closure.
  17. Fulltext Diaqua-(1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane-κN,N,N,N)copper(II) didodeca-noate dihydrate
    Ahmad Tajidi NS, Abdullah N, Arifin Z
    Acta Crystallogr Sect E Struct Rep Online, 2011 May 1;67(Pt 5):m588-9.
    PMID: 21754311 DOI: 10.1107/S1600536811012773
    The title compound, [Cu(C(10)H(24)N(4))(H(2)O)(2)][CH(3)(CH(2))(10)CO(2)](2)·2H(2)O, consists of one cationic copper(II) complex, two dodeca-noate anions and two water solvent mol-ecules. The Cu(II) atom is located on an inversion center and is chelated by the four aza N atoms of the neutral 1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane (cyclam) ligand and by two water mol-ecules in axial positions, giving an octa-hedral coordination geometry, distorted as a consequence of the Jahn-Teller effect. The uncoordinated water mol-ecules link the complex cations and the dodeca-noate counter-ions through O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding, forming a layer structure parallel to (001). Inter-molecular N-H⋯O inter-actions also occur.
  18. Simplifying four-strand flexor tendon repair using double-stranded suture: a comparative ex vivo study on tensile strength and bulking
    Low TH, Ahmad TS, Ng ES
    J Hand Surg Eur Vol, 2012 Feb;37(2):101-8.
    PMID: 21636621 DOI: 10.1177/1753193411409840
    We have compared a simple four-strand flexor tendon repair, the single cross-stitch locked repair using a double-stranded suture (dsSCL) against two other four-strand repairs: the Pennington modified Kessler with double-stranded suture (dsPMK); and the cruciate cross-stitch locked repair with single-stranded suture (Modified Sandow). Thirty fresh frozen cadaveric flexor digitorum profundus tendons were transected and repaired with one of the core repair techniques using identical suture material and reinforced with identical peripheral sutures. Bulking at the repair site and tendon-suture junctions was measured. The tendons were subjected to linear load-to-failure testing. Results showed no significant difference in ultimate tensile strength between the Modified Sandow (36.8 N) and dsSCL (32.6 N) whereas the dsPMK was significantly weaker (26.8 N). There were no significant differences in 2 mm gap force, stiffness or bulk between the three repairs. We concluded that the simpler dsSCL repair is comparable to the modified Sandow repair in tensile strength, stiffness and bulking.
  19. Fulltext A biosensor for urea from succinimide-modified acrylic microspheres based on reflectance transduction
    Ulianas A, Heng LY, Ahmad M
    Sensors (Basel), 2011;11(9):8323-38.
    PMID: 22164078 DOI: 10.3390/s110908323
    New acrylic microspheres were synthesised by photopolymerisation where the succinimide functional group was incorporated during the microsphere preparation. An optical biosensor for urea based on reflectance transduction with a large linear response range to urea was successfully developed using this material. The biosensor utilized succinimide-modified acrylic microspheres immobilized with a Nile blue chromoionophore (ETH 5294) for optical detection and urease enzyme was immobilized on the surface of the microspheres via the succinimide groups. No leaching of the enzyme or chromoionophore was observed. Hydrolysis of the urea by urease changes the pH and leads to a color change of the immobilized chromoionophore. When the color change was monitored by reflectance spectrophotometry, the linear response range of the biosensor to urea was from 0.01 to 1,000 mM (R2 = 0.97) with a limit of detection of 9.97 μM. The biosensor response showed good reproducibility (relative standard deviation = 1.43%, n = 5) with no interference by major cations such as Na+, K+, NH4+ and Mg2+. The use of reflectance as a transduction method led to a large linear response range that is better than that of many urea biosensors based on other optical transduction methods.
  20. Fulltext Epstein-Barr virus Latent Membrane Protein LMP1 reduces p53 protein levels independent of the PI3K-Akt pathway
    Husaini R, Ahmad M, Soo-Beng Khoo A
    BMC Res Notes, 2011;4:551.
    PMID: 22185663 DOI: 10.1186/1756-0500-4-551
    Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial malignancy, which commonly occurs in Southern China, Taiwan, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is strongly associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection. The p53 tumour suppressor protein is rarely mutated in NPC suggesting that the inactivation of p53 pathway in NPC could be due to the presence of EBV proteins. The aim of this work was to determine the effects of EBV proteins namely LMP1 and LMP2A on the expression levels of p53 protein.
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