AIM: To investigate the changes of retinal vascular parameters and retinal layer thickness in patients with multiple sclerosis(MS).METHODS: This single-centered case-control study was performed on a MS group of 42 patients diagnosed with MS and a control group of 43 healthy hospital staff matched in terms of age and sex at Iran University, department of neurology and ophthalmology from March 2020 to March 2021. The ophthalmic parameters of each patient were recorded, and optical coherence tomography was used to evaluate the retinal thickness in the layers.RESULTS: This study enrolled a total of 85 participants, with a mean age of 40.44±11.52 years, including 61 females(72%). The control group consisted of 43 individuals with a mean age of 39.49±11.07 years, while the MS group comprised 42 participants with a mean age of 41.40±12.01 years. The mean disease duration in the MS group was 8.45±6.04 a. The thickness of the ganglion cell layer in the right eye was significantly lower in the MS group compared to the control group(P=0.034). In addition, except for the left nasal sector(P=0.106), the mean peripapillary neurofibrillation in all examined sectors were significantly lower in the MS group than in the control group(P<0.05). The average vessel density in both the deep and superficial capillary plexuses across all regions of both eyes was lower in the MS group than in the control group, with all comparisons for the superficial capillary plexus showing statistical significance(P<0.05 for all except the left nasal sector).CONCLUSION: The thickness of the retina of patients with MS is significantly reduced. Therefore, optical coherence tomography results can be used as a reliable tool to evaluate disease progression and prognosis in MS patients.

Traumatic crush injury of the thumb is devastating and often resulted in poor functional outcome. Various reconstruction options available according to surgical expertise. Masquelet technique is well-established in the long bones of lower limb. Only a handful of cases reported for thumb, especially in Asia region. We described a case of crush injury of right thumb following a trauma. The bony defect was initially filled with antibiotic spacer and subsequent reconstruction with tricortical iliac graft, a modified Masquelet two-stage technique. It is a versatile tool which provide satisfactory functional outcome and hand appearance.

Patient cancer care education aims to inform and empower patients by providing clear, relevant information about cancer, including its mechanisms, treatment options, and management strategies. This study evaluated the effectiveness and accuracy of existing patient cancer care education materials in Malaysia, specifically assessing patients’ understanding of treatment, side effects, and their management. Method: A descriptive, correlational study was conducted involving 20 cancer patients at Gleneagles Penang Medical Center, using the Patient Cancer Education Needs Assessment questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 21.0 and Microsoft Excel 2013. Result: Patient age, education level, occupation, and socioeconomic status were not significant factors influencing understanding. Findings highlight the need to improve existing educational materials to enhance patient comprehension and ensure materials are comprehensive, culturally appropriate, and innovative. Conclusion: Patient cancer care education materials should be comprehensive, interactive, and patient is friendly. Current materials require revision and enhancement to keep pace with technological developments, ensuring they are accessible, understandable, and effective in supporting patients’ knowledge of cancer treatment, side effects, management strategies, and psychosocial aspects.

Purpose: Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT), while effective in reducing cancer recurrence and improving survival rates, often comes with radiation toxicity that can adversely affect the patient’s quality of life (QoL). Evaluating toxicity after RT is crucial because it helps to identify and manage adverse effects that can significantly impact a patient’s QoL. By monitoring toxicity, we can adjust treatment plans to mitigate these effects, improve patient comfort, and ensure a better overall outcome. Therefore this study aimed to evaluate and compare QoL following 3D-conformal hypofractionated RT in breast cancer patients. Methods: We included twenty-one Malaysian women with unilateral breast cancer treated with lumpectomy (n=15) or mastectomy (n=6) followed by 3D-conformal hypofractionated RT. QoL was evaluated using the EORTC QLQ-BR45 questionnaire before, during, and after RT. Results: During RT, there was a significant increase in the mean score of the breast symptoms scale compared to baseline (p=0.002), with the most common symptoms being skin problems, followed by swelling and oversensitivity. However, these symptoms were generally mild for most patients. The other quality of life scales remained stable during RT. Post-RT, most QoL scales showed improvements compared to both baseline and during RT, with significant enhancements in the mean breast symptoms score and breast satisfaction score (all p<0.05). Conclusion: Radiotherapy negatively impacted the QoL of our breast cancer patients, specifically on the breast symptoms scale. However, these symptoms improved after 4 months, resulting in high breast satisfaction and indicating a near-excellent cosmetic outcome. Future studies with larger cohorts are essential to validate these findings, as the small sample size (n=21 at baseline; n=13 post-RT) may have limited the detection of more subtle changes

Despite publishing and securing research grants being obligatory in research universities, the literature on the factors influencing academic productivity is relatively scarce. Thus, in this study, we aimed to determine the personal and behavioural-related factors that influence the culture of publishing and securing research grants among academicians with lower research-related performance. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 49 academic staff members of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). A self-administered questionnaire consisting of personal, attitude and behavioural (barriers, perceived stress scale, work extrinsic and intrinsic motivation scale, psychological well-being scale, and basic needs satisfaction scale) questions were distributed during a workshop and online. Simple linear regression (SLR) analyses were performed for each variable, followed by multiple linear regression (MLR) to identify the associated factors of research output. After adjusting for covariates, having a doctoral degree (β=0.396, 95% CI=0.221-2.146, p<0.05) and integrated regulation (β=0.574, 95% CI=0.036-3.612, p<0.05) were found to be associated with research grant acquisition (R2=0.273). Moreover, increasing age (β=0.426, 95% CI=0.088-0.397, p<0.05), living alone (β=0.331, 95% CI=0.944-6.626, p<0.05), having a doctoral degree (β=0.248, 95% CI=0.174-6.747, p<0.05), environmental mastery (β=0.318, 95% CI=0.013-0.347, p<0.05), self-acceptance (β=0.284, 95% CI=0.010-0.242, p<0.05), satisfaction incompetence (β=0.273, 95% CI=0.001-0.200, p<0.05) and relatedness (β=0.280, 95% CI=0.001-0.116, p<0.05) were found to be the factors that influence the publications produced among participants (R2 =0.423). The findings of this study could be used by management to formulate effective strategies to increase the productivity of academics in their research-related performance.

Children’s proficient reading performance is not merely an academic skill; it is a fundamental cornerstone of a child’s cognitive development, academic success, and long-term life outcomes. As a primary role model, parental reading attitudes will most likely influence the home literacy environment and children’s reading performance. Parents’ reading habits and experiences may provide the necessary knowledge to assist children’s reading development. Currently, no Malay language instruments are available to assess parents’ attitudes towards reading. Thus, this study aimed to translate the English version of the Parent Reading Beliefs Survey (PRBS) into Malay language and evaluate its validity and reliability. PRBS was chosen because it can measure how parents’ reading attitudes align with current at-home literacy practices and literacy development. The Malay-translated questionnaire was content validated through content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index-relevance (CVI-Relevance), and content validity index-clarity (CVI-Clarity) methods by eight expert panels (professionals that having expertise related to early literacy), and finally reliability tested using Cronbach’s alpha with 50 participants (preschool children’s parents). The results showed that all items’ CVR values were at least 0.75, and all items’ CVI-Relevance and CVI-Clarity values were higher than 0.83, indicating satisfactory validity. As for each subscale, Cronbach’s alpha value ranges from 0.71 to 0.97, indicating acceptable and good internal consistency. Overall, the Malaytranslated version of the PRBS was found to be valid and reliable for use in future studies. The findings of this study can pave the way for more research efforts in the field of reading in Malaysia. The questionnaire can also assist speech therapists and educators in assessing the attitudes that parents have in reading to come up with better designs for parent-child reading intervention

Parenting children with autism spectrum disorder comes with challenges that impact parenting stress and quality of life, with social support being an influencing factor. The cultural context appears to influence associations between parenting stress, social support, and quality of life. There is a lack of reviews examining these associations in Asia. Thus, this review aims to provide an overview of the relationship between parenting stress, QOL and social support specific to the population in Asian countries. Systematic searches based on PRISMA guidelines were conducted on Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus, which found 26 eligible studies to be included in the review. Findings from the studies demonstrated social support, parenting stress, and quality of life to be significantly associated with each other directly and indirectly. They are also related to multiple variables like coping strategies and self-efficacy. In the future, data from a wider scope of Asian countries will be beneficial since most literature originated from China. Furthermore, more studies on potential moderator and mediator variables could be conducted.

Parenting Factors and Child Obesity: A Study Among Preschoolers in Selangor, Malaysia Introduction Child obesity is a pressing global concern. In Malaysia, the rates of child obesity have risen significantly over recent decades, with 5.6% of children under the age of five being categorized as overweight or obese. Children's behavior is influenced by their home environment, which includes both physical and social aspects such as parental behavioral models, parenting styles, practices, beliefs, and societal norms. However, there is a scarcity of data on the prevalence of child obesity and its relationship with parental factors. This research set out to explore the link between parenting styles, parental physical activity, dietary habits, body image perception, screen time, and child obesity. Methods A survey using a quantitative approach was conducted among preschoolers in Selangor to test the proposed relationships between these factors. Data were gathered from 354 preschool students in Selangor. This study used a multi-stage sampling technique. In the multi-stage sampling technique, the researcher used a series of sampling frames by developing population strata and then selected using purposive sampling method. Results The analysis was carried out using SPSS version 26 and Smart PLS version 4.0. The direct effect analysis revealed that parenting styles (p = 0.000), along with parental dietary habits and body image perception (p=0.001), were significantly associated with child obesity. In contrast, parental physical activity (p = 0.167) and screen time (p = 0.739) did not show a significant relationship with childhood obesity. Conclusions The study's outcomes can assist healthcare practitioners in understanding and providing substantial evidence of the significant relationship between parenting styles, dietary practices, body image perception, and child obesity.

A Retrospective Analysis of Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Mortality Cases in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Introduction Under-five mortality remains a critical public health challenge, particularly among vulnerable and underserved populations. This study aimed to identify distinct socio-clinical profiles associated with under-five deaths in Kota Kinabalu from 2020 to 2024 and to compare risk patterns between adolescent and adult mothers using cluster analysis. Methods A retrospective analysis of district health records was conducted. A total of 818 under-five mortality cases were included, of which 55 involved adolescent mothers (10–19 years). K-means clustering was applied to maternal-socioeconomic and clinical variables to identify distinct profiles. The optimal number of clusters was determined using silhouette scores and stability testing. Associations between cluster membership and maternal-child health variables were evaluated using chi-square tests. Results Three clusters emerged. Cluster 2 represented the most vulnerable group, predominantly comprising non-citizen adolescent mothers with no formal education, household incomes below RM 1,000, and inadequate antenatal care. This cluster exhibited the highest rates of preterm births and preventable under-five deaths. Significant associations were identified between cluster membership and maternal age, citizenship status, education level, antenatal care, and birth outcomes. Under the death category, 61.7% of child deaths were classified as preventable, highlighting areas for intervention, while 38.3% were deemed not preventable. Conclusions Intersecting social disadvantages such as young maternal age, non-citizenship, low education, and poverty amplify risks for both mothers and children. Addressing these broader determinants through culturally sensitive, accessible maternal health services and targeted adolescent outreach is essential. Integrating cluster analysis into surveillance can enable early identification of high-risk groups and support equity-focused interventions to reduce preventable child mortality.

Kesan Pendedahan Mikroplastik terhadap Jantung: Ulasan Naratif Introduction World Health Organization (WHO) reported that heart disease is among the global main cause of death. The significant environmental factor for heart disease is microplastic exposure. In cardiology, microplastic has been widely used due to stability and biocompatibility. Therefore, this narrative aimed to study the effect of microplastic exposure towards heart. The findings will contribute to evidence-based medicine in heart disease prevention strategies Methods A literature search was conducted on ninth November 2024, across three scientific databases of Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science using specified keywords like microplastic and heart. The target was original articles published between 2019 and 2024. Results A total of six articles published within 2023 and 2024 have been analysed. All articles reported that microplastic exposure triggers the oxidative process and inflammatory response of cardiomyocyte cells. These processes led to myocardial ischemia and infarction that resulted in heart failure. Conclusions Microplastic exposure is a new risk factor for heart disease. The findings should be integrated in public health promotion programme and the clinical practice guideline of cardiovascular disease for multilevel prevention.