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  1. Ahmadi A, Mustaffa MS, Udin A, Haghdoost A
    Trends Psychiatry Psychother, 2016 03 18;38(1):14-22.
    PMID: 27007941 DOI: 10.1590/2237-6089-2015-0027
    INTRODUCTION: Pediatric anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorders in the middle-childhood age group. The purpose of this study is to assess anxiety disorder symptoms, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), in a large community sample of low socioeconomic level rural children and to investigate some of the psychometric properties (internal consistency, construct and convergent validity and items rated as often or always experienced) of the Malay version of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale - Child version (SCAS-C).

    METHOD: Six hundred children aged 9-11 and 424 of their parents completely answered the child or parent versions of the SCAS.

    RESULTS: Results indicated that the internal reliability of subscales were moderate to adequate. Significant correlations between child and parent reports supported the measure's concurrent validity. Additionally, anxiety levels in this Malaysian sample were lower than among South-African children and higher than among their Western peers. There were both similarities and differences between symptom items reported as often or always experienced by Malaysian students and by children from other cultures. Confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence of the existence of five inter-correlated factors for anxiety disorders based on SCAS-C.

    CONCLUSION: Although some of the instrument's psychometric properties deviated from those observed in some other countries, it nevertheless appears to be useful for assessing childhood anxiety symptoms in this country.

  2. Ahmadi A, Zorofchian Moghadamtousi S, Abubakar S, Zandi K
    Biomed Res Int, 2015;2015:825203.
    PMID: 26484353 DOI: 10.1155/2015/825203
    From food to fertilizer, algal derived products are largely employed in assorted industries, including agricultural, biomedical, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Among different chemical compositions isolated from algae, polysaccharides are the most well-established compounds, which were subjected to a variety of studies due to extensive bioactivities. Over the past few decades, the promising results for antiviral potential of algae-derived polysaccharides have advocated them as inordinate candidates for pharmaceutical research. Numerous studies have isolated various algal polysaccharides possessing antiviral activities, including carrageenan, alginate, fucan, laminaran, and naviculan. In addition, different mechanisms of action have been reported for these polysaccharides, such as inhibiting the binding or internalization of virus into the host cells or suppressing DNA replication and protein synthesis. This review strives for compiling previous antiviral studies of algae-derived polysaccharides and their mechanism of action towards their development as natural antiviral agents for future investigations.
  3. Ahmadi A, Mustaffa MS, Haghdoost A, Khan A, Latif AA
    Trends Psychiatry Psychother, 2015 4 11;37(1):37-41.
    PMID: 25860565 DOI: 10.1590/2237-6089-2014-0038
    INTRODUCTION: Anxiety among children has increased in recent years. Culturally adapted questionnaires developed to measure the level of anxiety are the best screening instruments for the general population. This study describes the scientific translation and adaptation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) into the Malay language.

    METHOD: The process of scientific translation of this selfreport instrument followed the guidelines of the Task Force for Translation and Cultural Adaptation of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).

    RESULTS: The Malay version and its adaptation for a new cultural context are described.

    CONCLUSION: The Malay version achieved the aims of the original version and its conceptual and operational equivalence. It may be used as the first Malay instrument to measure anxiety among children in research and in clinical and community settings.

  4. Ahmadi A, Mustaffa MS, Haghdoost AA, Mansor SMS
    Trends Psychiatry Psychother, 2017 7 13;39(2):88-97.
    PMID: 28700038 DOI: 10.1590/2237-6089-2016-0047
    Introduction: Anxiety disorders in primary school-aged children negatively affect their mental health and psychological development. Available non-medical treatments for these conditions are time-consuming and expensive. In this context, eclectic therapy is a therapeutic approach that incorporates some therapeutic techniques and philosophies to create the ideal treatment. In this study, eclectic therapy consisted of art therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy designed for children suffering from high level of anxiety in their middle childhood years. The therapy also included group guidance sessions for their mothers. The effectiveness of this intervention was examined in the study.

    Methods: 61 students aged 9-12 years with high levels of anxiety participated in the study. Intervention A (n = 20) consisted of 9-hour eclectic therapy for children with 3-hour group guidance sessions for their mothers. Intervention B (n = 20) consisted of 9-hour eclectic therapy for children. There was also a control group (n = 21).

    Results: Teacher ratings of children's mental health difficulties and self-report ratings of anxiety disorders indicated a significant difference from pretest to posttest, revealing a large effect size between the two interventions. Higher levels of pretest scores significantly predicted higher posttest scores for all domains of anxiety and mental health difficulties. Furthermore, age, gender, mothers working a 15-hour day, mother's educational level, parental divorce rates, parental death, and family monthly income predicted therapy outcomes.

    Conclusion: Results provide support for the effectiveness of eclectic art and CBT to improve children's mental health and reduce anxiety through changing thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors that may cause fear and anxiety.

  5. Athari M, Golbakhsh MR, Mirbolook A, Athari M, Ahmadi A, Komlakh K, et al.
    Malays Orthop J, 2021 Nov;15(3):58-64.
    PMID: 34966496 DOI: 10.5704/MOJ.2111.009
    Introduction: C1 lateral mass and C2 pedicular screws insertion are used for C1-C2 posterior fusion. Fluoroscopy Guided technique is routinely used for screw placement but it is associated with risk of injury to spinal cord and vertebral artery. 3D printing has developed rapidly in the fields of medicine. It is helpful in improving precise treatment and used for instrumentation in spine. We want to evaluate the accuracy of C1 lateral mass screws and C2 pedicle screws insertion by Pre-Fabricated Template made by three-dimensional (3D) printing.

    Materials and methods: Five cervical samples were obtained from cadavers. Based on fine-cut CT scan 3D-images reconstructed and the path of the screws designed by special software. A template produced by 3D-printer from 3D images. After printing the templates, they were fixed on the relevant vertebra in the operation room and based on the template path, C1 lateral mass screw and C2 pedicular screws were inserted. Placement of the screws was evaluated using CT scans post-operatively.

    Results: A total of 14 screws were inserted by above-mentioned method. After evaluation with CT scans none of the screws were entered in the spinal canal. Two screws had vertebral artery canal perforation with less than 50% breach. Violation was judged as noncritical and would probably not have resulted in injury to vertebral artery.

    Conclusions: The accuracy of C1 lateral mass screw and C2 pedicle screw insertion is acceptable with pre-fabricated template and can provide a useful aid for screw placement.

  6. Hj Ramli NH, Alavi M, Mehrinezhad SA, Ahmadi A
    Behav Sci (Basel), 2018 Jan 15;8(1).
    PMID: 29342910 DOI: 10.3390/bs8010012
    Academic stress is the most common emotional or mental state that students experience during their studies. Stress is a result of a wide range of issues, including test and exam burden, a demanding course, a different educational system, and thinking about future plans upon graduation. A sizeable body of literature in stress management research has found that self-regulation and being mindful will help students to cope up with the stress and dodge long-term negative consequences, such as substance abuse. The present study aims to investigate the influence of academic stress, self-regulation, and mindfulness among undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia, and to identify mindfulness as the mediator between academic stress and self-regulation. For this study, a total of 384 undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia were recruited. Using Correlational analysis, results revealed that there was a significant relationship between academic stress, self-regulation, and mindfulness. However, using SPSS mediational analysis, mindfulness did not prove the mediator role in the study.
  7. Husin H, Mahidin M, Pontas K, Ahmadi A, Ridho M, Erdiwansyah E, et al.
    Heliyon, 2021 Jul;7(7):e07557.
    PMID: 34355081 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07557
    In this study, glycerol as an abundant green feedstock was used as a hydrogen source to investigate the reaction of water-glycerol solution decomposition by microwave-assisted catalytic to produce hydrogen over NiO/zeolite catalyst. The catalyst was prepared by inception wetness and then characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy diffraction X-ray (EDX), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements. The conversion process of glycerol into hydrogen was performed in a fixed-bed microwave-assisted reactor. Effect of microwave power, NiO content, and feed flow rate (FFR) on glycerol conversion and hydrogen selectivity were studied. The results of XRD and EDX measurement showed that NiO crystalline exists on the catalyst sample. The particle size of NiO/zeolite was determined in the range of 30-300 nm, and the particle was found well dispersed on the zeolite surface as confirmed by TEM. Furthermore, the maximum conversion rate can achieve about 96.67 %, while the highest hydrogen production was found up to 73.5 % with the condition of 20% of NiO as an active site on natural zeolite. It was found that the NiO content of 20% gave the best glycerol conversion at the microwave power of 600 W and FFR 0.5 ml/min. Microwave-assisted catalytic irradiation of glycerol appears to be a promising candidate for the production of H2 from an aqueous glycerol solution.
  8. Husin H, Mahidin M, Marwan M, Nasution F, Erdiwansyah E, Ahmadi A, et al.
    Heliyon, 2023 Apr;9(4):e14880.
    PMID: 37025822 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14880
    The accumulation of plastic waste has urged researchers to develop methods of waste conversion into valuable products, which is fuel. This study aimed to synthesize Ni embedded onto Aceh natural zeolite (Ni/Aceh-zeolite) as a cheap catalyst which could be used in the reforming process to improve the quality of oil produced from polypropylene (PP) pyrolysis. Ni/Aceh-zeolite was synthesized from Ni(NO3)2·6H2O and acid-activated natural zeolite through impregnation and calcination. The catalyst was found to have particle sizes ranging from 100 to 200 nm of 20 wt% Ni content. The reforming process using Ni/Aceh natural zeolite with Ni loading of 15 wt% yielded the highest amounts of liquid product (yield = 65%) and gasoline fractions (C5-C12, 96.71%). However, the highest high heating value of 45.467 MJ/kg was found in the liquid product obtained with 20% Ni/Aceh-zeolite. In conclusion, Ni/Aceh-zeolite could be used in the reforming process of PP pyrolysis-derived oil, which could reach a quality similar to that of commercial gasoline.
  9. Salari N, Shohaimi S, Kiaei A, Hosseinian-Far A, Mansouri K, Ahmadi A, et al.
    Biol Methods Protoc, 2023;8(1):bpac038.
    PMID: 36694574 DOI: 10.1093/biomethods/bpac038
    Artificial intelligence (AI) as a suite of technologies can complement systematic review and meta-analysis studies and answer questions that cannot be typically answered using traditional review protocols and reporting methods. The purpose of this protocol is to introduce a new protocol to complete systematic review and meta-analysis studies. In this work, systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-analysis network based on selected AI technique, and for P < 0.05 are followed, with a view to responding to questions and challenges that the global population is facing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, it is expected that conducting reviews by following the proposed protocol can provide suitable answers to some of the research questions raised due to COVID-19.
  10. Nit B, Samy AL, Tan SL, Vory S, Lim Y, Nugraha RR, et al.
    Public Health Pract (Oxf), 2021 Nov;2:100073.
    PMID: 33521738 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhip.2020.100073
    COVID-19 has resulted in large number of mortalities across the globe. However, Cambodia has recorded low number of COVID-19 cases with no death. A number of factors buttress the accuracy of this phenomenon such as significant support from international health partners, culture of wearing a face mask when sick, timely response of Cambodia's neighbouring countries, and the compliance of the general public to the restrictions. Cambodia started to take stringent measures and augmented efforts to initiate policies and plans to curb the spread of the virus, including but not limited to: closure of inbound and outbound borders, shutting down of schools, and banning religious activities, gatherings and meetings, with more than 50 people. Another source of success of Cambodia is extensive mass testing, complemented with contact tracing. A strategy called "box in" the virus was introduced. Healthcare workers were trained to help in contact tracing and detection at the community level. Measures enacted so far has helped Cambodia control the pandemic. Other countries could adopt and adapt to the policies and best practices of Cambodia. However, possibilities of new waves of the pandemic may affect the country, thus, the Cambodian government needs to be cautious when lifting restrictions to avoid explosion of new cases.
  11. Haagsma JA, James SL, Castle CD, Dingels ZV, Fox JT, Hamilton EB, et al.
    Inj Prev, 2020 Oct;26(Supp 1):i12-i26.
    PMID: 31915273 DOI: 10.1136/injuryprev-2019-043296
    BACKGROUND: The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the association between disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from injury for 195 countries and territories at different levels along the development spectrum between 1990 and 2017 based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 estimates.

    METHODS: Injury mortality was estimated using the GBD mortality database, corrections for garbage coding and CODEm-the cause of death ensemble modelling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on surveys and inpatient and outpatient data sets for 30 cause-of-injury with 47 nature-of-injury categories each. The Socio-demographic Index (SDI) is a composite indicator that includes lagged income per capita, average educational attainment over age 15 years and total fertility rate.

    RESULTS: For many causes of injury, age-standardised DALY rates declined with increasing SDI, although road injury, interpersonal violence and self-harm did not follow this pattern. Particularly for self-harm opposing patterns were observed in regions with similar SDI levels. For road injuries, this effect was less pronounced.

    CONCLUSIONS: The overall global pattern is that of declining injury burden with increasing SDI. However, not all injuries follow this pattern, which suggests multiple underlying mechanisms influencing injury DALYs. There is a need for a detailed understanding of these patterns to help to inform national and global efforts to address injury-related health outcomes across the development spectrum.

  12. Global Burden of Disease 2019 Cancer Collaboration, Kocarnik JM, Compton K, Dean FE, Fu W, Gaw BL, et al.
    JAMA Oncol, 2022 Mar 01;8(3):420-444.
    PMID: 34967848 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.6987
    IMPORTANCE: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 (GBD 2019) provided systematic estimates of incidence, morbidity, and mortality to inform local and international efforts toward reducing cancer burden.

    OBJECTIVE: To estimate cancer burden and trends globally for 204 countries and territories and by Sociodemographic Index (SDI) quintiles from 2010 to 2019.

    EVIDENCE REVIEW: The GBD 2019 estimation methods were used to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019 and over the past decade. Estimates are also provided by quintiles of the SDI, a composite measure of educational attainment, income per capita, and total fertility rate for those younger than 25 years. Estimates include 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs).

    FINDINGS: In 2019, there were an estimated 23.6 million (95% UI, 22.2-24.9 million) new cancer cases (17.2 million when excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) and 10.0 million (95% UI, 9.36-10.6 million) cancer deaths globally, with an estimated 250 million (235-264 million) DALYs due to cancer. Since 2010, these represented a 26.3% (95% UI, 20.3%-32.3%) increase in new cases, a 20.9% (95% UI, 14.2%-27.6%) increase in deaths, and a 16.0% (95% UI, 9.3%-22.8%) increase in DALYs. Among 22 groups of diseases and injuries in the GBD 2019 study, cancer was second only to cardiovascular diseases for the number of deaths, years of life lost, and DALYs globally in 2019. Cancer burden differed across SDI quintiles. The proportion of years lived with disability that contributed to DALYs increased with SDI, ranging from 1.4% (1.1%-1.8%) in the low SDI quintile to 5.7% (4.2%-7.1%) in the high SDI quintile. While the high SDI quintile had the highest number of new cases in 2019, the middle SDI quintile had the highest number of cancer deaths and DALYs. From 2010 to 2019, the largest percentage increase in the numbers of cases and deaths occurred in the low and low-middle SDI quintiles.

    CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The results of this systematic analysis suggest that the global burden of cancer is substantial and growing, with burden differing by SDI. These results provide comprehensive and comparable estimates that can potentially inform efforts toward equitable cancer control around the world.

  13. Global Burden of Disease Cancer Collaboration, Fitzmaurice C, Abate D, Abbasi N, Abbastabar H, Abd-Allah F, et al.
    JAMA Oncol, 2019 Dec 01;5(12):1749-1768.
    PMID: 31560378 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.2996
    IMPORTANCE: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data.

    OBJECTIVE: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning.

    EVIDENCE REVIEW: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence.

    FINDINGS: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572 000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542 000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819 000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601 000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596 000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414 000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs).

    CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care.

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