A study of National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in three Grama Panchayats of Kasaragod District

This paper attempts to study the impact of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in three Grama Panchayats of Kasaragod District,namely Madikai, Ajanoor and Trikarpur. It also looks into the organizational arrangements for planning and implementation of the scheme. Various institutional aspects in the form of Guidelines, Rules and Regulations brought out by the Government of Kerala have also been examined. The identification of projects for NREGA is a grass root level activity with Ward Development Committee and Area Development Society of Kudumbasree playing a pivotal role. The role of Grama Sabha in the formulation of a ward level Action Plan is found to be weak. The worker registration is appreciably good in all the three Grama Panchayats. Registration of SC and ST categories also is impressive. But there is a big drop in the number of people who demanded jobs in 2007- 08. It is below one fourth in two Panchayats and just above one third in the third Panchayat. There is a further drop in the number in the succeeding year. The rosy part is that all those who demanded jobs have been provided with jobs. The percentage of man-days generated for SC and ST categories is very low compared to that of the general category. Women of the general category constituted the major beneficiaries of NREGA. Unskilled wages constituted the major component of expenditure. The number of projects is large, most of them not leading to creation of public durable assets. There is lack of integration with other schemes implemented at local level. The scheme is successful in raising the level of employment and income of the rural household, there by enhancing their purchasing power. Working in groups has empowered the women socially. In some cases NREGA works and agricultural works were operational at the same time aggravating the problem of labour shortage in agriculture. The study recommends a few changes in the existing operational system to make the programme more effective. Key words: Kasaragod, Kudumbasree, NREGA, women empowerment. JEL Classification: E24, J3

EFFECT OF CHEMICAL ENHANCERS ON THE RELEASE OF GLIPIZIDE IN A MATRIX DISPERSION TRANSDERMAL SYSTEM

Glipizide is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for treatment of type 2 diabetes.   Oral therapy with Glipizide comprises problems of bioavailability fluctuations and may be associated with severe hypoglycaemia and gastric disturbances. As a potential for convenient, safe and effective antidiabetic therapy, the rationale of this study is to develop a transdermal delivery system for Glipizide in order to improve its therapeutic efficacy.  In the preparation of films, chitosan was used as polymer. Inclusion complex of glipizide with β-Cyclodextrin was formed. The role of different permeation enhancers in the formulation was also studied. The films were characterized for thickness, tensile strength, drug content, moisture uptake, moisture content, and drug release. In vivo and skin irritation studies were performed for the optimized film. Formulation F12 containing Chitosan (1.5percent w/v) and combination of permeation enhancers (Oleic acid: ethanol 1:1.5) showed the highest drug content 99.95percent and the drug release was 99.39percent in a period of 24 hours. The release data fitted into kinetic equations, yielded Higuchi plot and diffusion mechanism of drug release. The physical evaluation indicated the formation of smooth, flexible and translucent films. No skin irritation occurred on rat skin and the infrared studies showed the compatibility of the drug with the formulation excipients. The ex vivo study revealed a constant permeation of drug for long periods. The best permeation enhancer was F12 (Oleic acid: ethanol 1:1.5). The obtained results indicated the feasibility for transdermal delivery of Glipizide using Chitosan. Key words:Glipizide, Diabetes, Transdermal Drug Delivery, β-cyclodextrin, Chitosan, in vitro permeationÂ

ASSESSMENT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF USAGE OF INHALERS AMONG HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL STUDENT COMMUNITY

Objective: Incorrect usage of inhaler devices might have a significant influence on the clinical effectiveness of the drug delivered. This issue is poorly addressed; hence, the study was designed to investigate the knowledge and ability of the health-care professional student community to use inhaling devices. Methods: A questionnaire was constructed and piloted before carrying out the study. The health-care professional students were taken as the sample. The data obtained from the result of the survey were subjected to proper statistical analysis using SPSS software, and a statistical significance level of 0.05 was considered. Results: Analysis of the data obtained from the study reveals that a significant difference was observed between the proper usage of the inhaling device and how the health-care professional student community executed the steps in its use. Their knowledge of cleaning pressurized metered-dose inhalers, storage, and the use of pictograms in patient counseling were also not well established. Conclusion: Inefficient usage of inhalers may lead to insufficient drug delivery and hence to insufficient lung deposition. Regular reinforcement and assessment of correct inhalation technique for health professionals and caregivers are an essential component of successful asthma management. Therefore, appropriate and continuous educational programs enhancing health professionals’ ability and knowledge of using inhaled devices are highly recommended for giving of proper inhalation technique, thus ensuring more successful drug delivery