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  • Publication
    Perancangan Pembangunan Tanaman Makanan Asasi Di Aceh, Indonesia: Analisis Dari Perspektif Perancangan Pembangunan Tanaman Makanan Asasi Nabi Yusuf A.s.
    (2020-09)
    Moklis, Nurul ‘aqidah
    Perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi adalah unsur penting dalam menjamin kualiti kehidupan masyarakat dunia hari ini. Membicarakan tentang keselamatan makanan di peringkat global bukanlah perkara baru. Peningkatan penduduk dunia telah menjadikan perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi di negara maju dan negara membangun sebagai fokus utama. Kajian ini melihat bahawa asas dalam perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi yang diamalkan oleh Nabi Yusuf A.S. harus dirungkai secara sistematik dalam melihat keberkesanan penerapan amalan yang dilaksanakan di sesebuah kawasan. Berdasarkan isu tersebut, Aceh merupakan salah satu daerah autonomi yang melaksanakan syariat Islam di Indonesia dan mempunyai pengeluaran hasil tanaman makanan asasi yang melebihi keperluan domestik. Perancangan pembangunan daerah juga telah mensasarkan Aceh menjadi salah satu daerah atau kawasan bekalan makanan untuk Indonesia walaupun sering berhadapan dengan bencana alam, perubahan iklim atau cuaca yang tidak menentu. Sehubungan itu, kajian ini dilakukan untuk mencapai tiga objektif kajian. Pertama, mengenal pasti perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi Nabi Yusuf A.S. menerusi tafsiran ulama tafsir. Kedua, menganalisis perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi di Aceh dari segi strategi dan program pembangunan. Ketiga, menganalisis perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi di Aceh, Indonesia dari perspektif amalan dalam perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi Nabi Yusuf A.S. Kajian ini merupakan kajian kualitatif yang melibatkan temu bual tidak berstruktur dengan 10 orang informan kajian. Analisis kandungan juga dilakukan dengan menganalisis kitab-kitab tafsir yang dipilih dan dokumen perancangan pembangunan yang berkaitan. Hasil kajian mempamerkan tiga dapatan utama. Pertama, perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi Nabi Yusuf A.S. merupakan perancangan pembangunan yang komprehensif. Kedua, perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi di Aceh dipertanggungjawabkan oleh tiga agensi utama iaitu Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Daerah (BAPPEDA) Aceh, Dinas Pertanian Tanaman Pangan Aceh dan Badan Urusan Logistik (BULOG) Aceh. Ketiga, wujud keselarian antara kedua-dua perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi berdasarkan penekanan amalan perancangan pembangunan tanaman makanan asasi Nabi Yusuf A.S. dalam perancangan pembangunan di Aceh.
  • Publication
    The effects of CT-based attenuation correction on the accuracy of 99mtc SPECT/CT quantification
    (2024-08)
    Vijayakumar, Shamalah S
    This study focuses on how CT- based attenuation correction affects the precision of quantification using Technetium-99m (99mTc) single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT). Functional and anatomical imaging are combined in SPECT/CT in nuclear medicine which is essential for precise diagnosis and therapy planning. To reduce patient exposure while retaining the image quality, CT scan radiation doses must be lowered. Therefore, this study investigates how varying CT current (mA) affects 99mTc SPECT/CT image quality overall and photon attenuation correction accuracy. In terms of methodology, the study used NEMA 2012/IEC 2008 phantoms filled with 99mTc and the GE Discovery NM/CT 670 Pro SPECT/CT system, using tumor-to-background ratios (TBR) of 4:1 and 10:1. The effects of various mA levels (30, 60, 90, 100, and 120 mA) on quantification accuracy and image quality were investigated. Image quantification and reconstruction were made easier using the Q.Metrix software and the Xeleris workstation, respectively. To evaluate the quality of the images, important metrics like contrast, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and coefficient of variation (COV) were examined. Recovery coefficients (RC) were utilised for quantitative analysis. According to the findings, low-dose CT which is accomplished by reducing the tube current can generate images with sufficient quality for precise quantification in 99mTc SPECT/CT. The study supports the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle by showing that radiation exposure to patients can be decreased without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy. The significance of these findings lies in their potential to improve patient safety by lowering radiation doses while maintaining accurate and trustworthy diagnostic imaging.
  • Publication
    Evaluation of patient dose during multi-catheter insertion in CT-guided interstitial liver brachytherapy
    (2024-07)
    Sivaprakasam, Puviya
    Introduction: Brachytherapy is a type of cancer treatment that involves placing an encapsulated radioactive source either near or directly into the tumour. Liver brachytherapy has been practiced in institutions where multiple catheters are inserted into the liver under CT-guidance. Numerous studies have acknowledged the dose received during brachytherapy, however, the dose received during CT-guided multi-catheter insertion lacks in discussion, hence, the optimisation of the procedure is presented by investigating various aspects of the procedure. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the patient dose received from multi-catheter insertion during interstitial liver brachytherapy, to determine the association between number of catheters with the CT dose values (𝐶𝑇𝐷𝐼𝑣𝑜𝑙 and total DLP) and to evaluate the organ dose for the patients undergoing multi-catheter insertion in CT-guided interstitial liver brachytherapy using IndoseCT software as well. Methods: This study involved a retrospective survey on 18 patients who undergone CT-guided multi-catheter insertion for liver brachytherapy for evaluation of the patient dose received from the procedure. Patients’ demographic information (age and gender), CT data (number of catheters, number of CT phases, exposure settings – kVp, mAs, pitch and scan length (in cm)), patient dose data (𝐶𝑇𝐷𝐼𝑣𝑜𝑙(in mGy) and total DLP (in mGy.cm)), volume of lesion (in cm3) and diameter of lesion (in cm) were retrieved from CT workstation and recorded for further analysis. Besides that, the axial CT images of patients were obtained and retrieved from the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) for further analysis. The collected CT images were uploaded in the IndoseCT software (Version 20b) to estimate the organ dose (developed by Anam et al., 2021). Result: Number of catheters showed weak correlation with CT dose indices (CTDIvol and total DLP) and number of CT phases while number of catheters had strong correlation with volume and diameter of lesion. Furthermore, the organ that received the highest dose for patient undergone RTP Abdomen HCT 3 mm protocol was heart with 755.79 mGy, while kidneys received the highest dose (964.79 mGy) for patients underwent RTP Abdo/Pelvis HCT 3 mm protocol. Conclusion: The examination of association between variables used in the procedures is extremely important to further optimise the procedure as well as provide insight on accurate decision making for future advancements.
  • Publication
    A comprehensive 3D dosimetric analysis of the vienna ring applicator in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for cervical cancer treatment: TLD measurement
    (2024)
    Sivaprakasam, Pugalya
    Introduction: Intracavitary brachytherapy is the most common approach used for gynecological cancers which happens to be the cancer with highest occurrence among women. Intracavitary-interstitial (IC/IS) brachytherapy is an approach that is developed, and various applicators are utilised in this treatment method such as the Vienna Ring applicator. However, a comprehensive understanding on the dosimetric behavior of Vienna Ring applicator is required for efficient use in brachytherapy for cervical cancer. Purpose: This study aims to experimentally analyse the dosimetric performance of Vienna Ring applicator in aspects of target coverage, organ at risk (OAR) sparing and ability to deliver the planned dose during treatment. Methods and Materials: A Vienna Ring applicator was assembled in a pelvic phantom with Thermoluminescence Dosimeters (TLD-100) chips were attached to the OARs (bladder and rectum) to act as markers. Computed Tomography (CT) images were obtained for treatment planning. 7Gy was prescribed for irradiation and the treatment was planned for the assessment of dose received by target, OAR and the TLDs at 8 points. The dose measured by the TLD-100 chips during the irradiation and dose calculated by treatment planning system (TPS) on the TLD points were compared. Results: The dose received by target, bladder and rectum are 7.1 Gy, 2.4 Gy and 7.4 Gy respectively as obtained from TPS. Out of 8 TLDs, 7 TLDs have dose deviation less than 20% while 1 TLD (F7) have dose deviation of 31.03% between measured and calculated dose. Conclusion: The dose distribution of Vienna ring applicator to GTV is not homogenous but has high degree of conformity. The Vienna ring applicator was able to spare the bladder and deliver optimum dose to tumour. The Vienna ring applicator can deliver planned dose during treatment delivery due to 90% of the dose deviation was below 20%. Therefore, the applicator can be categorised as a reliable applicator in brachytherapy for cervical cancer.
  • Publication
    Dose verification of 3D printed male pelvic phantom for radiotherapy quality assurance
    (2024-08)
    Maniam, Peraveen M
    Prostate cancer is a serious health concern worldwide, and its treatment includes advanced radiotherapy techniques that requires patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) for safety and accuracy of the treatment. Commercially available PSQA phantoms are homogeneous and fail to mimic photon interactions in the pelvis. Therefore, a heterogeneous 3D printed male pelvic phantom was developed to replicate the male pelvis. In this study, the phantom material was characterized by its physical density and computed tomography (CT) numbers and profile. In addition, dose verification was conducted using the phantom with thermoluminescent dosimeter-100 (TLD-100) and ionisation chamber. The results show that the phantom matches the density of real human organs with a maximum difference of 0.22 g/cm3 for prostate. The CT numbers measured at 120 kV well matched with the CT number of real organ with differences ranging from 12.30 HU to 189.77 HU. CT profiles at 90 kV, 120 kV, and 140 kV exhibited consistent gray values with small variation and overlapping standard error bars, indicating high uniformity in the 3D printing. Dose verification using the 3D printed male pelvic phantom revealed in 3D-CRT plans that TPS calculations agreed within ±5% and ±2% for TLD-100 and ionisation chamber measurements, respectively. The Mann-Whitney U test for 3D-CRT showed no significant differences between TPS calculated dose and the dosimeters measured dose (p > 0.05). In VMAT plans, the TPS calculations showed lower doses in the GTV compared to measurements by TLD-100 (deviations: -14.1% to -17.1%) and ionisation chamber (deviation: -4.8%), despite no statistically significant difference found by the Mann-Whitney U test (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the dose calculations and measurements using the 3D printed male pelvic phantom in 3D-CRT plans demonstrated agreement within acceptable limits, but further verification is essential to ensure accurate dosimetry in VMAT plans.
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  • Publication
    Ketum (Mitragyna Speciosa Korth.) Consumption, Lipid Profile And Electrocardiogram (Ecg) Abnormalities
    (2023-07)
    Korindasamy, Novline Yuvashnee
    Ketum (Mitragyna speciosa Korth.) a native medicinal plant of Southeast Asia, has been used in Malaysia for decades for its unique curative properties. Given its broad therapeutic properties and increasing utility, ketum’s long-term safety profile, especially on its cardiotoxicity risk remains poorly investigated in regular ketum users. Given this research limitation, this study aims to evaluate the electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities and lipid profile between regular ketum users and healthy control subjects. A total of 200 respondents (n=100 regular ketum users and n=100 healthy control subjects) were recruited through convenience sampling from the northern peninsular state of Penang for this clinical, cross-sectional study. All were required to undergo an ECG evaluation, and blood samples were also drawn to characterize the respondent’s lipid profile. All males, a majority were Malays (97%, n=194/200), and the samples mean age in this study was 33 years (SD=6.7), while ketum users mean duration of ketum use was 6.4 years (SD=4.31). Ketum users mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure rates were 132.9 beats per minute (SD=17.3) and 77.1 beats per minute (SD=11.1), respectively.
  • Publication
    A Study On Tourist Beha Vior Towards The Intention To Select Sustainable Tourist Destination
    (2014)
    Koay, Tze Wei
    The purpose of this study is to examine the tourist behavior towards the intention to select sustainable tourist destination. Tourism industry has been considered as one of the largest industries worldwide. With understanding of the tourist behavior, this could ensure the growth of the tourism industry in a more sustainable ways in respect of environment, social-cultural and economic factors. The understanding of the tourist behaviors in this study consist of the environmental attitudes, motivation, destination image, word-of-mouth and perceived service quality to predict the intentional behaviors of the selection of the sustainable tourist destination. In addition, knowledge has been included to explore the moderating relationship with the environmental attitudes. The theoretical framework is developed based on the theory of planned behavior. A total of 159 respondents were collected to CatTY out the SPSS and Smart PLS analysis. The statistical results showed that environmental attitudes, motivation and word-of-mouth significantly related to the intention to select sustainable tourist destination. However, the destination image and perceived service quality have no significant relationship in this study.
  • Publication
    Hybrid Model In Machine Learning With Robust Regression For Handling Multicollinearity Outlier In Big Data And Its Application To Agriculture
    (2023-01)
    Mukhtar
    In this research, 29 independent single variables and 435 independent interaction variables were identified. The limitation of this research were to address the problems such as irrelevant variables, multicollinearity and outliers.
  • Publication
    A combination of methodology building for multi-layer feed-forward neural network (MLFF) and linear modeling: an application in biometry modeling
    (2024-01)
    Jusoff, Muhammad Khairan Shazuan
    Biostatistics, also known as biometry, is a field of statistics that focuses on the application of statistical methods to the field of biomedicine and health sciences. Biostatistics can assist researchers and healthcare professionals in identifying risk factors, evaluating intervention effectiveness and many more. However, biostatistics has not been entirely embraced by medical professionals due to several reasons. One of the main reasons is that the medical field is challenging, and maintaining a high level of accuracy is critical. In addition, many previous studies focused on individual modeling technique that has limited ability to capture the dynamic and complexities in the medical field. This study aims to develop a biometry model that combines several statistical techniques, namely bootstrap, Multi-Layer Feed-Forward Neural Network (MLFF) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). This study will propose two distinct models: (i) Hybrid MLFF-MLR model with case resampling and (ii) Hybrid MLFF-MLR model without case resampling. The two models will be compared using the Mean Square Error of Neural Network (MSE.net) and the Mean Square Error of the Linear Model (MSE.lm). The model with lower MSE.net and MSE.lm values will be deemed superior. The analysis results from both models show that the hybrid MLFF-MLR model with case resampling yields a more accurate output. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring the potential of biometry modeling and can be a reference for future researchers in the same field.
  • Publication
    Binary Artificial Bee Colony Optimization For Weighted Random 2 Satisfiability In Discrete Hopfield Neural Network
    (2023-05)
    Muhammad Sidik, Siti Syatirah
    One of the alternatives to improve the modeling of the Discrete Hopfield Neural Network is by implementing different variants of logical rules. In this context, Satisfiability is suitable as a logical rule in Discrete Hopfield Neural Network due to the simplicity of the structure, and fault tolerance. Hence, this thesis will utilize Non-Systematic Weighted Random 2 Satisfiability incorporating with Binary Artificial Bee Colony algorithm in Discrete Hopfield Neural Network. The Binary Artificial Bee Colony will be utilized to optimize the logical structure according to the ratio of negative literals by capitalizing the features of the exploration mechanism of the algorithm. Then, the Election algorithm will be utilized to obtain a satisfied interpretation of the correct logical structure in the training phase of the Discrete Hopfield Neural Network. This proposed model will be employed in the Improved Reverse Analysis method to extract the relationship between various fields of real-life data sets based on logical representation. This thesis will be presented by implementing simulated, and benchmark data sets with multiple performance evaluation metrics. Based on the findings, the proposed model outperforms other models.