Examining the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: an international cross-sectional study protocol.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed people to significant and prolonged stress. The psychosocial impacts of the pandemic have been well recognised and reported in high-income countries (HICs) but it is important to understand the unique challenges posed by COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where limited international comparisons have been undertaken. This protocol was therefore devised to study the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in seven LMICs using scales that had been designed for or translated for this purpose.

Energetics of gating MscS by membrane tension in azolectin liposomes and giant spheroplasts.

Mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels are molecular sensors that detect and transduce signals across prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell membranes arising from external mechanical stimuli or osmotic gradients. They play an integral role in mechanosensory responses including touch, hearing, and proprioception by opening or closing in order to facilitate or prevent the flow of ions and organic osmolytes. In this study we use a linear force model of MS channel gating to determine the gating membrane tension (γ) and the gating area change (ΔA) associated with the energetics of MscS channel gating in giant spheroplasts and azolectin liposomes.