Public value and political astuteness in the work of public managers: the art of the possible

The public value framework, with its call for more entrepreneurial activities by public managers, has attracted concern and criticism about its implicit breaching of the politics/administration dichotomy. This paper explores the role of political astuteness not only in discerning and creating public value, but also in enabling public managers to be sensitive to the dichotomy. We employ a conceptual framework to identify the skills of political astuteness, and then articulate these in relation to identifying and generating public value. Drawing on a survey of 1012 public managers in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and depth interviews with 42 of them, we examine the perceptions and capabilities of public managers in producing value for the public while traversing the line (or zone) between politics and administration. We conclude that political astuteness is essential to both creating value and maintaining allegiance to democratic principles

Adaptive modulation of antibiotic resistance through intragenomic coevolution

Bacteria gain antibiotic resistance genes by horizontal acquisition of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) from other lineages. Newly acquired MGEs are often poorly adapted causing intragenomic conflicts; these are resolved by either compensatory adaptation - of the chromosome or the MGE - or reciprocal coadaptation. The footprints of such intragenomic coevolution are present in bacterial genomes, suggesting an important role promoting genomic integration of horizontally acquired genes, but direct experimental evidence of the process is limited. Here we show adaptive modulation of tetracycline resistance via intragenomic coevolution between Escherichia coli and the multidrug resistant plasmid RK2. Tetracycline treatments, including monotherapy or combination therapies with ampicillin, favoured de novo chromosomal resistance mutations coupled with mutations on RK2 impairing the plasmid-encoded tetracycline efflux pump. These mutations together provided increased tetracycline resistance at reduced cost. Additionally, the chromosomal resistance mutations conferred cross-resistance to chloramphenicol. Reciprocal coadaptation was not observed under ampicillin-only or no antibiotic selection. Intragenomic coevolution can create genomes comprising multiple replicons that together provide high-level, low-cost resistance, but the resulting co-dependence may limit the spread of coadapted MGEs to other lineages

The evolution of plasmid-carried antibiotic resistance

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance represents a significant public health problem. When resistance genes are mobile, being carried on plasmids or phages, their spread can be greatly accelerated. Plasmids in particular have been implicated in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. However, the selective pressures which favour plasmid-carried resistance genes have not been fully established. Here we address this issue with mathematical models of plasmid dynamics in response to different antibiotic treatment regimes. RESULTS: We show that transmission of plasmids is a key factor influencing plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance, but the dosage and interval between treatments is also important. Our results also hold when plasmids carrying the resistance gene are in competition with other plasmids that do not carry the resistance gene. By altering the interval between antibiotic treatments, and the dosage of antibiotic, we show that different treatment regimes can select for either plasmid-carried, or chromosome-carried, resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Our research addresses the effect of environmental variation on the evolution of plasmid-carried antibiotic resistance

Distribution and amount of cathepsin B in gentamicin-induced acute kidney injury in rats

The aim of our study was to investigate how the distribution and amount of cathepsin B change during acute kidney injury. The research was done on a rat model of acute kidney injury that was induced by nephrotoxic antibiotic gentamicin. Gentamicin was injected at a dose of 40 mg/kg body weight (the first treated group) and 80 mg/kg body weight (the second treated group) for 14 days. Control groups received injections of physiological saline only. One day after the last injection, animals were euthanized, dissected and kidney samples were taken and fixed in 10% buffered formalin. Tissue sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin, periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) and Oil-red-O. Immunohistochemistry was used for the demonstration of cathepsin B. Vacuolar degeneration of the proximal convoluted tubules was the most prominent pathologic lesion found in the first treated group, while necrosis prevailed in the second treated group in the same localisation. In both treated groups significantly weaker immunohistochemical reaction for cathepsin B was noticed in the proximal convoluted tubules in comparison to the control groups (P 0.05), as well. However, more numerous cathepsin B-positive large granules appeared in the proximal straight tubules of the second treated group then in the second control group (P < 0.05). We can conclude that the amount of cathepsin B in the affected proximal convoluted tubules significantly decreases along the increased severity of the histopathological lesions of the proximal convoluted tubuls, the amount of enzyme in the well preserved proximal straight tubules increases and more cathepsin B-positive large granules appear in the cytoplasm

What Makes Municipal Councils Effective? An Empirical Analysis of How Council Members Perceive Their Group Interactions and Processes

Although local government scholars acknowledge the centrality of the municipal council to overall government performance, the literature provides limited guidance regarding how those councils can improve their effectiveness. Councils that display recurrent patterns of dysfunctional behavior are more likely to be ineffective in their core functions. Although there is research that identifies dysfunctional council behavior and its potential consequences for government performance, there is limited investigation into what aspects of member behavior are related to the functionality of the council itself. This study uses surveys of council members to identify which aspects of council behavior (interpersonal relations, leadership, staff competence, and conflict) have the greatest effect on perceptions of council effectiveness. The findings indicate that both interpersonal relationships between members of council and the mayor’s leadership ability are significantly related to perceptions of council effectiveness

Innovation in urban political leadership. Reflections on the introduction of a directly-elected mayor in Bristol, UK

In May 2012, 10 of England's largest cities, outside London, were required to hold referendums giving citizens the option of introducing a directly-elected mayor. Bristol was the only city to vote in favour of the mayoral model. This paper outlines the main themes that feature in current debates about urban leadership. It presents a framework for understanding place-based leadership and, by drawing on a current researchproject on mayoral governance in Bristol, highlights the existence of very different perceptions of how to improve city leadership and democratic accountability. © 2014 CIPFA