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Determination of skin repigmentation progression

Nugroho H, Fadzil MH, Yap VV, Norashikin S, Suraiya HH

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc, 2007;2007:3442-5.
PMID: 18002737

In this paper, we describe an image processing scheme to analyze and determine areas of skin that have undergone repigmentation in particular, during the treatment of vitiligo. In vitiligo cases, areas of skin become pale or white due to the lack of skin pigment called melanin. Vitiligo treatment causes skin repigmentation resulting in a normal skin color. However, it is difficult to determine and quantify the amount of repigmentation visually during treatment because the repigmentation progress is slow and moreover changes in skin color can only be discerned over a longer time frame typically 6 months. Here, we develop a digital image analysis scheme that can identify and determine vitiligo skin areas and repigmentation progression on a shorter time period. The technique is based on principal component analysis and independent component analysis which converts the RGB skin image into a skin image that represent skin areas due to melanin and haemoglobin only, followed by segmentation process. Vitiligo skin lesions are identified as skin areas that lack melanin (non-melanin areas). In the initial studies of 4 patients, the method has been able to quantify repigmentation in vitiligo lesion. Hence it is now possible to determine repigmentation progression objectively and treatment efficacy on a shorter time cycle.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval/methods*
Multiresolution wavelet analysis for efficient analysis, compression and remote display of long-term physiological signals

Khuan LY, Bister M, Blanchfield P, Salleh YM, Ali RA, Chan TH

Australas Phys Eng Sci Med, 2006 Jun;29(2):216-28.
PMID: 16845928

Increased inter-equipment connectivity coupled with advances in Web technology allows ever escalating amounts of physiological data to be produced, far too much to be displayed adequately on a single computer screen. The consequence is that large quantities of insignificant data will be transmitted and reviewed. This carries an increased risk of overlooking vitally important transients. This paper describes a technique to provide an integrated solution based on a single algorithm for the efficient analysis, compression and remote display of long-term physiological signals with infrequent short duration, yet vital events, to effect a reduction in data transmission and display cluttering and to facilitate reliable data interpretation. The algorithm analyses data at the server end and flags significant events. It produces a compressed version of the signal at a lower resolution that can be satisfactorily viewed in a single screen width. This reduced set of data is initially transmitted together with a set of 'flags' indicating where significant events occur. Subsequent transmissions need only involve transmission of flagged data segments of interest at the required resolution. Efficient processing and code protection with decomposition alone is novel. The fixed transmission length method ensures clutter-less display, irrespective of the data length. The flagging of annotated events in arterial oxygen saturation, electroencephalogram and electrocardiogram illustrates the generic property of the algorithm. Data reduction of 87% to 99% and improved displays are demonstrated.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval/methods*
ProLysED: an integrated database and meta-server of bacterial protease systems

Firdaus Raih M, Ahmad HA, Sharum MY, Azizi N, Mohamed R

Appl. Bioinformatics, 2005;4(2):147-50.
PMID: 16128617

Bacterial proteases are an important group of enzymes that have very diverse biochemical and cellular functions. Proteases from prokaryotic sources also have a wide range of uses, either in medicine as pathogenic factors or in industry and therapeutics. ProLysED (Prokaryotic Lysis Enzymes Database), our meta-server integrated database of bacterial proteases, is a useful, albeit very niche, resource. The features include protease classification browsing and searching, organism-specific protease browsing, molecular information and visualisation of protease structures from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) as well as predicted protease structures.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval/methods*
Fulltext Role of OpenEHR as an open source solution for the regional modelling of patient data in obstetrics

Pahl C, Zare M, Nilashi M, de Faria Borges MA, Weingaertner D, Detschew V, et al.

J Biomed Inform, 2015 Jun;55:174-87.
PMID: 25900270 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2015.04.004

This work investigates, whether openEHR with its reference model, archetypes and templates is suitable for the digital representation of demographic as well as clinical data. Moreover, it elaborates openEHR as a tool for modelling Hospital Information Systems on a regional level based on a national logical infrastructure. OpenEHR is a dual model approach developed for the modelling of Hospital Information Systems enabling semantic interoperability. A holistic solution to this represents the use of dual model based Electronic Healthcare Record systems. Modelling data in the field of obstetrics is a challenge, since different regions demand locally specific information for the process of treatment. Smaller health units in developing countries like Brazil or Malaysia, which until recently handled automatable processes like the storage of sensitive patient data in paper form, start organizational reconstruction processes. This archetype proof-of-concept investigation has tried out some elements of the openEHR methodology in cooperation with a health unit in Colombo, Brazil. Two legal forms provided by the Brazilian Ministry of Health have been analyzed and classified into demographic and clinical data. LinkEHR-Ed editor was used to read, edit and create archetypes. Results show that 33 clinical and demographic concepts, which are necessary to cover data demanded by the Unified National Health System, were identified. Out of the concepts 61% were reused and 39% modified to cover domain requirements. The detailed process of reuse, modification and creation of archetypes is shown. We conclude that, although a major part of demographic and clinical patient data were already represented by existing archetypes, a significant part required major modifications. In this study openEHR proved to be a highly suitable tool in the modelling of complex health data. In combination with LinkEHR-Ed software it offers user-friendly and highly applicable tools, although the complexity built by the vast specifications requires expert networks to define generally excepted clinical models. Finally, this project has pointed out main benefits enclosing high coverage of obstetrics data on the Clinical Knowledge Manager, simple modelling, and wide network and support using openEHR. Moreover, barriers described are enclosing the allocation of clinical content to respective archetypes, as well as stagnant adaption of changes on the Clinical Knowledge Manager leading to redundant efforts in data contribution that need to be addressed in future works.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval/methods*
Population information resources

Pasquariella SK

POPIN Bull, 1984 Dec.
PMID: 12267287
Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval*
Fulltext Development of a Search Strategy for an Evidence Based Retrieval Service

Ho GJ, Liew SM, Ng CJ, Hisham Shunmugam R, Glasziou P

PLoS One, 2016;11(12):e0167170.
PMID: 27935993 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167170

BACKGROUND: Physicians are often encouraged to locate answers for their clinical queries via an evidence-based literature search approach. The methods used are often not clearly specified. Inappropriate search strategies, time constraint and contradictory information complicate evidence retrieval.
AIMS: Our study aimed to develop a search strategy to answer clinical queries among physicians in a primary care setting.
METHODS: Six clinical questions of different medical conditions seen in primary care were formulated. A series of experimental searches to answer each question was conducted on 3 commonly advocated medical databases. We compared search results from a PICO (patients, intervention, comparison, outcome) framework for questions using different combinations of PICO elements. We also compared outcomes from doing searches using text words, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), or a combination of both. All searches were documented using screenshots and saved search strategies.
RESULTS: Answers to all 6 questions using the PICO framework were found. A higher number of systematic reviews were obtained using a 2 PICO element search compared to a 4 element search. A more optimal choice of search is a combination of both text words and MeSH terms. Despite searching using the Systematic Review filter, many non-systematic reviews or narrative reviews were found in PubMed. There was poor overlap between outcomes of searches using different databases. The duration of search and screening for the 6 questions ranged from 1 to 4 hours.
CONCLUSION: This strategy has been shown to be feasible and can provide evidence to doctors' clinical questions. It has the potential to be incorporated into an interventional study to determine the impact of an online evidence retrieval system.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval/methods*
A novel strategy for load balancing of distributed medical applications

Logeswaran R, Chen LC

J Med Syst, 2012 Apr;36(2):483-90.
PMID: 20703702 DOI: 10.1007/s10916-010-9493-0

Current trends in medicine, specifically in the electronic handling of medical applications, ranging from digital imaging, paperless hospital administration and electronic medical records, telemedicine, to computer-aided diagnosis, creates a burden on the network. Distributed Service Architectures, such as Intelligent Network (IN), Telecommunication Information Networking Architecture (TINA) and Open Service Access (OSA), are able to meet this new challenge. Distribution enables computational tasks to be spread among multiple processors; hence, performance is an important issue. This paper proposes a novel approach in load balancing, the Random Sender Initiated Algorithm, for distribution of tasks among several nodes sharing the same computational object (CO) instances in Distributed Service Architectures. Simulations illustrate that the proposed algorithm produces better network performance than the benchmark load balancing algorithms-the Random Node Selection Algorithm and the Shortest Queue Algorithm, especially under medium and heavily loaded conditions.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Fulltext Dataset on positive mental health of Indonesian, Malaysian, and Thailand university students

Chusniyah T, Jaafar JLS, Chaiwutikornwanich A, Kuswandi D, Firmanto A, Mustopa A, et al.

Data Brief, 2020 Oct;32:106314.
PMID: 32995402 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.106314

The present data article provides a descriptive and analytical exploration on the links between positive mental health, subjective happiness, forgiveness, humility, and information literacy self-efficacy among 969 undergraduate students from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. There are 355 males and 614 females with an average age of 20.47 years and a standard deviation of 1.87. Respondents are recruited by simple random sampling using face to face method, at one time data retrieval during 2019. The Indonesian, Malaysian and Thailand-version questionnaires were provided to each groups of participants according to their nationality and native language, using back-to-back analysis. The socio-demographic details of the respondents, descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation matrix of all variables in all groups according to country, results of regression analysis of variables, and Kruskal Wallis for all five variables in all groups are provided.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Fulltext Drug Utilization on Neonatal Wards: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies

Rosli R, Dali AF, Abd Aziz N, Abdullah AH, Ming LC, Manan MM

Front Pharmacol, 2017;8:27.
PMID: 28228724 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00027

Despite limited evidence on safety and efficacy of drug use in neonates, drugs are extensively used in this age group. However, the availability of information on drug consumption in neonates, especially inpatient neonates, is limited. This paper systematically reviews published studies on drug utilization in hospitalized neonates. A systematic literature review was carried out to identify observational studies published from inception of databases used till August 2016. Four search engines, namely Medline, CINAHL, Embase, and PubMed, were used. Publications written in English that described drug utilization in neonatal wards were selected. Assessment of the data was based on the category of the study design, the objective of study and the method used in reporting drug consumption. A total of 20 drug utilization studies were identified, 12 of which focused on all drug classes, while the other eight evaluated antimicrobials. Studies were reported in Europe (n = 7), the United States (n = 6), India (n = 5), Brazil (n = 1), and Iran (n = 1). Substantial variance with regard to study types (study design and methods), data source, and sample size were found among the selected studies. Of the studies included, 45% were cross-sectional or retrospective, 40% were prospective studies, and the remaining 15% were point prevalence surveys. More than 70% of the studies were descriptive studies, describing drug consumption patterns. Fifteen per cent of the descriptive studies evaluated changes in drug utilization patterns in neonates. Volume of units was the most prevalent method used for reporting all drug categories. The ATC/DDD system for reporting drug use was only seen in studies evaluating antimicrobials. The most commonly reported drugs across all studies are anti-infectives for systemic use, followed by drugs for the cardiovascular system, the nervous system and the respiratory system. Ampicillin and gentamicin were the most prescribed antimicrobials in hospitalized neonates. The present review reveals that neonates are exposed to a high number of drugs and various methods are used to report drug consumption in this age group. The best measure of drug consumption to quantify prevalence of drug use in neonates remains to be identified and additional research in this area is warranted.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Fulltext Classification of forensic autopsy reports through conceptual graph-based document representation model

Mujtaba G, Shuib L, Raj RG, Rajandram R, Shaikh K, Al-Garadi MA

J Biomed Inform, 2018 06;82:88-105.
PMID: 29738820 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2018.04.013

Text categorization has been used extensively in recent years to classify plain-text clinical reports. This study employs text categorization techniques for the classification of open narrative forensic autopsy reports. One of the key steps in text classification is document representation. In document representation, a clinical report is transformed into a format that is suitable for classification. The traditional document representation technique for text categorization is the bag-of-words (BoW) technique. In this study, the traditional BoW technique is ineffective in classifying forensic autopsy reports because it merely extracts frequent but discriminative features from clinical reports. Moreover, this technique fails to capture word inversion, as well as word-level synonymy and polysemy, when classifying autopsy reports. Hence, the BoW technique suffers from low accuracy and low robustness unless it is improved with contextual and application-specific information. To overcome the aforementioned limitations of the BoW technique, this research aims to develop an effective conceptual graph-based document representation (CGDR) technique to classify 1500 forensic autopsy reports from four (4) manners of death (MoD) and sixteen (16) causes of death (CoD). Term-based and Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) based conceptual features were extracted and represented through graphs. These features were then used to train a two-level text classifier. The first level classifier was responsible for predicting MoD. In addition, the second level classifier was responsible for predicting CoD using the proposed conceptual graph-based document representation technique. To demonstrate the significance of the proposed technique, its results were compared with those of six (6) state-of-the-art document representation techniques. Lastly, this study compared the effects of one-level classification and two-level classification on the experimental results. The experimental results indicated that the CGDR technique achieved 12% to 15% improvement in accuracy compared with fully automated document representation baseline techniques. Moreover, two-level classification obtained better results compared with one-level classification. The promising results of the proposed conceptual graph-based document representation technique suggest that pathologists can adopt the proposed system as their basis for second opinion, thereby supporting them in effectively determining CoD.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Fulltext Psycho-social and spiritual backgrounds, experiences, and needs as a transsexual: a qualitative study within Persatuan Insaf Pahang

Drama, S., Maliya, S., Liyana, A., Farhani, S., Jannah, R., Razman., M.R.

International Medical Journal Malaysia, 2016;15(2):27-36.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Transsexuals face discriminations and rejections from the Malaysian society. The number of
studies done on understanding the phenomenology, experiences, and problems faced by transsexuals is still
few in Malaysia. This research aims to document their psycho-social and spiritual backgrounds and the
relevant experiences, and to explore their perceptions and needs as male-to-female transsexuals in the
context of Persatuan Insaf Pahang, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A qualitative research was carried out
in July and August 2015 among eight male-to-female transsexual adults in Kuantan, Pahang. Snowball
sampling was used. Participants who gave consent were interviewed in two focus groups. Data obtained was
transcribed and used as the primary data source. Results: Subjects in this study reported confusions over
their gender identity since childhood. They struggled against conflicts regarding their transsexuality in
adolescence, and eventually many quit their studies. As adults, they were discriminated against in
employment and religious settings. They provided positive feedbacks on religious authorities who could
understand problems unique to transsexuals and empathise with the transsexual community. Conclusion: The
psycho-sexual phenomenology is the same in transsexuals all over the world. Misunderstanding and
discrimination from the society remain heavy towards this community. Transsexuals should learn to adapt to
meeting expectations from the society as well, so they could be accepted in public. They will need religious
guidance and spiritual support for better quality of life. Dedicated efforts are still needed in training
professionals in the educational, medical, and religious fields to attend to the specific needs of transsexuals
in this country.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Fulltext Pooling and expanding registries of familial hypercholesterolaemia to assess gaps in care and improve disease management and outcomes: Rationale and design of the global EAS Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration

EAS Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration, Vallejo-Vaz AJ, Akram A, Kondapally Seshasai SR, Cole D, Watts GF, et al.

Atheroscler Suppl, 2016 Dec;22:1-32.
PMID: 27939304 DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosissup.2016.10.001

The potential for global collaborations to better inform public health policy regarding major non-communicable diseases has been successfully demonstrated by several large-scale international consortia. However, the true public health impact of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), a common genetic disorder associated with premature cardiovascular disease, is yet to be reliably ascertained using similar approaches. The European Atherosclerosis Society FH Studies Collaboration (EAS FHSC) is a new initiative of international stakeholders which will help establish a global FH registry to generate large-scale, robust data on the burden of FH worldwide.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Fulltext Development of electronic medical records for clinical and research purposes: the breast cancer module using an implementation framework in a middle income country- Malaysia

Mohd Nor NA, Taib NA, Saad M, Zaini HS, Ahmad Z, Ahmad Y, et al.

BMC Bioinformatics, 2019 Feb 04;19(Suppl 13):402.
PMID: 30717675 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-018-2406-9

BACKGROUND: Advances in medical domain has led to an increase of clinical data production which offers enhancement opportunities for clinical research sector. In this paper, we propose to expand the scope of Electronic Medical Records in the University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) using different techniques in establishing interoperability functions between multiple clinical departments involving diagnosis, screening and treatment of breast cancer and building automatic systems for clinical audits as well as for potential data mining to enhance clinical breast cancer research in the future.
RESULTS: Quality Implementation Framework (QIF) was adopted to develop the breast cancer module as part of the in-house EMR system used at UMMC, called i-Pesakit©. The completion of the i-Pesakit© Breast Cancer Module requires management of clinical data electronically, integration of clinical data from multiple internal clinical departments towards setting up of a research focused patient data governance model. The 14 QIF steps were performed in four main phases involved in this study which are (i) initial considerations regarding host setting, (ii) creating structure for implementation, (iii) ongoing structure once implementation begins, and (iv) improving future applications. The architectural framework of the module incorporates both clinical and research needs that comply to the Personal Data Protection Act.
CONCLUSION: The completion of the UMMC i-Pesakit© Breast Cancer Module required populating EMR including management of clinical data access, establishing information technology and research focused governance model and integrating clinical data from multiple internal clinical departments. This multidisciplinary collaboration has enhanced the quality of data capture in clinical service, benefited hospital data monitoring, quality assurance, audit reporting and research data management, as well as a framework for implementing a responsive EMR for a clinical and research organization in a typical middle-income country setting. Future applications include establishing integration with external organization such as the National Registration Department for mortality data, reporting of institutional data for national cancer registry as well as data mining for clinical research. We believe that integration of multiple clinical visit data sources provides a more comprehensive, accurate and real-time update of clinical data to be used for epidemiological studies and audits.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Glove-based approach to online signature verification

Kamel NS, Sayeed S, Ellis GA

IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell, 2008 Jun;30(6):1109-13.
PMID: 18421114 DOI: 10.1109/TPAMI.2008.32

Utilizing the multiple degrees of freedom offered by the data glove for each finger and the hand, a novel on-line signature verification system using the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) numerical tool for signature classification and verification is presented. The proposed technique is based on the Singular Value Decomposition in finding r singular vectors sensing the maximal energy of glove data matrix A, called principal subspace, so the effective dimensionality of A can be reduced. Having modeled the data glove signature through its r-principal subspace, signature authentication is performed by finding the angles between the different subspaces. A demonstration of the data glove is presented as an effective high-bandwidth data entry device for signature verification. This SVD-based signature verification technique is tested and its performance is shown to be able to recognize forgery signatures with a false acceptance rate of less than 1.2%.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval/methods
Clinical evaluation of watermarked medical images

Zain JM, Fauzi AM, Aziz AA

Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc, 2007 10 20;2006:5459-62.
PMID: 17946306

Digital watermarking medical images provides security to the images. The purpose of this study was to see whether digitally watermarked images changed clinical diagnoses when assessed by radiologists. We embedded 256 bits watermark to various medical images in the region of non-interest (RONI) and 480K bits in both region of interest (ROI) and RONI. Our results showed that watermarking medical images did not alter clinical diagnoses. In addition, there was no difference in image quality when visually assessed by the medical radiologists. We therefore concluded that digital watermarking medical images were safe in terms of preserving image quality for clinical purposes.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Matching of police and hospital road crash casualty records - a data-linkage study in Malaysia

Kamaluddin NA, Abd Rahman MF, Várhelyi A

Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot, 2019 Mar;26(1):52-59.
PMID: 29806792 DOI: 10.1080/17457300.2018.1476385

Underreporting of road crashes hampers the development of appropriate road safety countermeasures in many countries. In this study, police and hospital records from road crash casualties in the Melaka Tengah district in Malaysia from 2014 were collected to determine their matching and reporting rates. Based on authentic personal identifiers from both types of records, Microsoft SQL was used to reveal how the matching rate varies due to multiple factors. The results showed that 311 cases (of 7625 hospital records) could be linked to both databases, yielding a 4.1% matching rate and a 4.7% police reporting rate. Both the reporting and matching rates increased with the level of injury severity. The significant underreporting in the police database showed that complementary data are necessary for enhancing the current official crash data records.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval
Fulltext Protocol for the Study of Heart and Renal Protection-Extended Review: Additional 5-Year Follow-up of the Australian, New Zealand, and Malaysian SHARP Cohort

Sukkar L, Talbot B, Jun M, Dempsey E, Walker R, Hooi L, et al.

Can J Kidney Health Dis, 2019;6:2054358119879896.
PMID: 31662874 DOI: 10.1177/2054358119879896

Background: There are limited studies on the effects of statins on outcomes in the moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) population and their trajectory to end-stage kidney disease.
Objective: To examine the long-term effects of lipid-lowering therapy on all-cause mortality, cardiovascular morbidity, CKD progression, and socioeconomic well-being in Australian, New Zealand, and Malaysian SHARP (Study of Heart and Renal Protection) trial participants-a randomized controlled trial of a combination of simvastatin and ezetimibe, compared with placebo, for the reduction of cardiovascular events in moderate to severe CKD.
Design: Protocol for an extended prospective observational follow-up.
Setting: Australian, New Zealand, and Malaysian participating centers in patients with advanced CKD.
Patients: All SHARP trial participants alive at the final study visit.
Measurements: Primary outcomes were measured by participant self-report and verified by hospital administrative data. In addition, secondary outcomes were measured using a validated study questionnaire of health-related quality of life, a 56-item economic survey.
Methods: Participants were followed up with alternating face-to-face visits and telephone calls on a 6-monthly basis until 5 years following their final SHARP Study visit. In addition, there were 6-monthly follow-up telephone calls in between these visits. Data linkage to health registries in Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia was also performed.
Results: The SHARP-Extended Review (SHARP-ER) cohort comprised 1136 SHARP participants with a median of 4.6 years of follow-up. Compared with all SHARP participants who originally participated in the Australian, New Zealand, and Malaysian regions, the SHARP-ER participants were younger (57.2 [48.3-66.4] vs 60.5 [50.3-70.7] years) with a lower proportion of men (61.5% vs 62.8%). There were a lower proportion of participants with hypertension (83.7% vs 85.0%) and diabetes (20.0% vs 23.5%).
Limitations: As a long-term follow-up study, the surviving cohort of SHARP-ER is a selected group of the original study participants, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Conclusion: The SHARP-ER study will contribute important evidence on the long-term outcomes of cholesterol-lowering therapy in patients with advanced CKD with a total of 10 years of follow-up. Novel analyses of the socioeconomic impact of CKD over time will guide resource allocation.
Trial Registration: The SHARP trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00125593 and ISRCTN 54137607.

Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval

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