64 results match your criteria: "Centre for Policy Research[Affiliation]"

Article Synopsis
  • The Strait of Malacca, an essential trade route, is home to diverse marine life, including reef-building hard corals, which are threatened by climate change and human activities.
  • This study analyzes live hard coral coverage from 1995 to 2016 and examines six physicochemical factors influencing coral health using remote sensing and reanalysis data.
  • Findings indicate a consistent decline in live coral coverage over two decades, with sea surface temperature, turbidity, and sea surface salinity identified as the most significant factors affecting coral distribution in the strait.
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Background: Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, faces critical pollution levels, necessitating urgent action. The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) targets a 40% reduction in particulate pollution by 2026. This study assesses the impact of NCAP on 15 non-attainment cities in Uttar Pradesh using the Prophet forecasting model.

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The medical competence of health care providers in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from 16 127 providers across 11 countries.

Health Aff Sch

June 2024

McCourt School of Public Policy and the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, United States.

Despite a consensus that quality of care is critically deficient in low-income countries, few nationally representative studies provide comparable measures of quality of care across countries. To address this gap, we used nationally representative data from in-person administrations of clinical vignettes to measure the competence of 16 127 health care providers across 11 sub-Saharan African countries. Rather than large variations across countries, we found that 81% of the variation in competence is within countries and the characteristics of health care providers do not explain most of this variation.

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Impact of heatwaves on all-cause mortality in India: A comprehensive multi-city study.

Environ Int

February 2024

Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Cardiology, Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.

Article Synopsis
  • Heatwaves are becoming more frequent due to climate change and their impact on public health, especially in populous countries like India, where their effects on mortality have not been fully studied.
  • Analysis of data from ten Indian cities revealed that two consecutive days of extreme heat significantly increased daily mortality rates, with a 14.7% rise in deaths associated with temperatures above the 97th percentile.
  • The study estimated approximately 1,116 annual deaths in India are attributable to heatwaves, emphasizing that longer and more intense heatwaves correlate with higher mortality rates.
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The role of women in science and technology has become crucial for the overall development of a nation. In India, the numeric representation of women up to graduate and postgraduate levels is the same as male candidates but declines from the doctorate level. A continued women's lower employment rate in universities and higher educational institutes must be analyzed for necessary action.

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Rebalance attention from global target setting toward national climate politics and policy.

Science

October 2023

Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, India and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

Is the process of ramping up greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets as part of an "ambition cycle" working to address the global climate crisis? The first Global Stocktake (GST) of progress recently submitted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) confirms that progress in reducing emissions is well behind what is required by science to limit global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. What is to be done? Part of the answer may lie in rebalancing attention away from generating global pressure for ambitious target setting and toward the detailed work of shifting politics and building policies at the national level.

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This paper presents the Transplantation, Adaptation and Creation (TAC) framework, a method for assessing the localization of different elements of an AI system. This framework is applied in the public health context, notably to different types of models that were used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The framework aims to guide AI for public health developers and public health officials in conceptualizing model localization.

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Background: The initiation of anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT) based on results of WHO-approved microbiological diagnostics is an important marker of quality tuberculosis (TB) care. Evidence suggests that other diagnostic processes leading to treatment initiation may be preferred in high TB incidence settings. This study examines whether private providers start anti-TB therapy on the basis of chest radiography (CXR) and clinical examinations.

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Rare diseases (RD) are severe and debilitating conditions. They are one of the leading causes of childhood mortality globally. In India, RDs have not been considered in most healthcare programs which usually cater to more common diseases.

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As the first point of care for many healthcare seekers, private pharmacies play an important role in tuberculosis (TB) care. However, previous studies in India have showed that private pharmacies commonly dispense symptomatic treatments and broad-spectrum antibiotics over-the-counter (OTC), rather than referring patients for TB testing. Such inappropriate management by pharmacies can delaye TB diagnosis.

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The launch of OpenAI's GPT-3 model in June 2020 began a new era for conversational chatbots. While there are chatbots that do not use artificial intelligence (AI), conversational chatbots integrate AI language models that allow for back-and-forth conversation between an AI system and a human user. GPT-3, since upgraded to GPT-4, harnesses a natural language processing technique called sentence embedding and allows for conversations with users that are more nuanced and realistic than before.

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Gross Negligence: Impacts of Microplastics and Plastic Leachates on Phytoplankton Community and Ecosystem Dynamics.

Environ Sci Technol

January 2023

Sustainable Resources Laboratory, Department of Environmental Science, Central University of Kerala, Tejaswini Hills, Periya, Kasaragod, Kerala 671316, India.

Article Synopsis
  • - Plastic debris, particularly microplastics (MP) and plastic leachates (PL), pose significant threats to aquatic environments and have been found in critical human organs, leading to potential health risks.
  • - Current research highlights the detrimental effects of MP and PL on phytoplankton, revealing physiological changes that reduce photosynthesis and primary productivity, ultimately altering aquatic ecosystem dynamics.
  • - The presence of MP and PL in marine ecosystems also affects the microbial community structure, increasing the prevalence of harmful bacteria and toxins, which can disrupt nutrient cycling and consequently impact biodiversity and essential ecosystem services.
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Racism, xenophobia, and discrimination are key determinants of health and equity and must be addressed for improved health outcomes. We conclude that far broader, deeper, transformative action is needed compared with current measures to tackle adverse effects of racism on health. To challenge the structural drivers of racism and xenophobia, anti-racist action and other wider measures that target determinants should implement an intersectional approach to effectively address the causes and consequences of racism within a population.

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Intersectionality is a useful tool to address health inequalities, by helping us understand and respond to the individual and group effects of converging systems of power. Intersectionality rejects the notion of inequalities being the result of single, distinct factors, and instead focuses on the relationships between overlapping processes that create inequities. In this Series paper, we use an intersectional approach to highlight the intersections of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination with other systems of oppression, how this affects health, and what can be done about it.

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This Series shows how racism, xenophobia, discrimination, and the structures that support them are detrimental to health. In this first Series paper, we describe the conceptual model used throughout the Series and the underlying principles and definitions. We explore concepts of epistemic injustice, biological experimentation, and misconceptions about race using a historical lens.

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Utilizing the expertise and knowledge resources of the diaspora, particularly the scientific diaspora, has been part of the strategies of many countries. In the recent years, realizing the importance of the potential of the diaspora to contribute to national development and Science, Technology, and Innovation ecosystem, countries have used Science Diplomacy also to engage with the scientific diaspora. Science Diplomacy is hailed as an enabler and facilitator and is often seen in the context of international S&T collaboration or big science projects.

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The use of mobile devices to deliver public health interventions is rapidly increasing, particularly in low resource settings. Despite their proliferation, several mHealth interventions in developing countries fail to reach geographical scale, and long-term sustainability for most remains uncertain. There is a need to cost for such programs, to enable better planning and budgeting and tailor programs as required.

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Trace element bioaccumulation in edible red seaweeds (Rhodophyta): A risk assessment for consumers.

Environ Pollut

August 2022

Dept. of Biological & Marine Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, United Kingdom; International Estuarine & Coastal Specialists Ltd., Leven, HU17 5LQ, United Kingdom.

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the levels of trace elements in two types of edible red seaweed, Gelidium pusillum and Hypnea musciformis, from the industrialized Cox's Bazar area in Bangladesh.
  • Overall metal concentrations were found to be high, particularly iron, but the research concludes that consuming these seaweeds poses no significant risk to human health based on standard dietary practices.
  • The study highlights the potential of seaweed to absorb inorganic metals from contaminated waters and suggests the need for further research on their efficiency and the development of management practices to control contaminant levels.
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Phycoremediation of milk processing wastewater and lipid-rich biomass production using Chlorella vulgaris under continuous batch system.

Sci Total Environ

August 2022

National Mission for Clean Ganges, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganges Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Sakti, Government of India, New Delhi, India.

This study compiles the results of phycoremediation of milk processing wastewater (MPWW) and production of lipid-rich Chlorella vulgaris biomass using a continuous batch system operated for 12-wks. After a 4-wks interval, a new MPWW was loaded photobioreactor to provide appropriate nutrient supply to algae. Results indicated that MPWW supported the algal growth efficiently and the maximum algal growth was recorded in the ranges of 400.

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In India, 15 nutrition interventions are delivered and financed through the National Health Mission (NHM). Programmatic know-how, however, on tracking nutrition budgets in health sector plans is limited. Following the four phases of the budget cycle-planning, allocations, disbursements and expenditure, this paper presents a new method developed by the authors to track nutrition budgets within health sector plans.

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Institutions can affect coordination, consensus, and strategy.

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Climate change research and the search for solutions: rethinking interdisciplinarity.

Clim Change

October 2021

Department of Science, Technology, Engineering & Public Policy, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT UK.

Growing political pressure to find solutions to climate change is leading to increasing calls for multiple disciplines, in particular those that are not traditionally part of climate change research, to contribute new knowledge systems that can offer deeper and broader insights to address the problem. Recognition of the complexity of climate change compels researchers to draw on interdisciplinary knowledge that marries natural sciences with social sciences and humanities. Yet most interdisciplinary approaches fail to adequately merge the framings of the disparate disciplines, resulting in reductionist messages that are largely devoid of context, and hence provide incomplete and misleading analysis for decision-making.

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