Nutritional status of older adults in a community in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala

Background: India is said to be shifting from an undernourished to over nourished population with advances in health, economy and medical care. But there is paucity of information regarding nutritional status of older adults in the country, who are socially and economically insecure. Hence the present study attempts to assess the nutritional status of people above 60 years of age, and to find the factors associated with it.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 129 people aged above 60 years, residing in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. Mini Nutritional Assessment tool (MNA) was used to classify the respondents as having ‘normal nutrition’ (score 23.5 and above), ‘at risk of malnutrition’ (17-23.5), ‘malnourished’ (<17). A 24-hour dietary recall was done to calculate per day calorie intake and compare with Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). The results were interpreted as adequate or deficient. Descriptive statistics, chi-square and spearman’s correlation were done to find relationship between various sociodemographic variables, MNA status, BMI and calorie intake.Results: Females constituted 75.2%; 81.4% were unemployed; 62% belonged to rural area. Nutritional assessment showed 41.9% to be having normal nutrition, 46.5% at risk of malnutrition, and 11.6% malnourished. Caloric intake was less than the RDA in 89.1%. There was no association between calorie intake per day and MNA status. Education (p=0.025), place of residence (p=0.021), marital status (p=0.003), and family income (p=0.031) were factors significantly influencing nutritional status in elderly. There was significant correlation between MNA status and BMI (p<0.001, r=0.329).Conclusions: Malnutrition was seen in 11.6% of older adults in this study and another major proportion was at risk of malnutrition. Better nutritional status was significantly associated with good education, urban residence, married state, and higher family income. Dietary intake was inadequate among older adults. 24-hour dietary recall reflected nutritional status of only the malnourished. 

Share Of Regular Salaried Work Rises, But Women More Likely To Be Self-Employed

India’s workforce has fewer women than it did six years ago: no more than 18% in rural areas are employed, compared to 25% in 2011-12 and 14% in urban from 15%. However, in urban areas, the percentage of women in salaried jobs has increased from 35.6% in 2004 to 52.1% in 2017, but continue to be under-represented compared to their presence in self-employed or casual work, according to an analysis of the latest government employment data by Azim Premji University researchers

Where has all the jobs data gone?

On January 28, 2019, the only two non-governmental members of the National Statistical Commission (NSC) tendered their resignations. According to news reports, among the reasons for their departure was the government’s delay in releasing results of new employment survey data, despite being approved by the NSC. This is another development in the continuing question of missing critical labour data

Comparison of the linear dimensional accuracy of denture bases cured the by conventional method and by the new press technique

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the linear dimensional accuracy of denture bases processed with the conventional heat-polymerization technique and the Rafael and Saide (RS) tension system, taking a multidirectional approach. Materials and Methods: Twenty standard edentulous maxillary casts were randomly assigned into two groups. A uniform denture base of 1.5 mm thickness was fabricated in wax and later processed by two methods: Group I acrylic resin flasked with the conventional technique and Group II acrylic resin flasked with the RS tension system. The dimensional accuracy was assessed using traveling microscope. Results: The linear dimensional changes that occurred between the dentures produced with the new press method and the conventional method were statistically insignificant and ranged from 0.002 to 0.11. The dimensionally stable areas were the canines and the most unstable was the posterior palate. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the maximum linear dimensional change occurs around the molars and palatal segment, with the most stable areas being the canines. There was no significant linear dimensional change of the dentures processed between the conventional and the new press technique

‘Remote’ Adiabatic Photoinduced Deprotonation and Aggregate Formation of Amphiphilic <i>N</i>-Alkyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium Chloride Salts

The absorption and emission properties of a series of amphiphilic <i>N</i>-alkyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium chloride salts were investigated in solvents of different polarities and over a wide concentration range. For example, at 10^–5 M concentrations in tetrahydrofuran (THF), salts with at least one N–H bond exhibited broad, structureless emissions even though time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) experiments indicated negligible static or dynamic intermolecular interactions. Salts with a butylene spacer or lacking an N–H bond showed no discernible structureless emission; their emission spectra were dominated by the normal monomeric fluorescence of a pyrenyl group and the TCSPC histograms could be interpreted on the basis of intramolecular photophysics. The broad, structureless emission is attributed to an unprecedented, rapid, adiabatic proton-transfer to the medium, followed by the formation of an intramolecular <i>exciplex</i> consisting of amine and pyrenyl groups. The proposed mechanism involves excitation of a ground-state conformer of the salts in which the ammonium group sits over the pyrenyl ring due to electrostatic stabilization. At higher concentrations, with longer <i>N</i>-alkyl groups, or in selected solvents, electronic excitation of the salts led to dynamic and static <i>excimeric</i> emissions. For example, whereas the emission spectrum of 10^–3 M <i>N</i>-hexyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium chloride in THF consisted of comparable amounts of monomeric and excimeric emission, the emission from 10^–5 M <i>N</i>-dodecyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium chloride in 1:9 (v:v) ethanol/water solutions was dominated by excimeric emission, and discrete particles near micrometer size were discernible from confocal microscopy and dynamic light scattering experiments. Comparison of the static and dynamic emission characteristics of the particles and of the neat solid of <i>N</i>-dodecyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium chloride indicate that molecular packing in the microparticles and in the single crystal are very similar if not the same. It is suggested that other examples of the adiabatic proton transfer found in the dilute concentration regime with the pyrenyl salts may be occurring in very different systems, such as in proteins where conformational constraints hold ammonium groups over aromatic rings of peptide units

Tuning microstructures in organogels: gelation and spectroscopic properties of mono- and bis-cholesterol-linked diphenylbutadiene derivatives

The gelation and photophysical properties of mono- and bis-cholesterol derivatives linked to diphenylbutadiene have been investigated. Scanning electron microscopy of xerogels of the monocholesterol derivatives indicated that these molecules self-assemble into 3D networks consisting of helically twisted fibers. In contrast, the morphology of xerogels of the bis-cholesterol derivatives indicated agglomerated spheres. In concentrated solutions (&gt;10<SUP>-4</SUP> M), the self-assembled superstructure of the monocholesterol derivatives consists of helically twisted fibers whereas that of the bis-cholesterol derivatives indicated clustered spheres. An investigation of spectroscopic properties suggests that the morphology of the superstructures formed in these systems may be correlated to the nature of the molecular aggregates formed. Absorption and emission spectral studies as a function of concentration and temperature suggested the formation of predominantly J-type aggregates in the monocholesterol and H-type aggregates in the bis-cholesterol derivatives. It is proposed that the slipped stack arrangement within the J aggregates of the monocholesterol derivatives resulted in the formation of helically twisted fibers, whereas the cofacial arrangement in the H aggregates of the bis-cholesterol derivatives could prevent such fiber formation, resulting in the formation of the agglomerated spheres

‘Remote’ Adiabatic Photoinduced Deprotonation and Aggregate Formation of Amphiphilic <i>N</i>-Alkyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium Chloride Salts

The absorption and emission properties of a series of amphiphilic <i>N</i>-alkyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium chloride salts were investigated in solvents of different polarities and over a wide concentration range. For example, at 10^–5 M concentrations in tetrahydrofuran (THF), salts with at least one N–H bond exhibited broad, structureless emissions even though time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) experiments indicated negligible static or dynamic intermolecular interactions. Salts with a butylene spacer or lacking an N–H bond showed no discernible structureless emission; their emission spectra were dominated by the normal monomeric fluorescence of a pyrenyl group and the TCSPC histograms could be interpreted on the basis of intramolecular photophysics. The broad, structureless emission is attributed to an unprecedented, rapid, adiabatic proton-transfer to the medium, followed by the formation of an intramolecular <i>exciplex</i> consisting of amine and pyrenyl groups. The proposed mechanism involves excitation of a ground-state conformer of the salts in which the ammonium group sits over the pyrenyl ring due to electrostatic stabilization. At higher concentrations, with longer <i>N</i>-alkyl groups, or in selected solvents, electronic excitation of the salts led to dynamic and static <i>excimeric</i> emissions. For example, whereas the emission spectrum of 10^–3 M <i>N</i>-hexyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium chloride in THF consisted of comparable amounts of monomeric and excimeric emission, the emission from 10^–5 M <i>N</i>-dodecyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium chloride in 1:9 (v:v) ethanol/water solutions was dominated by excimeric emission, and discrete particles near micrometer size were discernible from confocal microscopy and dynamic light scattering experiments. Comparison of the static and dynamic emission characteristics of the particles and of the neat solid of <i>N</i>-dodecyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-3-(pyren-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium chloride indicate that molecular packing in the microparticles and in the single crystal are very similar if not the same. It is suggested that other examples of the adiabatic proton transfer found in the dilute concentration regime with the pyrenyl salts may be occurring in very different systems, such as in proteins where conformational constraints hold ammonium groups over aromatic rings of peptide units