Response to correspondence article on the research protocol titled .

In this correspondence, we, co-authors and collaborators involved in the  respond to a recent article published in Wellcome Open Research titled  In the first part, we provide overall clarifications on the THETA study and in the second part respond to specific comments by the authors of the aforementioned correspondence.

Co-production of knowledge as part of a OneHealth approach to better control zoonotic diseases.

There is increased global and national attention on the need for effective strategies to control zoonotic diseases. Quick, effective action is, however, hampered by poor evidence-bases and limited coordination between stakeholders from relevant sectors such as public and animal health, wildlife and forestry sectors at different scales, who may not usually work together. The OneHealth approach recognises the value of cross-sectoral evaluation of human, animal and environmental health questions in an integrated, holistic and transdisciplinary manner to reduce disease impacts and/or mitigate risks.

Overcoming structural barriers to sharing power with communities in global health research priority-setting: Lessons from the Participation for Local Action project in Karnataka, India.

Community engagement is gaining prominence in global health research. But communities rarely have a say in the agendas or conduct of the very health research projects that aim to help them. This paper provides new evidence on how to share power in priority-setting in ways that seek to overcome structural constraints created by the funding environment.

How is inclusiveness in health systems research priority-setting affected when community organizations lead the process?

Community engagement is gaining prominence in health research. But communities rarely have a say in the agendas or conduct of the very health research projects that aim to help them. One way thought to achieve greater inclusion for communities throughout health research projects, including during priority-setting, is for researchers to partner with community organizations (COs).

Operationalising the "One Health" approach in India: facilitators of and barriers to effective cross-sector convergence for zoonoses prevention and control.

Background: There is a strong policy impetus for the One Health cross-sectoral approach to address the complex challenge of zoonotic diseases, particularly in low/lower middle income countries (LMICs). Yet the implementation of this approach in LMIC contexts such as India has proven challenging, due partly to the relatively limited practical guidance and understanding on how to foster and sustain cross-sector collaborations. This study addresses this gap by exploring the facilitators of and barriers to successful convergence between the human, animal and environmental health sectors in India.

Reviewing the ecological evidence base for management of emerging tropical zoonoses: Kyasanur Forest Disease in India as a case study.

Zoonoses disproportionately affect tropical communities and are associated with human modification and use of ecosystems. Effective management is hampered by poor ecological understanding of disease transmission and often focuses on human vaccination or treatment. Better ecological understanding of multi-vector and multi-host transmission, social and environmental factors altering human exposure, might enable a broader suite of management options.

'None of my ancestors ever discussed this disease before!' How disease information shapes adaptive capacity of marginalised rural populations in India.

Smallholder farmer and tribal communities are often characterised as marginalised and highly vulnerable to emerging zoonotic diseases due to their relatively poor access to healthcare, worse-off health outcomes, proximity to sources of disease risks, and their social and livelihood organisation. Yet, access to relevant and timely disease information that could strengthen their adaptive capacity remain challenging and poorly characterised in the empirical literature. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the role of disease information in shaping the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmer and tribal groups to Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic fever.

Sickle cell disease in India: a scoping review from a health systems perspective to identify an agenda for research and action.

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) disproportionately impacts Adivasi (tribal) communities in India. Current research has focused on epidemiological and biomedical aspects but there has been scarce research on social determinants and health systems aspects. Given its fragmented distribution, resources and programmes have emerged in west and central India.

Examining tribal health inequalities around three forested sites in India: Results of a cross-sectional survey.

Background: The data available for the health of Scheduled Tribes (ST) in India are often coarse-scale snapshots at district and state levels and fine-scale comparison within and across site is often not possible. In this paper, we examine the health inequalities between the ST and non-ST populations in two forested sites and compare the healthcare parameters for ST populations across three forested sites.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional household survey in three sites in and around three tiger reserves in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Arunachal Pradesh (AP).

What should community organisations consider when deciding to partner with researchers? A critical reflection on the Zilla Budakattu Girijana Abhivrudhhi Sangha experience in Karnataka, India.

Background: Community organisations and community members are increasingly being involved in health research projects worldwide as part of the engagement movement. Achieving deeper forms of community engagement like partnership demands that decision-making power be shared with community partners. However, how can community partners assess if meaningful engagement and shared decision-making will be possible when approached by prospective research partners? In this paper, we explore how community organisations decide to join health research projects when approached by health researchers.

Nephrotic syndrome complicated with severe dengue infection in a child.

Dengue illness is characterised by plasma leakage with or without bleeding, which may lead to dengue shock syndrome. Proteinuria and hypoalbuminaemia are common in dengue infection, and few cases of heavy proteinuria have been reported. Dengue infection features may mimic nephrotic syndrome in clinical practice.

Towards Health Equity and Transformative Action on tribal health (THETA) study to describe, explain and act on tribal health inequities in India: A health systems research study protocol.

In India, heterogenous tribal populations are grouped together under a common category, Scheduled Tribe, for affirmative action. Many tribal communities are closely associated with forests and difficult-to-reach areas and have worse-off health and nutrition indicators. However, poor population health outcomes cannot be explained by geography alone.

A health equity research agenda for India: results of a consultative exercise.

Background: This paper describes the process and outcome of a consultative exercise undertaken to develop a medium-term agenda for the next decade, and to identify a short list of immediate priorities for health equity research in India. This exercise was undertaken over 2014-2017 as part of 'Closing the Gap: Health Equity Research Initiative in India', implemented by the Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, in south India.

Methods: We adopted a five-step process for the agenda- and priority-setting exercise.

Promoting universal financial protection: evidence from the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) in Gujarat, India.

Background: India's health expenditure is met mostly by households through out-of-pocket (OOP) payments at the time of illness. To protect poor families, the Indian government launched a national health insurance scheme (RSBY). Those below the national poverty line (BPL) are eligible to join the RSBY.

Cosmic microwave background trispectrum and primordial magnetic field limits.

Primordial magnetic fields will generate non-gaussian signals in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as magnetic stresses and the temperature anisotropy they induce depend quadratically on the magnetic field. We compute a new measure of magnetic non-gaussianity, the CMB trispectrum, on large angular scales, sourced via the Sachs-Wolfe effect. The trispectra induced by magnetic energy density and by magnetic scalar anisotropic stress are found to have typical magnitudes of approximately a few times 10(-29) and 10(-19), respectively.

Treatment response and overall outcome of patients with relapsed and refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma compared to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

The purpose of the study was to assess treatment response and overall outcome in a cohort of patients with relapsed and refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma and to compare the results with those for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated in a similar manner. We retrospectively analyzed data of 40 consecutive adult patients with relapsed and refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma referred to our institution for consideration of second-line chemotherapy aiming for autologous stem cell transplant between January 1999 and December 2006. A cohort of 126 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma managed similarly served as a comparison group.

Second-line salvage chemotherapy for transplant-eligible patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma resistant to platinum-containing first-line salvage chemotherapy.

Background: The management of patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma who achieve less than a partial response to first-line salvage chemotherapy is unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate response and outcomes to second-line salvage and autologous stem cell transplantation in patients not achieving a complete or partial response to platinum-containing first-line salvage chemotherapy.

Design And Methods: Consecutively referred transplant-eligible patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma after primary chemotherapy received gemcitabine, dexamethasone, and cisplatin as first salvage chemotherapy.

High-dose chemotherapy and auto-SCT in elderly patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Our purpose was to assess efficacy and toxicity of high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and ASCT in patients with relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) aged 60 years and older and compare the results with a group of younger HL patients treated in a similar manner. We identified 15 consecutive patients, with HL aged 60 years and older who underwent HDCT (etoposide 60 mg/kg+ melphalan 160 mg/m(2)) and ASCT at our institution from May 2001 to March 2008. The results were compared with a cohort of 157 younger HL patients treated in a similar manner from January 1999 to December 2006.

Coexistent Kaposi's sarcoma and atypical mycobacterial infection involving lymph node: a case report and review of literature.

Patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus frequently manifest with rare infections as well as neoplasms. We report an unusual and interesting case of an intranodal Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) with coexistent/concurrent granulomatous lymphadenitis secondary to atypical mycobacteria in a groin lymph node. "Mycobacterium pseudotumor" is a nonneoplastic condition and should be distinguished from true KS as these 2 entities differ in their prognosis and treatment.

Different response to salvage chemotherapy but similar post-transplant outcomes in patients with relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Background: The use of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation in patients with relapsed Hodgkin's lymphoma is supported by two randomized clinical trials but its benefit in patients with primary refractory disease is less clear. Aiming to shed light on this issue, we analyzed and compared the outcomes of patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with second-line chemotherapy and planned autologous stem-cell transplantation.

Design And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data on 157 consecutive patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma referred to our institution for consideration of autologous stem-cell transplantation between 1999 and 2006.

Cosmic microwave background bispectrum from primordial magnetic fields on large angular scales.

Primordial magnetic fields lead to non-Gaussian signals in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) even at the lowest order, as magnetic stresses and the temperature anisotropy they induce depend quadratically on the magnetic field. In contrast, CMB non-Gaussianity due to inflationary scalar perturbations arises only as a higher-order effect. We propose a novel probe of stochastic primordial magnetic fields that exploits the characteristic CMB non-Gaussianity that they induce.