Epitope imprinted polymeric materials: application in electrochemical detection of disease biomarkers.

Epitope imprinting is a promising method for creating specialized recognition sites that resemble natural biorecognition elements. Epitope-imprinted materials have gained a lot of attention recently in a variety of fields, including bioanalysis, drug delivery, and clinical therapy. The vast applications of epitope imprinted polymers are due to the flexibility in choosing monomers, the simplicity in obtaining templates, specificity toward targets, and resistance to harsh environments along with being cost effective in nature. The "epitope imprinting technique," which uses only a tiny subunit of the target as the template during imprinting, offers a way around various drawbacks inherent to biomacromolecule systems i.e., traditional molecular imprinting techniques with regards to the large size of proteins, such as the size, complexity, accessibility, and conformational flexibility of the template. Electrochemical based sensors are proven to be promising tool for the quick, real-time monitoring of biomarkers. This review unravels epitope imprinting techniques, approaches, and strategies and highlights the applicability of these techniques for the electrochemical quantification of biomarkers for timely disease monitoring. In addition, some challenges are discussed along with future prospective developments.

Internet addiction at workplace and it implication for workers life style: Exploration from Southern India.

BACKGROUND: Industries are focusing on digitization of their working environment. It helps in enhanced productivity as well as communication among workers. It also lead to higher usages of internet for non work related use at workplace. It affect their productivity at workplace. The present study was undertaken to explore internet use in Information technology (IT) industry and non IT industry, to see its consequence and effect on lifestyle and functioning. METHODS AND MATERIALS: 250 employees of various Government/Private sector organizations(using internet for more than a year and education level of graduation and above) were approached for the assessment using cross sectional research design. RESULTS: The average age of participants was 30.4 years. 9.2% participants falling in category of occasional problems/'at risk' for developing addiction in functioning/moderate impairment due to internet use. Statistically more participants falling in 'at risk category' had reported postponement of work and change in productivity. Sleep, meals, personal hygiene and family time were postponed more by participants who were at risk for developing internet addiction. CONCLUSIONS: The study has implications for developing a workplace based psycho-social intervention program to address the technology use issues at workplace.

Internet use at workplaces and its effects on working style in indian context: An exploration.

BACKGROUND: Internet use has revolutionized the pattern of working style at the workplace. It led to an increased use for nonprofessional activities at the workplace. It has been shown to affect productivity at the workplace. There is a dearth of literature from the Indian context in this area. AIM: This study was conducted to explore the pattern of Internet use at the workplace and its dysfunctions. SETTING AND DESIGN: The present study was a cross-sectional prospective study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The objective of the study was to assess the pattern of technology use at the workplace. Two hundred and fifty employees having experience of Internet use for more than a year of various Government/Private sector organizations in Bengaluru were assessed using background data sheet. Users who were unwilling to participate were excluded from the study. RESULTS: 29.6% of the participants used mobile phone exclusively. 58.8% of the participants used mobile along with other devices such as desktop, laptop, and tablet at home as well as at work. 64% of the participants reported change in their productivity due to nonwork-related Internet use at the workplace. 42% of the participants acknowledgemed postponement of their work due to Internet activities. 3-5% reported preference for Internet to work, meals, personal hygiene, sleep, and interaction with family members. WhatsApp was the most used application followed by Facebook and Gmail. Gaming applications and messenger applications such as hike and hangouts were used less frequently. Overall, delay in going to sleep was 1.6 hours and early morning awakening was 1.5 hours due to Internet use. CONCLUSIONS: The present study has implications for evolving psychoeducational modules for the promotion of healthy use of technology.

The Nutrition and Dietetics Workforce Needs Skills and Expertise in the New York Metropolitan Area.

BACKGROUND: There is an increased demand in the Nutrition and Dietetics field which has fostered credentialing to ensure competent graduates. The objective of this study is to conduct an exploratory analysis to identify nutrition/dietetics workforce needs, skills and expertise in the New York metropolitan area as exemplified in position announcements over a 4 year period. METHODS: We recorded position announcements for jobs in nutrition and dietetics from the New York State Registered Dietitian Yahoo group, and the Hunter College Nutrition and Food Sciences student and alumni listserv (NFS-L) over a 4 year period. Keywords were identified using job categories defined by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) compensation and benefits survey. This served as a starting point to enumerate the types of positions that have been posted for the New York metropolitan area in recent years. RESULTS: Four hundred and twelve (412) unique job postings were recorded. Various educational levels, credentials, and skills desired by these employers were identified, assessed, and compared with similar data from the "supply side" reports from AND. CONCLUSIONS: The credentials and skills most desired by employers are similar to some of the learning objectives set forth for DPD and DI programs by ACEND, but not entirely congruent. The need for both client/customer focus and computer literacy may be implicit in the standards, but a more overt inclusion of these skills would likely be of benefit to ensure these are inculcated into every program and student.