Work Life Imbalance and Psychosocial Tribulations among Working Women

With the changing scenario, there is vast increase in the number of working women.Women are competent enough to contribute for the betterment of any of the organisation. They are sharp, intelligent, empathetic, flexible and with energy to work hard for the both fronts i. e. office as well the home. They are with dual responsibility to manage multiple tasks at home and at the work. The increasing expectations at both ends make the situation difficult for women , as a result they face difficulty in maintaining a required balance between work and life. This lack of balance results in further problems for working women. Because of work overload, career aspirations, competition, peer pressure at workplace and child care, elder care, relationship maintenance, other household responsibilities at home, it becomes very difficult for females to contribute to the maximum at both ends. And because of this imbalance, females remain with some guilt and stress, as a result came across with many psychosocial tribulations, that may affect their performance as well as health also. This paper examined the concept of work life balance and how women juggle for multiple tasks and as a result face work life imbalance. And paper also revealed that working women with dual roles suffer from psychosocial problems and different strategies have also been discussed which can be of help to working women in maintaining a balance between work and life

Relationship of rheumatoid factor positivity to prevalence of joint manifestations in type 2 diabetes which are unrelated to rheumatoid arthritis

Background: The present study was designed to investigate the relationship of rheumatoid factor positivity to the prevalence of joint manifestations in type 2 diabetes which are not attributable to rheumatoid arthritis.Methods: We evaluated 192 type 2 diabetes patients with rheumatological complications and age and sex matched non-diabetic controls for rheumatoid factor (RF) positivity. Diabetic patients with frozen shoulder, LJM syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, DISH and Dupuytren’s contracture were evaluated for RF positivity.  Results: RF was positive in 47 patients (24.4%) when compared to controls (4.2%). RF positivity was associated with an increased prevalence of joint manifestations in diabetic group when compared to controls. RF positivity was not related to the duration of diabetes nor was it related to long term glycemic control.Conclusion: RF positivity resulted in an increased prevalence of joint manifestations in diabetes, which were unrelated to rheumatoid arthritis

Formulation of peppermint oil nanoemulsion using conjugates of whey proteins with maltodextrin and its characterization

394-400Whey protein-maltodextrin conjugate is used as emulsifier and stabilizer to prepare peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) oil (PO) nanoemulsion. The mean particle size, zeta potential and poly dispersity index (PDI) of stable PO nanoemulsion (5% oil+8% conjugate+0.5% Tween 80) was 144.8±5.32 nm, -24.40±0.42 mV and 0.217±0.05 respectively and this formulation was not unstable to food processing conditions like pH 3.0 to pH 7.0, heat treatments and ionic strength 0.1 M to 1.0 M. The emulsion was stable at 25°C for 15 days and its particle size is 332.2±4.66 nm at 15th day of storage. Agar well diffusion method is used to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of PO (5%) dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and 5% PO nanoemulsion against microorganisms like E. coli ATCC 25922, B. cereus ATCC 14459, Salmonella typhi NCDC 6017 and E. faecalis NCDC 115. The formulation prepared in the present study will have the application in preservation of various foods against spoilage microorganisms

Formulation of peppermint oil nanoemulsion using conjugates of whey proteins with maltodextrin and its characterization

Whey protein-maltodextrin conjugate is used as emulsifier and stabilizer to prepare peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) oil (PO) nanoemulsion. The mean particle size, zeta potential and poly dispersity index (PDI) of stable PO nanoemulsion (5% oil+8% conjugate+0.5% Tween 80) was 144.8±5.32 nm, -24.40±0.42 mV and 0.217±0.05 respectively and this formulation was not unstable to food processing conditions like pH 3.0 to pH 7.0, heat treatments and ionic strength 0.1 M to 1.0 M. The emulsion was stable at 25°C for 15 days and its particle size is 332.2±4.66 nm at 15th day of storage. Agarwell diffusion method is used to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of PO (5%) dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and 5% PO nanoemulsion against microorganisms like E. coli ATCC 25922, B. cereus ATCC 14459, Salmonella typhi NCDC 6017 and E. faecalis NCDC 115. The formulation prepared in the present study will have the application in preservation ofvarious foods against spoilage microorganisms

STUDI KOMPARASI PENDAPATAN PETANI LOKAL DENGAN PETANI MODERN PADI SAWAH DI DESA MEKARJAYA, KECAMATAN KIARAPEDES, KABUPATEN PURWAKARTA

Sistem pertanian di Indonesia berawal dari sistem pertanian lokal yang masih menggunakan budaya dan adat istiadat pada tata cara usahataninya. Namun, seiring dengan berjalannya waktu sistem pertanian di Indonesia sudah mulai bergeser lebih modern dengan meninggalkan budaya dan adat istiadat, penggunaan bahan kimia seperti pupuk dan pestisida juga sudah dilakukan oleh petani untuk membantu meningkatkan produksi padi. Petani di desa Mekarjaya sudah beralih ke sistem pertanian modern, namun masih ada pula petani yang tidak meninggalkan adat dan budaya dalam tata cara usahatani mereka.Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah pendapatan petani padi sawah sistem pertanian lokal dengan sistem pertanian modern di Desa Mekarjaya. Desain yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah inferensial kuantitatif. Sampel sebanyak 70 responden diambil dari populasi menggunakan simple random sampling. Penelitian ini menggunakan uji statistik yaitu Independent sample t – test.Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa sistem pertanian lokal dan sistem pertanian modern tidak memiliki perbedaan dari usahataninya. Namun, perbedaan terletak pada tata cara dan adat istiadat yang masih dilakukan petani lokal seperti penggunaan sesajen. Tidak ada perbedaan yang signifikan antara pendapatan per hektar petani lokal dengan petani modern.Kata Kunci: Pertanian lokal, pertanian modern, padi, , pendapata

New HIV Infection Estimation from Program Data of Key Populations

In India, HIV sentinel surveillance is carried out to estimate the prevalence of HIV for calibrating the response. However, estimate of new HIV infections is also needed to monitor the effectiveness of prevention strategies. We used Targeted Intervention Program data of Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) and Female Sex Workers (FSWs) enrolled in Targeted Intervention (TI) programme in Aizawl district of Mizoram state to estimate the trend in new HIV infection rate. Those who had tested HIV positive in a particular year but were negative in the previous HIV test were considered to be newly infected. New HIV infections were found to have a rising trend from 2010 to 2019 (p<0.01). The new infection rate of HIV was 6.73% among IDUs and 1.94% among FSWs in 2019. This analysis, which requires minimal resources, may be undertaken at regular interval in all Targeted Intervention Programs to monitor the effect of preventive strategies at local level

Assessing data quality in survey with healthcare providers on COVID-19 and the measures for improving

Background: Social surveys have also been transformed with the advancements in research methods. However, only through appropriate methods, proper planning and procedures the data quality can be ensured.Aim: The aim of the current research is to present the measures taken up in doing survey with healthcare providers of primary health care facilities during the time of COVID-19 and to assess the data quality.Method: The survey was conducted with all 280 medical and paramedical staff in 24 primary healthcare centers of government to understand the preparedness of primary health care facilities in terms of providing a safe working environment to healthcare providers and to prevent the spread of infection while discharging duties during COVID-19. The study used mix mode of data collection by administering telephonic and self-administered questionnaire.  It is a descriptive study based on review of secondary literature and the different measures adopted in the survey to ensure data quality.Result: The variation found in responses to questions related to training, personal fears, challenges and coping mechanism was low, when asked differently in telephonic and self-administered questionnaire. It shows that the measures taken in conducting survey through mix mode of data collection at the time of COVID-19 were effective in overcoming the data quality challenges of COVID-19 to conduct face-to-face study and maintaining data quality of the survey.Conclusion: It can be concluded that proper planning, preparations and precautions were effective in ascertaining the data quality