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  1. Zaman MR, Islam MT, Misran N, Yatim B
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:831435.
    PMID: 24977230 DOI: 10.1155/2014/831435
    A radio frequency (RF) resonator using glass-reinforced epoxy material for C and X band is proposed in this paper. Microstrip line technology for RF over glass-reinforced epoxy material is analyzed. Coupling mechanism over RF material and parasitic coupling performance is explained utilizing even and odd mode impedance with relevant equivalent circuit. Babinet's principle is deployed to explicate the circular slot ground plane of the proposed resonator. The resonator is designed over four materials from different backgrounds which are glass-reinforced epoxy, polyester, gallium arsenide (GaAs), and rogers RO 4350B. Parametric studies and optimization algorithm are applied over the geometry of the microstrip resonator to achieve dual band response for C and X band. Resonator behaviors for different materials are concluded and compared for the same structure. The final design is fabricated over glass-reinforced epoxy material. The fabricated resonator shows a maximum directivity of 5.65 dBi and 6.62 dBi at 5.84 GHz and 8.16 GHz, respectively. The lowest resonance response is less than -20 dB for C band and -34 dB for X band. The resonator is prototyped using LPKF (S63) drilling machine to study the material behavior.
  2. Zaman MR, Islam MT, Misran N, Mandeep JS
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:131374.
    PMID: 24895643 DOI: 10.1155/2014/131374
    Analysis of the resonance response improvement of a planar C-band (4-8 GHz) antenna is proposed using parasitic element method. This parasitic element based method is validated for change in the active and parasitic antenna elements. A novel dual-band antenna for C-band application covering 5.7 GHz and 7.6 GHz is designed and fabricated. The antenna is composed of circular parasitic element with unequal microstrip lines at both sides and a rectangular partial ground plane. A fractional bandwidth of 13.5% has been achieved from 5.5 GHz to 6.3 GHz (WLAN band) for the lower band. The upper band covers from 7.1 GHz to 8 GHz with a fractional bandwidth of 12%. A gain of 6.4 dBi is achieved at the lower frequency and 4 dBi is achieved at the upper frequency. The VSWR of the antenna is less than 2 at the resonance frequency.
  3. Abd Aziz NAS, Mohd Fahmi Teng NI, Kamarul Zaman M
    Clin Nutr ESPEN, 2019 02;29:77-85.
    PMID: 30661705 DOI: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2018.12.002
    BACKGROUND & AIMS: Malnutrition is common among hospitalized elderly patients, and the prevalence is increasing not only in Malaysia but also in the rest of the world. The Geriatric Nutrition Risk Index (GNRI) and the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) were developed to identify malnourished individuals among this group. The MNA was validated as a nutritional assessment tool for the elderly. The GNRI is simpler and more efficient than the MNA, but studies on the use of the GNRI and its validity among the Malaysian population are absent. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of malnourished hospitalized elderly patients and assess the criterion validity of the GNRI and MNA among the geriatric Malaysian population against the reference standard for malnutrition, the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), and determine whether the optimal cutoff value of the GNRI is suitable for the Malaysian population and determine the optimal tool for use in this population.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 134 geriatric patients with a mean age of 68.9 ± 8.4 who stayed at acute care wards in Hospital Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang from July 2017 to August 2017. The SGA, MNA, and GNRI were administered through face-to-face interviews with all the participants who gave their consent. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the GNRI and MNA were analyzed against the SGA. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to obtain the area under the curve (AUC) and suitable optimal cutoff values for both the GNRI and MNA.

    RESULTS: According to the SGA, MNA, and GNRI, 26.9%, 42.5%, and 44.0% of the participants were malnourished, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV for the GNRI were 0.622, 0.977, 0.982, and 0.558, respectively, while those for the MNA were 0.611, 0.909, 0.932, and 0.533, respectively. The AUC of the GNRI was comparable to that of the MNA (0.831 and 0.898, respectively). Moreover, the optimal malnutrition cutoff value for the GNRI was 94.95.

    CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of malnutrition remains high among hospitalized elderly patients. Validity of the GNRI is comparable to that of the MNA, and use of the GNRI to assess the nutritional status of this group is proposed with the new suggested cutoff value (GNRI ≤ 94.95), as it is simpler and more efficient. Underdiagnosis of malnutrition can be prevented, possibly reducing the prevalence of malnourished hospitalized elderly patients and improving the quality of the nutritional care process practiced in Malaysia.

  4. Kamarul Zaman M, Chin KF, Rai V, Majid HA
    World J Gastroenterol, 2015 May 7;21(17):5372-81.
    PMID: 25954112 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i17.5372
    To investigate fiber and prebiotic supplementation of enteral nutrition (EN) for diarrhea, fecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
  5. Atif M, Sulaiman SA, Shafie AA, Qamar Uz Zaman M, Asif M
    J Pharm Policy Pract, 2014;7(1):16.
    PMID: 25838918 DOI: 10.1186/2052-3211-7-16
    Death among tuberculosis patients is one of the major reasons for non-attainment of 85% treatment success target set by World Health Organization. In this short paper, we evaluated whether the overall mortality rate in pulmonary tuberculosis is being affected by other comorbid conditions. All new smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients (N =336), who started their treatment at the chest clinic of the Penang General Hospital, between March 2010 and February 2011, were followed-up until December 2011. Tuberculosis treatment outcomes were reported according to six treatment outcome categories recommended by World Health Organization. The outcome category 'died' was defined as 'a patient who died due to tuberculosis or other cause during tuberculosis treatment'. Our findings showed that out of 336 smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients, 59 (17.6%) died during treatment (mortality rate = 1.003 cases per 1000 person-days of follow-up). Among the deceased patients, the mean age was 55.8 years (SD =16.17) and 49 were male. According to the mortality review forms, 29 deaths were tuberculosis-related, while the remaining 30 patients died due to reasons other than tuberculosis. Cerebrovascular accident (n =7), septicaemia shock (n =4) and acute coronary syndrome (n =4) were the most common non-tuberculosis related reasons for mortality in the patients. If the 30 patients, for whom tuberculosis was incidental to death, are excluded from the final cohort, the proportion of patients in the 'died' outcome category could be reduced to 9.5%. The treatment outcome criterion (i.e., died) set by World Health Organization has limitations. Therefore, it requires improvement for more objective evaluation of the performance of the National Tuberculosis Program.
    Study site: Chest clinic, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
  6. Shah S, Abbas G, Hanif M, Anees-Ur-Rehman, Zaman M, Riaz N, et al.
    Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res, 2019 Oct;19(5):517-528.
    PMID: 31401898 DOI: 10.1080/14737167.2019.1650643
    Background: Health-care systems in Asian countries are diverse. The economic evaluation provides information on how to make efficient use of the resources available to obtain the maximum benefits. In Asia, diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), diabetes mellitus (DM), tuberculosis (TB) and epilepsy generate a heavy economic burden. The objective of this article is to provide a review of the economic burden of health to patients in Asian countries. Areas covered: All data were collected from already published research article and review papers. The databases searched were Science Direct, PubMed, MEDLINE and Google scholar. We found a total of 4456 articles on health economics. After reviewing the title, only 876 relevant articles were considered. Only 92 (n = 92) articles were considered on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Expert opinion: Available data give evidence that diseases are linked to the low socio-economic status of the Asian population. The cost per capita is high in Asian countries due to insufficient health-care facilities. The cost per capita in Asian countries ranges from $23 (Pakistan) to $1775 (Taiwan). The per capita cost of Malaysia, China, Singapore, and Thailand is $27 $83, $75, and $27, respectively.
  7. Kamarul Zaman M, Teng NIMF, Kasim SS, Juliana N, Alshawsh MA
    World J Cardiol, 2023 Jul 26;15(7):354-374.
    PMID: 37576544 DOI: 10.4330/wjc.v15.i7.354
    BACKGROUND: Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a dietary approach that limits eating to a set number of hours per day. Human studies on the effects of TRE intervention on cardiometabolic health have been contradictory. Heterogeneity in subjects and TRE interventions have led to inconsistency in results. Furthermore, the impact of the duration of eating/fasting in the TRE approach has yet to be fully explored.

    AIM: To analyze the existing literature on the effects of TRE with different eating durations on anthropometrics and cardiometabolic health markers in adults with excessive weight and obesity-related metabolic diseases.

    METHODS: We reviewed a series of prominent scientific databases, including Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, and Cochrane Library articles to identify published clinical trials on daily TRE in adults with excessive weight and obesity-related metabolic diseases. Randomized controlled trials were assessed for methodological rigor and risk of bias using version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB-2). Outcomes of interest include body weight, waist circumference, fat mass, lean body mass, fasting glucose, insulin, HbA1c, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), lipid profiles, C-reactive protein, blood pressure, and heart rate.

    RESULTS: Fifteen studies were included in our systematic review. TRE significantly reduces body weight, waist circumference, fat mass, lean body mass, blood glucose, insulin, and triglyceride. However, no significant changes were observed in HbA1c, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Furthermore, subgroup analyses based on the duration of the eating window revealed significant variation in the effects of TRE intervention depending on the length of the eating window.

    CONCLUSION: TRE is a promising chrononutrition-based dietary approach for improving anthropometric and cardiometabolic health. However, further clinical trials are needed to determine the optimal eating duration in TRE intervention for cardiovascular disease prevention.

  8. Tah PC, Lee ZY, Poh BK, Abdul Majid H, Hakumat-Rai VR, Mat Nor MB, et al.
    Crit Care Med, 2021 08 01;49(8):e804-e805.
    PMID: 34261937 DOI: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005082
  9. Tah PC, Lee ZY, Poh BK, Abdul Majid H, Hakumat-Rai VR, Mat Nor MB, et al.
    Crit Care Med, 2020 05;48(5):e380-e390.
    PMID: 32168031 DOI: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000004282
    OBJECTIVES: Several predictive equations have been developed for estimation of resting energy expenditure, but no study has been done to compare predictive equations against indirect calorimetry among critically ill patients at different phases of critical illness. This study aimed to determine the degree of agreement and accuracy of predictive equations among ICU patients during acute phase (≤ 5 d), late phase (6-10 d), and chronic phase (≥ 11 d).

    DESIGN: This was a single-center prospective observational study that compared resting energy expenditure estimated by 15 commonly used predictive equations against resting energy expenditure measured by indirect calorimetry at different phases. Degree of agreement between resting energy expenditure calculated by predictive equations and resting energy expenditure measured by indirect calorimetry was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analyses. Resting energy expenditure values calculated from predictive equations differing by ± 10% from resting energy expenditure measured by indirect calorimetry was used to assess accuracy. A score ranking method was developed to determine the best predictive equations.

    SETTING: General Intensive Care Unit, University of Malaya Medical Centre.

    PATIENTS: Mechanically ventilated critically ill patients.

    INTERVENTIONS: None.

    MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Indirect calorimetry was measured thrice during acute, late, and chronic phases among 305, 180, and 91 ICU patients, respectively. There were significant differences (F= 3.447; p = 0.034) in mean resting energy expenditure measured by indirect calorimetry among the three phases. Pairwise comparison showed mean resting energy expenditure measured by indirect calorimetry in late phase (1,878 ± 517 kcal) was significantly higher than during acute phase (1,765 ± 456 kcal) (p = 0.037). The predictive equations with the best agreement and accuracy for acute phase was Swinamer (1990), for late phase was Brandi (1999) and Swinamer (1990), and for chronic phase was Swinamer (1990). None of the resting energy expenditure calculated from predictive equations showed very good agreement or accuracy.

    CONCLUSIONS: Predictive equations tend to either over- or underestimate resting energy expenditure at different phases. Predictive equations with "dynamic" variables and respiratory data had better agreement with resting energy expenditure measured by indirect calorimetry compared with predictive equations developed for healthy adults or predictive equations based on "static" variables. Although none of the resting energy expenditure calculated from predictive equations had very good agreement, Swinamer (1990) appears to provide relatively good agreement across three phases and could be used to predict resting energy expenditure when indirect calorimetry is not available.

  10. Tah PC, Poh BK, Kee CC, Lee ZY, Hakumat-Rai VR, Mat Nor MB, et al.
    Eur J Clin Nutr, 2022 Apr;76(4):527-534.
    PMID: 34462560 DOI: 10.1038/s41430-021-00999-y
    BACKGROUND: Predictive equations (PEs) for estimating resting energy expenditure (REE) that have been developed from acute phase data may not be applicable in the late phase and vice versa. This study aimed to assess whether separate PEs are needed for acute and late phases of critical illness and to develop and validate PE(s) based on the results of this assessment.

    METHODS: Using indirect calorimetry, REE was measured at acute (≤5 days; n = 294) and late (≥6 days; n = 180) phases of intensive care unit admission. PEs were developed by multiple linear regression. A multi-fold cross-validation approach was used to validate the PEs. The best PEs were selected based on the highest coefficient of determination (R2), the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) and the lowest standard error of estimate (SEE). Two PEs developed from paired 168-patient data were compared with measured REE using mean absolute percentage difference.

    RESULTS: Mean absolute percentage difference between predicted and measured REE was <20%, which is not clinically significant. Thus, a single PE was developed and validated from data of the larger sample size measured in the acute phase. The best PE for REE (kcal/day) was 891.6(Height) + 9.0(Weight) + 39.7(Minute Ventilation)-5.6(Age) - 354, with R2 = 0.442, RMSE = 348.3, SEE = 325.6 and mean absolute percentage difference with measured REE was: 15.1 ± 14.2% [acute], 15.0 ± 13.1% [late].

    CONCLUSIONS: Separate PEs for acute and late phases may not be necessary. Thus, we have developed and validated a PE from acute phase data and demonstrated that it can provide optimal estimates of REE for patients in both acute and late phases.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03319329.

  11. Tahir MJ, Zaman M, Saffi J, Asghar MS, Tariq W, Ahmed F, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1151936.
    PMID: 37333546 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1151936
    Typhoid fever, a common enteric disease in Pakistan, caused by Salmonella typhi, is becoming an extended drug-resistant organism and is preventable through the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV). Public adherence to preventive measures is influenced by knowledge and attitude toward the vaccine. This study investigates the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the general population of Pakistan toward TCV. The differences in mean scores and factors associated with typhoid conjugate vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and practices were investigated. A total of 918 responses were received with a mean age of 25.9 ± 9.6, 51% were women, and 59.6% had graduation-level education. The majority of them responded that vaccines prevent illness (85.3%) and decrease mortality and disability (92.6%), and typhoid could be prevented by vaccination (86.7%). In total, 77.7 and 80.8% considered TCV safe and effective, respectively. Of 389 participants with children, 53.47% had vaccinated children, according to the extended program on immunization (EPI). Higher family income has a higher odds ratio (OR) for willingness toward booster dose of TCV [crude odds ratio (COR) = 4.920, p-value <0.01; adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.853, value of p <0.001], and negative attitude regarding the protective effect of TCV has less willingness toward the booster dose with statistical significance (COR = 0.388, value of p = 0.017; aOR = 0.198, value of p = 0.011). The general population of Pakistan had a good level of knowledge about the benefits of TCV, and attitude and practices are in favor of the usage of TCV. However, a few religious misconceptions are prevalent in public requiring the efforts to overcome them to promote the usage of vaccines to prevent the disease and antibiotic resistance.
  12. Duong M, Rangarajan S, Zaman M, Nasir NM, Seron P, Yeates K, et al.
    PLOS Glob Public Health, 2022;2(2):e0000141.
    PMID: 36962310 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000141
    INTRODUCTION: Portable spirometers are commonly used in longitudinal epidemiological studies to measure and track the forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC). During the course of the study, it may be necessary to replace spirometers with a different model. This raise questions regarding the comparability of measurements from different devices. We examined the correlation, mean differences and agreement between two different spirometers, across diverse populations and different participant characteristics.

    METHODS: From June 2015 to Jan 2018, a total of 4,603 adults were enrolled from 628 communities in 18 countries and 7 regions of the world. Each participant performed concurrent measurements from the MicroGP and EasyOne spirometer. Measurements were compared by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman method.

    RESULTS: Approximately 65% of the participants achieved clinically acceptable quality measurements. Overall correlations between paired FEV1 (ICC 0.88 [95% CI 0.87, 0.88]) and FVC (ICC 0.84 [0.83, 0.85]) were high. Mean differences between paired FEV1 (-0.038 L [-0.053, -0.023]) and FVC (0.033 L [0.012, 0.054]) were small. The 95% limits of agreement were wide but unbiased (FEV1 984, -1060; FVC 1460, -1394). Similar findings were observed across regions. The source of variation between spirometers was mainly at the participant level. Older age, higher body mass index, tobacco smoking and known COPD/asthma did not adversely impact on the inter-device variability. Furthermore, there were small and acceptable mean differences between paired FEV1 and FVC z-scores using the Global Lung Initiative normative values, suggesting minimal impact on lung function interpretation.

    CONCLUSIONS: In this multicenter, diverse community-based cohort study, measurements from two portable spirometers provided good correlation, small and unbiased differences between measurements. These data support their interchangeable use across diverse populations to provide accurate trends in serial lung function measurements in epidemiological studies.

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