Fair competition: The engine of economic development

This paper questions the existing notion of competition prevalent in economic theory. It is shown that the prevalent idea of competition is incompatible with economic development. Fair competition, this paper argues, ought to be understood in context. The paper ends by providing some preliminary suggestions to economists and policy makers on how to understand competition.Competition; Economic development; Classical economics; Indian economy

Barriers and facilitators to HPV vaccination in primary care practices: A mixed methods study using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research

Abstract Background In the United States, the effective, safe huma papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine is underused and opportunities to prevent cancer continue to be missed. National guidelines recommend completing the 2–3 dose HPV vaccine series by age 13, well before exposure to the sexually transmitted virus. Accurate characterization of the facilitators and barriers to full implementation of HPV vaccine recommendations in the primary care setting could inform effective implementation strategies. Methods We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to systematically investigate and characterize factors that influence HPV vaccine use in 10 primary care practices (16 providers) using a concurrent mixed methods design. The CFIR was used to guide collection and analysis of qualitative data collected through in-person semi-structured interviews with the primary care providers. We analyzed HPV vaccine use with data abstracted from medical charts. Constructs that most strongly influenced vaccine use were identified by integrating the qualitative and quantitative data. Results Of the 72 CFIR constructs assessed, seven strongly distinguished and seven weakly distinguished between providers with higher versus lower HPV vaccine coverage. The majority of strongly distinguishing constructs were facilitators and were related to characteristics of the providers (knowledge and beliefs; self-efficacy; readiness for change), their perception of the intervention (relative advantage of vaccinating younger vs. older adolescents), and their process to deliver the vaccine (executing). Additional weakly distinguishing constructs that were facilitators were from outer setting (peer pressure; financial incentives), inner setting (networks and communications and readiness for implementation) and process (planning; engaging, and reflecting and evaluating). Two strongly distinguishing constructs were barriers to use, one from the intervention (adaptability of the age of initiation) and the other from outer setting (patient needs and resources). Conclusions Using CFIR to systematically examine the use of this vaccine in independent primary care practices enabled us to identify facilitators and barriers at the provider, interpersonal and practice level that need to be addressed in future efforts to increase vaccine use in such settings. Our findings suggest that implementation strategies that target the provider and help them to address multi-level barriers to HPV vaccine use merit further investigation

Inbreeding depression in red deer calves

BACKGROUND Understanding the fitness consequences of inbreeding is of major importance for evolutionary and conservation biology. However, there are few studies using pedigree-based estimates of inbreeding or investigating the influence of environment and age variation on inbreeding depression in natural populations. Here we investigated the consequences of variation in inbreeding coefficient for three juvenile traits, birth date, birth weight and first year survival, in a wild population of red deer, considering both calf and mother's inbreeding coefficient. We also tested whether inbreeding depression varied with environmental conditions and maternal age. RESULTS We detected non-zero inbreeding coefficients for 22% of individuals with both parents and at least one grandparent known (increasing to 42% if the dataset was restricted to those with four known grandparents). Inbreeding depression was evident for birth weight and first year survival but not for birth date: the first year survival of offspring with an inbreeding coefficient of 0.25 was reduced by 77% compared to offspring with an inbreeding coefficient of zero. However, it was independent of measures of environmental variation and maternal age. The effect of inbreeding on birth weight appeared to be driven by highly inbred individuals (F = 0.25). On the other hand first year survival showed strong inbreeding depression that was not solely driven by individuals with the highest inbreeding coefficients, corresponding to an estimate of 4.35 lethal equivalents. CONCLUSIONS These results represent a rare demonstration of inbreeding depression using pedigree-based estimates in a wild mammal population and highlight the potential strength of effects on key components of fitness.This research was supported by a NERC grant to LEBK, JMP and THCB, NERC and BBSRC fellowships to DHN and a Royal Society fellowship to LEBK

Transport between edge states in multilayer integer quantum Hall systems: exact treatment of Coulomb interactions and disorder

A set of stacked two-dimensional electron systems in a perpendicular magnetic field exhibits a three-dimensional version of the quantum Hall effect if interlayer tunneling is not too strong. When such a sample is in a quantum Hall plateau, the edge states of each layer combine to form a chiral metal at the sample surface. We study the interplay of interactions and disorder in transport properties of the chiral metal, in the regime of weak interlayer tunneling. Our starting point is a system without interlayer tunneling, in which the only excitations are harmonic collective modes: surface magnetoplasmons. Using bosonization and working perturbatively in the interlayer tunneling amplitude, we express transport properties in terms of the spectrum for these collective modes, treating electron-electron interactions and impurity scattering exactly. We calculte the conductivity as a function of temperature, finding that it increases with increasing temperature as observed in recent experiments. We also calculate the autocorrelation function of mesoscopic conductance fluctuations induced by changes in a magnetic field component perpendicular to the sample surface, and its dependence on temperature. We show that conductance fluctuations are characterised by a dephasing length that varies inversely with temperature.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, minor changes made for publicatio

Transcriptomes of parents identify parenting strategies and sexual conflict in a subsocial beetle

This work was funded by UK NERC grants to M.G.R. and A.J.M. an NERC studentship to D.J.P. the University of Georgia and a US NSF grant to A.J.M. and M.G.R.Parenting in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides is complex and, unusually, the sex and number of parents that can be present is flexible. Such flexibility is expected to involve specialized behaviour by the two sexes under biparental conditions. Here, we show that offspring fare equally well regardless of the sex or number of parents present. Comparing transcriptomes, we find a largely overlapping set of differentially expressed genes in both uniparental and biparental females and in uniparental males including vitellogenin, associated with reproduction, and takeout, influencing sex-specific mating and feeding behaviour. Gene expression in biparental males is similar to that in non-caring states. Thus, being ‘biparental’ in N. vespilloides describes the family social organization rather than the number of directly parenting individuals. There was no specialization; instead, in biparental families, direct male parental care appears to be limited with female behaviour unchanged. This should lead to strong sexual conflict.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Sensitivity of fluvial sediment source apportionment to mixing model assumptions: A Bayesian model comparison

Mixing models have become increasingly common tools for apportioning fluvial sediment load to various sediment sources across catchments using a wide variety of Bayesian and frequentist modeling approaches. In this study, we demonstrate how different model setups can impact upon resulting source apportionment estimates in a Bayesian framework via a one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) sensitivity analysis. We formulate 13 versions of a mixing model, each with different error assumptions and model structural choices, and apply them to sediment geochemistry data from the River Blackwater, Norfolk, UK, to apportion suspended particulate matter (SPM) contributions from three sources (arable topsoils, road verges, and subsurface material) under base flow conditions between August 2012 and August 2013. Whilst all 13 models estimate subsurface sources to be the largest contributor of SPM (median ∼76%), comparison of apportionment estimates reveal varying degrees of sensitivity to changing priors, inclusion of covariance terms, incorporation of time-variant distributions, and methods of proportion characterization. We also demonstrate differences in apportionment results between a full and an empirical Bayesian setup, and between a Bayesian and a frequentist optimization approach. This OFAT sensitivity analysis reveals that mixing model structural choices and error assumptions can significantly impact upon sediment source apportionment results, with estimated median contributions in this study varying by up to 21% between model versions. Users of mixing models are therefore strongly advised to carefully consider and justify their choice of model structure prior to conducting sediment source apportionment investigations

Focus, Vol. 1 No. 1

A literary magazine of student writing published by the Department of English of Stephen F. Austin State College.https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/focus/1000/thumbnail.jp

Multicolour interphase cytogenetics: 24 chromosome probes, 6 colours, 4 layers

From the late 1980s onwards, the use of DNA probes to visualise sequences on individual chromosomes (fluorescent in-situ hybridisation - FISH) revolutionised the study of cytogenetics. Following single colour experiments, more fluorochromes were added, culminating in a 24 colour assay that could distinguish all human chromosomes. Interphase cytogenetics (the detection of chromosome copy number in interphase nuclei) soon followed, however 24 colour experiments are hampered for this application as mixing fluorochromes to produce secondary colours produces images that are not easily distinguishable from overlapping signals. This study reports the development and use of a novel protocol, new fast hybridising FISH probes, and a bespoke image capture system for the assessment of chromosome copy number in interphase nuclei. The multicolour probe sets can be used individually or in sequential hybridisation layers to assess ploidy of all 24 human chromosomes in the same nucleus. Applications of this technique are in the investigation of chromosome copy number and the assessment of nuclear organisation for a range of different cell types including human sperm, cancer cells and preimplantation embryos

Do female association preferences predict the likelihood of reproduction?

Sexual selection acting on male traits through female mate choice is commonly inferred from female association preferences in dichotomous mate choice experiments. However, there are surprisingly few empirical demonstrations that such association preferences predict the likelihood of females reproducing with a particular male. This information is essential to confirm association preferences as good predictors of mate choice. We used green swordtails (<i>Xiphophorus helleri</i>) to test whether association preferences predict the likelihood of a female reproducing with a male. Females were tested for a preference for long- or short-sworded males in a standard dichotomous choice experiment and then allowed free access to either their preferred or non-preferred male. If females subsequently failed to produce fry, they were provided a second unfamiliar male with similar sword length to the first male. Females were more likely to reproduce with preferred than non-preferred males, but for those that reproduced, neither the status (preferred/non-preferred) nor the sword length (long/short) of the male had an effect on brood size or relative investment in growth by the female. There was no overall preference based on sword length in this study, but male sword length did affect likelihood of reproduction, with females more likely to reproduce with long- than short-sworded males (independent of preference for such males in earlier choice tests). These results suggest that female association preferences are good indicators of female mate choice but that ornament characteristics of the male are also important