METHODS: Case report.

RESULTS: A 36-year-old Malay gentleman with underlying hypertension presented with the first episode of bilateral progressively worsening blurred vision for 1 week associated with retrobulbar pain. There were no other neurological symptoms. He had fever a week before the eye symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19. He received COVID-19 booster vaccine a month before the disease onset. On examination, his vision was hand motion on right eye and 6/18 on left eye. Relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD) was positive on right eye with abnormal optic nerve function tests. Anterior segments were unremarkable. Fundus examination showed bilateral optic disc swelling. MRI revealed multifocal hyperintense subcortical white matter lesions. Optic nerves appeared normal with no enhancement seen. Blood investigation showed a positive serum MOG antibody. Intravenous methylprednisolone was commenced followed by oral prednisolone after which his vision and ocular symptoms markedly improved. The oral prednisolone was tapered alongside addition of azathioprine. At 1 month, the disease was stable with no recurrence.

METHODS: A study involving two groups of current smokers (commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers) was conducted using the modified nominal group technique (mNGT), a qualitative research method of judgmental decision-making involving four phases: Generating ideas, recording, evaluation, and prioritization. The mNGT was used to solicit respondents' barriers to smoking cessation.

RESULTS: The mNGT yielded seven main barriers to smoking cessation: (1) Addiction, (2) difficulty in staying focused without the usage of cigarettes, (3) smoking has been incorporated into an individual's lifestyle, (4) environmental influence, (5) coping mechanism, (6) the long-interval period between orders and duties exacerbates the desire to smoke, and (7) smoking has evolved into a permanent habit. Although nicotine addiction and habit were ranked as the most important barriers, the military working environment and nature of the job exposed them physically and mentally to unfavorable situations, complicating the quitting attempt. Furthermore, the acceptance of smoking in military culture leads to a positive smoker identity, further hindering cessation.

METHOD: This is a sequential exploratory mixed method study which involves, in Phase 1, a qualitative approach: reviewing of literature and interviewing experts and public servants who are users of mobile phones so as to obtain their perspectives regarding the components in the career intervention module and mobile phone application features. A quantitative approach is implemented in Phase 2 that evaluates the mobile phone-based career intervention program. Validation will be conducted to meet the objectives of (i) the usability of the mobile communication career intervention application (survey), and (ii) evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention program for career competencies delivered through mobile phone application (randomized controlled trial). The career intervention program consists of five modules through which development is based on reflective, communicative and behavioral dimensions.

OUTCOME: The primary outcome of this study is career competencies. The career competencies score will be compared between participants in the intervention and control group at the baseline, and follow-ups at week four and week 12 respectively, using mixed design ANOVA.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Participants were asthmatic patients aged 18 years and younger with at least one prescription for a preventive medication refilled between January and December 2011. Refill records from the pharmacy dispensing database were used to determine the medication possession ratio (MPR) and continuous measure of gaps (CMG), measures of adherence and persistence levels, respectively.

RESULTS: The sample consisted of 218 children with asthma from the General and Respiratory pediatric clinics at UKMMC. The overall adherence level was 38% (n=83; MPR ≥80%), and the persistence level was 27.5% (n=60; CMG ≤20%). We found a significant association between the adherence and persistence levels (r=0.483, P<0.01). The presence of comorbidities significantly predicted the adherence (odds ratio [OR] =16.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.76-33.84, P<0.01) and persistence level (OR =2.63, 95% CI: 0.13-52.79, P<0.01). Other factors, including age, sex, ethnicity, duration of asthma diagnosis, and number of prescribed preventive medications did not significantly affect adherence or persistence (P>0.05).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups as control, LPS, CA and LPS + CA. The treatments with LPS (5 mg/kg) were intraperitoneally (i.p) injected on day 4 and CA ethanol extract (200 mg/kg) were given orally for 14 days. Morris Water Maze (MWM) test was performed to assess spatial learning and memory performance. Acute oral toxicity of the extract at the highest dose of 5000 mg/kg was also conducted.

METHOD: This was an unmatched case-control study in which children with ASD were recruited from an autism early intervention center and typically developed (TD) children were recruited from government-run nurseries and preschools. Urine samples were collected at home, assembled temporarily at study locations, and transported to the laboratory within 24 h. The Al concentration in the children's urine samples was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at selected public health clinics in Selangor, involving PLHIV aged 18 years and older, who were diagnosed since 2019. HIV-related stigma was measured using the Malay version of Berger's HIV Stigma Scale, and HIV knowledge was assessed using the Malay version of Brief HIV-KQ-18. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with late HIV presentation.

RESULTS: A total of 400 participants were included in the study, with 60.0% (n = 240, 95% CI: 55.0-65.0) classified as late presenters. The participants had a mean age of 30.29 (±7.77) years. The risk factors for late presenters were high levels of HIV-related stigma (aOR = 1.049, 95% CI: 1.034-1.063, p-value <0.001), low levels of HIV knowledge (aOR = 0.709, 95% CI: 0.646-0.778, p-value <0.001), tertiary education background (aOR = 15.962, 95% CI: 1.898-134.235, p-value = 0.011), and being single (aOR = 3.582, 95% CI: 1.393-9.208, p-value = 0.008).

MAIN BODY: Clinical manifestations of non-deletional in alpha thalassaemia are varied and have more severe phenotype compared to deletional forms of alpha thalassaemia. Literature for the molecular mechanisms of common non-deletional alpha thalassaemia including therapeutic measures that are necessarily needed for the understanding of these disorders is still in demand. This manuscript would contribute to the better knowledge of how defective production of the α-globin chains due to mutations on the alpha-globin genes and/or the regulatory elements leads to alpha thalassaemia syndrome.