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  1. Samad AFA, Kamaroddin MF, Sajad M
    Adv Nutr, 2021 Feb 01;12(1):197-211.
    PMID: 32862223 DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmaa095
    microRNAs (miRNAs) are well known as major players in mammalian and plant genetic systems that act by regulating gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. These tiny molecules can regulate target genes (mRNAs) through either cleavage or translational inhibition. Recently, the discovery of plant-derived miRNAs showing cross-kingdom abilities to regulate mammalian gene expression has prompted exciting discussions among researchers. After being acquired orally through the diet, plant miRNAs can survive in the digestive tract, enter the circulatory system, and regulate endogenous mRNAs. Here, we review current knowledge regarding the cross-kingdom mechanisms of plant miRNAs, related controversies, and potential applications of these miRNAs in dietary therapy, which will provide new insights for plant miRNA investigations related to health issues in humans.
  2. Hartono RK, Hamid SA, Hafizurrachman M
    Acta Med Indones, 2020 Apr;52(2):111-117.
    PMID: 32778624
    BACKGROUND: it cannot be ascertained whether an individual with poor physical function is at an increased risk of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), thus the aim of this study is to examine this potential relationship.

    METHODS: in this study, a fixed retrospective cohort design has been conducted by using data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) in 2007 and 2014. A total of 6,863 respondents who were not diagnosed with NCD by medical personnel in 2007 were successfully traced. After being controlled for covariates, the association between NCD type and poor physical function was measured by using the Adjusted Risk Ratio (ARR) and Population Attributable Risk (PAR).

    RESULTS: respondents with poor physical function were at a significantly increased of being diagnosed with stroke (ARR: 6.9, 95%CI: 4.3-10.9), diabetes (ARR: 3.1, 95%CI: 2.4-4.1), or heart disease (ARR: 3.2, 95%CI: 2.4-4.5). The PAR score of respondents with diabetes was 0.006, meaning 0.6% of diabetes cases are attributed to poor physical function and can therefore be prevented if people maintain good physical function.

    CONCLUSION: poor physical function can be assessed to identify risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Healthcare personnel should provide education programs that inform patients on the importance of maintaining a healthy physical ability.

  3. Jaafar NF, Ramli ME, Mohd Salleh R
    Trop Life Sci Res, 2020 Jul;31(2):1-17.
    PMID: 32922666 DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2020.31.2.1
    Clitoria ternatea is a herbaceous plant with many health benefits. Extraction is crucial to obtain its bioactive components which contribute to its antioxidant properties. Therefore, this study was conducted to find an optimum extraction condition of C. ternatea flower on total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging activity) as well as to determine its total flavonoid content (TFC) and anthocyanin content based on the optimum extraction condition generated by Response Surface Methodology (RSM)-Design Expert 7.1.5. TPC, TFC and total anthocyanin of C. ternatea were conducted by Folin Ciocalteu (FC), calorimetric assay and pH differential method, respectively. The ranges of selected independent variables were ethanol concentration (30°C-90% v/v), time (60-120 min) and temperature (30°C-70°C). The optimum extraction condition was obtained at 39.62% v/v ethanol concentration, 90 min and 44.24°C. However, these values were slightly adjusted according to the convenience of equipment to operate in which ethanol concentration was adjusted to 37% v/v, time remain at 90 min and temperature at 45°C. The predicted values of TPC and DPPH radical scavenging activity were 41.60 mg GAE/g dry samples and 68.12% inhibition and were experimentally verified to be 41.17 ± 0.5 mg GAE/g dry samples and 63.53 ± 0.95% inhibition of TPC and DPPH radical scavenging activity respectively. This result has showed RSM can optimise TPC and radical scavenging activity of C. ternatea. Upon the optimum condition, the TFC determined was 187.05 ± 3.18 mg quercetin/g dried sample which was higher than TPC and the total anthocyanin content was 28.60 ± 0.04 mg/L. Hence, the extractable phenolic, flavonoid and anthocyanin compounds indicated that C. ternatea is a good source of natural antioxidant.
  4. Ruzmi R, Ahmad-Hamdani MS, Mazlan N
    PLoS One, 2020;15(9):e0227397.
    PMID: 32925921 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227397
    The continuous and sole dependence on imidazolinone (IMI) herbicides for weedy rice control has led to the evolution of herbicide resistance in weedy rice populations across various countries growing IMI herbicide-resistant rice (IMI-rice), including Malaysia. A comprehensive study was conducted to elucidate occurrence, level, and mechanisms endowing resistance to IMI herbicides in putative resistant (R) weedy rice populations collected from three local Malaysian IMI-rice fields. Seed bioassay and whole-plant dose-response experiments were conducted using commercial IMI herbicides. Based on the resistance index (RI) quantification in both experiments, the cross-resistance pattern of R and susceptible (S) weedy rice populations and control rice varieties (IMI-rice variety MR220CL2 and non-IMI-rice variety MR219) to imazapic and imazapyr was determined. A molecular investigation was carried out by comparing the acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) gene sequences of the R and S populations and the MR220CL2 and MR219 varieties. The AHAS gene sequences of R weedy rice were identical to those of MR220CL2, exhibiting a Ser-653-Asn substitution, which was absent in MR219 and S plants. In vitro assays were conducted using analytical grade IMI herbicides of imazapic (99.3%) and imazapyr (99.6%) at seven different concentrations. The results demonstrated that the AHAS enzyme extracted from the R populations and MR220CL2 was less sensitive to IMI herbicides than that from S and MR219, further supporting that IMI herbicide resistance was conferred by target-site mutation. In conclusion, IMI resistance in the selected populations of Malaysian weedy rice could be attributed to a Ser-653-Asn mutation that reduced the sensitivity of the target site to IMI herbicides. To our knowledge, this study is the first to show the resistance mechanism in weedy rice from Malaysian rice fields.
  5. Umair M, Azis N, Halis R, Jasni J
    Materials (Basel), 2020 Nov 06;13(21).
    PMID: 33171971 DOI: 10.3390/ma13215002
    This paper presents an investigation on the physio-mechanical properties and AC breakdown voltage of the Kenaf paper in the presence of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) for transformers application. Kenaf bast fibers were used in order to produce the paper through the soda pulping process. The pulps were subjected to beating up to 12,000 revolutions, whereby the PVA was added to the pulps at a different weight percentage concentration up to 12%. Morphological study was carried out on the Kenaf paper based on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The apparent density, Tensile Index (TI), Burst Index (BI), Tear Index (TeI), and AC breakdown voltage of the Kenaf paper were measured. It is found that the TI and BI of Kenaf paper can be slightly improved through the introduction of PVA. On other hand, the TeI of the Kenaf paper decreases with the increment of the PVA. The AC breakdown voltage of the Kenaf paper slightly increases with the increment of PVA weight percentage concentration.
  6. Wan Yunus F, Tan XZ, Romli MH
    Games Health J, 2020 Dec;9(6):415-424.
    PMID: 33301386 DOI: 10.1089/g4h.2019.0077
    Sleep deprivation and emotional problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression commonly occur in university students. Exercise is beneficial to ameliorate those problems; however, university students are not serious to take up physical activity. Commercially available exergame such as Xbox® 360 Kinect is one of the alternatives. This study aims at investigating the feasibility and the potential efficacy of using Xbox 360 Kinect game among health care undergraduate students. A pilot two-armed parallel randomized controlled trial was implemented. A total of 36 undergraduate students was recruited and randomly allocated into the intervention group (playing Xbox 360 Kinect) or the control group (continue with normal daily routine). The intervention group received 30 minutes of Xbox Kinect activity, three times per week for 6 weeks. Information on psychology (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21) and sleep (Functional Outcome Sleep Questionnaire-30) status was collected at pre- and post-experiment. The researcher-developed feasibility questionnaire was given to the participants in the intervention group at post-experiment. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to investigate within-between group comparison, and significance value was set at p ≤ 0.05. The analysis found potential improvement on sleep (p = 0.039) and psychological health (p = 0.002-0.067). The intervention protocol is feasible and highly accepted by the participants. The required optimum amount of dosage, sample size, and the use of outcome measures are suggested from the findings. This pilot and feasibility study supports the use of Xbox 360 Kinect games in practice and to be implemented for future research.
  7. Liu JB, Nadeem MF, Azeem M
    PMID: 33280591 DOI: 10.2174/1386207323666201204144422
    AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: The idea of partition and resolving sets play an important role in various areas of engineering, chemistry and computer science such as robot navigation, facility location, pharmaceutical chemistry, combinatorial optimization, networking, and mastermind game.

    METHODS: In a graph, to obtain the exact location of a required vertex, which is unique from all the vertices, several vertices are selected; this is called resolving set, and its generalization is called resolving partition, where selected vertices are in the form of subsets. A minimum number of partitions of the vertices into sets is called partition dimension.

    RESULTS: It was proved that determining the partition dimension of a graph is a nondeterministic polynomial time (NP) problem. In this article, we find the partition dimension of convex polytopes and provide their bounds.

    CONCLUSION: The major contribution of this article is that due to the complexity of computing the exact partition dimension, we provide the bounds and show that all the graphs discussed in the results have partition dimensions either less or equals to 4, but not greater than 4.

  8. Kim YJ, Qian L, Aslam MS
    Medicine (Baltimore), 2020 Nov 13;99(46):e23203.
    PMID: 33181701 DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000023203
    Substance use disorder (SUD) is associated with a high risk of physical and mental illness such as anxiety, depression, personality disorders, eating disorders, and abnormal mood changes. During the pandemic, SUD, a significant problem related to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is affecting adolescents. The recent available literature also emphasizes understanding the relationship between mental illness and SUD. Hence, it is essential to evaluate the scientific approach and examine the presented findings of articles published on SUD during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review will be conducted using PubMed, PubMed Central, and Scopus bibliographic databases. The grey literature on the impact of SUD on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic among adolescents will be identified using scholar google. The dependability and credibility of the findings will be examined using the ConQual approach. The methodologies of the included studies will be compared using ROBIS (risk of bias in systematic reviews tool), a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews (AMSTAR), and the JBI critical appraisal tool. The systematic review will be carried out on published articles, so it is exempt from ethics approval. The Center for Open Science (OSF) will be used as a data repository during the preparation of the protocol and completion of the systematic review. The research findings will be published in a related peer-reviewed journal.
  9. Kim YJ, Qian L, Aslam MS
    JMIR Res Protoc, 2020 Nov 20;9(11):e23112.
    PMID: 33216000 DOI: 10.2196/23112
    BACKGROUND: Workplace cyberbullying harms the psychological and social functioning of professionals working in an organization and may decrease the productivity and efficiency of daily life tasks. A recent study on trainee doctors across 8 different United Kingdom National Health Service trusts found health issues and job dissatisfaction in people who have experienced workplace cyberbullying. This disabling effect is even more noticeable in low-socioeconomic communities within low-income countries. In Malaysia, there is a need to create a personalized mobile mental health intervention program for health care professionals. These programs should be directed to prevent and decrease psychosocial issues and enhance coordination among health care professionals to solve health issues in the community.

    OBJECTIVE: Our main objective is to study the pre-effects and posteffects of the Personalized Mobile Mental Health Intervention (PMMH-I) for workplace cyberbullying in public and private hospitals in Malaysia.

    METHODS: A hospital-based multimethod multi-analytic evidential approach is proposed, involving social and psychological health informatics. The project has been subdivided into 3 stages, starting with Phase 1, a prevalence study, followed by exploratory studies. Phase 2 consists of a quasi-experimental design, whereas the development of a prototype and their testing will be proposed in Phase 3. Each stage includes the use of quantitative and qualitative methods (mixed-method program), using SPSS (version 26.0; IBM Corp) and Stata (version 16.1; StataCorp) as tools for quantitative research, and NVivo (version 1.0; QSR International) and Atlas.ti (version 9.0.16; ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH) for qualitative research.

    RESULTS: The results of this study will determine the pre- and posteffectiveness of an integrated PMMH-I for health care professionals. The prototype system platform will be developed and implemented in a public and private hospital. Results from Phase 1 will be published in 2021, followed by the implementation of Phase 2 in subsequent years.

    CONCLUSIONS: This study will provide evidence and guidance regarding the implementation of a personalized mobile mental health intervention for health care professionals into routine public and private hospitals to enhance communication and resolve conflicts.

    INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/23112.

  10. Ruzmi R, Ahmad-Hamdani MS, Mazlan N
    PLoS One, 2020;15(12):e0244686.
    PMID: 33351858 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244686
    [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227397.].
  11. Lim YH, Ng SP, Jamil MA
    J Obstet Gynaecol Res, 2003 Dec;29(6):399-401.
    PMID: 14641689 DOI: 10.1111/j.1341-8076.2003.00136.x
    Imperforate hymen is an uncommon obstructive anomaly of the female reproductive tract, which usually presents with intermittent and cyclical abdominal pain. Although it is usually sporadic, four cases of familial occurrence of imperforate hymen have been reported so far. Imperforate hymen is seldom associated with complications if it is detected early. In view of the possible familial occurrence, it is important to have a high index of suspicion in women who present with imperforate hymen. A detailed menstrual history of other female family members is necessary to enable early detection.
  12. Rrong W, Aiping T, Ashraf MA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Sep;23(5):660-6.
    PMID: 27579018 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.10.028
    Jiangxi red soil was used as the tested soil and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic) and Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) were used as the tested vegetables in this study to investigate the effects of different amounts of sewage-sludge application on the growth of vegetables and the migration and enrichment patterns of Cu and Zn in vegetables using the potted method. The results indicated that the application of sewage sludge could improve the properties of red soil and promote vegetable growth. The dry weight of water spinach and Chinese chive reached the maximal levels when treated with the amount of sewage sludge at 4% and 10%, which was 4.38 ± 0.82 g and 1.56 ± 0.31 g, respectively. The dry weights after the application of sewage sludge were all larger than control treatment (CK) without sludge application. With increases in the applied amount of sewage sludge, the concentrations of Cu and Zu in red soil continued to increase, and the peak value was not reached. After the two vegetables were planted, the concentrations of Cu and Zn in red soil decreased by different degrees. The degrees of decrease of Zn were generally higher than those of Cu. The enrichment coefficient of water spinach on Cu showed a trend of increase followed by a decrease and reached the peak value of 1.04 ± 0.38 when the applied amount was 4%. The enrichment coefficient of Chinese chive on Cu overall showed a decreasing trend and did not reach the peak value under the treatment levels used in this experiment. The enrichment pattern of Chinese chive on Zn was not obvious, and the differences among all treatment levels were not significant (p 
  13. Abdul Rahman NF, Ibrahim Azmi M
    MyJurnal
    Breaking bad news is a crucial communication delivered by healthcare professionals. This skill was
    taught in Management and Science University, Malaysia using lecture previously. Realising the
    instructional delivery gap, breaking bad news workshops was introduced involving not only the theory
    of the skills but the hands on experience as well. This workshop incorporated peer-assisted learning
    method in providing a friendly and conducive environment for the best learning experience for the
    students. Five workshops were conducted with a total of 204 students. Students (n = 38–42 per
    session) were given materials a week prior to the session to familiarise themselves with the workshop.
    Trained peer-assisted tutors (n = 8) guided role-playing sessions as well as giving feedbacks. Students
    found that the workshop to be useful adjunct to learning communication skills, specifically in breaking
    bad news. Students considered peer-assisted learning method provided them with a safe environment
    where mistakes were allowed, corrected and proper skills reiterated. In conclusion, learning breaking
    bad news is feasible with peer-assistance.
  14. Wang D, Fu Y, Ashraf MA
    Open Med (Wars), 2015;10(1):425-433.
    PMID: 28352731 DOI: 10.1515/med-2015-0074
    Tagged Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive technique for examining myocardial function and deformation. Tagged MRI can also be used in quasi-static MR elastography to acquire strain maps of other biological soft tissues. Harmonic phase (HARP) provides automatic and rapid analysis of tagged MR images for the quantification and visualization of myocardial strain. We propose a new artifact reduction method in strain maps. Image intensity of the DC component is estimated and subtracted from spatial modulation of magnetization (SPAMM) tagged MR images. DC peak interference in harmonic phase extraction is greatly reduced after DC component subtraction. The proposed method is validated using both simulated and MR acquired tagged images. Strain maps are obtained with better accuracy and smoothness after DC component subtraction.
  15. Abed SA, Sirat HM, Taher M
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2016 Nov;29(6):2071-2078.
    PMID: 28375126
    The leaves of Gynotroches axillaris were chemically and biologically studied. Sequential extraction of the leaves using petroleum ether, chloroform, and methanol afforded three extracts. Purification of pet. ether extract yielded, squalene and β-amyrin palmitate as the major compounds, together with palmitic acid and myristic acid as the minor components. The methanol extract yielded two flavonoids, quercitrin and epicatechin. The isolated compounds were characterized by MS, IR and NMR (1D and 2D). Anti-acetyl cholinesterase screening using TLC bio-autography assay showed that palmitic acid and myristic acid were the strongest inhibition with detection limit 1.14 and 1.28 μ/g/ 5 μL respectively. Antibacterial against Gram-positive and negative and antifungal activities exhibited that β-amyrin palmitate was the strongest (450-225 μ/mL) against all the tested microbes. The tyrosinase inhibition assay of extracts and the pure compounds were screened against tyrosinase enzyme. The inhibition percentage (I%) of methanol extract against tyrosinase enzyme was stronger than the other extracts with value 68.4%. Quercitrin (59%) was found to be the highest in the tyrosinase inhibition activity amongst the pure compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this is first report on the phytochemicals, tyrosinase inhibition, anti-acetycholinesterase and antimicrobial activities of the leaves of G. axillaris.
  16. Ali W, Abdullah A, Azam M
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2017 May;24(14):12723-12739.
    PMID: 28378312 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-8888-6
    The current study investigates the dynamic relationship between structural changes, real GDP per capita, energy consumption, trade openness, population density, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within the EKC framework over a period 1971-2013. The study used the autoregressive distributed lagged (ARDL) approach to investigate the long-run relationship between the selected variables. The study also employed the dynamic ordinary least squared (DOLS) technique to obtain the robust long-run estimates. Moreover, the causal relationship between the variables is explored using the VECM Granger causality test. Empirical results reveal a negative relationship between structural change and CO2 emissions in the long run. The results indicate a positive relationship between energy consumption, trade openness, and CO2 emissions. The study applied the turning point formula of Itkonen (2012) rather than the conventional formula of the turning point. The empirical estimates of the study do not support the presence of the EKC relationship between income and CO2 emissions. The Granger causality test indicates the presence of long-run bidirectional causality between energy consumption, structural change, and CO2 emissions in the long run. Economic growth, openness to trade, and population density unidirectionally cause CO2 emissions. These results suggest that the government should focus more on information-based services rather than energy-intensive manufacturing activities. The feedback relationship between energy consumption and CO2 emissions suggests that there is an ominous need to refurbish the energy-related policy reforms to ensure the installations of some energy-efficient modern technologies.
  17. Salema AA, Afzal MT, Bennamoun L
    Bioresour Technol, 2017 Jun;233:353-362.
    PMID: 28285228 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.02.113
    Pyrolysis of corn stalk biomass briquettes was carried out in a developed microwave (MW) reactor supplied with 2.45GHz frequency using 3kW power generator. MW power and biomass loading were the key parameters investigated in this study. Highest bio-oil, biochar, and gas yield of 19.6%, 41.1%, and 54.0% was achieved at different process condition. In terms of quality, biochar exhibited good heating value (32MJ/kg) than bio-oil (2.47MJ/kg). Bio-oil was also characterised chemically using FTIR and GC-MS method. This work may open new dimension towards development of large-scale MW pyrolysis technology.
  18. Isa NM, Hj Safian Shuri MF
    Sci Eng Ethics, 2018 02;24(1):109-127.
    PMID: 28281149 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-017-9887-1
    Advancements in science and technology have not only brought hope to humankind to produce disease-free offspring, but also offer possibilities to genetically enhance the next generation's traits and capacities. Human genetic enhancement, however, raises complex ethical questions, such as to what extent should it be allowed? It has been a great challenge for humankind to develop robust ethical guidelines for human genetic enhancement that address both public concerns and needs. We believe that research about public concerns is necessary prior to developing such guidelines, yet the issues have not been thoroughly investigated in many countries, including Malaysia. Since the novel often functions as a medium for the public to express their concerns, this paper explores ethical concerns about human genetic enhancement expressed in four Malay science fiction novels namely Klon, Leksikon Ledang, Transgenesis Bisikan Rimba and Transgenik Sifar. Religion has a strong influence on the worldview of the Malays therefore some concerns such as playing God are obviously religious. Association of the negative image of scientists as well as the private research companies with the research on human genetic enhancement reflects the authors' concerns about the main motivations for conducting such research and the extent to which such research will benefit society.
  19. Megat Harun Al Rashid Megat Ahmad, Abdul Aziz Mohamed, Azmi Ibrahim, Che Seman Mahmood, Putra, Edy Giri Rachman, Muhammad Rawi Muhammad Zin, et al.
    MyJurnal
    Alumina powder was synthesized from an aluminum precursor and studied using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique and complemented with transmission electron microscope (TEM). XRD measurement confirmed that the alumina produced was of high purity and highly crystalline D-phase. SANS examination indicates the formation of mass fractals microstructures with fractal dimension of about 2.8 on the alumina powder.
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