Background: Dermatoglyphics, the study of unique, immutable epidermal ridge patterns, emerges from the same embryological ectoderm as the nervous system during early gestation. This shared origin posits it as a potential phenotypic marker for neurodevelopmental anomalies like autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Most studies are from Western populations, with a paucity of gender-stratified data from South Asia. Objectives: This study aimed to conduct a gender-wise comparative analysis of digital dermatoglyphic patterns between autistic and neurotypical children in Northern Bangladesh, to identify potential pattern deviations associated with ASD. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study enrolled 100 Bangladeshi children aged 5–15 years: 50 diagnosed with ASD (38 male, 12 female) and 50 age-matched neurotypical controls (26 male, 24 female). Bilateral fingerprints were acquired using a ZKT ECO biometric scanner and classified into Arch (A), Ulnar Loop (UL), Radial Loop (RL), and Whorl (W) patterns using DigiDoctors software (v1.0.1). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v23.0, employing Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests where appropriate. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Significant inter-group differences were observed (p<0.001). The autistic group exhibited a higher frequency of: Arch (12.6% vs. 4.4%; OR=3.15, 95% CI: 1.89-5.25), Whorl (36.4% vs. 32.4%), and Radial Loop (3.6% vs. 1.2%). Ulnar Loops were significantly lower in the autistic group (47.4% vs. 61.6%). Gender-stratified analysis revealed autistic males had significantly higher frequencies of Arch, Whorl, and Radial Loop compared to neurotypical males. Autistic females showed a pronounced increase in Arch pattern (16.67% vs. 2.92%; p<0.001) but lower frequencies of Whorl and Radial Loop. Radial Loops were absent in autistic females. Conclusion: This study provides the first gender-stratified dermatoglyphic profile of autistic children in Bangladesh, revealing distinct pattern deviations that differ between males and females. The findings support the hypothesis of altered ectodermal development in ASD and suggest dermatoglyphics could serve as a low-cost, non-invasive adjunctive tool in multidisciplinary ASD assessment, particularly in resource-limited settings. Further large-scale, familial, and genetic correlational studies are warranted.

Infectious diseases remain a major threat to enhanced poultry production, resulting in significant financial losses and disruptions to productivity and food security. This study tested the efficacy of breeding for improving resistance to infectious bird diseases and compared the immune responses and survival of immigrants. The birds used in this study included an indigenous breed (Local Desi), an improved dual-purpose breed (Rhode Island Red), a commercial layer breed (White Leghorn), a commercial broiler strain, and a CRISPR-mediated MHC-enhanced line. The birds in the controlled challenge were 300, while the replication was 20 per breed × disease combination. The two-way analysis of variance indicated significant effects of breed, disease challenge, and the breed-by-disease interaction on mortality, survival, and antibody titer. The enhanced CRISPR line revealed the lowest average mortality of ≈12–15% while the highest antibody titers were ≈7.5–8.2 log₂ units. The broiler type’s average percentage was the highest at ≈32–38%. The indigenous birds were average as well; they had a stronger immune response than the commercial birds. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed a significant negative association between titer and mortality. r = −0.72, P < 0.001, and a positive association between titer and survival. With r = 0.76 and P < 0.001, a high heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio correlated positively with mortality, indicating stress-related vulnerability. These results demonstrated substantial genetic variability in resistance characteristics and supported the implementation of genomic and gene-editing methods to promote immune efficiency inquisitiveness in breeding. Also, it helps to increase sustainability.

This quasi-experimental pre–post interventional study evaluated the effect of a structured health education program on patients’ knowledge and practice related to warfarin therapy in River Nile State, Sudan, during 2024–2025. Adult outpatients receiving warfarin for at least one month were enrolled using consecutive sampling and assessed before and after the intervention. A total of 150 participants completed both assessments. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire covering key knowledge domains (indications, adherence, drug and food interactions, adverse effects, missed-dose management, and monitoring requirements) and self-reported practice behaviors. The intervention consisted of standardized face-to-face educational sessions supported by printed materials. Changes in knowledge and practice scores were analyzed using appropriate paired statistical tests. At baseline, most participants demonstrated poor warfarin-related knowledge despite high self- reported adherence. Following the educational intervention, there was a marked improvement across nearly all knowledge domains, with the mean knowledge score more than doubling and the majority of participants transitioning to a good knowledge category. Improvements were particularly notable in awareness of drug and food interactions, recognition of warning signs, and appropriate management of missed doses. Self-reported adherence remained high before and after the intervention, suggesting a ceiling effect. Overall, the study demonstrates that a brief, structured educational intervention is a feasible and effective approach to substantially improving warfarin-related knowledge in a low-resource outpatient setting, highlighting the importance of integrating patient education into routine anticoagulation care to enhance medication safety.

The study of the theory of justice has long been a central focus in legal and political philosophy. However, modern academic discourse is often dominated by Western thinkers such as John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, and Robert Nozick, who emphasize utilitarian, egalitarian, and libertarian perspectives on justice, respectively. This paper seeks to broaden these perspectives by presenting perspectives on justice from Asian philosophical traditions, particularly China, through the teachings of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. This approach aims to demonstrate that justice can be understood not only structurally and institutionally, but also morally and relationally. In Confucius's view, justice is rooted in benevolence (ren), moral fairness (yi), and social order (li), where harmony between individuals is the ultimate goal of society. Mencius reinforced this view by asserting that justice arises from human innate goodness and empathy for the suffering of others, while Xunzi emphasized the importance of moral education and a strict social order to curb human evil tendencies. All three-position justice as the result of character formation and moral responsibility, not simply the application of formal law. When compared with Rawls, it is clear that Confucian theory of justice places greater emphasis on the formation of just individuals, rather than simply a just system. Rawls emphasizes procedural justice and equality of rights, while Confucius emphasizes social harmony and personal virtue. Thus, this paper asserts that there is no single and perfect theory of justice; justice must be understood as a cross-cultural dialogue between structure and morality, between the rational West and the ethical East. A synthesis of the two can serve as the basis for developing a more humane, contextual, and relevant concept of justice for contemporary global society.

The growing resistance of Salmonella typhi to antibiotics is a major public health challenge, justifying the search for natural therapeutic alternatives. This study aims to evaluate in vitro the antibacterial activity of essential oils of Syzygium aromaticum and Cymbopogon citratus on a strain of S. typhi isolated in Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation and characterized organoleptically and physicochemically. Antibacterial activity was evaluated using the agar diffusion method, supplemented by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and then statistically analyzed by ANOVA. The results show a higher extraction yield for S. aromaticum (0.85%) than for C. citratus (0.31%). The essential oil of S. aromaticum showed more pronounced antibacterial activity (inhibition diameter: 10 mm) compared to that of C. citratus (3 mm) and the reference antibiotics. The MIC of S. aromaticum was estimated at 80%, indicating concentration-dependent activity. Thus, the essential oil of S. aromaticum is an effective source of natural antibacterial agents against S. typhi, although further studies (molecular and in vivo) are needed.

In this study, pumpkin seed oil extracted by the Soxhlet solvent method was converted into biodiesel using the transesterification process. This process involved the reaction between the extracted oil and alcohol (methanol) in the presence of a catalyst (NaOH) at an ideal temperature of 60 °C. The reaction resulted in the production of mono-alkyl esters (Biodiesel) and glycerol as byproducts. The functional groups of biodiesel were identified using the FTIR technique. The properties assessed included density, viscosity, color, flash point, cloud point, water content, pour point, total acid number, copper strip corrosion, and sulfur content. The properties were compared with the properties of fossil diesel according to ASTM D 6751 standard. Biodiesel was blended with fossil diesel (B20) as well as with fossil diesel and ethanol in different proportions. These blends were studied and compared with ASTM D 7467 standard. The results showed that biodiesel met all the requirements to be an alternative fuel. Moreover, its blends substantially complied with the standard.

In this study, oil was experimentally extracted from pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita moschata) using a chemical Soxhlet extraction, cold solvent extraction and mechanical pressing. The Percentage yields were found to be 39.5%, 30.2%, 26% respectively. The physicochemical properties were determined according to AOAC, AOCS and ASTM standards. Free fatty acids content of the oil was found to be 1.2% as oleic acid, acid value )2.4 mg KOH/g(, peroxide value )6.77 meq O₂/kg oil(, saponification value )191.09 mg KOH/g oil(, iodine value )104.81 g I₂/100 g(, density )0.931 g/ml( at 25°C, kinematic viscosity )48.05 cst (at 40°C. The color of pumpkin seed oil was greenish brown, pH) 6(, cloud point )-5 °C(, refractive index )1.471(, water content )1.95%(. Additionally, the elements in the oil were determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The fatty acid composition of the oil was analyzed utilizing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that the oil contains about 22.57% saturated fatty acids and 73.21% unsaturated fatty acids. Furthermore, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to identify the functional groups present in the oil.