Rational Policy Research Articles

First genome assembly and annotation of Sanghuangporus weigelae uncovers its medicinal functions, metabolic pathways, and evolution.

Sanghuangporus, also known as "Sanghuang" in China, is a well-known genus of traditional Chinese medicinal macrofungi. To make more effective use of Sanghuangporus resources, we completed the first genome assembly and annotation of a monokaryon strain of S. weigelae in the present study. A 33.96-Mb genome sequence was assembled as 13 contigs, leading to prediction of 9377 protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic and average nucleotide identity analyses indicated that the S. weigelae genome is closely related to those of other Sanghuangporus species in evolutionary tree, which clustered in one clade. Collinearity analysis revealed a high level of collinearity of S. weigelae with S. baumii, S. vaninii, and S. sanghuang. Biosynthesis pathways potentially involved in medicinal properties, including terpenoid and polysaccharide synthesis, were identified in S. weigelae, while polysaccharides were identified as the main medicinal metabolites in S. weigelae, with flavonoids more important in Sanghuangporus than other medicinal mushroom groups. Genes encoding 332 carbohydrate-active enzymes were identified in the S. weigelae genome, including major glycoside hydrolases and glycosyltransferases predicted, revealing the robust lignocellulose degradation capacity of S. weigelae. Further, 130 genes, clustered in seven classes were annotated to encode cytochromes P450 in the S. weigelae genome. Overall, our results reveal the remarkably medicinal capacity of S. weigelae and provide new insights that will inform the study of evolution and medicinal application of S. weigelae. The data are a reference resource for the formulation of scientific and rational ecological protection policies for Sanghuangporus species.

Method for vibration pollution assessment based on fuzzy evidence and its application in urban vibration pollution map

Vibration pollution poses a significant threat to the physical and mental well-being of citizens, while also exhibiting an undeniable adverse effect on the sustainable development of cities. Consequently, there has been a notable rise in scholarly interest regarding this issue. The monitoring and evaluation of vibration pollution play an important role in vibration pollution control, providing a scientific basis for rational environment policy formulation. However, traditional vibration pollution monitoring is based on short-term observations at fixed locations with small sample sizes, which cannot truly reflect the overall long-term pollution situation of the entire region. At the same time, traditional vibration pollution assessment also overlooks the uncertainty of subjective reactions, including differences in individual feelings and ambiguity in conceptual judgments of vibration comfort. To address this issue, a novel vibration pollution control framework using crowd sensing for measurement, fuzzy set for assessment, Dempster-Shafer (DS) evidence theory for data fusion, and vibration pollution map for visualization, is proposed in this study. Using ubiquitous smartphones as sensing terminals, 5960 vibration records in real environments, including vibration signals, GPS, vibration comfort evaluations, and environmental factors, have been collected. Based on these data, the combination membership functions to evaluate single vibration pollution are established. Considering the time-varying nature of vibration pollution, an optimized DS evidence method for long-term vibration assessment is adopted. Finally, in order to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the method proposed, a field test covering 18.55 km2 was conducted. Then, an example of the urban vibration pollution map is generated where the distribution of vibration pollution can be vividly displayed.

The unseen use of antimicrobials: Drivers of human antibiotic use in a community in Thailand and implications for surveillance

ABSTRACT We investigated sociocultural and economic drivers of human antimicrobial use (AMU) in Thailand through ethnographic research, interviews, focus groups and a cross-sectional survey. This community-based study generated findings clustered around three key themes: treatment-seeking practices, medicine use, and interpretation of biomedical constructs. Participants sought care from public health facilities for chronic conditions, but medicines from the private sector were considered more powerful and were preferred for acute complaints. Many antibiotics were unrecognised as such by consumers due to the practice at private healthcare facilities of dispensing repackaged medicines without identifying labels. This unseen use of antibiotics is probably driven by economic drivers including market competition in the private sector, policy implementation drivers whereby rational drug use policies mainly target the public sector, behavioural drivers relating to treatment seeking-practices, and sociocultural drivers that influenced participants’ understanding of medical terms and concepts. Participants regarded antibiotics as reducing inflammation and were uncertain about the distinctions between anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and pain relievers. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) was understood as a form of drug tolerance to be remedied by changing the medicine. Community surveys may not provide accurate estimates of AMU where people are unable to distinguish antibiotics reliably from other medicines.

Влияние методов амортизации активов на эффективность хозяйственной деятельности транспортной корпорации

The relevance of the study is due to the search for modern, most advanced and convenient approaches for transformation and digitalization, for the formation of financial savings sufficient for the renovation of assets. The study of the dependence of depreciation policy, financial stability and the efficiency of economic activities of transport corporations allows us to determine the main directions of asset renovation. The object of the study is the process of forming a depreciation strategy for transport corporations aimed at creating sufficient financial savings. Sufficiency is determined by the real possibility of providing the required volumes of financing for the renovation of public pension facilities. The purpose of the work is to develop a methodological approach for the formation of a depreciation strategy as part of improving the financial management of national transport corporations. The tasks that required their solution to achieve this goal required: consideration of the general theoretical foundations associated with the study of modern developments on the formation and development of a depreciation strategy for replenishing one’s own sources of investment finan­cing; development of an effective depreciation strategy for a transport corporation. Strategies based on the use of combined methods of calculating depreciation, taking into account their impact on the efficiency of business activities; analysis of methods for calculating depreciation based on objective and reliable information, namely, accounting and tax accounting data. The research is based on the methods of induction, deduction and general cognition. Using the example of an operating passenger suburban railway corporation, the results of a study of the influence of the choice of depreciation methods (depreciation bonus) of the active part of production fixed assets on taxation, efficiency and quality indicators of its production, economic and financial activities are presented. The results of the study have proved that when using methods of logical, statistical and correlation analysis, it is possible to use scenario approaches as the main tool for developing a rational depreciation policy for a suburban passenger railway corporation. The conclusions are based on practical recommendations for the formation of an accounting policy of a railway corporation, allowing to accumulate funds and form strategic savings sufficient for the complete restoration of active fixed assets.

Formulating tobacco control policies: How can local governments contribute?

Due to a continuing international trend of decentralization of public health policies, local governments are given an increasingly important role in tobacco control. The process of developing local-level tobacco control policies is an underexplored topic. This study uses grant applications as a data source to gain insight into the planning, development and proposed implementation of local tobacco control policies by regional public health departments in the Netherlands. Grant applications of 24 regional public health departments were analyzed using the second stage of the rational policy cycle, a four-stages policy model about the decisions made by local policy makers during the policy process. We coded the applications with open and axial coding. Public health departments formulated four main goals for tobacco control: adding tobacco control policies to existing local policy documents, creating smoke-free (child) environments, developing and improving access to smoking cessation care, and participating in media campaigns. Public health departments often specify tobacco control aims and involve partners in reaching these aims. However, the grant applications lacked information about implementing these tobacco control policies. The information on implementation strategies and process evaluation, as well as the (evidence-based) legitimation for the policy choices, needs improvement. Under the current conditions, which include the brief explanation the departments received, an unclear mandate, insufficient funding, and local restricting factors such as time and knowledge, significant contributions to tobacco control policy cannot be expected from local governments.

ВНЕШНИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ДОЛГ РОССИИ И ЕГО ВЛИЯНИЕ НА ЭКОНОМИКУ В ТЕКУЩИХ ГЕОПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ УСЛОВИЯХ

The article presents an analytical review of the state of Russia’s external public debt under the influence of the sanctions policies of Western countries and the formation of prospects for economic development. The main approaches to the interpretation of the concept of external public debt are determined, and an analysis of the dynamics of indicators of the influence of external public debt on economic stability is performed. The results of the study show that despite the comprehensive pressure, the economic situation as a whole is characterized by stability, in turn, the rational policy of government authorities provides the opportunity to contain inflation processes that directly affect both the external and internal state of the state’s economic systems.

How Can the Informal Institutions Regulate Interpersonal Relationship in Small-scale Societies: Observations from Chinese Rural Areas

As a result of China's "rural revitalization" strategy, the study of and response to the informal system in rural China has become an area of practical significance. In the process of policy formulation and implementation, the government's macro-level decisions have encountered some obstacles from the informal system in the countryside when they are implemented at the grassroots level. The research question of this paper is how the informal system in rural China regulates interpersonal relationships in small-scale societies. This question is not only related to the study of social structure within Chinese villages, but also a precursor to rational policy making. This paper adopts a case study research methodology, using existing literature and survey reports as research materials, and qualitatively analyzes rural cases from various parts of China, in an attempt to discover the place and role of informal institutions in the field of rural interpersonal relations. This paper analyzes several modes of operation of informal systems that exist in rural areas of China, and focuses on the favor exchange mode among them. The favor exchange model has a strong vitality in traditional societies, and it regulates interpersonal relations in the society by an informal means of moral supervision. But it also carries the risk of becoming corrosive, a risk that can slowly deprive societies of their creativity and possibilities for progress.

Molecular Characterization of Nepalese Indigenous Chicken, Sakini, Based on Mitochondrial DNA Displacement (D)-loop Sequences

This study is the first time to perform molecular characterization in indigenous chickens, Sakini, of Nepal for studying genetic diversity and its relationship with its assumed progenitors. The first 522 nucleotides of hypervariable I (HVI) segment of the D-loop from 33 individuals were PCR amplified and subsequently sequenced. Fourteen haplotypes out of 33 sequences were identified from 20 polymorphic sites. Haplotype (gene) diversity (Hd) is 0.813 with SD 0.065 and nucleotide diversity (Pi) is 0.00525 with SD 0.00091. The neighbour joining tree indicated that Red Jungle Fowl from India is the progenitor of the Nepalese Sakini chicken. NETWORK analysis revealed that it can be grouped into four distinct Haplogroups (A1, E1, E2, and E3) respectively. Seventeen individuals belonged to E1, eight to E3, seven to E2, and one to A1. The high mitochondrial D-loop diversity in Nepalese Sakini chicken with multiple maternal origins serves the scientific basis for the development of rational policies supporting conservation efforts and provides directions for future research for developing sustainable genetic improvement approaches.

„УКРАЈИНА“ БИ ЉУДИМА МОГЛА ПОМОЋИ, ДА СТВАРНО ВИДЕ КАКВИ СУ!

It is generally believed that “Ukraine” changes a lot, but not the need for a rational policy and an appropriate society. It even amplifies it! Agreeing with bot, the autor shows on the example of “Ukraine” that the expectation of the realization of this need is not rational, without correcting in the theory and practice the ruling image of man as rational being. Contrary to it, most people, including those who make crucial decisions, are often irational. Or limitedly rational, seeking rational means for ends not chosen in in rational way… Key words: Ukraina, raison, rationality, irationality.

Russian Society’s Response to “Big Challenges” in New Realities

The article is devoted to the study of the transformation of the response of Russian society to "big challenges" in the new realities. Significant big challenges regulated in the Strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation are systematized and possible mechanisms of response of the Russian society to these challenges in the conditions of interaction of man and technology are formulated. Big challenges should be considered not only as possible risks and barriers, but also as incentives and guidelines for the development of socio-economic systems, national economies, including the Russian Federation. In the new realities, the transformation of traditional risks and "big challenges" is taking place in the context of significant changes in all spheres of civil society activity both in the Russian Federation and around the world, the destruction of the usual format of international relations, leading to the need for a rational state management policy and the reorientation of strategies for socio-economic and socio-political development of society. The need to preserve national identity and the identity of national states becomes obvious and the basic basis for the preservation and strategic development of the state. These foundations should be laid in the process of developing the Russian society's response to the big challenges in the new realities, by combining the trends of the international concept of sustainable development and the policy of realizing national interests.

Pattern and predictors of antibiotic prescriptions by physicians to paediatric outpatients in a Nigerian Tertiary Care Hospital: A call for antibiotic stewardship

Background: Irrational antibiotic use for childhood illnesses is prevalent, especially in developing countries. There is a need to provide evidence-based data for the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASP) in healthcare facilities. This study was conducted to describe the pattern and predictors of antibiotic prescriptions to paediatric patients at the outpatient clinic of Federal Medical Centre Umuahia Abia State, Southeast Nigeria.Method: We conducted a retrospective review of patients’ encounters in one year at the outpatient paediatric clinics (2022). An electronic data extraction form was used to collect information from patient’s case notes. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were done using SPSS version 26. The level of significance was set at 5%.Results: Records of 722 encounters were retrieved. A total of 694 antibiotics were prescribed. The antibiotic prescription rate was 74.4% (95% CI: 71.2–77.6). The most frequently prescribed antibiotic was amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (34.9%). Most prescribed antibiotics (53.6%) were in the ‘access’ group of antibiotics. The commonest indication for the use of antibiotics was the treatment of respiratory infections (28.1%). The predictors of antibiotic prescription included younger age (aOR = 2.48; 95% CI: 1.50–3.80), four or more drugs prescribed (aOR = 9.43; 95% CI: 3.90 - 22.10), and therapeutic treatment type (aOR = 3.24; 95% CI: 1.10–9.40).Conclusion: Irrational prescriptions of antibiotics by physicians were prevalent in the paediatric outpatient clinic of the facility. We recommend the implementation of the ASP in the hospital to address irrational antibiotic prescriptions in line with rational drug policy.

The value of ecosystem services in arid and semi-arid regions: A multi-scenario analysis of land use simulation in the Kashgar region of Xinjiang

This study aimed to investigate the interrelationships between land use/land cover (LULC) and ecosystem services value (ESV) in arid and semi-arid regions, with a specific focus on the Kashgar region in Xinjiang, China. Four distinct development patterns (BAU, RED, ELP, and EBB) were derived using a multi-objective planning algorithm (MOP), and the relationship between LULC and ESV was analyzed using three methods: the random forest algorithm, the PLUS model, and the ecosystem service equivalence method. The findings indicated a significant projected expansion of LULC in Kashgar by 2030, primarily concentrated in arable and construction land. The ELP scenario demonstrated the lowest growth in cultivated and urbanized land, while the BAU and RED scenarios exhibited higher increments. Notably, the expansion of arable and construction land was concentrated around the urban agglomeration of the Kashgar region, whereas changes in forest land were concentrated near the Kunlun Mountains. Regarding ESV, grassland and watersheds played a significant role, accounting for 45 % and 30 % of the total, grasslands and watersheds emerge as pivotal components in supporting biodiversity, soil preservation, water regulation, and purification. The study underscores the necessity of conserving these ecosystems. This study highlights the trade-offs between economic development and ecological/environmental protection. The RED scenario, driven by rapid economic growth and urbanization, has resulted in a significant decline in ESVs, underscoring the urgency of sustainable land use practices. The MOP-PLUS-ESV model used in this study provides a powerful framework for decision makers to make informed choices in land use planning. By prioritizing a balance between economic development and ecological preservation, the model contributes to sustainable community and regional growth, emphasizing the preservation of important ecosystems. The findings suggest that Kashgar needs to adopt a sustainable land use strategy that balances economic development and ecological/environmental protection to maximize the provision and protection of ESV. The pathway emphasizes the integrated consideration of ESV, rational land use policies, and enhanced ecological protection to achieve an ecological civilization.

The prospects of a model exposition in artificial plantations in urbanized territories

The main tasks of the ecological potential are to unite the disparate existing elements of plantings and supplement them with new ones. The assimilation of unique plant ecosystems is possible with an integrated approach. The Volgograd region belongs to the dry-steppe zone, the climate is sharply continental, for which the characteristic features are a decrease in natural moisture supply, excess heat, an active wind regime throughout the year and frequent dry winds. The ecological potential of the south of Russia, in particular the Volgograd region, according to the climate Biological efficiency Index (TC) proposed by N.N. Ivanov, is at a low level (TC = 8–12) with unfavorable natural living conditions of the population with a significant lack of moisture, which raises the question of creating multifunctional plantings as a research scientific basis for rational regional environmental policy in optimizing the process of settlement and social sphere, consistent organization of work and recreation, protection of citizensʼ health. Dendrological expositions growing on cadastral plots of the Federal Research Center for Agroecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences have a high ecological potential in urbanized territories.The purpose of the study is to evaluate the prospects of a model exposure of drought–resistant species in artificial plantings.A general analysis of the decorativeness of G Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis, Rosa canina, Ribes aureum, Ligustrum vulgare, Juniperus sabina was carried out, the variability of the total assessment of decorativeness between species (34.2–36.6) and the total score (177) were established. All the studied species have good drought resistance, which helps the woody plant to use water and nutrients most efficiently in arid regions on chestnut soils with low moisture supply.

Clinical comprehensive evaluation of Ruyi Zhenbao Pills in treatment of osteoarthritis

This study evaluated the clinical effectiveness of Ruyi Zhenbao Pills in the treatment of osteoarthritis, aiming to clarify its clinical advantages and promote rational drug use and related policy transformation. Following the relevant standards in Guidelines for the Comprehensive Evaluation of Drugs in Clinical Practice and Technical Specifications for the Clinical Comprehensive Evaluation of Chinese Patent Medicine, comprehensive research and related data on Ruyi Zhenbao Pills in the treatment of osteoarthritis were collected in the dimensions of safety, effectiveness, economy, innovation, suitability, accessibility, and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) cha-racteristics(referred to as the "6+1" dimensions). Through evidence-based medicine, questionnaire surveys, health technology assessment, pharmacoeconomic evaluation, and other methods, a multi-criteria decision analysis(MCDA) model and CSC v2.0 software were used to comprehensively evaluate the clinical value of Ruyi Zhenbao Pills. Spontaneous reporting system data on adverse reactions and literature data indicate that the adverse reactions of Ruyi Zhenbao Pills are mostly general adverse reactions, with no reports of se-rious adverse reactions. The known risks are small, and its safety is rated as class A. It has been shown to effectively relieve joint pain and restore joint function in the treatment of osteoarthritis. However, more high-quality, large-sample randomized controlled trials are needed to further validate its effectiveness, which is rated as class B. There is evidence supporting its economic viability, and its economic is rated as class B. It demonstrates good clinical innovation, innovative enterprise service system, and industrial innovation, and innovation is rated as class A. Medical professionals and patients have a favorable perception of the suitability of Ruyi Zhenbao Pills, and further improvement can be made in terms of convenience of administration and promotion to facilitate rational drug use by healthcare professionals and patients. Suitability is rated as class B. The drug has a favorable price level, availability, and affordability, and accessibility is rated as class A. Ruyi Zhenbao Pills are a classic Tibetan medicinal prescription with excellent TCM theoretical characteristics. However, further research is needed on its use in human studies. TCM characteristics are rated as class B. Based on the evaluation results of the "6+1" dimensions, the comprehensive clinical evaluation is rated as grade B. Ruyi Zhenbao Pills have good clinical value in the treatment of osteoarthritis, and it is recommended to undergo the necessary procedures for conditional transformation into a policy for the management of essential clinical drugs.

Assessment of forest cover and forest loss using satellite images in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam

Deforestation in the tropics continues inexorably with severe implications for biodiversity conservation, climate regulation and ecosystem services. This study investigated variation in forest cover in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam, using the Landsat Thematic Mapper and Operational Land Imager satellite images over the period 1989–2021. Imageries were classified using the maximum likelihood classification technique for the years 1989, 2006, and 2021 and were evaluated for accuracy using the kappa coefficient for each year. Furthermore, forest cover losses and gains were evaluated using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, which were compared with the output of the supervised classification. Results showed that the forest cover of Thua Thien Hue province has drastically declined over the years. The forest cover, which was estimated at 68.88% (3461.46 km2) of the total land area in 1989, increased to 69.04% (3469.51 km2) in 2006 and subsequently decreased to 57.55% (2891.81 km2) in 2021. Severely reduced forest cover is often associated with the expansion of agriculture on the forest edge; other contributing factors include logging, illegal production land, and forest fires. Overall, our results show the necessity of forest management, rational land-use planning policy, and increased community awareness of conservation and sustainable development of forest resources in the study area in the future.

Recursive Reasoning With Reduced Complexity and Intermittency for Nonequilibrium Learning in Stochastic Games.

In this article, we propose a computationally and communicationally efficient approach for decision-making in nonequilibrium stochastic games. In particular, due to the inherent complexity of computing Nash equilibria, as well as the innate tendency of agents to choose nonequilibrium strategies, we construct two models of bounded rationality based on recursive reasoning. In the first model, named level- k thinking, each agent assumes that everyone else has a cognitive level immediately lower than theirs and-given such an assumption-chooses their policy to be a best response to them. In the second model, named cognitive hierarchy, each agent conjectures that the rest of the agents have a cognitive level that is lower than theirs, but follows a distribution instead of being deterministic. To explicitly compute the boundedly rational policies, a level-recursive algorithm and a level-paralleled algorithm are constructed, where the latter one can have an overall reduced computational complexity. To further reduce the complexity in the communication layer, modifications of the proposed nonequilibrium strategies are presented, which do not require the action of a boundedly rational agent to be updated at each step of the stochastic game. Simulations are performed that demonstrate our results.

Determinants of Company Value: Study on Pharmaceutical Companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange

Company value is very important in investment transactions, and company management must understand the determinants to achieve company goals. The main operational goal of the company is to achieve the maximization of expected profits. Profit maximization is the company's only rational policy. This study aims to determine and examine the determinants of firm value: growth, firm size and financial performance. The research sample consisted of 9 pharmaceutical companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Data is collected through financial statement documents for 4 years, 2018-2021. The number of data observed is 36 observational data. Data analysis used multiple regression analysis. The results showed that company growth and firm size positively and insignificantly affected firm value. Meanwhile, financial performance has a significant positive effect on firm value. The implications of the research results are theoretically as developing insight related to investment and portfolio management, then practically as information for investors in making investments.

Analysis of the Threshold Effect of Renewable Energy Industry Subsidies Based on the Perspective of Industry Life Cycle

Based on the industry life cycle theory, this study investigates the influence mechanism of renewable energy industry subsidies on industry development. Using data from 78 public Chinese electric power enterprises in the A-share market from 2011 through 2020, the threshold effect of government subsidies on the development of the renewable energy industry is empirically tested, and the heterogeneity of subsidy efficiency in the renewable energy industry is explored. The results reveal an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship between government subsidies and the enterprise output of the sample electric power enterprises. In addition, market investment has a positive and limited effect on enterprise output, and there is heterogeneity in subsidy efficiency and the signalling effect of subsidies on investment in the wind and photovoltaic power industries. Accordingly, we recommend that government departments use rational and flexible subsidy policy tools according to different industries, set reasonable subsidy ranges, and proactively design top-level policies that will actively broaden the application of renewable energy consumption to help industry development. By examining the overall threshold effect of electric power enterprises, this study fills a gap in the literature, as there has been scant research on the specific relationship between renewable energy industry subsidies and industry development.

Biophysical Effects of Land Cover Changes on Land Surface Temperature on the Sichuan Basin and Surrounding Regions

The biophysical effect of land cover changes (LCC) on local temperature is currently a hot topic. This work selects one of the nine agricultural divisions in China, the Sichuan Basin and surrounding regions, as the study area. By combining long-term series satellite remote sensing products with the space-and-time method, the spatial and temporal variations of the actual biophysical effects of LCC on land surface temperature (LST) are obtained. The results show that: (1) From 2001 to 2020, LCCs from Savannas to Cropland, from Cropland to Savannas, and from Savannas to Mixed Forest occurred frequently within the study area, and their area proportions of the total conversions are 21.7%, 18.5%, and 17.6%, respectively. (2) The biophysical feedback of LCC in the study area led to a LST increase of 0.01 ± 0.004 K at annual scale, which presents a seasonal pattern of “strong warming in summer and autumn yet weak cooling in winter”. It can exacerbate 14.3% or alleviate 8.3% of the background climate warming effect, illustrating the importance of biophysical effects on local climate change. The interaction between savannas and cropland or mixed forest and urbanizations formed the main driver for the above patterns. (3) Both the occurrence area of LCC and the warming effects at annual or seasonal scale show a trend of “first rising and then declining”, whereas the cooling effect in winter exhibits continuous enhancement over time. The monodirectional or mutual conversion between cropland and savannas is the dominant conversion responsible for these temporal patterns. The findings can provide realistic scientific guidance for informing rational policies on land management and targeted strategies for climate change response in the study area.

Rational social distancing policy during epidemics with limited healthcare capacity.

Epidemics of infectious diseases posing a serious risk to human health have occurred throughout history. During recent epidemics there has been much debate about policy, including how and when to impose restrictions on behaviour. Policymakers must balance a complex spectrum of objectives, suggesting a need for quantitative tools. Whether health services might be 'overwhelmed' has emerged as a key consideration. Here we show how costly interventions, such as taxes or subsidies on behaviour, can be used to exactly align individuals' decision making with government preferences even when these are not aligned. In order to achieve this, we develop a nested optimisation algorithm of both the government intervention strategy and the resulting equilibrium behaviour of individuals. We focus on a situation in which the capacity of the healthcare system to treat patients is limited and identify conditions under which the disease dynamics respect the capacity limit. We find an extremely sharp drop in peak infections at a critical maximum infection cost in the government's objective function. This is in marked contrast to the gradual reduction of infections if individuals make decisions without government intervention. We find optimal interventions vary less strongly in time when interventions are costly to the government and that the critical cost of the policy switch depends on how costly interventions are.