Economic Resources among the Urban Oldest-Old Females: Anthropological Study in Midnapore Municipal Town, West Bengal

Ageing is a natural fact in a life where social, cultural, economic and health issues attached to study of aging. The oldest old or Super Senior Citizen subpopulation in India is growing much faster than any other age group and due to their physical incapability they fall in peril situation which make them more dependent on others for their needs of financial support, medical assistance and social services etc. However, anthropological perspective on aging study is based on evolution of human aging as well as working incapability, economic dependency, sources of income and others. Therefore, authors of the present paper aim to highlight economic resources of the oldest-old female residing in different wards under Midnapore Municipal town of Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. The areas, which were explored, include some basic economic features such as different sources of financial support, sources of pension and amount of pension which deals with the economic resources of the Oldest Old. For the present paper data has been collected from about 500 oldest old female populations (using systematic random sampling table) living in urban areas of Medinipur Municipal Town. Therefore, the finding presented in this paper is that, the oldest old female under study area are seriously in economic disadvantageous position in many respects, which may be illustrated with the following facts: economically more dependent; most of them are non-worker; a very good number of them do not get/receive any pension from any sources

Expert-captured democracies

Does public cheap talk by a biased expert benefit voters? The answer depends on the nature of democratic institutions and the extent of communication possibilities. Expert endorsements induce office-seeking parties to serve the expert’s interests, hurting voters. Expert advocacy makes policies respond to information, helping voters. Together, policy advocacy and partisan endorsements are often better than either alone. Their interaction creates a delegation benefit that makes indirect democracy superior to direct democracy and office-seeking parties better than those motivated by public interest. But voter welfare is highest when an expert captured technocratic party competes against an uninformed populist one.</p

Expert-captured democracies

Does public cheap talk by a biased expert benefit voters? The answer depends on the nature of democratic institutions and the extent of communication possibilities. Expert endorsements induce office-seeking parties to serve the expert&rsquo;s interests, hurting voters. Expert advocacy makes policies respond to information, helping voters. Together, policy advocacy and partisan endorsements are often better than either alone. Their interaction creates a delegation benefit that makes indirect democracy superior to direct democracy and office-seeking parties better than those motivated by public interest. But voter welfare is highest when an expert captured technocratic party competes against an uninformed populist one. (JEL D72, D82) </jats:p

A Study on Unmet need for Family Planning among Mothers having under five children attending Routine Immunization Clinic and Paediatric Out Patient Department of NRS Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata

Introduction Addressing unmet needs in pregnancy is crucial for reducing unintended births, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths, and for improving maternal and child health. Understanding the extent and addressing the reasons behind it is essential for improving maternal and child health, reducing unintended pregnancies, and supporting women\u27s reproductive rights Objective The present study was undertaken to estimate the extent of unmet needs among reproductive age group mothers with under five children and the reasons for the same. Materials and methods A descriptive, observational, hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among 258 consecutive mothers in reproductive age group having less than five years old children, attending the  Paediatrics OPD and Routine immunization Clinic of NRS Medical College and Hospital, between October and November 2022. A predesigned semi structured interview schedule was used to collect data. Collected data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analysed using SPSS (Version 20). Results Among socio-demographic characteristics, more than one-third (11.6%) of the study population had unmet need for family planning. Unmet needs were more common in the age group of 15-19 years (24%), had children in the 49- 56-month aged children (23.1%), from rural areas (12.7%), lived in joint families (13.2%), belonged to Hindu religion (11.7%), belonged to the scheduled tribe (25%), were educated above HS levels (14.7%), in service (14.3%), belonged to SES (Class IV) and had no autonomy (13.5%). Among obstetric characteristics patients with age at marriage between 26-30 years (37.5%), age at first pregnancy of 26-30 years (23.1%), duration of marriage &lt; 2 years (15.6%), parity of the mother ≥ 4 (23.1%) and having only female child (23.1%) were more likely to have unmet needs of pregnancy. Overall, the most common reason for unmet needs of contraception were distance from local centre (11.6%). Among client related reasons the most common cause was fear of side effects (10.5%) and among health facility related reasons, distance from local centre (11.6%) and among opposition. The most common source of opposition towards contraceptive use was from family members other than partner (8.1%). Conclusion Unmet need for family planning was seen in 11.6% of the study population. The significant reasons for the unmet needs were Hindu religion, age at marriage between 26-30 years, age at first pregnancy of 26-30 years and having only female child. Overall, the most common reason for unmet needs of contraception were distance from local centre

Activities of Daily Living among the Oldest-old People: A Rural Urban Study

The functional status like activities of daily living (ADL) is the most important health problem of the aged population, which is related to their quality of life and the nursing burden of the family. Therefore, activities that are required to function independently in daily life, so-called activities of daily living (ADLs), have long been seen as essential measures of disability in ageing studies. The present paper aims to measure the activities of daily living (ADL) of some ‘oldest-old’ population living in both rural and urban areas of Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. The ADL functional statuses with respect to eating, dressing, getting in and out of a bed or a chair, using the toilet, bathing, and continence have been used to measure the elderly’s degree of independence in daily living. Data on ADL assessments of the individual respondents have been collected by interview technique and observation method with the help of a structured questionnaire. The study demonstrates that, on an average, the oldest-old rural population of Medinipur district under study enjoys more degree of independence in daily living compared to their urban counterparts

Economic Resources among the Urban Oldest-Old Females: Anthropological Study in Midnapore Municipal Town, West Bengal

Ageing is a natural fact in a life where social, cultural, economic and health issues attached to study of aging. The oldest old or Super Senior Citizen subpopulation in India is growing much faster than any other age group and due to their physical incapability they fall in peril situation which make them more dependent on others for their needs of financial support, medical assistance and social services etc. However, anthropological perspective on aging study is based on evolution of human aging as well as working incapability, economic dependency, sources of income and others. Therefore, authors of the present paper aim to highlight economic resources of the oldest-old female residing in different wards under Midnapore Municipal town of Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. The areas, which were explored, include some basic economic features such as different sources of financial support, sources of pension and amount of pension which deals with the economic resources of the Oldest Old. For the present paper data has been collected from about 500 oldest old female populations (using systematic random sampling table) living in urban areas of Medinipur Municipal Town. Therefore, the finding presented in this paper is that, the oldest old female under study area are seriously in economic disadvantageous position in many respects, which may be illustrated with the following facts: economically more dependent; most of them are non-worker; a very good number of them do not get/receive any pension from any sources

Socio-Economic View on Street Vendors: A Study of a Daily Market at Jamshedpur

The term ‘Street vendor’ refers to those who are unable to get regular jobs in the remunerative formal sector on account of their low level of education and skills. However, street vending is an important activity related to urban areas. The terms Street vendors describe them are based on time or place where they work. The present study comprehensively covers the in depth views about their daily marketing and some spatial issues of street vendors near Tatanagar Rail Station, Jamshedpur. The present researchers attempt to explore the socio-economic milieu of street vendors of above said areas. The data has been collected by using observation method, interview with the structure and unstructured questionnaire and other qualitative methods including case studies. The study demonstrates that the male street vendors living into better condition with respect to income status compared to the female street vendors. Although, the study also indicates that the pattern of subsistence in the daily market were not comfortable for street vendors; where most of the street vendors were not fit on the street daily market although they have no better option for living the live

miRNAs in Herpesvirus Infection: Powerful Regulators in Small Packages

microRNAs are a class of small, single-stranded, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression. They can be significantly dysregulated upon exposure to any infection, serving as important biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Numerous human DNA viruses, along with several herpesviruses, have been found to encode and express functional viral microRNAs known as vmiRNAs, which can play a vital role in host–pathogen interactions by controlling the viral life cycle and altering host biological pathways. Viruses have also adopted a variety of strategies to prevent being targeted by cellular miRNAs. Cellular miRNAs can act as anti- or proviral components, and their dysregulation occurs during a wide range of infections, including herpesvirus infection. This demonstrates the significance of miRNAs in host herpesvirus infection. The current state of knowledge regarding microRNAs and their role in the different stages of herpes virus infection are discussed in this review. It also delineates the therapeutic and biomarker potential of these microRNAs in future research directions