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.

Background: Distal biceps tendon ruptures are rare injuries that predominantly affect active men between the fourth and sixth decades, with a higher incidence in weightlifters and bodybuilders. This study aimed to comprehensively review cases involving distal biceps tendon ruptures, focusing on sociodemographic factors (such as sex, age, occupation, and smoking status), injury mechanisms, postoperative outcomes, and recorded complications. Methods: This retrospective review examines distal biceps injuries at Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust NHS Hospital from 2017 to 2023. Analyzed data encompasses demographic information, injury mechanisms, clinical findings, and complications. Outcomes were assessed using the range of movement and Elbow Oxford Score. Results: The average age of 73 patients (72 men and 1 woman) was 45.6 ± 9.4 years, with 75.3% falling between 36 and 55 years.Manual workers represented 46.6%, and 9.6% reported comorbidities and 6.8% steroid use. Lifting heavy objects and sports injuries were the predominant causes, constituting 43.8% and 13.7%, respectively. Most injuries (91.8%) involved complete tears, and most underwent acute surgery within the initial 4 weeks (84.9%). The most common complications were heterotopic ossification (23.3%) and neurological injury (16.4%). Ongoing weakness and fatigue were reported by 6.8%. At final follow-up, 75.7% of patients demonstrated a range of movement comparable to the contralateral side. However, 13.7% had a limited pronationsupination arch with a mean loss of 20° ± 14°, 11% had an extension lag with a mean of 15° ± 7°, and 2.7% showed a 10° flexion loss compared to the contralateral side. Conclusions Distal biceps injuries are rare but lead to substantial functional loss without operative treatment. Surgical repair yields positive functional outcomes. Our study aligns with existing literature, emphasizing a predominance of middle-aged men and manual workers. It underscores the impact of corticosteroids and smoking, highlights surgical efficacy, and advocates for increased research in distal biceps injury prevention and treatment understanding.

Methods: This study included 36 patients with FHP with a mean age of 27±2.63 years. These patients were randomly assigned to the two following groups: experimental group A (n=19), which received CSEs and postural correctional exercises (PCEs), , and control group B (n=17), which received only the PCE program. Randomization was performed using the computer-generated block randomization method. Training was applied 3 times per week and lasted for 6 weeks. Data were collected before and after training using lateral view cervical X-ray and NDI. Results: Two-way mixed-design multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant improvements in mean cSVA and NDI values after training (p <0.05) in experimental group (A) compared with pre-training values, whereas no significant differences in these values were observed after training in the control group. In contrast, no significant difference in the mean Cobb angle values after training was observed between the groups. Conclusions Adding CSEs to PCEs is more effective than performing PCEs alone for managing FHP. The trial was registered in the ClinicalTrials. gov registry under the registration number NCT06160245.