Displaying publications 141 - 160 of 201 in total

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  1. Extracellular Vesicles Derived From Colorectal Cancer Affects CD8 T Cells: An Analysis Based on Body Mass Index
    Abu N, Othman N, Ab Razak NS, Bakarurraini NAAR, Nasir SN, Soh JEC, et al.
    Front Cell Dev Biol, 2020;8:564648.
    PMID: 33324632 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.564648
    Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most widely diagnosed cancers worldwide. It has been shown that the body-mass index (BMI) of the patients could influence the tumor microenvironment, treatment response, and overall survival rates. Nevertheless, the mechanism on how BMI affects the tumorigenesis process, particularly the tumor microenvironment is still elusive. Herein, we postulate that extracellular vesicles (EVs) from CRC patients and non-CRC volunteers with different BMI could affect immune cells differently, in CD8 T cells particularly. We isolated the EVs from the archived serum of CRC patients with high and low BMI, as well as healthy controls with similar BMI status. The EVs were further characterized via electron microscopy, western blot and dynamic light scattering. Then, functional analysis was performed on CD8 T cells including apoptosis, cell proliferation, gene expression profiling and cytokine release upon co-incubation with the different EVs. Our results suggest that CRC-derived EVs were able to regulate the CD8 T cells. In some assays, low BMI EVs were functionally different than high BMI EVs. This study highlights the possible difference in the regulatory mechanism of cancer patients-derived EVs, especially on CD8 T cells.
  2. Integrative meta-analysis for the identification of hub genes in chemoresistant colorectal cancer
    Abu N, Othman N, W Hon K, Nazarie WF, Jamal R
    Biomark Med, 2020 05;14(7):525-537.
    PMID: 32462912 DOI: 10.2217/bmm-2019-0241
    Background: Finding a new target or a new drug to overcome chemoresistance is difficult due to the heterogenous nature of cancer. Meta-analysis was performed to combine the analysis of different microarray studies to get a robust discovery. Materials & methods: Herein, we analyzed three microarray datasets on combination of folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin drugs (FOLFOX) resistance that fit our inclusion/exclusion criteria and performed a meta-analysis using the OmiCC system. Results: We identified several deregulated genes and we discovered HNF4A as a hub gene. We performed functional validation and observed that by targeting HNF4A, HCT116 cells were more sensitive toward both oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil significantly. Conclusion: Our findings show that HNF4A could be a potential target in overcoming FOLFOX chemoresistance in colorectal cancer.
  3. The cadmium tolerance and bioaccumulation mechanism of Tetratostichococcus sp. P1: insight from transcriptomics analysis
    Sahabudin E, Kubo S, Yuzir MAM, Othman N, Nadia Md Akhir F, Suzuki K, et al.
    Bioengineered, 2024 Dec;15(1):2314888.
    PMID: 38375815 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2024.2314888
    Cadmium (Cd) has become a severe issue in relatively low concentration and attracts expert attention due to its toxicity, accumulation, and biomagnification in living organisms. Cd does not have a biological role and causes serious health issues. Therefore, Cd pollutants should be reduced and removed from the environment. Microalgae have great potential for Cd absorption for waste treatment since they are more environmentally friendly than existing treatment methods and have strong metal sorption selectivity. This study evaluated the tolerance and ability of the microalga Tetratostichococcus sp. P1 to remove Cd ions under acidic conditions and reveal mechanisms based on transcriptomics analysis. The results showed that Tetratostichococcus sp. P1 had a high Cd tolerance that survived under the presence of Cd up to 100 µM, and IC50, the half-maximal inhibitory concentration value, was 57.0 μM, calculated from the change in growth rate based on the chlorophyll content. Long-term Cd exposure affected the algal morphology and photosynthetic pigments of the alga. Tetratostichococcus sp. P1 removed Cd with a maximum uptake of 1.55 mg g-1 dry weight. Transcriptomic analysis revealed the upregulation of the expression of genes related to metal binding, such as metallothionein. Group A, Group B transporters and glutathione, were also found upregulated. While the downregulation of the genes were related to photosynthesis, mitochondria electron transport, ABC-2 transporter, polysaccharide metabolic process, and cell division. This research is the first study on heavy metal bioremediation using Tetratostichococcus sp. P1 and provides a new potential microalga strain for heavy metal removal in wastewater.[Figure: see text]Abbreviations:BP: Biological process; bZIP: Basic Leucine Zipper; CC: Cellular component; ccc1: Ca (II)-sensitive cross complementary 1; Cd: Cadmium; CDF: Cation diffusion facilitator; Chl: Chlorophyll; CTR: Cu TRansporter families; DAGs: Directed acyclic graphs; DEGs: Differentially expressed genes; DVR: Divinyl chlorophyllide, an 8-vinyl-reductase; FPN: FerroportinN; FTIR: Fourier transform infrared; FTR: Fe TRansporter; GO: Gene Ontology; IC50: Growth half maximal inhibitory concentration; ICP: Inductively coupled plasma; MF: molecular function; NRAMPs: Natural resistance-associated aacrophage proteins; OD: Optical density; RPKM: Reads Per Kilobase of Exon Per Million Reads Mapped; VIT1: Vacuolar iron transporter 1 families; ZIPs: Zrt-, Irt-like proteins.
  4. Multiple polypoid endometriosis--a rare complication following withdrawal of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for severe endometriosis: a case report
    Othman NH, Othman MS, Ismail AN, Mohammad NZ, Ismail Z
    Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol, 1996 May;36(2):216-8.
    PMID: 8798320
    A 30-year old female who initially had typical endometriosis treated according to a standard regimen later developed numerous highly vascular endometrial polyps on the vagina, cervix, ureter, serosal surfaces of the uterus, pouch of Douglas (POD) and other areas of pelvic peritoneum as well as the endometrium 8 months after withdrawal of treatment with Zoladex gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist used for treatment of this disease. We postulate that these polyps developed as a rebound phenomenon upon withdrawal of Zoladex. We believe this is the first report of this complication following use of GnRH analogue.
  5. Fulltext Preparation and Characterization of Low-Molecular-Weight Natural Rubber Latex via Photodegradation Catalyzed by Nano TiO₂
    Ibrahim S, Othman N, Sreekantan S, Tan KS, Mohd Nor Z, Ismail H
    Polymers (Basel), 2018 Nov 01;10(11).
    PMID: 30961141 DOI: 10.3390/polym10111216
    Natural rubber is one of the most important renewable biopolymers used in many applications due to its special properties that cannot be easily mimicked by synthetic polymers. To sustain the existence of natural rubber in industries, modifications have been made to its chemical structure from time to time in order to obtain new properties and to enable it to be employed in new applications. The chemical structure of natural rubber can be modified by exposure to ultraviolet light to reduce its molecular weight. Under controlled conditions, the natural rubber chains will be broken by photodegradation to yield low-molecular-weight natural rubber. The aim of this work was to obtain what is known as liquid natural rubber via photodegradation, with titanium dioxide nanocrystals as the catalyst. Titanium dioxide, which was firstly synthesized using the sol⁻gel method, was confirmed to be in the form of an anatase, with a size of about 10 nm. In this work, the photodegradation was carried out in latex state and yielded low-molecular-weight natural rubber latex of less than 10,000 g/mol. The presence of hydroxyl and carbonyl groups on the liquid natural rubber (LNR) chains was observed, resulting from the breaking of the chains. Scanning electron microscopy of the NR latex particles showed that titanium dioxide nanocrystals were embedded on the latex surface, but then detached during the degradation reaction.
  6. Endometrial amoebiasis
    Othman NH, Ismail AN
    Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol, 1993 Dec 15;52(2):135-7.
    PMID: 8157142
    A case of endometrial infection by Entamoeba histolytica is described in an elderly lady who presented with profuse vaginal discharge and was clinically misdiagnosed as endometrial carcinoma.
  7. Simultaneous extraction and enrichment of reactive dye using green emulsion liquid membrane system
    Othman N, Raja Sulaiman RN, Rahman HA, Noah NFM, Jusoh N, Idroas M
    Environ Technol, 2019 Apr;40(11):1476-1484.
    PMID: 29300678 DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2018.1424258
    Currently, an extractive green palm oil-based emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) has been used for simultaneous extraction and enrichment of Reactive Red 3BS from simulated synthetic dye wastewater. The ELM consists of two main phases, which are organic liquid membrane (LM) and stripping solution. During the extraction process, the ELM was dispersed into the simulated synthetic dye wastewater containing the Reactive Red 3BS complexes. The organic LM contains tridodecylamine (TDA), Sorbitan Monooleate (Span 80) and palm oil as a carrier, surfactant and diluent, respectively. The sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) was used as stripping solution for the enrichment process. Several important parameters that affected the simultaneous extraction and enrichment of Reactive Red 3BS, such as carrier and stripping agent concentrations, extraction time and treat ratio, were investigated. The results showed that almost 90% of Reactive Red 3BS ions were successfully extracted with 10 times enrichment in the stripping phase at the optimum conditions of 0.2 M TDA, 0.1 M NaHCO3, 5 min of extraction time and 1:5 of treat ratio. Hence, it can be concluded that palm oil possesses a high potential as green diluent in future technology, especially in ELM process for the removal and recovery of Reactive Red 3BS from synthetic dye wastewater.
  8. Fulltext Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome and its association with perceived stress level at the International Islamic University Malaysia among nursing students
    Al-Mahmood SMA, Rahim H, Othman N, Ibrahim WN
    International Journal of Care Scholars, 2018;1(2):9-12.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and its association with perceived stress levels among nursing students at the International Islamic University Malaysia.
    Methods: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. A three-part questionnaire was used to gather data on stress levels and IBS symptoms. Part A posed questions on socio-demographic aspects. In part B, a Perceived Stress Scale was used to measure individuals’ perceived stress. Part C used a questionnaire developed by the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO) with the support of Danone.
    Results: The response rate was 85.5%: out of 200 students, 171 completed the questionnaires. According to the results, there is a significant relationship between stress levels and IBS (p = 0.006), where students who experienced moderate stress (151, 88.3%) were more exposed to IBS (60, 39.7%). There is no association between the characteristics of subjects with IBS and their level of stress (P > 0.05).
    Conclusion: The prevalence of IBS among the students in this study was roughly moderate. The frequency of moderate stress levels was high and there was a significant association with IBS. On the other hand, subject characteristics, e.g. smoking habits, were insignificantly associated with IBS and stress level (SL).
  9. Fulltext Adequacy of Empiric Antibiotics Therapy and Its Impact on Outcomes in Adult Critically Ill Sepsis Patients: A Review
    Al-Ani AHHDA, Othman N, Hassali MA, Ibrahim B
    Malays J Med Sci, 2022 Oct;29(5):17-23.
    PMID: 36474531 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2022.29.5.3
    Sepsis is a medical emergency that involves a systemic immunological response due to an infection, resulting in the end-stage-organs malfunction and death. It is associated with high mortality rate despite a better understanding of the disease pathology and the mechanism involved. This review was designed to summarise the available evidences regarding the adequacy of the empiric antimicrobial therapy (EAMT), its predictors and its impact on the outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) sepsis patients. Providing an adequate EAMT is considered one of the cornerstones of sepsis management as it has been found to be associated with better survival and is a good predictor for shorter ICU-length-of-stay. In contrast, inadequate EAMT in sepsis patients is associated with poor clinical outcomes including increased mortality and prolonged hospital stay. Evidence from this review suggest that it is important to identify determinants of inadequate EAMT to optimise the antimicrobial therapy provided to sepsis patients. Predictors of inadequate EAMT included co-morbidities (cancer), source and type of infection, higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHI-II) score and long hospital stay prior to the infection. As EAMT is considered as one of the effective treatment strategies to prevent sepsis associated death, healthcare providers should ensure the adequate antimicrobial therapy is provided for sepsis patients to improve and optimise their management.
  10. Fulltext Comparison of DR. HPV Chip Kit with hybrid capture II assay for the detection of human papillomavirus in clinical samples: a preliminary study
    Rajan S, Shen TH, Santhanam J, Othman NH, Othman N, Hock TT
    Trop Biomed, 2007 Jun;24(1):17-22.
    PMID: 17568373
    Human papillomavirus (HPV) is well known as an etiological factor for the development of anogenital carcinomas. The aim of our study was to compare the performance of USFDA approved Hybrid II (HCII) Assay and recently introduced DR. HPV Chip Kit for the detection of HPV DNA in clinical cervical scrapings from 40 patients. HPV DNA testing was performed using the automated HCII Assay system and DR. HPV Chip Kit. Taking cytological results as gold standard, it was found that HCII was more sensitive (36.4%) than DR. HPV Chip Kit (18.2%) although specificity was 100% with the latter method. In addition, both these molecular methods had comparable negative and positive predictive values. It was concluded that both HCII and DR. HPV Chip Kit have comparable specificity. However, sensitivity for detection of HPV in clinical samples with HCII is almost double as compared to DR. HPV Chip Kit.
  11. Fulltext Potency of Urea-Treated Halloysite Nanotubes for the Simultaneous Boosting of Mechanical Properties and Crystallization of Epoxidized Natural Rubber Composites
    Surya I, Waesateh K, Saiwari S, Ismail H, Othman N, Hayeemasae N
    Polymers (Basel), 2021 Sep 11;13(18).
    PMID: 34577969 DOI: 10.3390/polym13183068
    Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are naturally occurring tubular clay made of aluminosilicate sheets rolled several times. HNT has been used to reinforce many rubbers. However, the narrow diameter of this configuration causes HNT to have poor interfacial contact with the rubber matrix. Therefore, increasing the distance between layers could improve interfacial contact with the matrix. In this work, Epoxidized Natural Rubber (ENR)/HNT was the focus. The HNT layer distance was successfully increased by a urea-mechanochemical process. Attachment of urea onto HNT was verified by FTIR, where new peaks appeared around 3505 cm-1 and 3396 cm-1, corresponding to urea's functionalities. The intercalation of urea to the distance gallery of HNT was revealed by XRD. It was also found that the use of urea-treated HNT improved the modulus, tensile strength, and tear strength of the composites. This was clearly responsible for interactions between ENR and urea-treated HNT. It was further verified by observing the Payne effect. The value of the Payne effect was found to be reduced at 62.38% after using urea for treatment. As for the strain-induced crystallization (SIC) of the composites, the stress-strain curves correlated well with the results from synchrotron wide-angle X-ray scattering.
  12. Effect of extraction methods on the molecular structure and thermal stability of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus core) biomass as an alternative bio-filler for rubber composites
    Mohamad Aini NA, Othman N, Hussin MH, Sahakaro K, Hayeemasae N
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2020 Jul 01;154:1255-1264.
    PMID: 31765744 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.10.280
    Lignin from kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) core was investigated as an alternative filler for rubber. Three types of extraction methods were used to isolate lignin from kenaf, namely kraft, soda and organosolv process. The particle size, surface area, functionalities changes, molecular weight and thermal properties of the lignin were characterized. The results showed that Kraft lignin (KL) has the smallest particle size (40.41 μm) compared to soda lignin (SL) (63.85 μm) and organosolv lignin (OL) (66.85 μm). This is in good agreement with the BET surface area of 9.52 m2/g, 1.25 m2/g and 2.40 m2/g respectively. However, the smaller surface area of SL compared to OL is due to the smaller pore size and pore volume of SL. KL also showed high hydroxyl content with corresponding high thermal stability as confirmed by NMR and TGA. The thermal stability of the lignin correlates well with the molecular weight (MW). From the overall characteristics, it can be concluded that KL, SL and OL can be used as an alternative filler in rubber compounds to substitute common fillers like silica and carbon.
  13. Proteomic analysis reveals brain Rab35 as a potential biomarker of mitragynine withdrawal in rats
    Hassan R, Othman N, Mansor SM, Müller CP, Hassan Z
    Brain Res Bull, 2021 07;172:139-150.
    PMID: 33901587 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2021.04.018
    Mitragyna speciosa, also known as kratom, has been used for mitigating the severity of opioid withdrawal in humans. Its main indole alkaloid, mitragynine, has been considered as a pharmacotherapy for pain conditions and opioid replacement therapy. However, at high doses, chronic mitragynine may also have an addiction potential. The effects of chronic action of mitragynine in the brain are still unknown. The present study developed a mitragynine withdrawal model in rats and used it for a proteomic analysis of mitragynine withdrawal effects. Mitragynine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered daily over a period of 14 days and then withdrawn. A proteomic analysis revealed that from a total of 1524 proteins identified, 31 proteins were upregulated, and 3 proteins were downregulated in the mitragynine withdrawal model. The Rab35 protein expression increased most profoundly in the mitragynine withdrawal group as compared to vehicle group. Therefore, it is proposed that Rab35 in the brain might be considered as a potential biomarker during mitragynine withdrawal and might be valuable target protein in developing new pharmacotherapies in the future.
  14. Lymphoma with superimposed tuberculosis and fungal infection mimicking parapharyngeal abscess complicated with recurrent neurocardiogenic syncope: a case report
    Sharudin SN, Huda Al Firdas AN, Hitam S, Hamid Z, Nordin NJ, Othman N, et al.
    Malays J Pathol, 2020 Aug;42(2):287-291.
    PMID: 32860384
    INTRODUCTION: Lymphoma of parapharyngeal space (PPS) is a rare condition. The clinical presentations may vary and often masquerades as infection or an inflammatory condition. A misdiagnosis will lead to a delay in treatment of the disease. Due to the complex anatomy of PPS, any attributed pressure from masses can lead to a life-threatening event such as cardiac syncope.

    CASE REPORT: We report a rare case of PPS B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma with superimposed Tuberculosis (TB) and fungal infection that presents with several episodes of syncope and hemodynamic depression.

    DISCUSSION: The clinical entities in PPS lesions syncope and its associated syndromes, pathophysiology, and differential diagnosis together with possible managements are further discussed.

  15. Knowledge, perceived barriers and facilitators of medication error reporting: a quantitative survey in Malaysian primary care clinics
    Samsiah A, Othman N, Jamshed S, Hassali MA
    Int J Clin Pharm, 2020 Aug;42(4):1118-1127.
    PMID: 32494990 DOI: 10.1007/s11096-020-01041-0
    Background Medication errors are the most common types of medical errors that occur in health care organisations; however, these errors are largely underreported. Objective This study assessed knowledge on medication error reporting, perceived barriers to reporting medication errors, motivations for reporting medication errors and medication error reporting practices among various health care practitioners working at primary care clinics. Setting This study was conducted in 27 primary care clinics in Malaysia. Methods A self-administered survey was distributed to family medicine specialists, doctors, pharmacists, pharmacist assistants, nurses and assistant medical officers. Main outcome measures Health care practitioners' knowledge, perceived barriers and motivations for reporting medication errors. Results Of all respondents (N = 376), nurses represented 31.9% (n = 120), followed by doctors (n = 87, 23.1%), pharmacists (n = 63, 16.8%), assistant medical officers (n = 53, 14.1%), pharmacist assistants (n = 46, 12.2%) and family medicine specialists (n = 7, 1.9%). Of the survey respondents who had experience reporting medication errors, 56% (n = 62) had submitted medication error reports in the preceding 12 months. Results showed that 41.2% (n = 155) of respondents were classified as having good knowledge on medication error and medication error reporting. The mean score of knowledge was significantly higher among prescribers and pharmacists than nurses, pharmacist assistants and assistant medical officers (p 
  16. Fulltext Perceptions and attitudes towards medication error reporting in primary care clinics: a qualitative study in Malaysia
    Samsiah A, Othman N, Jamshed S, Hassali MA
    PLoS One, 2016;11(12):e0166114.
    PMID: 27906960 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166114
    OBJECTIVE: To explore and understand participants' perceptions and attitudes towards the reporting of medication errors (MEs).

    METHODS: A qualitative study using in-depth interviews of 31 healthcare practitioners from nine publicly funded, primary care clinics in three states in peninsular Malaysia was conducted for this study. The participants included family medicine specialists, doctors, pharmacists, pharmacist assistants, nurses and assistant medical officers. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Analysis of the data was guided by the framework approach.

    RESULTS: Six themes and 28 codes were identified. Despite the availability of a reporting system, most of the participants agreed that MEs were underreported. The nature of the error plays an important role in determining the reporting. The reporting system, organisational factors, provider factors, reporter's burden and benefit of reporting also were identified.

    CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare practitioners in primary care clinics understood the importance of reporting MEs to improve patient safety. Their perceptions and attitudes towards reporting of MEs were influenced by many factors which affect the decision-making process of whether or not to report. Although the process is complex, it primarily is determined by the severity of the outcome of the errors. The participants voluntarily report the errors if they are familiar with the reporting system, what error to report, when to report and what form to use.
  17. Fulltext Bcl-xL silencing induces alterations in hsa-miR-608 expression and subsequent cell death in A549 and SK-LU1 human lung adenocarcinoma cells
    Othman N, In LL, Harikrishna JA, Hasima N
    PLoS One, 2013;8(12):e81735.
    PMID: 24339958 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081735
    Bcl-xL is an anti-apoptotic protein that is frequently found to be overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer leading to an inhibition of apoptosis and poor prognosis. Recently, the role of miRNAs in regulating apoptosis and cell survival during tumorigenesis has become evident, with cancer cells showing perturbed expression of various miRNAs. In this study, we utilized miRNA microarrays to determine if miRNA dysregulation in bcl-xL silenced lung adenocarcinoma cells could be involved in regulating cell death. Short interfering RNA-based transfection of A549 and SK-LU1 lung adenocarcinoma cells was successful in inducing a reduction in bcl-xL expression levels, resulting in a decrease in cell viability. A total of 10 miRNAs were found to be significantly differentially expressed when compared between siRNA-transfected and non-transfected cells including hsa-miR-181a, hsa-miR-769-5p, hsa-miR-361-5p, hsa-miR-1304 and hsa-miR-608. When overexpression studies on hsa-miR-608 was performed via transfection of miRNA mimics, cell death was found to be induced in A549 and SK-LU1 cells in comparison to untreated cells. This effect was reversed when knockdown studies involving anti-sense inhibitors were introduced. Combination of siRNA based silencing of bcl-xL (siBcl-xL) followed by anti-sense inhibitor transfection led to a decrease in the apoptotic population of A549 and SK-LU1 cells in comparison to cells only treated with siBcl-xL, illustrating the connection between bcl-xL, hsa-miR-608 and cell death. Gene target prediction analysis implicated the PI3K/AKT, WNT, TGF-β, and ERK signaling pathways as targets of bcl-xL induced miRNA alterations. We have demonstrated that bcl-xL silencing in A549 and SK-LU1 cells leads to the occurrence of cell death through the dysregulation of specific miRNAs. This study also provides a platform for anti-sense gene therapy whereby miRNA expression can be exploited to increase the apoptotic properties in lung adenocarcinoma cells.
  18. Fulltext Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child malnutrition in Selangor, Malaysia: A pilot study
    Rahman A, Othman N, Kuddus MA, Hasan MZ
    J Infect Public Health, 2024 May;17(5):833-842.
    PMID: 38547630 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2024.02.019
    BACKGROUND: Child malnutrition risk factors are globally recognized, but the specific impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of child malnutrition, considering socioeconomic burdens and changes in family lifestyles, remains underexplored. This study aims to identify the significance of COVID-19-related factors in relation to the prevalence of child malnutrition in Selangor, Malaysia.

    METHODS: Purposive sampling was employed in this pilot study to select the households with under-5 children and, a structured questionnaire was developed to gather data. Chi-squared tests, logistic regression modelling and World Health Organisation AnthroPlus software-based visualization were used for analyses.

    RESULTS: The present study's findings indicate that demographic and social factors, including 'Citizenship,' 'Type of House,' 'Number of Earning Members,' 'Father's Highest Educational Level,' and 'Number of Children in a Family,' have a statistically significant association with Wasting. Additionally, the mother's 'Highest Educational Level' is found to be linked to underweight prevalence. Within COVID-19 factors, "COVID-19 Impact on Employment/Business" demonstrated significance for both stunting and wasting. Multivariate analysis revealed disparities in childhood malnutrition by gender, age, and factors such as "COVID-19 impact on children's physical activity" and "COVID-19 impact on children's decrease in health over the last two weeks."

    CONCLUSIONS: This study identified COVID-19 factors alongside sociodemographic variables with statistically significant relationships impacting childhood malnutrition in Selangor, Malaysia. The results underscored the substantial influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on child malnutrition prevalence. Decision-makers at family and community levels can benefit by considering these factors in their actions. However, the study's limitation lay in its dataset, urging larger-scale analyses to explore further sub-categories of the examined variables.

  19. Fulltext Elucidation of prazosin biodegradation by isolated Bacillus spp. from the tropical environment
    Mohd Mohsi NF, Apandi A, Megat Mohd Noor MJ, Md Akhir FN, Sugiura N, Utsumi M, et al.
    J Gen Appl Microbiol, 2020 Apr 13;66(1):8-14.
    PMID: 31281138 DOI: 10.2323/jgam.2019.04.001
    Prazosin (PRZ), a drug used to treat hypertensive patients, is an emergent contaminant in water systems. PRZ is an alpha-adrenergic receptor blocker used to treat anxiety, and is believed to reach the environment through human excretion, irresponsible disposal of unused medicine, and waste products from manufacturing plants. The purpose of this research was to isolate and characterize potential microbes for PRZ biodegradation and to identify the degradation pathway. After screening, isolated strain STP3 showed a capability for PRZ degradation and was chosen for further analysis. Resting cell assays with PRZ were conducted to identify the intermediate metabolites formed from biodegradation by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) analysis. Two metabolites degraded from PRZ by STP3 were successfully found, and as these metabolites are derived from the main structure of PRZ, their presence proved PRZ degradation. Draft genome sequencing analysis of STP3 was performed to identify potential enzymes for PRZ biodegradation based on the metabolites found.
  20. Fulltext Draft Genome Sequence of the Prazosin-Degrading Bacillus sp. Strain PR5, Isolated from a River Receiving Hospital and Urban Wastewater in Malaysia
    Ahmad Sabri NS, Mohd Mohsi NF, Apandi A, Yusof N, Megat Mohd Noor MJ, Md Akhir FN, et al.
    Microbiol Resour Announc, 2021 Mar 18;10(11).
    PMID: 33737348 DOI: 10.1128/MRA.00025-21
    We report the complete genome sequence of Bacillus sp. strain PR5, isolated from a river receiving hospital and urban wastewater in Malaysia, which demonstrated a high capability for degrading prazosin. This genome sequence of 4,525,264 bp exhibited 41.5% GC content, 4,402 coding sequences, and 32 RNAs.
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