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Fulltext Development and validation of the medical professionals resilience scale

Rahman MA, Yusoff MSB, Roslan NS, Mohammad JA, Ahmad A

BMC Health Serv Res, 2021 May 21;21(1):482.
PMID: 34016095 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-021-06542-w

PURPOSE: Most of the resilience scales were developed for the non-medical population, therefore the purpose of this study was developing and validating a resilience scale for medical professionals - namely Medical Professionals Resilience Scale (MeRS).
METHODS: A questionnaire development and validation study was conducted. The resilience domains and items were identified and generated through a literature review. The content validation was carried out by content experts and the content validity index (CVI) was calculated. The face validation was performed by medical officers and the face validity index (FVI) was calculated. The final MeRS was administered to 167 medical officers, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis were performed to assess MeRS's factorial structure and internal consistency.
RESULTS: Four domains with 89 items of medical professionals' resilience were developed. Following that, the content and face validation was conducted, and a total of 41-items remained for construct validation. EFA extracted four factors, namely growth, control, involvement, and resourceful, with a total of 37 items. The items' CVI and FVI values were more than 0.80. The final MeRS's items had factor loading values ranged from 0.41 to 0.76, and the Cronbach's alpha values of the resilience domains ranged from 0.72 to 0.89.
CONCLUSIONS: MeRS is a promising scale for measuring medical professionals' resilience as it showed good psychometric properties. This study provided validity evidence in terms of content, response process, and internal structure that supported the validity of MeRS in the measurement of resilience domains among medical professionals.
Coastal meteorology on the dispersion of air particles at the Bachok GAW Station

Rahim HA, Khan MF, Ibrahim ZF, Shoaib A, Suradi H, Mohyeddin N, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2021 Aug 15;782:146783.
PMID: 33838363 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146783

Meteorology over coastal region is a driving factor to the concentration of air particles and reactive gases. This study aims to conduct a research to determine the level of year-round air particles and the interaction of the meteorological driving factors with the particle number and mass in 2018, which is moderately influenced by Southeast Asian haze. We obtained the measurement data for particle number count (PNC), mass, reactive gases, and meteorological factors from a Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) station located at Bachok Marine Research Center, Bachok, Kelantan, Malaysia. For various timeseries and correlation analyses, a 60-second resolution of the data has been averaged hourly and daily and visualized further. Our results showed the slight difference in particle behavior that is either measured by unit mass or number count at the study area. Diurnal variations showed that particles were generally high during morning and night periods. Spike was observed in August for PM2.5/PNC2.5 and PM10/PNC10 and in November for PMCoarse/PNCCoarse. From a polar plot, the particles came from two distinct sources (e.g., seaside and roadside) at the local scale. Regional wind vector shows two distinct wind-blown directions from northeast and southwest. The air mases were transported from northeast (e.g., Philippines, mainland China, and Taiwan) or southwest (e.g., Sumatra) region. Correlation analysis shows that relative humidity, wind direction, and pressure influence the increase in particles, whereas negative correlation with temperature is observed, and wind speed may have a potential role on the decline of particle concentration. The particles at the study area was highly influenced by the changes in regional wind direction and speed.
Occurrence, distribution and characteristics of microplastics in gastrointestinal tract and gills of commercial marine fish from Malaysia

Jaafar N, Azfaralariff A, Musa SM, Mohamed M, Yusoff AH, Lazim AM

Sci Total Environ, 2021 Aug 05;799:149457.
PMID: 34375867 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149457

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles with size below 5 mm, prevalence in marine environments and the occurrence have been reported in commercial marine fish worldwide. Microplastics' abilities to absorb various marine contaminants raised considerable concern on their role as a vector to spread harmful pollutants to the alienated environment. This study focussed on the occurrence of microplastics in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and gills of 158 fishes across 16 species from two locations in Malaysia coastal waters. Microplastics were detected approximately 86% in the GIT and 92% in the gills of examined fish. High incident of microplastics was detected in fishes from the area that is close to an urban area with average microplastics incident reaching up to 9.88 plastics items/individuals. Meanwhile, only 5.17 microplastics per individual were recorded in fishes from a less urbanised area. Isolated microplastics comprised 80.2% of fibres, 17.7% of fragments and the remaining was derived from filaments (3.1%). Infrared and Raman spectroscopy analysis of selected microplastics revealed the chemical composition of microplastics which comprised of polyethene (PE), polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalates (PET). FESEM images indicate, different surface characteristics of microplastics as a result of environmental exposure. Further, elemental analysis using EDX for green PE fragments showed the uneven distribution of chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe) on the surface, suggesting the adherence of heavy metals on the surface of microplastics. Overall findings indicate the widespread distribution of microplastics in commercial marine fishes from Malaysia waters and could potentially lead to human exposure through fish consumption.
Dexamethasone-induced stress exacerbates shedding, tissue antigen distribution, and pathology of caprine Brucellosis

Tanko P, Mohd Yusoff S, Emikpe BO, Onilude OM, Abdullateef A

J Immunoassay Immunochem, 2021 May 04;42(3):265-284.
PMID: 33577382 DOI: 10.1080/15321819.2020.1862862

This study investigated dexamethasone-treatment, shedding routes, tissue antigen distribution, and pathology of caprine Brucellosis. Eighteen non-pregnant goats were randomly grouped into A, B, and C. Group A was administered dexamethasone for 7 days at 2 mg/kg before inoculating 0.5 mL B. melitensis at 107 CFU ocularly while group B was inoculated 0.5 mL B. melitensis only, and C as control negative. Blood samples, ocular, nasal, and vaginal swabs were obtained for evaluation. Three goats were sacrificed from each group at days 21 and 42 post-inoculation (pi) and selected tissues collected for PCR, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry. Brucella melitensis was detected in the ocular swabs of group A significantly higher than group B. Shedding was prolonged in group A compared to B. The overall shedding was 22.2% in group A and 9.4% in group B. The uterus of both groups A and B revealed mild inflammation and microgranuloma, extensive necrotic lesions in lymph nodes. Liver showed multifocal necrosis predominantly in group A. Lesion scoring showed significantly higher scores in A compared to B. Strong immunostaining was observed in the liver, lungs, and spleen, predominantly at day 21 pi. This study demonstrated dexamethasone prolonged shedding, tissue antigen distribution, and pathology in dexamethasone-treated goats.
Fulltext Somatic mitochondrial DNA D-loop mutations in meningioma discovered: A preliminary data

Mohamed Yusoff AA, Mohd Khair SZN, Wan Abdullah WS, Abd Radzak SM, Abdullah JM

J Cancer Res Ther, 2020 12 22;16(6):1517-1521.
PMID: 33342822 DOI: 10.4103/jcrt.JCRT_1132_16

Background and Objective: Meningiomas are among the most common intracranial tumors of the central nervous system. It is widely accepted that the initiation and progression of meningiomas involve the accumulation of nucleus genetic alterations, but little is known about the implication of mitochondrial genomic alterations during development of these tumors. The human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contains a short hypervariable, noncoding displacement loop control region known as the D-Loop. Alterations in the mtDNA D-loop have been reported to occur in most types of human cancers. The purpose of this study was to assess the mtDNA D-loop mutations in Malaysian meningioma patients.
Materials and Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from 21 fresh-frozen tumor tissues and blood samples of the same meningioma patients. The entire mtDNA D-loop region (positions 16024-576) was polymerase chain reaction amplified using designed primers, and then amplification products were purified before the direct DNA sequencing proceeds.
Results: Overall, 10 (47.6%) patients were detected to harbor a total of 27 somatic mtDNA D-loop mutations. Most of these mtDNA mutations were identified in the hypervariable segment II (40.7%), with 33.3% being located mainly in the conserved sequence block II of the D310 sequence. Furthermore, 58 different germline variations were observed at 21 nucleotide positions.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that mtDNA alterations in the D-loop region may be an important and early event in developing meningioma. Further studies are needed, including validation in a larger patient cohort, to verify the clinicopathological outcomes of mtDNA mutation biomarkers in meningiomas.
Fulltext Mechanical Performance of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Modified with Waste Frying Oil and Crumb Rubber

Bilema M, Aman MY, Hassan NA, Memon ZA, Omar HA, Yusoff NIM, et al.

Materials (Basel), 2021 May 24;14(11).
PMID: 34073812 DOI: 10.3390/ma14112781

Researchers are exploring the utilisation of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) as a recycled material to determine the performance of non-renewable natural aggregates and other road products such as asphalt binder, in the construction and rehabilitation stage of asphalt pavements. The addition of RAP in asphalt mixtures is a complex process and there is a need to understand the design of the asphalt mixture. Some of the problems associated with adding RAP to asphalt mixtures are moisture damage and cracking damage caused by poor adhesion between the aggregates and asphalt binder. There is a need to add rejuvenators to the recycled mixture containing RAP to enhance its performance, excepting the rutting resistance. This study sought to improve asphalt mixture performance and mechanism by adding waste frying oil (WFO) and crumb rubber (CR) to 25 and 40% of the RAP content. Moreover, the utilisation of CR and WFO improved pavement sustainability and rutting performance. In addition, this study prepared five asphalt mixture samples and compared their stiffness, moisture damage and rutting resistance with the virgin asphalt. The results showed enhanced stiffness and rutting resistance of the RAP but lower moisture resistance. The addition of WFO and CR restored the RAP properties and produced rutting resistance, moisture damage and stiffness, which were comparable to the virgin asphalt mixture. All waste and virgin materials produce homogeneous asphalt mixtures, which influence the asphalt mixture performance. The addition of a high amount of WFO and a small amount of CR enhanced pavement sustainability and rutting performance.
Fulltext Recovery of recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens fused with cell wall-anchoring motif (LysM) from inclusion bodies using non-denaturing reagent (N-laurylsarcosine)

Mustafa AD, Kalyanasundram J, Sabidi S, Song AA, Abdullah M, Abdul Rahim R, et al.

BMC Biotechnol, 2019 05 14;19(1):27.
PMID: 31088425 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-019-0522-x

BACKGROUND: The current limitations of conventional BCG vaccines highlights the importance in developing novel and effective vaccines against tuberculosis (TB). The utilization of probiotics such as Lactobacillus plantarum for the delivery of TB antigens through in-trans surface display provides an effective and safe vaccine approach against TB. Such non-recombinant probiotic surface display strategy involves the fusion of candidate proteins with cell wall binding domain such as LysM, which enables the fusion protein to anchor the L. plantarum cell wall externally, without the need for vector genetic modification. This approach requires sufficient production of these recombinant fusion proteins in cell factory such as Escherichia coli which has been shown to be effective in heterologous protein production for decades. However, overexpression in E. coli expression system resulted in limited amount of soluble heterologous TB-LysM fusion protein, since most of it are accumulated as insoluble aggregates in inclusion bodies (IBs). Conventional methods of denaturation and renaturation for solubilizing IBs are costly, time-consuming and tedious. Thus, in this study, an alternative method for TB antigen-LysM protein solubilization from IBs based on the use of non-denaturating reagent N-lauroylsarcosine (NLS) was investigated.
RESULTS: Expression of TB antigen-LysM fusion genes was conducted in Escherichia coli, but this resulted in IBs deposition in contrast to the expression of TB antigens only. This suggested that LysM fusion significantly altered solubility of the TB antigens produced in E. coli. The non-denaturing NLS technique was used and optimized to successfully solubilize and purify ~ 55% of the recombinant cell wall-anchoring TB antigen from the IBs. Functionality of the recovered protein was analyzed via immunofluorescence microscopy and whole cell ELISA which showed successful and stable cell wall binding to L. plantarum (up to 5 days).
CONCLUSION: The presented NLS purification strategy enables an efficient and rapid method for obtaining higher yields of soluble cell wall-anchoring Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens-LysM fusion proteins from IBs in E. coli.
Fulltext Production and purification of polymerization-competent HIV-1 capsid protein p24 (CA) in NiCo21(DE3) Escherichia coli

Teow SY, Mualif SA, Omar TC, Wei CY, Yusoff NM, Ali SA

BMC Biotechnol, 2013;13:107.
PMID: 24304876 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6750-13-107

HIV genome is packaged and organized in a conical capsid, which is made up of ~1,500 copies of the viral capsid protein p24 (CA). Being a primary structural component and due to its critical roles in both late and early stages of the HIV replication cycle, CA has attracted increased interest as a drug discovery target in recent years. Drug discovery studies require large amounts of highly pure and biologically active protein. It is therefore desirable to establish a simple and reproducible process for efficient production of HIV-1 CA.
Fulltext Proof of concept in utilizing in-trans surface display system of Lactobacillus plantarum as mucosal tuberculosis vaccine via oral administration in mice

Mustafa AD, Kalyanasundram J, Sabidi S, Song AA, Abdullah M, Abdul Rahim R, et al.

BMC Biotechnol, 2018 10 11;18(1):63.
PMID: 30309359 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-018-0461-y

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is one of the most common and deadliest infectious diseases worldwide affecting almost a third of the world's population. Although this disease is being prevented and controlled by the Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) vaccine, the protective efficacy is highly variable and substandard (0-80%) in adults. Therefore, novel and effective tuberculosis vaccine that can overcome the limitations from BCG vaccine need to be developed.
RESULTS: A novel approach of utilizing an in-trans protein surface display system of Lactobacillus plantarum carrying and displaying combination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis subunit epitope antigens (Ag85B, CFP-10, ESAT-6, Rv0475 and Rv2031c) fused with LysM anchor motif designated as ACERL was constructed, cloned and expressed in Esherichia coli Rossetta expression host. Subsequently the binding capability of ACERL to the cell wall of L. plantarum was examined via the immunofluorescence microscopy and whole cell ELISA where successful attachment and consistent stability of cell wall binding up to 4 days was determined. The immunization of the developed vaccine of L. plantarum surface displaying ACERL (Lp ACERL) via the oral route was studied in mice for its immunogenicity effects. Lp ACERL immunization was able to invoke significant immune responses that favor the Th1 type cytokine response of IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-2 as indicated by the outcome from the cytokine profiling of spleen, lung, gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and the re-stimulation of the splenocytes from the immunized mice. Co-administration of an adjuvant consisting of Lactococcus lactis secreting mouse IL-12 (LcIL-12) with Lp ACERL was also investigated. It was shown that the addition of LcIL-12 was able to further generate significant Th1 type cytokines immune responses, similar or better than that of Lp ACERL alone which can be observed from the cytokine profiling of the immunized mice's spleen, lung and GIT.
CONCLUSIONS: This study represents a proof of concept in the development of L. plantarum as a carrier for a non-genetically modified organism (GMO) tuberculosis vaccine, which may be the strategy in the future for tuberculosis vaccine development.
Fulltext Surface display of glycosylated Tyrosinase related protein-2 (TRP-2) tumour antigen on Lactococcus lactis

Kalyanasundram J, Chia SL, Song AA, Raha AR, Young HA, Yusoff K

BMC Biotechnol, 2015;15:113.
PMID: 26715153 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-015-0231-z

The exploitation of the surface display system of food and commensal lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for bacterial, viral, or protozoan antigen delivery has received strong interest recently. The Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) status of the Lactococcus lactis coupled with a non-recombinant strategy of in-trans surface display, provide a safe platform for therapeutic drug and vaccine development. However, production of therapeutic proteins fused with cell-wall anchoring motifs is predominantly limited to prokaryotic expression systems. This presents a major disadvantage in the surface display system particularly when glycosylation has been recently identified to significantly enhance epitope presentation. In this study, the glycosylated murine Tyrosinase related protein-2 (TRP-2) with the ability to anchor onto the L. lactis cell wall was produced in suspension adapted Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO-S) cells by expressing TRP-2 fused with cell wall anchoring LysM motif (cA) at the C-terminus.
Extraction, anti-tyrosinase, and antioxidant activities of the collagen hydrolysate derived from Rhopilema hispidum

Ab Aziz NA, Salim N, Zarei M, Saari N, Yusoff FM

Prep Biochem Biotechnol, 2021;51(1):44-53.
PMID: 32701046 DOI: 10.1080/10826068.2020.1789991

The study was conducted to determine anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant activities of the extracted collagen hydrolysate (CH) derived from Malaysian jellyfish, Rhopilema hispidum. Collagen was extracted using 1:1 (w:v) 0.1 M NaOH solution at temperature 25 °C for 48 hr followed by treatment of 1:2 (w:v) distilled water for another 24 hr and freeze-dried. The extracted collagen was hydrolyzed using papain at optimum temperature, pH and enzyme/substrate ratio [E/S] of 60 °C, 7.0 and 1:50, respectively. CH was found to exhibit tyrosinase inhibitory activity, DPPH radical scavenging and metal ion-chelating assays up to 64, 28, and 83%, respectively, after 8 hr of hydrolysis process. The molecular weight of CH was found <10 kDa consisting of mainly Gly (19.219%), Glu (10.428%), and Arg (8.848%). The UV-visible spectrum analysis showed a major and minor peak at 218 and 276 nm, accordingly. The FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the amide groups in CH. The SEM images demonstrated spongy and porous structure of CH. In the cytotoxicity study, CH has no cytotoxicity against mouse embryonic 3T3 fibroblast cell line with IC50 value >500 µg/ml. Results revealed that the CH generated from this study has a potential to be developed as active ingredient in cosmeceutical application.
Short- and long-term probiotic effects of Enterococcus hirae isolated from fermented vegetable wastes on the growth, immune responses, and disease resistance of hybrid catfish (Clarias gariepinus × Clarias macrocephalus)

Hamid NH, Daud HM, Kayansamruaj P, Hassim HA, Mohd Yusoff MS, Abu Bakar SN, et al.

Fish Shellfish Immunol, 2021 Jul;114:1-19.
PMID: 33872754 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2021.04.012

This study evaluated the short- and long-term effects of dietary supplementation with Enterococcus hirae strain UPM02 on the growth performance, immunity, and disease resistance of hybrid catfish (Clarias gariepinus × Clarias macrocephalus) against Aeromonas hydrophila infection. In the long-term trial, fingerling fish were fed diets containing 0 (control), 2 × 105, or 2 × 107 CFU/g E. hirae UPM02 for 120 days. Administration of E. hirae UPM02 had significant effects on the specific growth rate (SGR), feed utilization efficiency, body indices (P
Hemispheric Lateralization of Auditory Working Memory Regions During Stochastic Resonance: An fMRI Study

Othman EA, Yusoff AN, Mohamad M, Abdul Manan H, Abd Hamid AI, Giampietro V

J Magn Reson Imaging, 2020 06;51(6):1821-1828.
PMID: 31794119 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.27016

BACKGROUND: The auditory and prefrontal cortex supports auditory working memory processing. Many neuroimaging studies have shown hemispheric lateralization of auditory working memory brain regions in the presence of background noise, but few studies have focused on the lateralization of these regions during stochastic resonance.
PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of stochastic resonance on lateralization of auditory working memory regions, and also to examine the brain-behavior relationship during stochastic resonance.
STUDY TYPE: Cross-sectional.
POPULATION/SUBJECTS: Forty healthy young adults (18-24 years old).
FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0T, T1 , and T2 *-weighted imaging.
ASSESSMENT: The auditory working memory performance was assessed using a backward recall task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity during task performance. Functional MRI data were analyzed using SPM12 and WFU PickAtlas.
STATISTICAL TESTS: One-way independent analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted on the behavioral and functional data to examine the main effect of noise level on performance (P
Fulltext Fatigue and recovery among Malaysian doctors: the role of work-related activities during non-work time

Mohd Fauzi MF, Mohd Yusoff H, Mat Saruan NA, Muhamad Robat R, Abdul Manaf MR, Ghazali M

BMJ Open, 2020 09 25;10(9):e036849.
PMID: 32978189 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-036849

OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to estimate the level of acute fatigue, chronic fatigue and intershift recovery among doctors working at public hospitals in Malaysia and determine their inter-relationship and their association with work-related activities during non-work time.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional.
SETTING: Seven core clinical disciplines from seven tertiary public hospitals in Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: Study was conducted among 330 randomly-sampled doctors. Response rate was 80.61% (n=266).
RESULTS: The mean score of acute fatigue, chronic fatigue and intershift recovery were 68.51 (SD=16.549), 54.60 (SD=21.259) and 37.29 (SD=19.540), respectively. All these scores were out of 100 points each. Acute and chronic fatigue were correlated (r=0.663), and both were negatively correlated with intershift recovery (r=-0.704 and r=-0.670, respectively). Among the work-related activities done during non-work time, work-related ruminations dominated both the more frequent activities and the association with poorer fatigue and recovery outcomes. Rumination on being scolded/violated was found to be positively associated with both acute fatigue (adjusted regression coefficient (Adj.b)=2.190, 95% CI=1.139 to 3.240) and chronic fatigue (Adj.b=5.089, 95% CI=3.876 to 6.303), and negatively associated with recovery (Adj.b=-3.316, 95% CI=-4.516 to -2.117). Doing work task at workplace or attending extra work-related activities such as locum and attending training were found to have negative associations with fatigue and positive associations with recovery. Nevertheless, doing work-related activities at home was positively associated with acute fatigue. In terms of communication, it was found that face-to-face conversation with partner did associate with higher recovery but virtual conversation with partner associated with higher acute fatigue and lower recovery.
CONCLUSIONS: Work-related ruminations during non-work time were common and associated with poor fatigue and recovery outcomes while overt work activities done at workplace during non-work time were associated with better fatigue and recovery levels. There is a need for future studies with design that allow causal inference to address these relationships.
The ameliorative effect of ascorbic acid on the oxidative status, live weight and recovery rate in road transport stressed goats in a hot humid tropical environment

Nwunuji TP, Mayowa OO, Yusoff SM, Bejo SK, Salisi S, Mohd EA

Anim Sci J, 2014 May;85(5):611-6.
PMID: 24612236 DOI: 10.1111/asj.12174

The ameliorative effect of ascorbic acid (AA) on live weight following transportation is vital in animal husbandry. This study investigated the influence of AA on live weight, rectal temperature (rt), and oxidative status of transport stressed goats in a hot humid tropical environment. Twenty-four goats were divided into four groups, A, B, C and D of six animals each. Group A were administered AA 100 mg/kg intramuscularly 30 min prior to 3.5 h transportation. Group B was administered AA following transportation. Group C were transported but not administered AA as positive controls while group D were not transported but were administered normal saline as negative controls. Live weight, rt and blood samples were collected before, immediately post-transport (pt), 24 h, 3 days, 7 days and 10 days pt. Plasma was used for malondialdehyde (MDA) analysis while hemolysates were used for superoxide dismutase (SOD) analysis. There was minimal live weight loss in group A compared to groups B and C. Group A recorded reduced MDA activities and increased SOD activities compared to groups B and C which recorded significantly high MDA activities. This study revealed that AA administration ameliorated the stress responses induced by transportation in animals in hot humid tropical environments. The administration of AA to goats prior to transportation could ameliorate stress and enhance productivity.
Fulltext Scoping Review of frequently highlighted attributes of Medical Professionalism in an Undergraduate Medical Education Context

Sattar K, Yusoff MSB, Arifin WN, Yasin MAM, Nor MZM

Pak J Med Sci, 2021 7 23;37(4):1221-1229.
PMID: 34290812 DOI: 10.12669/pjms.37.4.4004

Background and Objectives: Medical Professionalism (MP) establishes the trust between society and doctors. We aimed at finding frequently highlighted qualities of MP in the literature.
Methods: We searched PubMed and Scopus for attributes of MP, using terms, "Professionalism," "Medical Students," and "Undergraduate Medical Education". We included English language, original research articles with MP attributes from the perspective of undergraduate medical education, any nationality, race, gender, and age range, as the central topic of the article. Papers published from January 1st 1986 to 29th February 2020 were included.
Results: From 1349 identified articles, finally, 18 were included, authored in 10 countries, collectively contributing to answering the scoping review question. Two themes were identified: (1) Nurturing of MP, 11 (61.11%) out of 18 included articles, highlighted "respect" as the most dominant attribute as it appeared in 6 (54.55%) out of 11 reviews, "communication" 5 (45.45 %) studies and "honesty" and "integrity" 4 (36.36%). (2) Assessment of MP, 7 (38.89%) studies, and majority, 4 (57.14 %) assessed MP using American Board of Internal Medicine's elements of MP, viz, "altruism, accountability, excellence, duty, honor and integrity, respect for others."
Conclusions: Themes exemplified MP's most discoursed issues. The attributes are frequently used worldwide. MP deliberates as a commitment toward the individual patient, society, and necessitates transforming from its present generic form to more explicit details.
Fulltext Identification and Analysis of microRNAs in Chlorella sorokiniana Using High-Throughput Sequencing

Azaman SNA, Satharasinghe DA, Tan SW, Nagao N, Yusoff FM, Yeap SK

Genes (Basel), 2020 09 25;11(10).
PMID: 32992970 DOI: 10.3390/genes11101131

Chlorella is a popular microalga with robust physiological and biochemical characteristics, which can be cultured under various conditions. The exploration of the small RNA content of Chlorella could improve strategies for the enhancement of metabolite production from this microalga. In this study, stress was introduced to the Chlorella sorokiniana culture to produce high-value metabolites such as carotenoids and phenolic content. The small RNA transcriptome of C. sorokiniana was sequenced, focusing on microRNA (miRNA) content. From the analysis, 98 miRNAs were identified in cultures subjected to normal and stress conditions. The functional analysis result showed that the miRNA targets found were most often involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, followed by protein metabolism, cell cycle, and porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism. Furthermore, the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as carotenoids, terpenoids, and lipids was found mostly in stress conditions. These results may help to improve our understanding of regulatory mechanisms of miRNA in the biological and metabolic process of Chlorella species. It is important and timely to determine the true potential of this microalga species and to support the potential for genetic engineering of microalgae as they receive increasing focus for their development as an alternative source of biofuel, food, and health supplements.
Fulltext Metformin Use in Gestational Diabetes: Awareness, Attitude, and Practice among Healthcare Professionals in Malaysia

Daud NAA, Mohiuddin SG, Ong YP, Yusof F, Yusoff F, Harun SN, et al.

J Pharm Bioallied Sci, 2021 05 26;13(2):230-237.
PMID: 34349484 DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_542_20

Background: Metformin has been added in the Malaysian clinical practice guideline (CPG) as one of the first-line options in the management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); however, the uptake on this practice among healthcare professionals is unknown.
Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the awareness, attitude, and practice and their predictors on the use of metformin for GDM among healthcare professionals in Malaysia.
Materials and Methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study in three tertiary hospitals in Malaysia. Medical doctors and pharmacists working in several departments were invited to participate in a survey using self-administered questionnaires.
Results: From 350 questionnaires distributed, 225 were completed by medical doctors (43.1%), pharmacists (40.4%), and specialists (7.5%). Less than 30% of them were aware on the option of using metformin as one of the first-line agents in GDM. Education level, department, and profession were found to be associated with the awareness level (P = 0.016, P = 0.004, and P = 0.001, respectively). 70.2% of the respondents showed a positive attitude toward metformin use in GDM. Only 64 (28.4%) of the respondents have prescribed/dispensed metformin for GDM before, although more than half will consider doing so in the future. Having postgraduate qualifications increased the likelihood of having a good awareness (odds ratio [OR]: 2.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23-4.85) and to consider prescribing/dispensing metformin for GDM patients (OR: 2.27, 95% CI 1.08-4.78).
Conclusion: Despite a positive attitude toward metformin use in GDM among healthcare professionals in Malaysia, their awareness level on this practice was low as they currently prefer the use of insulin over metformin.
Fulltext A Comparison of Culture Characteristics between Human Amniotic Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Dental Stem Cells

Yusoff NH, Alshehadat SA, Azlina A, Kannan TP, Hamid SS

Trop Life Sci Res, 2015 Apr;26(1):21-9.
PMID: 26868590 MyJurnal

In the past decade, the field of stem cell biology is of major interest among researchers due to its broad therapeutic potential. Stem cells are a class of undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate into specialised cell types. Stem cells can be classified into two main types: adult stem cells (adult tissues) and embryonic stem cells (embryos formed during the blastocyst phase of embryological development). This review will discuss two types of adult mesenchymal stem cells, dental stem cells and amniotic stem cells, with respect to their differentiation lineages, passage numbers and animal model studies. Amniotic stem cells have a greater number of differentiation lineages than dental stem cells. On the contrary, dental stem cells showed the highest number of passages compared to amniotic stem cells. For tissue regeneration based on animal studies, amniotic stem cells showed the shortest time to regenerate in comparison with dental stem cells.
Fulltext Revealing the influences of functional groups in azo dyes on the degradation efficiency and power output in solar photocatalytic fuel cell

Khalik WF, Ho LN, Ong SA, Wong YS, Yusoff NA, Lee SL

J Environ Health Sci Eng, 2020 Dec;18(2):769-777.
PMID: 33312601 DOI: 10.1007/s40201-020-00502-y

In this study, the degradation efficiency and electricity generation of the azo dyes affected by the functional groups and molecular structure in a solar photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) system were investigated and discussed in detail. Four different azo dyes such as, Acid Orange 7 (AO7), Acid Red 18 (AR18), Reactive Black 5 (RB5), Reactive Red 120 (RR120) with different molecular structure were evaluated. The degradation efficiency of AO7, AR18, RB5 and RR120 achieved 5.6 ± 0.3%, 11.1 ± 0.6%, 41.9 ± 0.9% and 52.1 ± 1.3%, respectively, after 6 h irradiated under solar light. In addition, the maximum power density, Pmax for AO7, AR18, RB5 and RR120 was 0.0269 ± 0.01, 0.111 ± 0.03, 1.665 ± 0.67 and 4.806 ± 1.79 mW cm-2, respectively. Meanwhile, the concentration of COD for AO7, AR18, RB5 and RR120 reduced to 16 ± 0.1, 10 ± 0.3, 7 ± 0.6 and 3 ± 0.9 mg L-1, respectively. The concentration ratio of benzene / naphthalene, benzene / azo bond and naphthalene / azo bond, respectively, was analyzed to investigate the impact of the functional groups over photodegradation of the azo dyes in PFC. Electron releasing groups (-OH and -NH2) and electron withdrawing groups (-SO3Na) which attached to the naphthalene or benzene ring also played a pivotal role in the degradation mechanism.

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