Pusat Pengajian Sains Farmasi - Tesis
Browse
Recent Submissions
- PublicationStaging Of Chronic Kidney Disease Among Elderly Patients: A Comparison Between Cystatin C And Creatinine Based Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate(2017-01)Khan, Irfan UllahChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health problem worldwide. Just like other parts of the world the prevalence of CKD is increasing in Malaysia (9.07% in 2011). In routine clinical practice serum creatinine (Scr) is the most widely used endogenous biomarker of renal function. However, literature review reveals that creatinine concentration has been affected by age, gender, muscle mass and diet, which may lead to over/under estimation of CKD. Cystatin C an endogenous biomarker produced by all the nucleated cells at a constant rate has been reported to be a more accurate kidney marker and better at estimating small changes in glomerular filtration (GFR). Therefore, the current cross-sectional study at HUSM was conducted with the aim to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of cystatin C and creatinine based eGFR equations in staging CKD using Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration combined (CKD-EPlcr-cys) equation as a reference. Furthermore, we also evaluated the concordance and predictors of concordance between Modification of diet in renal disease (MORD) and CKD-EPlcys equations in staging CKD. A total of 300 connectively enrolled established elderly CKD patients at the study site who met the eligibility criteria were included. Serum samples were collected and analyzed for serum creatinine and serum cystatin C. eGFR was calculated on the basis of CKD-EPlcr-cys, CKD-EPlcys, CKD-EPlcr and MDRD.
- PublicationAn Alternative In Silico Method To Predict Passive Membrane Permeability Of Potential Spsb2-Inos Inhibitor(2024-07)Choong, Fei HerThe SPRY (SPla and the RYanodine Receptor) domain of the SOCS (Suppressors of Cytokine Signalling)-box protein 2 (SPSB2) was found to be responsible for the proteasomal degradation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The knockdown of SPSB2 in mice was found to increase iNOS expression and enhance the killing of persistent pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, suggesting that inhibitor of SPSB2-iNOS interaction is a potential anti-infective agent. To date, several peptidic SPSB2-iNOS inhibitors have been reported. These peptides (including CP2), however, were found to have poor cell permeability, resulting in their poor activities in live macrophages. Therefore, this study aimed to propose a potential cell-permeable inhibitor of SPSB2-iNOS via in silico approach. To achieve the aim, a new bicyclic peptide, CPP9CP2 was designed, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to predict its membrane permeability. Conventional molecular dynamics (MD) analysis techniques for predicting peptide translocation, such as comparing free energy profiles (PMF) and evaluating the relationship between water pore formation and peptide penetration efficiency from steered MD simulations, were applied to three cell-penetrating peptides (TAT, CPP1, and CPP9) and one known non-cell-permeable peptide, YDEGE. However, these methods proved less effective in accurately reproducing reported in vitro experimental results. Specifically, despite YDEGE being non-cell-permeable, it did not show the highest PMF value and formed water pores similarly to TAT and CPP9, making it difficult to distinguish between genuine pore formation and simulation artifacts.
- PublicationHeat Responsive Solar Shading In Double Skin Façade For Tropical Climates(2024-03)Yonghuort, LimDouble skin façade (DSF) has emerged as a pivotal strategy for enhancing thermal performance and energy efficiency in office buildings, particularly in tropical climates. However, the full aptitudes of DSF have yet to be realized, and energy savings may not be substantial. This study investigates the potential of DSF for building thermal enhancement and energy saving, incorporating heat-responsive solar shading using thermo-bimetal louvers in the thermal cavity of DSF in Köppen-classified tropical climates. The research adopts calculation and computational simulation, EnergyPlus software. Findings indicate that both single skin façade (SSF) and DSF perform differently in respective tropical climate categories, influencing the thermal and energy performance of DSF accordingly. However, the DSF of each tropical climate group has the potential to enhance thermal performance in buildings with slightly varying annual energy efficiency rates. The study also reveals that the shading device significantly impacted the thermal and energy performance of DSF. Furthermore, thermo-bimetal louvers within the DSF cavity not only reduce the need for artificial light in DSF but also improve its thermal performance and energy efficiency. Overall, a well-designed DSF with the integration of heat-responsive solar shading has the capacity to enhance thermal behavior and energy efficiency in terms of both cooling and lighting in office buildings in tropical climates.
- PublicationEvaluation Of Knowledge And Understanding Of Obstacles Encountered When Administering Resuscitation Medications Among Nurses In Lahore, Pakistan(2024-01)Alvi, Safia Abdul RaheemMedication errors is one of the primary causes of patient morbidity and death, which has a serious adverse impact on the healthcare system. Nurses' lack of knowledge is thought to have a crucial role in drug administration errors that risk patient safety. The purpose of this study was to evaluate nurses' knowledge of administering resuscitation medications, identify the barriers they encounter while doing so, and explore if resuscitation medication errors are being reported by nurses. A cross-sectional study was conducted among licensed nurses working within public and private hospitals of Lahore city, recruited using a convenient sampling method. A pre-validated, self-administered questionnaire adapted from a previous study was used which consisted of five sections: socio-demographics data, nurses’ knowledge of resuscitation medications, obstacles encountered during resuscitation medications administration, self-evaluation and resuscitation error events and reporting barriers was used. The data were entered using SPSS version 27, where categorical variables, comparative analysis, and independent group tests variables were used. The research included 409 nurses in total. Of whom, 44.7% had insufficient knowledge of resuscitation medications, while 55.3% were reported to have adequate knowledge (score > 70%). Significantly greater knowledge was linked to higher age and experience (p 0.001), working in a public hospital (p = 0.032), and having ACLS training (p = 0.006).
- PublicationDerivatization And Conjugation Of Folic Acid To Improve Its Affinity Towards Folate Receptor Alpha On Cancerous Membrane Bilayer: An In Silico Insight(2024-03)Althiabat, Mohammad Gasem MohammadEffective targeting of cancerous cells with minimal side effects remains a significant challenge in the development of chemotherapeutic drugs. This study presents a novel in silico approach for targeting chemotherapeutic drug delivery to cancer cells using folic acid (FA) conjugated to β-cyclodextrin (βCD), aimed at enhancing selectivity via the interaction with folate receptor alpha (FRα). In a previous in silico study, enhanced targeting was demonstrated by tetrazole (FOL03) and benzothiophene (FOL08) folic acid derivatives, with FOL03 exhibiting superior affinity for FRα. In this study, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations was employed to assess the impact of βCD on the binding affinity and stability of FA, FOL03, and FOL08 conjugates with FRα. Additionally, replica exchange umbrella sampling (REUS) was used to examine the retention of conjugates and the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil (FLU) within βCD's hydrophobic cavity under virtual simulated cancerous conditions which also include the lipid bilayer environment. In the non-inclusion systems, the docking scores show that FRα- FOL08-βCD exhibited stronger binding (-17.10 kcal/mol) than -FA-βCD (-15.20 kcal/mol) and -FOL03-βCD (-15.50 kcal/mol). All ligands bound in a similar pose within the active site of FRα. MD simulations over 100 ns demonstrated that the FRα- FOL03-βCD complex maintained dynamic stability, showing minimal conformational changes. Quantum mechanical analysis, using MOPAC-2016 and the PM7 method, corroborated the MD simulations, identifying the electronic properties that confer xviii stability to the FRα-FOL03-βCD complex.