Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) production is seriously restricted by anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum spp., leading to significant yield losses globally. Dependence on synthetic fungicides has raised serious concerns over fungal resistance, environmental contamination, and human health risks, necessitating ecofriendly alternatives. This study investigated the antifungal potential of aqueous extracts from neem (Azadirachta indica) seeds and onion (Allium cepa L.) bulbs against anthracnose in sweet pepper under controlled pot conditions. The design employed weekly foliar applications of 200 ml/m² neem seed extract, onion bulb extract, or untreated control on anthracnose-inoculated plants. Parameters assessed were leaf number, plant height, fruit yield, disease severity and agronomic efficiency index. Both extracts significantly improved vegetative growth, increased fruit yield, and reduced disease incidence compared to the control. Neem seed extract exhibited slightly better performance in promoting leaf retention and plant height. Strong positive correlations were observed between growth traits and yield, while disease severity showed significant negative correlations with productivity. The findings reveal that neem seed and onion bulb extracts effectively suppress anthracnose, improve plant performance, and offer promising eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic fungicides for sustainable sweet pepper cultivation.

Background: In dengue-endemic countries such as Bangladesh, early discrimination of dengue from other acute febrile illnesses (AFI) in outpatient practice is a pivotal practical strategy to expedite proper case management and optimize resource utilization, but the predictive value of common symptoms like myalgia and chills are poorly quantified. The prevalence, diagnostic accuracy and independent predictors for laboratory confirmed dengue among adults’ outpatients in Dhaka, Bangladesh were the objectives of this study. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out in two tertiary hospitals, Dhaka during the period from January to December 2025. The consecutive AFI (History & examination duration ≤7 days) adults older than 18 years were included. Symptoms were assessed using a structured questionnaire and included information on myalgia (presence and severity, from 1 to 10), and chills. NS1 antigen and/or IgM antibody using a WHO-prequalified rapid test (SD BIOLINE Dengue Duo) were used to confirm dengue illness. Summary (max 100 words): Diagnostic accuracy was determined, and independent predictors were identified using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Dengue prevalence was 42.2% (76/180) in a total of 180 studied individuals. Myalgia was reported in 93.4% vs 68.3% in dengue-positive than dengue-negative patients (p<0.001) revealing a high sensitivity (93.4%) but low specificity It was the prevalent symptom/sign among both cases and controls (Table 2A). Myalgia (≥5 score) had a specificity 55.8%. Chills were less predominantly observed among dengue-positive patients (44.7% vs 71.2%, p<0.001) and had moderate specificity 71.2%. In multivariate analysis, myalgia was a strong independent predictor (aOR=5.87, 95% CI: 1.99–17.29), while chills were inversely associated with dengue (aOR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.21–0.80). Conclusions: Severe myalgia is a sensitive clinical marker, whereas chills should raise the possibility of other causes. Targeting such symptom presentations can help contribute to early clinical suspicion and prioritize testing in the outpatient settings affected by dengue epidemics.

Precision nutrition is a potentially disruptive paradigm of nutritional science that seeks to precisely customize food advice depending on the biological, genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors of individuals. The intensive research growth in human and animal nutrition, nutrigenomics, metabolomics and data-driven methods has produced a convoluted and multidisciplinary literature that is difficult to synthesize in terms of conventional narrative methods. The current paper presents a combined bibliometric and scientmetric review of the world-wide research on precision nutrition published in PubMed index between 2005 and 2025 which incorporates the performance analysis, science mapping and multivariate conceptual approaches. One hundred and thirty-two publications were analyzed in 81 sources with the help of Bibliometrix R package and VOSviewer. Temporal analysis indicated that the output of research has increased significantly since 2015 as a result of increasing use of omics technologies, microbiome research, and computational analytics. The source analysis revealed that there is a high concentration of journal that has a few core nutrition journals that cover a huge percentage of the publications, which is in line with the law of Bradford. The geographic evaluation showed that the high-income nations, especially the United States and Western Europe, had been dominant, with a moderate yet growing cooperation at the international level. The keywords co-occurrence networks, density mapping, and overlay visualization revealed diet-health interaction, nutrigenomics, and human nutritional status as the key themes of research, whereas artificial intelligence and microbiome-based personalization and precision feeding in animals became emerging directions. Several correspondence analyses also showed the specific conceptual axes between molecular and omics-oriented research on the one hand and, on the other hand, applied and preventive nutrition areas. All the results point to parallel, but still not fully integrated processes of human and animal precision nutrition studies. The paper has provided a strategic overview of intellectual, thematic, and future directions of the field of precision nutrition, which offers a solid evidence base to guide interdisciplinary research, translational implementation, and policy formulation.

Medical humanities, an interdisciplinary field, analyzes illness narratives to study the representation of disease, medicine and medical professionals. Among the illness memoirs, the patient as well as the doctor narratives became popular, as majority of the readers experienced a therapeutic relief of their hidden fears related with disease and death. The victory of modern medicine, challenges faced by the medical professionals and the doctor-patient relationship are the main themes of medical memoirs. The present study focuses on the doctor memoirs and it tries to study how far bioethical concepts have influenced the depiction of medical experience by doctors.

Background: Febrile cases represent a major diagnostic and management challenge in tertiary healthcare facilities. Early diagnostic screening has been advised for therapeutic and admission decisions but its practical effect on clinical pathway, and patient outcome is under investigated. This study will assess the impact of early diagnostic screening on clinical care, patterns of hospitalization, and patient-reported outcomes of adults presenting with fever in tertiary care hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was done over a period from January to December 2024 in two tertiary care hospitals, Dhaka. One hundred and twenty successive adult febrile patients (antipyretic cut-off value: ≥38°C) were taken. A structured questionnaire and medical record review were used to gather information on screening, clinical management, hospitalization outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Predictors of hospital admission were determined by multivariable logistic regression. Results: 70.8% of the patients received early diagnostic screening with CBC (82.4%) and rapid antigen tests (58.8%) being performed most frequently. Patients screened were significantly more often admitted (56.5% vs 20.0%, p<0.001) and spent less time in hospital (mean days: 2.8 vs 3.5, p=0,023). Screening results guided treatment in 82.4% of cases. Early testing was an independent positive predictor of admission with aOR=4.85 (95% CI 1.92 — 12.25) in adjusted analysis. Patient satisfaction was much higher in patients screened (88.3% vs 28.6% satisfied, p<0.001). Conclusion: Unstructured, early diagnostic screening results in more targeted therapy and higher rates of admission, yet shorter hospital stays and patient satisfaction. It should be incorporated into febrile illness algorithms with preference in using this pan-malaria primer technology for better patient care, and effectiveness of health system in tertiary hospitals.

Introduction: Childhood disability represents a significant public health challenge in low-resource settings, yet detailed epidemiological profiles of children attending special education institutes in Bangladesh remain scarce. This study aimed to identify the pattern of disabilities and associated socio-demographic, perinatal, and familial characteristics among differently abled children attending Islami Bank Medical College and Hospital in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 children attending Islami Bank Medical College and Hospital in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews with mothers or guardians using a pre-tested, partially structured questionnaire. Disability types, birth history, maternal health, and familial factors were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests in SPSS version 22. Result: The mean age of children was 8.85 (±4.25) years; 66.7% were male. Autism spectrum disorder was the most common disability (44.2%), followed by cerebral palsy (15.8%), Down syndrome (15.0%), and multiple disorders (13.3%). Half (50.8%) exhibited multiple co-occurring disability characteristics. Significant associations were found between disability type and sex (p<0.05), prematurity/low birth weight (p<0.001), birth trauma (p<0.001), and maternal age at conception (p<0.001). Despite 90.8% antenatal care coverage, 92.5% of mothers did not take folic acid during the first trimester, and 95.0% were unaware of micronutrient deficiencies. Conclusion: Autism is the predominant disability among children in this setting, with notable links to perinatal factors and maternal age. Critical gaps persist in maternal nutrition awareness and perinatal care. Findings underscore the need for targeted autism services, strengthened perinatal interventions, and integrated maternal health education to mitigate disability risks and improve outcomes for differently abled children in Bangladesh.

Physician training provides a critical lens for examining the structural strengths, limitations, and ethical orientations of healthcare systems. This commentary reflects on internal medicine training within tertiary settings in Doha [Qatar] and Ottawa [Canada] analyzing how organizational design and sociocultural context influence continuity of care, supervisory accessibility, documentation practices, evidence integration, and equity. Drawing on first-hand clinical engagement, the discussion moves beyond descriptive comparison to interrogate institutional responsibilities toward trainees, particularly the proportionality of educational benefit relative to the financial, emotional, and logistical burdens of international training pathways. By centering trainee narratives, this work underscores experiential insight as foundational to meaningful health system reform. How physicians are trained ultimately shapes clinical competence, ethical integrity, and the humanism of care delivery.