Background The COVID-19 pandemic essentially imposes psychological effects on people. As the pandemic progresses, people experience psychological trauma gradually, which can change over time. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among Bangladeshi people four months after the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among Bangladeshi citizens aged ≥18 years from June 1 to June 10, 2020. The participants completed an online questionnaire examining socio-demographic variables and COVID-19 related factors, along with the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21. A total of 1146 respondents have been included in the study. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, IBM Statistics version 22.0. Results The prevalence of moderate to the extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress was 47.2%, 46.0%, and 32.5%, respectively, with no significant gender differences. The prevalence of anxiety and stress was significantly higher in participants aged >30 than in participants aged 18–30 years. Daily follow up COVID-19 related news, having COVID-19 symptoms so far, having contact (direct or indirect) with COVID-19 infected person, and fear of infection were significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions Sizable proportions of participants had depression, anxiety and stress four months after the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh. The findings of this study underscores the need for strategies aimed at reducing these psychological sufferings in Bangladeshi people in the context of COVID-19.

Diarrhea is one of the most common causes for thousands of deaths every year. Therefore, identification of new source of antidiarrheal drugs becomes one of the most prominent focuses in modern research. Our aim was to investigate the antidiarrheal and cytotoxic activities of methanolic extract of Maranta arundinacea linn. (MEMA) leaves in rats and brine shrimp, respectively. Antidiarrheal effect was evaluated by using castor oil-induced diarrhea, enteropooling, and gastrointestinal motility tests at 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg body weight in rats where the cytotoxic activity was justified using brine shrimp lethality bioassay at different concentrations of MEMA. The extract showed considerable antidiarrheal effect by inhibiting 42.67% and 57.75% of diarrheal episode at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively. MEMA also significantly (p < 0.01) reduced the castor oil-induced intestinal volume (2.14 ± 0.16 to 1.61 ± 0.12 mL) in enteropooling test as well as intestinal transit (33.00 to 43.36%) in GI motility test, compared to their respective control. These observed effects are comparable to that of standard drug loperamide (5 mg/kg). On the other hand, in brine shrimp lethality test after 24 h, surviving brine shrimp larvae were counted and LD50 was assessed. Result showed that MEMA was potent against brine shrimp with LD50 value of 420 µg/mL. So the highest dose of 400 µg/mL of MEMA was not toxic to mice. So these results indicate that bioactive compounds are present in methanolic extract of Maranta arundinacea leaves including significant antidiarrheal activity and could be accounted for pharmacological effects.

The present study aimed to explore perceptions and barriers regarding telemedicine services among Bangladeshi young adults. This qualitative study was performed through telephonic interviews where 20 young adults (cases) were taken for in-depth interviews, using a purposive sampling technique from July 1 to July 20, 2020. The verbatim transcriptions was used, and the thematic analysis was performed through manual coding. The findings of this study revealed that the majority of participants perceived telemedicine as it is a system through which we are able to get healthcare services by using the internet, mobile application, or just a phone call from health care providers. Participants had positive attitudes toward telemedicine. Low trustworthiness, difficulties in getting access to emergency diagnostic services, significant anxieties on the use of telemedicine complexity and observability, shortage of network and power supply, as well as financial complexities were acknowledged as significant barriers in terms of receiving telemedicine services during the COVID-19 outbreak. Concerned authorities, including governmental and private organizations, should take effective measures to make telemedicine services available, reliable, and affordable for all across the country.

Background Known colloquially as akandaphal in Bangladesh, Adenia trilobata has some traditional uses. Its leaves and stems are extracted with pure methanol (MEATL, MEATS) and fractioned by n-hexane (NFATL, NFATS). The in vivo anxiolytic activity was evaluated by elevated plus maze (EPM) testing and hole-board test (HBT), whilst the locomotor activity was examined using the open-field test (OFT) and hole-cross test (HCT) and the antidepressant activity was assessed with the forced swimming test (FST) and the tail suspension test (TST). Results Regarding the anxiolytic activity, the 400-mg/kg doses of MEATL, NFATL, MEATS and NFATS exhibited maximum percentages of entry into the open arm of 33.85%, 32.23%, 30.06% and 41.84%, respectively, compare with the diazepam (69.33%). During HBT, MEATL (400 mg/kg) and NFATL (400 mg/kg) demonstrated 51.67 ± 0.88 and 57.67 ± 3.18 instances of head-dipping relative to diazepam (64.33 ± 3.16), whilst the locomotor activity showed a dose-dependent reduction in square movements and number of hole crossings. During FST and TST, the NFATL (400 mg/kg) exhibited rates of 43.32% and 57.71% time spent immobile, whilst fluoxetine experienced rates of 54.79% and 55.74%. Conclusion Adenia trilobata could be a potential component for the treatment of neuropharmacological defects. Further study is required.

Environmental contamination by trinitrotoluene is of global concern due to its widespread use in military ordnance and commercial explosives. Despite known long-term persistence in groundwater and soil, the toxicological profile of trinitrotoluene and other explosive wastes have not been systematically measured using in vivo biological assays. Zebrafish embryos are ideal model vertebrates for high-throughput toxicity screening and live in vivo imaging due to their small size and transparency during embryogenesis. Here, we used Single Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM)/light sheet microscopy to assess the developmental toxicity of explosive-contaminated water in zebrafish embryos and report 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene-associated developmental abnormalities, including defects in heart formation and circulation, in 3D. Levels of apoptotic cell death were higher in the actively developing tissues of trinitrotoluene-treated embryos than controls. Live 3D imaging of heart tube development at cellular resolution by light-sheet microscopy revealed trinitrotoluene-associated cardiac toxicity, including hypoplastic heart chamber formation and cardiac looping defects, while the real time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) quantitatively measured the molecular changes in the heart and blood development supporting the developmental defects at the molecular level. Identification of cellular toxicity in zebrafish using the state-of-the-art 3D imaging system could form the basis of a sensitive biosensor for environmental contaminants and be further valued by combining it with molecular analysis.