Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 365 in total

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  1. Vicknasingam B, Narayanan S, Navaratnam V
    Drug Alcohol Rev, 2009 Jul;28(4):447-54.
    PMID: 19594801 DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2009.00087.x
    The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among heroin dependants in treatment was estimated at 89.9%; however, virtually no information exists on the prevalence or risk behaviour among the larger population of drug users not in treatment. This study assessed the prevalence of HCV and associated risk factors among this group with a view to designing more effective intervention programs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  2. Mohd Yusop AY, Xiao L, Fu S
    Drug Test Anal, 2021 May;13(5):965-976.
    PMID: 32441056 DOI: 10.1002/dta.2861
    The lucrative market of herbal remedies spurs rampant adulteration, particularly with pharmaceutical drugs and their unapproved analogues. A comprehensive screening strategy is, therefore, warranted to detect these adulterants and, accordingly, to safeguard public health. This study uses the data-dependent acquisition of liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) to screen phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors in herbal remedies using suspected-target and non-targeted strategies. For the suspected-target screening, we used a library comprising 95 PDE5 inhibitors. For the non-targeted screening, we adopted top-down and bottom-up approaches to flag novel PDE5 inhibitor analogues based on common fragmentation patterns. LC-QTOF-MS was optimised and validated for capsule and tablet dosage forms using 23 target analytes, selected to represent different groups of PDE5 inhibitors. The method exhibited excellent specificity and linearity with limit of detection and limit of quantification of <40 and 80 ng/mL, respectively. The accuracy ranged from 79.0% to 124.7% with a precision of <14.9% relative standard deviation. The modified, quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe extraction provided insignificant matrix effect within -9.1%-8.0% and satisfactory extraction recovery of 71.5%-105.8%. These strategies were used to screen 52 herbal remedy samples that claimed to enhance male sexual performance. The suspected-target screening resulted in 33 positive samples, revealing 10 target analytes and 2 suspected analytes. Systematic MS and tandem MS interrogations using the non-targeted screening returned insignificant signals, indicating the absence of potentially novel analogues. The target analytes were quantified from 0.03 to 121.31 mg per dose of each sample. The proposed strategies ensure that all PDE5 inhibitors are comprehensively screened, providing a useful tool to curb the widespread adulteration of herbal remedies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  3. Muhammad Naim Mazani, Shuzlina Abdul-Rahman, Sofianita Mutalib
    ESTEEM Academic Journal, 2020;16(1):74-85.
    MyJurnal
    This study presents pre-processing methods for detecting lane detection using camera and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor technologies. Standard image processing methods are not suitable for complicated roads with various sign on the ground. Thus, determining the right techniques for pre-processing such data would be a challenge. The objectives of this study are to pre-process the scanned images and apply the image recognition algorithm for lane detection. The study employed Canny Edge Detection and Hough Transform algorithms on several sets of images. A different region of interest was experimented to find the optimal one. The experimental results showed that the proposed algorithms could be practical in terms of effectively detecting road lines and generate lane detection.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  4. Lai NM, Nalliah S
    Educ Health (Abingdon), 2010 Apr;23(1):151.
    PMID: 20589599
    CONTEXT: The practice of Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) involves physicians regularly accessing and appraising clinical information. Few prior studies have assessed the information-seeking behaviours of medical undergraduates. At the International Medical University (IMU), Malaysia, senior medical students receive clinically-integrated EBM training to facilitate their future practice of EBM.
    OBJECTIVES: We assessed whether EBM training in the final six months of medical training changes our students' information-seeking practices and their confidence in understanding and appraising clinical evidence.
    METHODS: Between September 2005 and February 2006, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 65 senior medical students at the beginning and again at the end of their clerkship training during which there was a clinically-integrated EBM curriculum. The questionnaires covered the topics of their preferred sources of clinical information, online search frequencies, estimated time to retrieve an abstract, and their understanding and confidence in their critical appraisal skills.
    FINDINGS: Sixty-four (98%) students completed the initial survey and 63 (97%) completed the follow-up survey. The majority indicated that they preferred to first consult another individual (colleagues, lecturers, hospital staff) for their clinical queries (60.9% in the initial survey and 61.9% in the follow-up survey), with no change in their overall preference following the EBM curriculum six months later (p=0.144). There were significant increases in search activities following the curriculum, for example, students who searched PubMed or Medline for more than three times per week increased from 9.7% to 31.7% (p < 0.001). Students reported that they more often accessed single journals than databases. Despite significant improvements in students' reported understanding of journals and their confidence in critical appraisal (p < 0.001), there was no improvement in reported search speed, with 48.4% in the initial survey and 49.2% in the follow-up survey reporting to take 30 minutes or less to trace an abstract of interest (p=0.979).
    CONCLUSIONS: Our EBM training, offered within a supportive curriculum, increased our students' confidence and activity related to EBM, but failed to change students' reported information-seeking behaviours. Other factors influencing medical students' information-seeking practice need to be explored.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  5. Goh RY, Lee LS, Seow HV, Gopal K
    Entropy (Basel), 2020 Sep 04;22(9).
    PMID: 33286758 DOI: 10.3390/e22090989
    Credit scoring is an important tool used by financial institutions to correctly identify defaulters and non-defaulters. Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) are the Artificial Intelligence techniques that have been attracting interest due to their flexibility to account for various data patterns. Both are black-box models which are sensitive to hyperparameter settings. Feature selection can be performed on SVM to enable explanation with the reduced features, whereas feature importance computed by RF can be used for model explanation. The benefits of accuracy and interpretation allow for significant improvement in the area of credit risk and credit scoring. This paper proposes the use of Harmony Search (HS), to form a hybrid HS-SVM to perform feature selection and hyperparameter tuning simultaneously, and a hybrid HS-RF to tune the hyperparameters. A Modified HS (MHS) is also proposed with the main objective to achieve comparable results as the standard HS with a shorter computational time. MHS consists of four main modifications in the standard HS: (i) Elitism selection during memory consideration instead of random selection, (ii) dynamic exploration and exploitation operators in place of the original static operators, (iii) a self-adjusted bandwidth operator, and (iv) inclusion of additional termination criteria to reach faster convergence. Along with parallel computing, MHS effectively reduces the computational time of the proposed hybrid models. The proposed hybrid models are compared with standard statistical models across three different datasets commonly used in credit scoring studies. The computational results show that MHS-RF is most robust in terms of model performance, model explainability and computational time.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  6. Doolittle AA
    Environ Manage, 2010 Jan;45(1):67-81.
    PMID: 18506515 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-008-9144-0
    The study of human-environmental relations is complex and by nature draws on theories and practices from multiple disciplines. There is no single research strategy or universal set of methods to which researchers must adhere. Particularly for scholars interested in a political ecology approach to understanding human-environmental relationships, very little has been written examining the details of "how to" design a project, develop appropriate methods, produce data, and, finally, integrate multiple forms of data into an analysis. A great deal of attention has been paid, appropriately, to the theoretical foundations of political ecology, and numerous scholarly articles and books have been published recently. But beyond Andrew Vayda's "progressive contextualization" and Piers Blaikie and Harold Brookfield's "chains of explanation," remarkably little is written that provides a research model to follow, modify, and expand. Perhaps one of the reasons for this gap in scholarship is that, as expected in interdisciplinary research, researchers use a variety of methods that are suitable (and perhaps unique) to the questions they are asking. To start a conversation on the methods available for researchers interested in adopting a political ecology perspective to human-environmental interactions, I use my own research project as a case study. This research is by no means flawless or inclusive of all possible methods, but by using the details of this particular research process as a case study I hope to provide insights into field research that will be valuable for future scholarship.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection/methods
  7. Ahmed AM, Sulaiman WN
    Environ Manage, 2001 Nov;28(5):655-63.
    PMID: 11568845
    Landfills are sources of groundwater and soil pollution due to the production of leachate and its migration through refuse. This study was conducted in order to determine the extent of groundwater and soil pollution within and around the landfill of Seri Petaling located in the State of Selangor, Malaysia. The condition of nearby surface water was also determined. An electrical resistivity imaging survey was used to investigate the leachate production within the landfill. Groundwater geochemistry was carried out and chemical analysis of water samples was conducted upstream and downstream of the landfill. Surface water was also analyzed in order to determine its quality. Soil chemical analysis was performed on soil samples taken from different locations within and around the landfill in the vadose zone (unsaturated zone) and below the water table (in the soil saturated zone). The resistivity image along line L-L1 indicated the presence of large zones of decomposed waste bodies saturated with highly conducting leachate. Analysis of trace elements indicated their presence in very low concentrations and did not reflect any sign of heavy metal pollution of ground and surface water or of soil. Major ions represented by Na, K, and Cl were found in anomalous concentrations in the groundwater of the downstream bore hole, where they are 99.1%, 99.2%, and 99.4%, respectively, higher compared to the upstream bore hole. Electrical conductivity (EC) was also found in anomalous concentration downstream. Ca and Mg ions represent the water hardness (which is comparatively high downstream). There is a general trend of pollution towards the downstream area. Sulfates (SO4) and nitrates (NO3) are found in the area in low concentrations, even below the WHO standards for drinking water, but are significantly higher in the surface water compared to the groundwater. Phosphate (PO4) and nitrite (NO2), although present in low levels, are significantly higher at the downstream. There is no significant difference in the amount of fluoride (F) in the different locations. In the soil vadose zone, heavy metals were found to be in their typical normal ranges and within the background concentrations. Soil exchangeable bases were significantly higher in the soil saturated zone compared to the vadose zone, and no significant difference was obtained in the levels of inorganic pollutants. With the exception of Cd, the concentration ranges of all trace elements (Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, and Ni) of Seri Petaling landfill soils were below the upper limits of baseline concentrations published from different sources.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  8. Khan PA, Johl SK, Kumar A, Luthra S
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Apr;30(19):55237-55254.
    PMID: 36882655 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-26262-4
    The current production and conception have impacted the environmental hazards. Green innovation (GI) is the ideal solution for sustainable production, consumption, and ecological conservation. The objective of the study is to compare comprehensive green innovation (green product, process, service, and organization) impact on firm financial performance in Malaysia and Indonesia, along with the first study to measure the moderation role of the corporate governance index. This study has addressed the gap by developing the green innovation and corporate governance index. Collected panel data from the top 188 publicly listed firms for 3 years and analyzed it using the general least square method. The empirical evidence demonstrates that the green innovation practice is better in Malaysia, and the outcome also shows that the significance level is higher in Indonesia. This study also provides empirical evidence that board composition has a positive moderation relationship betwixt GI and business performance in Malaysia but is insignificant in Indonesia. This comparative study provides new insights to the policymakers and practitioners of both countries to monitor and manage green innovation practices.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  9. Naing C, Jun YK, Yee WM, Waqiyuddin SJ, Lui LC, Shaung OY, et al.
    Eur J Cancer Prev, 2014 Mar;23(2):71-5.
    PMID: 23722440 DOI: 10.1097/CEJ.0b013e328362e9b4
    The aims of the study were (i) to determine the knowledge and perceptions of colorectal cancer (CRC), (ii) to explore the willingness of the study population to take a screening test for CRC, and (iii) to identify factors affecting the willingness to take a screening test for CRC. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in a semiurban town in Malaysia using a pretested structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were determined for all important variables. A binary logistic regression model was introduced to identify independent predictors of the willingness to take a screening test. Factors influencing willingness were explored according to the constructs of the health belief model. Of the 256 respondents who had heard about CRC, the majority were aware of altered bowel habits (67.3%) or the presence of blood in stool or rectal bleeding (63.4%) as the warning symptoms. Although 38% of the respondents knew of colonoscopy as the screening test, 22% were not aware of any screening test for CRC. A majority (77.4%) showed willingness to take a screening test for CRC. In the multivariate analysis, 'having family or friends with history of CRC' and 'self-perceived risk' were the two significant variables for predicting the acceptance of CRC screening among the study population. Findings suggested that the respondents' knowledge of the CRC screening test was inadequate, albeit a high proportion expressed their intention to take screening tests. Health education on the CRC addressing available screening tests and the benefits of early screening for CRC should be scaled up.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  10. Sharma S, Parolia A, Kanagasingam S
    Eur J Dent, 2020 Dec;14(S 01):S159-S164.
    PMID: 33167046 DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1718240
    In the light of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), dentistry is facing unprecedented challenges. The closure of clinics has impacted dental health professionals (DHPs) not only financially but also psychologically. In this review, these consequences are discussed in detail to highlight the challenges that DHPs are facing thus far, in both developing and developed nations. Compromised mental health among DHPs is an important area that requires attention during this difficult period. Although, in previous pandemics, dentists have not worked on the frontline, the article discusses how their wide range of skillsets can be leveraged if another wave of COVID-19 pandemic appears. Finally, guidelines to reopen clinics and patient management have been discussed in detail that could serve as a quick reference guide for DHPs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  11. Han Jie L, Jantan I, Yusoff SD, Jalil J, Husain K
    Front Pharmacol, 2020;11:553404.
    PMID: 33628166 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.553404
    Sinensetin, a plant-derived polymethoxylated flavonoid found in Orthosiphon aristatus var. aristatus and several citrus fruits, has been found to possess strong anticancer activities and a variety of other pharmacological benefits and promising potency in intended activities with minimal toxicity. This review aims to compile an up-to-date reports of published scientific information on sinensetin pharmacological activities, mechanisms of action and toxicity. The present findings about the compound are critically analyzed and its prospect as a lead molecule for drug discovery is highlighted. The databases employed for data collection are mainly through Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct. In-vitro and in-vivo studies showed that sinensetin possessed strong anticancer activities and a wide range of pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-obesity, anti-dementia and vasorelaxant activities. The studies provided some insights on its several mechanisms of action in cancer and other disease states. However, more detail mechanistic studies are needed to understand its pharmacological effects. More in vivo studies in various animal models including toxicity, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and bioavailability studies are required to assess its efficacy and safety before submission to clinical studies. In this review, an insight on sinensetin pharmacological activities and mechanisms of action serves as a useful resource for a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of sinensetin as a potential lead candidate for drug discovery.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  12. Cheung YB, Luo N, Ng R, Lee CF
    PMID: 25495840 DOI: 10.1186/s12955-014-0180-6
    To develop an algorithm for mapping the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) to the 5-level EuroQoL Group's 5-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) utility index.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  13. Samy GN, Ahmad R, Ismail Z
    Health Informatics J, 2010 Sep;16(3):201-9.
    PMID: 20889850 DOI: 10.1177/1460458210377468
    This article attempts to investigate the various types of threats that exist in healthcare information systems (HIS). A study has been carried out in one of the government-supported hospitals in Malaysia.The hospital has been equipped with a Total Hospital Information System (THIS). The data collected were from three different departments, namely the Information Technology Department (ITD), the Medical Record Department (MRD), and the X-Ray Department, using in-depth structured interviews. The study identified 22 types of threats according to major threat categories based on ISO/IEC 27002 (ISO 27799:2008). The results show that the most critical threat for the THIS is power failure followed by acts of human error or failure and other technological factors. This research holds significant value in terms of providing a complete taxonomy of threat categories in HIS and also an important component in the risk analysis stage.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  14. Syed-Mohamad SM, Ali SH, Mat-Husin MN
    Health Inf Manag, 2010 Mar;39(1):30-35.
    PMID: 28683624 DOI: 10.1177/183335831003900105
    This paper describes the method used to develop the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) Portal, an open-source web-based electronic patient record system (EPR) for the One Stop Crisis Center, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) in Kelantan, Malaysia. Features and functionalities of the system are presented to demonstrate the workflow. Use of the OSCC Portal improved data integration and data communication and contributed to improvements in care management. With implementation of the OSCC portal, improved coordination between disciplines and standardisation of data in HUSM were noticed. It is expected that this will in turn result in improved data confidentiality and data integrity. The collected data will also be useful for quality assessment and research. Other low-resource centers with limited computer hardware and access to open-source software could benefit from this endeavour.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  15. Yu CP, Whynes DK, Sach TH
    Health Policy, 2011 May;100(2-3):256-63.
    PMID: 21129808 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.10.018
    This paper assesses the potential equity impact of Malaysia's projected reform of its current tax financed system towards National Health Insurance (NHI).
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  16. Foo LL, Quek SJ, Ng SA, Lim MT, Deurenberg-Yap M
    Health Promot Int, 2005 Sep;20(3):229-37.
    PMID: 15814526
    The National Breastfeeding Survey 2001 was the first comprehensive study on breastfeeding conducted on a national level in Singapore. It aimed to establish the prevalence of breastfeeding among Chinese, Malay and Indian mothers and to identify factors influencing breastfeeding. A total of 2098 mothers were interviewed in this two-phase study, with the first interview conducted 2 months after delivery and the second interview 6 months after birth among mothers who were still breastfeeding at 2 months. Frequency distributions of breastfeeding prevalence and types of breastfeeding practices at different time intervals (from birth to 6 months) were produced. Multivariate logistic regression was carried out to construct a model with predictive information on factors which influence continued breastfeeding till 2 months and 6 months after delivery respectively. The study found that about 94.5% of the mothers attempted breastfeeding. At 1 month, 71.6% were still breastfeeding, 49.6% continued to do so at 2 months, and 29.8% persisted till 4 months. By 6 months, the breastfeeding prevalence rate fell to 21.1%. The results of this study show higher breastfeeding prevalence rates compared to past studies in Singapore. Despite this, exclusive breastfeeding is still not a common practice. Various factors were found to be significant in influencing mothers' decision to breastfeed. Factors such as ethnicity, age, educational attainment, religion and baby's sex are non-modifiable in the short term or at an individual level. However, factors such as awareness of breastfeeding benefits, advice from health professionals and previous breastfeeding experience are potentially modifiable. Efforts aimed at promoting breastfeeding in Singapore need to take these modifiable factors into consideration so as to better tailor health promotion efforts on breastfeeding to women.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  17. Lin GSS, Goh SM, Halil MHM
    Health Res Policy Syst, 2023 Sep 12;21(1):95.
    PMID: 37700266 DOI: 10.1186/s12961-023-01048-9
    BACKGROUND: The dental workforce plays a crucial role in delivering quality oral healthcare services, requiring continuous training and education to meet evolving professional demands. Understanding the impact of dental workforce training and education programmes on policy evolution is essential for refining existing policies, implementing evidence-based reforms and ensuring the growth of the dental profession. Therefore, this study protocol aims to assess the influence of dental workforce training and education programmes on policy evolution in Malaysia.

    METHODS: A mixed-method research design will be employed, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. Stakeholder theory and policy change models will form the theoretical framework of the study. Participants from various stakeholder groups will be recruited using purposive sampling. Data collection will involve surveys and one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics, inferential analysis and thematic analysis will be used to analyse the data. Integration of quantitative and qualitative data will be used to provide a comprehensive understanding of the data.

    DISCUSSION: This study will shed light on factors influencing policy decisions related to dental education and workforce development in Malaysia. The findings will inform evidence-based decision-making, guide the enhancement of dental education programmes and improve the quality of oral healthcare services. Challenges related to participant recruitment and data collection should be considered, and the study's unique contribution to the existing body of knowledge in the Malaysian context will be discussed.

    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  18. Ng WY, Low CX, Putra ZA, Aviso KB, Promentilla MAB, Tan RR
    Heliyon, 2020 Dec;6(12):e05730.
    PMID: 33364497 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05730
    Existing mitigation strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are inadequate to reach the target emission reductions set in the Paris Agreement. Hence, the deployment of negative emission technologies (NETs) is imperative. Given that there are multiple available NETs that need to be evaluated based on multiple criteria, there is a need for a systematic method for ranking and prioritizing them. Furthermore, the uncertainty in estimating the techno-economic performance levels of NETs is a major challenge. In this work, an integrated model of fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and interval-extended Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is proposed to address the multiple criteria, together with data uncertainties. The potential of NETs is assessed through the application of this hybrid decision model. Sensitivity analysis is also conducted to evaluate the robustness of the ranking generated. The result shows Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) as the most optimal alternative for achieving negative emission goals since it performed robustly in the different criteria considered. Meanwhile, energy requirement emerged as the most preferred or critical criterion in the deployment of NETs based on the decision-maker. This paper renders a new research perspective for evaluating the viability of NETs and extends the domains of the fuzzy AHP and interval-extended TOPSIS hybrid model.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
  19. You HW
    Heliyon, 2018 Oct;4(10):e00848.
    PMID: 30386825 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00848
    The side sensitive group runs (SSGR) chart is better than both the Shewhart and synthetic charts in detecting small and moderate process mean shifts. In practical circumstances, the process parameters are seldom known, so it is necessary to estimate them from in-control Phase-I samples. Research has discovered that a large number of in-control Phase-I samples are needed for the SSGR chart with estimated process parameters to behave similarly to a chart with known process parameters. The common metric to evaluate the performance of the control chart is average run length (ARL). An assumption for the computation of the ARL is that the shift size is assumed to be known. In reality however, the practitioners may not know the following shift size in advance. In light of this, the expected average run length (EARL) will be considered to measure the performance of the SSGR chart. Moreover, the standard deviation of the ARL (SDARL) will be studied, which is used to quantify the between-practitioner variability in the SSGR chart with estimated process parameters. This paper proposes the optimal design of the estimated process parameters SSGR chart based on the EARL criterion. The application of the optimal SSGR chart with estimated process parameters is demonstrated with actual data taken from a manufacturing company.
    Matched MeSH terms: Data Collection
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