Fear and depression among health care professionals: a cross-sectional study during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

Background: COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency of international concern that can result in severe mental health conditions like depression and fear in health-care professionals (HCPs). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, where 834 HCPs were self-recruited via social media. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify predicting factors. Results: Approximately one-third of the total participants were depressed (27.3%) and those with depressive symptoms had significant fear of COVID-19. Significant risk factors for depressive symptoms were being female, being married, having no children, having high risk elderly persons at home, being afraid of death due to COVID-19 and having comorbid diseases. Fear of death due to COVID-19 was the most common significant contributing factor the scales for depression model, ?=0.397, for fear of COVID-19 model and ?=0.478 respectively. Quality of PPE played a vital role for depression as majority of HCPs. About 65.3% of HCPs who were restless while examining a patient with flu symptoms and majority of HCPs who felt insecure about their family members. Conclusions: Most of the HCPs faced several challenges during COVID-19 and psychological impacts of frontline HCPs were associated with interventions and rehabilitations to improve the mental health.

Unique roles of nanotechnology in medicine and cancer‑II.

Applications of nanotechnology in medicine and cancer are becoming increasingly popular. Common nanomaterials and devices applicable in cancer medicine are classifiable as liposomes, polymeric‑micelles, dendrimers, nano‑cantilevers, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, magnetic‑nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and certain miscellaneous nanoparticles. Here, we present review of the structure, function and utilities of the various approved, under trial and pretrial nanodevices applicable in the cancer care and medicine. The liposomes are phospholipid‑vesicles made use in carrying drugs to the target site minimizing the bio‑distribution toxicity and a number of such theranostics have been approved for clinical practice. Newly worked out liposomes and polymeric micelles are under the trail phases for nano‑therapeutic utility. A multifunctional dendrimer conjugate with imaging, targeting and drug molecules of paclitaxel has been recently synthesized for cancer theranostic applications. Nano‑cantilever based assays are likely going to replace the conventions methods of chemical pathological investigations. Carbon nanotubes are emerging for utility in regenerative and cancer medicine. Quantum dots hold great promise for the micro‑metastasis and intra‑operative tumor imaging. Important applications of magnetic nanoparticles are in the cardiac stents, photodynamic therapy and liver metastasis imaging. The AuNPs have been employed for cell imaging, computed tomography and cancer therapy. Besides these categories, miscellaneous other nanoparticles are being discovered for utility in the cancer diagnosis and disease management. However, the use of nanoparticles should be cautious since the toxic effects of nanoparticles are not well‑known. The use of nanoparticles in the clinical practice and their toxicity profile require further extensive research.

Unique roles of nanotechnology in medicine and cancer.

Here we review the scope of nanotechnology in Medicine and human cancer. The imaging and therapy agents can be co‑delivered by same nanoparticle for integrated molecular diagnosis, therapy, and follow‑up of cancer or ‘cancer theranostics’ is implying multimodal use of nanoparticles in cancer care. Nanoparticles are used for passive targeting and in conjugation with ligands for active targeting, to have optimum concentrations of imaging and therapeutic agents in the tumor cells specifically, sparing normal tissue from unwanted side effects. Potential utility of nanoparticles in the nano biosensors, nano fluorescent tag imaging, nano tumor mapping, nano gene profiling, nano molecular delivery, nano chemo‑radio therapy, nano thermotherapy, nano photodynamic therapy, etc., is tending to revolutionize medicine particularly personalized cancer care and laboratory. Nanoparticle induced oxidative stress based inflammation reported by few studies; in lung, liver and brain required further investigations.