Reports of financial turmoil in MSCB lead to panic among co-operative housing societies

Some co-operative housing societies are worried over reports about the financial mess in Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank Ltd (MSCB), and they have started to withdraw they money from the bank or are considering doing so soon.
Yesterday, Moneylife had reported that MSCB, the nodal bank for all co-operative banks in the state, is in deep financial trouble due to its suspicious loan distribution to some of its favoured co-operative banks and some loss-making sugar co-operative factories.

Nagesh N Kini, chartered accountant and secretary of Mahim Co-operative Housing Society, told Moneylife, "We have moved our money from the bank, because if something happens to this bank, at the most, you'll get Rs 1 lakh deposit insurance cover and that too doesn't come easily. It's advisable for people to move the money from there to stronger co-operative banks or public sector banks."

The apex co-operative bank has been found to have misreported facts and has been given a 'D' grade for the financial year 2009-10 by its auditors, Joshi Nair and Associates. The bank has shown deposits of Rs21,500 crore and a net profit of Rs2.83 crore. However, according to the audit report, the bank has suffered a loss of Rs1,070 crore, mainly due to non-performing assets (NPA). As per the provisional figures for FY10 provided on the bank's website, NPAs are 20.9%. While converting the same into net NPAs, the bank has shown the figure at 7.7%. A majority of the directors of MSCB belong to Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and many of the others belong to some of the other mainstream parties.

Vinod Sampat, advocate and founder, Vinod C Sampat and Co, said that the profit claimed by MSCB was nothing but "window dressing." He said, "Co-operative banks are not following proper laws and it is not run on a professional basis. There is lack of accountability and they are surviving because of monopoly and patronage of the co-operative department. No one likes to invest in a co-operative bank, but they are forced to do so under the statutory rules. There is a lot of political interference also. It is full of double-standards."

Mr Sampat was critical of the NPAs reported by the bank. "Anything becoming an NPA is a clear example of the casual approach of the bankers. In one day, the account will not become an NPA. There has to be continuous defaults for an account to become an NPA," he said. "When an amount is not being paid, why should there be political patronage? One of the basic reasons for NPAs is inefficiency and political patronage."

Mr Kini's Mahim Co-operative Housing Society is among the oldest in central Mumbai, and as MSCB was the only bank available to them when the society was set up, they opened an account with the bank. According to Mr Kini there are thousands of housing societies in Maharashtra that have their money locked up in MSCB. "Earlier, according to co-operative laws, you had to put your money in a co-operative bank only. But, now one has the choice of banking with a stronger co-operative bank, such as Saraswat Bank, or with any of the public sector banks."

SS Pai, advocate, S.S. Pai & Co., however, called for a "middle path" approach to resolve the crisis. "We have to go to the root cause of the problem and see whether we can have a middle path, so that there will be no political revenge. In future, if they are diverting funds to sugar co-operatives, we should stop them. Now, we should see that the bank survives after taking strong action. Maybe the Reserve Bank of India should call them and tell them to improve, and take stern action as the last resort."

Mr Pai pointed out that the sugarcane industry should be modernised. "If the bank survives, then also the industry survives. Otherwise, what will happen is that if the bank goes into trouble, small depositors will lose their money. So let there be no political revenge and let us have the best possible solution," he said.

On the NPAs reported by the bank, Mr Pai said that the focus should be on development and not entirely on NPAs. "Admitted, NPAs are high. But we are a developing country. Money in a stock exchange and money in the corpus of a bank are like lockers. They don't lose anything unless someone is using that money in an improper way. More than NPAs, we should think of development and look forward. Chinese banks have so much NPAs but they have moved forward. We should take precautions and move forward."

Mumbai-based consumer activist, Achintya Mukherjee, has called for awareness regarding the crisis in the Maharashtra apex co-operative bank. "Many consumers are not aware of this as many leading newspapers have not even carried the news," he said.

Manipal Institute of Technology Makes India Proud by Launching “Formula Manipal”

Manipal Institute of Technology’s students had crossed a spectacular mile stone in the History of India. A team of 15 students of MIT dreamt of making a racing car when they were in Second year of engineering. They formed a team named FORMULA MANIPAL, from various engineering branches.

Manipal Formula car was unveiled on the 4th of September 2008, at the Manipal University Main building (MAHE building) at 10 AM. Dr.Ramdas Pai Chairman, Manipal Education * Medical Group Flagged off the Event.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ramdas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Education & Medical Group, said “" One small step for Manipal, but one giant leap for Indian engineering…


The car has been designed, conceived and fabricated by the students themselves and will take part in the prestigious Formula SAE –FORMULA SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.

Competition to be held in Italy from 20th to 22nd of September. 200 universities from world over will participate in this international competition. The event will be held at the Ferrari Fiorano Racetrack in Italy. This is the only Indian and the only Asian team to take part in the Italy event.

Dr. Pabla, Director M.I.T- "Couple of years back, the team had approached us with the idea for designing and manufacturing of this race car. At first we were a little skeptical and apprehensive whether this is possible at Manipal. But I am glad that the students have erased all doubts from our mind and will do themselves, Manipal University and more importantly the country proud at Italy".

It was a jam-packed event with the audience comprising of students and faculty members from Manipal Institute of Technology and including prominent dignitaries, the audience were astonished that their college mates could pull off such a massive project, and went berserk once the car was started.

Team members:

1. Kausik Mani
2. Shelav Jain
3. Vineet Jain
4. Siddhartha Jain
5. Arjun Samara Divakera
6. Ankit Kumar Banka
7. Srikanth Toppaladodi
8. Ratnesh Kumar
9. Aditya Raghunandan
10. Sagnik Niyogi
11. Rachit Mathur
12. Nishant Jain
13. Eklavya Singh
14. Aayush Gupta
15. Dhawal Bavishi
Driver Name – Ankit Banka

Virtual hand gets under the skin

These new amazingly realistic animations of the human hand go way beyond the demands of Hollywood (see video, right). They are detailed enough to shed light on the mystery of how the tendons and muscles of the human hand interact when we move, and should help surgeons reconstruct damaged hands more effectively.

Computer animators are adept at making characters that move realistically, largely thanks to advances in motion capture technology that records the way people move.

But even the best motion capture only records the movement of the body's surface. That's fine for a movie, but surgeons are less superficial. They are interested in the movement of muscles and tendons beneath the skin.

Now hand animations that go below the surface (see video, right), have been made, by Shinjiro Sueda, Andrew Kaufman and Dinesh Pai at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Moving muscle

They used anatomical data from medical images to model the 17 bones and 54 tendons and muscles of the hand and forearm.

The team's software can coordinate the contraction and relaxation of muscles, and the way forces are transmitted by tendons to produce any desired hand gesture.

"Motion capture is data driven – you just capture the data and play it back," says Sueda. "Our approach is a simulation in which the starting point is the physics of muscle and tendon movement."

Sueda's team also clothed their virtual muscles and tendons in a layer of skin. Just like real skin its shape depends on the anatomy beneath it.

Helping hand

"The parameters to control the deformation of the skin aren't biomechanical – it's just cosmetic," says Sueda. But because the underlying controlled muscles and tendons are accurately placed, the result is a hand animation that is highly realistic.

When Sueda's team took screen grabs of their animated hands and compared them to photographs of real hands in the same position, the two sets of images match closely.

The model should be a boon to surgeons, says Sueda. "The network of muscles and tendons in the hand is very complicated," he adds. "Even now people don't know how it actually works in detail."

Although the anatomy of the hand was worked out long ago from dissections, the interplay of all the components when in motion has largely remained a mystery. For this reason, the results of hand surgery can be unpredictable.

Adding realism

When a tendon is damaged, the muscle it's attached to no longer functions properly. Surgeons try to restore movement by taking a nearby tendon and re-routing it along the path of the damaged one. But predicting the results of that is difficult.

"Using our technique, you can show what effect rerouting a tendon would have on the hand before you actually do the surgery," says Sueda.

The new technology has also been built as a plug-in for existing graphics software to allow animators to quickly and easily add more realism to their hand animations.

The new hand animation models will be presented at the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference in Los Angeles on 15 August 2008.

Movie file can be downloaded here:

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/labs/sensorimotor/projects/hands_sig08/

Manipal Cure and Care Center launch at Sarjapur in Bangalore

Manipal Cure and Care (MCC) has launched their second center in Bangalore at Total Mall in Sarjapur.

The center was inaugurated by Chief Guest, Minister for Medical Education, Ramachandra Gowda along with Dr. Ramdas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Education and Medical Group, Dr.Ranjan R Pai, CEO Manipal Education and Medical Group and Somnath Das, COO, Manipal Cure and Care.

The MCC Sarjapur Center will introduce one new service ‘Back2Fitness’ (B2F) for the first time in India.

B2F is end-to-end musculo-skeletal, sports and exercise medicine clinic offering evidence-based treatment to help patients cope with back, shoulder, knee and other musculo-skeletal problems.

For corporates, B2F will offer the services of professional Ergonomists and a host of services including ‘Evaluate onsite job skills and work environment’, ‘Job skills design advice’, ‘Workstation design advice’, ‘Employee education on body mechanics and injury prevention’, ‘Posture correction exercises’ and ‘Follow-up clinics’

B2F also has specialised analytical and remedial programs for amateur and professional athletes. B2F can help with ‘Performance Enhancement’ program which includes ‘Video gait analysis’, ‘Specific musculo-skeletal assessment’ and ‘Daily conditioning and endurance programs’.

B2F is headed by Dr. Rajat Chauhan, (MBBS, MSc Sports and Exercise Medicine, MLCOM Osteopathic Medicine)

Ramachandra Gowda, Minister for Medical Education, said, “The work being done by the Manipal Education and Medical Group is commendable. They have been at the forefront of providing international level medical education and medical services to the society and that too at affordable rates. I wish them all the very best in all their future endeavours and hope that they continue the good work and more importantly guard the quality of services they provide.”

“I also congratulate Manipal Cure and Care for this revolutionising concept of Preventive Healthcare, Wellness & Beauty, under one roof, which is the need of the hour. This innovative concept will go a long way to keep our citizens healthy and hearty,” Gowda added.

Dr. Ramdas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Education and Medical Group, said, “Prevention is better than Cure, is an old adage we very often repeat but rarely follow. MEMG and MCC are both committed towards strengthening the roots of preventive medicine in India. Our vision is to revolutionize healthcare delivery in India by providing preventive monitoring with a focus on wellness. Through Manipal Cure and Care centres, we will educate people to be proactive towards health issues and strive to make every Indian a healthy citizen.”

Somnath Das, Chief Operating Officer, Manipal Cure and Care said, “We take the business of Preventive Medicine very seriously and will keep introducing newer products and services that will help Indian citizens understand and take advantages of its benefits and that too at affordable costs. Our critical differentiator is that the fact that all our centers offers services and counselling by well-trained doctor and paramedical staff, protocols and processes in line with international best practices and an in-store experience that is highly personalised for each customer.”

The Uber Cool CEO

Left: Dr Ranjan Pai and his wife with their favourite pugs

At the helm of one of the largest and successful healthcare organisations— Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), Dr Ranjan Pai (35) is considered to be one of the youngest and ambitious growth engines fuelling the Indian healthcare industry. One may assume that it was easy to establish himself with his father Dr Ramdas Pai being the Chairman of the Manipal Group. But, he begs to differ. "Initially, which was almost three to four years ago, it was quite a challenge, as people considered me just as a kid. So, trying to gain a foothold was difficult. But over the years, one gain respects as one takes people into confidence and shows them respect. And it is, of course, a fact that I'm quite young, so I don't mind asking my seniors if I don't understand certain things. Also, I tend to avoid ego-hassles." And the circle that he also looks forward to getting advice and mentoring are his father Dr Ramdas Pai, Mohandas Pai, Director and Head of HR of INFOSYS and KV Kamath, MD and CEO, ICICI.

Another aspect to his leadership style is his unfazed nature. "I don't think I would call myself as a tough task-master. I'm definitely sensitive to people issues, but that does not mean my decisions are ruled by the heart. I make quick decisions, I may be wrong, but I'll never be in doubt."

Dr Pai went to the US to do his hospital administration (Wisconsin) after doing his MBBS from Manipal. He then worked in a Children's Hospital and a health insurance company before joining the Manipal Group. He joined his father's group at the age of 28 in the year 2000. "I was in charge of setting up the group's activities in Malaysia (set up a Medical College there). I lived there for five years and then returned to Bangalore in 2005," he shares.

The young leader has been responsible for the restructuring of the entire group and also in charting out strategic direction for the group. "I have also been responsible for inducting high quality talent from diverse backgrounds into the group which has led to our success," he says.

Leaving aside his big business plans, and shifting focus on his weekend activities, Dr Pai prefers to spend time with his wife Shruti (28) and his two pugs. Whilst pugs are considered quite cute, these dogs are known to entertain and give his guests quite a hearty laugh as their names are Gabbar and Mogambo! The fact that he has named his dogs behind such iconic villainous characters, one understands the subtle humorous side of Dr Pai.

His wife is an entrepreneur in her own right as she runs a spa and wellness resort. In this light, is it a mere co-incidence that he is promoting the concept of preventive care through 'Manipal Cure and Care'? "Oh I don't know! Maybe you need to ask her if she has a role to play," he grins.

He feels he is yet to follow his new-year resolution— to gym and lose weight! "It's been five months that New-Year has gone by, but I'm still determined to go for a work-out. I think it's more of an excuse that I don't have time. It is very important to be fit and in-shape," he remarks.

He is also a huge fan of cricket. He has regularly participated in the local cricket tournaments. "I play as a batsman," he states. Like millions, Sachin Tendulkar is his favorite. He also likes Anil Kumble. So, what is it that he admires in both? "He started off his career when he was just 16 and I have been following him right from that time. People have a tendency to write-off when they are in a bad phase of life, but I certainly believe that he is a true champion," he shares. And talking about Anil Kumble, he says, "He is a very consistent guy with a strong temperament, who never gives up and is a true gentleman." Anil Kumble also happens to be the brand ambassador for Manipal Education.

Discussing about movies, he says, "I like almost all kinds of Hindi and English movies." Catching up a movie along with his wife is his favorite time-pass. "The last movie I saw was 'Tare Zameen Par' and I thought it was fabulous," he says. He normally likes contemporary cinema like 'Dil Chahta Hai.' As far as music goes, he likes the era of 80s— be it the Eagles or Police and also popular Hindi music. "I don't particularly follow any particular Hindi song. Any current flavour of the season will do," he shares.

Dr Pai is not much into the world of books. "Unfortunately, I don't really like reading books. I read a lot of magazines and newspapers and keep myself abreast of the latest trends— be it business or politics."

When asked to answer 'the mixed-bag' questions, he laughs, "Feels like I'm in Kofee with Karan!"

The Mixed Bag

Your best prize in life so far
My wife

Your first day in school
Oh, it was quite traumatic! I just remember crying in the local nursery at Manipal.

Your first ambition
I always wanted to become a doctor as far as I can remember.

Your first day at work
It was interesting. I had joined a paediatric Hospital in the US in the year 1997.

The first time you fired somebody
It was in the year 2000. I really felt very bad about it. I had a long chat with him and took this decision. I remember I was quite sensitive to his needs.

The toughest decision you have taken
I do not think that there has been such a moment in my life. Life has been pretty good to me.

The best memory of your childhood
Going for vacations with my parents and sisters. The time I spent with my father Dr Ramdas Pai is truly special.

Your happiest moment
The college days at Manipal Medical College. Once in a while, I meet my college friends and we remember the good old days.

Three things I cannot do without
My blackberry and laptop. That's it. Just two!

One trait you would like to change about yourself
The fact that I'm quite shy.

One parental advice that you remember
My parents gave a lot of advice, but particularly the one I remember was humility— always have your feet firm on the ground. The credit more so goes to my mother, as my father kept busy. She was quite a disciplinarian and never gave us everything that we asked for. We were taught to prove our mettle and also the fact that we were brought up in a small town like Manipal assured us that we were kept away from the whims and fancies of the ultra glam world. So, we as a family led a very simple life.
I also remember the advice, no smoking and no drugs, which luckily I followed.

Your first vehicle
It was Maruti-800 in the year 1990. I must have been 20. My father got it for me and being the 90s, I don't think there were many choices as well.

India Plethico Pharma eyes buys in US, Brazil

India's Plethico Pharmaceuticals Ltd (PLPH.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to buy one company each in the U.S and Brazil in the next couple of years, spending a total $150 million, a top official said on Wednesday.

Plethico plans to bid for a nutraceutical firm in the United States, and has also signed a preliminary confidentiality agreement with another nutraceutical firm there, Sanjay Pai said, adding the aim is to strike one deal for $80-$100 million.

"There are so many good deals coming our way in the U.S. right now in the nutraceuticals space," Pai said. "People have started approaching us for acquisitions after Natrol."

Last year, Plethcio acquired U.S.-based branded nutritional products maker Natrol Inc for about $81 million.

Nutraceuticals are food extracts used as dietary supplements.

In Brazil, Plethcio is in talks with two companies, one a herbal products maker and the other a maker of allopathic and over-the-counter products, Pai said. One of these firms could be acquired for about $50 million, he added.

"Brazil is a great market. It offers great volume and decent margins," he said, adding the market offered 15-20 percent earnings before interest and tax margins.

"We have been looking for acquisitions in U.S., Brazil and UK. Somehow, there have been no juicy deals forthcoming in UK so far."

The company was in a strong position to raise funds through debt and various options, he said, adding that would be decided when a deal was sewn up.

"Over the next 1- to 1-½ years there will be a lot of inorganic activities happening in the company."

Shares in the company were trading 8 percent up at 404.45 rupees in a weak Mumbai market.

Individual physician ratings pose daunting challenges

Michigan, U.S.A:

Hospital and health system report cards by now are fairly common ways for consumers to gauge quality indicators, but not so for assessing physicians.

"Individual physician report cards are being discussed," said Dr. Bala Pai, senior associate medical director at Health Alliance Plan.

"We are planning on it, but don't have a date certain," Pai said, noting that there would have to be a universal coding and billing database that compared all processes the same. "And then, if you drill down to physician level, you have volume differences and patient demographic differences ... Reporting would be difficult. We are very cautious," he said.

The Massachusetts Medical Society filed a lawsuit in May to halt such an evaluation process in that state, saying the methodology is flawed and has defrauded patients.

The Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission, the agency that oversees health insurance for thousands of public employees there, implemented a report card two years ago and has been haggling with the MMS ever since.

A large part of the issue is that doctors who see sicker patients are more likely to be ranked lower on the scale, because of worse outcomes.

In addition, the system is so cumbersome, the MMS said, that incorrect treatment information had been included in the database as well.

Tennessee Blue Cross Blue Shield halted it's own program earlier this year for those same problems.

HAP introduced a ranking on quality of health systems three years ago, Pai said, and that was the result of several years of collaboration and working with the systems for feedback and advice.

That collaborative effort got the various players to buy into the idea, and built trust that a fair system is in place, he said.

"Once we put out the public report, we had callbacks from physicians and (health) leaders saying, 'I want to be better than X, so what can we do to get a better rating?' So this was a healthy competition built in without animosity," Pai said.

A next step could be individual physician report cards, Pai said, but there are so many variables that it has to be done properly or risk a backlash more problems.

The Michigan State Medical Society has released a set of guidelines in the event that any agency or organization attempts to compile that data.

Grand Rapids-based health plan Priority Health started a rating program for its provider doctors three years ago, and will not rate a physician if he or she does not see enough Priority patients.

The health plan has a set of criteria that considers preventive practices, disease management, health screening, immunizations and patient satisfaction, said spokeswoman Juanita Smith.

Some scores are based not on the individual doctor's patients, but on the patients of all doctors who practice together.

The system formulates a percentage and assigns from one to four apples.

The first year, 12 physicians were in the top, the second year, 30 were in the top and last year 59 doctors earned four apples.

Priority has a feedback system for the physicians to discuss guidelines and how to attain higher rankings, Smith said.

"I do believe that physicians respond to measurement, we are competitive, we value the care we give our patients, we all ask 'how am I doing?'" said Dr. Greg Forzley, chairman of the board of the Michigan State Medical Society and medical director informatics at St. Mary's Health Care in Grand Rapids.

Forzley helped develop the Priority concept in its early stages and he calls it a fairly good system, but it only deals with the Priority population.

"The challenge has been some of the measures are very narrowly defined and don't cover the entire patient base," Forzley said. "It would be best to find how the patients are doing overall."

He also noted that processes and outcomes will be different in different geographical areas and might vary greatly between an urban community and an affluent suburban community. Those differences are hard to reconcile, Forzley said.

The Michigan Department of Community Health compiles information about disciplinary action and factual data about the health industry, but "We don't have a ranking for individual doctors," spokesman James McCurtis said. "For the state to get involved would put us in a lot of liability issues.

With more than 39,000 physicians in the state, compiling a comprehensive list would be cumbersome and fraught with problems, McCurtis said.

"For one it would be biased and would do a disservice to the profession and it wouldn't do anything but create tension," he said.

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Ten cubs born in 14 days at Pench reserve

After a recent wild tigers’ audit raised fears that the animal, one of India’s national symbols, could disappear from the country, Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district has a reason to celebrate, as it has been blessed with 10 cubs within a fortnight.

The encroachment of humans on tiger habitats and increased man-animal conflict has been a key factor in the big cat’s decline, and the PTR authorities say they would keep no stone unturned to protect the cubs. "We are stepping up special vigil day in, day out to ensure cubs’ safety," PTR deputy director P P Pai said, adding, "We have installed extra trap cameras at different locations in the Park to monitor cubs’ movements." He said this would help the authorities to track their movements 24X7 and protect them from potential dangers.

Pai said this was for the first time the Reserve had been blessed with 10 tiger cubs in a span of a fortnight. "With this, tiger population in the Park has gone upto 61," he said, adding, "Now the Reserve has 39 adult big cats and 22 cubs aged between 15-days to two-years." Pai said the cubs are fit and doing well under the care of their mothers. "A tigress gave birth to four cubs, while two others littered three each," he said.

The tiger census shocked the nation as it revealed that the country has just 1411 tigers left in the wild, a decline of 60% in a decade. Poaching and the loss of tiger habitats have been blamed for the slump.

Research enables rapid HIV tests for pregnant women

New Delhi: A study has shown that pregnant women can be rapidly tested for HIV in labour wards of rural hospitals — and antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be delivered effectively to prevent transmission of the virus to their children.

The research, published in PLoS Medicine, tested the feasibility of providing round-the-clock rapid HIV testing and counselling in labour wards in resource-poor settings.

In 2007, about 2.1 million children were infected with HIV, 85–90 per cent of whom contracted the infection from their mother.

The rapid tests helped doctors quickly decide on whether to start ART as a precautionary measure, before test results came in, usually one to three days after delivery.

Research findings

Of 1,222 women admitted for delivery at a rural teaching hospital in Sevagram, western India, 15 were found to be HIV positive, 11 of whom did not previously know their status. Of those 15 women, 13 had children that tested negative for HIV.

The researchers used two different rapid tests, based on saliva and blood samples, which give results in 20 minutes.

They also carried out conventional HIV testing. If women tested positive in both the rapid tests and conventional tests, the scientists confirmed infection with a further test that detects HIV antibodies and gives results in two days.

"These findings are relevant to PMTCT [prevention of mother to child transmission] programmes in developing countries. Controlling HIV infection in women and children is crucial for changing the trajectory of the global HIV epidemic," the researchers write.

The rapid tests are awaiting approval in India. Nitika Pai, a postdoctoral fellow at the division of infectious diseases at Canada's McGill University, told SciDev.Net that it should be possible to train counsellors to run the tests and provide round-the-clock counselling at primary healthcare centres — often the first or only point of healthcare for pregnant women.

Only nine per cent of pregnant women currently receive ART, says Pai.

In many rural areas, women fear HIV testing due to social ostracisation. In addition, many women cannot access or afford antenatal care to receive preventative therapy. "The labor and delivery period is the last window of opportunity to prevent HIV transmission," says Pai.

"Without ART, the probability of transmission is 30–35 per cent; with ART it is reduced to 10–15 per cent," she says.

Now, gum swab to spot HIV

A simple gum swab in place of an invasive blood test can now tell whether you are HIV positive. What's even better, the test results will be out in just 10-20 minutes.

In a breakthrough that could replace the present day HIV antibody test through blood taken from the finger or the arm, a team of Indo-Canadian scientists has successfully tested the world's first saliva-based HIV test, with an accuracy rate of nearly 100%.

The final results from the study, conducted in Maharashtra in 2006, by a team from McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Canada, and Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), Sevagram, were published on Tuesday in the international medical journal ‘PloS Medicine'.

This test is based on oral mucosal transudate (OMT), a fluid that is secreted at the base of the gums before it becomes saliva.

Scientists found that the level of antibodies in OMT is comparable to that of blood plasma, making it an excellent sample for HIV testing.

Lead author Nitika Pant Pai from MUHC's division of infectious diseases, said this new technique would do away with blood collection, which scares away patients from undergoing HIV test. The team now hopes that this research will pave the way for widespread use of oral HIV tests available over-the-counter.

Rai conducted clinical trials on vulnerable pregnant women in the labour ward of MGIMS. She said that extracting blood in field settings poses a logistical problem because it needs injecting syringes and trained personnel. Now, all that one has to do is rub the stick against the gum twice to collect oral fluid.

"The applicator on the stick, a strip of synthetic proteins, then detects HIV antibodies in 20 minutes or less.

Standard blood test for HIV takes up to two weeks," Dr Pai said. She added that in India, it is vital to determine the HIV status of mothers very quickly to prevent transmission to the child during delivery.

"Over 50% Indian women do not receive prenatal care and therefore don't get tested for HIV during pregnancy. Testing in the labour ward is the last chance to prevent HIV transmission to the newborn baby. Also Indian patients often refuse blood collection in fear of social ostracization, while saliva collection poses no problem.
Thanks to this test, women were enrolled, received counselling, their test results confirmed and referred for treatment when found positive, within 40-60 minutes," she said.

Globally, in 2007, about 2.1 million children were detected with new HIV infection - 90% of them having acquired it via maternal fetal transmission.

Without rapid and accurate detection of HIV, no delivery of available PMTCT interventions (prevention of mother to child HIV transmission) is possible. Without anti-retroviral drugs, the probability of transmission is 30-35%. With ART, it is reduced to 10-15%.

"In the labour room, due to inconsistent supply of blood-based rapid tests, they are often not available. Thus, many fail to get tested. In India, 4,755 infants were detected in 2005 attributed to mother-to-child transmission," Pai added.

THE RAINMAKERS

A small group of data crunchers sits in Pune trying to come up with a realistic picture of what the coming monsoons will bring. On them lies the onus of readying a country whose agriculture is heavily rain-dependent.

RAIN may not be top on our minds when the sun is high in the summer sky. But in a building in Pune, a group of men and women sits obsessing over the monsoons. It’s that time of the year when the National Climate Centre at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) gets working round-the-clock to get the rain forecast right.

With the monsoon rains just a month away, the staff at the 60-year-old IMD building called Shimla Office—the name travelled with the office when it shifted from Shimla to Pune—are busy squeezing in extra hours to issue the monsoon forecast for June as well as to announce the onset date of the monsoons in India.

There is none of the paper clutter you would expect to see at a dingy weather office. There are no maps or strange equipment lying around. The Shimla Office is a swanky place where the weather data is available at the click of the mouse.

The office is abuzz with animated discussions. Some researchers are busy assessing data, while others check on the different indicators or parameters for the forecast as they gear up to ready the summary report. Accuracy being the key factor, they are making sure they get the predictions right.

“Accuracy and preciseness in both space and time” is the target Director General of Meteorology Dr Ajit Tyagi has set for the team.

That’s easier said than done though. It’s difficult to get long-range forecasts right all over the world. This year the IMD is using two different forecast models or parameters to meet the accuracy factor. While they have been using the statistical model for years to forecast the monsoon, this year they are using the dynamical model for better results.

“Our forecast last year for the country was 95 per cent but when the rain came, it recorded 105 per cent. Rainfall all over the country as a whole was in excess in June and September,’’ says Dr Madhavan Rajeevan, Director, National Climate Centre (NCC).

Associated with the IMD for over two decades now, he calls the long-range forecast a tough challenge for meteorologists. “Every minute detail has to be kept in account and every year, the aim is be as accurate as possible.”

So just how accurate have they been?

“Well, we have had our years when we have come really close to the actual figures. The year 2003 and 2005 were good. Our monthly predictions for July has improved over the years and so has our assessment for northwest India,” he says.

Dr Sivananda Pai, the other director of NCC, who too has put in more than 15 years in the department and joined the NCC for the long range forecast, tries to put it in simple words. “It is like you may know that summer is the season for chickenpox but you need to assess and anaylse when its incidence goes up and what are its indicators. Similarly, we have predictors which help us assess the rainfall,” he says.

But the process, he says, requires the staff to be very careful about the assessment of data and when they use the predictors like ocean surface temperatures or mean sea level pressure. “It’s team work and each person’s contribution is very important,” he adds.

The most important source for making any prediction, says Pai, is the data from their inhouse National Data Centre, all available in CDs now. The data at the Centre goes back to a hundred years.

“Relying on historical data we go ahead with our predictions using these models,” he adds. Apart from that the centre accesses maps from all over the world on the Internet. “Work gets divided with some staff members taking up two or three indicators or parameters and accessing the maps followed by discussion and then actual assessment,” adds Pai.

And things are hotting up in the office in the run-up to the monsoon but the workload will increase even further when the monsoon recedes from India in September. It’s then that the Department comes up with its analysis that is circulated to all the centres of the IMD as well as other organisations for comments and suggestions. With agricultural practices in the country strictly tied to the annual cycle of rainfall—the annual average rainfall of the country hovers around at 1,150 mm—the monsoon accounts for almost all the annual rain in 75 per cent of the geographical area and 78 per cent of the gross cropped area. It is this inter-annual variation of the monsoon that has been the first target of these predictions, says Pai.

The rain forecasters know they have to be as close to actual rainfall as possible since long range forecast has many social and economic impacts. “The total monsoon rainfall during the season has a statistically significant relationship with the crop yield, generation of power, irrigation schedule over the country,” says Pai. Statistical forecast models for the monsoon need to be scrutinised constantly, he adds.

‘‘The IMD also takes into account the experimental forecasts prepared by other national institutes like Indian Institute of Tropical Meterology, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation (CMMACS), Bangalore and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF),” adds Rajeevan.

Working with a staff of 12, he hopes to get more to join his team to firm up research.

So, who are the people who join the department? “Anyone with a physics, meteorology or mathematics background can join us. Then there are the institutes teaching meteorology in various parts of the country, and fresh talent needs to be absorbed in this area. There is so much research happening in the area, and fresh talent is always welcome. Coordinating with different research centres and updating ourselves is very important,” he adds.

The department is aware that people often don’t really believe in their predictions but with the IMD planning to put in place a modernisation programme, Tyagi is hoping their word on the weather will one day be the final word.

Tutor known for intelligence, love of learning

Anjale Pai, 1982-2008

Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A : Generosity, intelligence and an undying optimism are what people remember about Anjali Pai, a 25-year-old St. John's College graduate and public school tutor who died in an automobile accident March 30.

With an ever-present smile — representative of a quiet, inner confidence, friends said — Pai earned a master's degree in western philosophy at St. John's in December and also worked as a tutor in the Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, program with the Santa Fe Public Schools.

She was traveling to Plano, Texas, to visit her family while the schools were on spring break, friends said, when the fatal accident occurred in Norman, Okla.

"I actually got to see her shortly before," said Robin Shishido, a former classmate and tutor with AVID. "It was very shocking, but I was very thankful that I got to see her."

Shishido and other friends described Pai as an extremely intelligent woman whose interests ranged from science and math to music and literature. In addition to her degree from St. John's, Pai also had bachelor's degrees in biology and music from Lake Forest College in Illinois and a master's degree in music from the University of Toronto.

It was a love of learning that pushed Pai to continue her education, and she took something from every experience, friends said.

"She even talked about how her teaching experiences were about learning," said John Hall, a friend. "My last experience with her, she was really, really happier than I had ever seen her.

"She talked about how happy she was to be teaching and to be investing in the learning process in all possible ways. She was a good Johnny in that sense."

Patrick Hudson, a former classmate, remembers Pai most for the generosity she showed when he was working on a class project. He was in a counseling program and needed to interview someone of a different ethnicity.

He approached Pai, whose parents had emigrated from India, and asked if she would talk with him. "She had an incredibly intense awareness of what it was like to be ethnically different," Hudson said, "and she handled it in a mature and an intelligent fashion."

Pai went out of her way to spend hours with Hudson and voluntarily wrote a description of herself that he used in his project.

Out of their interaction, Hudson learned Pai strived so hard to succeed because of her parents' immigrant experience. "One of the things she said to me was how much she loved her parents and how grateful she was for all they had done for her," he said. "She wanted to make the most of her life, partly in gratitude to them."

For the past two years, Pai tutored students in the AVID program, and teachers and students said her vast knowledge was an invaluable asset. "She knew a lot about a variety of things, and the kids appreciated that," said Marcos Gallegos, a teacher at Capital High School.

Gallegos described an instance in which students were having a hard time with an Advanced Placement history course. "(Pai) came in and said, 'Can I borrow the book?' " Gallegos said. "She read it so she could help the kids."

And even when she didn't know an answer or students were struggling, she was never negative, students said. "I don't ever remember seeing her unhappy," said Yalithza Lopez, a student at Capital. "She always had a smile on her face."

St. John's is holding a memorial for Pai at 4 p.m. today in the Junior Commons Room of the Peterson Student Center.

GHS girls tennis forfeits at regionals

Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A : All season, Gainesville High senior Preetika Pai battled a seriously injured right wrist while helping the girl’s tennis team to wins. Friday, a second injury halted the Hurricanes hopes of playing for a state title.

A cramp in Pai’s right leg kept her from continuing a match against Ponte Vedra Beach Nease’s Danielle Agraviador. With the team down 2-1, Gainesville had to forfeit the match, ending its season with a 4-1 loss in the 3A Regional Finals.

“I’m very, very proud of this group of girls,” said GHS coach Cathy Lewis “They came out and they toughed it out. They wanted to make a statement and I think they did.”

Pai took the court after a 6-1, 6-0 victory by the team’s No. 1 player, Tavenner Black, and losses by No. 2 Katie Olson (6-2, 6-1 to Alex Corbett) and No. 3 Allison Chasteen (6-3, 6-0 to Abby Heiar). Pai split the first two sets, 6-4, 4-6 with Agraviador before feeling a twinge in her leg at the end of the second.

During the 10-minute break before the third set, she rehydrated, ate a banana and lightly jogged. After winning the first game of the third set, the cramp forced her retire. She eventually needed to be carried off the court, unable to put weight on the leg.

“It started very gradual,” said Pai, who was on crutches, still unable to lay her foot flat on the ground, several hours after the match. “Little-by-little I could feel my calf muscle tensing up as each game went on. I tried to bounce around to keep from cramping up. I knew the match was in my hands, but I just couldn’t do it. It felt really bad to give up so easily."

With a Nease victory already decided, Melissa Sheldon, Gainesville’s No. 5, finished with a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Diana Berlin to end the day.

“Even though it ended on a sad note, I really felt like everybody tried their best,” said Black, who is joining the Gardner Webb University tennis team next season. “Preetika showed just how tough she is. We all didn’t want to give up. We tried our very best and I think that’s what really counts.”

Snapped Up

A homemaker and former professor of photography, Jyoti Pai is set to hold the first solo photo exhibition on Ladakh this week

Snow-Capped mountains, twisting rivers and winding roads—the sights of Ladakh can send people into a tizzy. But for Jyoti Pai, a former professor of photography from Mumbai, the land was a calling of sorts.

Determined to capture the tantalising scenery through her lens, she set out to Ladakh for a second time recently “to be able to show the natural beauty of places in our country”. Now based in Goa, Pai (40) is set to return to Mumbai with the first solo photography exhibition of 60 photographs of Ladakh, to be held at the P L Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, from April 25 to 27.

Coming from a family of photography lovers, Pai took to photography naturally. Her “expensive hobby” — as the homemaker calls her skill — nurtured the travel bug in her. And then, Ladakh beckoned.

The highest plateau in Kashmir at over 9,800 feet, Ladakh lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south. Known for its remote beauty and culture, Ladakh is sometimes called ‘Little Tibet’ for the strong Tibetan influences on its culture and lifestyle.

“The majestic mountains, enchanting lakes and valleys, lush green meadows… all these won me over the first time I visited Ladakh. Nestled cozily in the dazzling snow-capped Himalayas lies the most picturesque panorama you can imagine. A complete photographer’s delight,” she says.

A mother of two, Pai taught photography at the Nirmala Niketan College of Home Science in Mumbai for several years before shifting base to Goa. Her photography was on the backburner then, though she continued to run a photo studio.

“There have been several combined exhibitions by women of Ladakh. But this is the first time a solo exhibition is being held by a woman on this remote area of the country. She has visited it twice and shot her pictures on Xpan,” says aerial photographer Gopal Bodhe of Pai.

In an invite for the photo exhibition, senior advocate from Mumbai Adhik Shirodkar says: “Her (Jyoti) multi-faceted personality manifests itself in the breathtaking photographs in her first solo photo exhibition depicting Ladakh, where she went twice, in all her grandeur.”

Despite the challenges of the tough climb, the breathlessness and the winding roads, Pai recalls the high she felt at the Khardung La and the amazing calmness on the shore of Pangong Lake.

“I started shooting from Rohtang Pass. The idea was to tell the world through my lens that even in India there are these breathtakingly beautiful places with virgin mountains and lakes to visit,” Pai signs off.

Election results send different messages to parties

The by-election results Wednesday spread across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa have different messages for political parties preparing for the 2009 general elections, with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) the clear winner and the Congress yet to get its act together. If there is one party that can clearly bask in satisfaction, it is Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s BSP that has swept all five by-elections - two Lok Sabha and three assembly - in the state.

“Mayawati’s performance has got the alarm bells ringing for the Samajwadi Party which may now come to the negotiating table with the Congress,” said political commentator G.V.L. Narasimha Rao.

Neither the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nor the Congress is on firm ground in Uttar Pradesh. The battle for the 2009 parliamentary elections will be fought out between Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati.

In the last assembly elections in May 2007, the BJP and the Congress were a distant third and fourth in the race for power.

In this round of by-elections Mayawati has once again pulled off her strategy. “She clearly has a head start, has picked the right candidates in terms of caste, ability to deliver and local clout,” said Rao. “She has already chosen candidates for 50 Lok Sabha seats.”

The Samajwadi Party, on the other hand, is yet to recover from the losses in the 2007 assembly elections. It has been toying with the idea of making peace with the Congress to counter the BSP, but nothing tangible has materialized.

Like the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress seems unable to find the right strategy in Madhya Pradesh, which goes to polls in November this year.

The party lost the Betul Harda assembly seat to the BJP by 35,440 votes. This is despite the fact that Kamal Nath, the Congress high profile cabinet minister, spent considerable time campaigning in the by-election.

The campaigning between the Congress and the BJP came to be touted as a tussle between the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and cabinet minister Kamal Nath.

The latter could turn out to be the Congress’ chief ministerial candidate if the party wins the assembly elections.

“The by-election in Madhya Pradesh was significant because the result showed that the Congress is yet to get its act together,” said Sudha Pai, senior fellow, Nehru Memorial Library.

“It is a precursor to the face-to-face combat that we will see between the Congress and the BJP in 2009,” she said.

The results were also a loss of face for Congress leader Suresh Pachauri, who is in charge of Madhya Pradesh. Pachauri was recently relieved from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s council of ministers and put in charge of the state. Like Kamal Nath, Pachauri too spent a great deal of time campaigning in the by-election.

The time and the energy invested by the Congress leaders have not paid off. The strategy, Pai pointed out, was wrong.

“The Congress should start talking about development issues. Even Rahul Gandhi is not focusing on this. He goes and spends time with Dalit families but does not take up policy issues,” said Pai.

Doing their bit for the mentally challenged

Leading music artistes will come on stage for a noble cause at the Dr T M A Pai International Convention Centre here on Sunday. They will perform to raise funds for Saanidhya, a residential school and training centre for the mentally challenged at Kandettu, Bikkarnakatta. The highlight of the programme will be a performance by differently abled children prior to the show by the artistes.

Former corporator Mahabala Marla, who is president of Shree Ganesha Seva Trust for Exceptional Persons, which manages Saanidhya, told presspersons here on Wednesday that entry to the event is by invitation. A committee comprising philanthropists has been formed to raise funds for the building, which is estimated to cost Rs 2.5 crore.

The trust has so far raised a fraction of the amount needed, he said.
President of the committee A Sadananda Shetty said Saanidhya had completed five years of service to the needy. Inmates of Saanidhya, who are in the age group of 4 to 35 years, are presently housed in two large rented houses. The trust has all along felt the need for independent building with all training facilities for these differently abled people, he said and added the fund raiser titled Spandana 2008 is a step in this direction.

While artistes, including Gurukiran and Naushad and party from Shades music group will perform at the charity show, Shetty said a dance and a drama “Asuye” to be performed by inmates of Saanidhya is expected to be the event to look out for.

Tara Labhadaya from Mumbai, mother of Shankar Rao, one of the trustees will inaugurate Spandana 2008 by lighting the lamp. There will be no stage function, he added.

Mangalore: MSEZ team faces public wrath at Polali

The residents of Polali on Thursday shunned away the team of five MSEZ officials who had come there to conduct a survey for construction of a dam for MSEZ.

The MSEZ officials had come to the area to conduct a survey even earlier and they had to face a similar reaction from the residents even then.

A team of five members from SECSD Private Limited headed by Mr Shivaguru and Mr Selvaraj had visited the area to conduct a study on water as a part of their study of river Nethravathi at Uppinangady, Kumaradhara at Ulipu, Palguni at Gurpura and rivers at Polali. The team had to face the wrath of the local residents as the local residents learnt that the team had come to conduct a pro-SEZ survey.

The team explained to the residents that they had come to make a study on the problems faced by the fishermen due to the mixture of salt water and fresh water in the regions. After this explanation, the raged residents asked the team to leave the place immediately and warned them that they would be inviting trouble for themselves if they ever return to the place again.

The local residents had shunned the team, which had visited the area on Saturday too.

The team re-visited the area on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday morning along with SEZ officials, which made the residents suspicious. The residents united themselves and stopped the survey works.

On receiving information about the opposition, MSEZ CEO A G Pai rushed to the area. By this time former minister B Nagaraj Shetty had joined the angry residents and opposed the survey.

They held a meeting at Akhileshwara Temple, where Mr Shetty asked the officials to drop the plan of constructing the dam in the area and warned that he will not be responsible for the disaster that may take place if the officials coercively implement the plan.

Later Mr A G Pai assured that the dam for SEZ will not be built if it is causing inconvenience to the local residents.

The locals expressed their anger as there are possibilities of some areas submerging if the dam projects are implemented. The local residents are performing a special prayer at Polali temple today to keep MSEZ project at bay.

GHS girls tennis team not one to give up

Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A : When a team faces adversity, it has two choices: Give up or keep fighting.

In the case of the Gainesville High girls' tennis team, quitting was never an option, and the Hurricanes can prove it.

The team found out just before the season that it would be without juniors Keri Frankenberger and Casey Simmons, both previous state champions, because their national tournament schedules conflicted with the high school season. It was a difficult loss, but one that fueled the Hurricanes.

“They sort of figured, ‘Hey, we’re going to go out and show everybody that we can win districts on our own,’” said GHS coach Cathy Lewis. “I think they went into districts with that sort of attitude. They decided that they were going to tough it out and it was their district to win.”

That’s exactly what the Hurricanes did, taking the District 4-3A trophy and earning the right to host Jacksonville Wolfson at Northside Park today at 3 p.m. in a Region 2-3A quarterfinal match.

The team also worried that it could be without No. 4 player, senior Preetika Pai, who began to feel some pain in her right wrist last June. It turned out that the injury only forced her to become a better all-around player.

“I figured that I didn’t want to completely stop playing tennis,” said Pai, who has been told that the injury is either a ligament tear or a buildup of fluid. “So what I did was go on days when we didn’t have practice or practice matches to Westside (Park) and just pick up a racket and start hitting left-handed. I got pretty good at it. Then I would go into our practice matches and start serving and hitting forehands left-handed and I kept getting better.”

She got so good at switch-hitting that she found her opponents would get thrown off during matches, not knowing what her weaknesses were because of her changing. Pai has surgery planned next month to correct the injury, which she says flares up whenever she moves her wrist from side-to-side and lasts for at least two minutes each time.

After a 9-6 regular season, Lewis thinks her team is peaking at the right time. She says her No. 1 player, senior Tavenner Black, is playing her best tennis of the season and is prepared for the regional matches. The rest of the team, No. 2 Katie Olson, No. 3 Allison Chasteen and No. 5 Melissa Sheldon, all seniors, understand that any loss means the end of their high school tennis career.

“We’re always trying to shoot for the best that we can do,” Pai said. “We worked with what we’ve got and we made it pretty far. For regionals, we want to try to win every match. Our goal is to win it, but it’s going to be a lot harder than districts.”

Lewis thinks her team is strong enough, and has built up enough unity, to stand through the challenge.

“I am very, very proud of this team because they hung together,” Lewis said. “It started off as a tough season, but if anything, it probably made them a stronger team and they’ve been more team oriented.”