In silico analysis of phytochemicals and non-phytochemicals and comparing their potentiality on inhibiting nsp12 and nsp14 in SARS-CoV-2 variants

The spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, leads to global pandemic endangering human life and health. The primary challenge for the scientific community is to find a potential cure for the disease which can act on the emerging variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Due to the absence of effective medical treatment for the diseases, the healthcare system around the world was at a standstill. The nsp12 and nsp14 are one of the important proteins which are involved in the replication and proofreading of SARS-CoV-2 respectively. Both the non-structural proteins have highly conserved regions and served as a popular target for corona virus inhibitors for drug screening. In this study, the primary aim is to find the potential inhibitors, both phytochemical and nonphytochemical, which could act on variants to inhibit the activity of nsp12 and nsp14. Also to compare the binding affinity of nsp12 and nsp14 with phytochemicals and nonphytochemicals. A combination of mutational landscape, structure-based virtual screening and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation approaches were utilized in this work. From the mutational landscape, two functionally active mutations were observed in nsp12 and single mutation was observed in nsp14 of SARS CoV-2 Variants. The molecular simulation is performed for drugs Cepharanthine (phytochemical) and Hypericin (phytochemical) with top binding affinity for nsp12 variants and for molecules Hypericin (phytochemical) and conivaptan (non-Phytochemical) having top binding affinity with nsp14 wildtype and variants.

In silico drug designing for coronaviral infection from natural compounds

Worldwide exposure to the Coronavirus has caused more than 6 billion fatalities since 2019. Corona is a typical RNA virus composed of glycoproteins (S), a small envelope (E), a membrane (M) and a Nucleocapsid protein (N). Genetic mutation of the virus highly influences virulence and increases the affinity of viral spike protein towards receptor (ACE2) by affecting the physiochemical properties and folding conformations. The scientific community has been attempting to forecast an appropriate potential inhibitor since the identification of viral infection. This study proposed to screen efficient inhibitors for corona among the natural compound repositories. We have retrieved 1,15,367 compounds from the IBS, NANPDB, TiPdb, NPASS and NUBBF DB databases. The compounds belonged to the native plants of Asia, Europe, America and Africa under various disciplines such as terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, polyketides, lignans and steroids. Virtual screening is used to fix the potential inhibitor for coronaviral infection against the main protease activity. Corona viral Main Protease (1Q2W) structure was retrieved from the PDB and compounds prepared with Ligprep. Molecular docking aid to rank their binding energy based on interaction mechanism. Natural compounds with high affinity towards the main protease were subjected to MM-GBSA and Molecular dynamics for 100 ns.

We are in survival mode: how family-owned small foodservice firms in India responded to the Covid-19 pandemic

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the crisis faced, strategies adopted, barriers for recovery and the future outlook by the operators of family-owned small foodservice business firms in responses to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded unprecedented challenges, severely disrupted the family-run small foodservice business units and often put them on the brink of closure of business. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology adopted is a qualitative research approach. The data for the research is collected through a semi-structured interview. The data was collected from the 13 family-owned foodservice providers. The data is collected through a semi-structured telephone interview as there is a restriction of travel between different regions. Findings: The finding reveals that small family-operated foodservice firms faced multiple challenges, including threat for existence, the pressure of fixed cost, feeling unethical, financial instability, uncertainty on future and feeling of loss of goodwill with lenders. Originality/value: The current research work is the first to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on small family-owned food services businesses in an Indian context. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Hospitality students' adoption of e-Books during the COVID-19 pandemic: A developing country perspective

Educational institutions worldwide faced a myriad of challenges and disruptions in teaching and learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The transition from a formal mode of teaching to online teaching created a challenge in access to library and learning resources. EBooks are considered a viable option for printed books that facilitate remote access to learning resources. The present study uses the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to identify the factors that may influence hospitality students adoption ande behavioural intention of e-Books. Data for the study were collected from 237 hospitality students using an online survey questionnaire. The result of the study reveals that facilitating conditions, social influence and performance expectancy have a positive impact on hospitality student's adoption of e-Books during the pandemic. The study has significant implication for educational administrators, e-Book publishers and academic librarians in hospitality educational institutions in India. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.