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Background. The river Buriganga, one of the major dumping zones of industrial wastes in Bangladesh, is responsible for contaminating the drinking water sources along its length. This study aimed to assess the water quality from these sources by monitoring the changes in hematological, biochemical, and histological parameters caused in healthy rats due to their consumption. Methods. Using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as an anticoagulant agent, hematological and biochemical analyses of Sprague–Dawley rat models were executed in this study. Following blood sampling, the rats were sacrificed, and the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and spleen were separated to carry out the histological analysis. Later, to perform the statistical analysis, SPSS, V.25.0 was utilized. Results. A significant rise (p < 0.02) in body weight was recorded due to increased protein synthesis, inflammations; increased lymphocyte, white blood cell (WBC), and neutrophil count but hemoglobin (20.0 ± 1.39 g/dL vs. 15.25 ± 0.36 g/dL; p) and red blood cell (RBC) count ((6.24 ± 0.45) × 106/µL vs. (5.47 ± 0.34) × 106/µL)) decreased due to infections and hematopoietic stem cell poisoning by pathogens in water samples. Elevated (p < 0.01) serum urea, creatinine, alanine, and aspartate aminotransferase levels indicated kidney malfunction and hepatic tissue necrosis. Histological analysis revealed gross lesions, internal hemorrhages in the brain; inflammations, granulomas, migrating macrophages in the spleen; fibrosis (resulting in hypo-perfusion), and collagen formation in cardiac muscles. Conclusions. The findings in this study provide comprehensive evidence, based on in vivo analysis, that the water bodies around the Buriganga river are likely to be contaminated with toxic chemicals and microbial entities making them unfit for human consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus is a life-threatening disorder affecting people of all ages and adversely disrupts their daily functions. Despite the availability of numerous synthetic-antidiabetic medications and insulin, the demand for the development of novel antidiabetic medications is increasing due to the adverse effects and growth of resistance to commercial drugs in the long-term usage. Hence, antidiabetic phytochemicals isolated from fruit plants can be a very nifty option to develop life-saving novel antidiabetic therapeutics, employing several pathways and MoAs (mechanism of actions). This review focuses on the antidiabetic potential of commonly available Bangladeshi fruits and other plant parts, such as seeds, fruit peals, leaves, and roots, along with isolated phytochemicals from these phytosources based on lab findings and mechanism of actions. Several fruits, such as orange, lemon, amla, tamarind, and others, can produce remarkable antidiabetic actions and can be dietary alternatives to antidiabetic therapies. Besides, isolated phytochemicals from these plants, such as swertisin, quercetin, rutin, naringenin, and other prospective phytochemicals, also demonstrated their candidacy for further exploration to be established as antidiabetic leads. Thus, it can be considered that fruits are one of the most valuable gifts of plants packed with a wide spectrum of bioactive phytochemicals and are widely consumed as dietary items and medicinal therapies in different civilizations and cultures. This review will provide a better understanding of diabetes management by consuming fruits and other plant parts as well as deliver innovative hints for the researchers to develop novel drugs from these plant parts and/or their phytochemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural spread of various harmful organisms into the environment has resulted in a wide range of diseases worldwide, including in Bangladesh. In December 2019, the world was exposed to a new virus-mediated sickness known as coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has mostly afflicted mainland China but has thereafter quickly spread to all the continents. The ongoing pandemic has taken the lives of more than 4.5 million people out of more than 10 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of August 22, 2021. With an increase in infection and fatality rates, Dhaka, has become the most vulnerable to COVID-19. To deal with the emergency, the government of Bangladesh has imposed different measures including lockdown in various stages. The colossal effort of the government of Bangladesh deserves a standing ovation in order to mitigate the situation timely. Based on the current circumstances, it is undeniable that the situation will not be alleviated despite the government's sincere efforts and enforcement of rules unless the country's citizens are aware and willing to follow the prescribed prevention and control measures. This literature review compiles and summarizes the morphology, mechanism, current status, likely therapies, and preventative strategies for this novel coronavirus strain in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highly transmissible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has plagued the worldwide population with a continuous upward thrust of the death toll, which might be related to insufficient knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral (KAB) score, and public awareness. Objective: The current research sought to explore public awareness in terms of knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral responses toward COVID-19 and analyze its spreading pattern during the embryonic phase in Bangladesh. Methods: From March 19 to April 15 of 2020, seventeen planned questions were answered by the Bangladeshi respondents recruited through a simple snowball sampling technique. Informed consent from each participant was taken in the survey. Results: Out of the total participants (n = 1861), 34.65% were female, and 40.83% had an education level up to Junior School Certificate (JSC). Among all the demographic variables, the highest average knowledge, attitudes and behaviors scores (mean ± SD) were reported for 18- 30 years age group (4.07 ± 1.01 out of 5; 95% confidence interval, [CI] = 4.01-4.13; p< 0.001), above 50 years age group (1.70 ± 0.64 out of 3; 95% CI = 1.59-1.80; p< 0.001), and bachelor or higher degree group (2.64 ± 0.83 out of 4; 95% CI = 2.57-2.70, p< 0.001), respectively. It was clearly depicted that the obtained knowledge score was associated with poor attitudes and behaviors. Conclusion: Education on basic health sciences as well as overwhelming campaign and publicity must be pointed at enhancing KAB scores towards COVID-19 in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]