Self-interest And Public Interest: The Motivations Of Political Actors

Self-Interest and Public Interest in Western Politics showed that the public, politicians, and bureaucrats are often public spirited. But this does not invalidate public-choice theory. Public-choice theory is an ideal type, not a claim that self-interest explains all political behavior. Instead, public-choice theory is useful in creating rules and institutions that guard against the worst case, which would be universal self-interestedness in politics. In contrast, the public-interest hypothesis is neither a comprehensive explanation of political behavior nor a sound basis for institutional design

A Small Genomic Region Containing Several Loci Required for Gastrulation in Drosophila

Genetic screens in Drosophila designed to search for loci involved in gastrulation have identified four regions of the genome that are required zygotically for the formation of the ventral furrow. For three of these, the genes responsible for the mutant phenotypes have been found. We now describe a genetic characterization of the fourth region, which encompasses the cytogenetic interval 24C3-25B, and the mapping of genes involved in gastrulation in this region. We have determined the precise breakpoints of several existing deficiencies and have generated new deficiencies. Our results show that the region contains at least three different loci associated with gastrulation effects. One maternal effect gene involved in ventral furrow formation maps at 24F but could not be identified. For a second maternal effect gene which is required for germ band extension, we identify a candidate gene, CG31660, which encodes a G protein coupled receptor. Finally, one gene acts zygotically in ventral furrow formation and we identify it as Traf4

Re-Treatment Tuberculosis Cases Categorised as “Other”: Are They Properly Managed?

BACKGROUND: Although the World Health Organization (WHO) provides information on the number of TB patients categorised as "other", there is limited information on treatment regimens or treatment outcomes for "other". Such information is important, as inappropriate treatment can lead to patients remaining infectious and becoming a potential source of drug resistance. Therefore, using a cohort of TB patients from a large registration centre in Lilongwe, Malawi, our study determined the proportion of all TB re-treatment patients who were registered as "other", and described their characteristics and treatment outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective observational study used routine program data to determine the proportion of all TB re-treatment patients who were registered as "other" and describe their characteristics and treatment outcomes between January 2006 and December 2008. RESULTS: 1,384 (12%) of 11,663 TB cases were registered as re-treatment cases. Of these, 898 (65%) were categorised as "other": 707 (79%) had sputum smear-negative pulmonary TB and 191 (21%) had extra pulmonary TB. Compared to the smear-positive relapse, re-treatment after default (RAD) and failure cases, smear-negative "other" cases were older than 34 years and less likely to have their HIV status ascertained. Among those with known HIV status, "other" TB cases were more likely to be HIV positive. Of TB patients categorised as "other", 462 (51%) were managed on the first-line regimen with a treatment success rate of 63%. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of re-treatment patients were categorised as "other". Many of these patients were HIV-infected and over half were treated with a first-line regimen, contrary to national guidelines. Treatment success was low. More attention to recording, diagnosis and management of these patients is warranted as incorrect treatment regimen and poor outcomes could lead to the development of drug resistant forms of TB

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: a statistical approach to an optimal classification of stellar kinematics in galaxy surveys

Large galaxy samples from multi-object IFS surveys now allow for a statistical analysis of the z~0 galaxy population using resolved kinematics. However, the improvement in number statistics comes at a cost, with multi-object IFS survey more severely impacted by the effect of seeing and lower S/N. We present an analysis of ~1800 galaxies from the SAMI Galaxy Survey and investigate the spread and overlap in the kinematic distributions of the spin parameter proxy $\lambda_{Re}$ as a function of stellar mass and ellipticity. For SAMI data, the distributions of galaxies identified as regular and non-regular rotators with \textsc{kinemetry} show considerable overlap in the $\lambda_{Re}$-$\varepsilon_e$ diagram. In contrast, visually classified galaxies (obvious and non-obvious rotators) are better separated in $\lambda_{Re}$ space, with less overlap of both distributions. Then, we use a Bayesian mixture model to analyse the observed $\lambda_{Re}$-$\log(M_*/M_{\odot})$ distribution. Below $\log(M_{\star}/M_{\odot})\sim10.5$, a single beta distribution is sufficient to fit the complete $\lambda_{Re}$ distribution, whereas a second beta distribution is required above $\log(M_{\star}/M_{\odot})\sim10.5$ to account for a population of low-$\lambda_{Re}$ galaxies. While the Bayesian mixture model presents the cleanest separation of the two kinematic populations, we find the unique information provided by visual classification of kinematic maps should not be disregarded in future studies. Applied to mock-observations from different cosmological simulations, the mixture model also predicts bimodal $\lambda_{Re}$ distributions, albeit with different positions of the $\lambda_{Re}$ peaks. Our analysis validates the conclusions from previous smaller IFS surveys, but also demonstrates the importance of using kinematic selection criteria that are dictated by the quality of the observed or simulated data.Comment: 30 pages and 17 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Abstract abridged for Arxiv. The key figures of the paper are: 3, 7, 8, and 1

RNAcentral: A vision for an international database of RNA sequences

During the last decade there has been a great increase in the number of noncoding RNA genes identified, including new classes such as microRNAs and piRNAs. There is also a large growth in the amount of experimental characterization of these RNA components. Despite this growth in information, it is still difficult for researchers to access RNA data, because key data resources for noncoding RNAs have not yet been created. The most pressing omission is the lack of a comprehensive RNA sequence database, much like UniProt, which provides a comprehensive set of protein knowledge. In this article we propose the creation of a new open public resource that we term RNAcentral, which will contain a comprehensive collection of RNA sequences and fill an important gap in the provision of biomedical databases. We envision RNA researchers from all over the world joining a federated RNAcentral network, contributing specialized knowledge and databases. RNAcentral would centralize key data that are currently held across a variety of databases, allowing researchers instant access to a single, unified resource. This resource would facilitate the next generation of RNA research and help drive further discoveries, including those that improve food production and human and animal health. We encourage additional RNA database resources and research groups to join this effort. We aim to obtain international network funding to further this endeavor