Indo US Research Articles

Review of methods for estimating the prevalence of rare diseases

One of the main challenges in rare diseases is the unavailability of reliable estimates of prevalence and incidence. The lack of epidemiological data makes planning for therapeutic and management options challenging. Methods for estimating the prevalence and incidence of rare and genetic diseases primarily rely on the availability of accurate national patient registries or databases of birth defects. This gap is wider in Low- and Middle-Income countries (LMICs) such as India, where currently, the estimates of prevalence and incidence are either unknown or data from developed countries have to be used as a proxy. Here, we analyzed the current methods used to estimate the prevalence and incidence of rare genetic diseases to provide recommendations in the form of a decision tree to select the most feasible method, particularly in resource-constrained environments such as India. We selected ten rare diseases of shared importance to the Indo US Organization for Rare Diseases (IndoUSrare) and its Patients Alliance members for analysis. Our analysis suggests that retrospective study designs are the most commonly used method to estimate the prevalence and incidence of rare diseases. We propose a generalized decision tree or flowchart to aid epidemiology researchers during the selection of methods for estimating the prevalence and incidence of a rare or genetic disease.

Demystifying Indo-US Natural and Strategic Partnership

India–US relations have witnessed diverse trends ranging from estrangement to engagement followed by strategic partnership. They have signed various agreements, such as DPA, CND, LEMOA, COMCASA and BECA, to institutionalize their strategic partnership. However, real-time challenges have continuously shaped the trajectory of strategic alignment as their national interests occasionally converged and often diverged. Their notions of world order sharply contrast. New Delhi stands for a multi-polar world order, whereas Washington advocates uni-polar world order. The US–Pakistan alliance partnership has further proved an impediment to the Indo–US strategic partnership. Hence, much claimed natural partnership has not been able to make much headway as their national interests diverge on core issues such as trade, immigration, joint and co-production, and world order. The mainstream literature advocates that these are the teething problems of evolving strategic partnerships, but the in-depth analysis indicates that issues confronting their relationship are structural and deep-rooted. Realism, neorealism and social constructivism prove appropriate tools to grasp the dynamic of Indo–US natural and strategic partnerships by locating them in the global, Asian and regional power structure.

Impacts of INDO US Maritime Cooperation on Pakistan

Pakistan's marine security concerns are crucial to maintaining peace in the Indian Ocean area. Beyond its strategic importance in the great power dispute among the USA, India, and China, the Indian Ocean is also a vital commercial shipping lane for international trade. As 95 percent of Pakistan's trade relies on this sea route, the country is immediately affected by any occurrences in the Indian Ocean. We must maintain dependable maritime security since a robust navy is essential for conducting business. It is also a vital communication conduit throughout the world. Pakistan's marine security concerns are crucial to maintaining peace in the Indian Ocean area. Beyond its strategic importance in the great power dispute among the USA, India, and China, the Indian Ocean is also a vital commercial shipping lane for international trade.

Symposium

Medical anthropology is the study of how health and illness are shaped, experienced, and understood in light of global, historical, and political forces. According to the Society for Medical Anthropology Medical Anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that draws upon social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology to better understand those factors which influence health and well being (broadly defined), the experience and distribution of illness, the prevention and treatment of sickness, healing processes, the social relations of therapy management, and the cultural importance and utilization of pluralistic medical systems. Dr. C. Radhakanth would elaborate on Medical Anthropology, Culture and Psychiatry.While Transcultural Psychiatry does study and has reported several associations between Culture and Symptomatology, Prognosis, interpretation and explanation of illness etc. Specific ways in which Psychiatrists need to incorporate it in their practice through the Cultural Formulation of DSM 5 is a recent phenomenon and comparison of Practices in US and UK with India by young Psychiatrists who have tried to migrate there is illuminating. Dr. Prasanth would elucidate the differences of Indo-UK psychiatry as a practitioner in both countries apart from the utility of the Cultural Formulation. Dr. Sarath would talk about his observations of Indo US differences in approach to the Psychiatric patient and delivery of services based on his experience in both countries.Symposium title “ Cultural Aspects in Psychiatric Practice – Comparison of Indian, UK and US practices”

India in the Emergent Multipolar World Order: Dynamics and Strategic Challenges

India has a middle power status and a rising power mindset. The emerging multipolar world manifests opportunities as well as challenges to India’s foreign policy. The newness quotient is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘economy first’ approach rooted in his desire to create external conditions necessary to ensure domestic economic progress. He has displayed dynamism while engaging all major powers, promoting and reintegrating India with the global economy, promoting greater cooperation with South Asian neighbours and renewing strategic connections in the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Pragmatism in India’s foreign policy is seen in Indo–US relations reaching a new level or in cooperation with China on climate change while opposing its territorial claims in the South China Sea and One Belt One Road Project. To counter China, India has sought close strategic partnerships with the USA and its allies and main partners in Asia-Pacific while retaining its strategic autonomy. A major challenge to India’s foreign policy is the downward spiral of relations with Pakistan.

India and the Civil Nuclear Liability Regime

The successful winding up of the Indo–US civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2008 had generated a lot of sanguinity of thriving nuclear trade and increased investment surge in India’s civil nuclear power sector. However, the differences over the Indian nuclear liability regime because of its non-conformity with the international liability regime have marred those expectations. In the stated background, the article in its first part traces the chronological development of the international nuclear liability regimes, and, in second part, the Indian liability law and its inconsistencies are dealt with emphasis on shifting tenor of India–US relations vis-à-vis the law.

Impact of Indo–US trade on India’s economic growth: an empirical analysis

Foreign trade has played an important role in India’s economic growth in the past two decades. It has enhanced competitiveness; expanded business opportunities for domestic markets. By removing unnecessary barriers, it made easier for India and the US to export and import. Since the economic reforms introduced in the year 1991, India has radically changed its trade relations with the United States. The trade between India and the US has risen sharply in the present decade. This paper is an attempt to examine the empirical relationship between bilateral trade and economic growth of India with the US. For achieving this objective, the study covers a period of 30 years and the data are analysed through multiple regressions as the main statistical tool. The results reveal a positive impact of the bilateral trade on economic growth for both countries.

Indo–US Security Cooperation: Implications for the Indian Ocean

ABSTRACTThere has been a clear growing maritime intent in India–US cooperation in the past few years and bilateral interests have come to converge, due to both the individual countries' interests and regional common goals. As an economically and militarily developing country, India seeks to expand its strategic influence the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It also comes across as the most stable and powerful country in the region that could support the long-term interests of the US in the region. The US sees India as a significant balancer of China in the region, and the Indian Ocean as a maritime opponent to the South China Sea. As the US–China rivalry continues in the Asia-Pacific, the Indian Ocean remains the stable pivot from where the Asian power balance will be string-held. More importantly, going forward the Indian Ocean could be divided into maritime sub-regions of influence based on two emerging opposite power axes.

Indo-US Strategic Partnership and its Security Implications for Asia Pacific Region

Due to unprecedented rise of China in the economic, political and social domains world is shifting its strategic focus from the European Politics to both continental and maritime domains of Asia resulting in a challenge for the US and its allies. US, China and India are tied into strategic ingredients of cooperation, competition and containment. US intends to assign India an appropriate, competitive and probable offshore balancing role against China - that is, a strategy of balancing without containment. Engaging into an active conflict is not envisaged due to close integration of these powers in terms of economic, political, social and cultural domains. Indo US close strategic coordination is win-win situation for both the countries. India may become an offshore balancing power for US to retain its influence in Asia Pacific region against China and its allies; On the other hand it brings treasure of opportunities for India to strengthen its military arsenal with open doors of US sophisticated technology with the co-production and co-development framework. This generous access to the state of the art military hardware would enhance India's power projection capabilities to the maximum, posing security implications for neighbors' and adversaries to India. Moreover growing Indo US nexus aiming balancing and containment of China has serious regional strategic security implications.

Competing Identities and Security Interests in the Indo–US Relationship

The United States and India have forged a remarkably close security relationship since 2000, given the previous hostility of India to American foreign policy in general. Indian state identity until the mid-1990s was shaped by nonalignment and antipathy to the US-led liberal economic order. If identity is the source of interests, then how do states adopt policies that conflict with core elements of their identity when geopolitical shifts push states to adapt to a new regional balance of power? We argue that India did this by activating parts of the state identity that were compatible with American state identity and de-emphasizing those elements that were incompatible. But in doing so, Indian state identity changed, which impacts future foreign policy choices. This case illustrates the reciprocal relationship between security interests and state identity. We use content analysis of ten years of Indian media to demonstrate that the depiction of the US–Indian relationship increasingly focused on the democratic shared values of both states, despite beginning with an emphasis on military cooperation.

Education and Training Needs in Radiation Oncology in India: Opportunities for Indo–US Collaborations

To conduct a survey of radiation oncologists in India, to better understand specific educational needs of radiation oncology in India and define areas of collaboration with US institutions. A 20-question survey was distributed to members of the Association of Indian Radiation Oncologists and the Indian Brachytherapy Society between November 2013 and May 2014. We received a total of 132 responses. Over 50% of the physicians treat more than 200 patients per day, use 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional treatment planning techniques, and approximately 50% use image guided techniques. For education needs, most respondents agreed that further education in intensity modulated radiation therapy, image guided radiation therapy, stereotactic radiation therapy, biostatistics, and research methods for medical residents would be useful areas of collaboration with institutions in the United States. Other areas of collaboration include developing a structured training module for nursing, physics training, and developing a second-opinion clinic for difficult cases with faculty in the United States. Various areas of potential collaboration in radiation oncology education were identified through this survey. These include the following: establishing education programs focused on current technology, facilitating exchange programs for trainees in India to the United States, promoting training in research methods, establishing training modules for physicists and oncology nurses, and creating an Indo-US. Tumor Board. It would require collaboration between the Association of Indian Radiation Oncologists and the American Society for Radiation Oncology to develop these educational initiatives.

From “Bridges” to “United” – Measuring Indo–US Interest Contiguity in Strategic Outreaches

The relationship between India and the United States has transformed significantly since the Cold War, notwithstanding the denial regime imposed after the 1998 nuclear tests. In the complex 21st-century environment, both countries have articulated their strategic outreaches spanning the new geographical construct of a maritime configured Indo-Pacific. This article examines the coherence, correspondence and divergence in the approaches and the institutions of relevance in India's “Act East” and the US “Strategic Rebalance” through the “interest contiguity” paradigm. The salient aspects examined are the politico-diplomatic, economic and military security dimensions, by using a combinational of realist and rational choice theoretical prisms. The paper concludes that while there is a virtual coincidence of “interests’” between India and the US, their approaches and institutional frameworks are different in certain cases, driven by respective geopolitical, geoeconomic and geostrategic imperatives. The emerging positivity in the Indo–US relationship, like many other important engagements across the Indo-Pacific, will continue to contain a mix of cooperation and competition, which is not unusual and offers avenues for further strengthening of coordinated endeavours.

Performance of WRF-Chem over Indian region: Comparison with measurements

The aerosol mass concentrations over several Indian regions have been simulated using the online chemistry transport model, WRF-Chem, for two distinct seasons of 2011, representing the pre-monsoon (May) and post-monsoon (October) periods during the Indo–US joint experiment ‘Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment (GVAX)’. The simulated values were compared with concurrent measurements. It is found that the model systematically underestimates near-surface BC mass concentrations as well as columnar Aerosol Optical Depths (AODs) from the measurements. Examining this in the light of the model-simulated meteorological parameters, we notice the model overestimates both planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) and surface wind speeds, leading to deeper mixing and dispersion and hence lower surface concentrations of aerosols. Shortcoming in simulating rainfall pattern also has an impact through the scavenging effect. It also appears that the columnar AODs are influenced by the unrealistic emission scenarios in the model. Comparison with vertical profiles of BC obtained from aircraft-based measurements also shows a systematic underestimation by the model at all levels. It is seen that concentration of other aerosols, viz., dust and sea-salt are closely linked with meteorological conditions prevailing over the region. Dust is higher during pre-monsoon periods due to the prevalence of north-westerly winds that advect dust from deserts of west Asia into the Indo-Gangetic plain. Winds and rainfall influence sea-salt concentrations. Thus, the unrealistic simulation of wind and rainfall leads to model simulated dust and sea-salt also to deviate from the real values; which together with BC also causes underperformance of the model with regard to columnar AOD. It appears that for better simulations of aerosols over Indian region, the model needs an improvement in the simulation of the meteorology.

Indo–US Cooperation in Countering Cyber Terrorism: Challenges and Limitations

The increasing dependence on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has unleashed a whole new genre of cyber terrorism. Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, online hate propaganda and use of the internet for recruiting, planning and effecting terrorist attacks have become new frontiers of terrorism. The ubiquitous cyberspace has expanded terrorism structures and transformed their operations. Given their democratic traditions of privileging basic freedoms, such as individual privacy, and the unprecedented spread of the internet, India and the US face a formidable challenge in confronting cyber terrorism. While both countries share a strong political affinity to cooperate and have set up institutional mechanisms to secure cyberspace, divergences in their approaches and a lack of clarity and consensus on their immediate and long-term goals continue to be their fundamental limitations. In spite of their strong commitment to work together, their divergent approaches to internet governance and episodes like the WikiLeaks and Snowden affairs have only re-enforced their continuing trust deficit.

Nanomedicine-prospects and challenges.

This special issue of Drug Development and Translational Research is a fall out of the INDO US joint Symposium on Nanomedicine—Prospects and Challenges, organized at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India, jointly with Dr. Labhasetwar, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA, and supported by the INDO US Science and Technology Forum. The last two decades have seen an explosion in nanotechnology applications in science and technology. One such area is nanomedicine, which has touched the lives of many by enabling efficient therapy and which has helped overcome various impediments in medical science. Nanomedicine has helped medical science grow in leaps and bounds in the areas of treatment, diagnosis, and drug safety. These welcome advances have brought hope to the treatment of many incurable diseases. Nanomedicine, the exploration of medical applications of nanotechnology, is evolving from laboratory research to clinical application, particularly in the areas of drug delivery, imaging, diagnostics, and monitoring. Nanotechnology and nanoparticles are expected to dramatically change the way disease is detected and treated, with implications for personalizing management strategies in clinical practice, patient–physician communication, and outcomes measurement. Over the past few decades, collaborative and multidisciplinary research has matured the field of nanomedicine. Polymer and material scientists, physicists and engineers, biologists and clinicians, and pharmaceutical scientists have all contributed to the progression of nanomedicine. The rapid progress in the field is evident from the wide range of different nanotechnologies that have been designed and investigated, and are now at different stages of preclinical and clinical development. As these applications of nanotechnology are being explored, the critical issue of their safety to the patient is also being debated and investigated. This special issue is a compilation of research papers relating to various aspects of nanomedicine. The issue is a blend of reviews and research manuscripts which cover diverse aspects of nanomedicine. The issue addresses on one hand design and in vivo evaluation of nanocarriers for administration by oral, nasal, and parenteral routes; in vitro evaluation with a special focus on dissolution techniques; and nanomedicine for gene delivery and specific infections like HIV, including multifunctional nanomedicines for varied applications. Toxicity aspects have also been covered in the issue.

Is it Time to Re–think the Indo–US Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement?

In 1959 India attempted to enter into a Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty with the United States of America. The US Senate however rejected the treaty because the Indian Government had inserted into the treaty a provision regarding ‘tax sparing credits’. This provision would have enabled US Companies to claim credit, in the US, for taxes which were waived by the Indian Government as part of investment incentives. Such a provision was vital for the transfer of capital and technology to a developing country like India. In 1990 however when India was in the throes of a financial crisis it was compelled to entered into a DTAT with the US in order to attract FDI from the US The DTAT which has been based on a residence principle has resulted in an inequitable revenue distribution, favouring the US. This article seeks to explain how exactly this treaty results in an inequitable distribution of revenue as also the several reasons for the Indian Government to renegotiate the treaty to ensure that it is based on the more equitable source based principle.

Simultaneous Bayesian estimation of distances and ages from isochrones: SDSS and solar neighborhood FGK stars

AbstractBy using a procedure based on the Bayesian probability theory we computed reliable and self–consistent estimates of absolute magnitude and age for about 2000 FKG spectral-type stars from SDSS–DR5, ELODIE, and INDO–US surveys, with effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity values homogeneously derived.

The US–India courtship: from Clinton to Bush

While a considerable thaw in Indo–US relations bequeathed by the Cold War took place under Clinton, there are still factors, even after 11 September 2001, which have hindered a relationship with common strategic interests. These factors involve divergences on nuclear proliferation, the emergence of China as a world power, the pace of India's economic liberalisation, and Indo–Pakistan tension. A strategic partnership is achievable, but India will need to keep US interests constantly in focus.

Data management and quality assurance for an International project: the Indo-US Cross-National Dementia Epidemiology Study.

Data management and quality assurance play a vital but often neglected role in ensuring high quality research, particularly in collaborative and international studies. A data management and quality assurance program was set up for a cross-national epidemiological study of Alzheimer's disease, with centers in India and the United States. The study involved (a) the development of instruments for the assessment of elderly illiterate Hindi-speaking individuals; and (b) the use of those instruments to carry out an epidemiological study in a population-based cohort of over 5000 persons. Responsibility for data management and quality assurance was shared between the two sites. A cooperative system was instituted for forms and edit development, data entry, checking, transmission, and further checking to ensure that quality data were available for timely analysis. A quality control software program (CHECKS) was written expressly for this project to ensure the highest possible level of data integrity. This report addresses issues particularly relevant to data management and quality assurance at developing country sites, and to collaborations between sites in developed and developing countries.