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  1. Fulltext Closing the knowledge gap in Malaysian pharmacists: a virtual Allergic Rhinitis Boot Camp initiative
    Abdullah B, Ramli RR, Shukri NM, Mohamad S
    Multidiscip Respir Med, 2021 Jan 15;16(1):775.
    PMID: 34584690 DOI: 10.4081/mrm.2021.775
    Background: In primary care, general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists are at the frontline to identify, classify and manage patients suffering from allergic rhinitis (AR). The Allergic Rhinitis and its impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines aid clinicians in disease management by providing evidence-based recommendations. A recently published ASEAN primary care survey demonstrated that the awareness of ARIA guidelines was high among GPs but notably lower in pharmacists. Hence, this study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of a Boot Camp education initiative in bridging the unmet needs in pharmacist awareness and education.

    Methods: The boot camp was organised as a virtual event. The participants answered the same questionnaire before (pre-assessment) and immediately after (post-assessment) the boot camp session. Statistical analysis was performed on the data paired between the pre- and post- assessments using SPSS v. 25.0 software.

    Results: The boot camp survey results showed that second-generation oral antihistamines and allergen avoidance are the most preferred options for AR treatment in pharmacy practice, irrespective of the disease severity. In both pre- and post-assessments, efficacy was ranked as the most important factor considered for choosing an antihistamine and which affects patient adherence. With the boot camp initiative, there was a statistically significant increase in awareness about the patient profiling tool (from 31.6% to 88.2%) and ARIA guidelines (from 40.4% to 91.2%) among the pharmacists (p<0.05). The proportion of pharmacists who were able to identify, classify and refer AR patients was significantly increased in post-assessment (p<0.05). Post the boot camp, among the proportion of pharmacists (91.2%) who were already aware of ARIA, a high percentage of them further agreed that ARIA guidelines were useful in identifying and treating patients with AR, as well as classifying AR, respectively (97.6%, 95.2%, and 93.5%).

    Conclusions: Based on improvements in knowledge and understanding of disease management post assessment, the Allergic Rhinitis Boot Camp initiative is effective and relevant to pharmacy practice. Outreach programs like this reiterate the emphasis on patient compliance and importance of utilizing ARIA guidelines in pharmacy practice that facilitates better management of AR in primary care.

  2. Fulltext The Intra- and Extra-Telomeric Role of TRF2 in the DNA Damage Response
    Imran SAM, Yazid MD, Cui W, Lokanathan Y
    Int J Mol Sci, 2021 Sep 14;22(18).
    PMID: 34576063 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22189900
    Telomere repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) has a well-known function at the telomeres, which acts to protect the telomere end from being recognized as a DNA break or from unwanted recombination. This protection mechanism prevents DNA instability from mutation and subsequent severe diseases caused by the changes in DNA, such as cancer. Since TRF2 actively inhibits the DNA damage response factors from recognizing the telomere end as a DNA break, many more studies have also shown its interactions outside of the telomeres. However, very little has been discovered on the mechanisms involved in these interactions. This review aims to discuss the known function of TRF2 and its interaction with the DNA damage response (DDR) factors at both telomeric and non-telomeric regions. In this review, we will summarize recent progress and findings on the interactions between TRF2 and DDR factors at telomeres and outside of telomeres.
  3. Use of Megaprimer and Overlapping Extension PCR (OE-PCR) to Mutagenize and Enhance Cyclodextrin Glucosyltransferase (CGTase) Function
    Goh KM, Liew KJ, Chai KP, Illias RM
    Methods Mol Biol, 2017;1498:385-396.
    PMID: 27709591
    Protein engineering is a very useful tool for probing structure-function relationships in proteins. Specifically, site-directed mutagenized proteins can provide useful insights into structural, binding and catalytic mechanisms of a protein, particularly when coupled with crystallization. In this chapter, we describe two protocols for performing site-directed mutagenesis of any protein-coding sequence, namely, megaprimer PCR and overlapping extension PCR (OE-PCR). We use as an example how these two SDM methods enhanced the function of a cyclodextrin glucosyltransferase (CGTase) from Bacillus lehensis strain G1.
  4. A stochastic frontier analysis of technical efficiency of fish cage culture in Peninsular Malaysia
    Islam GM, Tai SY, Kusairi MN
    Springerplus, 2016;5(1):1127.
    PMID: 27478744 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-2775-3
    Cage culture plays an important role in achieving higher output and generating more export earnings in Malaysia. However, the cost of fingerlings, feed and labour have increased substantially for cage culture in the coastal areas in Peninsular Malaysia. This paper uses farm level data gathered from Manjung, Perak and Kota Tinggi, Johor to investigate the technical efficiency of brackish water fish cage culture using the stochastic frontier approach. The technical efficiency was estimated and specifically the factors affecting technical inefficiencies of fish cage culture system in Malaysia was investigated. On average, 37 percent of the sampled fish cage farms are technically efficient. The results suggest very high degrees of technical inefficiency exist among the cage culturists. This implies that great potential exists to increase fish production through improved efficiency in cage culture management in Peninsular Malaysia. The results indicate that farmers obtained grouper fingerlings from other neighboring countries due to scarcity of fingerlings from wild sources. The cost of feeding for grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) requires relatively higher costs compared to seabass (Lates calcarifer) production in cage farms in the study areas. Initiatives to undertake extension programmes at the farm level are needed to help cage culturists in utilizing their resources more efficiently in order to substantially enhance their fish production.
  5. Updates on Managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Natural Products: Towards Antidiabetic Drug Development
    Alam F, Islam MA, Kamal MA, Gan SH
    Curr Med Chem, 2018;25(39):5395-5431.
    PMID: 27528060 DOI: 10.2174/0929867323666160813222436
    Over the years, natural products have shown success as antidiabetics in in vitro, in vivo studies and clinical trials. Because natural product-derived drugs are more affordable and effective with fewer side-effects compared to conventional therapies, pharmaceutical research is increasingly leaning towards the discovery of new antidiabetic drugs from natural products targeting pathways or components associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) pathophysiology. However, the drug discovery process is very lengthy and costly with significant challenges. Therefore, various techniques are currently being developed for the preclinical research phase of drug discovery with the aim of drug development with less time and efforts from natural products. In this review, we have provided an update on natural products including fruits, vegetables, spices, nuts, beverages and mushrooms with potential antidiabetic activities from in vivo, in vitro and clinical studies. Synergistic interactions between natural products and antidiabetic drugs, and potential antidiabetic active compounds from natural products are also documented to pave the way for combination treatment and new drug discovery, respectively. Additionally, a brief idea of the drug discovery process along with the challenges that arise during drug development from natural products and the methods to conquer those challenges are discussed to create a more convenient future drug discovery process.
  6. Fulltext A Robust Speaker Identification System Using the Responses from a Model of the Auditory Periphery
    Islam MA, Jassim WA, Cheok NS, Zilany MS
    PLoS One, 2016;11(7):e0158520.
    PMID: 27392046 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158520
    Speaker identification under noisy conditions is one of the challenging topics in the field of speech processing applications. Motivated by the fact that the neural responses are robust against noise, this paper proposes a new speaker identification system using 2-D neurograms constructed from the responses of a physiologically-based computational model of the auditory periphery. The responses of auditory-nerve fibers for a wide range of characteristic frequency were simulated to speech signals to construct neurograms. The neurogram coefficients were trained using the well-known Gaussian mixture model-universal background model classification technique to generate an identity model for each speaker. In this study, three text-independent and one text-dependent speaker databases were employed to test the identification performance of the proposed method. Also, the robustness of the proposed method was investigated using speech signals distorted by three types of noise such as the white Gaussian, pink, and street noises with different signal-to-noise ratios. The identification results of the proposed neural-response-based method were compared to the performances of the traditional speaker identification methods using features such as the Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, Gamma-tone frequency cepstral coefficients and frequency domain linear prediction. Although the classification accuracy achieved by the proposed method was comparable to the performance of those traditional techniques in quiet, the new feature was found to provide lower error rates of classification under noisy environments.
  7. Novel alkaline-reduced cuprous oxide/graphene nanocomposites for non-enzymatic amperometric glucose sensor application
    Yazid SNAM, Isa IM, Hashim N
    Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl, 2016 Nov 01;68:465-473.
    PMID: 27524043 DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2016.06.006
    This paper presents the fabrication of a highly sensitive and selective glucose sensor based on cuprous oxide/graphene nanocomposites-modified glassy carbon electrode (Cu2O/graphene/GCE). The Cu2O/graphene nanocomposites were synthesized based on a simple and straightforward chemical reduction process in alkaline aqueous solution using sodium carbonate as reductant. The size and shape of Cu2O nanoparticles on graphene sheets can be controlled by changing the amount of graphene oxide added during reaction. The electrochemical properties of Cu2O/graphene/GCE in 0.1M phosphate buffer solution were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It was found that the pH, concentration of supporting electrolyte, and scan rate had very crucial effect on the sensitivity of prepared sensor towards glucose oxidation. At an applied potential of +0.50V, the Cu2O/graphene/GCE presented a high sensitivity of 1330.05μAmM(-1)cm(-2) and fast response (within 3s). The amperometric non-enzymatic glucose sensor developed had a linear relationship from 0.01mM to 3.0mM glucose and detection limit of 0.36μM. In the presence of ascorbic acid, uric acid, dopamine, chloride and citrate ion and other carbohydrates, the interferences were negligible. The proposed sensor was successfully applied for the determination of glucose concentration in real human blood samples.
  8. Effects of Different Soil Amendments on Mixed Heavy Metals Contamination in Vetiver Grass
    Ng CC, Boyce AN, Rahman MM, Abas MR
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol, 2016 Nov;97(5):695-701.
    PMID: 27655078
    Three different types of low cost soil amendments, namely, EDTA, elemental S and N-fertilizer, were investigated with Vetiver grass, Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash growing under highly mixed Cd-Pb contamination conditions. A significant increase (p 
  9. Isotopic ratio analysis of cattle tail hair: A potential tool in building the database for cow milk geographical traceability
    Behkami S, Zain SM, Gholami M, Bakirdere S
    Food Chem, 2017 Feb 15;217:438-444.
    PMID: 27664656 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.08.130
    The potential for the isotopic ratio analysis of cattle tail hair in determining the geographical origin of raw cow milk in Peninsular Malaysia had been investigated in this research using exploratory visualization. A significant positive correlation (p<0.0001) (n=54) was noticed between δ(13)C and δ(15)N in milk with that of hair which indicated that these matrices could be used in tracing the geographical origin of animal produce and tissues, and there is a possibility that hair could be used as a substitute in building the database for the geographical traceability of milk. It was also observed that both hair and milk isotopic ratio correlations exhibited separation between the northern and southern regions. The accuracy of using isotopic ratio in determining geographical discrimination had been clearly demonstrated when several commercial milk samples from the same regions under the study were correctly assigned to the appropriate geographical clusters.
  10. Extended cubic B-spline method for solving a linear system of second-order boundary value problems
    Heilat AS, Hamid NN, Ismail AI
    Springerplus, 2016;5(1):1314.
    PMID: 27547688 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-2936-4
    A method based on extended cubic B-spline is proposed to solve a linear system of second-order boundary value problems. In this method, two free parameters, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], play an important role in producing accurate results. Optimization of these parameters are carried out and the truncation error is calculated. This method is tested on three examples. The examples suggest that this method produces comparable or more accurate results than cubic B-spline and some other methods.
  11. Determination of pesticide residues in leafy vegetables at parts per billion levels by a chemometric study using GC-ECD in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
    Farina Y, Abdullah MP, Bibi N, Khalik WM
    Food Chem, 2017 Jun 01;224:55-61.
    PMID: 28159293 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.11.113
    A simple and sensitive analytical method has been developed employing gas chromatography coupled with electron capture detector (GC-ECD), and validated for screening and quantification of 15 pesticide residues at trace levels in cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, celery, spinach, and mustard. The method consists of two steps, first, to determine the significance of each factor by Pareto chart followed by optimization of these significant factors using central composite design (CCD). Minitab statistical software was used for these multivariate experiments for the generation of 2(4-1) design and CCD matrices. The method evaluation was done by external standard calibration with linearity range between 0.5 and 3mg/kg, with correlation coefficient 0.99, limit of detection (LOD) ranges between 0.02 and 4.5ng/g, and limit of quantification (LOQ) ranges between 0.2 and 45ng/g. The average recovery was between 60% and 128%, with RSD 0.2-19.8%. The method was applied on real vegetable samples from Cameron Highlands.
  12. An overview of structure-activity relationship studies of curcumin analogs as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents
    Arshad L, Haque MA, Abbas Bukhari SN, Jantan I
    Future Med Chem, 2017 04;9(6):605-626.
    PMID: 28394628 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2016-0223
    Curcumin, extracted mainly from Curcuma longa rhizomes, has been reported to possess potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities. Although safe at higher doses and exhibiting multiple biological activities, curcumin still has the problem of poor bioavailability which has been an attractive area of research over the last few years. A number of efforts have been made by modifying structural features of curcumin. This review highlights the structurally modified and more stable newly synthesized curcumin analogs that have been screened against antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Also the structure-activity relationship to gain insight into future guidelines for scheming new compounds has been discussed, and further these analogs being more stable may serve as promising agents for use in different pathological conditions.
  13. Single-vehicle crashes along rural mountainous highways in Malaysia: An application of random parameters negative binomial model
    Rusli R, Haque MM, King M, Voon WS
    Accid Anal Prev, 2017 May;102:153-164.
    PMID: 28314189 DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2017.03.002
    Mountainous highways generally associate with complex driving environment because of constrained road geometries, limited cross-section elements, inappropriate roadside features, and adverse weather conditions. As a result, single-vehicle (SV) crashes are overrepresented along mountainous roads, particularly in developing countries, but little attention is known about the roadway geometric, traffic and weather factors contributing to these SV crashes. As such, the main objective of the present study is to investigate SV crashes using detailed data obtained from a rigorous site survey and existing databases. The final dataset included a total of 56 variables representing road geometries including horizontal and vertical alignment, traffic characteristics, real-time weather condition, cross-sectional elements, roadside features, and spatial characteristics. To account for structured heterogeneities resulting from multiple observations within a site and other unobserved heterogeneities, the study applied a random parameters negative binomial model. Results suggest that rainfall during the crash is positively associated with SV crashes, but real-time visibility is negatively associated. The presence of a road shoulder, particularly a bitumen shoulder or wider shoulders, along mountainous highways is associated with less SV crashes. While speeding along downgrade slopes increases the likelihood of SV crashes, proper delineation decreases the likelihood. Findings of this study have significant implications for designing safer highways in mountainous areas, particularly in the context of a developing country.
  14. Improving shared decision-making in adolescents through antibiotic education
    Ngadimon IW, Islahudin F, Mohamed Shah N, Md Hatah E, Makmor-Bakry M
    Int J Clin Pharm, 2017 Feb;39(1):120-125.
    PMID: 27905077 DOI: 10.1007/s11096-016-0407-1
    Background Shared decision-making is vital in achieving desired drug therapy goals, especially with antibiotics, in view of the potential long-term reduction in drug resistance. However, shared decision-making is rarely practiced with adolescent patients. Objectives The aim of the study was to identify the effect antibiotic education has on willingness to engage in shared decision-making among adolescents in Malaysia. Setting Participants from secondary schools in Malaysia were enrolled with ethical approval. Method The adolescents answered a validated questionnaire, which included demographics, antibiotic knowledge, attitude towards antibiotic use, and the Control Preference Scale, which measures willingness to engage in shared decision-making. Afterwards, antibiotic education was delivered to participating students. Main outcome measure Knowledge about and attitude toward antibiotics were investigated. Results A total of 510 adolescents participated in the study. Knowledge of antibiotics significantly increased post education (pre 3.2 ± 1.8 vs. post 6.8 ± 2.1, p 
  15. Fulltext The Development of Expanded Snack Product Made from Pumpkin Flour-Corn Grits: Effect of Extrusion Conditions and Formulations on Physical Characteristics and Microstructure
    Nor NM, Carr A, Hardacre A, Brennan CS
    Foods, 2013 May 14;2(2):160-169.
    PMID: 28239106 DOI: 10.3390/foods2020160
    Pumpkin products confer natural sweetness, desirable flavours and β-carotene, a vitamin A precursor when added as ingredients to extruded snacks. Therefore, a potential use for dried pumpkin flour is as an ingredient in ready-to-eat (RTE) snack foods. Growth in this market has driven food manufacturers to produce a variety of new high value snack foods incorporating diverse ingredients to enhance the appearance and nutritional properties of these foods. Ready-to-eat snacks were made by extruding corn grits with 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of pumpkin flour. Snacks made from 100% corn grits were used as control products for this work. The effect of formulation and screw speeds of 250 rpm and 350 rpm on torque and specific mechanical energy (SME, kWh/kg), physical characteristics (expansion ratio, bulk density, true density and hardness) and the microstructure of the snacks were studied. Increasing the screw speed resulted in a decrease of torque for all formulations. When pumpkin flour was added the specific mechanical energy (SME) decreased by approximately 45%. Increasing the percentage of pumpkin flour at the higher screw speed resulted in a harder texture for the extruded products. X-ray tomography of pumpkin flour-corn grit snacks showed that increased levels of pumpkin flour decreased both the bubble area and bubble size. However, no significant differences (p > 0.05) in bubble wall thickness were measured. By understanding the conditions during extrusion, desirable nutritional characteristics can be incorporated while maximizing expansion to make a product with low bulk density, a fine bubble structure and acceptable organoleptic properties.
  16. Fulltext Does competition improve financial stability of the banking sector in ASEAN countries? An empirical analysis
    Noman AHM, Gee CS, Isa CR
    PLoS One, 2017;12(5):e0176546.
    PMID: 28486548 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176546
    This study examines the influence of competition on the financial stability of the commercial banks of Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) over the 1990 to 2014 period. Panzar-Rosse H-statistic, Lerner index and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) are used as measures of competition, while Z-score, non-performing loan (NPL) ratio and equity ratio are used as measures of financial stability. Two-step system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimates demonstrate that competition measured by H-statistic is positively related to Z-score and equity ratio, and negatively related to non-performing loan ratio. Conversely, market power measured by Lerner index is negatively related to Z-score and equity ratio and positively related to NPL ratio. These results strongly support the competition-stability view for ASEAN banks. We also capture the non-linear relationship between competition and financial stability by incorporating a quadratic term of competition in our models. The results show that the coefficient of the quadratic term of H-statistic is negative for the Z-score model given a positive coefficient of the linear term in the same model. These results support the non-linear relationship between competition and financial stability of the banking sector. The study contains significant policy implications for improving the financial stability of the commercial banks.
  17. A comprehensive account of the malaria eradication pilot project in Malaya
    Huehne WH, Ahmad MD, Seng LD, Pull JH
    Med J Malaya, 1966 Sep;21(1):3-25.
    PMID: 4224876
  18. Fulltext Electromagnetic Performances Analysis of an Ultra-wideband and Flexible Material Antenna in Microwave Breast Imaging: To Implement A Wearable Medical Bra
    Rahman A, Islam MT, Singh MJ, Kibria S, Akhtaruzzaman M
    Sci Rep, 2016 12 23;6:38906.
    PMID: 28008923 DOI: 10.1038/srep38906
    In this paper, we report a compact and ultra-wide band antenna on a flexible substrate using the 5-(4-(perfluorohexyl)phenyl)thiophene-2-carbaldehyde compound for microwave imaging. In contrast to other microwave based imaging systems, such as an array of 16 antennas, we proposed a bi-static radar based imaging system consisting of two omnidirectional antennas, which reduces complexity and the overall dimension. The proposed compact antennas are 20 × 14 mm2 and designed for operating at frequencies from 4 to 6 GHz. To allow for implantation into a bra, the electromagnetic performances of the antennas must be considered in bending conditions. In comparison with the recently reported flexible antennas, we demonstrated both electromagnetic performance and imaging reconstruction for bending conditions. For the proof of concept, the electromagnetic performances both at flat and bending conditions have been verified using a homogeneous multilayer model of the human breast phantom. Our results demonstrate that the antenna, even at bending conditions, exhibits an excellent omni-directional radiation pattern with an average efficiency above 70% and average gain above 1 dBi, within the operational frequency band. The comprehensive aim of the realized antenna is to design a biodegradable and wearable antenna-based bra for early breast cancer detection in the future.
  19. Animal models and natural products to investigate in vivo and in vitro antidiabetic activity
    Hasan MM, Ahmed QU, Mat Soad SZ, Tunna TS
    Biomed Pharmacother, 2018 May;101:833-841.
    PMID: 29635892 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.02.137
    Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease which has high prevalence. The deficiency in insulin production or impaired insulin function is the underlying cause of this disease. Utilization of plant sources as a cure of diabetes has rich evidence in the history. Recently, the traditional medicinal plants have been investigated scientifically to understand the underlying mechanism behind antidiabetic potential. In this regard, a substantial number of in vivo and in vitro models have been introduced for investigating the bottom-line mechanism of the antidiabetic effect. A good number of methods have been reported to be used successfully to determine antidiabetic effects of plant extracts or isolated compounds. This review encompasses all the possible methods with a list of medicinal plants which may contribute to discovering a novel drug to treat diabetes more efficaciously with the minimum or no side effects.
  20. Fulltext A simple design for microwave assisted digestion vessel with low reagent consumption suitable for food and environmental samples
    Gholami M, Behkami S, Zain SM, Bakirdere S
    Sci Rep, 2016 11 17;6:37186.
    PMID: 27853264 DOI: 10.1038/srep37186
    The objective of this work is to prepare a cost-effective, low reagent consumption and high performance polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) vessel that is capable to work in domestic microwave for digesting food and environmental samples. The designed vessel has a relatively thicker wall compared to that of commercial vessels. In this design, eight vessels are placed in an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) holder to keep them safe and stable. This vessel needs only 2.0 mL of HNO3 and 1.0 mL H2O2 to digest 100 mg of biological sample. The performance of this design is then evaluated with an ICP-MS instrument in the analysis of the several NIST standard reference material of milk 1849a, rice flour 1568b, spinach leave 1570a and Peach Leaves 1547 in a domestic microwave oven with inverter technology. Outstanding agreement to (SRM) values are observed by using the suggested power to time microwave program, which simulates the reflux action occurring in this closed vessel. Taking into account the high cost of commercial microwave vessels and the volume of chemicals needed for various experiments (8-10 mL), this simple vessel is cost effective and suitable for digesting food and environmental samples.
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