"A Roadmap to Tackle the Challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance - A Joint meeting of Medical Societies in India" was organized as a pre-conference symposium of the 2 nd annual conference of the Clinical Infectious Disease Society (CIDSCON 2012) at Chennai on 24 th August. This was the first ever meeting of medical societies in India on issue of tackling resistance, with a plan to formulate a road map to tackle the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance from the Indian perspective. We had representatives from most medical societies in India, eminent policy makers from both central and state governments, representatives of World Health Organization, National Accreditation Board of Hospitals, Medical Council of India, Drug Controller General of India, and Indian Council of Medical Research along with well-known dignitaries in the Indian medical field. The meeting was attended by a large gathering of health care professionals. The meeting consisted of plenary and interactive discussion sessions designed to seek experience and views from a large range of health care professionals and included six international experts who shared action plans in their respective regions. The intention was to gain a broad consensus and range of opinions to guide formation of the road map. The ethos of the meeting was very much not to look back but rather to look forward and make joint efforts to tackle the menace of antibiotic resistance. The Chennai Declaration will be submitted to all stake holders.

The objective of this work was to prepare and optimize the fast-dissolving film of salbutamol sulphate, which can be useful in an acute attack of asthma. The film was prepared using a solvent evaporation technique and is taken through the sublingual route. The film contains polyvinyl alcohol as a polymer, glycerol as a plasticizer, and mannitol as filler. A 33 full factorial design was utilized for the optimization of the effect of independent variables such as amount of polyvinyl alcohol, amount of glycerol, amount of mannitol on the mechanical properties, and % drug release of film. The multiple regression analysis of the results led to equations that adequately describe the influence of the independent variables on the selected responses. Polynomial regression equations and contour plots were used to relate the dependent and independent variables. The experimental results indicated that polymer concentration, plasticizer concentration, and filler concentration had complex effects on film mechanical behavior and % drug release. Furthermore, the desirability function was employed in order to determine the best batch out of all 27 batches of the factorial design. The % relative error was calculated, which showed that observed responses were in close agreement with the predicted values calculated from the generated regression equations. It was found that the optimum values of the responses for fast release film could be obtained at medium levels of polyvinyl alcohol and glycerol, and a high level of mannitol. The prepared film was clear, transparent, and had a smooth surface. The concept of similarity factors Sd was used to prove similarity of dissolution between distilled water and simulated saliva (pH 6.8) or simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2).

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A deeper understanding of individual factors and their complex interactions related to interruptions experienced by ICU RNs are vital to understanding the clinical significance of these interruptions and intervention design.

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2 3This paper considers how the provision of integrated household-level infrastructure -particularly water and environmental sanitation (including water supply, sewerage, roads, storm drainage and solid waste management) -can play a leading role in improving the conditions in slum settlements. Around 700 socio-economic interviews were carried out in India and South Africa to investigate an innovative approach called slum networking, which sees the strong correlation between slum locations and drainage paths as an opportunity for improving the wider urban environment. This recognition allows resources to be mobilised locally, thereby removing the need for external aid funding. The evidence from the 700 families shows that communities perceive water and sanitation inputs to be their top priority and are willing to contribute to the costs. If slum upgrading is led with access to integrated water and environmental sanitation at household level with community contributions to the cost of infrastructure, then slum communities subsequently invest considerably greater sums in improved housing and education, with longer term contributions to poverty alleviation, improvements in health and literacy and an increase in disposable incomes.

These data show that alcohol and drug abuse are an issue in patients ≥65 years in our institution, though not as pervasive a problem as in younger populations. Admission toxicology screens, however, are important as an aid to identify geriatric individuals who may require intervention.