Displaying publications 101 - 120 of 141 in total

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  1. Alam MK, Hamza MA, Khafiz MA, Rahman SA, Shaari R, Hassan A
    PLoS One, 2014;9(6):e101157.
    PMID: 24967595 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101157
    To investigate the presence and/or agenesis of third molar (M3) tooth germs in orthodontics patients in Malaysian Malay and Chinese population and evaluate the relationship between presence and/or agenesis of M3 with different skeletal malocclusion patterns and sagittal maxillomandibular jaw dimensions. Pretreatment records of 300 orthodontic patients (140 males and 160 females, 219 Malaysian Malay and 81 Chinese, average age was 16.27±4.59) were used. Third-molar agenesis was calculated with respect to race, genders, number of missing teeth, jaws, skeletal malocclusion patterns and sagittal maxillomandibular jaw dimensions. The Pearson chi-square test and ANOVA was performed to determine potential differences. Associations between various factors and M3 presence/agenesis groups were assessed using logistic regression analysis. The percentages of subjects with 1 or more M3 agenesis were 30%, 33% and 31% in the Malaysian Malay, Chinese and total population, respectively. Overall prevalence of M3 agenesis in male and female was equal (P>0.05). The frequency of the agenesis of M3s is greater in maxilla as well in the right side (P>0.05). The prevalence of M3 agenesis in those with a Class III and Class II malocclusion was relatively higher in Malaysian Malay and Malaysian Chinese population respectively. Using stepwise regression analyses, significant associations were found between Mx (P<0.05) and ANB (P<0.05) and M3 agenesis. This multivariate analysis suggested that Mx and ANB were significantly correlated with the M3 presence/agenesis.
  2. Purmal K, Alam MK, Pohchi A, Abdul Razak NH
    PLoS One, 2013;8(12):e84202.
    PMID: 24367643 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084202
    Intermaxillary (IMF) screws feature several advantages over other devices used for intermaxillary fixation, but using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans to determine the safe and danger zones to place these devices for all patients can be expensive. This study aimed to determine the optimal interradicular and buccopalatal/buccolingual spaces for IMF screw placement in the maxilla and mandible. The CBCT volumetric data of 193 patients was used to generate transaxial slices between the second molar on the right to the second molar on the left in both arches. The mean interradicular and buccopalatal/buccolingual distances and standard deviation values were obtained at heights of 2, 5, 8 and 11 mm from the alveolar bone crest. An IMF screw with a diameter of 1.0 mm and length of 7 mm can be placed distal to the canines (2 - 11 mm from the alveolar crest) and less than 8 mm between the molars in the maxilla. In the mandible, the safest position is distal to the first premolar (more than 5 mm) and distal to the second premolar (more than 2 mm). There was a significant difference (p<0.05) between the right and left quadrants. The colour coding 3D template showed the safe and danger zones based on the mesiodistal, buccopalatal and buccolingual distances in the maxilla and mandible.The safest sites for IMF screw insertion in the maxilla were between the canines and first premolars and between the first and second molars. In the mandible, the safest sites were between the first and second premolars and between the second premolar and first molar. However, the IMF screw should not exceed 1.0 mm in diameter and 7 mm in length.
  3. Alam MK, Mohd Noor NF, Basri R, Yew TF, Wen TH
    PLoS One, 2015;10(11):e0142914.
    PMID: 26562655 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142914
    This study aimed to investigate the association of facial proportion and its relation to the golden ratio with the evaluation of facial appearance among Malaysian population. This was a cross-sectional study with 286 randomly selected from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Health Campus students (150 females and 136 males; 100 Malaysian Chinese, 100 Malaysian Malay and 86 Malaysian Indian), with the mean age of 21.54 ± 1.56 (Age range, 18-25). Facial indices obtained from direct facial measurements were used for the classification of facial shape into short, ideal and long. A validated structured questionnaire was used to assess subjects' evaluation of their own facial appearance. The mean facial indices of Malaysian Indian (MI), Malaysian Chinese (MC) and Malaysian Malay (MM) were 1.59 ± 0.19, 1.57 ± 0.25 and 1.54 ± 0.23 respectively. Only MC showed significant sexual dimorphism in facial index (P = 0.047; P<0.05) but no significant difference was found between races. Out of the 286 subjects, 49 (17.1%) were of ideal facial shape, 156 (54.5%) short and 81 (28.3%) long. The facial evaluation questionnaire showed that MC had the lowest satisfaction with mean score of 2.18 ± 0.97 for overall impression and 2.15 ± 1.04 for facial parts, compared to MM and MI, with mean score of 1.80 ± 0.97 and 1.64 ± 0.74 respectively for overall impression; 1.75 ± 0.95 and 1.70 ± 0.83 respectively for facial parts.
  4. Alam MK, Rahman SA, Rahaman SA, Basri R, Sing Yi TT, Si-Jie JW, et al.
    PLoS One, 2015;10(10):e0140438.
    PMID: 26465146 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140438
    The aim of this study is to evaluate the satisfaction of patients with posterior implants in relation to the clinical success criteria and surface electromyography (sEMG) findings of the masseter and temporalis muscles. Total 42 subjects were investigated. Twenty one subjects with posterior dental implants were interviewed using a questionnaire and the clinical success criteria were determined based on The International Congress of Oral Implantologists. The myofunction of the masticatory muscles were assessed using sEMG (21 subjects) and compared to the control group of subjects without implants (21 subjects). Out of 21 subjects, all were satisfied with the aesthetics of their implant. Twenty of them (95.2%) were satisfied with its function and stability. As for clinical criteria, 100% (50) of the implants were successful with no pain, mobility or exudates. sEMG findings showed that patients have significantly lower (p<0.01) basal or resting median power frequency but with muscle burst. During chewing, control subjects showed faster chewing action. There was no difference in reaction and recovery time of clenching for both groups. In conclusion, the satisfaction of implant patients was high, and which was in relation to the successful clinical success criteria and sEMG findings.
  5. May Z, Alam MK, Mahmud MS, Rahman NAA
    PLoS One, 2020;15(11):e0242022.
    PMID: 33186372 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242022
    Damage assessment is a key element in structural health monitoring of various industrial applications to understand well and predict the response of the material. The big uncertainty in carbon fiber composite materials response is because of variability in the initiation and propagation of damage. Developing advanced tools to design with composite materials, methods for characterizing several damage modes during operation are required. While there is a significant amount of work on the analysis of acoustic emission (AE) from different composite materials and many loading cases, this research focuses on applying an unsupervised clustering method for separating AE data into several groups with distinct evolution. In this paper, we develop an adaptive sampling and unsupervised bivariate data clustering techniques to characterize the several damage initiations of a composite structure in different lay-ups. An adaptive sampling technique pre-processes the AE features and eliminates redundant AE data samples. The reduction of unnecessary AE data depends on the requirements of the proposed bivariate data clustering technique. The bivariate data clustering technique groups the AE data (dependent variable) with respect to the mechanical data (independent variable) to assess the damage of the composite structure. Tensile experiments on carbon fiber reinforced composite laminates (CFRP) in different orientations are carried out to collect mechanical and AE data and demonstrate the damage modes. Based on the mechanical stress-strain data, the results show the dominant damage regions in different lay-ups of specimens and the definition of the different states of damage. In addition, the states of the damage are observed using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis. Based on the AE data, the results show that the strong linear correlation between AE and mechanical energy, and the classification of various modes of damage in all lay-ups of specimens forming clusters of AE energy with respect to the mechanical energy. Furthermore, the validation of the cluster-based characterization and improvement of the sensitivity of the damage modes classification are observed by the combined knowledge of AE and mechanical energy and time-frequency spectrum analysis.
  6. May Z, Alam MK, Husain K, Hasan MK
    PLoS One, 2020;15(8):e0238073.
    PMID: 32845901 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238073
    Transmission opportunity (TXOP) is a key factor to enable efficient channel bandwidth utilization over wireless campus networks (WCN) for interactive multimedia (IMM) applications. It facilitates in resource allocation for the similar categories of multiple packets transmission until the allocated time is expired. The static TXOP limits are defined for various categories of IMM traffics in the IEEE802.11e standard. Due to the variation of traffic load in WCN, the static TXOP limits are not sufficient enough to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) for IMM traffic flows. In order to address this issue, several existing works allocate the TXOP limits dynamically to ensure QoS for IMM traffics based on the current associated queue size and pre-setting threshold values. However, existing works do not take into account all the medium access control (MAC) overheads while estimating the current queue size which in turn is required for dynamic TXOP limits allocation. Hence, not considering MAC overhead appropriately results in inaccurate queue size estimation, thereby leading to inappropriate allocation of dynamic TXOP limits. In this article, an enhanced dynamic TXOP (EDTXOP) scheme is proposed that takes into account all the MAC overheads while estimating current queue size, thereby allocating appropriate dynamic TXOP limits within the pre-setting threshold values. In addition, the article presents an analytical estimation of the EDTXOP scheme to compute the dynamic TXOP limits for the current high priority traffic queues. Simulation results were carried out by varying traffic load in terms of packet size and packet arrival rate. The results show that the proposed EDTXOP scheme achieves the overall performance gains in the range of 4.41%-8.16%, 8.72%-11.15%, 14.43%-32% and 26.21%-50.85% for throughput, PDR, average ETE delay and average jitter, respectively when compared to the existing work. Hence, offering a better TXOP limit allocation solution than the rest.
  7. Sujon MK, Alam MK, Rahman SA
    PLoS One, 2016;11(8):e0162070.
    PMID: 27580050 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162070
    The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of third molar agenesis and other associated dental anomalies in Bangladeshi population and to investigate the relationship of other dental anomalies with the third molar presence/agenesis. A retrospective study was performed using panoramic radiographs of 5923 patients, who ranged in age from 10 to 50 years. All radiographs were analyzed by Planmeca Romexis® 3.0 software (Planmeca Oy, Helsinki, Finland). Pearson chi-square and one way ANOVA (Post Hoc) test were conducted. The prevalence of third molar agenesis was 38.4%. The frequency of third molar agenesis was significantly higher in females than males (p <0.025). Third molar agenesis was significantly more prevalent in maxilla as compared to mandible (p <0.007). The prevalence of other dental anomalies was 6.5%, among them hypodontia was 3.1%. Prevalence of third molar agenesis varies in different geographic region. Among the other dental anomalies hypodontia was more prevalent.
  8. May Z, Alam MK, Nayan NA, Rahman NAA, Mahmud MS
    PLoS One, 2021;16(12):e0261040.
    PMID: 34914761 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261040
    Corrosion in carbon-steel pipelines leads to failure, which is a major cause of breakdown maintenance in the oil and gas industries. The acoustic emission (AE) signal is a reliable method for corrosion detection and classification in the modern Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system. The efficiency of this system in detection and classification mainly depends on the suitable AE features. Therefore, many feature extraction and classification methods have been developed for corrosion detection and severity assessment. However, the extraction of appropriate AE features and classification of various levels of corrosion utilizing these extracted features are still challenging issues. To overcome these issues, this article proposes a hybrid machine learning approach that combines Wavelet Packet Transform (WPT) integrated with Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) for multiresolution feature extraction and Linear Support Vector Classifier (L-SVC) for predicting corrosion severity levels. A Laboratory-based Linear Polarization Resistance (LPR) test was performed on carbon-steel samples for AE data acquisition over a different time span. AE signals were collected at a high sampling rate with a sound well AE sensor using AEWin software. Simulation results show a linear relationship between the proposed approach-based extracted AE features and the corrosion process. For multi-class problems, three corrosion severity stages have been made based on the corrosion rate over time and AE activity. The ANOVA test results indicate the significance within and between the feature-groups where F-values (F-value>1) rejects the null hypothesis and P-values (P-value<0.05) are less than the significance level. The utilized L-SVC classifier achieves higher prediction accuracy of 99.0% than the accuracy of other benchmarked classifiers. Findings of our proposed machine learning approach confirm that it can be effectively utilized for corrosion detection and severity assessment in SHM applications.
  9. Islam MS, Kasim S, Amin AM, Alam MK, Khatun MF, Ahmed S, et al.
    PLoS One, 2023;18(8):e0285954.
    PMID: 37643156 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285954
    Foliar fertilization is a reliable technique for correcting a nutrient deficiency in plants caused by inadequate nutrient supply to the roots in acid soil. Soluble nutrients in banana pseudostem sap might be effective to supplement chemical fertilizers. However, the limited nutrients in sole banana pseudostem sap as foliar fertilization may not meet-up the nutritional demand of the crop. Field trials were, therefore, conducted with the combination of soil-applied fertilizers with foliar spray of banana pseudostem sap to increase nutrient uptake, yield, and quality of sweet corn planted in acidic soil. Three treatments viz., 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RD) as control (T1), 75% of RD applied in soil with foliar application of non-enriched banana pseudostem sap (T2), and 50% RD applied in soil with foliar spray of enriched banana pseudostem sap (T3) were replicated four times. The combination of soil-applied fertilizer with foliar spray of enriched banana pseudostem sap (T3) showed a significant increase in leaf area index (11.3%), photosynthesis (12%), fresh cob yield (39%), and biomass of corn (29%) over control. Besides, the 50% RD of soil fertilization with foliar spray of enriched pseudostem sap increased nutrient uptake in addition to an increase in sugar content, phenolic content, soluble protein, and amino acids of corn. Considering the economic analysis, the highest net income, BCR (3.74) and MBCR (1.25) values confirmed the economic viability of T3 treatment over the T1. The results suggest that foliar spray of enriched banana pseudostem sap can be used as a supplementary source of nutrients to enhance nutrient uptake by corn while increasing yield and minimizing chemical fertilizer use in acid soil.
  10. Subhani N, May Z, Alam MK, Mamun S
    PLoS One, 2023;18(12):e0293097.
    PMID: 38060480 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293097
    In this paper, a non-isolated quadratic boost DC-DC converter has been proposed. The proposed converter provides high output voltage gain with a lower component count on the structure. In addition, the input side inductor provides continuous source current and the output voltage is positive. Since the proposed topology possesses the continuous source current, it simplifies the filter design at the input side further making the converter suitable for photovoltaic applications. Another important feature of this converter includes the utilization of the same switch ground that omits the additional control power supply in the system design. The detailed mathematical modeling of the proposed topology including the steady state analysis for different modes of operations, voltage stress calculations of the components, and power loss calculations have been precisely demonstrated in this work. The simulation has been carried out in Matlab/Simulink software. Finally, a 250 W experimental prototype has been developed and tested in the laboratory environment and the peak efficiency of the proposed topology has been found 92% at 50% duty cycle, which validates the correctness of the theoretical and simulation outcomes of the proposed work.
  11. Fadil F, Adli FA, Affandi NDN, Harun AM, Alam MK
    Polymers (Basel), 2020 Dec 18;12(12).
    PMID: 33353189 DOI: 10.3390/polym12123043
    The lack of aesthetic properties of electrospun nanofibres in terms of colour appearance is the drive in this preliminary study. This research is conducted to study the dyeing behaviour and colorimetric properties of electrospun nanofibres blended with Remazol Yellow FG reactive dye using dope-dyeing method via electrospinning process. This paper reports the colorimetric properties of dyed poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibres within the range of 2.5 wt.% to 12.5 wt.% dye content. The electrospinning parameters were fixed at the electrospinning distance of 10 cm, constant feed rate of 0.5 mL/h and applied voltage of 15 kV. The resulting impregnated dye of 10 wt.% exhibits acceptable colour difference of dyed PVA nanofibres, with a mean fibre diameter of 177.1 ± 11.5 nm. The SEM micrographs show the effect of dye content on morphology and fibre diameter upon the increment of dye used. Further increase of dye content adversely affects the jet stability during the electrospinning, resulting in macroscopic dropping phenomenon. The presence of all prominent peaks of Remazol dye in the PVA nanofibers was supported with FTIR analysis. The addition of dye into the nanofibres has resulted in the enhancement of thermal stability of the PVA as demonstrated by TGA analysis.
  12. Bilgrami A, Alam MK, Qazi FUR, Maqsood A, Basha S, Ahmed N, et al.
    Polymers (Basel), 2022 Jan 24;14(3).
    PMID: 35160456 DOI: 10.3390/polym14030466
    A vital feature of conservative dentistry is the adhesion of the restorative material to the tooth structure for restoration of the tooth substance lost due to dental decay, trauma, or dental imperfections. In a perfect world, a restorative material should generate a lasting adhesion by bonding the restoration with tooth tissues. The ingress of micro-organisms, oral fluids, molecules, and ions through microscopic spaces due to faulty adhesion between restoration and tooth structure is known as microleakage. This study is focuses on the evaluation of adhesive failures between the restorative materials. In the past, studies have focused more on the bonding potential of a restorative material with the tooth surface. Therefore, there is need to carry out a study that compares the microleakage between resin-based restorative materials in a sandwich manner with and without the intermediate bonding layer after immersion in 2% methylene blue dye at different time intervals. The restorative materials used were composite Ceram X Mono plus (DENTSPLY) and Z350 (3M ESPE), Vitremer resin modified glass ionomer cement (RMGIC) (3M ESPE), smart dentine replacement SDR (3M ESPE), Bond NT (DENTSPLY), and Universal Bond (3M ESPE). A light emitting diode (LED) was used to cure the specimens. Artificial saliva was used as a storage medium for the specimens. Thermocycling of specimens was carried out at 500 cycles/30 s and 1000 cycles/30 s. The world health organization (WHO) grading tool for microleakage was used to analyze fluid ingress in the specimens through disclosing by 2% methylene blue dye. The statistical analysis was carried out with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey post hoc test, keeping the level of significance at p ≤ 0.05. In Grade 0 = 85 samples, Grade 1 = 10 samples, Grade 2 = 7 samples, Grade 3 = 16 samples, and in Grade 4 = 2 samples were identified. This study describes that no microleakage was observed in SDR and resin composite groups as compared to Vitremer and resin composite groups.
  13. Fadil F, Affandi NDN, Misnon MI, Bonnia NN, Harun AM, Alam MK
    Polymers (Basel), 2021 Jun 24;13(13).
    PMID: 34202857 DOI: 10.3390/polym13132087
    Electrospinning technology, which was previously known as a scientific interdisciplinary research approach, is now ready to move towards a practice-based interdisciplinary approach in a variety of fields, progressively. Electrospun nanofiber-applied products are made directly from a nonwoven fabric-based membranes prepared from polymeric liquids involving the application of sufficiently high voltages during electrospinning. Today, electrospun nanofiber-based materials are of remarkable interest across multiple fields of applications, such as in electronics, sensors, functional garments, sound proofing, filters, wound dressing and scaffolds. This article presents such a review for summarizing the current progress on the manufacturing scalability of electrospun nanofibers and the commercialization of electrospun nanofiber products by dedicated companies globally. Despite the clear potential and limitless possibilities for electrospun nanofiber applications, the uptake of electrospinning by the industry is still limited due to the challenges in the manufacturing and turning of electrospun nanofibers into physical products. The recent developments in the field of electrospinning, such as the prominent nonwoven technology, personal views and the potential path forward for the growth of commercially applied products based on electrospun nanofibers, are also highlighted.
  14. Barman A, Rashid F, Farook TH, Jamayet NB, Dudley J, Yhaya MFB, et al.
    Polymers (Basel), 2020 Jul 12;12(7).
    PMID: 32664615 DOI: 10.3390/polym12071536
    Although numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of incorporating filler particles into maxillofacial silicone elastomer (MFPSE), a review of the types, concentrations and effectiveness of the particles themselves was lacking. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to review the effect of different types of filler particles on the mechanical properties of MFPSE. The properties in question were (1) tensile strength, (2) tear strength, (3) hardness, and (4) elongation at break. The findings of this study can assist operators, technicians and clinicians in making relevant decisions regarding which type of fillers to incorporate based on their needs. The systematic review was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 26 original articles from 1970 to 2019 were selected from the databases, based on predefined eligibility criteria by two reviewers. The meta-analyses of nine papers were carried out by extracting data from the systematic review based on scoring criteria and processed using Cochrane Review Manager 5.3. Overall, there were significant differences favoring filler particles when incorporated into MFPSE. Nano fillers (69.23% of all studies) demonstrated superior comparative outcomes for tensile strength (P < 0.0001), tear strength (P < 0.00001), hardness (P < 0.00001) and elongation at break (P < 0.00001) when compared to micro fillers (30.76% of all studies). Micro fillers demonstrated inconsistent outcomes in mechanical properties, and meta-analysis of elongation at break argued against (P < 0.01) their use. Current findings suggest that 1.5% ZrSiO4, 3% SiO2, 1.5% Y2O3, 2-6% TiO2, 2-2.5% ZnO, 2-2.5% CeO2, 0.5% TiSiO4 and 1% Ag-Zn Zeolite can be used to reinforce MFPSE, and help the materials better withstand mechanical degradation.
  15. Ahmed T, Rahman NA, Alam MK
    Prog Orthod, 2019 Jul 08;20(1):26.
    PMID: 31281954 DOI: 10.1186/s40510-019-0277-x
    BACKGROUND: To introduce an orthodontic bracket debonding device capable of measuring debonding force clinically by a novel sensor mechanism MATERIALS AND METHOD: A prototype orthodontic debonding device was constructed utilizing a lift-off debonding instrument (LODI) and force-sensitive resistor (FSR). For data interpretation, the force sensor was equipped with a microcontroller and C++ programming software running on a computer. Ninety-nine (99) 0.022-in. conventional metallic brackets were bonded to premolar teeth in vitro by a single clinician applying the same adhesive and bonding technique. For validation, the mean debonding force measured by the prototype debonding device (n = 30) and the universal testing machine (n = 30) was compared. Both intra- and inter-examiner reliability tests were done by holding and operating the device in a standardized manner. Following debonding by the prototype device, the bracket failure pattern was evaluated (n = 30) by adhesive remnant index (ARI) under the stereomicroscope at × 30 magnification. Statistical analysis included independent samples t test for validation and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with a 95% confidence interval for both intra- and inter-examiner reliability.

    RESULTS: Mean orthodontic bracket debonding force measured by the prototype device (9.36 ± 1.65 N) and the universal testing machine (10.43 ± 2.71 N) was not significantly different (p 

  16. Alazzawi MMJ, Husein A, Alam MK, Hassan R, Shaari R, Azlina A, et al.
    Prog Orthod, 2018 Apr 16;19(1):10.
    PMID: 29658096 DOI: 10.1186/s40510-018-0208-2
    BACKGROUND: Quality bone regeneration, which leads to the improvement of bone remodeling, is essential for orthodontic treatment. In order to improve bone regeneration and increase the amount of tooth movement, different techniques have been implemented. The object of this study is to compare the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT), low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), and their combination on bone remodeling during orthodontic tooth movement.

    METHODS: Eighty (80) male, 6-week-old Sprague Dawley rats were grouped in to four groups, the first group was irradiated with (940 nm) diode laser, second group with LIPUS, and third group with combination of both LLLT and LIPUS. A forth group used was a control group in an incomplete block split-mouth design. The LLLT and LIPUS were used to treat the area around the moving tooth once a day on days 0-7, then the experiment was ended in each experimental endpoint (1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days). For amount of tooth movement, models were imaged and analyzed. Histological examination was performed after staining with (hematoxylin and eosin) and (alizarin red and Alcian Blue) stain. One step reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction RT-PCR was also performed to elucidate the gene expression of RANK, RANKL, OPG, and RUNX-2.

    RESULTS: The amount of tooth movement, the histological bone remodeling, and the RT-PCR were significantly greater in the treatment groups than that in the control group. Among the treatment groups, the combination group was the highest and the LIPUS group was the lowest.

    CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that LLLT and LIPUS can enhance the velocity of tooth movement and improve the quality of bone remodeling during orthodontic tooth movement.

  17. Mok PL, Koh AE, Farhana A, Alsrhani A, Alam MK, Suresh Kumar S
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Apr;28(4):2502-2509.
    PMID: 33551661 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.01.051
    COVID-19 is a rapidly emerging infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus currently spreading throughout the world. To date, there are no specific drugs formulated for it, and researchers around the globe are racing against the clock to investigate potential drug candidates. The repurposing of existing drugs in the market represents an effective and economical strategy commonly utilized in such investigations. In this study, we used a multiple-sequence alignment approach for preliminary screening of commercially-available drugs on SARS-CoV sequences from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) isolates. The viral genomic sequences from KSA isolates were obtained from GISAID, an open access repository housing a wide variety of epidemic and pandemic virus data. A phylogenetic analysis of the present 164 sequences from the KSA provinces was carried out using the MEGA X software, which displayed high similarity (around 98%). The sequence was then analyzed using the VIGOR4 genome annotator to construct its genomic structure. Screening of existing drugs was carried out by mining data based on viral gene expressions from the ZINC database. A total of 73 hits were generated. The viral target orthologs were mapped to the SARS-CoV-2 KSA isolate sequence by multiple sequence alignment using CLUSTAL OMEGA, and a list of 29 orthologs with purchasable drug information was generated. The results showed that the SARS CoV replicase polyprotein 1a had the highest sequence similarity at 79.91%. Through ZINC data mining, tanshinones were found to have high binding affinities to this target. These compounds could be ideal candidates for SARS-CoV-2. Other matches ranged between 27 and 52%. The results of this study would serve as a significant endeavor towards drug discovery that would increase our chances of finding an effective treatment or prevention against COVID19.
  18. Alam MK, Alfawzan AA, Abutayyem H, Kanwal B, Alswairki HJ, Verma S, et al.
    Sci Prog, 2023;106(1):368504231156297.
    PMID: 36803068 DOI: 10.1177/00368504231156297
    The purpose of this meta-analysis was to strengthen the credibility of primary research results by combining open-source scientific material, namely a comparison of craniofacial features (Cfc) between Crouzon's syndrome (CS) patients and non-CS populations. All articles published up to October 7, 2021, were included in the search of PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Medline, and Web of Science. The PRISMA guidelines were followed to conduct this study. PECO framework was applied in the following ways: Those who have CS are denoted by the letter P, those who have been diagnosed with CS via clinical or genetic means by the letter E, those who do not have CS by the letter C, and those who have a Cfc of CS by the letter O. Independent reviewers collected the data and ranked the publications based on their adherence to the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. A total of six case-control studies were reviewed for this meta-analysis. Due to the large variation in cephalometric measures, only those published in at least two previous studies were included. This analysis found that CS patients had a smaller skull and mandible volumes than those without CS.in terms of SNA° (MD = -2.33, p = <0.001, I2 = 83.6%) and ANB°(MD = -1.89, p = <0.005, I2 = 93.1%)), as well as ANS (MD = -1.87, p = 0.001, I2 = 96.5%)) and SN/PP (MD = -1.99, p = 0.036, I2 = 77.3%)). In comparison to the general population, people with CS tend to have shorter and flatter cranial bases, smaller orbital volumes, and cleft palates. They differ from the general population in having a shorter skull base and more V-shaped maxillary arches.
  19. Farook TH, Jamayet NB, Asif JA, Din AS, Mahyuddin MN, Alam MK
    Sci Rep, 2021 04 19;11(1):8469.
    PMID: 33875672 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87240-9
    Palatal defects are rehabilitated by fabricating maxillofacial prostheses called obturators. The treatment incorporates taking deviously unpredictable impressions to facsimile the palatal defects into plaster casts for obturator fabrication in the dental laboratory. The casts are then digitally stored using expensive hardware to prevent physical damage or data loss and, when required, future obturators are digitally designed, and 3D printed. Our objective was to construct and validate an economic in-house smartphone-integrated stereophotogrammetry (SPINS) 3D scanner and to evaluate its accuracy in designing prosthetics using open source/free (OS/F) digital pipeline. Palatal defect models were scanned using SPINS and its accuracy was compared against the standard laser scanner for virtual area and volumetric parameters. SPINS derived 3D models were then used to design obturators by using (OS/F) software. The resultant obturators were virtually compared against standard medical software designs. There were no significant differences in any of the virtual parameters when evaluating the accuracy of both SPINS, as well as OS/F derived obturators. However, limitations in the design process resulted in minimal dissimilarities. With further improvements, SPINS based prosthetic rehabilitation could create a viable, low cost method for rural and developing health services to embrace maxillofacial record keeping and digitised prosthetic rehabilitation.
  20. Alam MK, Iida J, Sato Y, Kajii TS
    Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg, 2013 Dec;51(8):e205-10.
    PMID: 23099108 DOI: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2012.10.001
    We have evaluated the craniofacial morphology of Japanese patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and assessed the various postnatal factors that affect it. Lateral cephalograms of 140 subjects (mean (SD) aged 7 (2) years) with UCLP were taken before orthodontic treatment. Surgeons from Hokkaido University Hospital had done the primary operations. The craniofacial morphology was assessed by angular and linear cephalometric measurements. Cheiloplasty, palatoplasty, and preoperative orthopaedic treatment were chosen as postnatal factors. To compare the assessments of the postnatal factors, we made angular and linear cephalometric measurements for each subject and converted them into Z scores in relation to the mean (SD) of the two variables. Subjects treated by the modified Millard cheiloplasty had larger sella-nasion-point A (SNA) and nasion-point A-pogonion (NA-POG) measurements than subjects treated by the modified Millard with a vomer flap cheiloplasty. Two-stage palatoplasty showed consistently better craniofacial morphology than the other palatoplasty. Subjects who had preoperative orthopaedic treatment with a Hotz plate had significantly larger upper incisor/sella-nasion (U1-SN) measurements than who had no preoperative orthopaedic treatment or an active plate. We conclude that in subjects treated by a modified Millard type of cheiloplasty, a two-stage palatoplasty, and a Hotz plate there were fewer adverse effects on craniofacial morphology.
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