Population Ageing: Looking Through Gender Lens from the Perspectives of Developed and Developing Economies

Population Ageing, the inescapable upshot of demographic transition, has emerged as a development challenge, invariably faced by developed and developing economies. In fact, it is the shift towards higher age structures and consequent concentration of aged population1. (Peterson, Peter, 2001).Policy makers and social engineers increasingly understand that the population pyramids are becoming heavier and heavier at the top and that there are fewer and fewer adults of working age at the base to support the older generations. The concentration of old aged population in the society is bound to create profound impact on several aspects of the economy and polity. Hence, this phenomenon has been the focus of academics and the flow of literature show no signs of abating.  The increasing demand for health care facilities, extension of pension and other social security networks, provision of literacy and employment opportunities, caring of the aged by providing alternative support systems as well as  strengthening the existing familial support systems were the angles from which economists, anthropologists  and policy makers address this issue. (Walker, 1990:  Hoyert, 1991: Wolf, 1994: Pollard, 1995:  de Jong –Gierveld and van Solinge, 1995: Higuchi, 1996: Baldacci and Lugaresi, 1997 : Barai, 1997: Crimmins, 1997: Chaney 1998: Creedy, 1998: Jackson, 1998: United Nations, 1998: Cliquet and Nizamuddin, 1999:  : Bravo, 1999: United Nations, 1999: Gruber and Wise, 1999). However, a gender lenses to look at this issue is the missing focus in these series of attempts. But,  Population ageing, in its basic demographic aspects, is hardly gender neutral. ( Mirking and Weinberger, 2002) Hardly much research attention has been paid to women experiencing midlife and old age, even by ardent feminist writers though available anthropological and ethnological reports confirm that women live longer and head multigenerational households with more resilience and independence, than expected and they enjoy freedoms that are reserved for men and women with elderly status ( Chaney, 1998). This paper is an attempt in this regard.  This work, organized six sequential parts, examines the gender dimension of population ageing and analyses the consequences and policy implications of it. The first part introduced the problem and discusses the methodology while the second part examines the recent attempts in this area. The third part provides a brief idea on the global scenario of population ageing both from global  perspective and from the perspective of developed and developing economies.  The fourth part examines the whole issue with a gender lenses and the fifth part looks into the consequences and policy implications, while the sixth part concludes the discussion

Pickle curing of fish using tartaric acid and garlic as preservatives

Tartaric acid and garlic have proved highly satisfactory as pickling agents when used in combination, giving fishery products of good appearance, texture, taste and shelf life. Full details of the pickling method are given

Studies on smoke curing of tropical fishes

Fresh mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), catfish (Tachisurus dussumeri) and sole (Cynoglossus dubis) were gutted, cleaned, washed, brined, and smoked. Though it contributes to the quality of the smoked products, salt does not appear to prevent bacterial growth or spoilage at low concentration. In heavily salted products, salt is found to have a definite preservative action. Smoking lasted roughly 5 hrs for mackerel and 4 hrs for sole. Increasing the smoking time gave the product an unpleasant taste. Fish were then sun-dried to 20% moisture. The fish had been prepared in three groups, (1) turmeric-treated, (2) propionate-treated and control. Turmeric treated samples had a very attractive appearance, especially sole. The course of spoilage, as measured by following changes in total volatile nitrogen content, is tabulated. All controls were spoiled within 3 months; the others remained in good condition for 6 months. Turmeric is considered to be an ideal preservative

Pickled products from green mussel

Methods of preparing different types of delicious ready to serve pickled products from green mussel (Perna viridis) and a comparative study of their storage characteristics are reported. Of the three types of products, namely, dried and pickled, fried and pickled and light smoked and pickled, the last one had the best shelf life. The optimum conditions of drying and smoking for preparing such type of pickles are also reported

SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIMICROBIAL STUDIES OF SOME LANTHANIDE (III) COMPLEXES WITH A TRIDENTATE ONO DONOR SCHIFF BASE LIGAND

Some new lanthanide(III) complexes- La(III), Ce(III), Pr(III) and Nd(III) have been synthesised from Schiff base ligand 4-{[(2-hydroxyphenyl)imino]methyl}-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one (L1) whose precursors are 4-antipyrine carboxaldehyde and 2-aminophenol. The metal to ligand ratio (1:2) and the general formula [Ln(L1)2(NO3)2]NO3 were established by elemental analysis, conductivity measurements, spectral techniques such as IR, UV-Visible, 1H NMR as well as magnetic susceptibility measurements. L1 behave as a neutral tridentate (ONO) ligand and Ln(III) ion display coordination number eight in all complexes. The Schiff base and complexes were screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against selected human pathogenic bacteria by agar disc diffusion method. Most of the synthesized complexes were found to be more potent bactericides than the corresponding free ligand

Environmental set-up and tidal propagation in a tropical estuary with dual connection to the sea (SW Coast of India)

The Kochi Backwater (KB) is the second largest wetland system in India. It is connected to the sea at Fort Kochi and Munambam (Pallipuram) (30 km north of Kochi). As the tide is forced through two openings, its propagation in the backwater system is very complicated, particularly in the northern arm of the estuary. Using synchronous water level (WL) and current measurements in the KB from a network of stations during 2007-2008, it was convenient to demarcate the northern KB into two distinct regions according to the tidal forcing from the north (Pallipuram) and south (Vallarpadam). This demarcation is useful for computing the propagation speeds of the dominant tidal constituents in the northern branch of the KB with dual opening for opposing tides. WL variations indicated that M 2 tide (Principal lunar semidiurnal constituent) dominated in the sea level variance, followed by the K 1 constituent (Luni-solar declinational diurnal constituent). The M 2 tidal influence was the strongest near the mouth and decayed in the upstream direction. The propagation speed of the M 2 tide in the southern estuary was ~3.14 m/s. The ratio of the total annual runoff to the estuarine volume is ~42 that indicates the estuary will be flushed 42 times in a year. KB can be classified as a monsoonal estuary where the river discharge exhibits large seasonal variation

Evaluation of polyhalite on growth, yield attributes and yield of blackgram (Vigna mungo L.)

Potassium is involved in a diverse range of processes within plants that are needed for their growth, yield and better quality. The polyhalite as a hydrated evaporate mineral that can be used directly as a source of potassic fertilizer. However, research on polyhalite's appropriateness and effectiveness, the present investigation aimed to evaluate the effect of polyhalite on growth, yield attributes, and yield of blackgram variety ADT 5 at Chinnakandiankuppam village, Vriddhachalam, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, during 2021. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design consisting of ten treatments viz., T1 (absolute control), T2 (-K), T3 (12.5 kg K2O ha-1 as muriate of potash (MOP)), T4 (25 kg K2O ha-1as MOP), T5 (37.5 kg K2O ha-1 as MOP), T6 (50 kg K2O ha-1 as MOP), T7 (12.5 kg K2O ha-1 as polyhalite),  T8 (25 kg K2O ha-1 as polyhalite), T9 (37.5 kg K2O ha-1 as polyhalite), T10 (50 kg K2O ha-1 as polyhalite). The experiment revealed that the application of 37.5 kg K2O ha-1 as polyhalite (T9) significantly (5%) enhanced the growth attributes (plant height (38.7 cm), number of branches plant-1 (12.97), leaf area index (2.13), number of nodules plant-1 (18.76) and dry matter production (1972 hg ha-1), yield attributes (pod length (8.21 cm), number of pods plant-1 (20.05), number of seeds pod-1 (7.14) and test weight (3.53 g)) and grain yield (1439 kg ha-1), haulm yield (1876 kg ha-1) of blackgram. Thus the study would be helpful to farmers for yield maximization of blackgram through polyhalite as potassic fertilizer.    

Thermodynamic structure of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean during pre-INDOEX and INDOEX-FFP campaigns

Spatial and temporal variability of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) height for the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) study period are examined using the data collected through Cross-chained LORAN (Long-Range Aid to Navigation) Atmospheric Sounding System (CLASS) launchings during the Northern Hemispheric winter monsoon period. This paper reports the results of the analyses of the data collected during the pre-INDOEX (1997) and the INDOEX-First Field Phase (FFP; 1998) in the latitude range 14°N to 20°S over the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Mixed layer heights are derived from thermodynamic profiles and they indicated the variability of heights ranging from 400m to 1100m during daytime depending upon the location. Mixed layer heights over the Indian Ocean are slightly higher during the INDOEX-FFP than the pre-INDOEX due to anomalous conditions prevailing during the INDOEX-FFP. The trade wind inversion height varied from 2.3km to 4.5km during the pre-INDOEX and from 0.4km to 2.5km during the INDOEX-FFP. Elevated plumes of polluted air (lofted aerosol plumes) above the marine boundary layer are observed from thermodynamic profiles of the lower troposphere during the INDOEX-FFP. These elevated plumes are examined using 5-day back trajectory analysis and show that one group of air mass travelled a long way from Saudi Arabia and Iran/Iraq through India before reaching the location of measurement, while the other air mass originates from India and the Bay of Bengal

Signals of selection in the mitogenome provide insights into adaptation mechanisms in heterogeneous habitats in a widely distributed pelagic fish

Oceans are vast, dynamic, and complex ecosystems characterized by fluctuations in environmental parameters like sea surface temperature (SST), salinity, oxygen availability, and productivity. Environmental variability acts as the driver of organismal evolution and speciation as organisms strive to cope with the challenges. We investigated the evolutionary consequences of heterogeneous environmental conditions on the mitogenome of a widely distributed small pelagic fish of Indian ocean, Indian oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps. Sardines were collected from different eco-regions of the Indian Ocean and selection patterns analyzed in coding and non-coding regions. Signals of diversifying selection were observed in key functional regions involved in OXPHOS indicating OXPHOS gene regulation as the critical factor to meet enhanced energetic demands. A characteristic control region with 38–40 bp tandem repeat units under strong selective pressure as evidenced by sequence conservation and low free energy values was also observed. These changes were prevalent in fishes from the South Eastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) followed by the Northern Arabian Sea (NAS) and rare in Bay of Bengal (BoB) populations. Fishes belonging to SEAS exhibited accelerated substitution rate mainly due to the selective pressures to survive in a highly variable oceanic environment characterized by seasonal hypoxia, variable SST, and food availability

Electron Microscopy of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubesfor Display Devices Application

The opportunity of creating and tailoring unprecedented and beautifully symmetric 3-D structures haspropelled the science of carbon nanotubes to become one of the highly promising areas in the field ofnanotechnology. The unique properties of carbon nanotubes have promoted research in the fabrication ofdevices composed of carbon nanotubes and in other applications. Characterisation tools are crucial in the studyof these emerging materials to evaluate their full potential in applications and to comprehend their basicproperties. The aim of this study was electron microscopy characterisation of the carbon nanotubes synthesisedto fabricate display devices. Both thermal chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and plasma enhanced chemicalvapour deposition routes were used to synthesise patterned and aligned carbon nanotubes. Several batchesof CNTs were produced by varying the process parameters such as growth temperature, gas ratio, durationof growth, catalyst condition, etc. Characterisation of these CNTs have been done using scanning electronmicroscope, transmission electron microscope, high resolution transmission electron microscope, and electronenergy loss spectrum. Structure, uniformity, chemistry, diameter, length, number of walls of the multi-wallednanotubes were characterised using various electron microscopes, which finally lead to the production of thedisplay devices using CNTs.Defence Science Journal, 2008, 58(5), pp.655-663, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.58.168