Research Institutions In India Research Articles

Catherine Bauer’s Passage Through India: Frontier Urbanization and the Construction of ‘Interdisciplinary’ Urban Research at the College of Environmental Design, Berkeley

This article examines the work of Catherine Bauer from 1953 to 1963, an overlooked period in her life, when she engaged with questions of ‘Indian urbanization’ alongside the formation of an urban research institute in India. Her unique interdisciplinary vision for planning research and practice in this period was co-produced through her concurrent work on California and resulted in multiple reports on Californian urbanization as well as a seminar and book on Indian urbanization. The institute in India did not materialize; however, in 1962 an urban institute was set up in the newly formed College of Environmental Design at Berkeley.

Evaluation of factors that act as barriers in conducting academic trials - An investigator's perception.

Academic trials are essential in investigating health research questions relevant to the society. Only a few leading research institutions in India have been engaged in academic trials. Thus, there is a need to understand what factors dampen the spirit of the academician in conducting academic clinical trials. The aim of the study is to evaluate the investigator's perception of obstacles to carrying out academic trials and to identify factors that will motivate investigators in conducting academic trials. We conducted a prospective observational study in a tertiary care hospital for 6 months. Faculty members working in academic institutes were selected. A structured questionnaire was designed for the study and administered using google forms. Responses were taken on a Likert scale. Validity and reliability assessments were carried out. Mann-Whitney test was applied to assess differences between demographic groups. P <0.05 was considered significant. Most of the participants rated applying for research grants (76%), obtaining funding for the study and making arrangements for compensation for trial-related events (75%) as extremely challenging. We found that the degree of challenge is significantly lower in the faculty members who conducted clinical trials in the past as against those who did not (P = 0.00069). We also found that the degree of challenge is significantly higher in the faculty members with <10 years of experience than those with >10 years of experience (P = 0.00001). Thus, to conclude the challenges faced by investigators were at multiple levels, most common being applying for research grants and making arrangements for the funds for payment towards participation or study-related injury. Faculty members with exposure to conducting clinical trials and with experience of more than 10 years had perceived a reduced degree of challenges.

Wood Fibre Properties and Genetic Divergence in Haldina cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsdale

Haldina cordifolia is a multipurpose tree species. It is one of the best Indian timbers suitable for flooring, panelling and for railway carriages. It is also suitable for pulp and paper, construction, window frames, furniture, bobbins, piano keys and rulers. Wood is also used for pencil manufacturing. Though many phyto-chemicals and pharmacological compounds have been identified from this tree species, the species has not been domesticated so far. ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore has initiated a tree improvement programme in this tree species since 2018 and plus trees numbering 141 have been selected from the state of Kerala. Eucalyptus spp., Casuarina spp., and Poplars are the major sources of wood pulp used by the paper industries in India. Efforts are being undertaken by various research institutions in India to find alternate indigenous tree species suitable for pulp. Therefore, a study was undertaken to understand the wood fibre properties of select Plus Trees of H. cordifolia. Wood samples collected from 30 select plus trees have been subjected to wood fibre analyses and genetic divergence studies. Wood specific gravity varied from 0.62 to 0.71. Various wood fibre ratios were also studied. Among the 30 Plus Trees studied, HC 01, HC 03, HC 04, HC 05, HC 18, HC 26 and HC 27 have registered ideal values for using them for paper making. The maximum value for broad sense heritability was recorded by Felting coefficient (0.75). Coefficient of fibre flexibility, Isenberg coefficient, Runkel’s ratio and Lumen diameter also registered reasonably higher values for H2. Application of Mahalanobis’ D2 statistics and Tocher’s clustering method resolved 30 Plus Trees into 6 clusters. The cluster strength varied from one in cluster 6 to 21 in cluster 1. The remaining 4 clusters contained two trees each. Genetic divergence studies have shown that Plus Trees namely, HC 22, HC 23, HC24, HC 27, HC 28, HC 29 and HC 30 could be utilized for further tree breeding programmes.

Mapping the research publication trends among ICAR-Animal Sciences Research Institutes in India: Web of Science-based scientometric study

In the current study we have undertaken the scientometric analysis to map research publications from 19 different animal science research institutions under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), for a period of two decades (1998 to 2020), using the Web of Science (WoS) platform of Clarivate Analytics. We analyzed different scientometric parameters like year-wise citation records, institute-wise publication output, authorship pattern, publication types, top collaborating countries, research areas and journals, and relative growth rate and doubling time. Current analysis revealed that the maximum number of research articles were published in 2017 and ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute contributed to the highest number of research papers and citations during thestudy period. Multi-authorship papers were significantly higher than single and double-authored papers. The study showed that in the field of animal sciences, the USA is the top collaborator with India resulting in 417 collaborative research papers. The Indian Journal of Animal Sciences carried the maximum number of research papers published by researchers from ICAR-Animal Science Research Institutes (ASRI) during 1998-2020. Relative Growth Rate (RGR) showed a decreasing trend in research publications while the doubling time increased during this period. The paper provides a comprehensive account of the research trends in animal sciences research and also insights for strengthening research focus in India.

Research Institute Scientists E-Books Usage in India: A Study

ABSTRACT The study is all about using e-books by scientists in research institutes in India. To identify gender-wise usage of e-books by scientists, to understand the purchase and usage of e-books and e-resources, to observe the way of access and usage to e-books, to understand the frequency of the usage of e-books, to detect the type of problems faced by scientists while accessing e-books and to know the reasons for not attending the training program/orientation on using e-resources. The questionnaire method was used to gather the data. An entire 860 questionnaires were distributed, and 700 filled questionnaires were received, with a response rate of 81.39%. The study results show that the maximum number of respondents are male (59.15%) scientists, and 65.7% of RRI scientists use to purchase and use e-books. A maximum number of scientists access e-books purchased by their research institute. 52.8% of scientists feel that many e-books could be more beneficial for their research. More than 50% of scientists feel they need no training to access e-books. It is very clear from the study that research institute libraries must subscribe to e-books useful to their scientists.

Evaluation of crop research institutes under data and resource constraints: An alternative approach

The evaluation of crop research institutes in the developing world under limited data availability has not been assessed in the past due to resource constraints. The paper assesses the social benefits of rice research taking the case of a research institute from India following a new approach. The area coverage of the varieties was estimated to be 3.4 million ha and the gain in production was 6.2 million tonnes per year in India. The additional return obtained due to the adoption of these varieties was about ₹ 14,621 million (US$ 232 million) per year at constant 2014–5 prices. The return per rupee investment in the institute’s research and extension was ₹ 17. This approach is recommended for the impact evaluation of other crop research institutes in India and the developing world under resource constraints.

Mapping the research impact of collaboration and networking of ICAR fisheries research institutes in India: A scientometric study

The eight National Fisheries Research Institutes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) play a significant role in driving fisheries development in the country by advancing knowledge through basic and applied research; technology development and extension/outreach. Collaboration and networking among researchers and institutes are fundamental to address the multi-faceted issues confronting the fisheries sector in India. Collaborative research pattern among ICARFisheries Research Institutes (IFRIs) and with R&amp;D organisations in other countries was studied for a period of 20 years (2000-2019). Research productivity and focus areas of research of these institutes were also assessed through bibliometrics of publications extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) database. The search yielded 4,557 publications and a significant increase in the number of publications from 2000 to 2019 was evident . Major chunk of these papers (87%) was published in collaboration with National Institutes while only 10.6% had international collaboration especially with the United States of America (USA), Australia and Japan. A positive correlation (p&lt;0.01) was observed between the extent of collaboration (both national and international) and the average citation per paper. The average impact factor of the journals carrying fisheries research papers with at least one international author was higher than those in which the papers were with only Indian authors. This leads us to hypothesise that the network of IFRIs with international research institutions aids in increasing the quality, visibility and impact of research. The co-authorship pattern revealed a gradual reduction in single and two-authored papers during the last 20 years, while multi-authored papers exhibited an increasing trend. The study showed that the collaboration network in fisheries research is growing fast; collaborating countries in the network increased gradually, and the number of authors and publications increased almost exponentially, as indicated by the growth rate and doubling time in research publications. The present study provides a multi-dimensional overview of the impact of research publications from IFRIs and provides specific insights in to the research managers to plan and strategise their collaborations to enhance the influence of fisheries research in India.Keywords: Collaborative index, Collaboration coefficient, Doubling time, Research productivity

Good Financial Grant Practice: A Tool for Developing and Demonstrating Institutional Financial and Grant Management Capacity in Global Health.

The administration and governance of grant funding across global health organizations presents enormous challenges. Meeting these challenges is crucial to ensuring that funds are used in the most effective way to improve health outcomes, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” The Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) Standard (ARS 1651) is the world’s first and, currently, only international standard for the financial governance and management of grant funding. Through consensus building and global harmonization between both low- and middle-income and high-income country players, the GFGP Standard has achieved a leveling impact: GFGP applies equally to, and can be implemented by, all types of organization, regardless of location, size, or whether they predominantly give or receive funding.GFGP can be used as a tool for addressing some of the challenges of the current funding model. Here, we describe our experiences and lessons learned from implementing GFGP across 4 diverse research institutions in India, Nigeria, Colombia, and the Philippines as part of our National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit on Genomic Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance.

Review on Scope of Pharmacognosy graduate in various government research institutes in India

The Pharmacognosy is study of crude drugs, the role of Pharmacognosist difference based on the research institute. In India lot of research of institute available for development of herbal and traditional based drugs such as phytopharmaceutical, chemistry of natural products and siddha, Ayurveda, Unnai propertery drugs. The graduate from Pharmacognosy have lot of carrier opportunities and temporary project Positions such as JRF, Project associate in various research instititute such as CSIR-CDRI, CIAMP, IIIM, IHBT NBRI. The another very important scope of Pharmacognosist in AYUSH Department, the ministry of ayush estabalished various research lab for development Ayruveda, siddha, unani, and hemopathy medicine they are like CCRAS, CCRS, CCRH, CCRUM. The role of Pharmacognosist in ayush institute such as authentication and standardization of raw drugs and formulated crude drugs as churna, chooranam etc. Indian pharmacopeia laboratory also a very important carrier opportunites for phamacognosy graduate.

Knowledge, Protective Behaviors and Risk Perception of COVID-19 among Dental Students in India: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Objective: This study’s objective was to examine the knowledge, performance in practicing protective behaviors, and risk perception of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) among dental students of India. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from 10–30 August 2020, involving 381 dental students that were enrolled at the Uttaranchal Dental and Medical Research Institute in India. A web-based structured questionnaire assessed the COVID-19 related knowledge, protective behaviors, and risk perception performance. The independent-samples-t and analysis of variance tests were used to analyze the differences in knowledge, protective behaviors, and perception across the groups. Results: Of the dental students surveyed, 83% had adequate knowledge of COVID-19, and nearly 80% followed appropriate practices regarding COVID-19. The COVID-19 related risk perception was higher among females as compared to males. COVID-19 related knowledge was significantly correlated with preventive behaviors (r = 0.18; p < 0·01) and risk perception (r = 0.10; p < 0.05). We found a high score of COVID-19 related knowledge and precautionary behaviors and moderate risk perception among students. Conclusions: Knowledge and protective behaviors towards infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, have clinical applications in developing educational and formal training programs to promote adherence to the infection control practices among dental students. Clinical significance: The findings of this study will inform policymakers to emphasize on effective risk communication. Dental institutions can incorporate infection control modules in the current curriculum, thereby making future dental professionals capable of performing effective infection control management in the clinical settings. This is critical in improving their knowledge of infection control practices to minimize the risk of nosocomial infections.

Analysing Open Access Uptake by Academic and Research Institutions in India

The commitment to Open Access (OA) movement has started revolutionising the outline of conventional scholarly publishing practices and welcoming the new wind to scientific research across the world. Motivating by the changing scenario, the study strives to analyse OA uptake by the Indian academic and research institutions concerning their research productivity. Publication data of 36 universities have been retrieved from the 2020 record of CWTS Leiden Ranking database. Findings of the study show that around 23 per cent of all publications of these universities are openly accessible, and their median OA publications proportion is much lower (around half) than the median measure of universities worldwide (43 %). ‘Green OA’ reserved the first place with 17 per cent of occurrence, and Biomedical and Health Sciences have achieved the highest median (34.37 %). The study concludes with a vision towards increasing the global collaboration of the academic institutions regarding OA following the account of the Indian achievements.

Research Contributions of Universities of Kerala in the field of Malayalam

India has very various research opportunities in every field, and there are quite a fine number of research institutes in India. Research is artistic and orderly work undertaken to increase the knowledge of humans, culture, and society, and the use of this stock of information to devise new applications. Universities of Kerala offers top educational courses at Undergraduate, Postgraduate, and Ph.D. level. A candidate can practice a Ph.D. at the Universities of Kerala in either a Full-Time method of study or Part-Time manner of study. This paper aims to investigate 525 doctoral dissertations in the field of Malayalam from the Universities of Kerala till the last decade.

Rabies as a Public Health Concern in India-A Historical Perspective.

India bears the highest burden of global dog-mediated human rabies deaths. Despite this, rabies is not notifiable in India and continues to be underprioritised in public health discussions. This review examines the historical treatment of rabies in British India, a disease which has received relatively less attention in the literature on Indian medical history. Human and animal rabies was widespread in British India, and treatment of bite victims imposed a major financial burden on the colonial Government of India. It subsequently became a driver of Pasteurism in India and globally and a key component of British colonial scientific enterprise. Efforts to combat rabies led to the establishment of a wide network of research institutes in India and important breakthroughs in development of rabies vaccines. As a result of these efforts, rabies no longer posed a significant threat to the British, and it declined in administrative and public health priorities in India towards the end of colonial rule—a decline that has yet to be reversed in modern-day India. The review also highlights features of the administrative, scientific and societal approaches to dealing with this disease in British India that persist to this day.

Catalogue of herpetological specimens from peninsular India at the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology &amp; Natural History (SACON), India

We list the herpetological voucher specimens in the holdings of the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology &amp; Natural History (SACON), a wildlife research institute in India. Most of the collections are the fruition of fieldwork by SACON’s herpetologist and a coauthor of this work—late Dr. Subramanian Bhupathy (1963–2014). Taxonomically, the collection represents 125 species, comprising 29 amphibian species belonging to eight families and 96 reptilian species belonging to 17 families. Geographically, the material in this collection originates from the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats, the Deccan Plateau, and the Coromandel Coast, comprehensively covering all ecoregions of peninsular India. A total of 15 taxa (three amphibians, 12 reptiles) remain to be fully identified and are provisionally referred to most-resembling taxa, with cf. prefix. All the specimens in this collection are non-types as on date.

Evaluation of Iron Status in Patients of Solid Organ Malignancies: Study from a Cancer Research Centre.

Anemia associated with cancer is a major public health issue. The gravity of this problem is likely to be higher in India due to already existing malnutrition in the general population. Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) as a subset has not been evaluated in Indian population of cancer patients. This study was undertaken to evaluate iron status among newly diagnosed advanced-stage cancer patients with anemia at a cancer research institute in India. Sixty-four patients of anemia were identified who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Iron status was noted. Absolute iron deficiency (AID) was identified in 8 (12.5%) patients. Functional iron deficiency (FID) was seen in 48 (75%) patients. Probable functional iron deficiency (PFID) was seen in 2 (3.1%) patients while no iron deficiency (NID) was seen in 6 (9.3%) patients. FID is seen in majority of advanced-stage solid organ cancer patients in India. Large sample studies are required to better define the exact prevalence of iron deficiency, chemotherapy-induced anemia, and anemia in cancer subtypes.

Intellectual property management at the National Animal Science Research Institute in India: A case study

Aim:The National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics is an animal science research institute under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The intellectual property management system (IPMS) of the institute oversees technology creation, protection, and transfer/commercialization. This study reviews the effectiveness of the IPMS using traditional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) evaluation.Materials and Methods:A comprehensive repository was developed to compile the SWOT pertaining to the IPMS based on relevant document reviews and the inputs of experts and stakeholders. The repository was shared among scientists of the institute for rating. The rating process revealed the top ten key SWOT associated with the structure and operation of the IPMS. The weighted SWOT matrix technique was used to identify the best strategies to improve and develop the IPMS further. This included strategies derived from the best combinations of key strengths and opportunities (S-O strategies), key weaknesses and opportunities (W-O strategies), key strengths and threats (S-T strategies), and key weaknesses and threats (W-T strategies).Results:The top-ranked strengths included “possession of patented technology” and “state-of-the-art biosafety laboratory facilities,” while “lack of in-house faculty with legal expertise in intellectual property rights (IPR)” and “lack of technology incubation facilities” were the key weaknesses. The key opportunities included “external funding for research projects” and “market demand for onsite diagnostic tools.” The major threats were “lack of market for veterinary diagnostics” and “broad-based patents on research tools and technologies.”Conclusion:The strengths of the system, such as a state-of-the-art biosafety laboratory and technology-marketing collaboration with Agrinnovate India Ltd., could be employed effectively to gain from the opportunities tendered by the market demand for on-site disease diagnostic tools (S-O strategies). The limitation arising from a dearth of technical staff could be overcome by technological backstopping through international linkages in the area of disease monitoring and surveillance. Funding from externally supported projects could also be utilized for recruitment of personnel (W-O strategies). Limitations arising from the combination of inadequate in-house IPR expertise and the threat arising from broad-based patents on research tools warrant vigilance (W-T strategies).

Research Landscape/Performance of India during 2010-2018: An Exploration through Scopus

Presently total number of universities in the country is 907, (UGC (n.d.)) and these universities vary in terms of number of publications they produce. This study aims to identify the leading research institutions in India. To measure the performance of leading institutions multiple indicators have been applied, such as number of publications, total and average citations received, etc. IISc. Bangalore (15,948) produced most number of papers and BARC (32.21) received highest average citations per paper. BARC, CSIR India and University of Delhi had overall good performance in all the categories taken for the measurement.

Scientific Writing: The Predicament of Weather and Climate Scientists in India

AbstractWhile writing is integral to science, it gets little attention in formal science education/academics. Such neglect has serious implications for nonnative English-speaking (NNES) scientists. An inability to write effective and efficient manuscripts can considerably delay the publication of new results while reflecting badly on the performance of individual scientists and on institutional productivity. In the multiethnic and multilingual Indian society, NNES scientists may face more linguistic complexities that inhibit clear and precise scientific writing. This article tries to address the predicament of scientific writing among NNES scientists in weather and climate sciences in India. Results from an informal e-mail survey with 80 respondents, mostly drawn from academic and research institutions in India, bolster anecdotal evidence of the difficulties NNES scientists have in writing about their science in research and popular publications. The responses also reflect high levels of interest these scientists have in addressing their communication difficulties. The survey results address the scientists’ perceptions and dilemmas in clear scientific writing as well as their perceived skills and training needs. The article also suggests possible solutions.

Tea Research in India: Achievements and Current Priorities

Tea [ Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] research has huge prospects for success with fascinating targets and major tea producing countries have a community of talented scientists. In this paper, the major achievements of tea research conducted at the different tea research institutes in India have been described. Further, current research priorities like conservation of germplasm resources, genome mapping, impact of climate change, pesticide residues, product diversification and value addition, tea and health have been reviewed as well. Future prospects of research and research strategies to cope up with the currently existing situation have also been discussed.

Evaluation of research in India - are we doing it right?

The evaluation of performance in scientific research at any level - whether at the individual, institutional, research council or country level - is not easy. Traditionally, research evaluation at the individual and institutional levels has depended largely on peer opinion, but with the rapid growth of science over the last century and the availability of databases and scientometric techniques, quantitative indicators have gained importance. Both peer review and metrics are subject to flaws, more so in India because of the way they are used. Government agencies, funding bodies and academic and research institutions in India suffer from the impact factor and h-index syndrome. The uninformed use of indicators such as average and cumulative impact factors and the arbitrary criteria stipulated by agencies such as the University Grants Commission, Indian Council of Medical Research and the Medical Council of India for selection and promotion of faculty have made it difficult to distinguish good science from the bad and the indifferent. The exaggerated importance given by these agencies to the number of publications, irrespective of what they report, has led to an ethical crisis in scholarly communication and the reward system in science. These agencies seem to be unconcerned about the proliferation of predatory journals and conferences. After giving examples of the bizarre use of indicators and arbitrary recruitment and evaluation practices in India, we summarise the merits of peer review and quantitative indicators and the evaluation practices followed elsewhere.