Barriers to expansion of mass literacy and primary schooling in West Bengal : a study based on primary data from selected villages

This paper examines factors affecting literacy and access to school education in West Bengal, India, and reports the results of a binomial probit model estimated with primary data from ten villages of West Bengal. In the analysis of adult literacy, the significant variables were sex, caste and occupational status and village location. In the probit results for educational achievements of children of ages 6 to 16 years in the same villages, however, occupational status was not statistically significant. In contemporary West Bengal, we argue, class barriers to school attendance have become less significant; other features of educational deprivation persist. Key words: Education, literacy, India, West Bengal JEL Classification: I

How have hired workers fared? : a case study of women workers from an Indian village, 1977 to 1999

This paper examines certain aspects of employment among women workers in hired labour households, drawing on two surveys of Gokilapuram, a village in south-west Tamil Nadu, India, conducted in 1977 and 1999. The study finds that, first, work participation rates among women were high. Secondly, a woman was able to gain employment in 1999, on average, for only about six months a year. Thirdly, there was a distinct shift between 1977 and 1999 in the composition of total employment available to women Fourthly, while the real wage rate for women at cash-paid, daily-rated crop operations rose significantly between 1977 and 1999, the gender gap in wages widened. JEL Classification: J2, J3, J11 Key words: women, agriculture, wages, work participation rate, Asia, Indi

MW assisted synthesis of some heterocyclic compounds and their Mannich bases under solvent free conditions and their biological assay

A highly efficient MW assisted synthesis of different nitrogen containing heterocyclic compounds under solvent free conditions was reported. Their aminomethylation was carried out on acidic alumina under microwave irradiation to give the corresponding Mannich bases. The method is clean, fast, facile, efficient, low cost and environmentally benign. The structure of synthesized compounds has been characterized on the basis of their elemental analysis and spectral data. These compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi

Comparative Study of Acetazolamide and Spironolactone on Regional Blood Distribution on Exposure to Acute Hypobaric Hypoxia

Regional blood distribution was studied in rats, which were divided into four groups viz., (i) control, (ii) exposed to acute hypobaric hypoxia, (iii) exposed to acute hypobaric hypoxia after oral treatment with 25mg acetazolamide, and (iv) exposed to acute hypobaric hypoxia after oral treatment with 6mg spironolactone. The regional blood distribution was measured using radio-iodinated serum albumin (R131ISA). The acute hypoxic exposure results in major readjustment in the blood flow to the various organs mainly from the renal and splanchic vascular beds to the heart and brain. Treatment with acetazolamide and spironolactone results only in a slight decrease in blood contents of the heart, brain and lung as compared to thehypoxia alone exposed group

Utility of first trimester ultrasound before 12 weeks of gestation at tertiary care centre in western India

Background: The first trimester begins on the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP) and lasts until the end of 12 weeks of gestation. Transvaginal ultrasound is modality of choice for establishing the presence of an intrauterine pregnancy in the first trimester. The focus of our study is routine early pregnancy ultrasound. The purpose of this study was to diagnose various conditions of pregnancy at an early stage by using ultrasound.Methods: We conducted retrospective data analysis of random 250 pregnant patients who had undergone first-trimester ultrasonography USG) (transvaginal/abdominal) in their first antenatal visit at S.V.P. Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India from March 2021 to February 2022. The patient was selected by a simple randomized method. Maternal age, parity, gestational age, and special features regarding maternal gestational history were compared with USG findings. Patients were divided into 13 groups on the basis of ultrasonographic diagnosis.Results: We noted 76.8% of patients had single, viable, intrauterine pregnancies, while 23.2% had complicated pregnancies with uterine anomalies, ovarian cysts, leiomyoma, caesarean scar pregnancy or subchorionic hematomas.Conclusions: Ultrasound measurement of fetus in first trimester is most accurate method to confirm gestational age. It is less expensive and easily available modality. First-trimester ultrasound is useful to define embryonic landmarks in developmental stages with reference to gestational age, early diagnosis of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, multifetal pregnancy, major fetal malformation. And also, to diagnose pregnancy with leiomyoma, caesarean scar pregnancy, uterine anomaly and pre-eclampsia with the help of uterine artery PI

Preferences and skills of Indian public sector teachers

With a sample of 700 future public sector primary teachers in India, a Discrete Choice Experiment is used to measure job preferences, particularly regarding location. General skills are also tested. Urban origin teachers and women are more averse to remote locations than rural origin teachers and men respectively. Women would require a 26-73 percent increase in salary for moving to a remote location. The results suggest that existing caste and gender quotas can be detrimental for hiring skilled teachers willing to work in remote locations. The most preferred location is home, which supports decentralised hiring, although this could compromise skills

3-(2H-1,3-Benzodioxol-5-ylmeth­yl)-2-(2-meth­oxy­phen­yl)-1,3-thia­zolidin-4-one

The title mol­ecule, C18H17NO4S, features a 1,3-thia­zolidine ring that is twisted about the S—C(methyl­ene) bond. With reference to this ring, the 1,3-benzodioxole and benzene rings lie to either side and form dihedral angles of 69.72 (16) and 83.60 (14)°, respectively, with the central ring. Significant twisting in the mol­ecule is confirmed by the dihedral angle of 79.91 (13)° formed between the outer rings. Linear supra­molecular chains along the a-axis direction mediated by C—H⋯O inter­actions feature in the crystal packing

Novel multiple sclerosis susceptibility loci implicated in epigenetic regulation

We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility in German cohorts with 4888 cases and 10,395 controls. In addition to associations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, 15 non-MHC loci reached genome-wide significance. Four of these loci are novel MS susceptibility loci. They map to the genes L3MBTL3, MAZ, ERG, and SHMT1. The lead variant at SHMT1 was replicated in an independent Sardinian cohort. Products of the genes L3MBTL3, MAZ, and ERG play important roles in immune cell regulation. SHMT1 encodes a serine hydroxymethyltransferase catalyzing the transfer of a carbon unit to the folate cycle. This reaction is required for regulation of methylation homeostasis, which is important for establishment and maintenance of epigenetic signatures. Our GWAS approach in a defined population with limited genetic substructure detected associations not found in larger, more heterogeneous cohorts, thus providing new clues regarding MS pathogenesis