Staff's attitude regarding hospital waste management in the dental college hospitals of Bangalore city, India.

Background: Growing urbanization has led to several changes in the healthcare sector. While on one hand, access to healthcare services are being provided to the community, thereby resulting in better health for all, improper management of biomedical waste emanating from these healthcare establishments has also given rise to many environmental and health problems (Acharya 2003). Although awareness in this issue has increased considerably over the last few years, sensitivity to this problem has been limited.

Solitary Giant Intramuscular Myxoid Neurofibroma Resulting in an above Elbow Amputation.

Neurofibromas are uncommon benign tumours and are still rarer in intramuscular locations. They are not detected until they cause a significant damage to the neighbouring tissues. We present a case of a giant intramuscular myxoid neurofibroma of the left forearm which eroded the radius and ulna, restricting the movements at the elbow and wrist joints and causing wrist drop resulting in an above elbow amputation.

Lyophilization monophase solution technique for improvement of the solubility and dissolution of piroxicam.

Piroxicam (PX), an anti-inflammatory drug, exhibits poor water solubility, dissolution and flow properties. Thus, the aim of the present study was to improve the solubility and dissolution rate of PX by freeze drying technique using dimethylformamide (DMF), chloroform and water as co-solvent system. The prepared crystals containing PX were evaluated for DMF and chloroform solvent residual by gas chromatography and solubility and in vitro dissolution.

Prospective assessment of patterns, severity and clinical outcome of Indian poisoning incidents.

The objective of this study was to assess the patterns, severity and clinical outcome of poisoning incidents. A prospective assessment was conducted over a period of 1 year in tertiary-care teaching hospitals. Glasgow coma scale (GCS), poisoning severity score (PSS), and snake bite severity score (SSS) were used to predict the severity of poisoning, and then compared to the clinical outcome.

Hyperglycemia: an unusual cause for hemichorea.

Hemichoreais a rare neurologic disorder due to oxidative stress leading to neurodegenerationof the dentate nuclei and striata. It is rarely observed in diabetes. One such case occurring in an adult female diabetic is described here.

Recurrent oral angioleiomyoma.

Angioleiomyomas are vascular variant of leiomyomas which are benign tumors of smooth muscle. They are exceedingly rare in the oral cavity. Malignant transformation of these tumors has also been reported occasionally which warrants knowledge of this soft tissue tumor.

Frequency and nature of adverse drug reactions in elderly in-patients of two Indian medical college hospitals.

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a major public health problem in the elderly. Although the Indian elderly represent 12.8% of the entire global elderly population, data on prevalence and predictors of ADRs in elderly Indians is extremely limited.

Synthesis, characterization, and in vitro drug release study of methacrylate diclofenac conjugate as macromolecular prodrug.

Diclofenac was covalently coupled to 2-hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate (HEMA) to get a monomeric drug derivative of diclofenac. This monomer was subjected to radicular polymerization to get poly(diclo-EMA) conjugate. The in vitro drug release study of the polymeric prodrug was carried out in buffers of pH 1.

Gender differentiation by finger ridge count among South Indian population.

The goal of this study is to determine the gender based on finger ridge count within a well-defined area. Rolled fingerprints were taken from 550 subjects (275 men and 275 women) belonging to South Indian population all within the age range of 18-65 years. Results show that women have a significantly higher ridge count than men.

Analysis of Monosodium l-Glutamate in Food Products by High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography.

A simple, fast, specific, and precise high-performance thin layer chromatography method has been developed for the estimation of monosodium l-glutamate (MSG) in food products. Aluminum plates precoated with silica gel 60 GF(254)were used as stationary phase and a mixture of methanol-chloroform-formic acid in the ratio 5:5:1 (v/v) as mobile phase. Quantification was carried out by postchromatographic derivatization using 1% ninhydrin solution, and the developed spots were scanned by using a densitometer in absorbance mode at 485 nM.

Potentially inappropriate medication use in elderly patients: a study of prevalence and predictors in two teaching hospitals.

Background: Geriatrics is an emerging clinical specialty in India. Information about the appropriateness of prescription medication use among the elderly in India is limited.

Aims: To determine the prevalence and predictors of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use, and assess the relationship between PIM use and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the hospitalized elderly.