Displaying publications 1821 - 1840 of 10013 in total

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  1. Abdullah NI, Ahmad MB, Shameli K
    Chem Cent J, 2015;9:61.
    PMID: 26528373 DOI: 10.1186/s13065-015-0133-0
    Green approach in synthesizing metal nanoparticles has gain new interest from the researchers as metal nanoparticles were widely applied in medical equipment and household products. The use of plants in the synthesis of nanoparticles emerges as a cost effective and eco-friendly approach. A green synthetic route for the production of stable silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) by using aqueous silver nitrate as metal precursor and Artocarpus elasticus stem bark extract act both as reductant and stabilizer is being reported for the first time.
  2. Goh HT, Ramachandram K, Ahmad-Fauzi A, Subamanian P
    J Geriatr Phys Ther, 2016 Jul-Sep;39(3):132-9.
    PMID: 26288234 DOI: 10.1519/JPT.0000000000000064
    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Social participation restriction is a common barrier encountered by older adults and individuals with physical disabilities. To best direct the limited resource to support social services for individuals with disability, there is a need to objectively measure social participation restriction. A number of tools to measure levels of social participation are available, but none of them has been translated into the Malay language. This cross-sectional study examined the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of the Life Habits Assessment (LIFE-H 3.1) that had been translated and culturally adapted to the Malay language.

    METHODS: Seventy-five individuals with physical disabilities (age, mean [standard deviation] = 58 [10] years; 49 males) participated in this study. Participants were interviewed twice with the Malay version LIFE-H 3.1, approximately 1 week apart. The Barthel Index (BI) and the World Health Organization Assessment of Quality of Life-Brief version (WHOQoL-BREF) were administered in the first interview as well. Intraclass correlation coefficients and the Bland-Altman Bias D were used to examine test-retest reliability. The Spearman correlation coefficients were computed to quantify the correlation between the Malay version LIFE-H 3.1 and the BI and the WHOQoL-BREF, respectively, to examine the concurrent validity of the Malay version LIFE-H 3.1. Furthermore, standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change were calculated.

    RESULTS: The Malay version LIFE-H 3.1 had excellent test-retest reliability as evidenced by good to excellent intraclass correlation coefficients (0.71-0.95) and minimal Bland-Altman biases (0.01-0.12). The correlations between the Malay version LIFE-H 3.1 and the BI were fair to good (r = 0.28-0.69). The correlations between the Malay version LIFE-H 3.1 and the WHOQoL-BREF were weak to fair, ranging from 0.02 to 0.57.

    CONCLUSIONS: The Malay version LIFE-H 3.1 demonstrates excellent test-retest reliability and satisfactory validity. This questionnaire is an appropriate tool to assess social participation in rehabilitation for native Malay language speakers.
  3. Darsin Singh SK, Ahmad A, Rahmat N, Hmwe NTT
    Nurs Crit Care, 2018 Jul;23(4):186-191.
    PMID: 27071369 DOI: 10.1111/nicc.12240
    BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease has emerged as a number one killer in Malaysia and globally. Much of the morbidity and mortality in acute coronary syndrome patients is because of patients not recognizing their symptoms which contributes to delay in seeking early treatment.

    AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-led health education programme on knowledge, attitude and beliefs of coronary patients towards the responses to acute coronary syndrome and the association with patients' characteristics.

    METHODS: A single-group quasi-experimental design took place in a tertiary hospital. A total of 60 coronary patients were recruited to this study. The knowledge, attitude and beliefs towards acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were evaluated at baseline and after 1 month of giving education intervention.

    RESULTS: Knowledge, attitude and beliefs about ACS increased significantly from baseline to 1 month after intervention. Level of attitude was associated with gender, educational level and employment status.

    CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that an education program conducted by a nurse improved patients' level of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs in response to ACS symptoms at 1 month compared to baseline, but whether they are sustained for a longer period is unclear. Improving the responses towards ACS might reduce decision delay in symptom interpretation and seeking early treatment.

    RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurse-led interventions have imparted positive outcomes in response to ACS symptoms among coronary patients. Therefore, nurses should take the initiative in educating patients to minimize delay in symptom interpretation and seeking early treatment.

  4. Ahmad N, Mohd Amin MC, Ismail I, Buang F
    Expert Opin Drug Deliv, 2016 May;13(5):621-32.
    PMID: 26943455 DOI: 10.1517/17425247.2016.1160889
    Oral insulin administration suffers gastrointestinal tract (GIT) degradation and inadequate absorption from the intestinal epithelium resulting in poor bioavailability. This study entails in vitro and in vivo assessment of stimuli-responsive hydrogel microparticles (MPs) in an attempt to circumvent GI barrier and enhance oral insulin bioavailability.
  5. Ahmad AL, Ideris N, Ooi BS, Low SC, Ismail A
    J Immunoassay Immunochem, 2016;37(4):421-37.
    PMID: 27088961 DOI: 10.1080/15321819.2016.1157489
    Statistical experimental design was employed to optimize the preparation conditions of polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) membranes. Three variables considered were polymer concentration, dissolving temperature, and casting thickness, whereby the response variable was membrane-protein binding. The optimum preparation for the PVDF membrane was a polymer concentration of 16.55 wt%, a dissolving temperature of 27.5°C, and a casting thickness of 450 µm. The statistical model exhibits a deviation between the predicted and actual responses of less than 5%. Further characterization of the formed PVDF membrane showed that the morphology of the membrane was in line with the membrane-protein binding performance.
  6. Ahmad Kurnin NA, Shah Ismail MH, Yoshida H, Izhar S
    J Oleo Sci, 2016;65(4):283-9.
    PMID: 27041513 DOI: 10.5650/jos.ess15209
    Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) is one of the solid wastes produced in huge volume by palm oil mill. Whilst it still contains valuable oil, approximately 22.6 million tons is generated annually and treated as solid waste. In this work, sub-critical water (sub-cw) was used to extract oil, sugar and tar from spikelet of EFB. The spikelet was treated with sub-cw between 180-280°C and a reaction time of 2 and 5 minutes. The highest yield of oil was 0.075 g-oil/g-dry EFB, obtained at 240°C and reaction time of 5 minutes. Astonishingly, oil that was extracted through this method was 84.5% of that obtained through Soxhlet method using hexane. Yield of oil extracted was strongly affected by the reaction temperature and time. Higher reaction temperature induces the dielectric constant of water towards the non-polar properties of solvent; thus increases the oil extraction capability. Meanwhile, the highest yield of sugar was 0.20 g-sugar/g-dry EFB obtained at 220°C. At this temperature, the ion product of water is high enough to enable maximum sub-critical water hydrolysis reaction. This study showed that oil and other valuable material can be recovered using water at sub-critical condition, and most attractive without the use of harmful organic solvent.
  7. Khan MU, Ahmad A, Fayyaz M, Ashraf N, Bhagavathula A
    BMC Res Notes, 2016;9(1):183.
    PMID: 27005815 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-016-1996-4
    The objective of this study was to assess the association of the constructs of theory of planned behaviour (behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs, control beliefs) and demographic variables with the intentions of pharmacy students to become pharmacy owner.
  8. Joginder Singh S, Chan MY, Ahmad Rusli Y
    Int J Speech Lang Pathol, 2016 12;18(6):560-570.
    PMID: 27063683
    PURPOSE: Children with speech and language delay/disorder (SLD) in the developing language stage (DLS) are one of the largest populations served by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in paediatric settings. The aim of this study was to investigate the practise patterns adopted by Malaysian SLPs when managing these children.

    METHOD: A web-based questionnaire was developed to obtain information about SLPs' practises during assessment, planning and treatment.

    RESULT: A total of 53 SLPs completed the questionnaire. When assessing the children, participants either always or usually involved parents, suggesting that they understood the importance of family involvement in services provided. When planning goals, the SLPs relied mostly on their clinical experience and less on research evidence. Participants reported that, most often, they employed a one-to-one approach when providing treatment. There was, however, great variation in the frequency of treatment provided, reflecting the different workplaces of participants.

    CONCLUSION: Generally, findings from this study indicated that some practises employed by Malaysian SLPs when managing children with SLD in the DLS are on par with the best practise guidelines, but there is still room for improvement in certain areas such as team collaboration and evidence-based practise. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

  9. Ibrahim RW, Ahmad MZ, Al-Janaby HF
    Springerplus, 2016;5:375.
    PMID: 27066382 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-1996-9
    Recently, the generalized hypergeometric function is extended by utilizing the Beta function. Based on this type of function, we introduce a new operator in the open unit disk. The present article investigates some subordination and superordination results for certain normalized analytic functions in the open unit disk, which are acted upon by the generalized Noor integral operator. Some of outcomes improve and generalize previously known outcomes.
  10. Jamshed SQ, Khan MU, Ahmad A, Elkalmi RM
    J Pharm Bioallied Sci, 2016 3 10;8(1):34-8.
    PMID: 26957866 DOI: 10.4103/0975-7406.171686
    BACKGROUND: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is consistently on the rise worldwide. Consumers often consider pharmacists as a major source of information about CAM products and their safety. Due to the limitation of data, it is worth exploring the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of pharmacy students toward CAM.
    OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of pharmacy students regarding the use of CAM in Malaysia.
    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted for 3 months among Bachelor of Pharmacy students in a public sector University of Malaysia. A pretested, self-administered questionnaire, comprised four sections, was used to collect the data from 440 participants. Descriptive analysis was used, and Chi-square test was used to test the association between dependent and independent variables.
    RESULTS: Of 440 questionnaire distributed, 287 were returned giving a response rate of (65.2%). The results showed that 38.6% participants gave correct answers when asked about the use of herbal products with digoxin. Majority of the participants were knowledgeable about supplementary therapy (25.3%) while the lack of knowledge was mostly evident in traditional Chinese medicines (73.7%). Majority of the students were either neutral (49.5%) or disagreed that (42.8%) CAM use is unsafe. Females were more in disagreement to the statements than males (P = 0.007). Majority of students also agreed to use CAM therapies for their health and well-being (51.2%).
    CONCLUSION: The study revealed that pharmacy students did not have adequate knowledge of CAM though their attitudes and perceptions were relatively positive.
  11. Barber CM, Ahmad Rusmili MR, Hodgson WC
    Toxins (Basel), 2016;8(3).
    PMID: 26938558 DOI: 10.3390/toxins8030058
    Taipans (Oxyuranus spp.) are elapids with highly potent venoms containing presynaptic (β) and postsynaptic (α) neurotoxins. O. temporalis (Western Desert taipan), a newly discovered member of this genus, has been shown to possess venom which displays marked in vitro neurotoxicity. No components have been isolated from this venom. We describe the characterization of α-elapitoxin-Ot1a (α-EPTX-Ot1a; 6712 Da), a short-chain postsynaptic neurotoxin, which accounts for approximately 30% of O. temporalis venom. α-Elapitoxin-Ot1a (0.1-1 µM) produced concentration-dependent inhibition of indirect-twitches, and abolished contractile responses to exogenous acetylcholine and carbachol, in the chick biventer cervicis nerve-muscle preparation. The inhibition of indirect twitches by α-elapitoxin-Ot1a (1 µM) was not reversed by washing the tissue. Prior addition of taipan antivenom (10 U/mL) delayed the neurotoxic effects of α-elapitoxin-Ot1a (1 µM) and markedly attenuated the neurotoxic effects of α-elapitoxin-Ot1a (0.1 µM). α-Elapitoxin-Ot1a displayed pseudo-irreversible antagonism of concentration-response curves to carbachol with a pA₂ value of 8.02 ± 0.05. De novo sequencing revealed the main sequence of the short-chain postsynaptic neurotoxin (i.e., α-elapitoxin-Ot1a) as well as three other isoforms found in O. temporalis venom. α-Elapitoxin-Ot1a shows high sequence similarity (i.e., >87%) with other taipan short-chain postsynaptic neurotoxins.
  12. Ngaini Z, Shahrom FD, Jamil N, Wahi R, Ahmad ZA
    J Oleo Sci, 2016 Jun 1;65(6):507-15.
    PMID: 27181252 DOI: 10.5650/jos.ess16014
    Biodiesel from palm oil mill sludge (POMS) was prepared in the presence of novel silica-based heterogeneous catalysts derived from Imperata cylindrica sp. Imperatacid and Imperatabase are two types of heterogeneous catalysts derived from Imperata cylindrica sp and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and pore size measurement. Imperatacid has particle size of 43.1-83.9 µm while Imperatabase in the range of 89-193 µm. Imperatacid was conveniently applied in esterification step to afford > 90 wt% oil in 1:3 (oil/methanol) and 10 wt% catalyst, followed by transesterification with 1 wt% Imperatabase and 1:1 (oil/methanol) for 1 h at 65°C to afford 80% biodiesel with higher percentage of methyl palmitate (48.97%) and methyl oleate (34.14%) compare to conventional homogeneous catalyst. Reusability of the catalyst up to three times afforded biodiesel ranging from 78-80% w/w. The biodiesel was demonstrated onto alternative diesel engine (Megatech(®)-Mark III) and showed proportional increased of torque (ɽ) to biodiesel loading.
  13. Oranye NO, Arumugam U, Ahmad N, Arumugam ME
    Contemp Nurse, 2016 Oct;52(5):555-566.
    PMID: 27248157 DOI: 10.1080/10376178.2016.1194726
    Introductio n: In Malaysia, nurses form a significant part of the clinical mental health team, but the current level of training in mental health results in suboptimal nursing care delivery.

    METHODS: For this study 220 registered nurses and medical assistants working with the mentally ill completed a structured questionnaire. The purpose of this study was to explore perceived competence in mental healthcare and the training needs of nurses working with mentally ill patients in inpatient mental healthcare facilities.

    RESULTS: The skills perceived as important for practicing in mental health varied among the nurse participants. Post basic training in mental health was significantly related to perceived competence in patient mental state assessment (p=0.036), risk assessment for suicide (p=0.024), violence (p=0.044) and self-harm (p=0.013).

    CONCLUSION: There is little emphasis on psychosocial skills in current post basic mental health training in Malaysia.

  14. Altalmas T, Aula A, Ahmad S, Tokhi MO, Akmeliawati R
    Assist Technol, 2016;28(3):159-74.
    PMID: 27187763 DOI: 10.1080/10400435.2016.1140688
    Two-wheeled wheelchairs are considered highly nonlinear and complex systems. The systems mimic a double-inverted pendulum scenario and will provide better maneuverability in confined spaces and also to reach higher level of height for pick and place tasks. The challenge resides in modeling and control of the two-wheeled wheelchair to perform comparably to a normal four-wheeled wheelchair. Most common modeling techniques have been accomplished by researchers utilizing the basic Newton's Laws of motion and some have used 3D tools to model the system where the models are much more theoretical and quite far from the practical implementation. This article is aimed at closing the gap between the conventional mathematical modeling approaches where the integrated 3D modeling approach with validation on the actual hardware implementation was conducted. To achieve this, both nonlinear and a linearized model in terms of state space model were obtained from the mathematical model of the system for analysis and, thereafter, a 3D virtual prototype of the wheelchair was developed, simulated, and analyzed. This has increased the confidence level for the proposed platform and facilitated the actual hardware implementation of the two-wheeled wheelchair. Results show that the prototype developed and tested has successfully worked within the specific requirements established.
  15. Kristanti RA, Fikri Ahmad Zubir MM, Hadibarata T
    J Environ Manage, 2016 May 1;172:107-11.
    PMID: 26922501 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.11.017
    Cresol Red, a commercial dye that used widely to color nylon, wool, cotton, and polyacrylonitrile-modified nylon in the massive textile manufacture is toxic recalcitrant. Absidia spinosa M15, a novel fungal strain isolated from a tropical rain forest, was found to decolorize Cresol Red 65% within 30 d under agitation condition. UV-Vis spectroscopy, TLC analysis and mass spectra of samples after decolorization process in culture medium confirmed final decolorization of Cresol Red. Two metabolites were identified in the treated medium: benzeneacetic acid (tR 9.6 min and m/z 136) and benzoic acid (tR 5.7 min and m/z 122). Laccase showed the significant activity (133.8 U/L) in biomass obtained at the end of experiment demonstrates role of the enzyme in the decolorization process.
  16. Ahmad P, Khandaker MU, Amin YM, Muhammad N
    Sci Rep, 2016;6:21403.
    PMID: 26892366 DOI: 10.1038/srep21403
    Boron niride microflakes of 2-5 μm in diameter and greater than 40 μm in length with multilayer structure and highly crystalline nature are synthesized in two states of catalysts and dual role of nitrogen at 1100 °C. Most of the microflakes are flat, smooth and vertically aligned with a wall-like view from the top. Transmission electron microscopy shows overlapped layers of microflakes with an interlayer spacing of 0.34 nm. The h-BN components of the synthesized microflakes are verified from B 1s and N1 s peaks at 190. 7 and 397.9 eV. Raman shift at 1370 (cm(-1)) and sharp peaks in the XRD pattern further confirm the h-BN phase and crystalline nature of the synthesized microflakes. Microflakes of h-BN with the above characteristics are highly desirable for the development of a solid state neutron detector with higher detection efficiency.
  17. Ibrahim RW, Ahmad MZ, Al-Janaby HF
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Jan;23(1):S45-9.
    PMID: 26858564 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.09.012
    A mutation is ultimately essential for adaptive evolution in all populations. It arises all the time, but is mostly fixed by enzymes. Further, most do consider that the evolution mechanism is by a natural assortment of variations in organisms in line for random variations in their DNA, and the suggestions for this are overwhelming. The altering of the construction of a gene, causing a different form that may be communicated to succeeding generations, produced by the modification of single base units in DNA, or the deletion, insertion, or rearrangement of larger units of chromosomes or genes. This altering is called a mutation. In this paper, a mathematical model is introduced to this reality. The model describes the time and space for the evolution. The tool is based on a complex domain for the space. We show that the evolution is distributed with the hypergeometric function. The Boundedness of the evolution is imposed by utilizing the Koebe function.
  18. Jeyaprakasam NK, Razak MF, Ahmad NA, Santhanam J
    Mycopathologia, 2016 Jun;181(5-6):397-403.
    PMID: 26847667 DOI: 10.1007/s11046-016-9984-8
    Although non-sporulating molds (NSM) are frequently isolated from patients and have been recognized as agents of pulmonary disease, their clinical significance in cutaneous specimens is relatively unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to identify NSM and to determine the keratinolytic activity of isolates from cutaneous sites. NSM isolates from clinical specimens such as skin, nail, and body fluids were identified based on their ribosomal DNA sequences. Of 17 NSM isolates (7 Ascomycota, 10 Basidiomycota), eleven were identified to species level while five were identified to the genus level. These include Schizophyllum commune, a known human pathogen, Phoma multirostrata, a plant pathogen, and Perenniporia tephropora, a saprophyte. To determine fungal pathogenicity, keratinolytic activity, a major virulence factor, was evaluated ex vivo using human nail samples by measuring dye release from keratin azure, for NSM along with pathogens (Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis and Fusarium spp.) and nonpathogenic (endophyte) fungi for comparison. This study showed that pathogenic fungi had the highest keratinolytic activity (7.13 ± 0.552 keratinase units) while the nonpathogenic endophytes had the lowest activity (2.37 ± 0.262 keratinase units). Keratinolytic activity of two Ascomycota NSM (Guignardia mangiferae and Hypoxylon sp.) and one Basidiomycota NSM (Fomitopsis cf. meliae) was equivalent to that of pathogenic fungi, while Xylaria feejeensis showed significantly higher activity (p 
  19. Lim GW, Lim JK, Ahmad AL, Chan DJ
    Anal Bioanal Chem, 2016 Mar;408(8):2083-93.
    PMID: 26842746 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-015-9298-6
    The direct correlation between disease and lysozyme (LYZ) levels in human body fluids makes the sensitive and convenient detection of LYZ the focus of scientific research. Fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer has emerged as a new alternative for LYZ detection in order to resolve the limitation of immunoassays, which are expensive, unstable, require complex preparation, and are time consuming. In this study, a novel fluorescence molecularly imprinted polymer based on Navicula sp. frustules (FITC-MIP) has been synthesized via post-imprinting treatment for LYZ detection. Navicula sp. frustules were used as supported material because of their unique properties of moderate surface area, reproducibility, and biocompatibility, to address the drawbacks of nanoparticle core material with low adsorption capacity. The FITC acts as recognition signal and optical readout, whereas MIP provides LYZ selectivity. The synthesized FITC-MIP showed a response time as short as 5 min depending on the concentration of LYZ. It is found that the LYZ template can significantly quench the fluorescence intensity of FITC-MIP linearly within a concentration range of 0 to 0.025 mg mL(-1), which is well described by Stern-Volmer equation. The FITC-MIP can selectively and sensitively detect down to 0.0015 mg mL(-1) of LYZ concentration. The excellent sensing performance of FITC-MIP suggests that FITC-MIP is a potential biosensor in clinical diagnosis applications.
  20. Ahmad W, Jantan I, Kumolosasi E, Bukhari SN
    Food Funct, 2016 Mar 16;7(3):1380-9.
    PMID: 26839149 DOI: 10.1039/c5fo01531f
    Standardized extract of Tinospora crispa has been shown to exhibit immunostimulatory effects on innate immune responses in Wistar-Kyoto rats by enhancing neutrophil and T cell-mediated immunity. In this study the immunostimulatory effects of T. crispa were further investigated on the cellular immune response by determining its effect on nitric oxide (NO) production ability, peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis and delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH), whereas the humoral immune response was evaluated through the measurement of serum immunoglobulins (IgG and IgM) and serum lysozyme levels. Male Balb/c mice were immunized with 200 μL of 5 × 10(9) sheep red blood cells (sRBCs) per mL on day 0 and orally administered with 50, 100 and 200 mg per kg of ethanol extract of T. crispa for 14 days. Syringin and magnoflorine were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed in the extract as chemical markers by using a validated reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography method. T. crispa extract (TCE) considerably improved the peritoneal macrophages' ability to engulf FITC-labeled E. coli in a dose-dependent manner. TCE also dose-dependently promoted NO production in peritoneal macrophages activated by a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and markedly potentiated the sRBS-induced swelling rate of the mice paw in DTH. The extract significantly enhanced the level of serum immunoglobulins, showing maximum activity at 100 mg kg(-1). Compared to the control groups, the serum lysozyme level and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were significantly higher in extract-treated groups. These findings suggest that T. crispa possesses strong immunostimulatory activities and might act as a natural immunomodulator as well as a potential nutraceutical for the modulation of the immune response.
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