Displaying publications 81 - 100 of 134 in total

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  1. Qurash MT, Yaacob NY, Azuan N, Khaleel YS, Zakaria R
    J Med Ultrasound, 2018 06 18;26(4):210-214.
    PMID: 30662153 DOI: 10.4103/JMU.JMU_40_18
    Interventional radiology procedures are becoming more challenging over time; thus, there is a need for excellent and reliable training methods. Training on live patients is neither safe nor an ethical solution. Alternatives are many and varied, but the most popular is ultrasound guided simulators. This report shows how a simple, homemade, low-cost phantom material, and construction modules can provide several advantages over ordinary gelatin phantoms. A new layering technique and target synthesis are described for the biopsy phantom, including tips on decreasing the needle pass artifact as well as controlling the mixture echogenicity.
  2. Abd Aziz CB, Ahmad Suhaimi SQ, Hasim H, Ahmad AH, Long I, Zakaria R
    J Integr Med, 2019 Jan;17(1):66-70.
    PMID: 30591413 DOI: 10.1016/j.joim.2018.12.002
    OBJECTIVE: This study was done to determine whether Tualang honey could prevent the altered nociceptive behaviour, with its associated changes of oxidative stress markers and morphology of the spinal cord, among the offspring of prenatally stressed rats.

    METHODS: Pregnant rats were divided into three groups: control, stress, and stress treated with Tualang honey. The stress and stress treated with Tualang honey groups were subjected to restraint stress from day 11 of pregnancy until delivery. Ten week old male offspring (n = 9 from each group) were given formalin injection and their nociceptive behaviours were recorded. After 2 h, the rats were sacrificed, and their spinal cords were removed to assess oxidative stress activity and morphology. Nociceptive behaviour was analysed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), while the levels of oxidative stress parameters and number of Nissl-stained neurons were analysed using a one-way ANOVA.

    RESULTS: This study demonstrated that prenatal stress was associated with increased nociceptive behaviour, changes in the oxidative stress parameters and morphology of the spinal cord of offspring exposed to prenatal stress; administration of Tualang honey reduced the alteration of these parameters.

    CONCLUSION: This study provides a preliminary understanding of the beneficial effects of Tualang honey against the changes in oxidative stress and neuronal damage in the spinal cord of the offspring of prenatally stressed rats.

  3. Ooi KL, Zakaria R, Tan ML, Sulaiman SF
    J Ethnopharmacol, 2021 Oct 05;278:114294.
    PMID: 34090914 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114294
    ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Anti-hyperuricemic plant parts that were selected for this study, are traditionally used to treat gout in Malaysia. Caffeic acid (a hydroxycinnamic acid), apigenin (a flavone), myricetin, quercetin and kaempferol (flavonols), were reported to act as potent xanthine oxidase inhibitors. These compounds can be found in some of the selected ethnomedicinal plants. However, there is still lack of published research works on the quantification of these inhibitors from these urate-lowering phytotherapies.

    AIMS OF THE STUDY: The compounds were quantified from 21 hydrolyzed extracts of the phytotherapies for gout. The activity-content contributions of the compounds to the potent extracts were determined.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anti-hyperuricemic activities of the extracts and the compounds were determined using a xanthine oxidase inhibitory assay. Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) coupled with Photodiode Array Detector (PDA) was used to quantify the compounds in the extracts.

    RESULTS: The results revealed higher activity of the hydrolyzed extracts. The hydrolyzed extract of the flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum Merr. & L.M.Perry exhibited the highest activity (EC50 = 39.58 ± 0.10 μg/mL) due to the highest content of myricetin (42,297.55 ± 159.47 μg/g). The activity-content contribution of myricetin was 7.69%. Due to the highest activity of apigenin (EC50 = 3.27 ± 0.09 μg/mL), the highest contribution of this flavone (29.96%) to the hydrolyzed extract of Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq. was observed.

    CONCLUSION: The results revealed different contents and activities of xanthine oxidase inhibitors in the hydrolyzed extracts of anti-hyperuricemic plants can play a major role to influence the activity.

  4. Zakaria R, Sutan R, Jaafar R
    PMID: 32642469 DOI: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_497_19
    INTRODUCTION: Educating a mother of a premature baby and providing a structured written educational information can enhance better understanding and practice. This article describes the development and implementation of a health educational package for preemie moms in the care of their premature baby after neonatal intensive care unit discharge.

    SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The package known as "Preemie Mom: A Guide for You" was designed based on Stufflebeam's model and has four phases: (1) content evaluation from available sources of information, (2) input evaluation based on mothers' need related to premature baby care, (3) process evaluation for package designing and content drafting, and (4) product evaluation to determine its feasibility. The contents were extracted and collated for validation by consulting various specialists in related fields. A final draft was drawn based on comments given by experts. Comments from the mothers were taken for formatting, visual appearance, and content flow for easy understanding and usage.

    RESULTS: All ten existing articles and eight relevant documents were gathered and critically appraised. The package was designed based on 11 main components related to the care of premature baby after discharge. The content validation was accepted at a minimum score of 0.85 for the item-level content validity index analysis. Both experts and mothers were agreed that the package is easy to use and well accepted as a guide after discharge. The agreement rate by the mothers was at 93.33% and greater for the front page, writing style, structure, presentation, and motives of the package.

    CONCLUSIONS: "Preemie Mom: A Guide for You" is a validated health educational package and ready to be used to meet the needs of the mother for premature baby care at home.

  5. Hajissa K, Zakaria R, Suppian R, Mohamed Z
    J Adv Vet Anim Res, 2019 Jun;6(2):174-182.
    PMID: 31453188 DOI: 10.5455/javar.2019.f329
    Despite the significant progress in the recent efforts toward developing an effective vaccine against toxoplasmosis, the search for new protective vaccination strategy still remains a challenge and elusive goal because it becomes the appropriate way to prevent the disease. Various experimental approaches in the past few years showed that developing a potential vaccine against the disease can be achievable. The combination of multi-epitopes expressing different stages of the parasite life cycle has become an optimal strategy for acquiring a potent, safe, and effective vaccine. Epitope-based vaccines have gained attention as alternative vaccine candidates due to their ability of inducing protective immune responses. This mini-review highlights the current status and the prospects of Toxoplasma gondii vaccine development along with the application of epitope-based vaccine in the future parasite immunization as a novel under development and evaluation strategy.
  6. Rafan SN, Zakaria R, Ismail SB, Muhamad R
    J Taibah Univ Med Sci, 2018 Oct;13(5):459-464.
    PMID: 31435362 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2018.06.005
    Objectives: Prehypertension refers to a systolic blood pressure of 120-139 mmHg systolic or a diastolic blood pressure of 80-89 mmHg. Estimation of the prevalence of prehypertension in the population and identification of cardiovascular associated factors are important to reduce progression to hypertension. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of prehypertension and its associated factors among Malaysian adults.

    Methods: In 2015, a cross-sectional study was conducted among adults visiting an outpatient clinic in Northeast Malaysia. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using Malay and English versions of the Malaysia Non-Communicable Disease surveillance questionnaire. This instrument captured information about sociodemographic, lifestyle status, and anthropometric data. Blood pressure was measured three times with a sphygmomanometer, the first measurement value was discarded, and an average of blood pressure from the second two readings was recorded for further data analysis. Logistic regression was performed to analyse factors associated with prehypertension.

    Result: A total 151 adults participated in the study, and the prevalence of prehypertension was 37.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.29, 44.69). Factors associated with prehypertension in this study were age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.06 95% CI: 1.02, 1.11; p = 0.007), male sex (aOR = 4.44 95% CI: 1.58, 12.44; p = 0.005), and abnormal waist circumference (aOR = 31.65 95% CI: 11.25, 89.02; p 

  7. Yee LS, Zakaria R, Mohamad N, Fong OW
    J Taibah Univ Med Sci, 2021 Aug;16(4):632-636.
    PMID: 34408618 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2021.01.001
    Non-gestational choriocarcinoma of the ovary is an extremely rare clinical condition. Very few cases of this high-grade malignancy of the ovary are reported in the literature worldwide. Given the rarity of the tumour, this disease is generally overlooked, which leads to delayed diagnosis and management. For the attending clinicians, the non-gestational choriocarcinoma of the ovary poses a diagnostic challenge due to its non-specific clinical presentations. A 16-year-old girl presented with pain in the right iliac fossa and with a positive urine pregnancy test. Despite being sexually inactive, the patient was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy and underwent emergency laparoscopic surgery. Six weeks later, the histopathological analysis revealed a diagnosis of non-gestational choriocarcinoma of the ovary. Further evaluations showed that her cancer had already advanced to stage IV. In this case report, the non-specific presentations of the disease, radiological features, current treatments, and possible safety strategies are discussed.
  8. Hajissa K, Zakaria R, Suppian R, Mohamed Z
    Iran J Parasitol, 2018 8 3;13(2):215-224.
    PMID: 30069205
    Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a widely prevalent intracellular protozoan parasite which causes serious clinical and veterinary problems. Development of an effective vaccine for controlling toxoplasmosis is an extremely important aim. In the present study, the protective efficacy of recombinant multiepitope antigen (USM.TOXO1) expressing nine potential epitopes identified from SAG1, GRA2, and GRA7 of Toxoplasma gondii was evaluated in BALB/c mice.

    Methods: Mice were immunized subcutaneously with three doses of USM.TOXO1 antigen (10 μg/ml). Following the immunization, the IgG antibody, IgG subclass, IFN-γ and IL-4 production were evaluated using ELISA, the study was conducted at Animal Research and Service Center (ARASC), USM Health Campus in 2016.

    Results: Mice immunized with USM.TOXO1 significantly induced a mixed Th1/Th2 response polarized toward the IgG1 antibody isotype. While the cytokine analysis revealed a significant release of IFN-γ cytokines.

    Conclusion: USM.TOXO1 is a potential vaccine candidate that elicits strong immunity in BALB/c mice. The proven immunogenicity of the generated antigen can serve as a premise for further use of epitope-based vaccine in the immunoprevention of human and animal toxoplasmosis.

  9. Azman KF, Zakaria R
    Iran J Basic Med Sci, 2019 Dec;22(12):1368-1377.
    PMID: 32133053 DOI: 10.22038/IJBMS.2019.14027
    This paper reviews the potential role of honey as a therapeutic antioxidant to reduce oxidative stress and improve cognitive ageing. All articles indexed to PubMed Central (PMC) were searched using the following key words: honey, antioxidant, memory and ageing. Honey is a natural insect-derived product with therapeutic, medicinal and nutritional values. Antioxidant properties of honey quench biologically-circulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and counter oxidative stress while restoring the cellular antioxidant defense system. Antioxidant properties of honey may complement its nootropic effects to reduce cognitive ageing.
  10. Al-Rahbi B, Zakaria R, Othman Z, Hassan A, Ahmad AH
    Int Sch Res Notices, 2014;2014:521065.
    PMID: 27379299 DOI: 10.1155/2014/521065
    The present study aims to evaluate the antioxidant and anxiolytic-like effect of Tualang honey in stressed ovariectomized (OVX) rats. The animals were divided into; (i) nonstressed sham-operated control rats, (ii) sham-operated control rats exposed to stress, (iii) nonstressed OVX rats, (iv) OVX rats exposed to stress, (v) OVX rats exposed to stress and treated with 17 β-oestradiol (E2) (20 μg daily, sc), and (vi) OVX rats exposed to stress and treated with Tualang honey (0.2 g/kg body weight, orally). The open field test was used to evaluate the anxiety-like behaviour and ELISA kits were used to measure oxidant/antioxidant status of the brain homogenates. The result showed that anxiety-like behavior was significantly increased in stressed OVX compared to other groups, and administering either E2 or Tualang honey significantly decreased anxiety-like behaviour in stressed OVX rats. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PCO) were significantly decreased while the levels/activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferases (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) were significantly increased in the brain homogenates of treated stressed OVX groups compared to untreated stressed OVX. In conclusion, Tualang honey has protective effects against brain oxidative stress and may be useful alternative anxiolytic agent especially for postmenopausal women.
  11. Abdo Qaid EY, Abdullah Z, Zakaria R, Long I
    Int J Mol Sci, 2022 Nov 03;23(21).
    PMID: 36362262 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113474
    Neuroinflammation following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration induces locomotor deficits and anxiety-like behaviour. In this study, minocycline was compared to memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, for its effects on LPS-induced locomotor deficits and anxiety-like behaviour in rats. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were administered either two different doses of minocycline (25 or 50 mg/kg/day, i.p.) or 10 mg/kg/day of memantine (i.p.) for 14 days four days prior to an LPS (5 mg/kg, i.p.) injection. Locomotor activity and anxiety-like behaviour were assessed using the open-field test (OFT). The phosphorylated tau protein level was measured using ELISA, while the expression and density of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cAMP response element-binding (CREB) protein in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) were measured using immunohistochemistry and Western blot, respectively. Minocycline treatment reduced locomotor deficits and anxiety-like behaviour associated with reduced phosphorylated tau protein levels, but it upregulated BDNF/CREB protein expressions in the mPFC in a comparable manner to memantine, with a higher dose of minocycline having better benefits. Minocycline treatment attenuated LPS-induced locomotor deficits and anxiety-like behaviour in rats and decreased phosphorylated tau protein levels, but it increased the expressions of the BDNF/CREB proteins in the mPFC.
  12. Emami Moghaddam SA, Harun R, Mokhtar MN, Zakaria R
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2019 Jul 01;132:592-599.
    PMID: 30922914 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.03.191
    This research aimed to improve the stability of Chlorella-Alginate Beads (CABs) by zeolite molecular sieves 13X. Dissolution time of synthesized Zeolite-Algal-Alginate Beads (ZABs) in a chelating agent revealed a significant improvement on the beads stability (78.5 ± 0.5 min) compared to the control beads (51.5 ± 0.5 min) under the optimum conditions of zeolite/alginate (1.5:1), pH 5 and 2% of beads. Monitoring cell growth during 5 days of incubation showed good biocompatibility of zeolite 13X. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated rough surface and spherical shapes of ZABs. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of ZABs confirmed the presence of zeolite 13X within the matrix. The zeta potential value of ZABs indicated that the beads were relatively stable. The findings of this research showed that zeolite molecular sieves 13X have the potential to improve the stability of algal-alginate beads compared to common beads.
  13. Cox-Singh J, Pomrehn AS, Rahman HA, Zakaria R, Miller AO, Singh B
    Int J Parasitol, 1999 May;29(5):717-21.
    PMID: 10404266
    In the absence of a suitable Brugia malayi antigen detection assay, PCR remains one of the more sensitive alternatives to Giemsa-stained thick blood films for B. malayi detection. The need for refrigerated storage and transportation of blood has limited the use of PCR for large-scale epidemiology studies in remote endemic areas. Here we report simple finger-prick blood-spot collection, a one-tube DNA template extraction method and the development of a B. malayi-specific nested PCR assay. The assay was tested on 145 field samples and was positive for all 30 microscopy-positive samples and for an additional 13 samples which were microscopy-negative.
  14. Boon, Y. T., Naim, M. N., Zakaria, R., Abu Bakar, N. F., Ahmad, N.
    MyJurnal
    A study on the feasibility of using gel electrophoresis technique in grading the agarwood oil
    quality was investigated. Prior to electrophoresis, the emulsified agarwood oil droplets were
    screened by a diffuse layer of ions that have equal absolute charge to that of the droplets surface
    charge in aqueous phase. The condition was obtained by varying the concentrations of nonionic
    surfactant; Tween 80 until the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) value of 0.0167%
    (v/v) was achieved. The prepared droplets suspended in the aqueous within nano-metre size and
    had ability to migrate through the agarose gel with its own specific electrophoretic mobility.
    However, due to the limitation of gel pore size, only large oil droplets (>200 nm) indicated
    visible bands. Overall, a novel work for grading the emulsified agarwood oil droplet with its
    own electrical properties was feasible.
  15. Sajid MR, Muhammad N, Zakaria R, Shahbaz A, Bukhari SAC, Kadry S, et al.
    Interdiscip Sci, 2021 Jun;13(2):201-211.
    PMID: 33675528 DOI: 10.1007/s12539-021-00423-w
    BACKGROUND: In the broader healthcare domain, the prediction bears more value than an explanation considering the cost of delays in its services. There are various risk prediction models for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in the literature for early risk assessment. However, the substantial increase in CVDs-related mortality is challenging global health systems, especially in developing countries. This situation allows researchers to improve CVDs prediction models using new features and risk computing methods. This study aims to assess nonclinical features that can be easily available in any healthcare systems, in predicting CVDs using advanced and flexible machine learning (ML) algorithms.

    METHODS: A gender-matched case-control study was conducted in the largest public sector cardiac hospital of Pakistan, and the data of 460 subjects were collected. The dataset comprised of eight nonclinical features. Four supervised ML algorithms were used to train and test the models to predict the CVDs status by considering traditional logistic regression (LR) as the baseline model. The models were validated through the train-test split (70:30) and tenfold cross-validation approaches.

    RESULTS: Random forest (RF), a nonlinear ML algorithm, performed better than other ML algorithms and LR. The area under the curve (AUC) of RF was 0.851 and 0.853 in the train-test split and tenfold cross-validation approach, respectively. The nonclinical features yielded an admissible accuracy (minimum 71%) through the LR and ML models, exhibiting its predictive capability in risk estimation.

    CONCLUSION: The satisfactory performance of nonclinical features reveals that these features and flexible computational methodologies can reinforce the existing risk prediction models for better healthcare services.

  16. Srinivasan V, Mohamed M, Zakaria R, Ahmad AH
    Infect Disord Drug Targets, 2012 Oct;12(5):371-9.
    PMID: 23082960
    Malaria, one of the most deadly diseases of our time affects more than 200 million people across the globe and is responsible for about one million deaths annually. Until recently Plasmodium falciparum has been the main cause for malarial infection in human beings but now Plasmodium knowlesi from Malaysia remains as one of the most virulent parasite spreading fast not only in Malaysia but in different parts of the world. Hence there is urgent need for the global fight to control malaria. Global malaria eradication program by use of insecticide spraying has resulted in good response in the past. Treatment of malaria infected patients with anti-malarial drugs has helped to eliminate malarial infections successfully but with increased resistance displayed by malarial parasites to these drugs there is resurgence of malaria caused both by drug resistance as well as by infection caused by new malarial species like Plasmodium knowlesi. With recent advances on molecular studies on malarial parasites it is now clear that the pineal hormone melatonin acts as a cue for growth and development of Plasmodium falciparum. Same may be true for Plasmodium knowlesi also. Hence treatment modalities that can effectively block the action of melatonin on Plasmodium species during night time by way of using either bright light therapy or use of melatonin receptor blocking can be considered as useful approaches for eliminating malarial infection in man.
  17. Qaid E, Zakaria R, Sulaiman SF, Yusof NM, Shafin N, Othman Z, et al.
    Hum Exp Toxicol, 2017 Dec;36(12):1315-1325.
    PMID: 28111974 DOI: 10.1177/0960327116689714
    Impairment of memory is one of the most frequently reported symptoms during sudden hypoxia exposure in human. Cortical atrophy has been linked to the impaired memory function and is suggested to occur with chronic high-altitude exposure. However, the precise molecular mechanism(s) of hypoxia-induced memory impairment remains an enigma. In this work, we review hypoxia-induced learning and memory deficit in human and rat studies. Based on data from rat studies using different protocols of continuous hypoxia, we try to elicit potential mechanisms of hypobaric hypoxia-induced memory deficit.
  18. Ab Aziz S, Mohd Nasir MH, Jusoh AR, Azman KF, Ismail CAN, Ahmad AH, et al.
    Heliyon, 2024 Feb 29;10(4):e26106.
    PMID: 38390049 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26106
    Olfactory marker protein (OMP) is extensively studied in mature olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) for understanding olfaction physiology. However, no bibliometric analysis on this topic exists. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of OMP research articles, wherein the publication count was assessed by year, country, journal, and author, collaboration by country, and productivity of the authors. Additionally, key terms and research themes were identified. Using the search phrase "olfactory marker protein" in Scopus, we retrieved 691 original research articles by 2487 authors since 1974. Publications showed an increasing trend, with the United States leading in quantity and collaboration. Our thematic map highlights "Olfactory bulb, regeneration, olfactory" as the primary research domain, while "olfaction, olfactory sensory neuron, glomerulus" and "olfactory receptor neurons, apoptosis, olfactory dysfunction" emerge as essential future research topics. These bibliometric findings offer insights into the global OMP research landscape, guiding researchers in potential collaborations and intriguing future research fields.
  19. Zamri NA, Ghani N, Ismail CAN, Zakaria R, Shafin N
    Front Aging Neurosci, 2022;14:1092596.
    PMID: 36733498 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1092596
    Since ancient times, honey has been employed in many aspects of everyday life, the most popular of which is as a natural sweetener. Honey is used not only as a nutritional product but also in health as a supplement and in various applications, especially related to brain booster health. Brain health is the capacity to carry out all mental functions necessary for cognition, such as learning and judging, utilizing language, and recalling. This review presents the current trend of research on honey, particularly the interest in underlying mechanisms related to brain booster health. A total of 34 original articles addressing brain health from the consumption of honey were analyzed. We identified four main brain health benefits, which are memory booster, neuroprotective effect, anti-stress, and anti-nociceptive potentials with the proposed underlying mechanism. A lot of attention has been paid to the role that honey plays in brain health research, with the goal of examining the link between honey and brain health as well as the mechanism underlying it, the findings from this review may be potentially beneficial to develop new therapeutic roles for honey to help determine the best and most promising to benefit and boost overall brain health.
  20. Othman Z, Abdul Halim AS, Azman KF, Ahmad AH, Zakaria R, Sirajudeen KNS, et al.
    Front Aging Neurosci, 2022;14:876159.
    PMID: 35572132 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.876159
    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to profile the cognitive aging research landscape from 1956 to 2021.

    METHODS: A total of 3,779 documents were retrieved from the Scopus database for the bibliometric analysis and network visualization. By comparing each keyword's overall connection strength (centrality), frequency (density), and average year of publication (novelty) to the calculated median values acquired from the overlay view of the VOSviewer map, the enhanced strategic diagrams (ESDs) were constructed.

    RESULTS: The findings showed an increasing trend in the number of publications. The United States leads the contributing countries in cognitive aging research. The scientific productivity pattern obeyed Lotka's law. The most productive researcher was Deary, I. J., with the highest number of publications. The collaborative index showed an increasing trend from 1980 onwards. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience is the most prestigious journal in the field of cognitive aging research. In Bradford core journals zone 1, the top 10 core journals of cognitive aging research provided more than half of the total articles (697, or 55.36 percent).

    CONCLUSIONS: For the next decades, the trending topics in cognitive aging research include neuropsychological assessment, functional connectivity, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), decision-making, gender, compensation, default mode network, learning and memory, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), obesity, D-galactose, epigenetics, frailty, mortality, mini-mental state examination (MMSE), anxiety, and gait speed.

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