MyMedR

Displaying all 9 publications

Abstract:

Sort:

Fulltext Recent Progress in Genetics and Epigenetics Research on Diabetic Nephropathy in Malaysia

Abu Seman N, Othman SH

J Diabetes Res, 2023;2023:9053580.
PMID: 37187702 DOI: 10.1155/2023/9053580

Diabetic nephropathy is a multifactorial disease. Gene susceptibility, as well as environmental exposure, plays an important role in disease progression. Malaysia is reported to be among the world's second-fastest-growing rates of kidney failure. Diabetic nephropathy has become the main cause of end-stage renal disease in Malaysia. This article is aimed at reviewing genetic studies conducted among diabetic nephropathy patients in the Malaysian population. This review was conducted by searching PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar databases to identify all relevant papers published in English from March 2022 to April 2022, using the following keywords: diabetes, type 2 diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic kidney disease, and Malaysia. The case-control study among diabetic patients with and without diabetic nephropathy showed a significant association with diabetic nephropathy in CNDP1, NOS3, and MnSOD genes. In the ethnic subgroup analysis, significant differences for diabetic nephropathy in terms of diabetes duration (≥10 years) were observed for CCL2 rs3917887, CCR5 rs1799987, ELMO1 rs74130, and IL8 rs4073. The IL8 rs4073 was associated only with the Indians, while the CCR5 rs1799987 was associated with the Chinese. In Malays, SLC12A3 Arg913Gln polymorphism and ICAM1 K469E (A/G) polymorphism were found to be associated with diabetic nephropathy. Studies on gene-environment interactions have suggested significant genetic and environmental factors such as smoking, waist circumference, and sex for eNOS rs2070744, PPARGC1A rs8192678, KCNQ1 rs2237895, and KCNQ1 rs2283228 with kidney disease. The genetic variants' contributions differed across ethnic groups. Therefore, a study to validate the genetic variants that are found to be associated with different ethnicities in Malaysia may be important in future studies.
Business process improvement methods in healthcare: a comparative study

Ahmed ES, Ahmad MN, Othman SH

Int J Health Care Qual Assur, 2019 Jun 10;32(5):887-908.
PMID: 31195926 DOI: 10.1108/IJHCQA-07-2017-0116

PURPOSE: According to the literature concerned with this study, less than satisfactory outcomes have been achieved through implementing business process improvements methods (BPIMs) in industries, in general, and in healthcare, in particular. The existing methods used need to be enhanced in order to create more effective outcomes. There has also been a lack of studies documenting gaps or shortfalls in implementing BPIMs, to be presented to the BPI research community. Therefore, researchers of this paper have attempted to fill gaps between theory and practice. On the contrary, there is also a need to link practical outcomes in the healthcare domain with those of the BPI research community. The purpose of this paper is to review popular BPIMs, techniques and tools applied in the healthcare domain; it seeks to examine and highlight their significant roles, clarify their pros and cons, and find opportunities to enhance their impact on the achievement of more sustainable improvements in the healthcare domain.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This study has been carried out by using a methodology combining an in-depth literature review with a comparison framework, which is called as the "Framework for Comparing Business Process Improvement Methods." The framework is composed of seven dimensions and has been adapted from four recognized, related frameworks. In addition to the in-depth review of related literature and the adapted comparison framework, researchers have conducted several interviews with healthcare BPI practitioners in different hospitals, to attain their opinions of BPI methods and tools used in their practices.
FINDINGS: The main results have indicated that significant improvements have been achieved by implementing BPIMs in the healthcare domain according to related literature. However, there were some shortfalls in the existing methods that need to be resolved. The most important of these has been the shortfall in representing and analyzing targeted domain knowledge during improvement phases. The tool currently used for representing the domain, specifically flowcharts, is very abstract and does not present the domain in a clear form. The flowchart tool also fails to clearly present the separation of concerns between business processes and the information systems processes that support a business in a given domain.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The findings of this study can be useful for BPI practitioners and researchers, mainly within the healthcare domain. The findings can help these groups to understand BPIMs shortfalls and encourage them to consider how BPIMs can be potentially improved.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This researchers of this paper have proposed a comparison framework for highlighting popular BPIMs in the healthcare domain, along with their uses and shortfalls. In addition, they have conducted a deep literature review based on the practical results obtained from different healthcare institutions implementing unique BPIMs around the world. There has also been valuable interview feedback attained from BPI leaders of specific hospitals in Saudi Arabia. This combination is expected to contribute to knowledge of BPIMs from both theoretical and practical points of view.
Fulltext A metamodel for mobile forensics investigation domain

Ali A, Abd Razak S, Othman SH, Mohammed A, Saeed F

PLoS One, 2017;12(4):e0176223.
PMID: 28445486 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176223

With the rapid development of technology, mobile phones have become an essential tool in terms of crime fighting and criminal investigation. However, many mobile forensics investigators face difficulties with the investigation process in their domain. These difficulties are due to the heavy reliance of the forensics field on knowledge which, although a valuable resource, is scattered and widely dispersed. The wide dispersion of mobile forensics knowledge not only makes investigation difficult for new investigators, resulting in substantial waste of time, but also leads to ambiguity in the concepts and terminologies of the mobile forensics domain. This paper developed an approach for mobile forensics domain based on metamodeling. The developed approach contributes to identify common concepts of mobile forensics through a development of the Mobile Forensics Metamodel (MFM). In addion, it contributes to simplifying the investigation process and enables investigation teams to capture and reuse specialized forensic knowledge, thereby supporting the training and knowledge management activities. Furthermore, it reduces the difficulty and ambiguity in the mobile forensics domain. A validation process was performed to ensure the completeness and correctness of the MFM. The validation was conducted using two techniques for improvements and adjustments to the metamodel. The last version of the adjusted metamodel was named MFM 1.2.
Starch biopolymer films containing chitosan nanoparticles: A review

Othman SH, Shapi'i RA, Ronzi NDA

Carbohydr Polym, 2024 Apr 01;329:121735.
PMID: 38286535 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121735

Starch biopolymer films incorporated with chitosan nanoparticles (CNP) or starch/CNP films are promising alternatives to non-degradable food packaging materials. The films can be utilized for active food packaging applications because CNP exhibits antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, which can improve food shelf-life. Nonetheless, knowledge of the effects of CNP inclusion on the properties of starch films is not fully elucidated. This paper reviews the influences of various concentrations of CNP, sizes of CNP, and other additives on the mechanical, thermal, barrier, antimicrobial, antioxidant, biodegradability, and cytotoxicity properties of starch/CNP films as well as the mechanisms involved in relation to food packaging applications. The usage of starch/CNP films for active food packaging can help to reduce environmental issues and contribute to food safety and security.
Fulltext Corn Starch/Chitosan Nanoparticles/Thymol Bio-Nanocomposite Films for Potential Food Packaging Applications

Othman SH, Othman NFL, Shapi'i RA, Ariffin SH, Yunos KFM

Polymers (Basel), 2021 Jan 27;13(3).
PMID: 33513664 DOI: 10.3390/polym13030390

This work aims to develop corn starch/chitosan nanoparticles/thymol (CS/CNP/Thy) bio-nanocomposite films as potential food packaging materials that can enhance the shelf life of food. CS/CNP/Thy bio-nanocomposite films were prepared by the addition of different concentrations of thymol (0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 w/w%) using a solvent casting method. The resulting films were characterized in terms of optical, mechanical, and water vapor permeability (WVP) properties. The addition of thymol was found to reduce the tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EAB), and Young's modulus (YM) of the films. Generally, the increment in the concentration of thymol did not significantly affect the TS, EAB, and YM values. The addition of 1.5 w/w% thymol increased the WVP of the films but the WVP reduced with the increase in thymol concentrations. CS/CNP/Thy-3% bio-nanocomposite films demonstrated the potential to lengthen the shelf life of cherry tomatoes packed with the films, whereby the cherry tomatoes exhibited no significant changes in firmness and the lowest weight loss. In addition, no mold growth was observed on the sliced cherry tomatoes that were in direct contact with the films during 7 days of storage, proving the promising application of the films as active food packaging materials.
Effects of nanocellulose fiber and thymol on mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of corn starch films

Othman SH, Nordin N, Azman NAA, Tawakkal ISMA, Basha RK

Int J Biol Macromol, 2021 Jul 31;183:1352-1361.
PMID: 34000310 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.05.082

This study explores the preparation of corn starch (CS) films incorporated with nanocellulose fiber (NCF) and different concentrations of thymol (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5% weight of thymol/volume of solution (% w/v)) via the solvent casting method. The resulting films were characterized by the functional chemistry, crystallinity, morphology, mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the thymol and starch, as well as the thymol and glycerol, via hydroxyl groups of glycerol, starch, and thymol. The film crystallinity decreased with increasing concentration of thymol. The addition of NCF at 1.5% weight of starch increased the tensile strength (TS) and Young's Modulus (YM), but decreased the elongation at break (EAB), oxygen permeability, and water vapor permeability of the CS films. The thermal stability of the CS films was also improved with the addition of NCF. The addition of thymol to the CS/NCF bio-nanocomposite films decreased the TS and YM, respectively but increased the EAB due to the plasticizing effect of thymol. The addition of thymol also improved the thermal stability but reduced the barrier properties of the films. The effects on the mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties were more pronounced at higher concentrations of thymol. In conclusion, the inclusion of both NCF and thymol led to the improvement of the flexibility and thermal stability of the CS films.
Antimicrobial properties of starch films incorporated with chitosan nanoparticles: In vitro and in vivo evaluation

Shapi'i RA, Othman SH, Nordin N, Kadir Basha R, Nazli Naim M

Carbohydr Polym, 2020 Feb 15;230:115602.
PMID: 31887886 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.115602

Chitosan nanoparticles (CNP) were synthesized via ionic gelation and used for the preparation of starch-based nanocomposite films containing different concentration of CNP (0, 5, 10, 15, 20% w/w). Antimicrobial properties of starch/CNP films was evaluated via in vitro (disc diffusion analysis) and in vivo (microbial count in wrapped cherry tomatoes) study. It was found that inhibitory zone of the 15 and 20% of starch/CNP films were clearly observed for all the tested bacteria including Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. In vivo study revealed that the starch/CNP film (15% w/w) was more efficient to inhibit the microbial growth in cherry tomatoes (7 × 102 CFU/g) compared to neat starch film (2.15 × 103 CFU/g) thus confirmed the potential application of the films as antimicrobial food packaging.
Fulltext Development and validation of a Database Forensic Metamodel (DBFM)

Al-Dhaqm A, Razak S, Othman SH, Ngadi A, Ahmed MN, Ali Mohammed A

PLoS One, 2017;12(2):e0170793.
PMID: 28146585 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170793

Database Forensics (DBF) is a widespread area of knowledge. It has many complex features and is well known amongst database investigators and practitioners. Several models and frameworks have been created specifically to allow knowledge-sharing and effective DBF activities. However, these are often narrow in focus and address specified database incident types. We have analysed 60 such models in an attempt to uncover how numerous DBF activities are really public even when the actions vary. We then generate a unified abstract view of DBF in the form of a metamodel. We identified, extracted, and proposed a common concept and reconciled concept definitions to propose a metamodel. We have applied a metamodelling process to guarantee that this metamodel is comprehensive and consistent.
Fulltext Validation of the malay version of Diabetes Quality of Life (DQOL) questionnaire for adult population with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Bujang MA, Ismail M, Hatta NKBM, Othman SH, Baharum N, Lazim SSM

Malays J Med Sci, 2017 Aug;24(4):86-96.
PMID: 28951693 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/mjms2017.24.4.10

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to validate the Malay version of Diabetes Quality of Life (DQOL) questionnaire for Malaysian adult population with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study to validate Malay version of DQOL among the adult diabetic patients. DQOL questionnaire has 46 items consist of three domains, namely Satisfaction Domain, Impact Domain and Worry Domain. Both forward and backward translations from the English version of DQOL into Malay version were performed. After the face validity of the Malay version was established, it was then pilot-tested. Finally, the validity and reliability of the final Malay version of DQOL questionnaire were evaluated.
RESULTS: There were 290 patients participated in this study with a mean (SD) age of 53.1 (10.0) years. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the overall items and the main domains were between 0.846 and 0.941. The Pearson's correlation coefficients for the three domains were between 0.228 and 0.451. HbA1C was found to be positively correlated with Impact Domain (P = 0.006). The Worry Domain was associated with diabetic retinopathy (P = 0.014) and nephropathy (P = 0.033).
CONCLUSION: The Malay version of diabetes quality of life (DQOL) questionnaire was found to be a valid and reliable survey instrument to be used for Malaysian adult patients with diabetes mellitus.
Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Seremban 2, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia