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Purpose:Drug use prescribing indicators advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO) are important tools for assessing the degree of polypharmacy, use of generic medicines, and to evaluate if there is inappropriate use of antibiotics or parenteral medications besides estimating the adherence to the essential drugs list. This study aimed to assess the WHO prescribing indicators in prescriptions given at the medical outpatient department (OPD) in a private medical college hospital in South India.Materials and Methods:The study was done prospectively from patients when they presented for consultation at the medical OPD at our tertiary care center. Prescriptions were randomly chosen to be analyzed for the WHO prescribing indicators from September 2016 to April 2017.Results:A total of 700 prescriptions were analyzed and the average number of drugs per prescription was 2.955 ± 1.32. 32.57% of prescriptions had fixed drug combinations and a similar value of 36% was obtained for prescriptions containing more than one drug for the same indication. Amongst the prescribing indicators, generic prescribing was appallingly low (6.42%). In contrast, antibiotic prescribing and prescription of injections showed an appreciably rational trend with 15.42% and 8.14%, respectively. Furthermore, the prescription of the drugs enlisted in the essential drugs list was determined to be 90.67%.Discussion:The need for increase in generic prescribing and augmenting the adherence of prescriptions to the essential drugs list has been identified. This can be accomplished by multimodal approach that includes regulatory changes, conducting educational programs directed at attitudinal change among current doctors and imparting modifications in medical curriculum so as to inculcate the culture of abiding by the best prescription practices among budding doctors.Conclusion:This study has delineated the requisite for pertinent changes in current prescribing trends in a tertiary care teaching private colleges.

Feather waste, generated in large quantities as a byproduct of commercial poultry processing, is nearly pure keratin protein, and keratin in its native state is not degradable by common proteolytic enzymes. The aim of the study was to find a potent feather degrading actinobacteria from feather waste soil. Out of 91 actinobacterial isolates recorded from feather waste soil in Tiruchirappalli and Nammakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India, isolate SD5 was selected for characterization because it exhibited significant keratinolytic activity. On the basis of the phenotypic, biochemical characterization and 16S rRNA gene-sequencing studies, the isolate was identified as Nocardiopsis sp. SD5. Protease and keratinase activity of Nocardiopsis sp. SD5 were analyzed. The enzyme was more stable over the neutral pH and the temperature of 40 °C. The optimum temperature and pH for both proteolytic and keratinolytic activity was determined at 50 °C and pH 9, respectively. Enzyme inhibitors, detergents and chelator declined the enzyme activity with increasing concentration. Non denaturing poly acrylamide gel electrophoresis and zymogram elucidated the presence of 30 kda and 60 kda protease enzymes. These findings indicated that thermo alkaliphilic feather degrading strain Nocardiopsis sp. SD5 could be used to control the feather waste pollution and to convert keratin rich feather waste into useful feedstock for poultry industry. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim).

Feather waste, generated in large quantities as a byproduct of commercial poultry processing, is nearly pure keratin protein, and keratin in its native state is not degradable by common proteolytic enzymes. The aim of the study was to find a potent feather degrading actinobacteria from feather waste soil. Out of 91 actinobacterial isolates recorded from feather waste soil in Tiruchirappalli and Nammakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India, isolate SD5 was selected for characterization because it exhibited significant keratinolytic activity. On the basis of the phenotypic, biochemical characterization and 16S rRNA gene-sequencing studies, the isolate was identified as Nocardiopsis sp. SD5. Protease and keratinase activity of Nocardiopsis sp. SD5 were analyzed. The enzyme was more stable over the neutral pH and the temperature of 40 °C. The optimum temperature and pH for both proteolytic and keratinolytic activity was determined at 50 °C and pH 9, respectively. Enzyme inhibitors, detergents and chelator declined the enzyme activity with increasing concentration. Nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and zymogram elucidated the presence of 30 and 60 kDa protease enzymes. These findings indicated that thermo alkaliphilic feather degrading strain Nocardiopsis sp. SD5 could be used to control the feather waste pollution and to convert keratin rich feather waste into useful feedstock for poultry industry.

Endometrial carcinoma is the fourth most abundant cancer worldwide in women. Female Wistar rats were segregated into five groups: group I-control, group II-MNNG (N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-150 mg/kg) administered through intravaginal detention of cotton absorbent, group III-geraniol (GOH) only, group IV-GOH-pretreated (7 days before the start of MNNG administration); and group V-Co-administration of geraniol with MNNG. In this study, reverse transcriptase- PCR of K-ras, MAPK, PI3K, Wnt/β-catenin genes, TGF-β and expressions of PCNA, PTEN, progesterone receptor and E-cadherin by Western blotting were performed from endometrial cancer tissue and control tissues. The mRNA expressions of K-ras, MAPK, PI3K, Wnt/β-catenin and TGF-β were amplified in MNNG induced group. Oral administration of GOH (both pre and co-administration) reversed the mRNA expression towards normal. The reversibility is more predominant in pretreatment groups ( < 0.05). The expression of PCNA was upregulated and downregulation of PTEN, progesterone receptor and E-cadherin was noticed in MNNG induced rats. Pre and co-administration of GOH significantly reversed the expression pattern of proteins. GOH treatment is more effective in pretreatment groups ( < 0.05). These results provide powerful evidences that GOH could influence modulation of MAPK pathways and Wnt signalling pathways in the prevention of endometrial carcinoma in rats.