Displaying publications 141 - 160 of 2118 in total

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  1. Nagendrababu V, Duncan HF, Fouad AF, Kirkevang LL, Parashos P, Pigg M, et al.
    Int Endod J, 2020 Sep;53(9):1199-1203.
    PMID: 32365401 DOI: 10.1111/iej.13318
    Observational studies have a significant role in establishing the prevalence and incidence of diseases in populations, as well as determining the benefits and risks associated with health-related interventions. Observational studies principally encompass cohort, case-control, case series and cross-sectional designs. Inadequate reporting of observational studies is likely to have a negative impact on decision-making in day-to-day clinical practice; however, no reporting guidelines have been published for observational studies in Endodontics. The aim of this project is to develop reporting guidelines for authors when creating manuscripts describing observational studies in the field of Endodontology in an attempt to improve the quality of publications. The new guidelines for observational studies will be named: 'Preferred Reporting items for OBservational studies in Endodontics (PROBE)'. A steering committee was formed by the project leaders (PD, VN) to develop the guidelines through a five-phase consensus process. The steering committee will review and adapt items from the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement and the Clinical and Laboratory Images in Publications (CLIP) principles, as well as identify new items that add value to Endodontics. The steering committee will create a PROBE Delphi Group (PDG), consisting of 30 members across the globe to review and refine the draft checklist items and flowchart. The items will be assessed by the PDG on a nine-point Likert scale for relevance and inclusion. The agreed items will then be discussed by a PROBE Face-to-Face meeting group (PFMG) made up of 20 individuals to further refine the guidelines. After receiving feedback from the PFMG, the steering committee will pilot and finalize the guidelines. The approved PROBE guidelines will be disseminated through publication in relevant journals, and be presented at national and international conferences. The PROBE checklist and flowchart will be available and downloadable from the Preferred Reporting Items for study Designs in Endodontics (PRIDE) website: www.pride-endodonticguidelines.org. The PROBE steering committee encourages clinicians, researchers, editors and peer reviewers to provide feedback on the PROBE guidelines to inform the steering group when the guidelines are updated.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research Design; Research Report*
  2. Looi LM, Zubaidah Z, Cheah PL, Cheong SK, Gudum HR, Iekhsan O, et al.
    Malays J Pathol, 2004 Jun;26(1):13-27.
    PMID: 16190103
    Cancer is a major morbidity and mortality concern in Malaysia. Based on National Cancer Registry data, the Malaysian population is estimated to bear a cancer burden of about 40,000 new cases per year, and a cumulative lifetime risk of about 1:4. Cancer research in Malaysia has to consider needs relevant to our population, and resources constraints. Hence, funding bodies prioritise cancers of high prevalence, unique to our community and posing specific clinical problems. Cancer diagnosis is crucial to cancer management. While cancer diagnosis research largely aims at improvements in diagnostic information towards more appropriate therapy, it also impacts upon policy development and other areas of cancer management. The scope of cancer diagnosis upon which this paper is based, and their possible impact on other R&D areas, has been broadly categorized into: (1) identification of aetiological agents and their linkages to the development of precancer and cancer (impact on policy development, cancer prevention and treatment), (2) cancer biology and pathogenesis (impact on cancer prevention, treatment strategies and product development), (3) improvements in accuracy, sensitivity and specificity in cancer detection, monitoring and classification (impact on technology development) and (4) prognostic and predictive parameters (impact on treatment strategies). This paper is based on data collected by the Working Group on Cancer Diagnosis Research for the First National Conference on Cancer Research Coordination in April 2004. Data was collated from the databases of Institutions/Universities where the authors are employed, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and targeted survey feedback from key cancer researchers. Under the 7th Malaysia Plan, 76 cancer projects were funded through the Intensified Research in Priority Areas (IRPA) scheme of MOSTI, amounting to almost RM15 million of grant money. 47(61.8%) of these projects were substantially in cancer diagnosis, accounting for 65.6% (RM 9.7 million) of cancer project funds. The 8th Malaysia Plan saw a change in research strategy. The IRPA agency fielded several top-down projects which encouraged a multicentre and multidisciplinary approach. This resulted in larger funding per project i.e. RM32 million for 49 projects. There was also a surge of interest in drug development and natural products. Because of this shift in direction, cancer diagnosis projects constituted only 51% of IRPA-funded cancer projects. Nonetheless funding for cancer diagnosis research has exceeded that of the 7th Malaysia Plan, being RM12.5 million by March 2004. The majority of such research is carried out at the Universities, engaging a large number of young scientists and postgraduate students (51 MSc and 21 PhD). A lot of research findings presented at scientific meetings have not yet been published and there is a glaring shortage of patents and commercialization of research findings (such as creation of test kits). Because diagnosis is very much a part of clinical practice, many researchers felt satisfied and confident that their work will be translated into practice and will significantly improve diagnostic services in Malaysia. National guidelines and consensus development on at least three malignancies i.e. breast cancer, oral cancer and lymphoma, have substantial basis in local R&D work. Problems encountered in research included (1) insufficient funding to realize research objectives, (2) lack of local expertise (most research assistants are inexperienced BSc graduates with no or minimal research experience), (3) inadequate technical support from vendors during equipment failure, (4) inexperienced Institutional development units to assist in product development, (5) lack of venture capital for commercialization of findings, and (6) inadequate incentives to undertake research. Researchers pointed out that plans to promote research should include the establishment of (1) regional and national cancer tissue banks, (2) a National Cancer Research Institute, (3) a dedicated cancer research fund, (4) a registry of cancer researchers, (5) national research coordinators, (6) improved coverage by the National Cancer Registry, (7) more international collaboration, (8) a better career structure for researchers, (9) improved Institutional support for product realization, and (10) better recognition for cancer researchers.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research*; Research Support as Topic
  3. See HY, Mohamed MS, Nor SNM, Low WY
    J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics, 2021 12;16(5):487-500.
    PMID: 34292842 DOI: 10.1177/15562646211033191
    Empirical evidence of the ethical review of clinical and biomedical research in Malaysia is limited. We have conducted a convergent mixed methods research, which comprises an online survey and semistructured interviews to examine the challenges in the ethical review of clinical and biomedical research. Data collected reveal that the ethics review process is inconsistent, duplicate, and inadequate. The results indicate a strong need for a centralized ethical review mechanism and a national system for mutual recognition of ethics reviews to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the ethics review system in Malaysia. A joint research ethics committee review between Malaysia and sponsoring countries for multinational research should also be encouraged as it could address the concerns of the lack of expertise and training.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ethics Committees, Research; Biomedical Research*
  4. Balogun WG, Cobham AE, Amin A
    Metab Brain Dis, 2018 04;33(2):359-368.
    PMID: 28993966 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-017-0119-9
    The science of the brain and nervous system cuts across almost all aspects of human life and is one of the fastest growing scientific fields worldwide. This necessitates the demand for pragmatic investment by all nations to ensure improved education and quality of research in Neurosciences. Although obvious efforts are being made in advancing the field in developed societies, there is limited data addressing the state of neuroscience in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, we review the state of neuroscience development in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and its largest economy, critically evaluating the history, the current situation and future projections. This review specifically addresses trends in clinical and basic neuroscience research and education. We conclude by highlighting potentially helpful strategies that will catalyse development in neuroscience education and research in Nigeria, among which are an increase in research funding, provision of tools and equipment for training and research, and upgrading of the infrastructure at hand.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research/trends*; Research Design
  5. Yuhanif Yusof, Anisah Che Ngah, Zaki Morad Mohamad Zaher
    Int J Public Health Res, 2014;4(1):384-390.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction The aim of this study was to examine the aspect of information disclosure by doctor-investigator during the process of obtaining informed consent in clinical trials.
    Methods This research employed a mixed-method data collection that is library research and interview. A qualitative methodology and analysis were used in an open-ended, face-to-face interviews with 17 patient-subjects. The interview questions were based on information that needed to be disclosed to patient-subjects during the process of obtaining informed consent. Each interview took place in Kajang Hospital and National Heart Institute and lasted 25-30 minutes. Interviews were conducted in Bahasa Melayu and English. The interviews were tape-recorded, and the main points from the interviews were jotted down to ensure that all information was adequately gathered. Interviewed occurred in Kajang Hospital and National Heart Institute. The participants were patients who had been referred to the Kajang Hospital and National Heart Institute. They were recruited (8 from Kajang Hospital and 9 from National Heart Institute) by their own doctors to participate in a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the investigational stent after been diagnosed with coronary artery disease and also in a study to investigate drug for antidepressant. respectively.
    Results The study revealed that doctor-investigators fail to disclose full information to patient-subjects. Instead, doctor-investigators only disclosed information which they thought were necessary for the patient-subjects to know. The study also showed that there were doctor-investigators who did not disclose information at all to the patient-subjects.
    Conclusions This study implies that the aspect of information disclosure in the process of obtaining informed consent in clinical trials is rather poor and did not fulfill the criterion of good medical practice. A random monitoring task to be conducted by the research ethics commitees during the informed consent process is suggested.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research; Research Personnel; Ethics, Research
  6. Wong LP
    Singapore Med J, 2008 Mar;49(3):256-60; quiz 261.
    PMID: 18363011
    Focus group discussion is a research methodology in which a small group of participants gather to discuss a specified topic or an issue to generate data. The main characteristic of a focus group is the interaction between the moderator and the group, as well as the interaction between group members. The objective is to give the researcher an understanding of the participants' perspective on the topic in discussion. Focus groups are rapidly gaining popularity in health and medical research. This paper presents a general introduction of the use of focus groups as a research tool within the context of health research, with the intention of promoting its use among researchers in healthcare. A detailed methodology for the conduct of focus groups and analysis of focus group data are discussed. The potentials and limitations of this qualitative research technique are also highlighted.
    Matched MeSH terms: Biomedical Research/methods*; Qualitative Research
  7. Samsudin NA, Karim N, Othman H, Naserrudin NA, Sahani M, Hod R, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2024 Mar 12;14(3):e074222.
    PMID: 38479731 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074222
    OBJECTIVES: To use a community-based participatory research (CBPR) design to explore local community behaviours and stakeholders' challenges in engaging communities in dengue prevention behaviours in Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia.

    DESIGN: This CBPR design in implementation comprised in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs). Themes were identified from the data with inductive and deductive thematic analysis.

    SETTING: FGDs were conducted in local community areas and IDIs were conducted in the local authority (LA) office and the Hulu Langat district health office.

    PARTICIPANTS: All FGD and IDI participants consented to the study, and included health authorities (n=4), LAs (n=7), community leader (n=1), faith leader (n=1), patients diagnosed with dengue (IDIs, n=2) and permanent residents of Hulu Langat who had been exposed to dengue infectious disease (FGDs, n=27).

    RESULTS: The main themes were categorised into community behaviour and stakeholder challenges. The community behaviour-related themes were awareness of dengue disease and Aedes mosquitoes, perception of risk and severity, and involvement of authorities. The themes related to stakeholder challenges were resource constraints and capacity issues, jurisdictional constraints and coordination, and educational dissemination and vandalism.

    CONCLUSIONS: The actions of the authorities shape community and stakeholder behaviours. Effective communication, including clear and aesthetically pleasing messages, motivates individuals to take appropriate actions. It is crucial for the authorities to engage in inclusive communication and consider diverse perspectives, such as those of residents and individuals exposed to dengue infection. Authorities that provide accurate and unbiased information foster transparency and enable informed decision-making by all stakeholders.

    Matched MeSH terms: Qualitative Research; Community-Based Participatory Research*
  8. Smith Gueye C, Newby G, Gosling RD, Whittaker MA, Chandramohan D, Slutsker L, et al.
    Malar J, 2016;15:2.
    PMID: 26727923 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-015-1054-z
    There has been progress towards malaria elimination in the last decade. In response, WHO launched the Global Technical Strategy (GTS), in which vector surveillance and control play important roles. Country experiences in the Eliminating Malaria Case Study Series were reviewed to identify success factors on the road to elimination using a cross-case study analytic approach.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research Design
  9. Kooy N, Mohamed K, Pin LT, Guan OS
    Nanoscale Res Lett, 2014;9(1):320.
    PMID: 25024682 DOI: 10.1186/1556-276X-9-320
    Since its introduction in 1995, nanoimprint lithography has been demonstrated in many researches as a simple, low-cost, and high-throughput process for replicating micro- and nanoscale patterns. Due to its advantages, the nanoimprint lithography method has been rapidly developed over the years as a promising alternative to conventional nanolithography processes to fulfill the demands generated from the recent developments in the semiconductor and flexible electronics industries, which results in variations of the process. Roll-to-roll (R2R) nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is the most demanded technique due to its high-throughput fulfilling industrial-scale application. In the present work, a general literature review on the various types of nanoimprint lithography processes especially R2R NIL and the methods commonly adapted to fabricate imprint molds are presented to provide a clear view and understanding on the nanoimprint lithography technique as well as its recent developments.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research Design
  10. Shafie S, Kawahito S, Halin IA, Hasan WZ
    Sensors (Basel), 2009;9(12):9452-67.
    PMID: 22303133 DOI: 10.3390/s91209452
    The partial charge transfer technique can expand the dynamic range of a CMOS image sensor by synthesizing two types of signal, namely the long and short accumulation time signals. However the short accumulation time signal obtained from partial transfer operation suffers of non-linearity with respect to the incident light. In this paper, an analysis of the non-linearity in partial charge transfer technique has been carried, and the relationship between dynamic range and the non-linearity is studied. The results show that the non-linearity is caused by two factors, namely the current diffusion, which has an exponential relation with the potential barrier, and the initial condition of photodiodes in which it shows that the error in the high illumination region increases as the ratio of the long to the short accumulation time raises. Moreover, the increment of the saturation level of photodiodes also increases the error in the high illumination region.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research
  11. Al-Dabbagh MM, Salim N, Himmat M, Ahmed A, Saeed F
    Molecules, 2015;20(10):18107-27.
    PMID: 26445039 DOI: 10.3390/molecules201018107
    One of the most widely-used techniques for ligand-based virtual screening is similarity searching. This study adopted the concepts of quantum mechanics to present as state-of-the-art similarity method of molecules inspired from quantum theory. The representation of molecular compounds in mathematical quantum space plays a vital role in the development of quantum-based similarity approach. One of the key concepts of quantum theory is the use of complex numbers. Hence, this study proposed three various techniques to embed and to re-represent the molecular compounds to correspond with complex numbers format. The quantum-based similarity method that developed in this study depending on complex pure Hilbert space of molecules called Standard Quantum-Based (SQB). The recall of retrieved active molecules were at top 1% and top 5%, and significant test is used to evaluate our proposed methods. The MDL drug data report (MDDR), maximum unbiased validation (MUV) and Directory of Useful Decoys (DUD) data sets were used for experiments and were represented by 2D fingerprints. Simulated virtual screening experiment show that the effectiveness of SQB method was significantly increased due to the role of representational power of molecular compounds in complex numbers forms compared to Tanimoto benchmark similarity measure.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research Design
  12. Rambli A, Abuzaid AH, Mohamed IB, Hussin AG
    PLoS One, 2016;11(4):e0153074.
    PMID: 27064566 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153074
    A number of circular regression models have been proposed in the literature. In recent years, there is a strong interest shown on the subject of outlier detection in circular regression. An outlier detection procedure can be developed by defining a new statistic in terms of the circular residuals. In this paper, we propose a new measure which transforms the circular residuals into linear measures using a trigonometric function. We then employ the row deletion approach to identify observations that affect the measure the most, a candidate of outlier. The corresponding cut-off points and the performance of the detection procedure when applied on Down and Mardia's model are studied via simulations. For illustration, we apply the procedure on circadian data.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research
  13. Al-Majdhoub FM, Hamzah AB, Ariffin MY
    Springerplus, 2015;4:229.
    PMID: 26110101 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-015-1000-0
    A qualitative method using focus group discussions (FGDs) was applied in this study to identify people's perceptions on newspaper reporting pertaining to the Southern Separatist Movement (SSM) by different Yemeni newspapers. This paper also looked into the attitudes towards the movement and the popularity of the issue of Yemeni unification. Five FGD groups with a total of 30 participants discussed the subject and some other aspects related to it. The findings of the focu19 groups showed that the southern crisis and SSM had shaken the people's trust on the current form of the unity. The discussion with the groups revealed that media in general and the selected four papers from various political persuasions have no credibility and objectivity, but these papers are trying to instill democratic values which is consistent with their ideology, which have a serious impact on the value of liberal democracy. The participants assured that reporting on the southern cause and the SSM indicated the absence of professional journalism in the media and the political discourse in general.
    Matched MeSH terms: Qualitative Research
  14. Al-Mqdashi A, Sali A, Noordin NK, Hashim SJ, Nordin R
    Sensors (Basel), 2018 Dec 10;18(12).
    PMID: 30544684 DOI: 10.3390/s18124360
    Channel rendezvous is an initial and important process for establishing communications between secondary users (SUs) in distributed cognitive radio networks. Due to the drawbacks of the common control channel (CCC) based rendezvous approach, channel hopping (CH) has attracted a lot of research interests for achieving blind rendezvous. To ensure rendezvous within a finite time, most of the existing CH-based rendezvous schemes generate their CH sequences based on the whole global channel set in the network. However, due to the spatial and temporal variations in channel availabilities as well as the limitation of SUs sensing capabilities, the local available channel set (ACS) for each SU is usually a small subset of the global set. Therefore, following these global-based generated CH sequences can result in extensively long time-to-rendezvous (TTR) especially when the number of unavailable channels is large. In this paper, we propose two matrix-based CH rendezvous schemes in which the CH sequences are generated based on the ACSs only. We prove the guaranteed and full diversity rendezvous of the proposed schemes by deriving the theoretical upper bounds of their maximum TTRs. Furthermore, extensive simulation comparisons with other existing works are conducted which illustrate the superior performance of our schemes in terms of the TTR metrics.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research
  15. Ullah, Hadaate, Kiber, Adnan, Huq, Asadul, Mohammad Arif Sobhan Bhuiyan
    MyJurnal
    Classification is one of the most hourly encountered problems in real world. Neural networks have
    emerged as one of the tools that can handle the classification problem. Feed-Forward Neural Networks
    (FFNN's) have been widely applied in many different fields as a classification tool. Designing an efficient
    FFNN structure with the optimum number of hidden layers and minimum number of layer's neurons for
    a given specific application or dataset, is an open research problem and more challenging depend on
    the input data. The random selections of hidden layers and neurons may cause the problem of either
    under fitting or over fitting. Over fitting arises because the network matches the data so closely as to
    lose its generalization ability over the test data. In this research, the classification performance using
    the Mean Square Error (MSE) of Feed-Forward Neural Network (FFNN) with back-propagation algorithm
    with respect to the different number of hidden layers and hidden neurons is computed and analyzed to
    find out the optimum number of hidden layers and minimum number of layer's neurons to help the
    existing classification concepts by MATLAB version 13a. By this process, firstly the random data has
    been generated using an suitable matlab function to prepare the training data as the input and target
    vectors as the testing data for the classification purposes of FFNN. The generated input data is passed
    on to the output layer through the hidden layers which process these data. From this analysis, it is find
    out from the mean square error comparison graphs and regression plots that for getting the best
    performance form this network, it is better to use the high number of hidden layers and more neurons in
    the hidden layers in the network during designing its classifier but so more neurons in the hidden layers
    and the high number of hidden layers in the network makes it complex and takes more time to execute.
    So as the result it is suggested that three hidden layers and 26 hidden neurons in each hidden layers
    are better for designing the classifier of this network for this type of input data features.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research
  16. Md Shajahan MY
    Family Physician, 1994;6:3-3.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research
  17. Mohd Khairul Bazli Mohd Aziz, Fadhilah Yusof, Zalina Mohd Daud, Zulkifli Yusop, Mohammad Afif Kasno
    MATEMATIKA, 2019;35(2):157-170.
    MyJurnal
    The well-known geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) is commonly used to determine the optimal rain gauge network. The main problem in geostatistics method to determine the best semivariogram model in order to be used in estimating the variance. An optimal choice of the semivariogram model is an important point for a good data evaluation process. Three different semivariogram models which are Spherical, Gaussian and Exponential are used and their performances are compared in this study. Cross validation technique is applied to compute the errors of the semivariograms. Rain-fall data for the period of 1975 – 2008 from the existing 84 rain gauge stations covering the state of Johor are used in this study. The result shows that the exponential model is the best semivariogram model and chosen to determine the optimal number and location of rain gauge station.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research Design
  18. Siddique J, Shamim A, Nawaz M, Faye I, Rehman M
    Front Psychol, 2020;11:591753.
    PMID: 33613353 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.591753
    The increasing interest in online shopping in recent years has increased the importance of understanding customer engagement valence (CEV) in a virtual service network. There is yet a comprehensive explanation of the CEV concept, particularly its impact on multi-actor networks such as web stores. Therefore, this study aims to fill this research gap. In this study, past literature in the marketing and consumer psychology field was critically reviewed to understand the concept of CEV in online shopping, and the propositional-based style was employed to conceptualize the CEV within the online shopping (web stores) context. The outcomes demonstrate that the valence of customer engagement is dependent on the cognitive interpretation of signals that are prompted by multiple actors on a web store service network. If the signals are positively interpreted, positive outcomes such as service co-creation are expected, but if they are negatively interpreted, negative outcomes such as service co-destruction are predicted. These notions create avenues for future empirical research and practical implications.
    Matched MeSH terms: Empirical Research
  19. Bidin, N.
    ASM Science Journal, 2008;2(2):179-182.
    MyJurnal
    The laser technology laboratory (LTL) of the Physics Department, University of Technology Malaysia was established in 1989 to support research and development activities. The laboratory provides activities for short- and long-term projects to serve final year undergraduate and post-graduate students in masters and PhD programmes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research
  20. Wong, L.P.
    JUMMEC, 2007;10(1):3-10.
    MyJurnal
    Systematic review is a comprehensive review of research findings in which all of the primary studies are systematically identified, appraised and summarised using an explicit and reproducible methodology. Meta-analysis is the statistical component of a systematic review in which combinable studies are drawn together via a statistical process. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are routinely being used in the evidence-based approach to medicine. These short notes intend to highlight important terms in systematic-review and meta-analysis. It is a beginner’s guide for health care professional of any discipline involved in research or practice who seeks to gain more comprehensive understanding of important terms used in systematic review and meta-analysis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Research
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