Browse publications by year: 2021

The Influence of Attitudes on the Perceived Effectiveness of the COVID-19 Vaccine in Malaysia

Chen WS, Siau CS, Bono SA, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2021 Dec 12.
PMID: 34894785 DOI: 10.1177/10105395211065300
Fulltext Fabrication and characterization of Agarwood extract-loaded nanocapsules and evaluation of their toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity on RAW 264.7 cells and in zebrafish embryos

Eissa MA, Hashim YZH, Mohd Nasir MH, Nor YA, Salleh HM, Isa MLM, et al.

Drug Deliv, 2021 Dec;28(1):2618-2633.
PMID: 34894947 DOI: 10.1080/10717544.2021.2012307

Aquilaria malaccensis has been traditionally used to treat several medical disorders including inflammation. However, the traditional claims of this plant as an anti-inflammatory agent has not been substantially evaluated using modern scientific techniques. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of Aquilaria malacensis leaf extract (ALEX-M) and potentiate its activity through nano-encapsulation. The extract-loaded nanocapsules were fabricated using water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) emulsion method and characterized via multiple techniques including DLS, TEM, FTIR, and TGA. The toxicity and the anti-inflammatory activity of ALEX-M and the extract-loaded nanocapsules (ALEX-M-PNCs) were evaluated in-vitro on RAW 264.7 macrophages and in-vivo on zebrafish embryos. The nanocapsules demonstrated spherical shape with mean particle diameter of 167.13 ± 1.24 nm, narrow size distribution (PDI = 0.29 ± 0.01), and high encapsulation efficiency (87.36 ± 1.81%). ALEX-M demonstrated high viability at high concentrations in RAW 264.7 cells and zebrafish embryos, however, ALEX-M-PNCs showed relatively higher cytotoxicity. Both free and nanoencapsulated extract expressed anti-inflammatory effects through significant reduction of the pro-inflammatory mediator nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS/IFNγ-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages and zebrafish embryos in a concentration-dependent manner. The findings highlight that ALEX-M can be recognized as a potential anti-inflammatory agent, and its anti-inflammatory activity can be potentiated by nano-encapsulation. Further studies are warranted toward investigation of the mechanistic and immunomodulatory roles of ALEX-M.
Physiological and Pathophysiological Role of Cysteine Metabolism in Human Metabolic Syndrome

Muthuraman A, Ramesh M, Shaikh SA, Aswinprakash S, Jagadeesh D

Drug Metab Lett, 2021;14(3):177-192.
PMID: 34895129 DOI: 10.2174/1872312814666211210111820

Cysteine is one of the major intermediate products of cellular amino-acid metabolism. It is a semi-essential amino acid for protein synthesis. Besides, it is also employed in the regulation of major endogenous anti-oxidant molecule i.e., reduced glutathione (GSH). Further, it is a precursor of multiple sulfur-containing molecules like hydrogen sulfide, lanthionine, taurine, coenzyme A and biotin. It is also one of the key molecules for post-translational modifications of various cellular proteins. In physiological conditions, it is employed in the sulfhydration process and plays a key role in the physiology modification of the inflammatory process in various organs, including the neurological system. The catabolism of cysteine is regulated by cysteine dioxygenase enzyme activity. The dysregulated conditions of cysteine and cysteine-associated hydrogen sulfide metabolism are widely employed in the acceleration of the neurodegenerative process. Moreover, the upregulation of cysteine and hydrogen sulfide synthesis occurs via the reverse trans-sulfuration process. This process helps to manage the worsening of a pathological condition of a cellular system. Moreover, it is also employed in the accumulation of homocysteine contents. Further, both cysteine and homocysteine molecules are widely accepted as biomarkers for various types of diseases. Therefore, the targets involved in the regulation of cysteine have been considered as valid targets to treat various disorders like cardiac disease, ischemic stroke, diabetes, cancer, and renal dysfunction.

MeSH terms: Cysteine; Glutathione; Humans; Hydrogen Sulfide*; Sulfur; Metabolic Syndrome X*
In Vitro Activity of Ceftolozane/Tazobactam against Gram-Negative Isolates collected from ICU Patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Seven Asian Countries - SMART 2017-2019

Lob SH, Kazmierczak KM, Chen WT, Siddiqui F, DeRyke CA, Young K, et al.

J Glob Antimicrob Resist, 2021 Dec 08.
PMID: 34896336 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2021.11.011

OBJECTIVES: Antimicrobial resistance is one of the top 10 global public health threats. Especially high rates of resistance have been reported for isolates from ICU patients, requiring expanded treatment options in this setting. We evaluated the activity of ceftolozane/tazobactam and comparators against gram-negative isolates collected from patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in ICUs in seven Asian countries.
METHODS: In 2017-2019, up to 100 consecutive aerobic gram-negative LRTI isolates were collected per year at each of 37 hospitals. MICs were determined using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute reference broth microdilution method.
RESULTS: Overall, ceftolozane/tazobactam was active against 72% of 1408 Enterobacterales and 86% of 761 P. aeruginosa isolates. Susceptibility to the non-carbapenem β-lactam comparators, including piperacillin/tazobactam, was 52-67% among Enterobacterales isolates, and the activity of all β-lactam comparators, including meropenem, was 57-70% among P. aeruginosa. Ceftolozane/tazobactam maintained activity against 61% of meropenem-nonsusceptible and 64% of piperacillin/tazobactam-nonsusceptible P. aeruginosa isolates. At the country-level, ceftolozane/tazobactam activity ranged from >90% against Enterobacterales isolates from Hong Kong and South Korea to <64% in Thailand and Vietnam, and from >90% against P. aeruginosa from South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan to <75% in Thailand and Vietnam. Correspondingly, the proportions of carbapenemase-positive isolates among Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa isolates were highest in Thailand and Vietnam.
CONCLUSIONS: Ceftolozane/tazobactam provides a potential treatment option for ICU patients in Asia, which is especially important considering the reduced activity of commonly used β-lactams against the studied ICU isolates. Knowledge of local resistance patterns should inform empiric therapy decision-making.
Fulltext Bacillus tequilensis strain 'UPMRB9' improves biochemical attributes and nutrient accumulation in different rice varieties under salinity stress

Shultana R, Kee Zuan AT, Yusop MR, Saud HM, El-Shehawi AM

PLoS One, 2021;16(12):e0260869.
PMID: 34898612 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260869

Soil salinity exert negative impacts on agricultural production and regarded as a crucial issue in global wetland rice production (Oryza sativa L.). Indigenous salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (Bacillus sp.) could be used for improving rice productivity under salinity stress. This study screened potential salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) collected from coastal salt-affected rice cultivation areas under laboratory and glasshouse conditions. Furthermore, the impacts of these PGPRs were tested on biochemical attributes and nutrient contents in various rice varieties under salt stress. The two most promising PGPR strains, i.e., 'UPMRB9' (Bacillus tequilensis 10b) and 'UPMRE6' (Bacillus aryabhattai B8W22) were selected for glasshouse trial. Results indicated that 'UPMRB9' improved osmoprotectant properties, i.e., proline and total soluble sugar (TSS), antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT). Moreover, 'UPMRB9' inoculated rice plants accumulated higher amount of nitrogen and calcium in tissues. Therefore, the indigenous salt-tolerant PGPR strain 'UPMRB9' could be used as a potential bio-augmentor for improving biochemical attributes and nutrient uptake in rice plants under salinity stress. This study could serve as a preliminary basis for future large-scale trials under glasshouse and field conditions.

MeSH terms: Agriculture/methods; Bacillus/physiology*; Calcium/metabolism*; Nitrogen/metabolism*; Plant Proteins/metabolism; Oryza/growth & development*; Oryza/metabolism; Oryza/microbiology; Soil/chemistry*; Soil Microbiology; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Plant Roots/growth & development; Plant Roots/metabolism; Plant Roots/microbiology; Salt-Tolerance
Fulltext DC-GAN-based synthetic X-ray images augmentation for increasing the performance of EfficientNet for COVID-19 detection

Shah PM, Ullah H, Ullah R, Shah D, Wang Y, Islam SU, et al.

Expert Syst, 2021 Oct 19.
PMID: 34898799 DOI: 10.1111/exsy.12823

Currently, many deep learning models are being used to classify COVID-19 and normal cases from chest X-rays. However, the available data (X-rays) for COVID-19 is limited to train a robust deep-learning model. Researchers have used data augmentation techniques to tackle this issue by increasing the numbers of samples through flipping, translation, and rotation. However, by adopting this strategy, the model compromises for the learning of high-dimensional features for a given problem. Hence, there are high chances of overfitting. In this paper, we used deep-convolutional generative adversarial networks algorithm to address this issue, which generates synthetic images for all the classes (Normal, Pneumonia, and COVID-19). To validate whether the generated images are accurate, we used the k-mean clustering technique with three clusters (Normal, Pneumonia, and COVID-19). We only selected the X-ray images classified in the correct clusters for training. In this way, we formed a synthetic dataset with three classes. The generated dataset was then fed to The EfficientNetB4 for training. The experiments achieved promising results of 95% in terms of area under the curve (AUC). To validate that our network has learned discriminated features associated with lung in the X-rays, we used the Grad-CAM technique to visualize the underlying pattern, which leads the network to its final decision.
Fulltext The Challenges, Coping Mechanisms, and the Needs of the Inhospital Parents Caring for Children with Life-limiting Neurological Disorders: A Qualitative Study

Taib F, Beng KT, Chan LC

Indian J Palliat Care, 2021 11 11;27(4):483-489.
PMID: 34898942 DOI: 10.25259/IJPC_3_21

Objectives: Parents who have children with complex lifelong and life-limiting neurological conditions experienced many stresses and anxieties throughout their lives as caregivers. However, this information is still very limited. The study aimed to explore the challenges faced by parents with children who have complex neurological conditions, their coping strategies, needs, and expectations.
Materials and Methods: A semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted in the either Malay or English language among the parents of children with complex lifelong neurological conditions and have been on long-term in-patient hospital care. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis. The qualitative study was conducted from October to November 2016 at the Paediatric Institute of Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Grounded theory was used to examine the qualitative data with inductive and deductive types of coding. The transcripts were read repeatedly to allow familiarity to the themes presented by the participants. Further discussions were conducted among the researchers to triangulate the information.
Results: A total of 11 parents were interviewed for this study. The thematic analysis resulted in 8 challenges: Physical wellbeing, Environment, Relationship, Financial, Occupational, Rational, Mental, and Spiritual. Coping strategies comprised problem focused issues related to the key challenges in the caregivers' context. Similar to the needs and expectations, the key themes were derived from the key understandings of the challenges and looking at the palliative care impacts for these children.
Conclusion: There are various challenges faced by parents of children with life-limiting neurological disorders. Physical, Environment, Relationship, Financial, Occupational, Rational, Mental, and Spiritual Wellbeing can be a platform for the assessment of the caregivers' needs and the planning for palliative care support.
Fulltext 'We are all in the same boat': How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Resta E, Mula S, Baldner C, Di Santo D, Agostini M, Bélanger JJ, et al.

J Community Appl Soc Psychol, 2021 Oct 08.
PMID: 34898961 DOI: 10.1002/casp.2572

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis. Consequently, many countries have adopted restrictive measures that caused a substantial change in society. Within this framework, it is reasonable to suppose that a sentiment of societal discontent, defined as generalized concern about the precarious state of society, has arisen. Literature shows that collectively experienced situations can motivate people to help each other. Since societal discontent is conceptualized as a collective phenomenon, we argue that it could influence intention to help others, particularly those who suffer from coronavirus. Thus, in the present study, we aimed (a) to explore the relationship between societal discontent and intention to help at the individual level and (b) to investigate a possible moderating effect of societal discontent at the country level on this relationship. To fulfil our purposes, we used data collected in 42 countries (N = 61,734) from the PsyCorona Survey, a cross-national longitudinal study. Results of multilevel analysis showed that, when societal discontent is experienced by the entire community, individuals dissatisfied with society are more prone to help others. Testing the model with longitudinal data (N = 3,817) confirmed our results. Implications for those findings are discussed in relation to crisis management. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.
Fulltext Optic Nerve Demyelination in IgG4 Anti-Neurofascin 155 Antibody-Positive Combined Central and Peripheral Demyelination Syndrome

Verghese A, Krishnan D, Chia YK, Querol L, Hiew FL

J Cent Nerv Syst Dis, 2021;13:11795735211039913.
PMID: 34899003 DOI: 10.1177/11795735211039913

Optic nerve demyelination is one of the clinical features of combined central and peripheral demyelination (CCPD), an entity with heterogenous immunopathogenesis and clinical characteristics, overlapping between multiple sclerosis (MS) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Of interest, earlier studies among patients with CIDP prior to discovery of antibodies against paranodal protein neurofascin 155 (anti-NF 155) also reported optic nerve dysfunction. We aimed to evaluate optic nerve demyelination among anti-NF 155 CIDP patients. We studied 2 patients with anti-NF 155 CIDP using visual-evoked potentials (VEP) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Both patients had distal acquired demyelinating symmetric (DADS) subtype CIDP. Other common features were prominent sensory ataxia, hand tremors, significantly elevated cerebral spinal fluid protein, high titre anti-NF 155 antibodies and poor response to corticosteroid and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). No central nervous system neuroradiological abnormality detected. Both had normal visual acuity and colour vision, but one had subclinical right relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD). VEP of both showed bilateral prolonged P100 latencies. OCT for patient with RAPD demonstrated moderate to severe retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thinning. Identification of optic nerve demyelination among subclinical CIDP with anti-NF 155 antibodies expanded the spectrum of demyelination within the subset of CCPD.
Fulltext Impacts of COVID-19 induced food insecurity among informal migrants: Insight from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Sohel MS, Hossain B, Sarker MNI, Horaira GA, Sifullah MK, Rahman MA

J Public Aff, 2021 Oct 29.
PMID: 34899062 DOI: 10.1002/pa.2770

Food insecurity is one of the rising problems in Bangladesh, and it is severely prevalent among informal migrant workers. In this case, the COVID-19 pandemic has multiplied the food insecurity of informal migrant workers. This study explores and synthesizes the COVID-19 induced food insecurity impact among informal migrants and recommends policy actions to tackle the COVID-19 led food crisis in Bangladesh. A qualitative research approach, including in-depth interviews, four FGDs, and participant observation, has been applied to data collection from different parts of Dhaka city. A thematic approach to interpretive phenomenological analysis is followed in this study. The results show that COVID-19 induced lockdown significantly affects informal migrants' household food security. Most participants report severe complications due to food insecurity like consuming less food, price hiking, no fish or meat, potato, and vegetable. Food insecurity leads to migrant's chronic food shortage, starvation, malnutrition of mother and children, and unhealthy food. As a result, the way of life of informal migrants has been directed to more fragility and vulnerability during the pandemic; even they are not affordable to maintain a minimal level of family affairs and necessity. The findings of this study would be essential guidelines for the governmental and non-governmental organizations and development practitioners to address the food insecurity situations.
Fulltext During COVID-19, impact of subjective and objective financial knowledge and economic insecurity on financial management behavior: Mediating role of financial wellbeing

Ali S, Talha N

J Public Aff, 2021 Nov 07.
PMID: 34899065 DOI: 10.1002/pa.2789

The purpose of this research is to look into financial management behavior during the COVID-19. Without a doubt, financial knowledge is an important, but in the COVID-19, the majority of people are experiencing economic insecurity, which is regarded as unique contribution when testing financial management behavior. Furthermore, Pakistan is an Islamic country, so, financial knowledge, is further subdivided into objective, subjective, and Islamic financial knowledge, with financial wellbeing serving as mediating variable. Pakistan has a diverse population of respondents, this model was tested on university students in Pakistan between the ages of 20 and 40, with the majority of respondents experiencing job and food insecurity as a result of COVID-19. The research employs a two-stage method, PLS-SEM, for reliability checking via composite reliability and average variance extract, and discriminant validity checking via HTMT ratio. According to the findings, Islamic financial knowledge as positive, and other financial knowledge as negative, and economic insecurity (food and job insecurity) also has negative and significant impact on students' financial management behavior. Financial well-being significantly acts as a bridge between independents and dependent variables. The findings imply that financial knowledge has a significant impact on financial management behavior. Policymakers and administrators should improve information disclosure while promoting financial education in order to foster trust and responsible financial conduct among people.
Fulltext Primary osteosarcoma of the sphenoid wing in a middle-aged woman with extensive intracranial extension: A case report

Ong WF, Musa AT, Ooi LW, Karim NKA

J Taibah Univ Med Sci, 2021 Dec;16(6):943-947.
PMID: 34899138 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2021.07.007

Primary osteosarcomas involving the base of the skull in middle-aged patients are rare. We describe the case of a 59-year-old Asian woman presenting with lethargy, epistaxis, left maxillary and mandibular pain, and headache. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a large left greater sphenoid wing tumour with extensive local infiltration and intracranial extension. The tumour was diagnosed as osteosarcoma based on histological examination. In this report, we discuss the clinical presentations, radiological features, and imaging differential diagnoses of this case.
Fulltext Hepatoprotective Potential of Pomegranate in Curbing the Incidence of Acute Liver Injury by Alleviating Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response

Ali H, Jahan A, Samrana S, Ali A, Ali S, Kabir N, et al.

Front Pharmacol, 2021;12:694607.
PMID: 34899284 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.694607

Hepatitis is an inflammatory disease of the liver and is considered one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Due to its scavenging activity, Punica granatum may be used for the treatment and prevention of liver diseases. The current study investigated the protective mechanism underlying the effects of pomegranate against a rat model of carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury. Intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 resulted in liver inflammation, oxidative stress, and accumulation of lipid in hepatocytes. CCl4 induced a downregulation of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and melonaldehyde (MDA). Pomegranate protection was assessed in terms of biochemical parameters, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry. Promegranate administration decreased inflammation, elevated serum enzymes and ROS production, and countered the debilitating effects caused by CCl4. In addition, CCl4-induced histological changes were absent in the crude pomegranate extract group, which also enhanced the scavenging activity of reactive oxygen species by enhancing the antioxidant defense mechanism as confirmed by detecting MDA, SOD, and GSH expressions. The migration of CD68+ macrophages was halted at the injured area of the central vein and the number of macrophages was reduced to the normal control by the crude extract compared to the positive control silymarin group. Likewise, protective effects of ethylacetate and the aqueous fraction of the crude extract were also observed. However, the butanol and n-hexane fractions displayed increased levels of ALT, AST, and ALP as compared to silymarin. About 25% damage to hepatocytes was observed in the butanol and n-hexane group by histopathological examination, which is a little better compared to the CCl4-treated group. The crude extract and its ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions may be accountable for the hepatoprotective potential of Punica granatum, which was further confirmed by in vivo experiments. Together, these findings confirm that pomegranate exerts hepatoprotective activity against CCl4-induced oxidative stress and liver damage.
Fulltext Asian "Guan" Parenting and Life Satisfaction Among Adolescents in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Filial Piety

Nainee S, Tan SA, Tan CS, Gan SW, Tan JP

Front Psychol, 2021;12:746540.
PMID: 34899486 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.746540

Literature on adolescent development has shown that parenting practices have positive relationships with adolescents' life satisfaction. Adolescents' life satisfaction improves when they have parents low in psychological control who uphold reciprocal self-disclosure in their communication. Guan parenting was found to correlate positively with adolescents' development. Therefore, it is methodologically important to replicate the investigation on the relationship between adolescents' life satisfaction and Guan parenting. Literature suggests that filial piety is shaped by parenting practices and adolescents who perceived intense parental concern, care, and involvement tend to uphold filial piety and express gratitude toward parents which may promote the adolescents' life satisfaction. In this study, mediation analysis was done to elucidate the relationship among parents' guan parenting style, filial piety, and life satisfaction on 606 adolescents (Mage=15.07; SDage=1.03; 52.1% females) in Malaysia. The adolescents were sampled through cluster sampling, and data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The results showed positive relationship between paternal and maternal guan parenting with filial piety and adolescents' life satisfaction. Greater parents' filial piety was linked to higher life satisfaction among adolescents. Findings from the mediation models indicated the association among guan parenting with filial piety, gratitude toward parents, and higher life satisfaction. The findings also offered empirical evidence to the underlying mechanism of how guan parenting could affect adolescent life satisfaction via the mediating role of filial piety. The findings also supported the importance of culture-infused parenting in inculcating adolescents' filial piety besides establishing its link to life satisfaction in Asian families.
Fulltext The Nexus Between the Big Five Personality Traits Model of the Digital Economy and Blockchain Technology Influencing Organization Psychology

Dan Y, Ahmed AAA, Chupradit S, Chupradit PW, Nassani AA, Haffar M

Front Psychol, 2021;12:780527.
PMID: 34899530 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.780527

The basic aim of the study was to understand the role of the Big Five model of personality in predicting emotional intelligence and consequently in triggering the entrepreneurial behavior of the employees. The emotional intelligence of the individuals plays a very important role in decision making, enhancement of quality of living, and many other social realms. Hence, the intelligent use of emotions can make or break an individual's future considering their attitude toward exploiting the entrepreneurial opportunities available. This study has measured the impact of personality traits on emotional intelligence and EI's role in digital entrepreneurial behavior. The population used in this study was the middle management employees in the corporate sector of the mainland in China. The sample size taken in this study was 260 and selected through convenient sampling. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire measuring each variable. The data collected was employed to SmartPLS 3.3 for analyzing through structural equation modeling to measure the hypotheses. The study has found the partial effect of the Big Five model of personality on emotional intelligence, which significantly predicted the digital entrepreneurial behavior of the employees. The organizations can use the study findings to anticipate the employees' possible prospects and endeavors regarding their digital entrepreneurial behaviors.
Fulltext Orbital Signaling in Graves' Orbitopathy

Draman MS, Zhang L, Dayan C, Ludgate M

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 2021;12:739994.
PMID: 34899596 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2021.739994

Graves' orbitopathy (GO) is a complex and poorly understood disease in which extensive remodeling of orbital tissue is dominated by adipogenesis and hyaluronan production. The resulting proptosis is disfiguring and underpins the majority of GO signs and symptoms. While there is strong evidence for the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) being a thyroid/orbit shared autoantigen, the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) is also likely to play a key role in the disease. The pathogenesis of GO has been investigated extensively in the last decade with further understanding of some aspects of the disease. This is mainly derived by using in vitro and ex vivo analysis of the orbital tissues. Here, we have summarized the features of GO pathogenesis involving target autoantigens and their signaling pathways.

MeSH terms: Humans; Hyaluronic Acid/metabolism; Receptors, Thyrotropin/metabolism*; Thyroid Gland/metabolism*; Signal Transduction/physiology*; Receptor, IGF Type 1/metabolism*; Graves Ophthalmopathy/metabolism*
Fulltext An empirical study on Resource Description Framework reification for trustworthiness in knowledge graphs

Govindapillai S, Soon LK, Haw SC

F1000Res, 2021;10:881.
PMID: 34900233 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.72843.2

Knowledge graph (KG) publishes machine-readable representation of knowledge on the Web. Structured data in the knowledge graph is published using Resource Description Framework (RDF) where knowledge is represented as a triple (subject, predicate, object). Due to the presence of erroneous, outdated or conflicting data in the knowledge graph, the quality of facts cannot be guaranteed. Trustworthiness of facts in knowledge graph can be enhanced by the addition of metadata like the source of information, location and time of the fact occurrence. Since RDF does not support metadata for providing provenance and contextualization, an alternate method, RDF reification is employed by most of the knowledge graphs. RDF reification increases the magnitude of data as several statements are required to represent a single fact. Another limitation for applications that uses provenance data like in the medical domain and in cyber security is that not all facts in these knowledge graphs are annotated with provenance data. In this paper, we have provided an overview of prominent reification approaches together with the analysis of popular, general knowledge graphs Wikidata and YAGO4 with regard to the representation of provenance and context data. Wikidata employs qualifiers to include metadata to facts, while YAGO4 collects metadata from Wikidata qualifiers. However, facts in Wikidata and YAGO4 can be fetched without using reification to cater for applications that do not require metadata. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates the method and the extent of metadata covered by two prominent KGs, Wikidata and YAGO4.

MeSH terms: Pattern Recognition, Automated*; Research Design; Empirical Research; Metadata*
Fulltext Arthroscopic Subacromial Decompression in the Treatment of Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: A Prospective Study in Malaysia

Nizam Siron K, Mat Lani MT, Low CL, Kow RY

Cureus, 2021 Nov;13(11):e19254.
PMID: 34900455 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.19254

Introduction Shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) is one of the common problems which lead to shoulder disabilities. This condition has been described as impingement to the rotator cuff by the anterior third of the acromion process and has been classified into three stages. Treatment option varies depending on the grade of the disease. Arthroscopic subacromial decompression (ASAD) has become more popular in recent years and has shown to have a good outcome. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcomes following ASAD in terms of the functional, clinical, and radiological parameters in treating SIS in the ageing population in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. Materials and methods This was an observational study looking at the outcomes of patients with stage 2 and stage 3 (partial cuff tear) impingement syndrome who underwent ASAD in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan and International Islamic University Malaysia Medical Centre from May 2018 to June 2019. The functional outcomes were evaluated using American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score taken at pre-operative, six weeks, three months, and six months post-operation. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using Constant score (CS) taken at six months post-operation. Radiological outcomes were measured by comparing acromiohumeral distance pre- and post-operation on anteroposterior (AP) view radiograph of the affected shoulder. Results A total of 28 patients were selected for the study. On functional outcome, there was a significant effect of time on the ASES scoring system (p-value <0.05) from pre-operative to six months post-operation. On clinical outcome, the CS at six months showed 13 patients have excellent scores, 10 have good, and five have fair scores. There was a statistically significant difference in mean values of all categories (p-value <0.05). In terms of the radiological outcome, this study observed a significant increase in patients' subacromial space on X-ray from the pre-operative and post-operative treatment stages. In this study, we also observed that there was no significant difference in outcomes between partial and intact rotator cuff (RC) tears at six-month post-operation. Conclusion In this study, ASAD was found to be a beneficial intervention in the treatment of patients with shoulder impingement evidenced by the significant outcomes in terms of functional, clinical, and radiological parameters.
Fulltext Opinion mining for national security: techniques, domain applications, challenges and research opportunities

Razali NAM, Malizan NA, Hasbullah NA, Wook M, Zainuddin NM, Ishak KK, et al.

J Big Data, 2021;8(1):150.
PMID: 34900516 DOI: 10.1186/s40537-021-00536-5

Background: Opinion mining, or sentiment analysis, is a field in Natural Language Processing (NLP). It extracts people's thoughts, including assessments, attitudes, and emotions toward individuals, topics, and events. The task is technically challenging but incredibly useful. With the explosive growth of the digital platform in cyberspace, such as blogs and social networks, individuals and organisations are increasingly utilising public opinion for their decision-making. In recent years, significant research concerning mining people's sentiments based on text in cyberspace using opinion mining has been explored. Researchers have applied numerous opinions mining techniques, including machine learning and lexicon-based approach to analyse and classify people's sentiments based on a text and discuss the existing gap. Thus, it creates a research opportunity for other researchers to investigate and propose improved methods and new domain applications to fill the gap.
Methods: In this paper, a structured literature review has been done by considering 122 articles to examine all relevant research accomplished in the field of opinion mining application and the suggested Kansei approach to solve the challenges that occur in mining sentiments based on text in cyberspace. Five different platforms database were systematically searched between 2015 and 2021: ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), IEEE (Advancing Technology for Humanity), SCIENCE DIRECT, SpringerLink, and SCOPUS.
Results: This study analyses various techniques of opinion mining as well as the Kansei approach that will help to enhance techniques in mining people's sentiment and emotion in cyberspace. Most of the study addressed methods including machine learning, lexicon-based approach, hybrid approach, and Kansei approach in mining the sentiment and emotion based on text. The possible societal impacts of the current opinion mining technique, including machine learning and the Kansei approach, along with major trends and challenges, are highlighted.
Conclusion: Various applications of opinion mining techniques in mining people's sentiment and emotion according to the objective of the research, used method, dataset, summarized in this study. This study serves as a theoretical analysis of the opinion mining method complemented by the Kansei approach in classifying people's sentiments based on text in cyberspace. Kansei approach can measure people's impressions using artefacts based on senses including sight, feeling and cognition reported precise results for the assessment of human emotion. Therefore, this research suggests that the Kansei approach should be a complementary factor including in the development of a dictionary focusing on emotion in the national security domain. Also, this theoretical analysis will act as a reference to researchers regarding the Kansei approach as one of the techniques to improve hybrid approaches in opinion mining.
Fulltext Comparison of VEGF level in tears post phacoemulsification between non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and non-diabetic patients

Azhan A, Zunaina E, Mahaneem M, Siti-Azrin AH

J Diabetes Metab Disord, 2021 Dec;20(2):2073-2079.
PMID: 34900842 DOI: 10.1007/s40200-021-00875-3

Background: Progression of diabetic retinopathy post cataract surgery is related to the increased level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ocular fluid post operatively. The aim of this study was to compare the VEGF level in tears post phacoemulsification between non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and non-diabetic patients.
Methods: This was a prospective cohort study and was conducted from June 2017 to May 2019. Patients with underlying NPDR who were planned for phacoemulsification were recruited in this study. Non-diabetic patients who were planned for phacoemulsification were included as control group. Tears samples were collected using Schirmer strip two weeks prior to operation, at day (D) 7 and D30 post phacoemulsification. Tears samples were analyzed for VEGF level.
Results: A total of 65 patients were recruited in this study (NPDR: 32 and control: 33). There was significant increase of VEGF levels in tears from pre operation to D7 post phacoemulsification in NPDR (p

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