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This article explores whether and how the EU projected a digital form of public diplomacy in Southeast Asia during the COVID19 pandemic through its vaccine policy. Using Twitter (now X) data from the EU delegations and ambassadors in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, and applying a post-Foucauldian epistemology, the article argues that a vaccine-focused EU digital public diplomacy sustained the central role of the EU and the projection of a normatively positive EU identity in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignancy in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Genetic susceptibility is a major contributing factor in determining the individual risk of NPC in these areas. To test the association between NPC and variants in regenerating gene 1A (REG1A), we conducted a hospital-based case–control study in a Cantonese-speaking population from Guangdong province. Methods: We endeavored to determine whether genetic variants of the REG1A gene were associated with the risk of NPC amidst the Cantonese population in a hospital-based case–control study using polymerase chain reaction-restriction and direct sequencing analysis in 211 NPC patients and 150 healthy controls. The association between NPC risk and the 14C/T, 20C/T, 369G/T, 1201A/G, and 2922C/T polymorphisms was examined after adjustment for age and sex. Results: We found an increased risk of developing NPC in individuals with REG1A 2922C/T variant genotype (p = 0.003, OR 0.419, 95% CI 0.235–0.746), and after adjustment for sex and age (p = 0.003, OR 0.406, 95% CI 0.226–0.732). No association between other polymorphisms (14C/T, 20C/T, 369G/T, and 1201A/G) and the risk of NPC was observed, before or after adjustment for age and sex. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the REG1A 2922C/T polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of developing NPC in a Cantonese population from Guangdong province. Larger studies are required to confirm our findings and unravel the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]