Diabetes care in public health facilities in India: a situational analysis using a mixed methods approach.

Background: Weak public health systems have been identified as major bottlenecks in providing good quality diabetic care in low- and middle-income countries.

Methodology: The present study assessed diabetic care services at public health facilities across six districts in three states of India using a mixed methods approach. The study described diabetes care services available at public health facilities and identified challenges and solutions needed to tackle them.

Mandatory TB notification in Mysore city, India: Have we heard the private practitioner's plea?

Background: The Government of India, made TB notification by private healthcare providers mandatory from May 2012 onwards. The National TB Programme developed a case based web based online reporting mechanism called NIKSHAY. However, the notification by private providers has been very low.

Enzymic thin film coatings for bioactive materials.

Bioactive materials have been explored for a broad range of applications including biocatalysts, biosensors, antifouling membranes and other functional and smart materials. We report herein a unique method for preparation of bioactive materials through a spin coating process. Specifically, we investigated the preparation of protease Subtilisin Carlsberg-coated plastic films and examined their activities for hydrolysis of chicken egg albumin (CEA).

Study on mesophilic and thermophilic alcohol dehydrogenases in gas-phase reaction.

The initial reaction rate and the thermostability of the mesophilic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Lactobacillus brevis (LBADH), and the thermophilic ADH from Thermoanaerobacter sp. (ADH T) in gas-phase reaction were compared. The effects of water activity, cofactor-to-protein molar ratio, and reaction temperature on the reduction of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol were studied.

Optimization of adsorptive immobilization of alcohol dehydrogenases.

In this work, a systematic examination of various parameters of adsorptive immobilization of alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) on solid support is performed and the impact of these parameters on immobilization efficiency is studied. Depending on the source of the enzymes, these parameters differently influence the immobilization efficiency, expressed in terms of residual activity and protein loading. Residual activity of 79% was achieved with ADH from bakers' yeast (YADH) after optimizing the immobilization parameters.