Party mandates and the politics of attention:Party platforms, public priorities and the policy agenda in Britain

This paper develops an attention-based model of party mandates and policy agendas, where parties and governments are faced with an abundance of issues, and must divide their scarce attention across them. In government, parties must balance their desire to deliver on their electoral mandate (i.e. the “promissory agenda”) with a need to continuously adapt their policy priorities in response to changes in public concerns and to deal with unexpected events and the emergence of new problems (i.e. the “anticipatory agenda”). Parties elected to office also have incentives to respond to issues prioritized by the platforms of their rivals. To test this theory, time series cross-sectional models are used to investigate how the policy content of the legislative program of British government responds to governing and opposition party platforms, the executive agenda, issue priorities of the public and mass medi

Genotype-free demultiplexing of pooled single-cell RNA-seq

A variety of methods have been developed to demultiplex pooled samples in a single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) experiment which either require hashtag barcodes or sample genotypes prior to pooling. We introduce scSplit which utilizes genetic differences inferred from scRNA-seq data alone to demultiplex pooled samples. scSplit also enables mapping clusters to original samples. Using simulated, merged, and pooled multi-individual datasets, we show that scSplit prediction is highly concordant with demuxlet predictions and is highly consistent with the known truth in cell-hashing dataset. scSplit is ideally suited to samples without external genotype information and is available at: https://github.com/jon-xu/scSplit

Infant and child feeding practices: a preliminary investigation

The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.The objective of this preliminary investigation was to examine the feeding practices of infants and pre-school children in Adelaide, and thereby contribute to the development of appropriate preventive dental strategies. A stratified random sample of 160 two year old and three year old pre-school children in the Adelaide Statistical District was obtained. Information about feeding practices and use of comforters or ‘dummies’ was obtained through a self-administered questionnaire completed by parents of the selected children. Information was collected for the age periods of 0–3 months, 4–6 months, 7–12 months, 13–24 months and 25–36 months. Most of the children (81.8 per cent) were breast-fed at some stage. However the percentage of children being breast-fed decreased markedly across age periods, particularly to 13–24 months, when only 15.9 per cent of children were being breast-fed. Over half of the children had been bottle-fed with infant formula at some stage. The highest percentage of children being bottle-fed with infant formula occurred in the 4–6 months (42.6 per cent) closely followed by the 7–12 months age period (37.4 per cent). Nearly two-thirds of children were bottle-fed with cow's milk at some stage. The highest percentage of children being bottle-fed with cow's milk occurred in the 13–24 months age period (49.6 per cent). A quarter (24.5 per cent) of the children were put to bed at some stage with a bottle containing cariogenic fluids. The majority of children used a ‘dummy’ at some stage during both day-time and night-time. Parents are in need of advice on appropriate feeding patterns for infants and young children.Amjad H. Wyne,A. John Spencer and Fearnley S. Szuste

Potential conservation of circadian clock proteins in the phylum Nematoda as revealed by bioinformatic searches

Although several circadian rhythms have been described in C. elegans, its molecular clock remains elusive. In this work we employed a novel bioinformatic approach, applying probabilistic methodologies, to search for circadian clock proteins of several of the best studied circadian model organisms of different taxa (Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster, Neurospora crassa, Arabidopsis thaliana and Synechoccocus elongatus) in the proteomes of C. elegans and other members of the phylum Nematoda. With this approach we found that the Nematoda contain proteins most related to the core and accessory proteins of the insect and mammalian clocks, which provide new insights into the nematode clock and the evolution of the circadian system.Fil: Romanowski, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; ArgentinaFil: Garavaglia, Matías Javier. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Ing.genética y Biolog.molecular y Celular. Area Virus de Insectos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Goya, María Eugenia. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ghiringhelli, Pablo Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Ing.genética y Biolog.molecular y Celular. Area Virus de Insectos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Golombek, Diego Andres. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Cronobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Genomic analysis of the function of the transcription factor gata3 during development of the Mammalian inner ear

We have studied the function of the zinc finger transcription factor gata3 in auditory system development by analysing temporal profiles of gene expression during differentiation of conditionally immortal cell lines derived to model specific auditory cell types and developmental stages. We tested and applied a novel probabilistic method called the gamma Model for Oligonucleotide Signals to analyse hybridization signals from Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays. Expression levels estimated by this method correlated closely (p<0.0001) across a 10-fold range with those measured by quantitative RT-PCR for a sample of 61 different genes. In an unbiased list of 26 genes whose temporal profiles clustered most closely with that of gata3 in all cell lines, 10 were linked to Insulin-like Growth Factor signalling, including the serine/threonine kinase Akt/PKB. Knock-down of gata3 in vitro was associated with a decrease in expression of genes linked to IGF-signalling, including IGF1, IGF2 and several IGF-binding proteins. It also led to a small decrease in protein levels of the serine-threonine kinase Akt2/PKB beta, a dramatic increase in Akt1/PKB alpha protein and relocation of Akt1/PKB alpha from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(kip1), a known target of PKB/Akt, simultaneously decreased. In heterozygous gata3 null mice the expression of gata3 correlated with high levels of activated Akt/PKB. This functional relationship could explain the diverse function of gata3 during development, the hearing loss associated with gata3 heterozygous null mice and the broader symptoms of human patients with Hearing-Deafness-Renal anomaly syndrome

SimHap GUI: An intuitive graphical user interface for genetic association analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Researchers wishing to conduct genetic association analysis involving single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or haplotypes are often confronted with the lack of user-friendly graphical analysis tools, requiring sophisticated statistical and informatics expertise to perform relatively straightforward tasks. Tools, such as the <it>SimHap </it>package for the R statistics language, provide the necessary statistical operations to conduct sophisticated genetic analysis, but lacks a graphical user interface that allows anyone but a professional statistician to effectively utilise the tool.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed SimHap GUI, a cross-platform integrated graphical analysis tool for conducting epidemiological, single SNP and haplotype-based association analysis. SimHap GUI features a novel workflow interface that guides the user through each logical step of the analysis process, making it accessible to both novice and advanced users. This tool provides a seamless interface to the <it>SimHap </it>R package, while providing enhanced functionality such as sophisticated data checking, automated data conversion, and real-time estimations of haplotype simulation progress.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>SimHap GUI provides a novel, easy-to-use, cross-platform solution for conducting a range of genetic and non-genetic association analyses. This provides a free alternative to commercial statistics packages that is specifically designed for genetic association analysis.</p

Nonpathological Extracellular Amyloid Is Present during Normal Epididymal Sperm Maturation

Amyloids are aggregated proteins characterized by a specific cross-β-sheet structure and are typically associated with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease. Recently, however, several nonpathological amyloids have been found in intracellular organelles of normal mammalian tissues suggesting that amyloid may also carry out biological functions. We previously have shown that the epididymal cystatin CRES (cystatin-related epididymal spermatogenic), cst8, a reproductive-specific member of the cystatin superfamily of cysteine protease inhibitors, forms amyloid in vitro suggesting that CRES amyloid may also form in vivo within the epididymal lumen. Here we show that amyloid structures containing CRES are a component of the normal mouse epididymal lumen without any apparent cytotoxic effects on spermatozoa and that these structures change along the length of the tubule. These studies suggest the presence of a functional amyloid structure that may carry out roles in sperm maturation or maintenance of the luminal milieu and which itself may undergo maturational changes along the epididymis. In contrast to previous examples of functional amyloid which were intracellular, our studies now show that nonpathological/functional amyloid can also be extracellular. The presence of an extracellular and nonpathological amyloid in the epididymis suggests that similar amyloid structures may be present in other organ systems and may carry out distinctive tissue-specific functions

Widening of Socioeconomic Inequalities in U.S. Death Rates, 1993–2001

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in death rates from all causes combined widened from 1960 until 1990 in the U.S., largely because cardiovascular death rates decreased more slowly in lower than in higher socioeconomic groups. However, no studies have examined trends in inequalities using recent US national data. Methodology/Principal Findings: We calculated annual age-standardized death rates from 1993–2001 for 25–64 year old non-Hispanic whites and blacks by level of education for all causes and for the seven most common causes of death using death certificate information from 43 states and Washington, D.C. Regression analysis was used to estimate annual percent change. The inequalities in all cause death rates between Americans with less than high school education and college graduates increased rapidly from 1993 to 2001 due to both significant decreases in mortality from all causes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other conditions in the most educated and lack of change or increases among the least educated. For white women, the all cause death rate increased significantly by 3.2 percent per year in the least educated and by 0.7 percent per year in high school graduates. The rate ratio (RR) comparing the least versus most educated increased from 2.9 (95 % CI, 2.8–3.1) in 1993 to 4.4 (4.1–4.6) in 2001 among white men, from 2.1 (1.8–2.5) to 3.4 (2.9–3–9) in black men, and from 2.6 (2.4–2.7) to 3.8 (3.6–4.0) in white women. Conclusion: Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality are increasing rapidly due to continued progress by educated whit

Focusing on fast food restaurants alone underestimates the relationship between neighborhood deprivation and exposure to fast food in a large rural area

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Individuals and families are relying more on food prepared outside the home as a source for at-home and away-from-home consumption. Restricting the estimation of fast-food access to fast-food restaurants alone may underestimate potential spatial access to fast food.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study used data from the 2006 Brazos Valley Food Environment Project (BVFEP) and the 2000 U.S. Census Summary File 3 for six rural counties in the Texas Brazos Valley region. BVFEP ground-truthed data included identification and geocoding of all fast-food restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets, and grocery stores in study area and on-site assessment of the availability and variety of fast-food lunch/dinner entrées and side dishes. Network distance was calculated from the population-weighted centroid of each census block group to all retail locations that marketed fast food (<it>n </it>= 205 fast-food opportunities).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Spatial access to fast-food opportunities (FFO) was significantly better than to traditional fast-food restaurants (FFR). The median distance to the nearest FFO was 2.7 miles, compared with 4.5 miles to the nearest FFR. Residents of high deprivation neighborhoods had better spatial access to a variety of healthier fast-food entrée and side dish options than residents of low deprivation neighborhoods.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our analyses revealed that identifying fast-food restaurants as the sole source of fast-food entrées and side dishes underestimated neighborhood exposure to fast food, in terms of both neighborhood proximity and coverage. Potential interventions must consider all retail opportunities for fast food, and not just traditional FFR.</p