Parenting practices, stressors and parental concerns during COVID-19 in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a global crisis that has added fear, uncertainty, and stress to parents. Parents are going through several challenges related to school closure, financial insecurity and working remotely. These stressors are affecting the mental health of parents. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to observe major stressors along with the impact of COVID-19 on parental concerns and practices during lockdown. PARTICIPANTS: Sample (N = 923) was selected through purposive sampling from parents attending Out Patients Departments of hospitals in three provincial capital cities of Pakistan having a high burden of COVID-19, i.e. Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Parents having at least one child younger than 18 years were included in the study. METHODS: A quantitative design was used using a COVID-19 Parenting Response Scale (α = 0.74). It was used as a self-administered tool for parents who knew how to read and write Urdu/English language, however it was conducted as a structured interview for those who could not read/write. Data was analyzed by applying descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, percentage), independent sample t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. RESULTS: Findings of the current study showed several stressful factors for parents during COVID-19 pandemic, mainly financial burden, children's education, uncertainty of the situation, and many others. The study also suggests an association of parental concerns during COVID-19 with parenting practices. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 pandemic presents a global crisis not only of the health of the people but also on family relations and mental well-being. Findings of this research indicate the need for targeted and accessible interventions for mental health of parents especially during these challenging circumstances so that they can cope with the challenges in an effective way and be able to take care of their children better.

N,N′-dialkyl-2-thiobarbituric acid based sulfonamides as potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors

An efficient methodology was developed to generate novel N,N′-dialkyl-2-thiobarbituric acid based sulfonamides S1–S4 in good to excellent yields (84%–95%). The synthesized compounds S1–S4 were docked to screen their in silico activities against two enzymes i.e., SARS-CoV-2 main protease enzyme with unliganded active site (2019-nCoV, coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19) PDB ID: 6Y84 and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro PDB ID: 6LU7. Furthermore, some in silico physicochemical and physicokinetic properties were evaluated using the OSIRIS Property Explorer, Molinspiration property calculator, ADMET property calculator, and GUSAR to assess these compounds as potential candidates as lead compounds for the quest of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors. Molecular docking analyses of the synthesized compounds predicted that compound S3 is more potent as SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor with binding energy –11.65 kcal/mol in comparison with reference inhibitor N3 (–10.95 kcal/mol), whereas compounds S1, S2, and S4 recorded comparable binding energies –9.89, –10.84, and –10.94 kcal/mol with reference inhibitor N3, which were much better than remdesivir (–9.85 kcal/mol). In case of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, all compounds S1–S4 with docking energy values of –7.28, –8.38, –8.31, and –7.34 kcal/mol, respectively, were found to be potent in comparison with reference inhibitor N3 (–6.31 kcal/mol) and remdesivir (–6.33 kcal/mol). Ligand efficiency values against the target SARS-CoV-2 proteins, as well as α-glucosidase and DNA-(apurinic or apyrimidinic site) lyase inhibition results of these newly synthesized compounds, were also found to be promising. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Nous avons mis au point une méthodologie efficace pour produire de nouveaux sulfonamides à base d'acides N , N′ -dialkyl-2-thiobarbituriques (S1 – S4) avec des rendements allant de bons à excellents (84 % à 95 %). Nous avons soumis les composés synthétisés S1–S4 à un amarrage moléculaire pour évaluer leur activité in silico contre deux enzymes, soit la principale protéase du SRASCoV2 sans ligand au site actif (2019nCoV, maladie à coronavirus 2019, COVID19;PDB ID : 6Y84) et la principale protéase du SRASCoV2 Mpro (PDB ID : 6LU7). En outre, nous avons calculé in silico certaines propriétés physicochimiques et physicocinétiques à l'aide de l'outil d'exploration de propriétés en ligne OSIRIS, du calculateur de propriétés Molinspiration, du calculateur de propriétés ADMET et du logiciel GUSAR afin d'évaluer le potentiel de ces composés comme têtes de série dans la quête d'inhibiteurs de la principale protéase du SRASCoV2. Les analyses d'amarrage moléculaire auxquelles ont été soumis les composés synthétisés ont permis de prédire que le composé S3 serait plus actif pour inhiber la principale protéase du SRASCoV2, son énergie de liaison étant de –11,65 kcal/mol, comparativement à l'inhibiteur de référence N3 (–10,95 kcal/mol), tandis que les composés S1 , S2 et S4 ont respectivement enregistré une énergie de liaison de –9,89 kcal/mol, –10,84 kcal/mol et –10,94 kcal/mol, des valeurs comparables à celle de l'inhibiteur de référence N3, mais toutefois bien en deçà de celle du remdésvir (–9,85 kcal/mol). Quant à la principale protéase du SRASCoV2 Mpro, les quatre composés S1–S4 ont montré une certaine activité, les valeurs de l'énergie de liaison étaient respectivement de –7,28, –8,38, –8,31 et –7,34 kcal/mol, par rapport à celle de l'inhibiteur de référence N3 (–6,31 kcal/mol) et du remdésivir (–6,33 kcal/mol). Les valeurs d'efficacité du ligand contre les protéines cibles du SRASCoV2 ainsi que les résultats d'inhibition de l' α glucosidase et de l'ADN-(site apurinique ou apyrimidinique) lyase par ces nouveaux composés se sont également montrés prometteurs. [Traduit par la Rédaction] (French) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Canadian Journal of Chemistry is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)