Diversification In Employment Structure And Status Of Rural Women Workers In Ernakulam District

The basic objective of the present study has been to observe the process and pattern of employment diversification among the rural women workers in Ernakulam district. The evidences are that the women workers in the rural areas of the state are being increasingly diversified into the tertiary sector. The clear cut evidence for the fact that in Kerala non-agricultural employment of rural women is increasing with more and more of them getting diversified into the tertiary sector. The women get more self esteem and recognition in terms of the work being done by them. In the urban areas of the state as a poverty eradicating measure the Kerala government has already introduced a new scheme under the banner of Kudumbasree. Another fact noticed in the study that the sectoral shift of women workers has posed a grave problem to the agricultural sector. The reluctance of workers to do manual jobs on land and the prevalence of high wages among the agricultural labours has left many a cultivable area fallow or has induced farmers to shift to less labour –intensive crops. The situation is expected to worsen in future as even the high wages fail to attract the young generation to this sector. To conclude the study has fulfilled all its objectives, viz; highlighting the rural employment structure in Kerala, examining the process, pattern, determinants and consequences of diversification among rural women workers in the sample villages. Being the first of its kind at the micro level in the state it contributes to the available literature in the area enriching the database that is crucially lacking for devising projects at the village and block-level. There exists ample scope for future research of similar nature in an urban background where the secondary data-sources are hinding towards a reversal of trends from non-agriculture to agriculture.

Platelet Monoamine Changes In Diabetic Patients and Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats

In the present study we assessed plasma and platelet monoamine content using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The study included 22 subjects consisting of 12 freshly-detected male diabetic patients and 10 age and sex-matched healthy controls. The same parameters were measured in streptozotocin -induced diabetic rat models consisting of controls , diabetic and insulin - treated diabetic rats. The platelet counts were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in rat models as well as human diabetic samples. The plasma norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI) concentrations were significantly increased (P < 0.05). The platelet showed a significant increase (P < 0.01) in NE, EPI and serotonin content. Increase in the plasma and platelet content of neurotransmitters may be due to increased sympathetic function, which is an adaptation for the decreased platelet count observed in our study . The results indicate that changes in the neurotransmitter content of the platelet may be a good index to assess the neurotransmitter status in pathological condition such as diabetes mellitus.

Mn2þ-induced room-temperature ferromagnetism and spin-glass behavior in hydrothermally grown Mn-doped ZnO nanorods

The magnetic properties of Mn-doped ZnO (ZnO:Mn) nanorods grown by hydrothermal process at a temperature of 200 8C and a growth time of 3 h have been studied. The samples were characterized by using powder X-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and SQUID magnetometry. Mn (3 wt%) and (5 wt%)-doped ZnO samples exhibit paramagnetic and ferromagnetic behavior, respectively, at room temperature. The spin-glass behavior is observed from the samples with respect to the decrease of temperature. At 10 K, both samples exhibit a hysteresis loop with relatively low coercivity. The room-temperature ferromagnetism in 5 wt% Mn-doped ZnO nanorods is attributed to the increase in the specific area of grain boundaries, interaction between dopant Mn2þ ions substituted at Zn2þ site and the interaction between Mn2þ ions and Zn2þ ions from the ZnO host lattice