MyMedR

Fulltext Feasibility of landfill establishment in Khomeynishahr city of Isfahan using GIS, MCE and Boolean logic

Afzali A, Rashid M, Saniedanesh M

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17:82-87.

Land filling is the most common disposal method in most parts of the world and landfill site has always been the final destination in solid waste management hierarchy. Thus, the selection of landfill site is always an essential part in the management of solid waste. Selecting an appropriate site for landfill minimizes any unwarranted ecological and socio-economic effects. Hence, landfill site selection requires a detailed analysis of the area that must be able to meet the local authority requirement and criteria. The present study presents a feasibility assessment of landfill establishment for Khomeynishahr city in Isfahan, applying a multi criteria evaluation (MCE) method using GIS technique. Information layers related to topography, soil, water table, sensitive habitats, land use and geology maps were prepared and superposed using Boolean logic in GIS environment. Essential analysis and regulation, criteria and site selection assessment showed that because of many limitations khomeynishahr city doesn’t have adequate conditions for landfill site establishment. Khomeynishahr city has a dense population and limited area and is not suitable for landfill establishment. In this case consideration of adjacent cities and finding a common landfill site between two or more cities could be a viable solution of solving this problem.

The Vabra aspirator versus the Pipelle device for outpatient endometrial sampling

Naim NM, Mahdy ZA, Ahmad S, Razi ZR

Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol, 2007 Apr;47(2):132-6.

PMID: 17355303 DOI: 10.1111/j.1479-828X.2007.00699.x

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of the Vabra aspirator and the Pipelle device as an outpatient endometrial assessment tool.
METHOD: This was a randomised, prospective trial conducted for a period of one year.
RESULTS: A total of 147 patients were recruited, of which 71 were in the Vabra group and 76 were in the Pipelle arm. The procedure success rate in the Pipelle group was significantly higher than the Vabra arm (98.7 vs 88.7%, P=0.02). Adequate tissue yield was also significantly more in the Pipelle arm (73.3 vs 52.4%, P=0.02). Cost-benefit analysis revealed a higher average cost per patient in the Vabra group compared to the Pipelle arm.
CONCLUSION: This study proved that the Vabra aspirator was not as effective as the Pipelle device in obtaining endometrial tissue for histological diagnosis. Despite its higher price per unit, the Pipelle device was a more cost-effective tool for outpatient endometrial assessment.
Study site: Medical clinic, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Fly ash geopolymer as a coating material for controlled-release fertilizer based on granulated urea

Hamidi RM, Siyal AA, Luukkonen T, Shamsuddin RM, Moniruzzaman M

RSC Adv, 2022 Nov 15;12(51):33187-33199.

PMID: 36425209 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra06056f

Nitrogen loss from urea fertiliser due to its high solubility characteristics has led to the invention of controlled release urea (CRU). Majority of existing CRU coatings are produced from a non-biodegradable, toxic and expensive synthetic polymers. This study determines the feasibility of fly ash-based geopolymer as a coating material for urea fertilizer. The effects of fly ash particle size (15.2 μm, 12.0 μm, and 8.6 μm) and solid to liquid (S : L) ratio (3 : 1, 2.8 : 1, 2.6 : 1, 2.4 : 1 and 2.2 : 1) on the geopolymer coating, the characterization such as FTIR analysis, XRD analysis, surface area and pore size analysis, setting time analysis, coating thickness, and crushing strength, and the release kinetics of geopolymer coated urea in water and soil were determined. Lower S : L ratio was beneficial in terms of workability, but it had an adverse impact on geopolymer properties where it increased porosity and decreased mechanical strength to an undesirable level for the CRU application. Geopolymer coated urea prepared from the finest fly ash fraction and lowest S : L ratio demonstrated high mechanical strength and slower urea release profile. Complete urea release was obtained in 132 minutes in water and 15 days in soil from geopolymer-coated urea whereas for uncoated urea it took only 20 minutes in water and 3 days in soil. Thus, geopolymer can potentially be used as a coating material for urea fertilizer to replace commonly used expensive and biodegradable polymer-based coatings.

Fulltext Large perineal and gluteal angiomyxoma: the role of diagnostic imaging and literature review

Alhabshi SM, Abd Rashid M

BMJ Case Rep, 2013;2013.

PMID: 23429032 DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2013-008680

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a benign soft tissue tumour usually affecting the pelvis and perineum predominantly in women. Because of its variable presentation, this tumour is often clinically misdiagnosed as liposarcoma. We describe a case of a 38-year-old woman who presented with a large perineal and gluteal mass which increased in size in one year. Ultrasound showed hypoechoic mixed solid and cystic mass. Contrasted CT and MRI examinations showed typical appearance of swirling and layering pattern. She had undergone TAHBSO as the mass was difficult to dissect intra-operatively. The post-operative specimen confirmed to be an aggressive angiomyxoma.

Fulltext Two cases of phobic neurosis treated successfully by behaviour therapy

Loke KH, Rashid MA

Med J Malaysia, 1983 Mar;38(1):62-4.

PMID: 6633340

The authors, a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist, have successfully treated two cases of phobic neurosis by simple behaviour therapy consisting of Jacobson's muscle relaxation technique and systemic desensitisation, at the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. The two patients, who were literally housebound because of the unpleasant symptoms of their illness, were able to mobilise themselves again following therapy. The authors feel that general practitioners with some basic training in these methods will be able to bring relief to such afflicted patients. Using the same technique, other conditions such as insomnia, alcoholism and sexual deviations can also be treated.

Fulltext Atypical psychosis: report of two cases

Loke KH, Rashid MA, Chin S

Med J Malaysia, 1984 Jun;39(2):151-5.

PMID: 6513855

In general, psychotic symptomatology falls within the major categories of mental disorders such as schizophrenia, affective disorder and organic mental
disorder. Those that do not fit the proposed diagnostic criteria for the aforementioned disorders are usually classified under the DSM-IV diagnosis of atypical psychosis. In the eastern culture, such symptoms are accepted as part of the cultural beliefs rather than being regarded as illness. Several such cases were seen at -the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur and two such casesare reported in this paper. Cultural influences in determining symptomatology are also discussed.

Fulltext Assessment of Coolant Delivery Techniques for Irrigation During Bone Drilling: A Cadaveric Observation

Abdul-Rashid ML, Tan HL, Pancharatnam D

Malays Orthop J, 2020 Nov;14(3):206-207.

PMID: 33403090 DOI: 10.5704/MOJ.2011.037

Histopathological Investigation of Skin and Hides Damage of Small and Large Ruminants due to Naturally Infested Ticks

Saleem MZ, Akhtar R, Aslam A, Rashid MI

Trop Biomed, 2019 Dec 01;36(4):1081-1086.

PMID: 33597477

Ticks are important ectoparasites which transmit many disease pathogen to animals; these are labelled tick borne diseases (TBD). Tick induced damage to skin and hides has not received attention. Skin and hides are important for the leather product industry, particularly in Pakistan. Due to economic importance and financial loss by ticks in leather industry, the present study was designed to investigate skin and hides damage due to ticks at microscopic level. Naturally tick infested tissue samples of hides and skin were collected from slaughter houses. Primary lesions at tick feeding sites showed epidermal edema with adjacent dermal edema. Histopathological examination revealed degeneration of epidermal layer down to the basal layer. Epidermal and sub dermal layers often displayed focal necrosis infiltrated with neutrophils and mononuclear cells at tick bite sites. Hyperplasia of keratinocytes was also seen at sites of ruptured epidermis. Quality of leather depends upon the grain (Outer) surface skin/hides. Ticks infestation damages the outer surface, due to bites, inflammatory responses, and secondary bacterial infections that often become established at feeding sites. Control of ticks should be given consideration to reduce infestation induced losses in the leather industry in Pakistan.

Voiceless Bangla vowel recognition using sEMG signal

Mostafa SS, Awal MA, Ahmad M, Rashid MA

Springerplus, 2016;5(1):1522.

PMID: 27652095 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-3170-9

Some people cannot produce sound although their facial muscles work properly due to having problem in their vocal cords. Therefore, recognition of alphabets as well as sentences uttered by these voiceless people is a complex task. This paper proposes a novel method to solve this problem using non-invasive surface Electromyogram (sEMG). Firstly, eleven Bangla vowels are pronounced and sEMG signals are recorded at the same time. Different features are extracted and mRMR feature selection algorithm is then applied to select prominent feature subset from the large feature vector. After that, these prominent features subset is applied in the Artificial Neural Network for vowel classification. This novel Bangla vowel classification method can offer a significant contribution in voice synthesis as well as in speech communication. The result of this experiment shows an overall accuracy of 82.3 % with fewer features compared to other studies in different languages.

Fulltext A study of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of pap smear screening among warded female patients in Hospital Teluk Intan, Perak

Quek. KF, Abdul Rashid M, Lingam SS

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2005;5(1):16-22.

MyJurnal

Cancer of uterine cervix is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide, second only to breast cancer in incidence and mortality. Industrialized countries have dramatically reduced the incidence of mortality from cervical cancer in the last 50 years through aggressive screening programs utilizing pelvic examinations and Papanicolaou (pap) smears. The main objective of the study was to determine the relationship between socio-demography, knowledge, attitude and practice regarding pap smear screening among female patients in Hospital Teluk Intan. There was statistically significant association between level of knowledge and practice (p

Fulltext Tympanometric values in young Malay adults: preliminary data

Wahab NA, Rashid MF

Singapore Med J, 2009 Nov;50(11):1077-9.

PMID: 19960163

INTRODUCTION: The present study aimed to obtain preliminary tympanometric data of young Malay adults and to compare the results between genders.
METHODS: 96 undergraduate students (49 males and 47 females), aged 19-25 (mean and standard deviation 21.14 +/- 1.31) years, participated in this study. Otoscopic examination, pure tone audiometry, qualitative tympanogram and ipsilateral acoustic reflex were measured to ensure a clear ear canal, normal hearing and normal middle ear function, prior to tympanometric measurement. As a result, a total of 154 ears (80 ears from males and 74 ears from females) were selected for further statistical analyses. The tympanometric parameters measured were peak compensated static acoustic admittance (Peak Y(tm)), tympanometric width (TW) and equivalent ear canal volume (V(ea)).
RESULTS: The results showed that the mean Peak Y(tm), V(ea) and TW for males were 0.81 mmhos, 1.48 cubic cm and 113.67 daPa, respectively. The mean Peak Y(tm), V(ea) and TW for females were 0.63 mmhos, 1.12 cubic cm and 98.04 daPa, respectively. Males were found to have significantly higher mean V(ea) and mean Peak Y(tm) than females. However no significant gender difference was observed in the mean TW.
CONCLUSION: The current study suggests that young Malay adults may require gender-specific Peak Y(tm) and V(ea) values when implementing a quantitative approach in tympanogram interpretation.

Fulltext Postpartum pneumomediastinum

Norzilawati MN, Shuhaila A, Zainul Rashid MR

Singapore Med J, 2007 Jun;48(6):e174-6.

PMID: 17538741

A 21-year-old primigravida with previous history of pulmonary tuberculosis had a normal but assisted vaginal delivery after a prolonged second stage. Within 12 hours, she complained of dyspnoea and was found to have abnormal neck and anterior chest wall swelling. A diagnosis of subcutaneous emphysema was made and this was confirmed with the chest radiograph, which also revealed pneumomediastinum. She recovered well within four days with conservative treatment.

Kiwi Omnicup versus Malmstrom metal cup in vacuum assisted delivery: a randomized comparative trial

Ismail NA, Saharan WS, Zaleha MA, Jaafar R, Muhammad JA, Razi ZR

J Obstet Gynaecol Res, 2008 Jun;34(3):350-3.

PMID: 18686348

AIM: To compare the success, clinical outcomes, and maternal and neonatal complications between the Kiwi Omnicup and the Malmstrom metal cup in vacuum assisted delivery.

METHODS: This was a prospective randomized comparative trial. Women who required vacuum assisted vaginal delivery were randomized into the Kiwi Omnicup (KO) group and the Malmstrom metal cup (MM) group. The vacuum assisted deliveries were conducted according to hospital protocol. Details of the procedure and delivery outcomes including success and complications were analyzed.

RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-four women were recruited - 85 were assigned to vacuum assisted delivery using the KO and 79 the MM. One hundred percent delivery success was achieved with no significant differences between the two instruments in terms of maternal morbidity (P = 0.66). Six women in the MM group sustained post delivery complications in comparison to five in the KO group. Three babies were diagnosed with birth asphyxia in each group. More babies in the MM group were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) (10 babies versus 5 babies) and suffered complications (14 versus 12 babies), compared to the KO group, although the difference was not statistically significant. There were no intrapartum or neonatal deaths and of those admitted to the NICU, all were discharged within a week without any serious consequences.

CONCLUSION: Kiwi Omnicup is an effective alternative to the currently available Malmstrom metal cup for vacuum assisted delivery with no increase in maternal or neonatal morbidity or mortality.

Advanced abdominal pregnancy resulting from late uterine rupture

Naim NM, Ahmad S, Siraj HH, Ng P, Mahdy ZA, Razi ZR

Obstet Gynecol, 2008 Feb;111(2 Pt 2):502-4.

PMID: 18239000 DOI: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000279451.51446.c1

Advanced abdominal pregnancy is rare, and one that occurs after uterine rupture with delivery of a viable fetus is exceptional.

Fulltext Nurse managers' experience with ethical issues in six government hospitals in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Musa Mb, Harun-Or-Rashid MD, Sakamoto J

BMC Med Ethics, 2011;12:23.

PMID: 22085735 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6939-12-23

Nurse managers have the burden of experiencing frequent ethical issues related to both their managerial and nursing care duties, according to previous international studies. However, no such study was published in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to explore nurse managers' experience with ethical issues in six government hospitals in Malaysia including learning about the way they dealt with the issues.

Synthesis and characterization of poly(p-phenylene vinylene)

Abd Rashid MY, Abu Bakar A, Mohd Asri MT, Iskandar SM

Med J Malaysia, 2004 May;59 Suppl B:135-6.

PMID: 15468855

Poly (p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) was synthesized from p-xylylene bis(tetrahydrothiophenium chloride) using the Wessling route and characterized by Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) and UV-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopic techniques. The significance of thermal treatment along with evolution of precursor polymer to polymer PPV was also studied through these spectroscopic techniques. Thermally Stimulated Current (TSC) measurements indicated the presence of crystallization, sulphonium group which occurred through the evolution from precursor polymer to polymer PPV during thermal treatment.

Fulltext A review of day care ureteroscopy of a teaching hospital in Malaysia

Chan KY, Zulkifli MZ, Nazri MJ, Rashid MO

Med J Malaysia, 2005 Mar;60(1):5-9.

PMID: 16250273 MyJurnal

This is a retrospective review of 200 day-care ureteroscopies performed between April 1998 and October 2002. The aim was to determine the feasibility and safety of this procedure. The mean age was 38.8 years and 75% of them were male. Eighty-three percent were ASA 1 and the remainders were ASA 2. The side of procedure were 48.5% right, 2.5% left and 6% both sides. Fentanyl and proprofol were used during induction. Calculi were found in 82.5% of cases. Rigid and flexible scope were used in 91.5% and 10.5% of cases. There were 33% upper, 23% mid and 44% distal ureteric stones. The mean stone size was 9.37 X 6.93mm. Seventy-four percent required a ureteric stent insertion. The mean operative time was 58.3 minutes. Four percent of patients experienced pain post-operatively relieved by NSAID injection. Repeat ureteroscopy performed in 30% of patients. There were zero admission rates. This study suggests day-care ureteroscopy is effective, safe and well tolerated by patients.

The prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax in relation to Anopheles maculatus densities in a Malaysian village

Rahman WA, Abu Hassan A, Adanan CR, Rashid MR

Acta Trop, 1993 Dec;55(4):231-5.

PMID: 8147279

Blood from most of the residents of a remote village in northern peninsular Malaysia, bordering Thailand, was examined for malaria parasites monthly for 1 year. Plasmodium vivax was the commonest infection, but P. falciparum and mixed infections also occurred. Monthly collections of the malaria vector, Anopheles maculatus showed a positive correlation between mosquito densities and malaria positivity in the human population and a negative correlation with rainfall.

Fulltext Multi-Layer Blockchain-Based Security Architecture for Internet of Things

Honar Pajooh H, Rashid M, Alam F, Demidenko S

Sensors (Basel), 2021 Jan 24;21(3).

PMID: 33498860 DOI: 10.3390/s21030772

The proliferation of smart devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) networks creates significant security challenges for the communications between such devices. Blockchain is a decentralized and distributed technology that can potentially tackle the security problems within the 5G-enabled IoT networks. This paper proposes a Multi layer Blockchain Security model to protect IoT networks while simplifying the implementation. The concept of clustering is utilized in order to facilitate the multi-layer architecture. The K-unknown clusters are defined within the IoT network by applying techniques that utillize a hybrid Evolutionary Computation Algorithm while using Simulated Annealing and Genetic Algorithms. The chosen cluster heads are responsible for local authentication and authorization. Local private blockchain implementation facilitates communications between the cluster heads and relevant base stations. Such a blockchain enhances credibility assurance and security while also providing a network authentication mechanism. The open-source Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain platform is deployed for the proposed model development. Base stations adopt a global blockchain approach to communicate with each other securely. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed clustering algorithm performs well when compared to the earlier reported approaches. The proposed lightweight blockchain model is also shown to be better suited to balance network latency and throughput as compared to a traditional global blockchain.

Fulltext Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain for Securing the Edge Internet of Things

Honar Pajooh H, Rashid M, Alam F, Demidenko S

Sensors (Basel), 2021 Jan 07;21(2).

PMID: 33430274 DOI: 10.3390/s21020359

Providing security and privacy to the Internet of Things (IoT) networks while achieving it with minimum performance requirements is an open research challenge. Blockchain technology, as a distributed and decentralized ledger, is a potential solution to tackle the limitations of the current peer-to-peer IoT networks. This paper presents the development of an integrated IoT system implementing the permissioned blockchain Hyperledger Fabric (HLF) to secure the edge computing devices by employing a local authentication process. In addition, the proposed model provides traceability for the data generated by the IoT devices. The presented solution also addresses the IoT systems' scalability challenges, the processing power and storage issues of the IoT edge devices in the blockchain network. A set of built-in queries is leveraged by smart-contracts technology to define the rules and conditions. The paper validates the performance of the proposed model with practical implementation by measuring performance metrics such as transaction throughput and latency, resource consumption, and network use. The results show that the proposed platform with the HLF implementation is promising for the security of resource-constrained IoT devices and is scalable for deployment in various IoT scenarios.

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