New India Foundation

Summary box This commentary examines how recent events, including shifts in development aid and trust in global institutions, create both challenges and opportunities for the Global South to reshape health governance.

Media influence's public opinion and decision-making today. Advertisements especially affect audience perceptions, actions, and purchases. A comprehensive data library on commercials and their performance is needed to understand how media affects society. Ad content, placement, and performance are stored in a data warehouse-based ad archive. The archive can evaluate marketing campaigns and discover media trends. Ad servers, social media platforms, and media monitoring tools may build the data warehouse-based ad archive. A dimensional data model helps retrieve and analyze data. Structured Query Language (SQL) queries, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) cubes, and data visualization tools may access the archive. Media academics, marketers, and politicians may study the media environment using the data warehouse-based ad archive. Media academics may utilize the collection to study the marketing campaigns, media trends and media's influence on society. The archive may help advertisers analyze their ad campaigns, optimize media placement, and understand their target demographic. Policymakers may use the archive to monitor media outlets' advertising compliance and assess policy changes' media landscape effects.

There is paucity of data on the epidemiology of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) from South Asia and South-East Asia. The objective of this study was to assess the aetiology, practice patterns and disease burden and growth of ESKD in the region comparing the economies. The national nephrology societies of the region; responded to the questionnaire; based on latest registries, acceptable community-based studies and society perceptions. The countries in the region were classified into Group 1 (High|higher-middle-income) and Group 2 (lower|lowermiddle income). Student t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher's exact test were used for comparison. Fifteen countries provided the data. The average incidence of ESKD was estimated at 226.7 per million population (pmp), (Group 1 vs. Group 2, 305.8 vs. 167.8 pmp) and average prevalence at 940.8 pmp (Group 1 vs. Group 2, 1306 vs. 321 pmp). Group 1 countries had a higher incidence and prevalence of ESKD. Diabetes, hypertension and chronic glomerulonephritis were most common causes. The mean age in Group 2 was lower by a decade (Group 1 vs. Group 2-59.45 vs 47.7 years). Haemodialysis was the most common kidney replacement therapy in both groups and conservative management of ESKD was the second commonest available treatment option within Group 2. The disease burden was expected to grow >20% in 50% of Group 1 countries and 78% of Group 2 countries along with the parallel growth in haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

A posture training paradigm with visual biofeedback is presented for physical rehabilitation following posture disorders (e.g. Pusher Syndrome). The objectives of the current study were: to calculate centre of pressure (CoP) using Wii balance board, to calculate centre of mass (CoM) using Microsoft Kinect sensor, and conceptual design of visual postural-feedback paradigm so that the user can improve functional reach tasks. The algorithm for calculating the posture based on the line connecting CoP-CoM (i.e. the lean-line), which was validated offline with a convenient sampling of 10 elderly (>50 years) subjects, where the maximum angle of the lean-line (with horizontal, i.e. the lean-angle) was compared with the Berg Balance Score - a widely used measure to predict risk of falls in elderly - during maximum forward, sideways, and backward lean. Since both the CoP and CoM moved during the task, the line joining CoP-CoM was indicative of the posture. A high correlation was found between the maximum lean-angle and the Berg Balance Score, and therefore it was proposed as a viable biofeedback for posture training.