Browse publications by year: 2017

Fulltext Orbital cellulitis from untreated conjunctival wound

Aimy Mastura, Z.Y., Norshamsiah, M.D., Hazlita, M.I., Othmaliza, O., Ropilah A.R.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):94-98.
MyJurnal

Selulitis orbital merupakan jangkitan tisu di sekitar mata di dalam ruangan orbit yang
termasuk saraf mata. Ia boleh menyebabkan komplikasi yang membawa kematian
sekiranya merebak melalui saraf mata dan ke otak. Penyebab utama jangkitan
adalah termasuk perebakan jangkitan sinusitis dari ruangan paranasal atau melalui
selulitis preseptal. Kes ini menggambarkan jangkitan di luar kebiasaan mengenai
jangkitan orbital selulitis yang berlaku akibat luka torehan pada konjunktiva mata
yang disebabkan oleh kemalangan. Rawatan antibiotik sistemik yang agresif
mengurangkan risiko komplikasi penglihatan. Kesemua luka pada atau sekelililng
mata haruslah dirawat dengan sebaiknya bagi mengelakkan berlakunya komplikasi
yang membahayakan.

MeSH terms: Orbit; Sinusitis; Genes, Mating Type, Fungal
Fulltext The physiological, biochemical and quality of life changes in chronic diabetic foot ulcer after hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Mohd Yazid, B., Ayesyah, A., Mohd Rohaizat, H., Nurhanani, A. B.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(2):210-219.
MyJurnal

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) was established to increase oxygenation and antimicrobial effect that potentially improve the healing of chronic ulcer. Present study aim to assess the effects of HBOT in chronic diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). A total of sixty patients classified according to Wagner 1, 2 or 3 chronic diabetic foot ulcers, were recruited and subsequently divided randomly into two groups; HBOT and control group. All patients underwent the standard treatment for DFU, but for the HBOT group, underwent 20 HBOT sessions, each lasted 80 – 90 mins at 2.5 atmospheres absolute (ATA). White cell count (WCC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were taken during inclusion, at second and fourth week of treatment. Wound sizes were documented at each follow up until six months follow up. SF-36 at one-month post hyperbaric oxygen therapy was used to measure the health-related quality of life. Reduction of WCC and CRP in HBOT group were significant throughout the treatment (p=0.046 and p=0.039, respectively). A total of 26 patients (86.7%) from the HBOT group achieved complete ulcer healing at six months’ follow-up, while 18 patients (60%) in the control group’s ulcer healed completely. Patients treated with HBOT had significantly better mental and physical health constituent of quality of life. It must be emphasised that HBOT is an adjunctive therapy to the standard management of chronic DFU in accelerating wound healing for a better quality of life.
Keywords: oxygenation, quality of life, wound healing

MeSH terms: Humans; Hyperbaric Oxygenation*; Malaysia; Foot Ulcer*; Diabetic Foot*
Fulltext A case of missed giant bullae emphysema diagnosed as pneumothorax

Ong, S.F., Nik Azlan, N.M.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):90-93.
MyJurnal

We report a case of a giant bullous emphysema misdiagnosed as a pneumothorax. A 18-year-old chronic smoker presented with right sided chest pain and dyspnoea. Initial respiratory rate was 35 /min, blood pressure was 136/90 mmHg, heart rate 80/min and SpO2 was 98% on room air. Clinical examination revealed reduced right air entry and left trachea deviation. Chest X-ray helped to arrive at a diagnosis of pneumothorax. Needle aspiration was then performed followed by a chest tube thoracostomy because of no improvement. Massive amount of blood was drained and patient deteriorated further. CT thorax revealed a right haemopneumothorax with multiple bullaes. Patient was rushed to OT for emergency thoracotomy for stapling of the ruptured bullae. Giant bullous emphysema can mimic pneumothorax and physician must be vigilant if draining a suspected pneumothorax.
Keywords: emphysema, haemopneumothorax, thoracostomy, thorax

MeSH terms: Adolescent; Blister; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Pneumothorax; Radiography; Smoking; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; X-Rays
Fulltext Effects of gelam honey on oxidative stress in lung cancer cells

Gunasekaran, G., Muhamad Fitri C.A., Chandrashegkar, S., Hajar Amalnina A.B., Raishan, S., Nurul Faiznani, Z., et al.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(2):202-209.
MyJurnal

Madu gelam telah didapati mempunyai kesan anti-oksidatif, anti-kanser dan antiinflamasi
terhadap banyak jenis kanser. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk menentukan
kesan madu gelam terhadap aras tekanan oksidatif sel kanser peparu manusia.
IC50 madu gelam ditentukan dengan merawat sel A549 dengan dos madu yang
berbeza (50-200 mg/ml). Sel dibahagikan kepada 4 kumpulan dan diaruh tekanan
oksidatif dengan menggunakan hidrogen peroksida (H2
O2
) mengikut kumpulan
tertentu: kawalan, H2
O2
, madu gelam, H2
O2
+ madu gelam. Selepas 24 jam
rawatan, biopetanda tekanan oksidatif seperti malondialdehid (MDA) dan protein
karbonil ditentukan. Aruhan tekanan oksidatif meningkatkan aras MDA (p

MeSH terms: Diagnostic Tests, Routine; Honey; Inhibitory Concentration 50
Fulltext Optimum dose of sea cucumber (stichopus chloronotus) extract for wound healing

Mazliadiyana, M., Nazrun, A.S., Isa, N.M.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):83-89.
MyJurnal

Di Malaysia, timun laut lebih dikenali sebagai Gamat. Di kalangan kaum Melayu,
gamat sering digunakan sebagai ubat tradisional untuk melegakan kesakitan,
merawat luka dan kesan terbakar. Ianya juga digunakan sebagai tonik untuk
memberi sumber tenaga tambahan. Stichopus chloronotus merupakan salah satu
spesies timun laut yang boleh didapati di Malaysia. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk
menentukan dos optimum ekstrak akues Stichopus chloronotus emulsi salap ke
atas luka pada model tikus. Beberapa siri kepekatan iaitu 0.1%, 0.5% dan 1%
ekstrak akues Stichopus chloronotus emulsi salap diberikan ke atas luka eksisi sekali
sehari selama 10 hari. Perubahan pada kawasan luka diukur dengan menggunakan
angkup dan gambar luka diambil pada hari pertama, ke-3, ke-6, ke-8 dan ke-10
selepas pembentukan luka. Keputusan daripada peratusan pengurangan luka dan
pemerhatian makroskopik akan menentukan dos optimum Stichopus chloronotus.
Hasil kajian menunjukkan, kumpulan tikus kajian yang menerima rawatan
Stichopus chloronotus 0.5% mempunyai peratusan pengurangan luka yang lebih
tinggi dan pemerhatian makroskopik yang lebih baik bermula dari hari ke-6 selepas
pembentukan luka berbanding kumpulan yang lain. Kesimpulannya, dos 0.5%
merupakan kepekatan optimum bagi Stichopus chloronotus memberikan kesan
kepada penyembuhan luka dan akan digunakan pada kajian sebenar

MeSH terms: Animals; Ataxia Telangiectasia; Malaysia; Sea Cucumbers; Stichopus; Gastropoda
Fulltext The Msi2 Protein expression positive correlation with favorable cytogenetics findings in AML

Nurasyikin, Y., Azma, R.Z., Suria, A.A., Chandramaya, S., Noraidah, M., Omayma, S.E.B

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):66-82.
MyJurnal

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is the most common subtype of acute leukaemias with a poor outcome. Msi2 protein is a newly discovered prognostic marker and it has been considered as a new target for therapy in AML. The study of Msi2
protein expression in AML cases has not been performed in Malaysia, to date. The main aim of the present study was to observe the expression of Msi2 protein in AML patients by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and to correlate its expression
with the well-established prognostic and clinical parameters in AML as well as the overall survival (OS). Sixty four bone marrow trephine biopsy sections were immunostained for Msi2 protein. The percentage of blasts with positive reaction
and the intensity of the cytoplasmic and nuclear staining were evaluated. The expression of Msi2 protein was found in 95.3% cases with Msi2 pattern varying between the cases. In 71.9% of cases, the blasts showed total cellular positivity and 23.4% cases showed only cytoplasmic positivity. Majority showed high expression of Msi2 for cytoplasmic staining. Interestingly, there was significant correlation between total cellular staining and the intermediate cytogenetic subgroup (P=0.04). In conclusion, the results showed that the majority of the patients had high expression of Msi2 but this did not correlate to OS. However, the Msi2 expression correlated to the cytogenetic findings. The results suggest future extensive research to be conducted in order to ascertain the exact role of Msi2 positive blast cells in AML in our population and their association with prognosis and outcome.
Keywords: AML, cytogenetics, immunohistochemistry, Msi2 protein

MeSH terms: Humans; Leukemia, Myeloid; Malaysia; Methylglycosides; Prognosis
Fulltext Comparing sterofundin to 0.9% sodium chloride infusion in managing diabetic ketoacidosis: a pilot study

Rossman, H., Nik Azlan, N. M., Mahathar , A. W.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(2):179-192.
MyJurnal

Fluid replacement is the mainstay treatment for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Currently, the best choice of fluids is still debatable. An amount of 0.9% sodium chloride is commonly used. Sterofundin® is an alternative crystalloid that is assumed to expedite resolution of acidosis. Advantages in sterofundin content being smaller significant ion difference (SID) to plasma and lower chloride content. The main objective of the study was to compare rate of acidosis resolution in DKA patients between treatment with 0.9% normal saline and Sterofundin over 12 hrs. Other objectives were to compare significant ion difference (SID), 12-hr blood ketone clearance and electrolyte balance between the two groups. The study was a prospective open labelled randomized control trial. This study was conducted over 6 months. Sample size of 18 was obtained with 9 for each arm. Main difference between two groups was initial median 2-hr pH level improvement (NS = +0.006 vs. Sterofundin = +0.05, P=0.063), however not being significant. Ketone, anion gap reduction, bicarbonate normalisation, sodium, chloride, urea and creatinine levels failed to show any significant differences between both groups. Twelve-hour median chloride levels increments were higher in the NS group (+11) compared to the sterofundin group (+6). There was no difference between mortality and morbidity. Comparing the two fluid groups, there was no significant biochemical differences during treatment of DKA. This was a pilot study that can initiate further clinical trials.
Keywords: anion gap, diabetic ketoacidosis, ketone, ph, saline, sterofundin

MeSH terms: Adult; Humans; Malaysia; Diabetic Ketoacidosis*
Fulltext Effects of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 enzyme in the liver in fructose induced metabolic syndrome rat model

Norshalizah, M., Zar Chi, T., Farihah, S.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):56-65.
MyJurnal

Peningkatan ekspresi dan aktiviti enzim 11β-hidroksisteroid dehidrogenase jenis
1 (11β-HSD1) di dalam sel adiposit matang menyebabkan obesiti dan sindrom
metabolik. Fruktos dalam air minuman telah terbukti boleh menyebabkan sindrom
metabolik pada tikus Wistar jantan. Oleh itu, kajian ini dilakukan untuk melihat
kesan ke atas ekspresi dan aktiviti enzim 11β-HSD1 di dalam hati model tikus
sindrom metabolik yang dirangsang dengan air minuman fruktos. Sebanyak 12 ekor
tikus Wistar jantan dibahagikan secara rawak kepada dua kumpulan: kumpulan
kawalan, C (n=6) dan kumpulan yang diberi minuman fruktos 20%, F20 (n=6).
Pemberian makanan dan air minuman selama lapan minggu secara ad libitum. Di
akhir kajian, pengukuran ekspresi enzim 11β-HSD1 di dalam hati dilakukan dengan
menggunakan teknik pewarnaan imunohistokimia. Skor diberikan berdasarkan
intensiti pewarnaan granul di dalam sitoplasma hepatosit menggunakan teknik
‘double-blinded’. Manakala, aktiviti enzim 11β-HSD1 diukur menggunakan teknik
ELISA. Selepas lapan minggu pengambilan air minuman fruktos, kumpulan F20
menunjukkan peningkatan dalam ekspresi dan aktiviti enzim 11β-HSD1 di dalam
hati. Data yang diperolehi menunjukkan bahawa enzim 11β-HSD1 di dalam
hati mungkin memainkan peranan dalam pembentukan sindrom metabolik dan
komplikasinya pada tikus Wistar jantan.
Fulltext Parenting stress among malaysian parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Lee, J.X., Ong, S.I., Lee, V.Y., Fairuz Nazri, A.R.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):42-55.
MyJurnal

Kecelaruan spektrum Autisme (ASD) merupakan sejenis ketidakseimbangan
perkembangan neuro kanak-kanak yang dikaitkan dengan kecacatan kognitif
dan bahasa. Penyelidikan sebelum ini mendapati bahawa kanak-kanak yang
mempunyai ketidakseimbangan perkembangan meningkatkan tahap tekanan
ibu bapa. Namun, ibu bapa yang mempunyai anak ASD mengalami tahap
tekanan yang lebih tinggi berbanding ibu bapa yang mempunyai kanak-kanak
ketidakseimbangan perkembangan yang lain. Justeru, kajian ini bertujuan untuk
mengkaji perbezaan tahap tekanan antara ibu bapa yang mempunyai kanak-kanak
ASD dan ibu bapa yang mempunyai kanak-kanak perkembangan tipikal (TD) yang
dikategorikan dalam kumpulan kontrol. Borang indeks tekanan ibu bapa, terbitan
ketiga digunakan untuk menilai tahap tekanan dalam kalangan 30 ibu bapa yang
mempunyai kanak-kanak ASD dan 36 ibu bapa yang mempunyai kanak-kanak
TD. Sampel ibu bapa yang mempunyai kanak-kanak autisme dikumpul dari Pusat
Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Hospital Tangkak, dan Pusat
Autisme (NASOM) di Muar dan Segamat. Ibu bapa yang mempunyai kanak-kanak
ASD mempunyai tahap tekanan yang signifikan lebih tinggi berbanding ibu bapa
mempunyai kanak-kanak TD (p

MeSH terms: Hospitals; Malaysia; Neurology; Fenofibrate
Fulltext The antibacterial properties of euphorbia tirucalli stem extracts against dental caries-related bacteria

Yi, Q.S., Wan Zarina, Z.A., Nurulhidayah, C.N., Mohamad Ezany, Y., Azlina, A., Suharni, M.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):34-41.
MyJurnal

Euphorbia tirucalli dilaporkan mempunyai aktiviti antibakteria terhadap pelbagai
mikroorganisma. Kajian in vitro ini bertujuan untuk menilai ciri-ciri antibakteria
ekstrak (metanol, etanol dan ekstrak akueus) batang Euphorbia tirucalli terhadap
bakteria yang berkaitan dengan karies gigi, iaitu Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans)
dan Streptococcus sobrinus (S. sobrinus). Sifat-sifat antibakteria telah ditentukan
menggunakan ujian resapan agar berlubang pada kepekatan ekstrak yang berbeza
(10, 20 dan 30 mg/ml). Komersial amoxicillin (10 µg) telah digunakan sebagai
kawalan positif manakala pelarut yang sesuai telah digunakan sebagai kawalan
negatif. Ekstrak metanol dan ethanol daripada batang Euphorbia tirucalli didapati
berkesan terhadap S. mutans dan S. sobrinus. Walau bagaimanapun, ekstrak akueus
batang Euphorbia tirucalli tidak menunjukkan aktiviti terhadap kedua-dua strain
bakteria. Perbezaan dalam ciri-ciri antibakteria dalam perbezaan ekstrak Euphorbia
tirucalli mungkin disebabkan oleh perbezaan dalam juzuk fitokimia.
Fulltext Antenatal iron deficiency in an urban Malaysian population

Mahdy, Z.A., Rahana, A.R., Zaleha, M.I., Muhammad Za’im, S.H., Mukudan, K., Jumaida, A.B.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):27-33.
MyJurnal

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common form of anemia in pregnancy. The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of antenatal anemia and iron deficiency in the Malaysian population and its correlation with sociodemographic and obstetric profile. It was a cross-sectional study conducted at an urban health clinic over a period of six months. A single blood sample was drawn from apparently healthy pregnant mothers at antenatal booking and sent for laboratory assessment of full blood count and serum ferritin as screening tools for anemia and iron status. SPSS version 19.0 was used for statistical analyses. The results showed that out of 250 subjects, 43.6% had anemia and 31.6% had iron deficiency. Whilst 47.7% of subjects with anemia were iron deficient, 19.1% of subjects without anemia were also iron deficient. Serum ferritin correlated negatively with period of gestation at booking (p<0.001), with 77.6% of these women not having prior iron supplements. Serum ferritin was also significantly lower among grandmultiparae (p=0.01). Iron deficiency was significantly (p=0.024) more common among Indians (42.5%) compared to Malays (33.5%) and Chinese (13.0%). In conclusion, continuation of the current practice of routine antenatal iron supplementation is still warranted and justifiable in Malaysia as there is high prevalence of iron deficiency in pregnancy not only in the presence of anemia but also in the presence of normal hemoglobin values. Keywords: anaemia, ferritn, pregnancy

MeSH terms: Adult; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Ferritins; Humans; Malaysia; Urban Population; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency*
Fulltext Interlinked motivation model to use mobile Crowdsourcing platforms among low-income citizens

Mahmod, M., Na’in, N., Ahmad, R., Chit, S.C., Habbal, A.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):99-108.
MyJurnal

Crowdsourcing is an initiative implemented by the Malaysian government to support its National Key Result Area (NKRA) agenda to improve the lives of citizens with low household income in the B40 group. Crowdsourcing activities are done on mobile crowdsourcing platforms that enable workers to perform micro tasks at any time for a fixed payment. However, without active and constant participation from the crowd, this initiative might not be successful. This paper describes a preliminary study in identifying motivation factors for participating in mobile crowdsourcing platforms. This study identified intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors that can attract crowds to participate in mobile crowdsourcing platforms. Technology efficacy factors that interlink with motivation factors were also identified in this study. The preliminary study employed the qualitative method where in-depth interviews were conducted among 30 crowdsourcing participants in Peninsular Malaysia. The findings of this study are the basis for a motivation model that can attract crowdworkers from among the B40 group of household-income earners to participate in crowdsourcing to procure and perform available micro-tasks. The findings will also help improvise mobile platforms for crowdsourcing.

MeSH terms: Drive; Employment; Government; Income; Malaysia; Motivation; Crowdsourcing
Fulltext Conceptual model for a sustainable Crowdsourcing ecosystem

Hassan, H., Aris, S.R.S., Arshad, N.H., Janom, N., Salleh, S.S.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):89-98.
MyJurnal

Crowdsourcing has changed the way people conduct business. It provides access to work, and employers can source for the best talent, at the best price, with the shortest turnaround time. Research so far has focussed on crowdsourcing implementation. Hence, there is a need to conduct research that can contribute towards crowdsourcing sustainability. Thus, the objectives of this paper are to identify current practices of crowdsourcing in Malaysia and the challenges that face it. A conceptual model for crowdsourcing sustainability ecosystem is then proposed. This study adopted the case-study approach. Two crowdsourcing platforms were examined in the case study. Two techniques were used to obtain the data: observation and interview. Observation was carried out to observe how the crowdsourcing platforms worked. The interviews helped to uncover current practices, challenges in using crowdsourcing and identification of sustainability factors. It is hoped that the proposed conceptual model will facilitate better planning of the ecosystem supporting crowdsourcing and ensure sustainable growth for crowdsourcing. Future research into crowdsourcing can test the proposed conceptual model to validate its components.

MeSH terms: Commerce; Forecasting; Malaysia; Research; Ecosystem; Crowdsourcing
Fulltext The rise of Crowdsourcing using social media platforms: Security and privacy issues

Noor Hafizah Hassan, Fiza Abdul Rahim

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):79-88.
MyJurnal

The increasing adoption of social media is a viable means in crowdsourcing. It can facilitate the connectivity of collaboration between different organisations, people and society to produce innovative and cost-effective solutions to many problems. Social media have opened up unprecedented new possibilities of engaging the public in meaningful ways through crowdsourcing. However, the growing number of security and privacy issues in social media may weaken the efficacy of crowdsourcing. This study aims to provide a basic understanding of security and privacy issues in line with the growth of crowdsourcing using social media platforms. This study also illustrates how crowdsourcing and social media data can lead to security and privacy issues in different environments. Lastly, this study proposes future works that may serve as direction for scholars to explore security and privacy in crowdsourcing through social media platforms. Secondary sources obtained from journals, conference papers, industry reports and books were reviewed to gather information.

MeSH terms: Books; Organizational Innovation; Social Behavior; Societies; Privacy; Social Media; Crowdsourcing
Fulltext Crowdsourcing for ideas: A review of motivational factors and challenges in open innovation communities

Ahmad, R., Virgiyanti, W., Mahmod, M., Habbal, A., Chit, S.C.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):69-78.
MyJurnal

Crowdsourcing introduces new perspectives in innovation, allowing for new products and services to shift away from the traditional manufacture-centric model to a more user-centric one. In order for businesses to reap the benefits of open innovation, it is necessary to understand the factors that motivate ideators to contribute valuable ideas. Equally, there is an urgency to identify the challenges faced by ideators in crowdsourcing for open innovation to retain the participants of crowdsourcing communities. This paper presents a structured review to address the aforementioned issues. Our findings reveal that the intrinsic factors that drive participation in open innovation are related to the learning experience that results from sharing ideas. Extrinsic factors like social motivation are frequently mentioned in different studies. This study also highlights the need for organisations to develop strategies for interacting with their contributors in order to sustain their participation and idea contribution. In conclusion, this paper can serve as a guideline for practitioners to improve crowdsourcing platforms with the inclusion of important motivational features. It can also serve as reference for organisations for formulating policies to regulate idea contribution.

MeSH terms: Creativity; Drive; Intrinsic Factor; Learning; Motivation; Policy; Crowdsourcing
Fulltext A human-inspired collective intelligence model for multi-agent based system

Gunasekaran, S.S., Ahmad, M.S., Mostafa, S.A.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):39-54.
MyJurnal

The collaborative and competitive nature of multi-agent systems (MAS) is visible through the simple social mode of communication that emerges between human-agent interactions or agent-to-agent interactions. A simple mode of communication involves the fundamental actions carried out by individual agents in achieving their desired goal. The sum of these achievements contribute to the overall group goal. Comparatively, the collective intelligence (CI) of a MAS simply means that these agents should work together to produce better solutions than those made possible when using the traditional approach. In designing MAS with CI properties, formalisation of a higher level deliberation process is essential. A high level deliberation process refers to the judgement comprehension of tasks, reasoning and problem solving and planning. In this paper, we propose our Collective Intelligence Model, CIM, which has the potential to control and coordinate a high-level deliberation process of a MAS. CIM is inspired by the emerging processes of controlled discussion, argumentation and negotiation between two or more intelligent human agents. These processes screen and validate the deliberation process through a crossfertilisation approach. The emergent property of the cross-fertilised ideas results in an intelligent solution that solves optimisation-related tasks.

MeSH terms: Communication; Goals; Humans; Intelligence; Judgment; Problem Solving; Negotiating; Comprehension
Fulltext Software engineering in an effective collaborative environment: An evaluative study on Crowdsourcing platforms

Hani Al-Bloush, Badariah Solemon

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):27-38.
MyJurnal

Crowdsourcing gathers the world’s software engineering experts on a specific subject matter, and allows organisations and individuals to employ the combined effort of these ‘experts’ to accomplish the software task at hand. However, leveraging the knowledge of experts will not be achieved without online crowdsourcing platforms, which makes communication possible. This study intends to evaluate the performance of four Crowdsourced Software Engineering(CSE) platforms (TopCoder, InnoCentive, AMT and Upwork) based on the criteria of the Web of System Performance (WOSP) model. The WOSP criteria include functionality, usability, security, extendibility, reliability, flexibility, connectivity and privacy. Findings from the analyses showed that the four CSE platforms vary in all of their features, and at the same time, they all lack the requirements of flexibility. The results provide insight into the current status of CSE platforms and highlight the gaps inherent in these platforms while offering a more complete picture. This study contributes to work on enhancing the design of current and future platforms.
Fulltext Dimensions of user participation in non-profit mobile Crowdsourcing initiatives

Farahidayah Mahmud, Hazleen Aris

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):15-26.
MyJurnal

Mobile devices have seemingly become a necessity in people’s daily life. They have significantly changed the way people communicate and perform their day-to-day activities. In line with this scenario, there is a practice nowadays that is gaining more and more attention from mobile application developers called crowdsourcing. The combination of the two innovations, i.e. mobile devices and crowdsourcing, promises great potential for the advancement of business and society. Despite the popularity of mobile crowdsourcing applications, special attention needs to be given to user participation, since user participation is one of the main factors that determine the success of a mobile crowdsourcing application. This study, therefore, aims at identifying the factors that influence user participation in mobile crowdsourcing application. The interview method involving 13 mobile crowdsourcing application users was used to collect the required information. The constant comparison method comprising open coding, axial coding and selective coding techniques was used to analyse the results. Findings from the analysis showed that user participation in mobile crowdsourcing applications is mainly influenced by the personal benefits that the applications can bring to the user rather than the benefit it can bring to others. These benefits cover five dimensions: financial impact, useful information provided, interaction with other users, rewards offered and features of the applications.
Fulltext Automated Update of Crowdsourced data in participatory sensing: An application for Crowdsourced price information

Fakhrul Syafiq, Huzaifah Ismail, Hazleen Aris, Syakiruddin Yusof

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):1-14.
MyJurnal

Widespread use of mobile devices has resulted in the creation of large amounts of data. An example of such data is the one obtained from the public (crowd) through open calls, known as crowdsourced data. More often than not, the collected data are later used for other purposes such as making predictions. Thus, it is important for crowdsourced data to be recent and accurate, and this means that frequent updating is necessary. One of the challenges in using crowdsourced data is the unpredictable incoming data rate. Therefore, manually updating the data at predetermined intervals is not practical. In this paper, the construction of an algorithm that automatically updates crowdsourced data based on the rate of incoming data is presented. The objective is to ensure that up-to-date and correct crowdsourced data are stored in the database at any point in time so that the information available is updated and accurate; hence, it is reliable. The algorithm was evaluated using a prototype development of a local price-watch information application, CrowdGrocr, in which the algorithm was embedded. The results showed that the algorithm was able to ensure up-to-date information with 94.9% accuracy.

MeSH terms: Algorithms; Commerce; Data Collection; Databases, Factual; Crowdsourcing
Fulltext Reading between the vines: Hosts as islands for extreme holoparasitic plants

Barkman TJ, Klooster MR, Gaddis KD, Franzone B, Calhoun S, Manickam S, et al.

Am J Bot, 2017 09;104(9):1382-1389.
PMID: 29885244 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1700117

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Partitioning of population genetic variation in plants may be affected by numerous factors including life history and dispersal characteristics. In parasitic plants, interactions with host populations may be an additional factor influencing partitioning. To test for hierarchical population genetic patterns related to obligate endoparasitism, we studied three species of Rafflesiaceae, which grow as extremely reduced endophytes infecting Tetrastigma vines in Southeast Asia.
METHODS: Microsatellite markers were developed and multilocus genotypes were determined for Rafflesia cantleyi, Rafflesia tuan-mudae, and Sapria himalayana and each of their Tetrastigma hosts. Relatedness among parasite individuals was estimated, and AMOVAs were used to determine levels of population genetic subdivision.
KEY RESULTS: Microsatellite genotypes for 340 paired parasite and host samples revealed that host vines were infected by numerous Rafflesiaceae individuals that may spread for up to 14 m within stem tissues. Surprisingly, Rafflesiaceae parasites within a given host are significantly more closely related to each other than individuals of the same species in other host individuals. The pattern of hierarchical population genetic subdivision we detected across species is likely due to limited seed dispersal with reinfection of natal host vines.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate common population genetic patterns between animal and plant parasites, potentially indicating advantages of close relatives infecting hosts. This study also has important conservation implications for Rafflesiaceae since our data suggest that destruction of a single infected host vine could result in large genetic losses.

MeSH terms: Host-Parasite Interactions*; Genetic Variation; Vitaceae/parasitology*; Life History Traits*

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