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Displaying publications 61 - 69 of 69 in total

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The African cancer burden: what is the potential role of modern oncology innovation in reducing the continent's rapidly rising mortality?

Awuah WA, Ng JC, Mehta A, Nansubuga EP, Abdul-Rahman T, Kundu M, et al.

Postgrad Med J, 2023 Aug 22;99(1175):941-945.
PMID: 37280156 DOI: 10.1093/postmj/qgad043

With increasing prevalence and an expected rise in disease burden, cancer is a cause of concern for African healthcare. The cancer burden in Africa is expected to rise to 2.1 million new cases per year and 1.4 million deaths annually by the year 2040. Even though efforts are being made to improve the standard of oncology service delivery in Africa, the current state of cancer care is not yet on par with the rise in the cancer burden. Cutting-edge technologies and innovations are being developed across the globe to augment the battle against cancer; however, many of them are beyond the reach of African countries. Modern oncology innovations targeted to ward Africa would be promising to address the high cancer mortality rates. The innovations should be cost-effective and widely accessible to tackle the rapidly rising mortality rate on the African continent. Though it may seem promising, a multidisciplinary approach is required to overcome the challenges associated with the development and implementation of modern oncology innovations in Africa.
3D printing in surgery: revolutionizing trauma and fracture care in low and middle-income countries

Awuah WA, Tenkorang PO, Adebusoye FT, Ng JC, Wellington J, Abdul-Rahman T, et al.

Postgrad Med J, 2023 Dec 21;100(1179):1-3.
PMID: 37857514 DOI: 10.1093/postmj/qgad100
Fulltext Human soluble CD39 displays substrate inhibition in a substrate-specific manner

Vadlamani VMK, Gunasinghe KKJ, Chee XW, Rahman T, Harper MT

Sci Rep, 2023 Jun 02;13(1):8958.
PMID: 37268726 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36257-3

CD39 (ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-1; ENTPD1) metabolizes extracellular ATP and ADP to AMP. AMP is subsequently metabolized by CD79 to adenosine. CD39 activity is therefore a key regulator of purinergic signalling in cancer, thrombosis, and autoimmune diseases. In this study we demonstrate that soluble, recombinant CD39 shows substrate inhibition with ADP or ATP as the substrate. Although CD39 activity initially increased with increasing substrate concentration, at high concentrations of ATP or ADP, CD39 activity was markedly reduced. Although the reaction product, AMP, inhibits CD39 activity, insufficient AMP was generated under our conditions to account for the substrate inhibition seen. In contrast, inhibition was not seen with UDP or UTP as substrates. 2-methylthio-ADP also showed no substrate inhibition, indicating the nucleotide base is an important determinant of substrate inhibition. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that ADP can undergo conformational rearrangements within the CD39 active site that were not seen with UDP or 2-methylthio-ADP. Appreciating the existence of substrate inhibition of CD39 will help the interpretation of studies of CD39 activity, including investigations into drugs that modulate CD39 activity.
Fulltext Multi Beam Dielectric Lens Antenna for 5G Base Station

Ansarudin F, Abd Rahman T, Yamada Y, Rahman NHA, Kamardin K

Sensors (Basel), 2020 Oct 16;20(20).
PMID: 33081110 DOI: 10.3390/s20205849

In the 5G mobile system, new features such as millimetre wave operation, small cell size and multi beam are requested at base stations. At millimetre wave, the base station antennas become very small in size, which is about 30 cm; thus, dielectric lens antennas that have excellent multi beam radiation pattern performance are suitable candidates. For base station application, the lens antennas with small thickness and small curvature are requested for light weight and ease of installation. In this paper, a new lens shaping method for thin and small lens curvature is proposed. In order to develop the thin lens antenna, comparisons of antenna structures with conventional aperture distribution lens and Abbe's sine lens are made. Moreover, multi beam radiation pattern of three types of lenses are compared. As a result, the thin and small curvature of the proposed lens and an excellent multi beam radiation pattern are ensured.
Fulltext A Shallow U-Net Architecture for Reliably Predicting Blood Pressure (BP) from Photoplethysmogram (PPG) and Electrocardiogram (ECG) Signals

Mahmud S, Ibtehaz N, Khandakar A, Tahir AM, Rahman T, Islam KR, et al.

Sensors (Basel), 2022 Jan 25;22(3).
PMID: 35161664 DOI: 10.3390/s22030919

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common causes of death around the world. To detect and treat heart-related diseases, continuous blood pressure (BP) monitoring along with many other parameters are required. Several invasive and non-invasive methods have been developed for this purpose. Most existing methods used in hospitals for continuous monitoring of BP are invasive. On the contrary, cuff-based BP monitoring methods, which can predict systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), cannot be used for continuous monitoring. Several studies attempted to predict BP from non-invasively collectible signals such as photoplethysmograms (PPG) and electrocardiograms (ECG), which can be used for continuous monitoring. In this study, we explored the applicability of autoencoders in predicting BP from PPG and ECG signals. The investigation was carried out on 12,000 instances of 942 patients of the MIMIC-II dataset, and it was found that a very shallow, one-dimensional autoencoder can extract the relevant features to predict the SBP and DBP with state-of-the-art performance on a very large dataset. An independent test set from a portion of the MIMIC-II dataset provided a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.333 and 0.713 for SBP and DBP, respectively. On an external dataset of 40 subjects, the model trained on the MIMIC-II dataset provided an MAE of 2.728 and 1.166 for SBP and DBP, respectively. For both the cases, the results met British Hypertension Society (BHS) Grade A and surpassed the studies from the current literature.
Fulltext Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

Alicezah MK, Razali R, Rahman T, Hoh BP, Suhana NH, Muid S, et al.

Malays J Pathol, 2014 Aug;36(2):131-7.
PMID: 25194536 MyJurnal

We report a rare case of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), a 22-year-old Malay woman who presented initially with minor soft tissue injury due to a cycling accident. She was then incidentally found to have severe xanthelasma and hypercholesterolemia (serum TC 15.3 mmol/L and LDL-C 13.9 mmol/L). She was referred to the Specialized Lipid Clinic and was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) based on the Simon Broome (SB) diagnostic criteria. There was a family history of premature coronary heart disease (CHD) in that three siblings had sudden cardiac death, and of consanguineous marriage in that her parents are cousins. DNA screening of LDLR and APOB genes was done by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), followed by Denaturing High Performance Liquid Chromatography (DHPLC). Homozygous mutation C255S in Exon 5 of her LDLR gene was found. There was no mutation was found in Exon 26 and Exon 29 of the APOB gene. This report is to emphasize the importance of identifying patients with FH and cascade screening through established diagnostic criteria and genetic studies in order to ensure early detection and early treatment intervention to minimize the risk of developing CHD and related complications.
Effects of prolonged isolation in a confined space on status of oxidative stress and prothrombogenesis: In preparation for possible future manned space expedition to Mars

Muid S, Abu Bakar NA, Abdul Rahman T, Tengku Ismail TS, Kholin SF, Suvorov AV, et al.

Malays J Pathol, 2019 Dec;41(3):283-292.
PMID: 31901913

INTRODUCTION: Apart from inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, other key components in the development of atherogenesis include prothrombogenesis and oxidative stress. The effects of long-term confinement and isolation, exposure to radiation and different gravity forces during space travel could potentially increase the long-term risk of atherosclerosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study determining the status of prothrombogenesis and oxidative stress in six cosmonauts subjected to the longest duration of confined isolation period of 520 days in preparation for prospective undetermined manned space travel to Mars.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This collaborative research between the National Space Agency (ANGKASA), Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia and Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), Russia was conducted at the Russian Academy of Sciences IBMP, Moscow, Russia. Six multi-national cosmonauts were assigned to live in a ground-based confined module for 520 days. Standard exercise and diet regime were instituted throughout the isolation phase. Six age, ethnic and gender-matched healthy, free-living ground controls were recruited in parallel. Serial serum and whole blood were analysed for biomarkers of prothrombogenesis [plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and homocysteine] and oxidative stress [oxidised low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) and malondialdehyde (MDA)].
RESULTS: There were significantly lower concentrations of PAI-1 and homocysteine in cosmonauts during confinement compared to the controls. There were no significant differences seen in the concentrations of biomarkers of oxidative stress during confinement but there was a significant percentage change increment for serum MDA in cosmonauts.
CONCLUSION: Long-term confinement decreased the risk of prothrombogenesis and this could be attributed to the exercise and diet regime which includes omega-3 fatty acids supplementation given to the crew members during their confinement period. However, oxidative damage could not be excluded and may be attributed to the influence of psychological stress during this prolonged confinement.
Hepatitis B virus infection: Epidemiology and seroprevalence rate amongst Negrito tribe in Malaysia

Sahlan N, Fadzilah MN, Muslim A, Shaari SA, Abdul Rahman T, Hoh BP

Med J Malaysia, 2019 08;74(4):320-325.
PMID: 31424040

INTRODUCTION: Prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among the non-indigenous people in Malaysia has been well established and range between 3% and 5%. However, data from the indigenous (Orang Asli) people is still lacking. The Negrito population is the most remotely located Orang Asli tribe with limited access to health care facilities. This study was undertaken to determine the epidemiology and seroprevalence of HBV infection among the Negrito.
METHODS: Surveys were conducted in five Negrito settlements in Kelantan and Perak states in Malaysia. A total of 150 participants were recruited. Clinical history was taken and physical examination was performed. Five millilitres of whole blood were collected and tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.
RESULTS: Participants were mainly from the Bateq (49.3%) and Mendriq (29.4%) sub-tribes. Overall, 13 subjects (8.7 %); nine males and four females were HBsAg positive. Nine of the HBsAg positive subjects were ≥35 years old. All of them had history of home deliver without evidence of antenatal record. Six (46%) of the HBsAg positive subjects had tattoo and body piercing in the past.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HBV infection rate amongst the Negrito tribe is almost three-fold compared to the national rates. The reason for this finding remains unclear. Tattooing, body piercing and vertical transmission could be the main possible routes of transmission of HBV among the Negrito population in Malaysia.
Fulltext Recent Outcomes and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning in Neurosurgery

Awuah WA, Adebusoye FT, Wellington J, David L, Salam A, Weng Yee AL, et al.

World Neurosurg X, 2024 Jul;23:100301.
PMID: 38577317 DOI: 10.1016/j.wnsx.2024.100301

Neurosurgeons receive extensive technical training, which equips them with the knowledge and skills to specialise in various fields and manage the massive amounts of information and decision-making required throughout the various stages of neurosurgery, including preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care and recovery. Over the past few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become more useful in neurosurgery. AI has the potential to improve patient outcomes by augmenting the capabilities of neurosurgeons and ultimately improving diagnostic and prognostic outcomes as well as decision-making during surgical procedures. By incorporating AI into both interventional and non-interventional therapies, neurosurgeons may provide the best care for their patients. AI, machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) have made significant progress in the field of neurosurgery. These cutting-edge methods have enhanced patient outcomes, reduced complications, and improved surgical planning.