Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 151 in total

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  1. Fulltext Perinatal management of cardiac tumors: a case series
    Amelia A, Mohd Nizam MB
    Med J Malaysia, 2013 Aug;68(4):374-5.
    PMID: 24145275 MyJurnal
    Primary cardiac tumours in the foetuses and neonates are uncommon. Foetuses with cardiac tumour have risk for heart failure and hydrops fetalis. Therefore, an early decision for delivery should be made in the evidence of foetal compromise. Early neonatal care varies on tumour size, type, location and obstructive features. Antenatal detection of foetal cardiac tumours ensures better prenatal and postnatal management. We describe our 5- year experience in managing 5 cases of primary cardiac tumours from 1st January 2006 to 31st December 2010.
  2. Fulltext Brief report: nail sampling technique and its interpretation
    Leelavathi M, Tzar MN
    Malays Fam Physician, 2011;6(2-3):58-9.
    PMID: 25606224
    The clinical suspicion of onychomyosis based on appearance of the nails, requires culture for confirmation. This is because treatment requires prolonged use of systemic agents which may cause side effects. One of the common problems encountered is improper nail sampling technique which results in loss of essential information. The unfamiliar terminologies used in reporting culture results may intimidate physicians resulting in misinterpretation and hamper treatment decision. This article provides a simple guide on nail sampling technique and the interpretation of culture results.
  3. Developing regulations for occupational exposures to health hazards in Malaysia
    Rampal KG, Mohd Nizam J
    Regul Toxicol Pharmacol, 2006 Nov;46(2):131-5.
    PMID: 16899331
    In Malaysia exposures in the workplace are regulated under the Factories and Machinery Act (FMA), 1967 and also under the more comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) enacted in 1994. With OSHA 1994 the philosophy of legislating safety and health in the workplace changed from one that was very prescriptive and containing detailed technical provisions under FMA, 1967 to one that is more flexible and encourages self-regulation under OSHA 1994. OSHA 1994 is supported by regulations, codes of practices and guidelines to further clarify the provisions in the Act. Under the FMA 1967 emphasis was on safety while with OSHA 1994 there has been equal emphasis on addressing health hazards in the workplace. Regulations for occupational exposures are developed by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health with tripartite and stakeholder consultation. When developing these regulations International Labor Organization Conventions, laws of other countries and occupational exposure standards adopted internationally are reviewed. The government also conducts surveys to collect information on both exposures and health effects in workplaces to have better understanding on specific occupational health problems. Effective law enforcement is crucial in ensuring compliance to safety and health law. The challenge at the moment is to ensure all employers and employees, particularly those in the small and medium enterprises, understand and comply with the provisions stipulated in the legislation.
  4. Fulltext STABILITY OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA IN PASTEURIZED COW’S AND GOAT’S MILK
    Nurfarhana Syed Malik, Mohd. Nizam Lani, Fauziah Tufail Ahmad
    UMT Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2019;1(4):0-0.
    MyJurnal
    This study was done to determine the effect of pasteurization on the stability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and its enzyme in raw and pasteurized cow’s and goat’s milk. The total viable count for plate count of the bacterial growth concentration was higher in both pasteurized cow’s and goat’s milk at 2.48 log CFU/ml. This is followed by raw cow’s milk (1.59 log CFU/ml) and raw goat’s milk (0.65 log CFU/ml). Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was found to be similar in both raw cow’s and goat’s milk (p>0.05), and pasteurized milk of both animals also contained the same amount of LAB (p>0.05). LAB was still detected in pasteurized milk (p
  5. Fulltext Effects of holothuria extract on pain behaviour and Fos like immunorectivity (FLI) in formalin pain model
    Che Badariah, A.A., Asma, H.A., Mohd Nizam, H., Siti, F.A.
    International Medical Journal Malaysia, 2011;10(1):17-21.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of gamat extract on pain behaviour and Fos like immunoreactivity (FLI) expression in the ventral posterolateral thalamus using the acute pain model. Materials & Methods: Fourteen Sprague-Dawley male rats (220-300 gram) were given intraplantar injection of 0.05ml formalin (1%) followed by intraperitoneal administration of either 4 mg/kg gamat extracts (Holothuria spp.) or saline (control). Behavioural changes were observed and rats were sacrificed 2 hours post-formalin injection. Immunohistochemistry testing was done on the brain sections. FLI was examined using a light microscope attached to an image analyser. The behaviour and FLI data were analysed using repeated measure analysis of variance and independent t-test respectively. Significance level was taken as p
  6. Docking of sialic acid analogues against influenza A hemagglutinin: a correlational study between experimentally measured and computationally estimated affinities
    Al-qattan MN, Mordi MN
    J Mol Model, 2010 May;16(5):1047-58.
    PMID: 19911202 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-009-0618-7
    A molecular docking tool of AutoDock3.05 was evaluated for its ability to reproduce experimentally determined affinities of various sialic acid analogues toward hemagglutinin of influenza A virus. With the exception of those with a C6-modified glycerol side chain, the experimental binding affinities of most sialic acid analogues (C2, C4 and C5-substituted) determined by viral hemadsorption inhibition assay, hemagglutination inhibition assay and nuclear magnetic resonance correlated well with the computationally estimated free energy of binding. Sialic acid analogues with modified glycerol side chains showed only poor correlation between the experimentally determined hemagglutinin inhibitor affinities and AutoDock3.05 scores, suggesting high mobility of the glutamic acid side chain at the glycerol binding pocket, which is difficult to simulate using a flexi-rigid molecular docking approach. In conclusion, except for some glycerol-substituted sialic acid analogues, the results showed the effectiveness of AutoDock3.05 searching and scoring functions in estimating affinities of sialic acid analogues toward influenza A hemagglutinin, making it a reliable tool for screening a database of virtually designed sialic acid analogues for hemagglutinin inhibitors.
  7. Fulltext Candidaemia and antifungal susceptibility testing in a teaching hospital
    Tzar MN, Shamim AS
    Med J Malaysia, 2009 Mar;64(1):61-4.
    PMID: 19852325 MyJurnal
    We reviewed cases of candidaemia at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre from 1st January 2005 to 30th June 2006. All blood cultures positive for Candida species or its teleomorphs within the study period were identified and antifungal susceptibility testing was performed. Out of 50 blood isolates, 20 (40%) were identified as Candida albicans, 16 (32%) C. tropicalis, five (10%) C. parapsilosis, three (6%) C. famata, two (4%) C. glabrata, two (4%) Pichia ohmeri, one (2%) C. krusei and one (2%) P. etchell/carsonii. Susceptibility to amphotericin B was 100%, fluconazole 90%, itraconazole 40%, ketoconazole 88%, 5-flucytosine 98% and voriconazole 98%.
  8. Site-directed fragment-based generation of virtual sialic acid databases against influenza A hemagglutinin
    Al-qattan MN, Mordi MN
    J Mol Model, 2010 May;16(5):975-91.
    PMID: 19856192 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-009-0606-y
    In this study fragment-based drug design is combined with molecular docking simulation technique, to design databases of virtual sialic acid (SA) analogues with new substitutions at C2, C5 and C6 positions of SA scaffold. Using spaces occupied by C2, C5 and C6 natural moieties of SA when bound to hemagglutinin (HA) crystallographic structure, new fragments that are commercially available were docked independently in all the pockets. The oriented fragments were then connected to the SA scaffold with or without incorporation of linker molecules. The completed analogues were docked to the whole SA binding site to estimate their binding conformations and affinities, generating three databases of HA-bound SA analogues. Selected new analogues showed higher estimated affinities than the natural SA when tested against H3N2, H5N1 and H1N1 subtypes of influenza A. An improvement in the binding energies indicates that fragment-based drug design when combined with molecular docking simulation is capable to produce virtual analogues that can become lead compound candidates for anti-flu drug discovery program.
  9. Fulltext Issues in identifying germ tube positive yeasts by conventional methods
    Yazdanpanah A, Khaithir TM
    J Clin Lab Anal, 2014 Jan;28(1):1-9.
    PMID: 24375729 DOI: 10.1002/jcla.21635
    Candida speciation is vital for epidemiology and management of candidiasis. Nonmolecular conventional methods often fail to identify closely related germ tube positive yeasts from clinical specimens. The present study was conducted to identify these yeasts and to highlight issues in conventional versus molecular methods of identification. A total of 98 germ tube positive yeasts from high vaginal swabs were studied over a 12-month period. Isolates were examined with various methods including growth at 42 °C and 45 °C on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA), color development on CHROMagar Candida medium, chlamydospore production on corn meal agar at 25 °C, carbohydrate assimilation using ID 32C system, and polymerase chain reaction using a single pair of primers targeting the hyphal wall protein 1 (Hwp1) gene. Of all the isolates studied, 97 were molecularly confirmed as C. albicans and one isolate was identified as C. dubliniensis. No C. africana was detected in this study. The molecular method used in our study was an accurate and useful tool for discriminating C. albicans, C. dubliniensis, and C. africana. The conventional methods, however, were less accurate and riddled with many issues that will be discussed in further details.
  10. Application of pesticide in paddy fields: a Southeast Asia case study review
    Mohd Nizam SN, Haji Baharudin NS, Ahmad H
    Environ Geochem Health, 2023 Aug;45(8):5557-5577.
    PMID: 37380923 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-023-01668-8
    Pesticides are widely employed in rice crops since the ecosystem and surroundings of paddy promote insects, weeds, and fungal and bacterial pathogens. Each commonly utilised pesticide possesses different uses. For instance, fungicides control fungal issues, herbicides curb weed growth, and insecticides destroy and repel insects. Although several ways to categorise them exist, pesticides are typically classified according to their chemical compositions. Rice production remains one of the most dominant crops grown in most Southeast Asian countries as it is a staple food. Nonetheless, the crop is highly dependent on pesticides, leading to growing concerns over the potential adverse effects of pesticides on the environment and human health. Despite the availability of numerous studies on the subject, a comprehensive understanding of the specific effects of pesticides on paddy fields in Southeast Asia is still lacking. Consequently, reviewing existing knowledge is necessary for synthesising and identifying research gaps to better inform policymakers, farmers, and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector. The objectives of the present review paper were to review the interactions between pesticides and the environment by understanding the physical and chemical properties of the chemicals, compare pesticide transportation modes in air, water, and soil and how they affect the environment, and evaluate and discuss the effects of pesticides on non-targeted organisms. This study assessed pesticide innovation reported between 1945 and 2021 for a better understanding of the utilisation of the chemicals over time. The pesticides assessed in this study were classified based on their chemical compounds, such as organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, and pyrethroid. This review could provide a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between pesticides and the environment and their impacts on non-targeted organisms.
  11. Risk factors for prostate cancer in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre: a case-control study
    Subahir MN, Shah SA, Zainuddin ZM
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2009;10(6):1015-20.
    PMID: 20192575
    INTRODUCTION: In Malaysia, prostate cancer is ranked 6th among male cancer and expected to increase in the future. Several factors have shown to be related to prostate cancer such as sociodemographic, lifestyle, diet, occupational exposure, medical and health status. This is the first time a similar study was conducted in Malaysia to recognize the risk factors for prostate cancer patients who came for treatment at University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC).

    METHODS: Prostate cancer cases diagnosed between 2003 and 2008 which met with the inclusion criteria were included in the study. One hundred and twelfth (112) pairs of cases and controls matched by age and ethnicity were analysed. McNemar Odds Ratios (OR(M)) were calculated using McNemar Calculator software for univariate analysis while conditional logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis, both using SPSS version 12.0.

    RESULTS: Most of the prostate cancer patients (68.8%) that came for treatment in UKMMC were above 70 years old. The majority were Chinese (50.0%) followed by Malay (46.4%) and Indian (3.6%). Multivariate analysis showed cases were more likely to have a first-degree relative with a history of cancer (OR= 3.77, 95% CI= 1.19-11.85), to have been exposed to pesticides (OR= 5.57, 95% CI= 1.75-17.78) and consumed more meat (OR= 12.23, 95% CI= 3.89-39.01). Significantly reduced risks of prostate cancer were noted among those consuming more vegetables (OR= 0.12, 95% CI= 0.02-0.84), more tomatoes (OR= 0.35, 95% CI= 0.13-0.93) and those who had frequent sexual intercourse (OR= 0.44, 95% CI= 0.19-0.96).

    CONCLUSION: Some lifestyle and occupation factors are strong predictors of the occurrence of prostate cancer among patients in UKMMC. More importantly, with the identification of the potentially modifiable risk factors, proper public health intervention can be improved.

  12. Fulltext Solving the Traveling Salesman's Problem Using the African Buffalo Optimization
    Odili JB, Mohmad Kahar MN
    Comput Intell Neurosci, 2016;2016:1510256.
    PMID: 26880872 DOI: 10.1155/2016/1510256
    This paper proposes the African Buffalo Optimization (ABO) which is a new metaheuristic algorithm that is derived from careful observation of the African buffalos, a species of wild cows, in the African forests and savannahs. This animal displays uncommon intelligence, strategic organizational skills, and exceptional navigational ingenuity in its traversal of the African landscape in search for food. The African Buffalo Optimization builds a mathematical model from the behavior of this animal and uses the model to solve 33 benchmark symmetric Traveling Salesman's Problem and six difficult asymmetric instances from the TSPLIB. This study shows that buffalos are able to ensure excellent exploration and exploitation of the search space through regular communication, cooperation, and good memory of its previous personal exploits as well as tapping from the herd's collective exploits. The results obtained by using the ABO to solve these TSP cases were benchmarked against the results obtained by using other popular algorithms. The results obtained using the African Buffalo Optimization algorithm are very competitive.
  13. Fulltext Parameters-tuning of PID controller for automatic voltage regulators using the African buffalo optimization
    Odili JB, Mohmad Kahar MN, Noraziah A
    PLoS One, 2017;12(4):e0175901.
    PMID: 28441390 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175901
    In this paper, an attempt is made to apply the African Buffalo Optimization (ABO) to tune the parameters of a PID controller for an effective Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR). Existing metaheuristic tuning methods have been proven to be quite successful but there were observable areas that need improvements especially in terms of the system's gain overshoot and steady steady state errors. Using the ABO algorithm where each buffalo location in the herd is a candidate solution to the Proportional-Integral-Derivative parameters was very helpful in addressing these two areas of concern. The encouraging results obtained from the simulation of the PID Controller parameters-tuning using the ABO when compared with the performance of Genetic Algorithm PID (GA-PID), Particle-Swarm Optimization PID (PSO-PID), Ant Colony Optimization PID (ACO-PID), PID, Bacteria-Foraging Optimization PID (BFO-PID) etc makes ABO-PID a good addition to solving PID Controller tuning problems using metaheuristics.
  14. Molecular Basis of Modulating Adenosine Receptors Activities
    Mahmod Al-Qattan MN, Mordi MN
    Curr Pharm Des, 2019;25(7):817-831.
    PMID: 30834826 DOI: 10.2174/1381612825666190304122624
    Modulating cellular processes through extracellular chemical stimuli is medicinally an attractive approach to control disease conditions. GPCRs are the most important group of transmembranal receptors that produce different patterns of activations using intracellular mediators (such as G-proteins and Beta-arrestins). Adenosine receptors (ARs) belong to GPCR class and are divided into A1AR, A2AAR, A2BAR and A3AR. ARs control different physiological activities thus considered valuable target to control neural, heart, inflammatory and other metabolic disorders. Targeting ARs using small molecules essentially works by binding orthosteric and/or allosteric sites of the receptors. Although targeting orthosteric site is considered typical to modulate receptor activity, allosteric sites provide better subtype selectivity, saturable modulation of activity and variable activation patterns. Each receptor exists in dynamical equilibrium between conformational ensembles. The equilibrium is affected by receptor interaction with other molecules. Changing the population of conformational ensembles of the receptor is the method by which orthosteric, allosteric and other cellular components control receptor signaling. Herein, the interactions of ARs with orthosteric, allosteric ligands as well as intracellular mediators are described. A quinary interaction model for the receptor is proposed and energy wells for major conformational ensembles are retrieved.
  15. Sparking attention on African swine fever research on social media platform: An altmetric evaluation of top 100 highly cited articles
    Basumatary B, Yunus MN, Verma MK
    Res Vet Sci, 2023 May;158:26-33.
    PMID: 36898955 DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2023.02.010
    African swine fever (ASF) is one of the highly contagious diseases of pigs that affect both domestic and wild pigs. The primary purpose of this research was to evaluate the online social attention on the ASF research to inform the research scientists and key stakeholders in the field by reporting the concise information of the most influential articles, social engagement, and impacts of the research. This study employed the altmetrics tool to evaluate the research papers. Bibliographic data of 100 articles were collected from Scopus; altmetric data was collected from the Altmetric.com database and analyzed using SPSS and Tableau. The articles were mainly mentioned on Twitter, followed by News Outlets and significant readers on Mendeley. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed a weak and insignificant correlation between Scopus Citation and Altmetric Attention Score (AAS). Mendeley Readership and Scopus Citation were moderately correlated. However, there was a significant positive correlation between the AAS and Mendeley readership. Using altmetric tools, the paper is the first research to shed light on the characteristics of ASF on social media.
  16. Development and application of fragment-based de novo inhibitor design approaches against Plasmodium falciparum GST
    Al-Qattan MNM, Mordi MN
    J Mol Model, 2023 Aug 16;29(9):281.
    PMID: 37584781 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-023-05650-0
    CONTEXT: Modulation of disease progression is frequently started by identifying biochemical pathway catalyzed by biomolecule that is prone to inhibition by small molecular weight ligands. Such ligands (leads) can be obtained from natural resources or synthetic libraries. However, de novo design based on fragments assembly and optimization is showing increasing success. Plasmodium falciparum parasite depends on glutathione-S-transferase (PfGST) in buffering oxidative heme as an approach to resist some antimalarials. Therefore, PfGST is considered an attractive target for drug development. In this research, fragment-based approaches were used to design molecules that can fit to glutathione (GSH) binding site (G-site) of PfGST.

    METHODS: The involved approaches build molecules from fragments that are either isosteric to GSH sub-moieties (ligand-based) or successfully docked to GSH binding sub-pockets (structure-based). Compared to reference GST inhibitor of S-hexyl GSH, ligands with improved rigidity, synthetic accessibility, and affinity to receptor were successfully designed. The method involves joining fragments to create ligands. The ligands were then explored using molecular docking, Cartesian coordinate's optimization, and simplified free energy determination as well as MD simulation and MMPBSA calculations. Several tools were used which include OPENEYE toolkit, Open Babel, Autodock Vina, Gromacs, and SwissParam server, and molecular mechanics force field of MMFF94 for optimization and CHARMM27 for MD simulation. In addition, in-house scripts written in Matlab were used to control fragments connection and automation of the tools.

  17. Fulltext Small-molecule inhibitors of bacterial-producing metallo-β-lactamases: insights into their resistance mechanisms and biochemical analyses of their activities
    Ayipo YO, Chong CF, Mordi MN
    RSC Med Chem, 2023 Jun 22;14(6):1012-1048.
    PMID: 37360393 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00036b
    Antibiotic resistance (AR) remains one of the major threats to the global healthcare system, which is associated with alarming morbidity and mortality rates. The defence mechanisms of Enterobacteriaceae to antibiotics occur through several pathways including the production of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs). The carbapenemases, notably, New Delhi MBL (NDM), imipenemase (IMP), and Verona integron-encoded MBL (VIM), represent the critical MBLs implicated in AR pathogenesis and are responsible for the worst AR-related clinical conditions, but there are no approved inhibitors to date, which needs to be urgently addressed. Presently, the available antibiotics including the most active β-lactam-types are subjected to deactivation and degradation by the notorious superbug-produced enzymes. Progressively, scientists have devoted their efforts to curbing this global menace, and consequently a systematic overview on this topic can aid the timely development of effective therapeutics. In this review, diagnostic strategies for MBL strains and biochemical analyses of potent small-molecule inhibitors from experimental reports (2020-date) are overviewed. Notably, N1 and N2 from natural sources, S3-S7, S9 and S10 and S13-S16 from synthetic routes displayed the most potent broad-spectrum inhibition with ideal safety profiles. Their mechanisms of action include metal sequestration from and multi-dimensional binding to the MBL active pockets. Presently, some β-lactamase (BL)/MBL inhibitors have reached the clinical trial stage. This synopsis represents a model for future translational studies towards the discovery of effective therapeutics to overcome the challenges of AR.
  18. Fulltext Obturator hernia: a rare condition with common surgical symptoms
    Fitreena A.A., Shahidah C.A., Mohd. Nizam M.H., Wan Zainira W.Z., Wong, M.P.K.
    Journal of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, 2018;3(1):35-38.
    MyJurnal
    Hernia is a common surgical problem. However, worldwide
    incidence of obturator hernia is
  19. Fulltext Chemical composition and the potential biological activities of piper betel – a review
    Rabiatul Adawiyah Umar, Nurul 'Adani Sanusi, Mohd Nizam Zahary, Mohd Adzim Khalili Rohin, Salwani Ismail
    Malaysian Journal of Applied Sciences, 2018;3(1):1-8.
    MyJurnal
    Piper betel is a member of the family Piperaceae, commonly known as Sirih (Malaysia and
    Indonesia), Paan (India and Bangladesh), Betel (English) and Phlu (Thailand). It is widely found and
    grown in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, other Southeast Asian and East African
    countries. Piper betel is widely used throughout the world even in modern days due to its known
    medicinal properties. Betel plant contains various biologically active compounds, which are
    responsible for its numerous pharmacological actions. The therapeutic profile reveals Piper betel to
    have a high potential for treating many diseases and conditions such as chronic renal disease,
    atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus. Further studies of betel plant are recommended to focus on
    the variety of metabolic activities in human, thus, improving its usage medically that will be beneficial
    to humanity.
  20. Fulltext Outcome of chiropractic therapy in idiopathic scoliosis – a preliminary study
    Mohd Nizam Haron, Syahirah Zeti Azham, Lyanna Annura Sallehudin, Nur Firzanie Kamaruddin, Ezreen Elia Izzaty Afindi
    Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2017;2:26-30.
    The purpose of this study is to retrospectively report the results of scoliosis patients who underwent chiropractic therapy and to evaluate their outcome by looking at the potential to alter the natural progression of scoliosis after therapy.
    Methods: Retrospective data collection was conducted at a private chiropractic centre in Kuala Lumpur. The data was collected from patients between the ages of 16 to 19 years old. A total of eight patients with 14 scoliotic curvatures (six thoracic, six lumbar and two thoracolumbar), who met the inclusion criteria, were selected as subjects for this study. All subjects received the same chiropractic therapy program. The outcome of the therapy was assessed by measuring the Cobb’s angle on the erect spine as captured on an x-ray. The Cobb’s angle was measured at the first presentation (to establish a baseline) after 6 and 24 months of therapy.
    Results: The mean baseline Cobb’s angle for thoracic, lumbar and thoracolumbar scoliosis were 30.7o ± 19.4o, 31.7o ± 12.3o and 25.0o ± 18.4o respectively. After 24 months of chiropractic therapy, there was no discernible effect on the magnitude of the Cobb’s angles on the subjects overall.
    Conclusion: Our study showed no significant reduction in spine curvature in patients with scoliosis using chiropractic therapy after 24 months.
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