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Aminoglycosides antibiotics negate dissociation and recycling of the bacterial ribosome’s subunits by binding to Helix 69 (H69) of 23S rRNA. The differential binding of various aminoglycosides to the chemically synthesized terminal domains of the Escherichia coli and human H69 has been characterized using spectroscopy, calorimetry and NMR. The unmodified E. coli H69 hairpin exhibited a significantly higher affinity for neomycin B and tobramycin than for paromomycin (Kds = 0.3 ± 0.1, 0.2 ± 0.2 and 5.4 ± 1.1 µM, respectively). The binding of streptomycin was too weak to assess. In contrast to the E. coli H69, the human 28S rRNA H69 had a considerable decrease in affinity for the antibiotics, an important validation of the bacterial target. The three conserved pseudouridine modifications (Ψ1911, Ψ1915, Ψ1917) occurring in the loop of the E. coli H69 affected the dissociation constant, but not the stoichiometry for the binding of paromomycin (Kd = 2.6 ± 0.1 µM). G1906 and G1921, observed by NMR spectrometry, figured predominantly in the aminoglycoside binding to H69. The higher affinity of the E. coli H69 for neomycin B and tobramycin, as compared to paromomycin and streptomycin, indicates differences in the efficacy of the aminoglycosides.

Within the context of the novel coronavirus pandemic and new challenges to a resource-constrained public healthcare system, many healthcare workers in South Africa have faced numerous stressors that have compromised their mental health. While the current literature on COVID-19 in South Africa highlights the widespread psychosocial stress experienced by healthcare workers during the pandemic, little is known about the coping strategies utilized to continue service delivery and maintain one’s mental health and well-being during this ongoing public health emergency. In this study, we sought to explore the coping strategies used by healthcare workers employed in the public psychiatric care system in southern Gauteng, South Africa during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Psychiatric healthcare workers (n = 55) employed in three tertiary public hospitals and two specialized psychiatric facilities participated in in-depth interviews between July 2020 and March 2021. We found that coping strategies spanned multi-level and multi-systemic efforts. Intrapersonal, interpersonal, material, and structural coping were mapped across individual, family, and hospital systems. The most commonly utilized coping strategies included positive mindsets and reappraisal, social support systems, and COVID-19 specific protections. Findings also highlighted the contextual and interconnected nature of coping. Healthcare workers applied multiple coping strategies to combat the negative mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Better understanding these strategies, contexts in which they are employed, and how they interact can be used to develop evidence-based interventions to support healthcare workers experiencing healthcare-related stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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