Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 28 in total

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  1. Wan Nor Arifin, Wan Arfah Nadiah, Muhammad Irfan, Chen, Xin Wee, Nani Draman, Nyi, Nyi Naing
    MyJurnal
    To ensure the reliability of manual blood pressure (BP) readings in a clinical trial, sources of error due to measurement must be reduced as much as possible. Apart from following standard procedure for BP measurement and ensuring good equipments, the measurement errors that come from the assessors themselves should be assessed. Objective: To demonstrate the use of two-way random effects, interactions absent, absolute agreement (Type A), single measures (Type 1) intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) in the assessment of reliability of manual BP readings among assessors involved in a clinical trial using manual BP measurement, by using an interrater reliability study conducted by the authors as an example study. Methods: The steps involved in obtaining ICC in the study were discussed. Sample size given the number of assessors in the study was calculated. BP was measured using regularly maintained mercury sphygnomanometers, following recommendations by Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) for BP measurement in office setting. The outcomes were systolic and diastolic BP readings. A type of ICC, two-way random effects, interactions absent, absolute agreement (Type A), single measures (Type 1) ICC was chosen for the analysis and specifically discussed. Pre-requisite assumptions for ICC were meticulously checked and described. The interrater reliability for systolic and diastolic BP readings as expressed by ICC (single measure) were presented with confidence interval (CI). The ICCs obtained in the example study were discussed and concluded. The flaws of the study were also criticised. Results: The interrater reliability for systolic and diastolic BP measurements as expressed by ICC (single measure) were 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.722, 0.956) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.560, 0.918) respectively. Conclusion: We demonstrated the steps required to obtain ICC. Since the use of manual BP measurement using mercury sphygmomanometer is still considered as gold standard of BP measurement, it is important that studies in which the BP outcome is measured using such method conduct interrater reliability studies properly.
  2. Khan SU, Ullah N, Ahmed I, Ahmad I, Mahsud MI
    Curr Med Imaging Rev, 2019;15(3):243-254.
    PMID: 31989876 DOI: 10.2174/1573405614666180726124952
    BACKGROUND: Medical imaging is to assume greater and greater significance in an efficient and precise diagnosis process.

    DISCUSSION: It is a set of various methodologies which are used to capture internal or external images of the human body and organs for clinical and diagnosis needs to examine human form for various kind of ailments. Computationally intelligent machine learning techniques and their application in medical imaging can play a significant role in expediting the diagnosis process and making it more precise.

    CONCLUSION: This review presents an up-to-date coverage about research topics which include recent literature in the areas of MRI imaging, comparison with other modalities, noise in MRI and machine learning techniques to remove the noise.

  3. Shereen MK, Khattak MI, Zubir F, Basit A
    PLoS One, 2022;17(1):e0260407.
    PMID: 35041686 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260407
    Reconfigurable antennas have received much attention in RF energy harvesting models owing to their selectivity for operating frequency and polarization. The characteristic of having frequency selectivity and polarization selectivity can be termed as frequency diversity and polarization diversity, respectively. This paper investigates a rectenna device with a new proposed topology in order to eliminate coupling between input and output lines and increase the rectification efficiency with the use of single feed hybrid reconfigurable antenna, switch between 28GHz and 38GHz frequency. Moreover, it is designed to charge a rechargeable battery of 1watt(W). The Reconfiguration mechanism is realized by electronically controlling different states of Switches. PIN Diode (as RLC Equivalent circuit) is used as a switch for ON/OFF states. This antenna mainly comprises rectangular shaped patches (28GHz and 38GHz) with Triango-Truncated edge at the corners. Eighteen PIN Diodes are placed symmetrically throughout the antenna presenting as, S1 & S2 for frequency reconfiguration, S3 to S6 & S7 to S10 connects Triango Truncated edge at the corners for polarization reconfiguration, and for radiation pattern reconfiguration at S11 to S14 & S15 to S18 has been used. The proposed antenna model is capable of simultaneously changing, the radiation patterns as clock and anti-clockwise directions at ±90-degree shift in E and H planes, circularly polarized (CP) states among, Linear Polarization (LP), Right Hand Circularly Polarization (RHCP), and Left Hand Circularly Polarization (LHCP). The current design describes using single antenna for energy harvesting and 5G mobile communication application. This would lead to higher output currents, leading to the ability to efficiently charge a wide variety of batteries. A fully functional prototype has been designed, fabricated and its compound reconfiguration characteristics have been validated for simulated and measured results. For validation of results, the experimental results and the simulation results from the proposed mathematical model were made into comparison, and excellent correlation between the measured and simulated results was obtained.
  4. Habib A, Nazri MIBA, Rahman SA
    Data Brief, 2023 Jun;48:109090.
    PMID: 37020897 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2023.109090
    Clinical diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism in the suspected patients is usually guided by the initial general investigations in the laboratory such as the concentration of ammonia, blood gases status, blood glucose and ketones. The establishment of a biochemical diagnosis in patients with inborn errors of metabolism depends on the detection of the specific metabolites in the abnormal metabolic pathway which can appear in any of the body fluids but are most commonly tested in blood and urine samples. Acylcarnitine and/or acylcarnitine ratio in patients with carnitine acylcarnitine translocase and carnitine palmitoyl transferase deficiency showed an abnormal profile regardless of the metabolic status of patients. The acylcarnitine was derived from the analysis of dried blood spot using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) which was performed using quadrupole mass spectrometry. The dataset presented in this article was generated from analysis of acylcarnitines in the 17,121 dried blood spots from symptomatic Malaysian patients less than fifty years old who exhibited symptoms suggestive of inborn errors of metabolism, but had a normal acylcarnitine profile. A precursor or ion scan of m/z 85 was selected for the analysis. Quantification of each analyte was obtained using the signal intensity ratio of the acylcarnitine to its internal standard. The acylcarnitines analyzed included C0, C2, C3, C3DC, C4, C5, C5:1, C5DC, C5OH, C6, C8, C10, C12, C14, C16, C18, C18:1, C16OH, C18OH and C18:1OH and was analyzed using Neolynx V4.0 software. We decided to choose the 1st and 99th percentiles as the minimum and maximum cut-offs. The filtered part of data in this article was used in the article Novel mutations associated with Carnitine-Acylcarnitine Translocase and Carnitine Palmitoyl Transferase 2 deficiencies in Malaysia. This dataset is intended to enable the scientific communities to get access to the raw dataset for future translational research use in inborn errors of metabolism as very few acylcarnitine data was developed and published for the symptomatic patients suspected of inborn errors of metabolism especially in the Asian population.
  5. Gan YK, Birapadian SM, Abdul Jalal MI, Din NM
    Int J Ophthalmol, 2024;17(2):265-271.
    PMID: 38371250 DOI: 10.18240/ijo.2024.02.06
    AIM: To report the outcome of Baerveldt glaucoma implant (BGI) with Supramid© ripcord use in neovascular glaucoma (NVG).

    METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the surgical outcome of the BGI with Supramid© 3/0 ripcord stent in patients with NVG. No tube ligation or venting slits were performed. Supramid was removed after 3mo if the target intraocular pressure (IOP) was not achieved. Surgical success was defined as IOP≤21 mm Hg with (qualified success) or without IOP-lowering medications (complete success).

    RESULTS: Twenty-six eyes from 24 patients were included in the study. The median duration of follow-up was 4 [interquartile range (IQR)=1-5]y, ranging from 0.5 to 5y. IOP decreased by a mean of 24.2 mm Hg (59.7%); from a mean of 40.5±12.6 mm Hg at baseline to 16.3±11.9 mm Hg, P≤0.001. The number of glaucoma medications reduced from a median of 5 (IQR=5-6) to 1 (IQR=0-2, P≤0.001) at the final follow-up. Overall success rates were 88.0% at 1y, 34.8% at 3y, 66.7% at 4y, and 50% at 5y. Hypertensive phase (HP) in the first 3mo occurred in 15/26 eyes (57.7%) with a mean IOP of 31.1 mm Hg.

    CONCLUSION: BGI with Supramid© ripcord stent gives close to 90% of the overall survival rate at the final follow-up without significant early hypotony. However, early HP is still a challenge.

  6. Nasrullah A, Khan H, Khan AS, Man Z, Muhammad N, Khan MI, et al.
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2015;2015:562693.
    PMID: 25705714 DOI: 10.1155/2015/562693
    The ash of C. polygonoides (locally called balanza) was collected from Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and was utilized as biosorbent for methylene blue (MB) removal from aqueous solution. The ash was used as biosorbent without any physical or chemical treatment. The biosorbent was characterized by using various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The particle size and surface area were measured using particle size analyzer and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equation (BET), respectively. The SEM and BET results expressed that the adsorbent has porous nature. Effects of various conditions such as initial concentration of methylene blue (MB), initial pH, contact time, dosage of biosorbent, and stirring rate were also investigated for the adsorption process. The rate of the adsorption of MB on biomass sample was fast, and equilibrium has been achieved within 1 hour. The kinetics of MB adsorption on biosorbent was studied by pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order kinetic models and the pseudo-second-order has better mathematical fit with correlation coefficient value (R (2)) of 0.999. The study revealed that C. polygonoides ash proved to be an effective, alternative, inexpensive, and environmentally benign biosorbent for MB removal from aqueous solution.
  7. Mohamad N, Abdul Jalal MI, Hassan A, Abdulkarim Ibrahim M, Salehuddin R, Abu Bakar NH
    Pak J Med Sci, 2013 Sep;29(5):1132-6.
    PMID: 24353706
    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the QTc interval between low and high dose methadone groups and evaluate the pattern of QTc variation.
    METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study conducted from December 2010 till August 2011 at Malaysian University of Science's Hospital. Forty six subjects, grouped in high dose (>80mg) and low dose (<80mg) oral methadone, were followed-up at 4-weekly for QTc measurements. Relevant demographic and biochemical profiles were taken at intervals with concurrent QTc measurements.
    RESULTS: No significant QTc differences between methadone dosage groups were found at Week 0 (434ms vs 444ms, p = 0.166) and week 8 (446.5ms vs 459ms, p = 0.076), but not at week 4(435ms vs 450ms, p = 0.029). However, there were significant associations between the groups with QTc prolongation at week 0 and 4 (OR 4.29(95% CI 1.01, 18.72) p=0.044 and OR 5.18 (95% CI 1.34, 20.06) p =0.013, respectively) but not at week 8 (OR 2.44 (95% CI 0.74, 8.01) p=0.139). On multivariate analysis, dose group was the sole significant factor for QTc prolongation for week 0 and 4 (p values 0.047 and 0.017, respectively), but not at week 8.
    CONCLUSION: High-dose methadone group is more likely to develop prolonged QTc than low-dose group. However, such effects were inconsistent and occurred even during chronic methadone therapy, mandating judicious QTc and serum methadone monitoring.
    KEYWORDS: High Dose; Low Dose; Methadone; QTc
  8. Siddique MI, Katas H, Amin MCIM, Ng SF, Zulfakar MH, Buang F, et al.
    J Pharm Sci, 2015 Dec;104(12):4276-4286.
    PMID: 26447747 DOI: 10.1002/jps.24666
    Hydrocortisone (HC) is a topical glucocorticoid for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD); the local as well as systemic side effects limit its use. Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is a polyphenol present in olive oil that has strong antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. HC-HT coloaded chitosan nanoparticles (HC-HT CSNPs) were therefore developed to improve the efficacy against AD. In this study, HC-HT CSNPs of 235 ± 9 nm in size and with zeta potential +39.2 ± 1.6 mV were incorporated into aqueous cream (vehicle) and investigated for acute dermal toxicity, dermal irritation, and repeated dose toxicity using albino Wistar rats. HC-HT CSNPs exhibited LD50 > 125 mg/body surface area of active, which is 100-fold higher than the normal human dose of HC. Compared with the commercial formulation, 0.5 g of HC-HT CSNPs did not cause skin irritation, as measured by Tewameter®, Mexameter®, and as observed visually. Moreover, no-observed-adverse-effect level was observed with respect to body weight, organ weight, feed consumption, blood hematological and biochemical, urinalysis, and histopathological parameters at a dose of 1000 mg/body surface area per day of HC-HT CSNPs for 28 days. This in vivo study demonstrated that nanoencapsulation significantly reduced the toxic effects of HC and this should allow further clinical investigations.
  9. Tufail S, Siddique MI, Sarfraz M, Sohail MF, Shahid MN, Omer MO, et al.
    Curr Drug Deliv, 2021 Jul 20.
    PMID: 34288836 DOI: 10.2174/1567201818666210720150929
    INTRODUCTION: The pleiotropic effects of statins are recently explored for wound healing through angiogenesis and lymph-angiogenesis that could be of great importance in diabetic wounds.

    AIM: Aim of the present study is to fabricate nanofilm embedded with simvastatin loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CS-SIM-NPs) has been reported herein to explore the efficacy of SIM in diabetic wound healing.

    METHODS: The NPs, prepared via ionic gelation, were 173nm ± 2.645 in size with a zeta potential -0.299 ± 0.009 and PDI 0.051 ± 0.088 with excellent encapsulation efficiency (99.97%). The optimized formulation (CS: TPP, 1:1) that exhibited the highest drug release (91.64%) was incorporated into polymeric nanofilm (HPMC, Sodium alginate, PVA), followed by in vitro characterization. The optimized nanofilm was applied to the wound created on the back of diabetes-induced (with alloxan injection 120 mg/kg) albino rats.

    RESULTS: The results showed significant (p < 0.05) improvement in the wound healing process compared to the diabetes-induced non-treated group. The results highlighted the importance of nanofilms loaded with SIM-NPs in diabetic wound healing through angiogenesis promotion at the wound site.

    CONCLUSION: Thus, CS-SIM-NPs loaded polymeric nanofilms could be an emerging diabetic wound healing agent in the industry of nanomedicines.

  10. Sheeraz MI, Ungku Ahmad UN, Ishaq MI, Sarfraz M, Md Nor K
    Front Psychol, 2021;12:647845.
    PMID: 34177702 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647845
    The organizational justice terminology has had a long journey to become one of the significant contributors to organizational success. Recently, an intense global upsurge in the use of organizational justice terms in publications has forced us for this bibliometric analysis in order to look at the overall publications on organizational justice. The objective of the current research is to advance knowledge about organizational justice research trends using Scopus database and bibliometric analysis research. The analysis was performed to see the publication trends between the years 1941 and 2018; it used authors, journals, countries, academic discipline, research institutes/universities, and various keywords related to organizational justice as search words. After careful consideration and using multiple checkpoints for eliminating irrelevant studies, 5,650 research articles were analyzed. In the realm of organizational justice, procedural justice was the most frequently occurred among other dimensions. Moreover, variables such as organizational trust, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, citizenship behavior, ethics, and turnover are major concepts that occurred within organizational justice research. Some variables with infrequent occurrences, along with future recommendations and study limitations, are also discussed.
  11. Siddique MI, Katas H, Amin MC, Ng SF, Zulfakar MH, Jamil A
    Int J Pharm, 2016 Jun 30;507(1-2):72-82.
    PMID: 27154252 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2016.05.005
    The objective of this study was to investigate the in-vivo behavior of topically applied cationic polymeric chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) loaded with anti-inflammatory (hydrocortisone, HC) and antimicrobial (hydroxytyrosol, HT) drugs, to elucidate their skin targeting potential for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). Compared to the commercial formulation, the HC-HT loaded CSNPs showed significantly improved drug penetration into the epidermal and dermal layers of albino Wistar rat skin without saturation. Dermal pharmacokinetic of CSNPs with a size of 228.5±7nm and +39±5mV charges revealed that they penetrated 2.46-fold deeper than the commercial formulation did, and had greater affinity at the skin target site without spreading to the surrounding tissues, thereby providing substantial safety benefits. In repeated dermal application toxicity studies, the HC-HT CSNPs showed no evidence of toxicity compared to the commercial formulation, which induced skin atrophy and higher liver enzyme levels. In conclusion, the positively charged HC-HT CSNP formulation exhibited promising local delivery and virtually no treatment-related toxicities, suggesting it may be an efficient and viable alternative for commercially available AD treatments.
  12. Siddique MI, Tufail S, Ker ZH, Khan TM, Rasool F, Sohail MF, et al.
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2019 Sep;32(5(Supplementary)):2299-2304.
    PMID: 31894058
    Chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) have proven their excellent drug delivery potential through various routes of administration and therefore, the need for large scale production of CSNPs for the commercialization is paramount. Their particle size and surface charge, drug loading capacity, and morphology were characterized in this study. Finally, drug release studies of both continuous and scalable modes were undertaken to ascertain suitability of CSNPs as a carrier for HC. The particle size of the large and small scale of HC-CSNPs was 253.3±16.4 nm and 225.4 ±9.6 nm, respectively. Besides, the surface charge of the large and small scale of HC-CSNPs was +35.3±0.3 mV and +32.6±2.5 mV, respectively. The size and surface charge of both HC-CSNPs were not proven to be statistically different. Drug loading capacity of large and small scale production of HC-CSNPs was high with 89%, and 83% of HC was loaded into CSNPs, respectively. Moreover, the morphology of both large and small scale production of HC-CSNPs had a similar shape and particle size. The drug release profile of CSNPs prepared by both methods showed a significantly (p<0.05) higher percentage release as compared to the free form. It is expected that positively charged nano-sized HC-CSNPs with high drug loading capacity could enhance the efficiency of drug delivery system to carry and diffuse into the target cells. The results obtained also suggested that the modified method applied could be further developed for large scale production of HC-CSNPs.
  13. Ullah Z, Nawi I, Witjaksono G, Tansu N, Khattak MI, Junaid M, et al.
    Sensors (Basel), 2020 Jun 04;20(11).
    PMID: 32512718 DOI: 10.3390/s20113187
    Plasmonic antennas are attractive optical components of the optoelectronic devices, operating in the far-infrared regime for sensing and imaging applications. However, low optical absorption hinders its potential applications, and their performance is limited due to fixed resonance frequency. In this article, a novel gate tunable graphene-metal hybrid plasmonic antenna with stacking configuration is proposed and investigated to achieve tunable performance over a broad range of frequencies with enhanced absorption characteristics. The hybrid graphene-metal antenna geometry is built up with a hexagon radiator that is supported by the Al2O3 insulator layer and graphene reflector. This stacked structure is deposited in the high resistive Si wafer substrate, and the hexagon radiator itself is a sandwich structure, which is composed of gold hexagon structure and two multilayer graphene stacks. The proposed antenna characteristics i.e., tunability of frequency, the efficiency corresponding to characteristics modes, and the tuning of absorption spectra, are evaluated by full-wave numerical simulations. Besides, the unity absorption peak that was realized through the proposed geometry is sensitive to the incident angle of TM-polarized incidence waves, which can flexibly shift the maxima of the absorption peak from 30 THz to 34 THz. Finally, an equivalent resonant circuit model for the investigated antenna based on the simulations results is designed to validate the antenna performance. Parametric analysis of the proposed antenna is carried out through altering the geometric parameters and graphene parameters in the Computer Simulation Technology (CST) studio. This clearly shows that the proposed antenna has a resonance frequency at 33 THz when the graphene sheet Fermi energy is increased to 0.3 eV by applying electrostatic gate voltage. The good agreement of the simulation and equivalent circuit model results makes the graphene-metal antenna suitable for the realization of far-infrared sensing and imaging device containing graphene antenna with enhanced performance.
  14. Shahid N, Siddique MI, Razzaq Z, Katas H, Waqas MK, Rahman KU
    Drug Dev Ind Pharm, 2018 Dec;44(12):2061-2070.
    PMID: 30081679 DOI: 10.1080/03639045.2018.1509081
    OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to optimize and develop matrix type transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) containing tizanidine hydrochloride (TZH) using different polymers by solvent evaporation method.

    SIGNIFICANCE: A strong need exists for the development of transdermal patch having improved bioavailability at the site of action with fewer side effects at off-target organs.

    METHODS: The patches were physically characterized by texture analysis (color, flexibility, smoothness, transparency, and homogeneity), in vitro dissolution test and FTIR analysis. Furthermore, functional properties essential for TDDS, in vitro percentage of moisture content, percentage of water uptake, in vitro permeation by following different kinetic models, in vivo drug content estimation and skin irritation were determined using rabbit skin.

    RESULTS: The optimized patches were soft, of uniform texture and thickness as well as pliable in nature. Novel transdermal patch showed ideal characteristics in terms of moisture content and water uptake. FTIR analysis confirmed no interaction between TZH and cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP). The patch showed sustained release of the drug which increased the availability of short acting TZH at the site of action. The patch also showed its biocompatibility to the in vivo model of rabbit skin.

    CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that topically applied transdermal patch will be a potential medicated sustain release patch for muscle pain which will improve patient compliance.

  15. Khan QU, Siddique MI, Sarfraz M, Rehman K, Sohail MF, Katas H
    PMID: 34936317 DOI: 10.1615/CritRevTherDrugCarrierSyst.2021036885
    Orodispersible films (ODFs) have served as an emerging platform for the delivery of drugs in a convenient way. They have numerous advantages, the significant one is simplicity of administration for special populations such as pediatric and geriatric as well as patients with swallowing difficulty. Besides, the advantages include accurate dosing and fast action. The ODFs are efficiently designed with detailed knowledge of drug and polymers as well as a suitable selection of method. Many conventional and advance formulation strategies have been used for the development of ODFs. The biopharmaceutical concerns of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are given in this review in light of the fact that ODFs can be utilized to increase the bioavailability of APIs. The basic critical issues such as good mechanical properties, water solubility of the API and taste masking are very important to be considered during the development of ODFs. The knowledge of critical quality concerns of ODFs will be helpful in the future development of ODF. As ODFs remain in the mouth until complete degradation, taste, texture and mouth-feel are the qualities that in all respects liable for acceptability of the patient. An assortment of packaging choices is also accessible for ODFs. This review focuses on the different critical concerns of ODF related to composition, bio-pharmaceutical, manufacturing, quality tests, packaging and acceptability. Additionally, potential barriers in the ODFs development are discussed in details. Therefore, this review is an informative bundle of ODFs concerns from the product development stage to the end-user acceptability.
  16. Siddique MI, Katas H, Jamil A, Mohd Amin MCI, Ng SF, Zulfakar MH, et al.
    Drug Deliv Transl Res, 2019 04;9(2):469-481.
    PMID: 29159691 DOI: 10.1007/s13346-017-0439-7
    Hydrocortisone (HC), topical glucocorticoid along with hydroxytyrosol (HT), and anti-microbial- and anti-oxidant-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) were prepared in large scale and analyzed for their adverse effects on healthy human skin followed by repeated applications. Ten subjects were randomized to receive test (HC-HT CSNPs) and vehicle samples (aqueous (AQ) cream). They were applied on the arms for 28 days, and transepidermal water loss (TEWL), erythema intensity, and irritation score were measured. Blood samples were analyzed for blood hematology, blood biochemistry, and adrenal cortico-thyroid hormone (ACTH) levels. Skin biopsy was obtained to assess histopathological changes in the skin. HC-HT CSNP AQ cream was stored at 4, 25, and 45 °C for a period of 1 year, and its stability was assessed by monitoring their physical appearances, particle size, and pH. Spherical-shaped NPs were successfully upscaled using spinning-disc technology, with insignificant changes in particle size, zeta potential, and incorporation of drugs as compared to the well-established laboratory method. Particle size of HC-HT CSNPs was
  17. Katas H, Wen CY, Siddique MI, Hussain Z, Mohd Fadhil FH
    Ther Deliv, 2017 01;8(3):137-150.
    PMID: 28145827 DOI: 10.4155/tde-2016-0075
    AIM: Chitosan (CS) has been extensively studied as drug delivery systems for wound healing. Results/methodology: CS nanoparticles were loaded with curcumin (Cur) and DsiRNA against prostaglandin transporter gene and they were incorporated into 20 and 25% w/v Pluronic F-127. The gels were later analyzed for their rheology, gelation temperature (Tgel), morphology, drug incorporation and in vitro drug release. The particle size was in the range of 231 ± 17-320 ± 20 nm, depending on CS concentration. The gels had Tgel of 23-28°C and exhibited sustained drug release with high accumulated amount of drugs over 48 h.

    CONCLUSION: A thermo-sensitive gel containing Cur/DsiRNA CS nanoparticles was successfully developed and has a great potential to be further developed.

  18. Suhaimi H, Abdul Rahman MI, Ashaari A, Ikhwanuddin M, Wan Rasdi N
    PeerJ, 2024;12:e17092.
    PMID: 38563012 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17092
    Live foods such as phytoplankton and zooplankton are essential food sources in aquaculture. Due to their small size, they are suitable for newly hatched larvae. Artemia and rotifer are commonly used live feeds in aquaculture; each feed has a limited dietary value, which is unsuitable for all cultured species. Whereas, copepod and cladocerans species exhibit favorable characteristics that make them viable candidates as sources of essential nutrients for hatchery operations. Due to their jerking movements, it stimulates the feeding response of fish larvae, and their various sizes make them suitable for any fish and crustacean. Even though Artemia is the best live feed due to its proficient nutritional quality, the cost is very expensive, which is about half of the production cost. A recent study suggests the use of amphipods and mysids as alternative live feeds in aquaculture. High nutritional value is present in amphipods and mysids, especially proteins, lipids, and essential fatty acids that are required by fish larvae during early development. Amphipods and mysids are considered abundant in the aquatic ecosystem and have been used by researchers in water toxicity studies. However, the culture of amphipods and mysids has been poorly studied. There is only a small-scale culture under laboratory conditions for scientific research that has been performed. Thus, further research is required to find a way to improve the mass culture of amphipods and mysids that can benefit the aquaculture industry. This review article is intended to provide the available information on amphipods and mysids, including reproductive biology, culture method, nutritional value, feed enhancement, and the importance of them as potential live feed in aquaculture. This article is useful as a guideline for researchers, hatchery operators, and farmers.
  19. Al-Astani Tengku Din TA, Shamsuddin SH, Idris FM, Ariffin Wan Mansor WN, Abdul Jalal MI, Jaafar H
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(9):3939-44.
    PMID: 24935577
    BACKGROUND: To elucidate the role of rapamycin and PF4 on apoptosis regulation via Bax (pro-apoptosis), Bcl-2 (anti-apoptosis) and survivin activation on the growth in the 1-methyl-1-nitrosourea -induced invasive breast carcinoma model.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty five female Sprague Dawley rats at age 21-day old were divided into 4 groups; Group 1 (control, n=10), Group 2 (PF4, n=5), Group 3 (rapamycin, n=10) and Group 4 (rapamycin+PF4, n=10). MNU was administered intraperitionally, dosed at 70 mg/kg body weight. The rats were treated when the tumors reached the size of 14.5 ± 0.5 mm and subsequently sacrificed after 5 days. Rapamycin and PF4 were administered as focal intralesional injections at the dose of 20 μg/lesion. The tumor tissue was then subjected to histopathological examinations for morphological appraisal and immunohistochemical assessment of the pro-apoptotic marker, Bax and anti-apoptotic markers, Bcl-2 and survivin.

    RESULTS: The histopathological pattern of the untreated control cohort showed that the severity of the malignancy augments with mammary tumor growth. Tumors developing in untreated groups were more aggressive whilst those in treated groups demonstrated a transformation to a less aggressive subtype. Combined treatment resulted in a significant reduction of tumor size without phenotypic changes. Bax, the pro-apoptotic marker, was significantly expressed at higher levels in the rapamycin-treated and rapamycin+PF4-treated groups compared to controls (p<0.05). Consequently, survivin was also significantly downregulated in the rapamycin-treated and rapamycin+PF4-treated group and this was significantly different when compared to controls (p).

    CONCLUSIONS: In our rat model, it could be clearly shown that rapamycin specifically affects Bax and survivin signaling pathways in activation of apoptosis. We conclude that rapamycin plays a critical role in the induction of apoptosis in MNU-induced mammary carcinoma.

  20. Siyal AA, Shamsuddin MR, Khan MI, Rabat NE, Zulfiqar M, Man Z, et al.
    J Environ Manage, 2018 Oct 15;224:327-339.
    PMID: 30056352 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.07.046
    The world water resources are contaminated due to discharge of a large number of pollutants from industrial and domestic sources. A variety of a single and multiple units of physical, chemical, and biological processes are employed for pollutants removal from wastewater. Adsorption is the most widely utilized process due to high efficiency, simple procedure and cost effectiveness. This paper reviews the research work carried out on the use of geopolymer materials for the adsorption of heavy metals and dyes. Geopolymers possess good surface properties, heterogeneous microstructure and amorphous structure. The performance of geopolymers in the removal of heavy metals and dyes is reported comparable to other materials. The pseudo-second order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models mostly fit to the adsorption data suggesting homogeneous distribution of adsorption sites with the formation of monolayer adsorbate on the surface of geopolymers. Adsorption of heavy metals and dyes onto geopolymers is spontaneous, endothermic and entropy driven process. Future research should focus on the enhancement of geopolymer performance, testing on pollutants other than heavy metals and dyes, and verification on real wastewater in continuous operation.
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