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  1. Fulltext A TRIZ-driven conceptualisation of finger grip enhancer designs for the elderly
    Tan DWH, Ng PK, Noor EEM
    F1000Res, 2021;10:392.
    PMID: 34354817 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.51705.1
    Background: Elderly people with severe finger weakness may need assistive health technology interventions. Finger weakness impedes the elderly in executing activities of daily living such as unbuttoning shirts and opening clothes pegs. While studies have related finger weakness with ageing effects, there appears to be no research that uses an algorithmic problem-solving approach such as the theory of inventive problem-solving (TRIZ) to recommend finger grip assistive technologies that resolve the issue of finger weakness among the elderly. Using TRIZ, this study aims to conceptualise finger grip enhancer designs for elderly people. Methods: Several TRIZ tools such as the cause-and-effect chain (CEC) analysis, engineering contradiction, physical contradiction, and substance-field analysis are used to conceptualise solutions that assist elderly people in their day-to-day pinching activities. Results: Based on the segmentation principle, a finger assistant concept powered by a miniature linear actuator is recommended. Specific product development processes are used to further conceptualise the actuation system. The study concluded that the chosen concept should use a DC motor to actuate fingers through tendon cables triggered by a push start button. Conclusions: Finger pinch degradation worsens the quality of life of the elderly. A finger grip enhancer that assists in day-to-day activities may be an effective option for elderly people, not only for their physical but also their mental well-being in society.
  2. Fulltext A hybrid recommender system based on data enrichment on the ontology modelling
    Chew LJ, Haw SC, Subramaniam S
    F1000Res, 2021;10:937.
    PMID: 34868563 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.73060.1
    Background: A recommender system captures the user preferences and behaviour to provide a relevant recommendation to the user. In a hybrid model-based recommender system, it requires a pre-trained data model to generate recommendations for a user. Ontology helps to represent the semantic information and relationships to model the expressivity and linkage among the data. Methods: We enhanced the matrix factorization model accuracy by utilizing ontology to enrich the information of the user-item matrix by integrating the item-based and user-based collaborative filtering techniques. In particular, the combination of enriched data, which consists of semantic similarity together with rating pattern, will help to reduce the cold start problem in the model-based recommender system. When the new user or item first coming into the system, we have the user demographic or item profile that linked to our ontology. Thus, semantic similarity can be calculated during the item-based and user-based collaborating filtering process. The item-based and user-based filtering process are used to predict the unknown rating of the original matrix. Results: Experimental evaluations have been carried out on the MovieLens 100k dataset to demonstrate the accuracy rate of our proposed approach as compared to the baseline method using (i) Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and (ii) combination of item-based collaborative filtering technique with SVD. Experimental results demonstrated that our proposed method has reduced the data sparsity from 0.9542% to 0.8435%. In addition, it also indicated that our proposed method has achieved better accuracy with Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.9298, as compared to the baseline method (RMSE: 0.9642) and the existing method (RMSE: 0.9492). Conclusions: Our proposed method enhanced the dataset information by integrating user-based and item-based collaborative filtering techniques. The experiment results shows that our system has reduced the data sparsity and has better accuracy as compared to baseline method and existing method.
  3. Fulltext A retrospective review on minimally invasive technique via endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) in the treatment of severe primary hyperhidrosis: Experiences from the National Heart Institute, Malaysia
    Musa AF, Gandhi VP, Dillon J, Nordin RB
    F1000Res, 2018;7:670.
    PMID: 32724556 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.14777.1
    Background: Hyperhidrosis is due to the hyperactive autonomic stimulation of the sweat glands in response to stress. Primary hyperhidrosis is a common yet psychologically disabling condition. This study will describe our experience in managing hyperhidrosis via endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS). Methods: The information was obtained from the patient records from 1 st January 2011 until 31 st December 2016. Pertinent information was extracted and keyed into a study proforma. Results:  150 patients were operated on but only 118 patients were included in this study. The mean age was 22.9±7.3 years. The majority (54.2%) had palmar-plantar hyperhidrosis and 39.8% had associated axillary hyperhidrosis. Excision of the sympathetic nerve chain and ganglia were the main surgical technique with the majority (55.9%) at T2-T3 level. Mean ETS procedure time was 46.6±14.29 minutes with no conversion. Surgical complications were minimal and no Horner's Syndrome reported. Mean hospital stay was 3.5±1.05 days. The majority of patients (67.8%) had only one follow-up and only half of the study sample (58.5%) complained mild to moderate degree of compensatory sweating, even though the long-term resolution is yet to be determined by another study. Following ETS, 98.3% of patients had instant relief and resolved their palmar hyperhidrosis. Predictors of CS were sympathectomy level and follow-up. The odds of reporting CS was 2.87 times in patients undergoing ETS at the T2-T3 level compared to those undergoing ETS at the T2-T4 level. The odds of reporting CS was 13.56 times in patients having more than one follow-up compared to those having only one follow-up. Conclusion: We conclude that ETS is a safe, effective and aesthetically remarkable procedure for the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis  with only half of the patients developing mild to moderate degree of CS. Significant predictors of CS were sympathectomy level during ETS and frequency of follow-up after ETS.
  4. Fulltext A retrospective study on atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery at The National Heart Institute, Kuala Lumpur
    Farouk Musa A, Quan CZ, Xin LZ, Soni T, Dillon J, Hay YK, et al.
    F1000Res, 2018;7:164.
    PMID: 30254739 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.13244.2
    Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common after cardiac surgery and has been associated with poor outcome and increased resource utilization. The main objective of this study is to determine the incidence of POAF in Malaysia and identify the predictors of developing POAF. The secondary outcome of this study would be to investigate the difference in mortality and morbidity rates and the duration of intensive care unit (ICU), high dependency unit (HDU) and hospital stay between the two. Methods: This is a retrospective single-center, cross sectional study conducted at the National Heart Institute, Malaysia. Medical records of 637 who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery in 2015 were accrued. Pre-operative, operative and post-operative information were subsequently collected on a pre-formulated data collection sheet. Data were then analyzed using IBM SPSS v23. Results: The incidence of POAF in our study stands at 28.7% with a mean onset of 45±33 hours post operatively. Variables with independent association with POAF include advancing age, Indian population, history of chronic kidney disease, left ventricular ejection fraction and beta-blocker treatment. The mortality rate is significantly higher statistically ( p < 0.05), and similarly the incidence of stroke. The incidence of other post-operative complications was also significantly higher statistically. The duration of ICU, HDU and hospital stays were statistically longer ( p < 0.001) with higher rates of ICU readmissions and reintubations seen. Conclusion: We conclude that the incidence of POAF in Malaysia is comparable to the figures in Western countries, making POAF one of the most commonly encountered condition after CABG with similar higher rates of mortality, poor outcomes and longer duration of stay, and therefore increased cost of care. Strategies to reduce the incidence of AF after cardiac surgery should favorably affect surgical outcomes and reduce utilization of resources and thus lower cost of care.
  5. Fulltext A simple optical pH sensor based on pectin and Ruellia tuberosa L-derived anthocyanin for fish freshness monitoring
    Nazaruddin N, Afifah N, Bahi M, Susilawati S, Sani NDM, Esmaeili C, et al.
    F1000Res, 2021;10:422.
    PMID: 34527216 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.52836.2
    A simple optical pH sensor using the active compound anthocyanin (ACN), derived Ruellia tuberosa L. flower immobilized in a pectin membrane matrix, was been fabricated and employed to monitor the freshness of tilapia fish at room temperature and 4 oC storage. The quantitative pH values were measured based on the UV-Vis spectroscopy absorbance. The optimum pectin weight and ACN concentrations were 0.1% and 0.025 mg/L. The sensor showed good sensitivity at 0.03 M phosphate buffer solution. The sensor's reproducibility was evaluated using 10 replicate sensors where a standard deviation of 0.045 or relative standard deviation of 9.15 was achieved. The sensor displayed an excellent response after 10 minutes of exposure, possessing a response stability for 10 consecutive days. The decrease in pH value of the Tilapia fish from 7.3 to 5 was observed in a 48 hour test, which can be used as the parameter when monitoring fish freshness. Overall, this reported optical pH sensor has a novelty as it could be used to monitor the rigor mortis phase of fish meat, which is useful in food industry.
  6. Academic entrepreneurial engagement for frugal innovation in higher education institutions: a systematic literature review
    Toyin Ojo O, Dorasamy M, W Migin M, Jayabalan J, R R, Tung SS
    F1000Res, 2021;10:1078.
    PMID: 37593130 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.73312.2
    Higher education institutions (HEI) are faced with increasing challenges related to shrinking resources, high operation costs, the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing student enrolment rates, and pressure to contribute to regional development and economic growth. To overcome such challenges, academics must move beyond their traditional functions of research and teaching and engage in entrepreneurial activities. Through engagement in entrepreneurial activities, academics can contribute to frugal innovation (FI) in private HEI (PHEI). The literature in this context emphasizes that academic entrepreneurial engagement (AEE) will lead to innovation, the identification of opportunities for new business ventures, financial rewards for institutions and academics, an impact on the economy, and the enhancement of social welfare. This study presents a systematic review of the literature and adopts the Transfield five-phase strategy to review the literature on AEE from the past two decades (2000-2020). A total of 1,067 papers on FI are obtained, only five of which focus on AEE. Moreover, papers related to AEE for FI are few. The study presents the research gaps, challenges, and potential factors for further research in this context. We conclude that FI for AEE in PHEI can be a game-changer for future sustainability. Moreover, we believe that the outcome of this review warrants further research.
  7. 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.
  8. Fulltext An intelligent decision support system for crop yield prediction using hybrid machine learning algorithms
    Anbananthen KSM, Subbiah S, Chelliah D, Sivakumar P, Somasundaram V, Velshankar KH, et al.
    F1000Res, 2021;10:1143.
    PMID: 34987773 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.73009.1
    Background: In recent times, digitization is gaining importance in different domains of knowledge such as agriculture, medicine, recommendation platforms, the Internet of Things (IoT), and weather forecasting. In agriculture, crop yield estimation is essential for improving productivity and decision-making processes such as financial market forecasting, and addressing food security issues. The main objective of the article is to predict and improve the accuracy of crop yield forecasting using hybrid machine learning (ML) algorithms. Methods: This article proposes hybrid ML algorithms that use specialized ensembling methods such as stacked generalization, gradient boosting, random forest, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression. Stacked generalization is a new model which learns how to best combine the predictions from two or more models trained on the dataset. To demonstrate the applications of the proposed algorithm, aerial-intel datasets from the github data science repository are used. Results: Based on the experimental results done on the agricultural data, the following observations have been made. The performance of the individual algorithm and hybrid ML algorithms are compared using cross-validation to identify the most promising performers for the agricultural dataset.  The accuracy of random forest regressor, gradient boosted tree regression, and stacked generalization ensemble methods are 87.71%, 86.98%, and 88.89% respectively. Conclusions: The proposed stacked generalization ML algorithm statistically outperforms with an accuracy of 88.89% and hence demonstrates that the proposed approach is an effective algorithm for predicting crop yield. The system also gives fast and accurate responses to the farmers.
  9. Fulltext Assessing the species composition of tropical eels (Anguillidae) in Aceh Waters, Indonesia, with DNA barcoding gene cox1
    Muchlisin ZA, Batubara AS, Fadli N, Muhammadar AA, Utami AI, Farhana N, et al.
    F1000Res, 2017;6:258.
    PMID: 28529702 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.10715.1
    The objective of the present study was to evaluate the species diversity of eels native to Aceh waters based on genetic data. Sampling was conducted in western coast waters of Aceh Province, Indonesia, from July to August 2016. Genomic DNA was extracted from the samples, a genomic region from the 5' region of the cox1 gene was amplified and sequenced, and this was then used to analyse genetic variation. The genetic sequences were blasted into the NCBI database. Based on this analysis there were three valid species of eels that occurred in Aceh waters, namely Anguilla marmorata, A. bicolor bicolor, and A. bengalensis bengalensis.
  10. Awareness and intention to register halal certification of micro and small-scale food enterprises
    Oemar H, Prasetyaningsih E, Bakar SZA, Djamaludin D, Septiani A
    F1000Res, 2022;11:170.
    PMID: 37771718 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.75968.1
    Background: This paper discusses halal awareness of food micro and small-scale enterprises (food MSEs) in West Java Province, Indonesia. Halal awareness is the first step toward obtaining halal certificates, which confirm that the product is lawful according to Islamic Sharia. Unfortunately, most of the food sold on the market do not have halal certificates due to a lack of halal awareness and intention on the part of the entrepreneurs. Methods: This study aims at measuring the level of halal awareness and the intention of food MSE entrepreneurs to register halal certification. Halal awareness is assumed to be influenced by knowledge of halal and MSEs' entrepreneurial perceptions of the benefits of halal certificates. Furthermore, halal awareness, attitudes, and perceptions of ease of procedures will encourage the intention to register halal certification. An electronic Google Form with a cover letter and a set of questionnaires was distributed to collect data. Structural Equation Modelling - Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) was chosen to evaluate the adopted theoretical models in the exploratory research. Results: The results show that halal awareness is influenced by knowledge of halal and perceptions of benefits. Moreover, halal awareness influences positively the intention to obtain a halal certificate, but the intention is not significantly affected by attitudes and perceptions of procedures for obtaining halal certification. This shows that halal awareness will increase the intention to register halal certification. However, it does not impact attitudes/actions to register for halal certification due to the misconceptions about the procedures for obtaining halal certificates. Conclusions: Micro and small entrepreneurs in West Java Province, Indonesia have a good level of awareness about halal food. However, their products are not halal-certified due to the perceptions of the procedures for obtaining halal certificates, which are relatively complicated and costly for micro and small-scale businesses.
  11. Fulltext Behavioural and emotional issues among primary school pupils with congenital colour vision deficiency in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A case-control study
    Thomas BAWM, Kaur S, Hairol MI, Ahmad M, Wee LH
    F1000Res, 2018;7:1834.
    PMID: 30815251 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.17006.1
    Background: Congenital colour vision deficiency (CCVD) is an untreatable disorder which has lifelong consequences. Increasing use of colours in schools has raised concern for pupils with CCVD. This case-control study was conducted to compare behavioural and emotional issues among age, gender and class-matched pupils with CCVD and normal colour vision (NCV). Methods: A total of 1732 pupils from 10 primary schools in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur were screened, of which 46 pupils (45 males and 1 female) had CCVD. Mothers of male pupils with CCVD (n=44) and NCV (n=44) who gave consent were recruited to complete a self-administered parent report form, Child Behaviour Checklist for Ages 4-18 (CBCL/ 4-18) used to access behavioural and emotional problems. The CBCL/ 4-18 has three broad groupings: Internalising, Externalising and Total Behaviour Problems. Internalising Problems combines the Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints and Anxiety/ Depression sub constructs, while Externalising Problems combines the Delinquent and Aggressive Behaviour sub constructs. Results: Results from CBCL/ 4-18 showed that all pupils from both groups had scores within the normal range for all constructs. However, results from the statistical analysis for comparison, Mann-Whitney U test, showed that pupils with CCVD scored significantly higher for Externalising Problems (U=697.50, p=0.02) and Total Behaviour Problems (U=647.00, p= 0.01). Significantly higher scores were observed in Withdrawn (U=714.00, p=0.02), Thought Problems (U=438.50, p<0.001) and Aggressive Behaviour (U=738.00, p=0.04). Odds ratios, 95% CI, showed significant relative risk for high Total Behaviour Problem (OR:2.39 ,CI:1.0-5.7), Externalising Problems (OR:2.32, CI:1.0-5.5), Withdrawn (OR:2.67, CI:1.1-6.5), Thought Problems (OR:9.64, CI:3.6-26.1) and Aggressive Behaviour (OR:10.26, CI:3.4-31.0) scores among pupils with CCVD. Conclusion: Higher scores among CCVD pupils indicates that they present more behavioural and emotional problems compared to NCV pupils. Therefore, school vision screenings in Malaysia should also include colour vision to assist in the early clinical management of CCVD children.
  12. Benefit of Asian pigmented rice bioactive compound and its implication in breast cancer: a systematic review
    Nafisah W, Nugraha AP, Nugroho A, Sakinah AI, Nusantara DS, Philia J, et al.
    F1000Res, 2023;12:371.
    PMID: 37854873 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.130329.1
    Background: Utilizing the bioactive compounds found in pigmented rice might significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer. This study aims to systematically review existing literature on the benefit of Asian pigmented rice bioactive compounds and their implication in breast cancer. Methods: Searches of the literature were conducted in two databases (Scopus and PubMed) for a systematic review. The keywords resulted in a total of 407 articles, consisting of 103 PubMed and 304 Scopus articles. 32 manuscripts were excluded because the article was over 10 years old. After excluding book chapters and non-English languages, we had 278 potential articles to be reviewed. After checking and screening the title and abstract and eliminating duplicate articles, then 66 articles were obtained. After the selection and elimination of the full-text manuscripts, finally 10 of them which met the inclusion criteria. Result: The included studies in this review were entirely based in Asia. The year of publication ranged from 2013 to 2020. Half of included studies used black rice extract, two used red jasmine rice extracts, and three used Korean rice extracts (black, red, dark purple and brown rice). All studies were conducted in vitro and three studies were compared with in vivo tests on female mice. The pigmented rice is mainly black, red, and dark purple rice, and contains a variety of peonidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, γ-oryzanol, γ-tocotrienol, proanthocyanidin, cinnamic acid, and anthocyanins that may act as pro-apoptotic, anti-proliferative, and anti-metastasis of the breast cancer cells. Conclusion: Pigmented rice is a beneficial food which possessed bioactive compounds that may have significant potential concerning a breast cancer.
  13. Fulltext BioHackathon 2015: Semantics of data for life sciences and reproducible research
    Vos RA, Katayama T, Mishima H, Kawano S, Kawashima S, Kim JD, et al.
    F1000Res, 2020;9:136.
    PMID: 32308977 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.18236.1
    We report on the activities of the 2015 edition of the BioHackathon, an annual event that brings together researchers and developers from around the world to develop tools and technologies that promote the reusability of biological data. We discuss issues surrounding the representation, publication, integration, mining and reuse of biological data and metadata across a wide range of biomedical data types of relevance for the life sciences, including chemistry, genotypes and phenotypes, orthology and phylogeny, proteomics, genomics, glycomics, and metabolomics. We describe our progress to address ongoing challenges to the reusability and reproducibility of research results, and identify outstanding issues that continue to impede the progress of bioinformatics research. We share our perspective on the state of the art, continued challenges, and goals for future research and development for the life sciences Semantic Web.
  14. Fulltext Bridging skill gaps and creating future ready accounting and finance graduates: an exploratory study
    Muthaiyah S, Phang K, Sembakutti S
    F1000Res, 2021;10:892.
    PMID: 35035890 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.72880.1
    Background: Changing trends in the use of technology have become an impelling force to be reckoned with for the accounting and finance profession. The curriculum offered in higher learning institutions must be quickly revamped so that students who complete a bachelor's degree are digitally competent upon graduation. With US$55.3 billion invested in FinTech in 2019 alone and more than 72% of accounting jobs being automated, graduates must be trained on digital skills to be future proof. Accounting and finance graduates must be made competent in skills that are related to digital content such as blockchain technology, information assets and autonomous peer to peer systems, to name a few. Methods: We used a three-phase approach: 1) careful mapping of digital topics taught within the course structure offered at these institutions; 2) review of current best practices and digital learning tools for digital inclusion which was ascertained from literature; and 3) 80 experts in a think tank group were interviewed on antecedents, awareness and problems in relation to digital inclusion within the curriculum to validate our research objective. Results: Eleven key tools for inclusion in the curriculum were discussed with experts and then mapped to current curriculum offered at institutions. We discovered that less than 5% of these were being taught. In total, 78% of experts agreed that digital content is inevitable, 90% agreed that digital inclusion based on tools that were discussed will yield great benefits for students, and lastly 75% agreed that giving digital exposure to students must be standard practice. Conclusions: The response from experts confirms that digital inclusion is imperative, but instructors themselves lacked the know-how of emerging technologies. Only the curriculum of institutions with approved bachelor's programs were included in this research. In our future work we hope to include all institutions and professional bodies as well.
  15. Fulltext COVID-19 impact: Customised economic stimulus package recommender system using machine learning techniques
    Kannan R, Wang IZW, Ong HB, Ramakrishnan K, Alamsyah A
    F1000Res, 2021 09 16;10:932.
    PMID: 34925768 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.72976.2
    Background: The Malaysian government reacted to the pandemic's economic effect with the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) to cushion the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) impact on households. The ESP consists of cash assistance, utility discount, moratorium, Employee Provident Fund (EPF) cash withdrawals, credit guarantee scheme and wage subsidies. A survey carried out by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) shows that households prefer different types of financial assistance. These preferences forge the need to effectively customise ESPs to manage the economic burden among low-income households. In this study, a recommender system for such ESPs was designed by leveraging data analytics and machine learning techniques. Methods: This study used a dataset from DOSM titled "Effects of COVID-19 on the Economy and Individual - Round 2," collected from April 10 to April 24, 2020. Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining was followed to develop machine learning models to classify ESP receivers according to their preferred subsidies types. Four machine learning techniques-Decision Tree, Gradient Boosted Tree, Random Forest and Naïve Bayes-were used to build the predictive models for each moratorium, utility discount and EPF and Private Remuneration Scheme (PRS) cash withdrawals subsidies. The best predictive model was selected based on F-score metrics. Results: Among the four machine learning techniques, Gradient Boosted Tree outperformed the rest. This technique predicted the following: moratorium preferences with 93.8% sensitivity, 82.1% precision and 87.6% F-score; utilities discount with 86% sensitivity, 82.1% precision and 84% F-score; and EPF and PRS with 83.6% sensitivity, 81.2% precision and 82.4% F-score. Households that prefer moratorium subsidies did not favour other financial aids except for cash assistance.  Conclusion: Findings present machine learning models that can predict individual household preferences from ESP. These models can be used to design customised ESPs that can effectively manage the financial burden of low-income households.
  16. Fulltext Cardiovascular involvement and manifestations of systemic Chikungunya virus infection: A systematic review
    Alvarez MF, Bolívar-Mejía A, Rodriguez-Morales AJ, Ramirez-Vallejo E
    F1000Res, 2017;6:390.
    PMID: 28503297 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.11078.2
    BACKGROUND: In the last three years, chikungunya virus disease has been spreading, affecting particularly the Americas, producing more than two million cases. In this setting, not only new disease-related epidemiological patterns have been found, but also new clinical findings have been reported by different research groups. These include findings on the cardiovascular system, including clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic alterations. No previous systemic reviews have been found in major databases about it.

    METHODS: We performed a systematic review looking for reports about cardiovascular compromise during chikungunya disease. Cardiac compromise is not so common in isolated episodes; but countries where chikungunya virus is an epidemic should be well informed about this condition. We used 6 bibliographical databases as resources: Medline/Pubmed, Embase, ScienceDirect, ClinicalKey, Ovid and SciELO. Dengue reports on cardiovascular compromise were included as well, to compare both arbovirus' organic compromises. Articles that delved mainly into the rheumatic articular and cutaneous complications were not considered, as they were not in line with the purpose of this study. The type of articles included were reviews, meta-analyses, case-controls, cohort studies, case reports and case series. This systematic review does not reach or performed a meta-analysis.

    RESULTS: Originally based on 737 articles, our reviewed selected 40 articles with 54.2% at least mentioning CHIKV cardiovascular compromise within the systemic compromise. Cardiovascular manifestations can be considered common and have been reported in France, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Colombia, Venezuela and USA, including mainly, but no limited to: hypotension, shock and circulatory collapse, Raynaud phenomenon, arrhythmias, murmurs, myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathy, congestive insufficiency, heart failure and altered function profile (Troponins, CPK).

    CONCLUSIONS: Physicians should be encouraged to keep divulgating reports on the cardiovascular involvement of chikungunya virus disease, to raise awareness and ultimately encourage suitable diagnosis and intervention worldwide. More research about cardiovascular involvement and manifestations of systemic Chikungunya virus infection is urgently needed.

  17. Fulltext Coping strategies of students for anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: a cross-sectional study
    Nurunnabi M, Hossain SFAH, Chinna K, Sundarasen S, Khoshaim HB, Kamaludin K, et al.
    F1000Res, 2020;9:1115.
    PMID: 33274049 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.25557.1
    Background: COVID-19 has severely affected university students everywhere in the world. Due to fear of infection, government and local authorities in China immediately closed academic institutions and tried to find survival techniques to cope with market turbulence. COVID-19 was present in China at the end of 2019. However, little attention has been paid by researchers to coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and few measures were taken to assess the coping strategies of university students, specifically following the closure of their institutions. To address this gap, this study attempted to discover the coping strategies of Chinese students during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods: We conducted an online survey using a semi-structured questionnaire with a simple random sampling technique and received 559 responses. The survey questions captured information about students' lives during the COVID-19 outbreak, actions to control anxiety, and what students care about during the pandemic. The associations between coping strategies used and levels of anxiety were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures. SPSS Statistics v27 was used for statistical analysis in this study. Results: The university students reported that coping strategies and survival techniques were required due to high levels of anxiety and psychological pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the respondents reported the prompt closure of their academic institutions due to COVID-19. Psychological concerns, such as lack of sleep, emotional support, mental support and social appeal, were also reported. Conclusions: This is one of the very first studies on coping strategies for anxiety in China. The study reveals that university students employ a number of coping strategies in relation to COVID-19, but also suggests a need to strengthen such strategies in this population. However, the study was limited to a small number of provinces in China, which may affect the generalizability of the research.
  18. Corporate governance and shareholders' confidence in cooperativess a systematic literature review
    Thangaveloo A, Dorasamy M, Bin Ahmad AA, Marimuthu SB, Jayabalan J
    F1000Res, 2022;11:144.
    PMID: 38434005 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.73317.2
    Background: The confidence of Bottom 40 (B40) shareholders is crucial for cooperative's sustenance within wider corporate governance. An in-depth study on cooperatives is needed, as they play a crucial role in the Malaysian economic system and contribute greatly to the country's social development. However, in the current landscape, confidence among shareholders is at stake. This study aims to identify the research gap into corporate governance for cooperativess in relation to B40 shareholder confidence, as well as identify current study challenges and develop a conceptual framework for future research. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review, with the use of agency theory to assess shareholders' confidence. Emerald, ProQuest, InderScience, Scopus and Science Direct were the online databases used in this study to search five keyword phrases: corporate governance, confidence, cooperative, agency theory and Bottom 40% (B40) household. Tranfield's five stages were used to conduct the systematic review. Results: Only 5 of the 324 studies assess shareholders' confidence in cooperatives, as well as one paper on B40 and two papers on agency theory. Our review presents three major findings. First, research in the context of B40 shareholder's confidence in cooperatives is scarce. Second, the challenges related to shareholders' confidence in B40 are major issues in the context. Third, research on agency theory in the context of shareholders' confidence within cooperatives and corporate governance is still scant. Conclusions: This review urges the research community to conduct more studies based on the highlighted research gaps.
  19. Fulltext Correlation between salivary estrogen levels and oral epithelial cytokeratin 5 expression
    Handajani J, Effendi N, Sosroseno W
    F1000Res, 2020;9:186.
    PMID: 32399205 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.22536.2
    Background: Estrogen expression levels may be associated with age and may affect keratinization of the hard palate. Keratinized epithelium expresses cytokeratin 5 and 14 in the basal layer. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the levels of salivary estrogen and number of cytokeratin 5-positive oral epithelial cells. Methods: A total of 30 female subjects were recruited and divided into children, adults and elderly (N=10 per group). Salivary estrogen levels and cytokeratin 5-expressing oral epithelial cells were assessed using ELISA and immunohistological methods, respectively. Data were analyzed using ANOVA with post hoc LSD test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The results showed that both the number of cytokeratin 5-positive cells and the level of salivary estrogen were significantly higher in adults but decreased in the elderly, as compared with those in children (p<0.05). Furthermore, the levels of salivary estrogen were significantly correlated with the number of cytokeratin 5-positive cells (r=0.815). The ANOVA result showed significance difference cytokeratin 5 expression and estrogen level (p<0.05). The post hoc LSD test revealed cytokeratin 5 expression and estrogen level to be significantly different in children, adults, and elderly participants (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that the profile of salivary estrogen and oral epithelial cell-expressed cytokeratin 5 may be positively correlated with age and depend on age.
  20. Fulltext Crowd density estimation using deep learning for Hajj pilgrimage video analytics
    Bhuiyan MR, Abdullah DJ, Hashim DN, Farid FA, Uddin DJ, Abdullah N, et al.
    F1000Res, 2021;10:1190.
    PMID: 35136582 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.73156.2
    BACKGROUND: This paper focuses on advances in crowd control study with an emphasis on high-density crowds, particularly Hajj crowds. Video analysis and visual surveillance have been of increasing importance in order to enhance the safety and security of pilgrimages in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Hajj is considered to be a particularly distinctive event, with hundreds of thousands of people gathering in a small space, which does not allow a precise analysis of video footage using advanced video and computer vision algorithms. This research proposes an algorithm based on a Convolutional Neural Networks model specifically for Hajj applications. Additionally, the work introduces a system for counting and then estimating the crowd density.

    METHODS: The model adopts an architecture which detects each person in the crowd, spots head location with a bounding box and does the counting in our own novel dataset (HAJJ-Crowd).

    RESULTS: Our algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art method, and attains a remarkable Mean Absolute Error result of 200 (average of 82.0 improvement) and Mean Square Error of 240 (average of 135.54 improvement).

    CONCLUSIONS: In our new HAJJ-Crowd dataset for evaluation and testing, we have a density map and prediction results of some standard methods.

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