Displaying all 13 publications

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  1. Samuel G, Ng YS
    Med J Malaysia, 2013 Aug;68(4):376-8.
    PMID: 24145276
    Traumatic Brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common causes of death and disability worldwide, with recent interest in the use of cholinomimetics in the treatment of TBI patients for cognitive impairments. Our patient who suffered TBI was started on a trial of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (Donepezil) for five weeks. Cognitive and memory testing with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Functional Independence Measurement (FIM) showed some degree of improvement: The three item recall component of MMSE improved and the FIM Memory score increased from 1 (Complete dependence) to 6 (Functional independence). Subjective assessment of his behaviour in the ward also showed improvement. This suggests that donepezil may help improve memory and behaviour of moderately severe traumatic brain injury patients, although more research in this direction should be undertaken.
  2. Ng YS, Chan DJC
    Int J Phytoremediation, 2018;20(12):1179-1186.
    PMID: 29053371 DOI: 10.1080/15226514.2017.1375895
    Macrophytes have been used to mitigate eutrophication and upgrade effluent quality via their nutrient removal capability. However, the available data are influenced by factors such as microbial activities, weather, and wastewater quality, making comparison between nutrient removal performance of different macrophytes almost impossible. In this study, phytoremediation by Spirodela polyrhiza, Salvinia molesta and Lemna sp. were carried out axenically in synthetic wastewater under controlled condition to precisely evaluate nutrient removal efficiency of NO3--N, PO43-, NH3-N, COD and pH in the water sample. The results showed that ammonia removal was rapid, significant for S. polyrhiza and Lemna sp., with efficiency of 60% and 41% respectively within 2 days. S. polyrhiza was capable of reducing 30% of the nitrate. Lemna sp. achieved the highest phosphate reduction of 86% at day 12 to mere 1.07 mg/L PO43--P. Correlation was found between COD and TC, suggesting the release of organic substances by macrophytes into the medium. All the macrophytes showed biomass increment. S. polyrhiza outperformed other macrophytes in nutrient removal despite lower biomass production. The acquired nutrient removal profiles can serve as a guideline for the selection of suitable macrophytes in wastewater treatment and to evaluate microbial activity in non-aseptic phytoremediation system.
  3. Ng YS, Chan DJC
    Mol Biotechnol, 2023 Aug 31.
    PMID: 37651079 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-023-00853-5
    Membrane distillation (MD) has lower operating temperature and potential to recycle waste heat for desalination which catches much attention of the researchers in the recent years. However, the biofouling is still a challenging hurdle to be overcome for such applications. The microbial growth rate, secretion and biofilm formation are sensitive to heat. Membrane distillation is a thermally driven separation, so the increase of temperature in the seawater feed could influence the extent of biofouling on the unit parts. In this review, we present the effect of temperature on algal growth, the range of temperature the microbes, marine algae and planktons able to survive and the changes to those planktons once exceed the critical temperature. Thermal effect on the biofilm, its composition and properties are discussed as well, with association of the biofilm secreting microbes, but the study related to membrane distillation unit seems to be lacking and MD biofouling factors are not fully understood. Characterization of the algae, biofilm and EPS that govern biofouling are discussed. This information not only will help in designing future studies to fill up the knowledge gaps in biofouling of membrane distillation, but also to some extent, assist in pointing out possible fouling factors and predicting the degree of biofouling in the membrane distillation unit.
  4. Ng YS, Jayakumar NS, Hashim MA
    J Hazard Mater, 2010 Dec 15;184(1-3):255-60.
    PMID: 20832168 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.08.030
    The percentage removal of phenol from aqueous solution by emulsion liquid membrane and emulsion leakage was investigated experimentally for various parameters such as membrane:internal phase ratio, membrane:external phase ratio, emulsification speed, emulsification time, carrier concentration, surfactant concentration and internal agent concentration. These parameters strongly influence the percentage removal of phenol and emulsion leakage. Under optimum membrane properties, the percentage removal of phenol was as high as 98.33%, with emulsion leakage of 1.25%. It was also found that the necessity of carrier for enhancing phenol removal was strongly dependent on the internal agent concentration.
  5. Ng YS, Gan YK, Tupang L
    Turk J Ophthalmol, 2021 Feb 25;51(1):62-65.
    PMID: 33631919 DOI: 10.4274/tjo.galenos.2020.00225
    An 88-year-old woman was brought to the hospital immediately after her neighbours noticed that she was bleeding from her right eye. On examination, her right eye was phthisic with maggot infestation of her right orbit. Over a hundred live maggots were extracted using forceps. Computed tomography scan revealed the infestation was confined to the right orbit. The patient underwent exenteration of the right orbit under general anaesthesia. The species was identified by an entomologist as Chrysomya bezziana, which has aggressive larvae that eat living tissue. This case report demonstrates that orbital myiasis caused by C. bezziana poses a very real risk of intracranial invasion as they feed on living tissues. Adjacent tissue destruction can be very rapid and definitive treatment involves urgent removal of its larvae via surgical debridement. To our knowledge, we are reporting the first case of orbital myiasis from a patient in Malaysia. Therefore, our case report may be helpful in the management of similar case of orbital myiasis.
  6. Pang P, Ng YS, Sidhu J, Kok M
    Med J Malaysia, 2018 04;73(2):86-89.
    PMID: 29703871 MyJurnal
    AIM: To record the incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), its social demographics, clinical characteristics and treatment, in the state of Johor, Malaysia.

    METHODS: Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru, is the only public hospital in Johor with a Gastroenterology service. Data on all existing and new IBD patients managed by the Gastroenterology Unit in 2016 were collected. Incidence and prevalence of IBD in 2016 were then calculated based on the estimated population of Johor and Johor Bahru.

    RESULTS: Twenty-five new cases of IBD were diagnosed in 2016. Among the 25 cases, 13 cases were Crohn's disease (CD), 10 were ulcerative colitis (UC) and two were IBD Unclassified (IBDU). The crude incidence of IBD, CD, UC and IBDU were 0.68, 0.36, 0.27, and 0.05 per 100,000 population respectively. Ethnic Indians had the highest incidence of IBD at 4.21 followed by Malays and Chinese at 0.56 and 0.18 per 100,000 population respectively. A total of 156 IBD cases were captured. Amongst them, 85 cases were UC, 68 cases were CD and three cases were IBDU, hence the prevalence of IBD, UC, CD and IBDU were 4.27, 2.33, 1.86 and 0.08 per 100,000 population respectively. Similarly, Indians had the highest prevalence at 16.84, followed by Chinese at 4.06 and Malays at 3.44 per 100,000 population.

    CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of IBD in Johor is comparable to that of a previous study in northern Peninsular Malaysia. The ethnicity preponderance is similar to the previous studies conducted in Malaysia.

  7. Ng YS, Sen Gupta B, Hashim MA
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2016 Jan;23(1):546-55.
    PMID: 26330317 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5290-0
    Electrokinetic process has emerged as an important tool for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soil. The process can concentrate heavy metals into smaller soil volume even in the absence of hydraulic flow. This makes it an attractive soil pre-treatment method before other remediation techniques are applied such that the chemical consumption in the latter stage can be reduced. The present study evaluates the feasibility of electrokinetic process in concentrating lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) in a co-contaminated soil using different types of wetting agents, namely 0.01 M NaNO3, 0.1 M citric acid and 0.1 M EDTA. The data obtained showed that NaNO3 and citric acid resulted in poor Pb electromigration in this study. As for Cr migration, these agents were also found to give lower electromigration rate especially at low pH region as a result of Cr(VI) adsorption and possible reduction into Cr(III). In contrast, EDTA emerged as the best wetting agent in this study as it formed water-soluble anionic complexes with both Pb and Cr. This provided effective one-way electromigration towards the anode for both ions, and they were accumulated into smaller soil volume with an enrichment ratio of 1.55-1.82. A further study on the application of approaching cathode in EDTA test showed that soil alkalisation was achieved, but this did not provide significant enhancement on electromigration for Pb and Cr. Nevertheless, the power consumption for electrokinetic process was decreased by 22.5%.
  8. Aniza I, Rizal AM, Ng YS, Mardhiyyah M, Helmi I, Syamimi BK, et al.
    Med J Malaysia, 2011 Jun;66(2):84-8.
    PMID: 22106682
    Patient's satisfaction has become increasingly important as patients evaluate healthcare services for both medical cost and quality. The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence and the factors influencing caregivers' satisfaction. A cross sectional study of 262 respondents using universal sampling method was conducted at the paediatric clinics of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). Overall, 90.5% were satisfied with the services provided. Satisfaction rates based on various healthcare delivery domains were: 95.0% for communication skills, 88.5% for interpersonal aspect, 83.6% for technical quality, 82.1% for financial aspect, 72.9% for time spent with doctors and 64.9% for ease of contact. This study shows that the caregivers (an unpaid person who helps a person cope with disease) were highly satisfied with the communicational aspect delivered by the clinic. However, there is still room for improvement on ease of contact domain and waiting time in order to produce high quality service.

    Study site: Paediatric clinic, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM)
  9. Ng YS, Vathsala A, Chew ST, Chiang GS, Woo KT
    Med J Malaysia, 2007 Jun;62(2):109-13.
    PMID: 18705440 MyJurnal
    Recurrent glomerular disease is an important cause of late allograft loss in renal transplant recipients. Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide and its recurrence has been reported in allografts. The present study examined outcomes following renal transplantation (RTX) in 101 patients with ESRD due to biopsy-proven IgAN, in comparison to non-IgA patients, and evaluated the incidence of recurrence. The study population (mean age 34.8 +/- 7.7 years; males 62.2%; Chinese 88.3%) underwent RTX under CsA immunosuppression between November 1984 and December 2004; as two patients underwent retransplantation during the study period, 103 allografts (56.3% cadaveric) were included for retrospective analysis. At time of analysis on 1 January 2005, 78 (75.7%) renal allografts (IgAN RTX) were functioning, of which 51 (49.5%) had normal serum creatinine, 27 (26.2%) had chronic allograft dysfunction, while 25 had graft losses, either due to patient death with functioning grafts (5.8%) or withdrawal to dialysis (18.5%). Persistent microscopic haematuria, not attributable to other causes or proteinuria > 1 g/day occurred in 42.7% and 13.6% of allografts respectively. Of 29 allografts biopsied for evaluation of proteinuria and/or renal dysfunction post-RTX, 8 (27.6%) had IgAN (overall histological recurrence, 7.8%). Of these, three had graft loss due to recurrent IgAN, three had elevated serum creatinine, while two had normal serum creatinine. Overall five and ten year patient survivals for IgAN RTX were 95.3% and 82.2%, and five and ten year actuarial graft survivals were 82.3% and 67.8% respectively. Five and ten year patient and graft survivals for IgAN RTX were not significantly different from that for non-IgAN RTX. In summary, RTX patients with IgAN have a low incidence of documented histological recurrence and recurrence contributing to graft loss occurs in only 2.9%. These results suggest that RTX is an excellent modality of renal replacement therapy in this population.
  10. Yip Ch, Bhoo-Pathy N, Daniel J, Foo Y, Mohamed A, Abdullah M, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2016;17(3):1077-82.
    PMID: 27039727
    BACKGROUND: The three standard biomarkers used in breast cancer are the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The Ki-67 index, a proliferative marker, has been shown to be associated with a poorer outcome, and despite absence of standardization of pathological assessment, is widely used for therapy decision making. We aim to study the role of the Ki-67 index in a group of Asian women with breast cancer.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 450 women newly diagnosed with Stage 1 to 3 invasive breast cancer in a single centre from July 2013 to Dec 2014 were included in this study. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association between Ki-67 (positive defined as 14% and above) and age, ethnicity, grade, mitotic index, ER, PR, HER2, lymph node status and size. All analyses were performed using SPSS Version 22.

    RESULTS: In univariable analysis, Ki -67 index was associated with younger age, higher grade, ER and PR negativity, HER2 positivity, high mitotic index and positive lymph nodes. However on multivariable analysis only tumour size, grade, PR and HER2 remained significant. Out of 102 stage 1 patients who had ER positive/PR positive/HER2 negative tumours and non-grade 3, only 5 (4.9%) had a positive Ki-67 index and may have been offered chemotherapy. However, it is interesting to note that none of these patients received chemotherapy.

    CONCLUSIONS: Information on Ki67 would have potentially changed management in an insignificant proportion of patients with stage 1 breast cancer.

  11. Ng YS, Ragupathy S, Shau Hwai AT, Khoo KS, Chieh Chan DJ
    Chemosphere, 2023 Jan;310:136790.
    PMID: 36220430 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136790
    Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermally driven technology applied in desalination and water reuse with utilisation of sustainable energy. However, algal organic matter (AOM) could foul membrane critically and plague MD's long-term operational stability. In this study, the soluble extracellular polymeric substance (sEPS) and intracellular organic matter with bound extracellular polymeric substance (IOM + bEPS) of two algal species (Amphora coffeaeformis and Navicula incerta) were exposed to 60 °C, 70 °C and 80 °C for 8 h with polypropylene hydrophobic membrane, simulating heated AOMs contacted with membrane inside MD unit, to study the temperature effect on membrane fouling. The dissolved carbohydrate and protein in the sEPS and IOM + bEPS samples generally increased after being heated. Heating caused cell lysis and the release and dissolution of carbohydrate and protein from sEPS, IOM and bEPS into water. As heating temperature increased, the carbohydrate release from the AOM usually increased. The contact angle of membrane contacted with sEPS and IOM + bEPS reduced significantly after heat treatment. The reduction in IOM + bEPS was larger than sEPS, in line with SEM analysis, indicating membrane surfaces and pores with IOM + bEPS fouled more severely than sEPS. It is due to higher hydrophobicity in IOM + bEPS causing adherence to membrane and presence of amphiphiles. High protein, lipid, and saturated fats proportions also cause severe fouling. SEM-EDX analysis indicated presence of O, Na, Cl and Mg elements, pointing to carbohydrate and lipids, and salt trapped in foulants. AOM heating and composition had direct effect to the membrane integrity, dictating severity of fouling in MD operations.
  12. Lin GSS, Ng YS, Ghani NRNA, Chua KH
    BMC Oral Health, 2023 Sep 25;23(1):690.
    PMID: 37749537 DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-03389-x
    BACKGROUND: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in dentistry has the potential to revolutionise the field of dental technologies. However, dental technicians' views on the use of AI in dental technology are still sparse in the literature. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perceptions of dental technicians regarding the use of AI in their dental laboratory practice.

    METHODS: Twelve dental technicians with at least five years of professional experience and currently working in Malaysia agreed to participate in the one-to-one in-depth online interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify patterns, themes, and categories within the interview transcripts.

    RESULTS: The analysis revealed two key themes: "Perceived Benefits of AI" and "Concerns and Challenges". Dental technicians recognised the enhanced efficiency, productivity, accuracy, and precision that AI can bring to dental laboratories. They also acknowledged the streamlined workflow and improved communication facilitated by AI systems. However, concerns were raised regarding job security, professional identity, ethical considerations, and the need for adequate training and support.

    CONCLUSION: This research sheds light on the potential benefits and challenges associated with the integration of AI in dental laboratory practices. Understanding these perceptions and addressing the challenges can support the effective integration of AI in dental laboratories and contribute to the growing body of literature on AI in healthcare.

  13. Ilg W, Milne S, Schmitz-Hübsch T, Alcock L, Beichert L, Bertini E, et al.
    Cerebellum, 2023 Nov 13.
    PMID: 37955812 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-023-01625-2
    With disease-modifying drugs on the horizon for degenerative ataxias, ecologically valid, finely granulated, digital health measures are highly warranted to augment clinical and patient-reported outcome measures. Gait and balance disturbances most often present as the first signs of degenerative cerebellar ataxia and are the most reported disabling features in disease progression. Thus, digital gait and balance measures constitute promising and relevant performance outcomes for clinical trials.This narrative review with embedded consensus will describe evidence for the sensitivity of digital gait and balance measures for evaluating ataxia severity and progression, propose a consensus protocol for establishing gait and balance metrics in natural history studies and clinical trials, and discuss relevant issues for their use as performance outcomes.
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