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Purpose: The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has cost numerous lives and induced tremendous mental stress among people. The purpose of this research was to determine anxiety and depression levels, clinical features, and the connections between demographic variables and depression prevalence as well as anxiety prevalence among reported COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh. Methods: For the purpose of data collection, an online cross-sectional survey was carried out from May 26 to June 27, 2020, utilizing a Google adapted preformed questionnaire. The form was shared with a short overview and justification through Facebook, Twitter, Facebook messenger, Viber, and What's App. The Google form contains five parts: a brief introduction, an approval statement, demographics, clinical and radiological data, and mental health assessment by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Formal ethical clearance was taken from the Institute of Biological Science (IBSc), Bangladesh. Informed consent was ensured before participation. Results: One hundred and fifty-three (153) patients with COVID-19 who had an average age of 39.43 ± 17.59 years with male predominance (72%) were included. A total of 32.7% were doing health-care related jobs, and 17.7% lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Patients had a median income of 30,000 Bangladesh taka (BDT). Of all, 12.4% of the participants showed asymptomatic features, whereas 87.6% of patients were symptomatic and presented with fever (79%), cough (58.8%), myalgia (24.2%), breathlessness (23.5%), sore throat (21.6%), fatigue (19.6%), headache (13.7%), nausea and/or vomiting (11.8%), runny nose (9.8%), chest pain (9.2%), diarrhea (8.5%), stuffy nose (3.2%), ARDS (2.6%), oral ulcer (2.6%), and conjunctivitis (1.9%). Overall, the prevalence of anxiety and depression was 63.5% and 56.6%, respectively. Among the participants, 13.2% had only anxiety, 6.3% had only depression, and 50.3% had both. Conclusion: In most cases, middle age, male, and healthy workers were patients. Fever and cough were the standard presentations. Approximately two-thirds or 66.67% of patients had anxiety and depression, one or both.
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BACKGROUND AND AIM: Outbreak of COVID-19 seems to have exacerbated across the globe, including Bangladesh. Scientific literature on the clinical data record of COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh is inadequate. Our study analyzes the clinical data of COVID-19 positive patients based on molecular identification and risk factor correlated with three variables (age, sex, residence) and COVID-19 prevalence in the four districts of Chattogram Division (Noakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur and Chandpur) with an aim to understand the trajectory of this pandemic in Chattogram, Southern Bangladesh. METHODS: A cross-sectional study is conducted in the context of RT-PCR-based COVID-19 positive 5,589 individuals diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection from the COVID-19 testing laboratory, Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College, Noakhali-3800, Bangladesh. For molecular confirmation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), standard diagnostic protocols through real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were conducted. Different patient demographics were analyzed using SPSS version 22 for exploring the relationship of three factors - age, sex, and residence with a cumulative number of COVID-19 positive cases and prevalence of COVID-19 in four districts in Chattogram division. The data was recorded between May to July, 2020. RESULTS: Among the three parameters, the present study revealed that 20-40 cohort had the highest incidence of infection rate (51.80%, n = 2895) among the different age groups. Among the infected individuals, 56.8% (n = 3177) were male and 43.2% (n = 2412) were female, denoting males being the most susceptible to this disease. Urban residents (52.7%, n = 2948) were more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection than those residing in rural areas (47.3%, n = 2641). The prevalence of COVID-19 positive cases among the four districts was recorded highest in the Noakhali district with 36.8% (n = 2057), followed by the Feni, Lakshmipur and Chandpur districts with 25.9% (n = 1448), 20.8% (n = 1163) and 16.5% (n = 921), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a statistical correlation of certain factors linked to Bangladesh with confirmed COVID-19 patients, which will enable health practitioners and policy makers to take proactive steps to control and mitigate disease transmission.
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The study investigates the effect of LPDBD (Low Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge) (Ar + Air) plasma on seed germination, seedling growth and antioxidant enzyme activity of rice. Rice seeds were treated with LPDBD (Ar + Air) plasma for 2min, 4min, 6min, 8min and 10min. Seed germination rate, seedling growth, total chlorophyll content, enzymatic activity, total soluble sugar and protein concentration were increased in plants grown from the LPDBD (Ar + Air) plasma treated seeds. It was observed that the sprouting of seeds and the growth of seedlings of rice depends on the feed gases used to generate plasma and plasma processing time. In the case of plantlets germinated from the plasma-treated seeds of rice, the H2O2 level was increased significantly both in leaves and roots for 6min, 8min and 10min treatment respectively. No significant change was observed in Nitric Oxide (NO) concentration in seed, leaf, or root of plants grown from LPDBD (Ar + Air) plasma-treated seeds. The amount of total soluble sugar and protein increased significantly in the case of 2min, 4min, 6min, 8min and 10min seed treatment. Although plants exhibited no significant increase in APX activities, but a significant increase of CAT and SOD activity in the leaf and root was found. This study reveals that LPDBD (Ar + Air) plasma is involved in the elevation of ROS species in leaf and root of rice plants which is tightly regulated by the upregulation of CAT activity that ultimately enhances the seed germination and growth of rice plantlets.
