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We propose a novel frailty model with change points applying random effects to a Cox proportional hazard model to adjust the heterogeneity between clusters. In the specially focused eight Empowered Action Group (EAG) states in India, there are problems with different survival curves for children up to the age of five in different states. Therefore, when analyzing the survival times for the eight EAG states, we need to adjust for the effects among states (clusters). Because the frailty model includes random effects, the parameters are estimated using the expectation‐maximization (EM) algorithm. Additionally, our model needs to estimate change points; we thus propose a new algorithm extending the conventional estimation algorithm to the frailty model with change points to solve the problem. We show a practical example to demonstrate how to estimate the change point and the parameters of the distribution of random effect. Our proposed model can be easily analyzed using the existing R package. We conducted simulation studies with three scenarios to confirm the performance of our proposed model. We re‐analyzed the survival time data of the eight EAG states in India to show the difference in analysis results with and without random effect. In conclusion, we confirmed that the frailty model with change points has a higher accuracy than the model without a random effect. Our proposed model is useful when heterogeneity needs to be taken into account. Additionally, the absence of heterogeneity did not affect the estimation of the regression parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In rural India, mobile medical clinics are useful models for delivering health promotion, education, and care. Mobile medical clinics use fewer providers for larger catchment areas compared to traditional clinic models in resource limited settings, which is especially useful in areas with shortages of healthcare providers and a wide geographical distribution of patients.Methods: From 2008 to 2011, we built infrastructure to implement a mobile clinic system to educate rural communities about maternal child health, train community health workers in common safe birthing procedures, and provide comprehensive antenatal care, prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and testing for specific infections in a large rural catchment area of pregnant women in rural Mysore. This was done using two mobile clinics and one walk-in clinic. Women were tested for HIV, hepatitis B, syphilis, and bacterial vaginosis along with random blood sugar, urine albumin, and anemia. Sociodemographic information, medical, and obstetric history were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires in the local language, Kannada. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Stata SE 14.1.Results: During the program period, nearly 700 community workers and 100 health care providers were trained; educational sessions were delivered to over 15,000 men and women and integrated antenatal care and HIV/sexually transmitted infection testing was offered to 3545 pregnant women. There were 22 (0.6%) cases of HIV, 19 (0.5%) cases of hepatitis B, 2 (0.1%) cases of syphilis, and 250 (7.1%) cases of BV, which were identified and treated. Additionally, 1755 (49.5%) cases of moderate to severe anemia and 154 (4.3%) cases of hypertension were identified and treated among the pregnant women tested.Conclusions: Patient-centered mobile medical clinics are feasible, successful, and acceptable models that can be used to provide quality healthcare to pregnant women in rural and hard-to-reach settings. The high numbers of pregnant women attending mobile medical clinics show that integrated antenatal care with PMTCT services were acceptable and utilized. The program also developed and trained health professionals who continue to remain in those communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution using the seeds of the plant species Strychnos potatorum was studied. The plant is popularly known as Nirmali tree, grown all over India. The dried Nirmali seeds were powdered and used as adsorbent. The SEM-EDX and FT-IR spectrum of the adsorbent revealed that the powder is fibrous in nature and contains functional groups such as -OH and -COOH. The zeta potential measurements indicated negative surface charge beyond the pH of 1.50. Batch type experiments were conducted to study the influence of pH and initial Cr(VI) concentration on the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. Maximum removal of Cr(VI) was observed at pH 1.0. The adsorption equilibrium was attained within a sort contact time of 4 min and the maximum uptake of Cr(VI) was found to be 59 mg g−1. The influence of anions such as Cl−, NO3−, and SO42− on Cr(VI) removal was investigated and found that the removal was slightly affected in the presence of NO3− and SO42−. The rate of removal of Cr(VI) was found to obey pseudo second order rate equation. The high free energy value of adsorption (ΔG = −137 kJ mol−1) indicated that the adsorption of Cr(VI) on Nirmali seed powder was mainly attributed due to chemical and electrostatic interaction. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 35-41, 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Petrographic analyses of plutons across the Karakoram fault in the Shyok-Nubra confluence of northern Ladakh area revealed that the rocks consist of diorite, granodiorite, granite and leucogranite. Pyroxene and biotite chemistries by EPMA indicate that most of the diorite, granodiorite and granite are calc-alkaline and formed in an arc-related tectonic setting. These calc-alkaline plutons yield K–Ar biotite ages from 49.3±1.1 to 51.2±1.1 for Ladakh batholith in Khardung La and from 60.8±1.3 to 65.8±1.4Ma for granites and diorites in Hundar area. The K–Ar ages of the Hundar igneous complex are within the age range of 46–70Ma of the Ladakh batholith near Leh town and the neighbor sites, indicating the Hundar igneous complex as a part of the Ladakh arc. Their ages are also coincident with the Khardung volcanics (67.4 and 60.5Ma). The calc-alkaline granites from Panamik of Karakoram block yield K–Ar biotite ages of 95.7±2.1 and 96.7±2.1Ma, suggesting that the granites are member of the plutons (90–120Ma) occurring in northern Pakistan, Tangtse in Ladakh and western Tibet that emplaced during subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic plate under the Karakoram block. The leucogranite and granodiorite in the Panamik region yield K–Ar biotite and muscovite ages ranging from 9.18±0.21 to 9.45±0.21Ma. The leucogranites are the S-type related to post-collision tectonic setting and are considered to have emplaced in relating to activation of the Karakoram fault. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Isher Ahluwalia on the factors that contributed to the rapid economic growth in India, one by Rakesh Mohan on the role of fiscal and monetary policies in the evolution of the economy in India, and one by Nagesh Kumar on the internationalization of the Indian companies.

Callovian (late Middle Jurassic) ammonoids Macrocephalites and Jeanneticeras were recovered from the Shyok suture zone, northeast of Chang La Pass, Ladakh, northwest India. They are the first reliable Jurassic fossils and the oldest chronologic data from the Shyok suture zone. The ammonoid-bearing Jurassic strata, newly defined as the Tsoltak Formation, consist largely of terrigenous mudstone with thin sandstone beds and were probably a part of the continental basement to the Cretaceous Ladakh Arc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the state of economic relations between Japan and India. The move of Japanese companies to India has played a role in the advancement of the automobile industry and trade in the latter. The stagnant economic relationship between the countries is attributed to the lack of Japanese investments in India. The strengthening of ties between Japan and India is hampered by the latter's infrastructure problem.

Summary. Long electropherotype with Subgroup I specificity is a common feature of animal rotaviruses. In an epidemic of infantile gastroenteritis in Manipur, India, long but SG I strains predominated in the outbreak in the year 1987?88. One such strain isolated from that region, following the outbreak had G9P [19] specificity. As this is a rare combination, the gene sequences encoding VP4, VP6, VP7, NSP1, NSP2, NSP3, NSP4 and NSP5 of this strain were analyzed. All these genes except VP7 were closely related to porcine rotaviruses (95?99% identity at amino acid level) and clustered with the porcine strains in phylogenetic analysis. In addition, it had subgroup I nature and belonged to NSP4 genotype B which is characteristic of animal rotaviruses. This is the first report of a rotavirus with VP6 and NSP4, two crucial proteins thought to be involved in host range restriction and pathogenicity, were of porcine origin and caused diarrhoea in a human host. Among the genes of this strain sequenced so far, only VP7 had highest identity to human strains at amino acid level. This study suggests reassortment may be occurring between human and other animal strains and some of the reassortant viruses may be virulent to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights some features of I.J. Ahluwalia's article on the rapid economic growth in India. It explores the success of the country's reform in energizing the private sector, the service sector, which is headed by the expansion of information technology and has taken the lead in the economic growth since 1990s, and the new expansion phase of the country's economy since 2003-2004. However, despite the country's future growth prospects, the author says that some reservations are needed.

Among the 10 subtypes of the M group of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, subtype C is the most prevalent in India and may dominate worldwide in the near future; however, there has been no report on the infectious DNA clone of this subtype. We have isolated an infectious DNA clone of the 93IN101 strain of HIV-1 subtype C, which was isolated in India in 1993. MAGIC5 cells, which are derived from HeLa-CD4-LTR-beta-gal (MAGI) cells and express CCR5, were inoculated with the 93IN101 strain of HIV-1 subtype C. The genomic DNA of the infected cells was used as a template for amplification of the HIV-1 genome. The genome DNA obtained was subcloned into pBR322, and the resulting plasmid was designated as pIndie-C1. The insert of pIndie-C1 was 9680 bp in length and had an intact genomic organization with open reading frames of all structural, regulatory, and accessory proteins. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the nucleotide sequence of pIndie-C1 is closely related to those of HIV-1 subtype C isolated in India. Transfection of pIndie-C1 into 293T cells yielded as much virus as did pNL432, one of the most widely used HIV DNA clones. The recovered Indie-C1 virus infected MAGIC5 but not the parent MAGI cells, indicating that Indie-C1 is CCR5 tropic. Expressed Env protein was reacted efficiently with the sera of HIV-1-infected patients of India, but not of Japan. Expression of Nef and Vpr was also confirmed by immunoblotting.