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- PublicationIdentification of potential biomarkers and metabolic changes in the serum of breast lump patients among Kelantanese based on 1H NMR metabolomics(2021)Objective The goal of this study is to determine the serum metabolic fingerprint level among breast lump and healthy control. This study also aims to identify potential biomarkers between breast lump and healthy control. Methods This was a case-control study conducted at the Hospital USM BestARi unit. Serum samples from healthy control (HC), benign breast lump (BE), and malignant breast lump (BC) were characterized using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR). A multivariate data analysis approach was applied to analyze the data. Results The OPLS-DA and clustered heat map approaches were successful in distinguishing between the three groups. Significant metabolite variations were discovered between groups and the prospective biomarkers by using OPLS-DA loading plots as well as S plots. The perturbed metabolic pathways were determined by applying pathway analysis. Conclusion The metabolomics approach with multivariate analysis was able to fingerprint metabolites and identify key metabolites that lead to separation between groups, discovery of putative biomarkers that may be used to diagnose breast cancer, and suggest altered metabolism pathways. D-glucose, glycerol, and glycine, were proposed as the potential biomarkers in diagnosing breast cancer. It was suggested that metabolic pathways such as alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism, as well as glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, were identified as the involved metabolic pathways. However, much more research and information integration with other 'omics' is required before any clinical translation can be undertaken.
- PublicationA review of mortality in the emergency department of a teaching hospital in northeast Malaysia(2021)Background: Mortality in emergency department (ED) is frequently encountered. In Malaysia, data related to mortality patterns in ED is however still limited. Patient’s related factors such as sociodemographic and clinical condition may contribute to preventable death in ED. The aim of this study was to determine the associated factors related death in emergency department (DID). Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study involved patients admitted to Red Zone ED Hospital University Sains Malaysia (USM) from January 2019 until December 2019. Data collected from medical records included patients’ demography, chief complaints, diagnosis and initial vital signs. Factors associated with DID were determined. Result: A total of 235 cases were included in this study. There were 61 DID and 134 non-DID cases. Among mortality cases, elderly patient, male gender and Malay are the most predominant. Chief complaints related to DID were non-trauma related and most frequent diagnosis related to DID were infection. Elderly patient, low systolic blood pressure, Glasgow Coma Scale of 9 to 12, and oxygen saturation (SpO2) more than 90% are significantly associated with DID. Conclusion: In this study, increasing of age is associated with higher odds of death. Low systolic blood pressure and Glasgow Coma Scale of 9 to 12 are significantly associated with mortality. Intervention to identify patients with higher risk of mortality is at utmost importance to lead to a better patient care in emergency department.
- PublicationThe prognostic role of serum eosinophil level in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and recurrence of the disease post endoscopic sinus surgery(2021)Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a disease resulting from the chronic intrinsic inflammation of the nasal mucosa. CRSwNP is fairly prevalent in our general population. Although there is significant efficacy of existing treatments, several current issues contribute to the high burden of uncontrolled symptoms and the frequent recurrence of nasal polyps after surgical intervention, which indicate that a new method to address these issues should be developed. Objective: This study aims to determine the association between serum eosinophil with CRSwNP and its correlation with recurrence of the disease post endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), especially in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan. Methods: The study was done retrospectively looking at patients who were diagnosed with CRSwNP or CRSsNP (without nasal polyps), including those patients who had undergone ESS and developed recurrent nasal polyps (NP) in HUSM, Kelantan, between the years 2009 to 2020. 171 patients were selected and data relevant to the study was collected from patients' folders using a special form. Pre-operative serum eosinophils were traced, and NP histopathology reports from each patient who underwent ESS were analysed and re-examined to determine the eosinophil counts. Results: There was a significant difference in serum eosinophil count between CRSwNP compared to those CRSsNP. The mean (SD) of serum eosinophil among CRS patients with nasal polyp, 759.82 (345.66) per L was significantly higher than those without nasal polyp, 383.16 (201.31) per L, p<0.001. There was also a significant difference in serum eosinophil count between CRS patients with recurrent nasal polyp compared to those without recurrent nasal polyp. The mean (SD) of serum eosinophil among CRS patients with recurrent nasal polyp, 687.72 (266.22) per L was significantly higher than those without recurrent nasal polyp, 383.75 (199.80) per L, p<0.001. There was a significant strong positive correlation between preoperative serum eosinophil and post operative tissue biopsy eosinophil in CRSwNP (r=0.89, p<0.001). Conclusion: Patients with elevated serum eosinophil levels are at a higher risk of recurrence. This showed that serum eosinophil can be used as surrogates for tissue eosinophil levels, hence making them an effective prognostic parameter. Therefore, preoperative serum eosinophil is mandatory, and pre/post-operative prophylaxis of steroid medication (local or systemic) should be done to reduce the risk of recurrence post ESS.
- PublicationPreliminary evaluation of safety profile, psychological well-being, and cognitive status of sacha inchi-enriched supplementation in healthy adult women(2026-01)Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a neuroendocrine disorder affecting women reproductive health, with a prevalence of up to 20% among women aged 15 to 49 years. According to the 2004 Rotterdam criteria, PCOS is diagnosed when at least two of the following are present: clinical or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism, anovulation, or polycystic ovarian morphology. PCOS arises from abnormalities in the hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian (HPO) axis, which disrupt hormonal balance and lead to reproductive dysfunction. In addition to commonly associated metabolic conditions such as insulin resistance, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, PCOS is linked to cognitive and psychological comorbidities, which remain under recognised, with limited treatment approaches. Thus, this exploratory study aimed to preliminarily evaluate the potential cognitive and psychological benefits of a 21-day intervention with a daily dose of 500 mg Sacha Inchi–enriched formulation in healthy adult women. Cognitive performance and psychological well-being were assessed pre- and post-supplementation using the montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and depression anxiety stress scale 21 (DASS-21). In addition, liver function test (LFT) was conducted on participants’ blood samples to evaluate the safety profile of the Sacha Inchi–enriched formulation. Following supplementation, total MoCA scores improved significantly (p = 0.010), and anxiety scores on the DASS-21 decreased significantly (p = 0.026). Liver function test showed no significant changes (p > 0.05) in biochemical parameters, including total protein, albumin, globulin, total bilirubin, as well as ALT and AST levels. Evaluation of safety assessment indicated that short-term consumption of the formulation was well tolerated, with no adverse events reported. In conclusion, this preliminary study suggests that Sacha Inchi–enriched formulation enhanced global cognitive function and support psychological well-being in healthy adult women, warranting further investigation of its potential benefits for women with PCOS.
- PublicationEvidence-based medicine: knowledge, attitude, and practice among emergency doctors in Kelantan(2021)Background: In Malaysia, the prevalence of knowledge, attitude and practice on evidence-based medicine (EBM) are not widely reported. Internationally, studies have shown various outcomes of the prevalence of good knowledge, positive attitude, and good practice of EBM, including identifying barriers in practicing EBM. This study aimed to determine the proportions of knowledge, attitude and practice of EBM and identify the factors associated with its practice among emergency doctors in Kelantan, Malaysia. Objective: To determine the prevalence of high level of knowledge, positive attitude, and good practice on evidence-based medicine (EBM) and identify the associated factors for practice score on EBM among emergency medicine doctors in Kelantan, Malaysia. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted from February‒May 2020 in randomly selected hospitals in Kelantan. The data were collected from emergency doctors using self-administered questionnaires covering six areas, including sociodemographic data, knowledge, practice, and attitudes regarding EBM, among others. Results: A total of 183 participants responded and making a response rate of 91.5%. Of them, 49.7% had high level of knowledge, 39.9% had a positive attitude and 2.1% had good practice. Sex, race, the average number of patients seen per day, internet access in workplace, having online quick reference application, and attitude towards EBM were significantly associated with EBM practice scores. Conclusions: Although most emergency doctors have good knowledge and a positive attitude towards EBM, they have a low EBM practice. Factors associated with the poor practice of EBM were higher patient volume, ethnicity, poor access to subscribed databases, unavailability of access to the online application, and a neutral attitude towards EBM.
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- ItemChromaticity of bipartite graphs with three and four edges deleted(2007)Graphs are a set of vertices and edges. All vertices may or may not be joint. Vertex coloring is the coloring of a graph with a fixed number of colors such that adjacent vertices are of different colors. Considering all the possible ways of coloring a certain graph G with A colors will result in a polynomial in A. This polynomial is the chromatic polynomial of the graph G denoted by P (G; A). Two members from a set of graphs may have the same chromatic polynomial. These are called chromatically equivalent graphs. If a member of a set of graphs has a chromatic polynomial which is different from every other member in the set then this graph is chromatically unique. Bipartite graphs are graphs in which the vertices are partitioned into two non intersecting sets with condition that no vertices within the sets are adjacent. A complete bipartite graph is a bipartite graph with all the vertices in each set being adjacent to all the vertices of the other set. This project studies the chromaticity of complete bipartite graphs with three and also four edges deleted.
- ItemPer-Priority Flow Control (Ppfc) Framework For Enhancing Qos In Metro Ethernet(Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2013-11)Day by day Internet communication and services are experiencing an increase in variety and quantity in their capacity and demand. Thus, making traffic management and quality of service (QoS) approaches for optimization of the Internet become a challenging area of research; meanwhile flow control and congestion control will be considered as significant fundamentals for the traffic control especially on the high speed Metro Ethernet. IEEE had standardized a method (IEEE 802.3x standard), which provides Ethernet Flow Control (EFC) using PAUSE frames as MAC control frames in the data link layer, to enable or disable data frame transmission. With the initiation of Metro Carrier Ethernet, the conventional ON/OFF IEEE 802.3x approach may no longer be sufficient. Therefore, a new architecture and mechanism that offer more flexible and efficient flow and congestion control, as well as better QoS provisioning is now necessary.
- PublicationBzd9l1: Elucidation Of Its Anti-angiogenic Potential In In-vitro And In-vivo Colorectal Cancer Models(2023-09)Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer globally. CRC depends largely on angiogenesis for growth and metastasis. Much effort has been made to selectively target the angiogenic pathways to restrain tumour growth. However, some CRC patients become resilient to these anti-angiogenic drugs and standard therapies. The class III histone deacetylase family of sirtuins (SIRTs) has been closely linked to cancer progression but less is known about its activity in regulating tumour angiogenesis. BZD9L1 is a novel sirtuin inhibitor with demonstrated anti-cancer activities. This study aimed to investigate the anti-angiogenic potential of BZD9L1 on EA.hy926 endothelial cells (EC) in vitro and HCT116 tumour xenograft nude mice. The in vitro experiments comprised of cell viability assay, scratch wound assay, tube formation assay, spheroid sprouting assay, western blotting, angiogenesis array, cell cycle and apoptosis analysis via flow cytometry and finally, indirect co-culture model. Nude mice tumour xenograft model was used for the in vivo study, where hematoxylin and eosin staining was done to study the percentage of necrosis in the tumour section and immunohistochemistry was conducted to investigate the protein expression of Ki67 and CD34. BZD9L1 was shown to reduce cell viability, cell migration, tube formation, and spheroid sprouting of EC. BZD9L1 at 10μM was also shown to inhibit SIRT2 and SIRT3 protein in EA.hy926 cells. Angiogenesis array results revealed that the compound reduces the cytokine concentration of Angiogenin, bFGF, PDGF-BB, and PIGF significantly (P * < 0.05) compared to the control group
- ItemImproving The Traditional Method Of Producing Parboiled Rice(1977-03)A problem in the preparation of parboiled r1ce by a traditional method as carried out in one of the r1ce mills in Kedah 1S that the operation is rather time - consuming. This 1S especially attributed to the long soaking time employed (about 3 days). Apart from this, it produces a rather smelly product unacceptable to many people. The aim of the project was to investigate various ways of improving the method, By a water-absorption procedure, it ~as found. that for the variety of padi used. Mat can~u it took only about 15 hours soaking at ambient pressure and temperature for water to reach the centre of the grain. A relatively satisfactory parboiled rice was prepared by only 15 hours soaking. Another attempt was the use of benzoic acid to inhibit putrefactive changes during prolonged cold soaking. It was found that the use of a rather low level of benzoic acid in the soaking water (800 p.p.m.) could prevent putrefaction for at least 3 days. All preparations of parboiled rice were followed by analyses to ascertain the quality of the products. These included milling tests, chemical analysis for the B vitamins (B l and B 2 ) as well as evaluation of the cooked rice. Various aspects of the complications that may arise in the implementation of the findings on a large scale processing are also discussed.
- PublicationDecision Orientation Of Ceo Education And Its Effect On Risk-Taking: The Moderating Effect Of Economic Policy Uncertainty(2025-02)This thesis aims to examine the effect of a chief executive officer’s (ceo’s) decision orientation on corporate risk-taking, using data from 3,927 publicly listed companies on the malaysia stock exchange from 2015 to 2021. Our research focuses on how different decision orientation, logical and intuitive affect firm risk-taking. Our hypothesis suggests that ceos with a logical decision orientation are likely to engage in higher risk-taking, driven by confidence backed from a structured and analytical approaches. However, the empirical results indicate otherwise, showing that logical ceos are actually less inclined to take significant risks, a trend that holds across most of the variables assessed. A further academic extension of this thesis is to study the relationship between ceos’ cognitive complexity (which is developed through specific training derived from the educational backgrounds) and corporate risk-taking. This can be further broken into two categories