Towards Social Security Systems in Japan Lessons for India

Japan has to restructure its social security systems fromtime to time for different reasons like a far more rapid aging of population , the slow down of long term economic growth and deteriorating equity in the inter-generational transfer of welfare .But even then, the basic elements remain the same .It si pertinent to see how and to whar extent japan’s social security systems could be translated in the case of India. As apreliminary analysis ,in section One, attempt has been made to summarize the distinctive features of social security systems in Japan.Section Two dwells upon the nature and problems of the social security systems in India. An endeavour has been made in Section three to articulate on the lessons for India. Final Section Four concludes and summarizes the main findings.It has ben observed that there are certain experiences that India can learn ,amongothers, the careful application of universal social security systems, the role of insurance policies,private-public synergies ,the role of the government and governance, the importance attached to social capital.Universal social security system, private–public partnership, Inter-generational Equity governance, social capital

Co-Activation of TGFβ and Wnt Signalling Pathways Abrogates EMT in Ovarian Cancer Cells

The aggressive property of ovarian cancer (OC) in terms of epithelialmesenchymal transition (EMT), proliferation and metastasis are of major concern. Different growth factors including TGFβ are associated with regulating these molecular events but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this report is to decipher the regulation of EMT by co-activation of TGFβ and Wnt signalling cascades in gaining malignancy. Methods: The expression of the different components of signalling events were analyzed by QPCR, Western blot, Immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. β-catenin promoter activity was checked by luciferase assay. Results: We observed reduced EMT in ovarian cancer cells upon co-activation with TGFβ1 and LiCl as shown by the expressions of epithelial/ mesenchymal markers and the EMT promoting factor, Snail1, accompanied by decrease in the invasion and migration of the cells compared to individual pathway activation. A detailed study of the mechanism suggested reduction in the β-catenin and p-GSK3b (Ser 9) levels to be the driving cause of this phenomenon, which was reversed upon co-activation with higher concentrations of LiCl. Conclusions: Therefore, tumourigenesis might be affected by the concentration of ligand/ growth factors for the respective signalling pathways activated in the tumour microenvironment and interaction between them might alter tumourigenesis

Les moteurs de l'intensification écologique de la production laitière à l'ouest du Burkina Faso

Dans les zones de savane d'Afrique de l'Ouest, et notamment à l'ouest du Burkina Faso, l'augmentation de la demande en lait et l'installation de mini-laiteries incitent les producteurs à développer la production de lait locale. Quels sont les moteurs de l'augmentation de la production laitière ? Cette augmentation correspond-elle à une intensification écologique de la production ? Pour apporter des réponses à ces questions avons conduit une enquête chez une trentaine de producteurs de lait des environ de Bobo-Dioulasso, Banfora et Koumbia. Nous avons identifié trois classes de producteurs de lait en fonction du rendement moyen de lait par vache et par jour : 1) Les spécialisés lait (15 vaches traites, 7 zébus et 8 croisées ; 4,6 l/UBT/j ; ration composée de 1,3 kg/UBT/j de pâturage, 4,0 kg/UBT/j de fourrages, 6,1 kg/UBT/j d'aliments ; 1443 kg/an de fourrages stockés ; 492 kg/UBT/an de fumure organique produite) 2) ; les agropasteurs à rendement lait moyen (10 vaches traites, 8 zébus et 2 croisées ; 1,3 l/UBT/an ; ration composée de 4,5 kg/UBT/j de pâturage, 2,6 kg/UBT/j de fourrages, 0,4 kg/UBT/j d'aliments ; 939 kg/an de fourrages stockés ; 322 kg/UBT/an de fumure organique produite) ; 3) les agropasteurs à bas rendement laitier (8 vaches traites, 7 zébus et 1 croisée, 0,9 l/UBT/an ; ration composée de 4,6 kg/UBT/j de pâturage, 1,7 kg/UBT/j de fourrages, 0,2 kg/UBT/j d'aliments ; 636 kg/an de fourrages stockés ; 309 kg/UBT/an de fumure organique produite). L'étude montre que le renforcement de l'association agriculture-élevage combinée à une amélioration génétique appropriée, et à l'affiliation à une laiterie, sont actuellement les principaux moteurs de l'intensification écologique de la production laitière. Elle permet aussi de relever des points de vigilance concernant l'amélioration des pratiques d'association de l'agriculture et de l'élevage, de sélection génétique et de mise en marché du lait pour que les évolutions en cours se poursuivent bien vers une réelle transition agro-écologique et ne basculent pas vers des schémas d'intensification classique

Tuberculin screening of some selected Fulani lactating cows in north-central Nigeria

The prevalence of mycobacterial infection among lactating Fulani cows was investigated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Kaduna State of Nigeria. Tuberculin testing using single comparative intradermal tuberculin test showed a 14.6 % positive, 4 % doubtful, and 81.4 % negative reactors. Mycobacterial infection was found to be present in the nomadic (constantly moving) and seminomadic (limited movement) management systems studied but management showed no significant effect on the prevalence of the disease. However, the prevalence was significantly higher in older age groups than the younger ones (P < 0.05).Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

Lysophosphatidic Acid Promotes Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition in Ovarian Cancer Cells by Repressing SIRT1

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an essential role in the transition from early to invasive phenotype, however the underlying mechanisms still remain elusive. Herein, we propose a mechanism through which the class-III deacetylase SIRT1 regulates EMT in ovarian cancer (OC) cells. Methods: Expression analysis was performed using Q-PCR, western blot, immunofluorescence and fluorescence-IHC study. Matrigel invasion assay was used for the invasion study. Morphological alterations were observed by phalloidin-staining. Co-immunoprecipitation study was performed to analyze protein-protein interaction. Results: Overexpression of SIRT1-WT as well as Resveratrol-mediated SIRT1 activation antagonized the invasion of OC cells by suppressing EMT. SIRT1 deacetylates HIF1α, to inactivate its transcriptional activity. To further validate HIF1α inactivation, its target gene, i.e. ZEB1, an EMTinducing factor was found to attenuate upon SIRT1 activation. To uncover the regulatory factor governing SIRT1 expression, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a highly enriched oncolipid in ascites/ serum of OC patients, was found to down-regulate SIRT1 expression. Importantly, LPA was found to induce the mesenchymal switch in OC cells through suppression of SIRT1. Decreased level of SIRT1 was further validated in ovarian tissue samples of OC patients. Conclusion: We have identified a mechanism that relates SIRT1 down-regulation to LPA-induced EMT in OC cells and may open new arenas on developing novel anti-cancer therapeutics

Impact of europium concentration on thermal and absorption features of amorphous tellurite media

Improving the structural and optical properties of tellurite glasses via optimized doping of rare earth ions is an outstanding issue in materials science. Tellurite glasses doped with trivalent europium (Eu3+) are successfully prepared using conventional melt quenching technique. Glasses with chemical composition of (80-x)TeO2-10PbO-10ZnO-(x)Eu2O3 where 0 ≤ x ≤ 2.0 mol% are obtained. The influence of Eu3+ ions concentration on the thermal and absorption properties of the synthesized glasses is investigated using Differential Thermal Analyzer (DTA) and UV-VIS Spectroscopy. DTA curves in the temperature range of 50-1000 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C/min are used to determine the temperature of glass transition, crystallization, melting and in turn the thermal stability. DTA revealed that the increase in the Eu3+ contents improved the thermal stability. This observation is attributed to the alteration of the glass network structure via the creation of non-bridging oxygen. The room temperature absorption spectra recorded in the spectral region of 200 – 2000 nm exhibited three absorption peaks corresponding to 7F0 → 5D0, 7F0 → 5D1 and 7F0 → 5D2 transitions. The absorption intensity is found to be enhanced up to certain concentration of Eu3+ ions and then quenched. This is ascribed to the change in glass network structure and formation of defects through the cleavage of weak bonds and reduction in covalence states

Spectral characteristics of antimony-phosphate glass

Determining the stable optimized compositions of the binary and ternary phases of antimony-phosphate glasses is the key issue. We prepare four series of glasses of the form (100- x)Sb2O3-xP2O5, where x = 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 mol%, (95-x)Sb2O3-xP2O5-5MgO, where x = 60, 45, 40, 35, 30 and 25 mol%, (85-x)Sb2O3-xP2O5-15MgO, where x = 60, 45, 40, 35, 30 and 25 mol% and (75-x)Sb2O3-xP2O5-25MgO, where x = 60, 45, 40, 35, 30 and 25 mol% via conventional melt quenching method. Structural and optical properties of these glasses are determined through FTIR, UV-Vis and PL measurements. The XRD patterns confirm the amorphous nature of samples. The FTIR spectra of all prepared glass series recorded in the spectral ranges of 400 to 4000 cm-1 demonstrates the presence of asymmetric stretching vibrations of (PO3)2, Sb2O3 doubly degenerate stretching vibrations, stretching vibration of P–O–Sb linkages, vibration modes of SbO3 of the valentinite and vibration modes of SbO3 of the valentinite. The UV-Vis absorption spectra in the wavelength range of 200-2000 nm exhibit a broad transparency range with short wavelength absorption edge located at around 380 nm. A small shift of the absorption edge due to the change in glass composition is evidenced. The room temperature emission spectra under four different excitation wavelengths such as 300, 380, 550 and 780 nm display single sharp second harmonic emission peak at half wavelength and double frequency of the excitation wavelength. Glasses reveal low durability against humidity at higher P2O5 concentration exceeding 65 mol%. Furthermore, initiation of glass formation begins when Sb2O3 concentration is found to be less than or equal to 40 mol% for the binary system and 60 mol% for the ternary one. These promising features of the optical properties are highly useful for widespread photonic applications

Silver nanoparticles assisted spectral features enhancement of Samarium-Zinc-Tellurite glass

Achieving the enhanced optical properties of rare earth doped inorganic glasses by embedding metallic nanoparticles (NPs) is ever-demanding in photonics. Optimized doping of NPs and subsequent thorough characterizations for improved absorption and emission are the key issues for lasing glasses. We inspect the influence of silver (Ag) NPs inclusion on the optical properties of Sm3+ doped zinc-sodium tellurite glasses having composition 65TeO2-25ZnO-10Na2O- (0.15 gram)Sm2O3-(y)AgCl, where y = 0, 0.03, 0.075, 0.12 and 0.18 gram (in excess). Glass samples are prepared using melt quenching technique and characterized via ultraviolet visible near infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The presence of NPs is verified from TEM images and the amorphous nature is confirmed from XRD pattern. The UV-Vis- NIR spectra revealing six absorption peaks centered at 472, 943, 1089, 1237, 1392, and 1491 nm are assigned to 6H5/2→4I11/2, 6F11/2, 6F9/2, 6F7/2, 6F5/2, 6F3/2 transitions, respectively. PL spectra exhibit two emission bands located at 599 nm (4G5/2→6H7/2) and 643 nm (6H9/2). The observed enhancement in PL intensity is attributed to the highly localized electric field of Ag NPs positioned in the vicinity of Sm3+ ion. The mechanism of enhancement is identified, analyzed, and understood. The admirable features of our results are highly beneficial for solidstate laser and optical device fabrication

Fabrication parameters dependent morphology variation of silicon thin film

Achieving two dimensional quantum structure of silicon with welldefined tuneable morphology is an outstanding issue. We present the preliminary results on fabrication parameters dependent silicon thin film production using VHF-PECVD method. Five samples are prepared on Si(100) substrate with gold (Au) catalyst by adjusting different parameters such as deposition time, temperature and the flow of precursor gas. The samples morphology are analysed using FESEM. The results reveal that the silicon thin film appear to be smooth and crystal-like after an enormous amount of hydrogen is inserted together with the precursor gas (silane) during the deposition process. More interestingly, the films exhibit silicon nanowires as the deposition time is increased up to 1 hour. This morphological transformation is attributed to the vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism related to the deposition process. Our results may contribute towards the development of nanosilicon based optoelectronics