Objective: Proper disposal of expired drugs can avoid drug abuse, drug diversion, environmental contamination, and accidental poisoning by children and animals. Our study was aimed to assess the knowledge and practice toward disposal of expired drugs among medical professionals. Methods:After obtaining verbal consent, a self-administered pretested questionnaire was given to tutors, junior resident, senior resident, assistant professors, associate professors, and professors of Tagore Medical and Dental College and Hospital. The questionnaire has two parts; part one includes demographic details of the study participants, and part two comprises questions, regarding their awareness, knowledge, and practice toward disposal of expired drugs. Data were described as a percentage and analyzed using Sigma Graphpad prism version-5 and Microsoft Excel 2007.Results: A total of 156 medical professionals participated in the study. Among them, 85 were males and 71 were females, whereas 123 (78.8%) were medical and 33 (21.2%) were dental faculties. It was observed that 74.3% of respondents check the expiry date of the drug always and 62.2% said the drug loses its therapeutic effect after the expiry date. Analyzing the method to dispose the expired drugs, 77.6% throw in their household dustbins, 2.6% flush in toilets, 19.2% return to the pharmacist, and 4.5% bury. One-fourth of the medical professionals not aware about environmental hazards due to improper disposal and also believe they do not cause any harm. 64% of preferred pharmacist would be the appropriate person to inform about proper disposal of drugs. Conclusion:This study shows lacunae in the knowledge and practice about proper disposal of expired drugs and recommends discussion regarding improper disposal and its consequences in various health programs.

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of dopamine receptor (DRD2) and μ opioid receptor (OPRM1) genes are associated with susceptibility towards alcoholism. Hence, our study aimed to investigate the association of rs1799732 (DRD2) and rs1799971(OPRM1) with the risk of alcohol dependence in the south Indian Tamilian population and to compare the frequencies of these SNPs with major global populations. Methods: A total of 150 alcohol-dependent cases aged between 18 and 65 years who satisfied DSM-V were recruited from a de-addiction center (TTK hospital, Chennai). For the control group, 150 unrelated male blood donors with an AUDIT score of less than 8 were included. Genomic DNA was extracted and the alleles were genotyped using Taqman SNP genotyping assays by quantitative PCR. Results: Minor allele frequency (MAF) of rs1799732 and rs1799971 among controls were 16.7% and 50.3% respectively. Fisher’s exact test showed a highly significant difference in MAF of DRD2 and OPRM1 between south Indian controls and European as well as African populations. All the five genetic models of SNPs were evaluated using the Chi-square test revealed no statistically significant association between the SNPs and alcohol dependence. Conclusions: The present study did not find any association between DRD2 −141C Ins/Del and A118G OPRM1 polymorphism with alcoholism in the Tamilian population of south India.

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INTRODUCTIONUTI is a second most common type of infection, accounting for nearly 25% of all infections.1 Urinary tract comprises of ureters, urinary bladder and urethra. Infection of the bladder gives rise to symptoms of frequency urgency, suprapubic discomfort, dysuria and cloudy offensive urine. These symptoms are often known as 'cystitis'. Lower UTIs are much more common in women than in men, particularly in the under 50's. ABSTRACTBackground: UTI is a second most common type of infection, accounting for nearly 25% of all infections. Lower UTIs are much more common in women than in men, particularly in the under 50's. UTI are common among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recurrent UTI is a common phenomenon that is observed among women who have experienced uncomplicated UTIs. Usually 5-10 days of antibiotic therapy is done for treating UTI. Successful antimicrobial therapy will usually ameliorate symptoms promptly, with substantial clinical improvement in 48 to 72 hours. The objective is to find out the knowledge and practice about UTI among UTI sufferers. Methods: The study design is cross sectional study. The study period is from July 2016 to February 2017. The study place is Sree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences. The sample size is (4PQ/d²) = 31. Systematic random sampling techniques are used. Institutional ethical committee clearance was obtained. Results: In the study 90.3% are women. In the study 32.3% had a recurrent UTI. In the study population about 51.7% take adequate or plenty of water. In this study 35.5% have poor knowledge, 42% have moderate knowledge and 19.5% have a good knowledge about UTI. Conclusions: From the study, it is learnt that UTI is common among the women and recurrence is the most common thing among the asymptomatic UTI group. The common symptom experienced by the study group is dysuria and frequency and most in the study group used to take less than recommended amount of water daily. They believe drinking plenty of water and cleanliness can prevent the UTI. The knowledge about UTI among the group is fairly good.

Background: Obesity is one of the fastest growing threats of health and well-being for both developed and developing countries. The aim of the study was to evaluate the awareness about obesity among general public.Methods: After obtaining institutional ethics committee approval and written informed consent from the participants, anthropometric measures like height, weight, hip and waist circumference for computing body mass index and waist hip ratio were taken. Using portable bioelectric impedance analyzer body fat percentage was measured. A validated questionnaire including socio demographic details and questions evaluating the awareness about obesity were given to the participants.Results: Totally 100 participants were evaluated, of which majority being female. Mean height of the male and female participants was 164 and 152cm respectively. Similarly, mean weight was found to be 72 and 65 kg. Based on the body mass index only 19% participants were within normal range, remaining 81% were overweight and obese. Percent body fat and waist hip ratio was found to be increased in both sexes. Majority of the participants were aware that obesity is associated with health problems but most of them were unaware how it is measured and the dietary foods to be taken to reduce obesity. However 64% participants think that obesity can reduce the life expectancy of the individual.Conclusions: Majority of the participants were obese and overweight while awareness about preventive measures was still lacking. Hence health care personnel need to take greater effort to educate and inform people about the implications.