Association of Knowledge and Cultural Perceptions of Malaysian Women with Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer: a Systematic Review

Khan, Tahir Mehmood,Leong, Jamie Pik Yan,Ming, Long Chiau,Khan, Amer Hayat Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.13

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality among women of all ethnic and age groups in Malaysia. Delay in seeking help for breast cancer symptoms is preventable and by identifying possible factors for delayed diagnosis, patient prognosis and survival rates could be improved. Objectives: This narrative review aimed to understand and evaluate the level of in-depth breast cancer knowledge in terms of clinical breast examination and breast self-examination, and other important aspects such as side-effects and risk factors in Malaysian females. Since Malaysia is multicultural, this review assessed social perceptions, cultural beliefs and help-seeking behaviour in respect to breast cancer among different ethnic groups, since these may impinge on efforts to 'avoid' the disease. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search of seven databases was performed from December 2015 to January 2015. Screening of relevant published journals was also undertaken to identify available information related to the knowledge, perception and help-seeking behaviour of Malaysian women in relation to breast cancer. Results: A total of 42 articles were appraised and included in this review. Generally, women in Malaysia had good awareness of breast cancer and its screening tools, particularly breast self-examination, but only superficial in-depth knowledge about the disease. Women in rural areas had lower levels of knowledge than those in urban areas. It was also shown that books, magazines, brochures and television were among the most common sources of breast cancer information. Delay in presentation was attributed mainly to a negative social perception of the disease, poverty, cultural and religion practices, and a strong influence of complementary and alternative medicine, rather than a lack of knowledge. Conclusions: This review highlighted the need for an intensive and in-depth breast cancer education campaigns using media and community health programmes, even with the existing good awareness of breast cancer. This is essential in order to avoid misconceptions and to frame the correct mind-set about breast cancer among women in Malaysia. Socio-cultural differences and religious practices should be taken into account by health care professionals when advising on breast cancer. Women need to be aware of the risk factors and symptoms of breast cancer so that early diagnosis can take place and the chances of survival improved.

Effect of Abiotic Factors on Fumosorinone Production from Cordyceps fumosorosea via Solid-State Fermentation

Khan Tahir,Hou Dong-Hai,Zhou Jin-Na,Yang Yin-Long,Yu Hong 한국균학회 2023 Mycobiology Vol.51 No.3

Cordyceps fumosorosea is an important species in the genus of Cordyceps, containing a variety of bioactive compounds, including fumosorinone (FU). This study was a ground-breaking assessment of FU levels in liquid and solid cultures. The present study focused on the impacts of solid-state fermentation (SSF) using solid substrates (wheat, oat, and rice), as well as the effects of fermentation parameters (pH, temperature, and incubation period), on the generation of FU. All the fermentation parameters had significant effects on the synthesis of FU. In a study of 25 C, 5.5 pH, and 21 days of incubation period combinations calculated -to give maximal FU production, it was found that the optimal values were 25 C, 5.5 pH, and 21 days, respectively. In a solid substrate medium culture, FU could be produced from SSF. At 30 days, a medium composed of rice yielded the most FU (798.50mg/L), followed by a medium composed of wheat and oats (640.50 and 450.50mg/L), respectively. An efficient method for increasing FU production on a large scale could be found in this approach. The results of this study might have multiple applications in different industrial fermentation processes.

The Relationship Between Social Media Marketing Activities and Brand Attachment: An Empirical Study from Pakistan

KHAN, Mrestyal,RUBAB, Sana,AWAN, Tahir Mumtaz,KHAN, Maaz,MALIK, Nida,DANIYAL, Muhammad,ASHRAF, Muhammad Zaryab,KAKAR, Abdul Samad Korea Distribution Science Association 2022 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.9 No.6

The goal of this research is to look into the relationship between social media marketing activities and brand attachment in the online marketing business, based on the indirect effect of perceived value and self-brand connections. For this reason, the study has used self-administered questionnaires to collect the data from 425 males from the major cities of Pakistan including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Sialkot. Furthermore, based on the PLS-SEM technique the empirical findings show that social media marketing activities positively affect perceived value, self-brand connections, and brand attachment. Perceived value has a significant positive impact on brand attachment and mediates the influence of social media marketing activities on brand attachment. In addition to this, self-brand connections have a positive effect on brand attachment, and self-brand connections mediate the relationship between them. Thus, firms employing social media marketing activities successfully in their branding build upon a positive perception of the brand in the customer's mind resulting in customer attachment with the brand. This study can assist the e-commerce managers and brand managers in building strong customer attachment via perceived value and self-brand connections.

Privacy-preserving COVID-19 Contact Tracing using Blockchain

Shahzaib Tahir,Hasan Tahir,Ali Sajjad,Muttukrishnan Rajarajan,Fawad Khan 한국통신학회 2021 Journal of communications and networks Vol.23 No.5

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has causedwidespread panic and global initiatives are geared towards treatmentand limiting its spread. With technological advancements,several mechanisms and mobile applications have been developedthat attempt to trace the physical contact made by a personwith someone who has been tested COVID-19 positive. Whiledesigning these apps, user’s privacy has been an afterthoughtand has resulted in mass violations of privacy of the public andthe patients. A total of 32 countries have designed apps andrely on them as a strategy to flatten the pandemic curve. Alongwith lack of privacy, these methodologies are centralized, wherethey are fully controlled by the government and the healthcareproviders. Owing to these and many other concerns, peopleare hesitant in the adoption of these technologies. This paperpresents a detailed analysis of user tracking apps belongingto 32 countries, thus demonstrating that they collect personaldata and are a gross violation of user privacy. This paperpresents a novel architecture for the efficient, effective andprivacy-preserving contact tracing of COVID-19 patients usingblockchain. The proposed architecture preserves the privacy ofindividuals and their contact history by encrypting all the dataspecific to an individual using a privacy-preserving Homomorphicencryption scheme and storing it on a permissioned blockchainnetwork. The contacts made with a COVID-19 positive patientare identified by performing search queries directly over theHomomorphic encrypted data stored in the blocks. Therefore,only those contacts that are suspected to be COVID-19 positivemay be decrypted by the healthcare professional or governmentfor further contact tracing/ diagnosis and COVID-19 testing;thereby leading to enhanced privacy.

Adiponectin homolog novel osmotin protects obesity/diabetes-induced NAFLD by upregulating AdipoRs/PPARα signaling in <i>ob/ob</i> and <i>db/db</i> transgenic mouse models

Ahmad, Ashfaq,Ali, Tahir,Kim, Min Woo,Khan, Amjad,Jo, Myeung Hoon,Rehman, Shafiq Ur,Khan, Muhammad Sohail,Abid, Noman Bin,Khan, Mehtab,Ullah, Rahat,Jo, Min Gi,Kim, Myeong Ok Elsevier 2019 clinical and experimental Vol.90 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P><B>Background</B></P> <P>In metabolic disorders, adiponectin and adiponectin receptors (AdipoR1/R2) signaling has a key role in improving nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obesity-associated diabetes.</P> <P><B>Objective</B></P> <P>To the best of our knowledge, here, we reported for the first time the underlying mechanistic therapeutic efficacy of the novel osmotin, a homolog of mammalian adiponectin, against NAFLD in leptin-deficient <I>ob/ob</I> and <I>db/db</I> mice.</P> <P><B>Methods</B></P> <P>The <I>ob/ob</I> and <I>db/db</I> mice were treated with osmotin at a dose of 5 μg/g three times a week for two weeks. To co-relate the <I>in vivo</I> results we used the human liver carcinoma HepG2 cells, subjected to knockdown with small siRNAs of AdipoR1/R2 and PPARα genes and treated with osmotin and palmitic acid (P.A.). MTT assay, Western blotting, immunohistofluorescence assays, and plasma biochemical analyses were applied.</P> <P><B>Results</B></P> <P>Osmotin stimulated AdipoR1/R2 and its downstream APPL1/PPAR-α/AMPK/SIRT1 pathways in <I>ob/ob</I> and <I>db/db</I> mice, and HepG2 cells exposed to P.A. Mechanistically, we confirmed that knockdown of AdipoR1/R2 and PPARα by their respective siRNAs abolished the osmotin activity in HepG2 cells exposed to P.A. Overall, the <I>in vivo</I> and <I>in vitro</I> results suggested that osmotin protected against NAFLD through activation of AdipoR1/R2 and its downstream APPL1/PPAR-α/AMPK/SIRT1 pathways as shown by the reduced body weight, blood glucose level and glycated hemoglobin, improved glucose tolerance, attenuated insulin resistance and hepatic glucogenesis, regulated serum lipid parameters, and increased fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial functions.</P> <P><B>Conclusion</B></P> <P>Our findings strongly suggest that novel osmotin might be a potential novel therapeutic tool against obesity/diabetes-induced NAFLD and other metabolic disorders.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Osmotin <I>via</I> AdipoRs dependently reduced palmitic acid-induced toxicity <I>in vitro</I>. </LI> <LI> Osmotin regulated AdipoRs/APPL1/PPAR-α/AMPK/SIRT1 pathways in <I>ob/ob</I> and <I>db/db</I> mice. </LI> <LI> Osmotin regulated AdipoRs/APPL1/PPAR-α/AMPK/SIRT1 pathways in HepG2 cells. </LI> <LI> Osmotin regulated the impaired insulin signaling both <I>in vivo</I> and <I>in vitro</I> studies. </LI> <LI> Osmotin treatment regulated plasma chemistry associated with metabolic disorders. </LI> </UL> </P>

Ionic liquids based fluorination of organic compounds using electrochemical method

Zia Ul Haq Khan,Yongmei Chen,Dondan Kong,Nawshad Muhammad,Arif Ullah Khan,Faheem Ullah Khan,Kamran Tahir,Aftab Ahmad,Lei Wang,Pingyu Wan 한국공업화학회 2015 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.31 No.-

Ionic liquids due to their advantageous properties gain importance in many fields. This study aims tooverview the use of ionic liquids in the selective partial fluorination of organic compounds throughelectrochemical method. In addition to ionic liquid based fluorination, the earlier approaches offluorination through an electrochemical process have also been highlighted. The factors such aselectrode materials (Pt, Ni, and C), types of solvents (CH3CN, DMC, THF, DME, Sulfone, etc.) and type ofelectrolytes (Et3N 3HF, Et3NF 3HF, py HF, etc.) which affect the electrochemical fluorination of organiccompounds have been reviewed. For electrode preparation, the carbon, platinum and nickel wereconsidered suitable materials to be used as an electrode. In CH3CN media, Et3N 3HF and Et4NF 3HFshowed better efficiency during fluorination of organic compounds. Solvent play an important role inelectrochemical fluorination of organic compounds, with the change of solvent the percentage yield ishighly affected. Py-HF is a convenient solvent-supporting electrolyte medium with a reasonably goodconductivity. The electrolyte containing solvents have some side effects on electrochemical fluorinationof organic compounds as observed in cyclic voltammetric analysis. Therefore electrochemicalfluorination to organic compounds without the use of solvent gained more importance. The ionicliquids have been reported for its dual properties, as solvent as well as a fluorinating agent for organiccompounds in electrochemical processes. It has been concluded that solvents free electrochemicalfluorination of organic compounds gives good results as compare to solvent based. Ionic liquids due tomore oxidative stability were noted to have considerable effect on the yield and selectivity of organiccompound fluorination.

Outcomes of Large Volume Paracentesis in Cirrhotic Patients with Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis

( Hafiz Abdul Basit Siddiqui ),( Muhammad Tahir Khan ),( Hasnain Ali Shah ),( Rabeea Azmat ),( Saad Bin Zafar ) 대한간학회 2017 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2017 No.1

Aims & Background: Bacterial infections are one of the most frequent complication in cirrhosis, particularly in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and accounts for significant mortality. Ascites is one of the most common complications of hepatic cirrhosis (1). In a country like Pakistan where the prevalence of Hepatitis C is on the rise, end stage liver disease is becoming a common scenario (2-4). Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) occurs in 10-30% of such patients and is associated with high mortality rate among hospitalized patients (1, 5-7). The diagnosis of SBP through paracentesis is crucial in the management of SBP. SBP should be diagnosed early as for successful treatment of patients. Diagnostic paracentesis facilitates rapid initiation of antimicrobial therapy and permits optimal coverage in case a causative organism identified. However, more recently, the role of paracentesis in management of SBP is also explored through large volume removal of ascitic fluid. Despite the proposed risk of renal failure, Large Volume Paracentesis (LVP) among SBP patients has shown promising results indicated by lesser morbidity and mortality (8). Rationale of the study: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is a serious infectious condition with grave outcome in cirrhotic patients. Large volume paracentesis decreases the burden of infective fluid causing further deterioration of condition. Outcomes of LVP in SBP patients are not clearly addressed in previous studies. Furthermore, to date, no study from the country has reported the effect of large volume paracentesis on the management of SBP in hospitalized patients. This study will assess the outcomes of LVP in patients with SBP, both in terms of length of stay, in hospital 6 week mortality. Objectives: To compare the treatment outcomes among patients with and without large volume paracentesis diagnosed with Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis Methods: Study design: Analytical Cross-sectional Study Setting: Gastroenterology Unit, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi Study Duration: 2 Years Study population: Patients admitted with Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis to Gastroenterology Unit, the Aga Khan University Hospital Sample Size: Using OpenEpi.com online sample size calculator and using the differences in hospital stay among patients with and without delayed paracentesis as 36.84% and 21.48% (8) the sample size was calculated to be 200 at 95% confidence level (100 in each group). Sampling Technique: Consecutive Sampling Inclusion Criteria: Patients admitted with ascites found to have spontaneous bacterial peritonitis on diagnostic paracentesis. 1) Patients with complete records 2) Above 18 and below 75 years of age Exclusion criteria: 1) Incomplete records 2) Secondary peritonitis Data Collection: The data will be extracted from the records and information analyzed will be patient age, gender, whether the patients receive large volume paracentesis or not, the length of hospital stay, and length of ICU stay. No patient will be enrolled for the study and retrospective data analysis will be carried out. Conclusions: Extracted data till now favours that LVP in patients with SBP translates into significantly positive outcomes in terms of length of hospital stay, spcecial care unit stay, need for terlipressin infusions, in hosptial mortality and 6 weeks mortality post large volume paracentesis. Hence LVP shoiuld be performed in patients suffering from SBP.

Intelligent Extraction of a Digital Watermark from a Distorted Image

KHAN, Asifullah,TAHIR, Syed Fahad,CHOI, Tae-Sun The Institute of Electronics, Information and Comm 2008 IEICE transactions on information and systems Vol.91 No.7

<P>We present a novel approach to developing Machine Learning (ML) based decoding models for extracting a watermark in the presence of attacks. Statistical characterization of the components of various frequency bands is exploited to allow blind extraction of the watermark. Experimental results show that the proposed ML based decoding scheme can adapt to suit the watermark application by learning the alterations in the feature space incurred by the attack employed.</P>

Determination of optimum operation cases in electric arc welding machine using neural network

Tahir Çetin Akinci,Hidir Selçuk Noğay,Gökhan Gökmen 대한기계학회 2011 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.25 No.4

With arc welding machines, welding is only performed at optimum operating points. Determination of optimum operating points is important so as for welding machines which will be produced in future to be developed in a manner to operate in such parts. In this study,an Artificial Neutral Networks method was used in order to determine the optimum operating points of Electric Arc welding machine. For this purpose, a measurement system used to get the current measurements during the welding operation. A welding process includes some stages like initial case; transient case and operation case respectively. So as to use ANN model, a data set was established via time series. ANN is trained with 90% of data set and tested with 10% thereof. At the end of the test, a prediction of 97.49% was made according to the regression value. And according to the MSE value, it was understood that a successful prediction was made with an error of 0.00353075 values.

Outcomes of Primary Unilateral Cheiloplasty in Same-Day Surgical Settings

Khan, Mansoor,Ullah, Hidayat,Aziz, Asif,Tahir, Muhammad Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surge 2016 Archives of Plastic Surgery Vol.43 No.3

Background Financial, clinical, and psychological considerations have made same-day surgery an attractive option for a variety of procedures. This article aimed to analyse the postoperative results of same-day primary unilateral cleft nasolabial repair. Methods This study was performed from 2011 to 2014. Unilateral cleft lip patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were preoperatively classified as mild, moderate, and severe. All patients underwent same-day surgery and were discharged after satisfying the appropriate clinical criteria, receiving thorough counselling, and the establishment of a means of communication by phone. Postoperative outcomes were assessed and stratified according to preoperative severity and the type of repair. Results A total of 423 primary unilateral cleft lip patients were included. Fisher's anatomical subunit approximation technique was the most common procedure, followed by Noordhoff's technique. The postoperative outcome was good in 89.8% of cases, fair in 9.9% of cases, and poor in 0.2% of cases. The complication rate was 1.18% (n=5), and no instances of mortality were observed. The average hospital stay was 7.5 hours, leading to a cost reduction of 19% in comparison with patients who stayed overnight for observation. Conclusions Mild unilateral cleft lip was the most common deformity for which Fisher's anatomical subunit approximation technique was performed in most of the cases, with satisfactory postoperative outcomes. Refinements in the cleft rhinoplasty techniques over the course of the study improved the results regarding cleft nasal symmetry. Single-day primary unilateral cleft cheiloplasty was found to be a cost-effective procedure that did not pose an additional risk of complications.