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Fulltext Lipoid Proteinosis: Identification of a Novel Nonsense Mutation c.1246C>T:p.R416X in ECM1 gene from Bangladesh

Khan MAH, Reza MA, Sharaf IM, Alam MJ, Rahman MM, Chandra P, et al.

Pak J Med Sci, 2023;39(4):1212-1215.
PMID: 37492299 DOI: 10.12669/pjms.39.4.7437

Lipoid proteinosis is a rare multisystem genodermatosis inherited as autosomal recessive trait. We report a case of lipoid proteinosis in a 10-year-old boy born to first-degree consanguineous parents presented with marked hoarseness of voice, accelerated photoaging appearance, enlarged and erythematous tongue with restricted movement and widespread dermatoses. Biopsy of oral mucosa revealed Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive amorphous eosinophilic hyaline deposits. Mutational analysis revealed a homozygous nonsense mutation with C to T substitution at nucleotide position 1246(c.1246C>T) in exon-8 of the extracellular matrix protein 1 gene leading to a stop codon. Both the parents were unaffected heterozygous carriers. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of lipoid proteinosis with evidence of a novel nonsense genetic mutation from Bangladesh.
Fulltext The impact of outdoor blue spaces on the health of the elderly: A systematic review

Wang L, Md Sani N

Health Place, 2024 Jan;85:103168.
PMID: 38211359 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103168

Research on natural health has identified the potential benefit of outdoor blue spaces for human health and wellbeing. However, the existing evidence has relatively limited attention to the elderly. This study aims to review the available evidence on outdoor blue spaces and health outcomes among older individuals and identify knowledge gaps. In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, specific keywords were used to search for articles published in English from inception to October 2023. Five databases (Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) were searched, and 22 studies were identified in this review. We classified articles based on elderly health as general health (e.g., self-reported, perceived health and wellbeing), physical health (e.g., physical activity, physical function index), and mental health and wellbeing (e.g., depression). The findings indicated a positive correlation between outdoor blue space and the health of the elderly. In terms of the characteristics of exposure to outdoor blue spaces, direct contact (e.g., sensory-based) has not been well documented compared to indirect contact (e.g., distance, percentage, region-based). Although encouraging, the available body of evidence is limited and lacks consistency. Future research is needed to provide complementary evidence between outdoor blue spaces and elderly health.
Microwave-assisted extraction of polysaccharides from Micromelum minutum leaves using citric acid monohydrate-glycerol based deep eutectic solvents and evaluation of biological activities

Md Yusoff MH, Shafie MH

Anal Chim Acta, 2024 Dec 01;1331:343351.
PMID: 39532430 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.343351

BACKGROUND: The extraction of polysaccharides using an acidic extraction media has been extensively reported, highlighting its effectiveness in yielding high-quality polysaccharides. A higher concentration of acidic solution could hydrolyze the structure of polysaccharide, while a low concentration reduces the extraction efficiency. Despite this challenges, deep eutectic solvents (DES) were introduced as an alternative extraction medium due to additional interactions such as inter and intra-molecular interactions, Van de Waals, hydrogen bond, and electrostatic interactions, which could improve the polysaccharide extraction efficiency and biological activities. Furthermore, the extraction conditions such as extraction medium and extraction parameters could affect the properties of polysaccharides as well as influence their structure-activity relationship for biological activities.
RESULTS: The result showed that the microwave-assisted extraction of Micromelum minutum leaf polysaccharide (MMLP) using DES as an extraction media (MMLP-DES) gave a higher yield (improvement of 101.20 %) than citric acid monohydrate (CAM) (MMLP-CAM) and required a lower percentage of microwave power (19.83 % less) and time (0.78 min less). The properties of MMLPs significantly differ based on their pH, molecular weight, viscosity, degree of esterification and monosaccharide molar ratio which influenced the biological activities. Compared to MMLP-CAM, MMLP-DES had a more branched and less linear structure. The bioactivities study revealed that MMLP-DES exhibited higher antioxidant and anti-α-amylase activities (i.e.
, DPPH: 74.52 %, FRAP: 2.87 mM FeSO4 and α-amylase inhibition: 86.23 %) compared to MMLP-CAM (i.e.
, DPPH: 49.33 %, FRAP: 1.49 mM FeSO4, and α-amylase inhibition: 81.76 %). The mechanism and structure-activity relationship of MMLPs on bioactivities were also hypothesized.
SIGNIFICANCE: Based on our previous study, the citric acid monohydrate-glycerol based DES as an extraction medium has enhanced the extraction yield of polysaccharides from M. minutum. This study highlights the DES combined with microwave-assisted extraction to improve the yield of MMLP and evaluate the biological activities compared to CAM as a classical solvent. In conclusion, the DES showed the advantages for extraction of polysaccharides with desired biological activities.
A review of in vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic polysaccharides: Extraction methods, physicochemical and structure-activity relationships

Md Yusoff MH, Shafie MH

Int J Biol Macromol, 2024 Dec;282(Pt 4):137143.
PMID: 39500430 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137143

Nowadays, various plant polysaccharides have been successfully extracted which exhibited strong biological activities and might be useful for diabetes management. However, the effect of extraction methods, physicochemical and the structural-activity relationships of polysaccharides to exhibit antioxidants and antidiabetics were inadequate to explain their mechanism in action. The uses of advance extraction methods might be preferred to obtain higher antioxidants and antidiabetic activities of polysaccharides compared to conventional methods, but the determination of optimal extraction conditions might be crucial to preserve their structure and biological functions. Other than that, the physicochemical and structural properties of polysaccharides were closely related to their biological activities such as antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. Therefore, this review addressed the research gap of the influence of extraction methods, physicochemical and structural relationships of polysaccharides to biological activities, pointing out the challenges and limitations as well as future prospects to the current findings.
Fulltext Developing and validating a version of the food frequency questionnaire for young adults in a public university in Malaysia

Ghazali M, Md Isa Z

Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2023 Dec;32(4):408-416.
PMID: 38135476 DOI: 10.6133/apjcn.202312_32(4).0005

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Epidemiological studies often use the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to predict the food consumption habits of a target group and subsequently promote healthy eating in the group. In the present study, a version of the FFQ for Malaysian young adults aged 18-24 years was designed and validated.
METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: This study comprised development and validation phases. In the development phase, 129 young adults from a public university in Klang Valley completed a 3-day food record (3DFR), and the data were used to create a food list for the FFQ. Two weeks later, in the validation phase, another 100 participants recruited from the same university completed the 3DFR and a newly developed FFQ for assessing consumption of 38 food items. Finally, the data obtained from the FFQ and 3DFR were used to analyze the nutrient intake of each participant, and the developed FFQ was validated using Spearman correla-tion coefficients (r) and Bland-Altman methods.
RESULTS: For the development phase, 38 food items were determined to contribute to 90% of the participants' total energy and macronutrient intake, and these items were included on the FFQ. For the validation phase, the average Spearman correlation coefficient for energy and all nutrients was 0.43, which indicated good agreement between the 3DFR and FFQ. Cross-classification analysis of the 3DFR and FFQ results revealed that 79% of the young adults were classified into similar or neighboring quartiles when each set of results was used. The Bland-Altman plots revealed that the results obtained using the two methods were parallel.
CONCLUSIONS: The FFQ is a simple and validated tool that can be self-administered to young adults to assess their energy and nutrient consumption.
Fulltext Cadmium and lead in blood cockle (Anadara granosa) from Asajaya, Sarawak, Malaysia

Hossen MF, Hamdan S, Rahman MR

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:924360.
PMID: 25538965 DOI: 10.1155/2014/924360

The concentrations were ranged from 1.35 ± 0.16 to 2.22 ± 0.34 µg/g (dry weight) and 2.65 ± 0.34 to 4.36 ± 0.53 µg/g (dry weight) for Cd and Pb, respectively, in blood cockle Anadara granosa from four sites of Sabang River, namely, Kampung Sambir, Kampung Tambirat, Beliong Temple, and Kampung Tanjung Apong, which are located at Asajaya, Sarawak, Malaysia. All values exceeded safety limits set by Malaysian Food Regulation (1985). It may be the cause of serious human health problems after long term consumption. Thus, consumer should have consciousness about such type of seafood from mentioned sites and need further investigation.
Fulltext Hardware implementation of 32-bit high-speed direct digital frequency synthesizer

Ibrahim SH, Ali SH, Islam MS

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:131568.
PMID: 24991635 DOI: 10.1155/2014/131568

The design and implementation of a high-speed direct digital frequency synthesizer are presented. A modified Brent-Kung parallel adder is combined with pipelining technique to improve the speed of the system. A gated clock technique is proposed to reduce the number of registers in the phase accumulator design. The quarter wave symmetry technique is used to store only one quarter of the sine wave. The ROM lookup table (LUT) is partitioned into three 4-bit sub-ROMs based on angular decomposition technique and trigonometric identity. Exploiting the advantages of sine-cosine symmetrical attributes together with XOR logic gates, one sub-ROM block can be removed from the design. These techniques, compressed the ROM into 368 bits. The ROM compressed ratio is 534.2:1, with only two adders, two multipliers, and XOR-gates with high frequency resolution of 0.029 Hz. These techniques make the direct digital frequency synthesizer an attractive candidate for wireless communication applications.
Fulltext Stakeholders' attitude to genetically modified foods and medicine

Amin L, Jahi JM, Nor AR

ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:516742.
PMID: 24381520 DOI: 10.1155/2013/516742

Public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods has to be adequately addressed in order for their potential economic and social benefits to be realized. The objective of this paper is to assess the attitude of the Malaysian public toward GM foods (GM soybean and GM palm oil) and GM medicine (GM insulin). A survey was carried out using self-constructed multidimensional instrument measuring attitudes towards GM products. The respondents (n = 1017) were stratified according to stakeholders' groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the survey show that the overall attitude of the Malaysian stakeholders towards GM products was cautious. Although they acknowledged the presence of moderate perceived benefits associated with GM products surveyed and were moderately encouraging of them, they were also moderately concerned about the risks and moral aspects of the three GM products as well as moderately accepting the risks. Attitudes towards GM products among the stakeholders were found to vary not according to the type of all GM applications but rather depend on the intricate relationships between the attitudinal factors and the type of gene transfers involved. Analyses of variance showed significant differences in the six dimensions of attitude towards GM products across stakeholders' groups.
Modeling of nitrate concentration in groundwater using artificial intelligence approach--a case study of Gaza coastal aquifer

Alagha JS, Said MA, Mogheir Y

Environ Monit Assess, 2014 Jan;186(1):35-45.
PMID: 23974533 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-013-3353-6

Nitrate concentration in groundwater is influenced by complex and interrelated variables, leading to great difficulty during the modeling process. The objectives of this study are (1) to evaluate the performance of two artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, namely artificial neural networks and support vector machine, in modeling groundwater nitrate concentration using scant input data, as well as (2) to assess the effect of data clustering as a pre-modeling technique on the developed models' performance. The AI models were developed using data from 22 municipal wells of the Gaza coastal aquifer in Palestine from 2000 to 2010. Results indicated high simulation performance, with the correlation coefficient and the mean average percentage error of the best model reaching 0.996 and 7 %, respectively. The variables that strongly influenced groundwater nitrate concentration were previous nitrate concentration, groundwater recharge, and on-ground nitrogen load of each land use land cover category in the well's vicinity. The results also demonstrated the merit of performing clustering of input data prior to the application of AI models. With their high performance and simplicity, the developed AI models can be effectively utilized to assess the effects of future management scenarios on groundwater nitrate concentration, leading to more reasonable groundwater resources management and decision-making.
Ergonomic evaluation of postural stress in school workshop

Hashim AM, Dawal SZ, Yusoff N

Work, 2012;41 Suppl 1:827-31.
PMID: 22316824 DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0249-827

The objective of this study is to compare the evaluation of postural analysis between a self-report questionnaire and physical assessments methods for students aged 13 to 15 years old in school workshop. 336 students were volunteered as participants to fill in the questionnaire and being observed in the workshop. Total of 104 positions were selected and analyzed while students performing their tasks. Questionnaire data was examined to specify the prevalence of postural stress symptoms. The relationship of postural stress by physical assessment methods (RULA and REBA methods) was defined to identify the risk level of students' working posture. From the results, comparison of four factors categorized from total of 22 questions among ages, the mean values were lower for 13 years old students meaning that they were faced higher posture problems while using the workstation. The obtained results from both physical assessment methods and questionnaire analysis have identified 13 years old students faced higher risk exposure. Analysis results emphasized the fact that self-reports questionnaire method has almost accurate as postural evaluation methods to identify physical risks in workplace. The result also shows that an intervention is needed to overcome the posture problems.
Mutations in mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (mtND1) gene in colorectal carcinoma

Yusnita Y, Norsiah MD, Rahman AJ

Malays J Pathol, 2010 Dec;32(2):103-10.
PMID: 21329181 MyJurnal

Mitochondrial Subunit ND1 (mtND1) gene is involved in the first step of the electron transport chain of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Alteration of the electron transport components by mutations in mtDNA may compromise the normal electron flow. This could lead to an increase of bifurcation and generation of superoxidase radicals and increase oxidative stress in various types of cancer cells. Genomic DNA was extracted from thirty matched primary colorectal tumour tissues and matching non-tumour tissues. Blood samples were obtained from twenty-five normal people. The mtNDI coding region was amplified by step-down PCR. The purified products were then subjected to direct sequencing and subsequently, the DNA sequences obtained were compared with the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence (rCRS) and MITOMAP. From the analysis, the mtND1 gene showed 11 (45.8%) different mutations and also 13 (54.2%) polymorphisms. The heteroplasmic mutation A4123A/G (I273I/V) might have a pathogenic significance as it fulfills various pathogenic criteria. Three mutations, T3394C (Y30H), A3434G (Y43C) and C3497T (A64V) which occur in a highly conserved region were likely to alter the structure and function of the ND1 protein. We suggest that these mutations, and in combination with the polymorphic variance in mtDNA, may cause slight changes that generate subtly higher levels of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Fulltext Plant regeneration and somatic embryogenesis from immature embryos derived through interspecific hybridization among different Carica species

Azad MA, Rabbani MG, Amin L

Int J Mol Sci, 2012;13(12):17065-76.
PMID: 23235330 DOI: 10.3390/ijms131217065

Plant regeneration and somatic embryogenesis through interspecific hybridization among different Carica species were studied for the development of a papaya ringspot virus-resistant variety. The maximum fruit sets were recorded from the cross of the native variety C. papaya cv. Shahi with the wild species C. cauliflora. The highest hybrid embryos were recorded at 90 days after pollination and the embryos were aborted at 150 days after pollination. The immature hybrid embryos were used for plant regeneration and somatic embryogenesis. The 90-day-old hybrid embryos from the cross of C. papaya cv. Shahi × C. cauliflora showed the highest percentage of germination, as well as plant regeneration on growth regulators free culture medium after 7 days pre-incubation on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 0.2 mg/L BAP, 0.5 mg/L NAA and 60 g/L sucrose. The 90-day-old hybrid embryos from the cross of C. papaya cv. Shahi × C. cauliflora produced maximum callus, as well as somatic embryos when cultured on half-strength MS medium containing 5 mg/L 2,4-D, 100 mg/L glutamine, 100 mg/L casein hydrolysate and 60 g/L sucrose. The somatic embryos were transferred into half-strength MS medium containing 0.5 mg/L BAP and 0.2 mg/L NAA and 60 g/L sucrose for maturation. The highest number of regenerated plants per hybrid embryo (10.33) was recorded from the cross of C. papaya cv. Shahi × C. cauliflora. Isoenzyme and dendrogram cluster analysis using UPGMA of the regenerated F(1) plantlets confirmed the presence of the hybrid plantlets.
Fulltext Review on the Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Malaysian Clams

Hossen MF, Hamdan S, Rahman MR

ScientificWorldJournal, 2015;2015:905497.
PMID: 26060840 DOI: 10.1155/2015/905497

The current review discusses the levels of six heavy metals in different clam species from 34 sites of Malaysian coasts. The concentrations (µg/g dry weight) of these heavy metals ranged around 0.18-8.51, 0.13-17.20, 2.17-7.80, 0.84-36.00, 24.13-368.00, and 177.82-1912.00 for Cd, Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Fe, respectively. It was observed that the concentrations of metals slightly depend on different clam species but mostly depend on site locations. According to Malaysian Food Regulation (1985), about 30% and more than 50% sites are safe from Cd and Pb contamination, respectively, and also the clam species from the other populations studied were safe for consumption.
Fulltext Consequence modelling and analysis of hydrogen release from methyl ester hydrogenation plant using PHAST

Mashaida Md Sharif, Musab Abdul Razak

Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2018;15(2):35-45.
MyJurnal

The incident involving hydrogen release in industry has become a major concern since numerous incidents were observed to have occured over the years. This paper is designed to do the consequence modelling and analysis using PHAST Simulator for the release rate, potential fire and vulnerability to human by lethality versus probit simulated at 5 mm, 35 mm and 70 mm leak scenarios and three types of atmospheric stability at hydrogenation plant in Telok Panglima Garang. The simulation was carried out by inputting data of leak scenario, meteorological data, material data and process data related to the hydrogenation plant. The simulation results were analyzed and discussed on the discharge rate, dispersion concentration and effect of jet fire such as flame length, downwind distance and lethality for radiation intensity level of 4 kW/m2 , 12.5 kW/m2 and 37.5 kW/m2 . Based on the results, the discharge rate and radiation intensity are dependent on the leak sizes regardless of the different atmospheric conditions. However, the dispersion is dependent on both atmospheric stability and leak sizes. Lastly, the lethality and area of impact are simulated from the radiation intensity produced by the jet fire for each leak size. To conclude, adoption of PHAST software is vital for consequence modelling as this software is able to illustrate the outcomes of hazards due to loss of containment and with this will enable related personnel to respond effectively to any hazardous incidents. As a recommendation, hydrogen fixed gas detectors are proposed for installations at specific location after taking into account the smallest leak that may happen which is at 5 mm leak size.
Fulltext High prevalence of multidrug resistant uropathogens: A recent audit of antimicrobial susceptibility testing from a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh

Dasgupta C, Rafi MA, Salam MA

Pak J Med Sci, 2020 9 25;36(6):1297-1302.
PMID: 32968397 DOI: 10.12669/pjms.36.6.2943

Objectives: Urinary tract infections due to multi drug resistant bacteria have been on the rise globally with serious implications for public health. The objective of this study was to explore the prevalence of multi drug resistant uropathogens and to correlate the urinary tract infections with some demographic and clinical characteristics of patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh.
Methods: A cross sectional prospective study was conducted at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, Bogura, Bangladesh among clinically suspected urinary tract infection patients from January to December, 2018. Clean-catch midstream or catheter-catch urine samples were subjected to bacteriological culture using chromogenic agar media. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was done by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Descriptive statistical methods were used for data analysis.
Results: Culture yielded a total of 537 (42.8%) significant bacterial growths including 420 (78.2%) multi drug resistant uropathogens from 1255 urine samples. Escherichia coli was the most common isolate (61.6%) followed by Klebsiella spp. (22.5%), Pseudomonas spp. (7.8%), Staphylococcus aureus (5.4%) and Enterobacter spp. (2.6%) with multi drug resistance frequency of 77.6%, 71.9%, 90.5%, 86.2% and 92.9% respectively. There was female preponderance (M:F; 1:1.97; P=0.007) but insignificant differences between paediatric and adult population (43.65% vs. 42.57%) and also among different age groups. Diabetes, chronic renal failure, fever and supra-pubic pain had significant association as co-morbidities and presentations of urinary tract infections (P<0.05). Multi drug resistance ranged from 3.7 to 88.1% including moderate to high resistance found against commonly used antibiotics like ciprofloxacin, cephalosporin, azithromycin, aztreonam, cotrimoxazole and nalidixic acid (28.6 to 92.9%). Isolates showed 2.4 to 32.2% resistance to nitrofurantoin, amikacin, netilmicin and carbapenems except Pseudomonas spp. (66.7% resistance to nitrofurantoin) and Enterobacter spp. (28.6 to 42.9% resistance to carbapenems).
Conclusion: There is very high prevalence of multi drug resistant uropathogens among hospitalized patients and emergence of carbapenem resistance is an alarming situation. Antibiotic stewardship program is highly recommended for hospitals to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Fulltext Customer waiting time in Labor Department, Kuala Terengganu: A queuing approach

Norsyafiqah Mohamad, Masnita Misiran, Zahayu Md Yusof

Journal of Academia Universiti Teknologi MARA Negeri Sembilan, 2020;8(2):22-32.
MyJurnal

Businesses adopt queuing mechanism as it can improve efficiency and provide economic use of
resources. Some business segment that normally adapted queuing theory include assessing staff
scheduling, productivity, performance, and customers waiting time. This article will adopt queuing
theory to current service provided by Department of Labour, Kuala Terengganu. As the department is
committed to provide quality services to its customer, the level of satisfaction and current queueing
time need to be investigated. To achieve this, four elements in queueing theory – arrival rate, the
queuing discipline, the service and also the cost structure are utilized. Arrival rate is measured as way
in which customer arrives at this department and entered for receiving a service. Single server queuing
model is known as infinite queue length model (exponential service) was used in this study. This model
is based on certain assumptions about queuing, as the arrivals are described by Poisson probability
distribution and arrive from infinite population. This study has demonstrated that, majority of the
customers are dissatisfied with services offered and the major cause of dissatisfaction is the long waiting
time. Sunday shows the busiest day at Department of Labour, Kuala Terengganu when there are too
many customers and duty officer faced a hectic day on Sunday, followed by Thursday and Wednesday.
Department of Labour, Kuala Terengganu needed to do the other internal procedures for reducing
waiting times and thus ensuring an effective services system. This study recommended of adding a new
checkout counter and hiring another employee to help duty officer improve the operation at Department
of Labour, Kuala Terengganu.
Fulltext The incidence of hip fracture in Malaysians above 50 years of age: Variation in different ethnic groups

Lee JK, Amir Sharifuddin MK

APLAR Journal of Rheumatology, 2007;10:300-305.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1479-8077.2007.00314.x

Aims: Hip fracture is frequently studied to reflect osteoporosis related fractures. The aim of this study was to look at ethnic differences in the incidence of hip fractures between the three races in Malaysia. Methods: This was a retrospective study performed for the years 1996 and 1997. Data from hospitals treating hip fractures in elderly patients were collected throughout the whole country. Result: The overall incidence of hip fractures was 90 per 100 000 individuals. Sixty-three percent of patients presenting with hip fractures were Chinese. This was followed by Malays at 20% and Indians, 13%. Race-specific incidence data showed that the fracture rates are highest among the Chinese (160 per 100 000) followed by Indians (150 per 100 000) and Malays (30 per 100 000). Females were twice as commonly affected compared to males. Race and sex-specific incidence data showed that the incidence was highest among Chinese females (220 per 100 000), followed by Indian females (200 per 100 000). The age-specific incidence was 500 per 100 000 for patients above 75 years, compared to 10 per 100 000 in those between 50 and 54 years. Conclusion: Hip fractures arecommon in Malaysia. There are differences in hip fracture incidence depending upon ethnicity. © 2007 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology.
Fulltext Experimental Breast Phantom Imaging with Metamaterial-Inspired Nine-Antenna Sensor Array

Islam MT, Samsuzzaman M, Islam MT, Kibria S

Sensors (Basel), 2018 Dec 14;18(12).
PMID: 30558191 DOI: 10.3390/s18124427

An experimental system for early screening of a breast tumor is presented in this article. The proposed microwave imaging (MI) system consists of a moveable array of nine improved negative-index metamaterial (MTM)-loaded ultrawideband (UWB) antenna sensor with incorporation of a corresponding SRR (split-ring resonator) and CLS (capacitively loaded strip) structure, in a circular array, the stepper motor-based array-mounting stand, the adjustable phantom hanging platform, an RF switching system to control the receivers, and a personal computer-based signal processing and image reconstruction unit using MATLAB. The improved antenna comprises of four-unit cells along one axis, where an individual unit cell integrates a balancing SRR and CLS pair, which makes the antenna radiation omnidirectional over the operating frequencies. The electrical dimensions of this proposed antenna are 0.28λ × 0.20λ × 0.016λ, measured at the lowest operating frequency of 2.97 GHz as the operating bandwidth of this is in between 2.97⁻15 GHz (134.82% bandwidth), with stable directional radiation pattern. SP8T 8 port switch is used to enable the eight receiver antennas to sequentially send a 3⁻8.0 GHz microwave signal to capture the backscattered signal by MATLAB software. A low-cost realistic homogeneous breast phantom with tumor material is developed and measured to test the capability of the imaging system to detect the breast tumors. A post-processing delay-multiply-and-sum (DMAS) algorithm is used to process the recorded backscatter signal to get an image of the breast phantom, and to accurately identify the existence and located area of multiple breast tumor tissues.
Fulltext The development of nutrition pictograph design on food labeling using Delphi Technique

Aida Md Saad, Siti Zuraida Maaruf

ESTEEM Academic Journal, 2020;16(1):15-26.
MyJurnal

Recently consumers are facing the issue of health problems such as Non - Communicable Disease (NCD) occurring in the society due to unhealthy lifestyle and behaviours. Consumers have claimed that they have knowledge about nutrition information but with low awareness level to read the
nutrition information and difficulties to interpret the nutrition information on the food label. The nutrition contained in the food has been presented in numerical data and unattractive design. Plus, the rush when shopping will make the consumers neglect to read the food label. This research attempted to focus on the development of a suitable and usable nutrition pictograph design as a tool to educate the consumers in choosing a healthier selection of packed food. The researchers used the Delphi Technique as a medium in choosing the appropriate nutrition pictograph design, which should be incorporated into the selected food label. Findings from this study revealed positive feedback and reached a consensus, and all expert panels have agreed on the development of the nutrition pictogram design. Therefore, the implication of this study is targeted towards the consumers, Ministry of Health and food manufacturers. It can also contribute to the growth of the Visual Communication field. This nutrition pictograph design is intended to educate and inculcate the consumers and enhance health awareness in selecting the healthier choice of food.
The suicidal adolescents: interface between suicide and cry for help

Md Hussain H, Ahmad Zafri AB

Family Physician, 1993;5:31-32.

A 13-year old Malay girl presented with multiple parasuicide attempts. She made multiple attempts at suicide and at the last attempt she developed liver damage. This article discusses the etiology and different methods used to prevent future suicidal attempts in this patient.

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