Telework: job satisfaction during work from home among IT professionals in India: a cross sectional study

Background: The untoward events of COVID-19 led to the enforcement of work from home (WFH) for nearly every wage earner across the globe. One of the several fields that saw its implications was the IT sector. We conducted the following study to understand how the IT techies have been affected by the shift in their workspace- from their cubicles at work to the tables at home and the implications of this shift on their general and mental health. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in January 2021. A Google form was circulated among IT professionals. Sample size was calculated by universal sampling technique. Data collected was entered in MS Excel and analysed using SPSS version 26. Results: Among the 47 received responses, the mean age group of the study sample was 20-30 years. 73.9% felt that personal obligations interrupted their work which led to increased frustration. There is also a rise in the incidences of backpain and eyestrain. The mean stress score of the study sample was 17.85±5.729 and though 80.9% felt they had a comfortable place at home to work, 62.52% of them wished to return to their workplace. Conclusions: Better innovative strategies need to be thought of and implemented to help employees have an efficient work-life balance.

Fearful versus loving parents: a cross-sectional study in Mysuru city to assess influence of parenting style on ADHD

Background: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood neurodevelopmental disorder. There are various genetic and social factors implicated in the development of ADHD. One of the factors is parenting style. Thus, the present study was undertaken to assess the various parenting styles present in the population and the statistical association between parenting style and ADHD prevalence. Methods: A cross- sectional study among 470 primary school students was undertaken in Mysuru district. Oral assent from students and written consent from parents was obtained for collection of data. Data was entered in MS Excel and analysed using Chi- square/Fisher's Exact test. p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The present study found that majority of mothers and fathers were supportive towards their children, 260 (56.4%) and 246 (53.02%) respectively. It was found that majority of the parents 324 (68.93%) preferred to sit down and reason with their children. ADHD scores for inattention showed a statistical significance with father’s parenting style (p= 0.044). However, mother’s parenting style did not show any association with ADHD scores. Conclusions: The development of regular, structured parent management programmes would be helpful in improving parents' knowledge about ADHD children and changing their attitudes towards them.

A cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about COVID-19 following the 2nd wave among the residents of Mysuru city

Background: COVID-19 is an infectious disease which emerged at the end of 2019 in China and soon took over the world. Interventional measures such as lockdown and health education were provided to contain the spread of the infection. The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the people of Mysuru and clarify any misconceptions regarding the disease or COVID-19 vaccination following the 2nd wave of the disease. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2021 to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about the 2nd wave of COVID-19 among the people residing in Mysuru city. The aim was to correct any misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccination, black fungus and basic practices to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A sample size of 142 was interviewed with a questionnaire through a door-to-door survey. Results: Though awareness about black fungus and basic etiquette was present among the people, there was poor knowledge about the benefits and use of COVID-19 vaccination among the people. Conclusions: Providing health education is essential to provide knowledge to the public. However, clarifying their doubts and queries is also an essential component to ensure better attitude and widespread practice of the containment measures.

Structure and function of enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of L-threonine to propionate.

In Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, L-threonine is cleaved non-oxidatively to propionate via 2-ketobutyrate by biodegradative threonine deaminase, 2-ketobutyrate formate-lyase (or pyruvate formate-lyase), phosphotransacetylase and propionate kinase. In the anaerobic condition, L-threonine is converted to the energy-rich keto acid and this is subsequently catabolised to produce ATP via substrate-level phosphorylation, providing a source of energy to the cells. Most of the enzymes involved in the degradation of L-threonine to propionate are encoded by the anaerobically regulated tdc operon. In the recent past, extensive structural and biochemical studies have been carried out on these enzymes by various groups. Besides detailed structural and functional insights, these studies have also shown the similarities and differences between the other related enzymes present in the metabolic network. In this paper, we review the structural and biochemical studies carried out on these enzymes.

Source and target enzyme signature in serine protease inhibitor active site sequences.

Amino acid sequences of proteinaceous proteinase inhibitors have been extensively analysed for deriving information regarding the molecular evolution and functional relationship of these proteins. These sequences have been grouped into several well defined families. It was found that the phylogeny constructed with the sequences corresponding to the exposed loop responsible for inhibition has several branches that resemble those obtained from comparisons using the entire sequence. The major branches of the unrooted tree corresponded to the families to which the inhibitors belonged. Further branching is related to the enzyme specificity of the inhibitor. Examination of the active site loop sequences of trypsin inhibitors revealed that here are strong preferences for specific amino acids at different positions of the loop. These preferences are inhibitor class specific. Inhibitors active against more than one enzyme occur within a class and confirm to class specific sequence in their loops. Hence, only a few positions in the loop seem to determine the specificity. The ability to inhibit the same enzyme by inhibitors that belong to different classes appears to be a result of convergent evolution.

Studies on simultaneous inhibition of trypsin and chymotrypsin by horsegram Bowman-Birk inhibitor.

Bowman-Birk inhibitors (BBI) isolated from plant seeds are small proteins active against trypsin and/or chymotrypsin. These inhibitors have been extensively studied in terms of their structure, interactions, function and evolution. Examination of the known three-dimensional structures of BBIs revealed similarities and subtle differences. The hydrophobic core, deduced from surface accessibility and hydrophobicity plots, corresponding to the two tandem structural domains of the double headed BBI are related by an almost exact two-fold, in contrast to the reactive site loops which depart appreciably from the two-fold symmetry. Also, the orientations of inhibitory loops in soybean and peanut inhibitors were different with respect to the rigid core. Based on the structure of Adzuki bean BBI-trypsin complex, models of trypsin and chymotryspin bound to the monomeric soybean BBI (SBI) were constructed. There were minor short contacts between the two enzymes bound to the inhibitor suggesting near independence of binding. Binding studies revealed that the inhibition of one enzyme in the presence of the other is associated with a minor negative cooperativity. In order to assess the functional significance of the reported oligomeric forms of BBI, binding of proteases to the crystallographic and non-crystallographic dimers as found in the crystal structure of peanut inhibitor were examined. It was found that all the active sites in these oligomers cannot simultaneously participate in inhibition.

Similarities in the genomic sequence and coat protein structure of plant virsuses.

The genomic sequences of several RNA plant viruses including cucumber mosaic virus, brome mosaic virus, alfalfa mosaic virus and tobacco mosaic virus have become available recently. The former two viruses are icosahedral while the latter two are bullet and rod shaped, respectively in particle morphology. The non-structural 3a proteins of cucumber mosaic virus and brome mosaic virus have an amino acid sequence homology of 35% and hence are evolutionarily related. In contrast, the coat proteins exhibit little homology, although the circular dichroism spectrum of these viruses are similar. The non-coding regions of the genome also exhibit variable but extensive homology. Comparison of the brome mosaic virus and alfalfa mosaic virus sequences reveals that they are probably related although with a much larger evolutionary distance. The polypeptide folds of the coat protein of three biologically distinct isometric plant viruses, tomato bushy stunt virus, southern bean mosaic virus and satellite tobacco necrosis virus have been shown to display a striking resemblance. All of them consist of a topologically similar 8-standard β-barrel. The implications of these studies to the understanding of the evolution of plant viruses will be discussed.

Evolutionary relationship of alfalfa mosaic virus with cucumber mosaic virus and brome mosaic virus.

The amino acid sequences of the non-structural protein (molecular weight 35,000; 3a protein) from three plant viruses – cucumber mosaic, brome mosaic and alfalfa mosaic have been systematically compared using the partial genomic sequences for these three viruses already available. The 3a protein of cucumber mosaic virus has an amino acid sequence homology of 33.7% with the corresponding protein of brome mosaic virus. A similar protein from alfalfa mosaic virus has a homology of 18.2% and 14.2% with the protein from brome mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus, respectively. These results suggest that the three plant viruses are evolutionarily related, although, the evolutionary distance between alfalfa mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus or brome mosaic virus is much larger than the corresponding distance between the latter two viruses.

Evolutionary relationship of alfalfa mosaic virus with cucumber mosaic virus and brome mosaic virus.

The amino acid sequences of the non-structural protein (molecular weight 35,000; 3a protein) from three plant viruses – cucumber mosaic, brome mosaic and alfalfa mosaic have been systematically compared using the partial genomic sequences for these three viruses already available. The 3a protein of cucumber mosaic virus has an amino acid sequence homology of 33.7% with the corresponding protein of brome mosaic virus. A similar protein from alfalfa mosaic virus has a homology of 18.2% and 14.2% with the protein from brome mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus, respectively. These results suggest that the three plant viruses are evolutionarily related, although, the evolutionary distance between alfalfa mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus or brome mosaic virus is much larger than the corresponding distance between the latter two viruses.