Phylogenetic framework for coevolutionary studies: a compass for exploring jungles of tangled trees.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Aquino, Andrés

2016-08-01

Phylogenetics is used to detect past evolutionary events, from how species originated to how their ecological interactions with other species arose, which can mirror cophylogenetic patterns. Cophylogenetic reconstructions uncover past ecological relationships between taxa through inferred coevolutionary events on trees, for example, codivergence, duplication, host-switching, and loss. These events can be detected by cophylogenetic analyses based on nodes and the length and branching pattern of the phylogenetic trees of symbiotic associations, for example, host-parasite. In the past 2 decades, algorithms have been developed for cophylogetenic analyses and implemented in different software, for example, statistical congruence index and event-based methods. Based on the combination of these approaches, it is possible to integrate temporal information into cophylogenetical inference, such as estimates of lineage divergence times between 2 taxa, for example, hosts and parasites. Additionally, the advances in phylogenetic biogeography applying methods based on parametric process models and combined Bayesian approaches, can be useful for interpreting coevolutionary histories in a scenario of biogeographical area connectivity through time. This article briefly reviews the basics of parasitology and provides an overview of software packages in cophylogenetic methods. Thus, the objective here is to present a phylogenetic framework for coevolutionary studies, with special emphasis on groups of parasitic organisms. Researchers wishing to undertake phylogeny-based coevolutionary studies can use this review as a "compass" when "walking" through jungles of tangled phylogenetic trees.

Cost modeling of pseudomonoas fluorescens and pseudomonoas chlororphis biocontrol for competitive exclusion of salmonella enterica on tomatoes

Science.gov (United States)

Biocontrol measures may enhance postharvest interventions, however; published research on process-based models for biocontrol of foodborne pathogens on produce is limited. The aim of this research was to develop cost model estimates for competitive exclusion process using Pseudomonas fluorescens and...

Coevolutionary constraints in the sequence-space of macromolecular complexes reflect their self-assembly pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallik, Saurav; Kundu, Sudip

2017-07-01

Is the order in which biomolecular subunits self-assemble into functional macromolecular complexes imprinted in their sequence-space? Here, we demonstrate that the temporal order of macromolecular complex self-assembly can be efficiently captured using the landscape of residue-level coevolutionary constraints. This predictive power of coevolutionary constraints is irrespective of the structural, functional, and phylogenetic classification of the complex and of the stoichiometry and quaternary arrangement of the constituent monomers. Combining this result with a number of structural attributes estimated from the crystal structure data, we find indications that stronger coevolutionary constraints at interfaces formed early in the assembly hierarchy probably promotes coordinated fixation of mutations that leads to high-affinity binding with higher surface area, increased surface complementarity and elevated number of molecular contacts, compared to those that form late in the assembly. Proteins 2017; 85:1183-1189. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cost modeling of biocontrol strains Pseudomonas chlororaphis and P. flurorescens for competitive exclusion of Salmonella enterica on tomatoes

Science.gov (United States)

Biological control of foodborne pathogens may complement postharvest intervention measures to enhance food safety of minimally processed produce. The purpose of this research was to develop cost model estimates for application of competitive exclusion process (CEM) using Pseudomonas chlororaphis and...

Coevolutionary and genetic algorithm based building spatial and structural design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofmeyer, H.; Davila Delgado, J.M.

2015-01-01

In this article, two methods to develop and optimize accompanying building spatial and structural designs are compared. The first, a coevolutionary method, applies deterministic procedures, inspired by realistic design processes, to cyclically add a suitable structural design to the input of a

Coevolutionary particle swarm optimization using Gaussian distribution for solving constrained optimization problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Krohling, Renato A; Coelho, Leandro dos Santos

2006-12-01

In this correspondence, an approach based on coevolutionary particle swarm optimization to solve constrained optimization problems formulated as min-max problems is presented. In standard or canonical particle swarm optimization (PSO), a uniform probability distribution is used to generate random numbers for the accelerating coefficients of the local and global terms. We propose a Gaussian probability distribution to generate the accelerating coefficients of PSO. Two populations of PSO using Gaussian distribution are used on the optimization algorithm that is tested on a suite of well-known benchmark constrained optimization problems. Results have been compared with the canonical PSO (constriction factor) and with a coevolutionary genetic algorithm. Simulation results show the suitability of the proposed algorithm in terms of effectiveness and robustness.

Cyber Security Research Frameworks For Coevolutionary Network Defense

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rush, George D. [Missouri Univ. of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO (United States); Tauritz, Daniel Remy [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-12-03

Several architectures have been created for developing and testing systems used in network security, but most are meant to provide a platform for running cyber security experiments as opposed to automating experiment processes. In the first paper, we propose a framework termed Distributed Cyber Security Automation Framework for Experiments (DCAFE) that enables experiment automation and control in a distributed environment. Predictive analysis of adversaries is another thorny issue in cyber security. Game theory can be used to mathematically analyze adversary models, but its scalability limitations restrict its use. Computational game theory allows us to scale classical game theory to larger, more complex systems. In the second paper, we propose a framework termed Coevolutionary Agent-based Network Defense Lightweight Event System (CANDLES) that can coevolve attacker and defender agent strategies and capabilities and evaluate potential solutions with a custom network defense simulation. The third paper is a continuation of the CANDLES project in which we rewrote key parts of the framework. Attackers and defenders have been redesigned to evolve pure strategy, and a new network security simulation is devised which specifies network architecture and adds a temporal aspect. We also add a hill climber algorithm to evaluate the search space and justify the use of a coevolutionary algorithm.

Optimization of DP-M-QAM Transmitter using Cooperative Coevolutionary Genetic Algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Medeiros Diniz, Júlio César; Da Ros, Francesco; Porto da Silva, Edson

2018-01-01

We present a method for joint optimization of transmitter in-phase, quadrature and inter-polarization time skew, amplitude mismatch, and bias voltages. The method is based on a cooperative coevolutionary genetic algorithm with fitness functions extracted from a directly detected reference QAM sig...

Process rather than pattern: finding pine needles in the coevolutionary haystack

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nash, David R

2008-01-01

The geographic mosaic theory is fast becoming a unifying framework for coevolutionary studies. A recent experimental study of interactions between pines and mycorrhizal fungi in BMC Biology is the first to rigorously test geographical selection mosaics, one of the cornerstones of the theory....

Competitive exclusion as a mode of action of a novel Bacillus cereus aquaculture biological agent

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Lalloo, R

2010-01-01

Full Text Available et al. 2001, Irianto and Austin, 2002, Hong et al. 2005). Many 12 of these mechanisms only apply to probiotics added to feed, but the latter three are relevant to 13 water borne additives such as B. cereus. 14 15 The bioremediation capability... its attractiveness as a probiotic 10 and biological agent for aquaculture. The siderophore producing capability of the B. cereus 11 isolate addresses the severe shortage of probiotics able to facilitate competitive exclusion based 12 on iron...

Aggregation and competitive exclusion: explaining the coexistence of human Papillomavirus types and the effectiveness of limited vaccine conferred cross-immunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, E K

2012-12-01

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types are sexually transmitted infections that cause a number of human cancers. According to the competitive exclusion principle in ecology, HPV types that have lower transmission probabilities and shorter durations of infection should be outcompeted by more virulent types. This, however, is not the case, as numerous HPV types co-exist, some which are less transmissible and more easily cleared than others. This paper examines whether this exception to the competitive exclusion principle can be explained by the aggregation of infection with HPV types, which results in patchy spatial distributions of infection, and what implications this has for the effect of vaccination on multiple HPV types. A deterministic transmission model is presented that models the patchy distribution of infected individuals using Lloyd's mean crowding. It is first shown that higher aggregation can result in a reduced capacity for onward transmission and reduce the required efficacy of vaccination. It is shown that greater patchiness in the distribution of lower prevalence HPV types permits co-existence. This affirms the hypothesis that the aggregation of HPV types provides an explanation for the violation of the competitive exclusion principle. Greater aggregation of lower prevalence types has important implications where type-specific HPV vaccines also offer cross-protection against non-target types. It is demonstrated that the degree of cross-protection can be less than the degree of vaccine protection conferred against directly targeted types and still result in the elimination of non-target types when these non-target types are patchily distributed.

A case study of a multiobjective recombinative genetic algorithm with coevolutionary sharing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neef, R.M.; Thierens, D.; Arciszewski, H.F.R.

1999-01-01

We present a multiobjective genetic algorithm that incorporates various genetic algorithm techniques that have been proven to be efficient and robust in their problem domain. More specifically, we integrate rank based selection, adaptive niching through coevolutionary sharing, elitist recombination,

Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Bioethics: A Co-evolutionary Introduction from the Big History

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Collado-Ruano

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this work is to expand the bioethics notion expressed in the Article 17th of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, concerning the interconnections between human beings and other life forms. For this purpose, it is combined the transdisciplinary methodology with the theoretical framework of the “Big History” to approach the co-evolutionary phenomena that life is developing on Earth for some 3.8 billion years. As a result, the study introduces us to the unification, integration and inclusion of the history of the universe, the solar system, Earth, and life with the history of human beings. In conclusion, I consider to safeguard the cosmic miracle that represents the emergence of life we must adopt new transdisciplinary perspectives into bioethics to address the ecosystem complexity of co-evolutionary processes of life on Gaia as a whole.

Multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series based on co-evolutionary recurrent neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Qianli; Zheng Qilun; Peng Hong; Qin Jiangwei; Zhong Tanwei

2008-01-01

This paper proposes a co-evolutionary recurrent neural network (CERNN) for the multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series, it estimates the proper parameters of phase space reconstruction and optimizes the structure of recurrent neural networks by co-evolutionary strategy. The searching space was separated into two subspaces and the individuals are trained in a parallel computational procedure. It can dynamically combine the embedding method with the capability of recurrent neural network to incorporate past experience due to internal recurrence. The effectiveness of CERNN is evaluated by using three benchmark chaotic time series data sets: the Lorenz series, Mackey-Glass series and real-world sun spot series. The simulation results show that CERNN improves the performances of multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series

The impact of hepatitis A virus infection on hepatitis C virus infection: a competitive exclusion hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Amaku, Marcos; Coutinho, Francisco Antonio Bezerra; Chaib, Eleazar; Massad, Eduardo

2013-01-01

We address the observation that, in some cases, patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are cleared of HCV when super-infected with the hepatitis A virus (HAV). We hypothesise that this phenomenon can be explained by the competitive exclusion principle, including the action of the immune system, and show that the inclusion of the immune system explains both the elimination of one virus and the co-existence of both infections for a certain range of parameters. We discuss the potential clinical implications of our findings.

Predicting protein folding rate change upon point mutation using residue-level coevolutionary information.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallik, Saurav; Das, Smita; Kundu, Sudip

2016-01-01

Change in folding kinetics of globular proteins upon point mutation is crucial to a wide spectrum of biological research, such as protein misfolding, toxicity, and aggregations. Here we seek to address whether residue-level coevolutionary information of globular proteins can be informative to folding rate changes upon point mutations. Generating residue-level coevolutionary networks of globular proteins, we analyze three parameters: relative coevolution order (rCEO), network density (ND), and characteristic path length (CPL). A point mutation is considered to be equivalent to a node deletion of this network and respective percentage changes in rCEO, ND, CPL are found linearly correlated (0.84, 0.73, and -0.61, respectively) with experimental folding rate changes. The three parameters predict the folding rate change upon a point mutation with 0.031, 0.045, and 0.059 standard errors, respectively. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Phylogeny of diving beetles reveals a coevolutionary arms race between the sexes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes Bergsten

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Darwin illustrated his sexual selection theory with male and female morphology of diving beetles, but maintained a cooperative view of their interaction. Present theory suggests that instead sexual conflict should be a widespread evolutionary force driving both intersexual coevolutionary arms races and speciation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We combined Bayesian phylogenetics, complete taxon sampling and a multi-gene approach to test the arms race scenario on a robust diving beetle phylogeny. As predicted, suction cups in males and modified dorsal surfaces in females showed a pronounced coevolutionary pattern. The female dorsal modifications impair the attachment ability of male suction cups, but each antagonistic novelty in females corresponds to counter-differentiation of suction cups in males. CONCLUSIONS: A recently diverged sibling species pair in Japan is possibly one consequence of this arms race and we suggest that future studies on hypoxia might reveal the key to the extraordinary selection for female counter-adaptations in diving beetles.

A Case Study of a Multiobjective Elitist Recombinative Genetic Algorithm with Coevolutionary Sharing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neef, R.M.; Thierens, D.; Arciszewski, H.F.R.

1999-01-01

We present a multiobjective genetic algorithm that incorporates various genetic algorithm techniques that have been proven to be efficient and robust in their problem domain. More specifically, we integrate rank based selection, adaptive niching through coevolutionary sharing, elitist recombination,

Emergence of Salmonella enteritidis outbreaks in broiler chickens in the Lebanon: epidemiological markers and competitive exclusion control.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbour, E K; Jurdi, L H; Talhouk, R; Qatanani, M; Eid, A; Sakr, W; Bouljihad, M; Spasojevic, R

1999-12-01

This study investigates the first emergence of Salmonella Enteritidis outbreaks among chickens in the Lebanon and identifies the epidemiological markers of selected recovered Enteritidis strains. In addition, the authors evaluate a competitive exclusion approach to control infection in broiler chickens by Enteritidis organisms which possess the prevalent identified markers. The basic procedure in this investigation involved recording signs and lesions in eleven broiler chicken flocks on eleven farms, and culturing livers, spleens, and caeca of ten randomly selected birds per flock for Salmonella isolation and serotyping. Furthermore, culturing for Salmonella and serotyping was attempted from the livers, spleens, caeca and oviduct swabs of ten hens in four broiler breeder flocks which provided hatching eggs for the broilers under study. The identification of epidemiological markers in recovered S. Enteritidis included the determination of drug-resistance patterns and plasmid profiling. The competitive exclusion was evaluated by spraying the microflora on day-old broilers in the hatchery, followed by a controlled oral challenge at three days of age, with 2.85 x 10(5) colony-forming units of S. Enteritidis organisms per bird. Exclusion was evaluated by culturing for S. Enteritidis in anal swabs, spleens, livers, and caeca of individual challenged birds treated with the microflora and in untreated challenged birds. A total of 112 invasive S. Enteritidis strains were recovered on eleven farms from individual organs of broiler chickens with typical signs and lesions of salmonellosis. The prevalent resistance to drugs in such strains was to furaltadone and gentamycin, a marker identified in 93 strains (83%), recovered from nine out of eleven farms. The same resistance pattern was present in S. Enteritidis strains recovered from breeders on one out of four farms. The prevalent plasmid profile in nine S. Enteritidis organisms selected randomly from a pool of 93 strains (one

The bitterling–mussel coevolutionary relationship in areas of recent and ancient sympatry

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Reichard, Martin; Polačik, Matej; Tarkan, A. S.; Spence, R.; Gaygusuz, Ö.; Ercan, E.; Ondračková, Markéta; Smith, C.

2010-01-01

Roč. 64, č. 10 (2010), s. 3047-3056 ISSN 0014-3820 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB600930802 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60930519 Keywords : coevolutionary arm races * evolutionary lag * gentes * host race * specialization * symbiosis Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 5.659, year: 2010

A CO-EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE THEORY OF ORGANIZATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flavia Luciane Scherer

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This article pointed out the reasons and possibilities of co-evolutionary studies, requirements and problems to develop such studies, as well as discuss some of the central theoretical frameworks to the theory of organizations, from the perspective of coevolution (lewin and volberda , 1999. From this, we identify the possible links that can be established between different lenses of study, when integrated into a co-evolutionary study. Such links are drawn by taking the analysis of institutional theory (dimaggio and powell, 1991; meyer and rowan, 1991; scott, 1995, the transaction costs theory (williamson, 1981 and the theory of social relations in economic action (granovetter, 1992. Thus, it is expected to contribute to the discussion about the possibilities for greater integration in organizational studies, when calling attention to the importance of moving toward a more inclusive, taking into account the macro economic and social dynamics and their impact on the level the firm (in terms of effect size, identity, culture and learning processes and its inverse relationships - from the firm to the macro environment.

Does density-dependent diversification mirror ecological competitive exclusion?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie J Monroe

Full Text Available Density-dependence is a term used in ecology to describe processes such as birth and death rates that are regulated by the number of individuals in a population. Evolutionary biologists have borrowed the term to describe decreasing rates of species accumulation, suggesting that speciation and extinction rates depend on the total number of species in a clade. If this analogy with ecological density-dependence holds, diversification of clades is restricted because species compete for limited resources. We hypothesize that such competition should not only affect numbers of species, but also prevent species from being phenotypically similar. Here, we present a method to detect whether competitive interactions between species have ordered phenotypic traits on a phylogeny, assuming that competition prevents related species from having identical trait values. We use the method to analyze clades of birds and mammals, with body size as the phenotypic trait. We find no sign that competition has prevented species from having the same body size. Thus, since body size is a key ecological trait and competition does not seem to be responsible for differences in body size between species, we conclude that the diversification slowdown that is prevalent in these clades is unlikely due to the ecological interference implied by the term density dependence.

Distributed parallel cooperative coevolutionary multi-objective large-scale immune algorithm for deployment of wireless sensor networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cao, Bin; Zhao, Jianwei; Yang, Po

2018-01-01

-objective evolutionary algorithms the Cooperative Coevolutionary Generalized Differential Evolution 3, the Cooperative Multi-objective Differential Evolution and the Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III, the proposed algorithm addresses the deployment optimization problem efficiently and effectively.......Using immune algorithms is generally a time-intensive process especially for problems with a large number of variables. In this paper, we propose a distributed parallel cooperative coevolutionary multi-objective large-scale immune algorithm that is implemented using the message passing interface...... (MPI). The proposed algorithm is composed of three layers: objective, group and individual layers. First, for each objective in the multi-objective problem to be addressed, a subpopulation is used for optimization, and an archive population is used to optimize all the objectives. Second, the large...

Exclusive Territories and Manufacturers’ Collusion

OpenAIRE

Salvatore Piccolo; Markus Reisinger

2010-01-01

This paper highlights the rationale for exclusive territories in a model of repeated interaction between competing supply chains. We show that with observable contracts exclusive territories have two countervailing effects on manufacturers' incentives to sustain tacit collusion. First, granting local monopolies to retailers distributing a given brand softens inter- and intrabrand competition in a one-shot game. Hence, punishment profits are larger, thereby rendering deviation more profitable....

Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Bioethics: A Co-evolutionary Introduction from the Big History

OpenAIRE

Javier Collado-Ruano

2016-01-01

The main objective of this work is to expand the bioethics notion expressed in the Article 17th of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, concerning the interconnections between human beings and other life forms. For this purpose, it is combined the transdisciplinary methodology with the theoretical framework of the “Big History” to approach the co-evolutionary phenomena that life is developing on Earth for some 3.8 billion years. As a result, the study introduces us to t...

Are exotic herbivores better competitors? A meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Radville, Laura; Gonda-King, Liahna; Gómez, Sara; Kaplan, Ian; Preisser, Evan L

2014-01-01

Competition plays an important role in structuring the community dynamics of phytophagous insects. As the number and impact of biological invasions increase, it has become increasingly important to determine whether competitive differences exist between native and exotic insects. We conducted a meta-analysis to test the hypothesis that native/ exotic status affects the outcome of herbivore competition. Specifically, we used data from 160 published studies to assess plant-mediated competition in phytophagous insects. For each pair of competing herbivores, we determined the native range and coevolutionary history of each herbivore and host plant. Plant-mediated competition occurred frequently, but neither native nor exotic insects were consistently better competitors. Spatial separation reduced competition in native insects but showed little effect on exotics. Temporal separation negatively impacted native insects but did not affect competition in exotics. Insects that coevolved with their host plant were more affected by interspecific competition than herbivores that lacked a coevolutionary history. Insects that have not coevolved with their host plant may be at a competitive advantage if they overcome plant defenses. As native/exotic status does not consistently predict outcomes of competitive interactions, plant-insect coevolutionary history should be considered in studies of competition.

Public goods games on adaptive coevolutionary networks

Science.gov (United States)

Pichler, Elgar; Shapiro, Avi M.

2017-07-01

Productive societies feature high levels of cooperation and strong connections between individuals. Public Goods Games (PGGs) are frequently used to study the development of social connections and cooperative behavior in model societies. In such games, contributions to the public good are made only by cooperators, while all players, including defectors, reap public goods benefits, which are shares of the contributions amplified by a synergy factor. Classic results of game theory show that mutual defection, as opposed to cooperation, is the Nash Equilibrium of PGGs in well-mixed populations, where each player interacts with all others. In this paper, we explore the coevolutionary dynamics of a low information public goods game on a complex network in which players adapt to their environment in order to increase individual payoffs relative to past payoffs parameterized by greediness. Players adapt by changing their strategies, either to cooperate or to defect, and by altering their social connections. We find that even if players do not know other players' strategies and connectivity, cooperation can arise and persist despite large short-term fluctuations.

Coevolution between invasive and native plants driven by chemical competition and soil biota.

Science.gov (United States)

Lankau, Richard A

2012-07-10

Although reciprocal evolutionary responses between interacting species are a driving force behind the diversity of life, pairwise coevolution between plant competitors has received less attention than other species interactions and has been considered relatively less important in explaining ecological patterns. However, the success of species transported across biogeographic boundaries suggests a stronger role for evolutionary relationships in shaping plant interactions. Alliaria petiolata is a Eurasian species that has invaded North American forest understories, where it competes with native understory species in part by producing compounds that directly and indirectly slow the growth of competing species. Here I show that populations of A. petiolata from areas with a greater density of interspecific competitors invest more in a toxic allelochemical under common conditions. Furthermore, populations of a native competitor from areas with highly toxic invaders are more tolerant to competition from the invader, suggesting coevolutionary dynamics between the species. Field reciprocal transplants confirmed that native populations more tolerant to the invader had higher fitness when the invader was common, but these traits came at a cost when the invader was rare. Exotic species are often detrimentally dominant in their new range due to their evolutionary novelty; however, the development of new coevolutionary relationships may act to integrate exotic species into native communities.

Temperature- and Turbidity-Dependent Competitive Interactions Between Invasive Freshwater Mussels.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Qihua; Wang, Hao; Ricciardi, Anthony; Lewis, Mark A

2016-03-01

We develop a staged-structured population model that describes the competitive dynamics of two functionally similar, congeneric invasive species: zebra mussels and quagga mussels. The model assumes that the population survival rates are functions of temperature and turbidity, and that the two species compete for food. The stability analysis of the model yields conditions on net reproductive rates and intrinsic growth rates that lead to competitive exclusion. The model predicts quagga mussel dominance leading to potential exclusion of zebra mussels at mean water temperatures below [Formula: see text] and over a broad range of turbidities, and a much narrower set of conditions that favor zebra mussel dominance and potential exclusion of quagga mussels at temperatures above [Formula: see text] and turbidities below 35 NTU. We then construct a two-patch dispersal model to examine how the dispersal rates and the environmental factors affect competitive exclusion and coexistence.

From coexistence to competitive exclusion: can overfishing change the outcome of competition in skates (Chondrichthyes, Rajidae?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia L Ruocco

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Competition for food could be a major force driving changes in the community structure of skates (Rajidae subjected to fishing exploitation. Under this hypothesis, small skates are released from competition with larger skates after fishing has depleted the larger species. Here, we compare the abundance patterns of two sympatric skates with similar niches but different life histories, Bathyraja albomaculata (larger and slow-reproducing and Bathyraja macloviana (smaller and faster-reproducing, before (1971, 1978 and after (1998-2004 a 108% increase in industrial bottom trawling on the southeastern South American shelf in order to test the prediction that B. macloviana should competitively exclude B. albomaculata after the increase in fishing mortality. In 1971 and 1978, there was no relationship between the abundance of both species, indicating that they coexisted over large scales. In 1998-2004, the relationship between the abundances of these skates was bell-shaped, indicating that both species increased in abundance at low densities until peaking, after which B. albomaculata decreased when B. macloviana became more abundant, consistent with resource competition. We tested whether food may be a potential limiting resource by comparing the diet of both species. The two species consumed mostly polychaetes, differing only in the consumption of polychaetes from the family Nephthyidae, which was much higher for B. macloviana. Bathyraja macloviana could replace B. albomaculata at high densities when food resources may become scarce. These results support the hypothesis that competition release is an important factor explaining the changes in skate communities in overexploited areas.

THE MECHANISM FOR IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY OF COMPETITIVENESS INCREASE OF THE ORGANIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Николай Петрович ГРИНЧЕНКО

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The mechanism of the organizational competitiveness increase, which is employed to enhance the organizational structure, has been performed in the research. The principles ensuring the product competitiveness have been pointed out. The involvement of the strategic marketing service organizational structure which aims to optimize the information flows for the development of the managerial decisions has been proved.  The generalized structure of strategic marketing services focused on medium-sized and large enterprises has been proposed. The proposed strategic marketing service develops strategic standards for all production parameters on the first stage of organizational product life cycle. Employing the innovation management methods, it prepares the exclusive values for all production parameters to turn them into an organizational competitiveness according to the following scheme: exclusive value, competitive advantages of products, competitiveness of products and organization competitiveness. Strategic Marketing Service together with top managers performs: the strategic vision and organization mission development, the tree of long-term objectives development, the strategy of the organization competitiveness improvement development, projects formation, control, and implementation. The Strategic Marketing Service Management is based on the strategic management functions implementation while performing the strategy of organizational competitiveness increase. The mechanism structure of the strategy of organizational competitiveness increase that will effectively perform the strategic management decisions and convert the exclusive values into the organizational competitiveness has been proposed.

Competitive Exclusion Reduces Transmission and Excretion of Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli in Broilers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ceccarelli, Daniela; van Essen-Zandbergen, Alieda; Smid, Bregtje; Veldman, Kees T; Boender, Gert Jan; Fischer, Egil A J; Mevius, Dik J; van der Goot, Jeanet A

2017-06-01

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamases (pAmpC) are enzymes able to hydrolyze a large variety of β-lactam antibiotics, including third-generation cephalosporins and monobactams. Broilers and broiler meat products can be highly contaminated with ESBL- and pAmpC-producing Escherichia coli strains, also known as extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistant E. coli strains, and can be a source for human infections. As few data on interventions to reduce the presence of ESC-resistant E. coli in broilers are available, we used transmission experiments to examine the role of competitive exclusion (CE) on reducing transmission and excretion in broilers. A broiler model to study the transmission of ESC-resistant E. coli was set up. Day-old chickens were challenged with an ESBL-producing E. coli strain isolated from healthy broilers in the Netherlands. Challenged and not challenged chicks were housed together in pairs or in groups, and ESBL-producing E. coli transmission was monitored via selective culturing of cloacal swab specimens. We observed a statistically significant reduction in both the transmission and excretion of ESBL-producing E. coli in chicks treated with the probiotic flora before E. coli challenge compared to the transmission and excretion in untreated controls. In conclusion, our results support the use of competitive exclusion as an intervention strategy to control ESC-resistant E. coli in the field. IMPORTANCE Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamases are a primary cause of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics among members of the family Enterobacteriaceae in humans, animals, and the environment. Food-producing animals are not exempt from this, with a high prevalence being seen in broilers, and there is evidence pointing to a possible foodborne source for human contamination. We investigated the effect of administration of a commercial probiotic product as an intervention to

47 CFR 80.1251 - Maritime communications subject to competitive bidding.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Maritime communications subject to competitive... AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES Competitive Bidding Procedures § 80.1251 Maritime communications subject to competitive bidding. Mutually exclusive initial applications for VPCSA...

A Multipopulation Coevolutionary Strategy for Multiobjective Immune Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiao Shi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available How to maintain the population diversity is an important issue in designing a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm. This paper presents an enhanced nondominated neighbor-based immune algorithm in which a multipopulation coevolutionary strategy is introduced for improving the population diversity. In the proposed algorithm, subpopulations evolve independently; thus the unique characteristics of each subpopulation can be effectively maintained, and the diversity of the entire population is effectively increased. Besides, the dynamic information of multiple subpopulations is obtained with the help of the designed cooperation operator which reflects a mutually beneficial relationship among subpopulations. Subpopulations gain the opportunity to exchange information, thereby expanding the search range of the entire population. Subpopulations make use of the reference experience from each other, thereby improving the efficiency of evolutionary search. Compared with several state-of-the-art multiobjective evolutionary algorithms on well-known and frequently used multiobjective and many-objective problems, the proposed algorithm achieves comparable results in terms of convergence, diversity metrics, and running time on most test problems.

Coevolutionary arms race versus host defense chase in a tropical herbivore-plant system.

Science.gov (United States)

Endara, María-José; Coley, Phyllis D; Ghabash, Gabrielle; Nicholls, James A; Dexter, Kyle G; Donoso, David A; Stone, Graham N; Pennington, R Toby; Kursar, Thomas A

2017-09-05

Coevolutionary models suggest that herbivores drive diversification and community composition in plants. For herbivores, many questions remain regarding how plant defenses shape host choice and community structure. We addressed these questions using the tree genus Inga and its lepidopteran herbivores in the Amazon. We constructed phylogenies for both plants and insects and quantified host associations and plant defenses. We found that similarity in herbivore assemblages between Inga species was correlated with similarity in defenses. There was no correlation with phylogeny, a result consistent with our observations that the expression of defenses in Inga is independent of phylogeny. Furthermore, host defensive traits explained 40% of herbivore community similarity. Analyses at finer taxonomic scales showed that different lepidopteran clades select hosts based on different defenses, suggesting taxon-specific histories of herbivore-host plant interactions. Finally, we compared the phylogeny and defenses of Inga to phylogenies for the major lepidopteran clades. We found that closely related herbivores fed on Inga with similar defenses rather than on closely related plants. Together, these results suggest that plant defenses might be more evolutionarily labile than the herbivore traits related to host association. Hence, there is an apparent asymmetry in the evolutionary interactions between Inga and its herbivores. Although plants may evolve under selection by herbivores, we hypothesize that herbivores may not show coevolutionary adaptations, but instead "chase" hosts based on the herbivore's own traits at the time that they encounter a new host, a pattern more consistent with resource tracking than with the arms race model of coevolution.

Follow-on biologics: data exclusivity and the balance between innovation and competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Grabowski, Henry

2008-06-01

Legislation to create a regulatory pathway for follow-on biologics is currently being considered by the United States Congress. A critical issue in this respect is the period of data exclusivity for innovator companies before a follow-on competitor can rely in part on data obtained for an original biologic for an abbreviated approval. Given the nature of patents on biologics, the period of data exclusivity is anticipated to have a key role in determining how quickly follow-on competitors emerge, and consequently also on the time available for originator companies to recoup their investment. With this issue in mind, this article discusses factors influencing return on investment on biologic research and development. A break-even analysis for a representative portfolio of biologics provides support for a substantial data exclusivity period.

UK Higher Education: Competitive Forces in the 21st Century.

Science.gov (United States)

Webber, G. C.

2000-01-01

Considers United Kingdom higher education in the context of Michael Porter's book, "Competitive Strategy," which discusses five forces governing competition. Focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on teaching, the monograph identifies critical factors that have influenced the balance of competitive forces in higher education and…

Success of cuckoo catfish brood parasitism reflects coevolutionary history and individual experience of their cichlid hosts

Science.gov (United States)

Polačik, Matej; Smith, Carl; Honza, Marcel; Reichard, Martin

2018-01-01

Obligate brood parasites manipulate other species into raising their offspring. Avian and insect brood parasitic systems demonstrate how interacting species engage in reciprocal coevolutionary arms races through behavioral and morphological adaptations and counteradaptations. Mouthbrooding cichlid fishes are renowned for their remarkable evolutionary radiations and complex behaviors. In Lake Tanganyika, mouthbrooding cichlids are exploited by the only obligate nonavian vertebrate brood parasite, the cuckoo catfish Synodontis multipunctatus. We show that coevolutionary history and individual learning both have a major impact on the success of cuckoo catfish parasitism between coevolved sympatric and evolutionarily naïve allopatric cichlid species. The rate of cuckoo catfish parasitism in coevolved Tanganyikan hosts was 3 to 11 times lower than in evolutionarily naïve cichlids. Moreover, using experimental infections, we demonstrate that parasite egg rejection in sympatric hosts was much higher, leading to seven times greater parasite survival in evolutionarily naïve than sympatric hosts. However, a high rejection frequency of parasitic catfish eggs by coevolved sympatric hosts came at a cost of increased rejection of their own eggs. A significant cost of catfish parasitism was universal, except for coevolved sympatric cichlid species with previous experience of catfish parasitism, demonstrating that learning and individual experience both contribute to a successful host response.

Resale Price Maintenance and Manufacturer Competition for Exclusive Dealerships.

OpenAIRE

Perry, Martin K; Besanko, David

1991-01-01

Two manufacturers distribute their brands through exclusive retail dealers and must compete for consumers indirectly by inducing retailers to carry their brands. The authors compare equilibrium outcomes with and without resale price maintenance. Maximum resale price maintenance lowers the retail price if manufacturers cannot employ franchise fees. Minimum retail price maintenance raises the retail price if manufacturers cannot set a wholesale price above marginal cost and must employ only a f...

Competitive intransitivity promotes species coexistence.

Science.gov (United States)

Laird, Robert A; Schamp, Brandon S

2006-08-01

Using a spatially explicit cellular automaton model with local competition, we investigate the potential for varied levels of competitive intransitivity (i.e., nonhierarchical competition) to promote species coexistence. As predicted, on average, increased levels of intransitivity result in more sustained coexistence within simulated communities, although the outcome of competition also becomes increasingly unpredictable. Interestingly, even a moderate degree of intransitivity within a community can promote coexistence, in terms of both the length of time until the first competitive exclusion and the number of species remaining in the community after 500 simulated generations. These results suggest that modest levels of intransitivity in nature, such as those that are thought to be characteristic of plant communities, can contribute to coexistence and, therefore, community-scale biodiversity. We explore a potential connection between competitive intransitivity and neutral theory, whereby competitive intransitivity may represent an important mechanism for "ecological equivalence."

Venom Resistance as a Model for Understanding the Molecular Basis of Complex Coevolutionary Adaptations.

Science.gov (United States)

Holding, Matthew L; Drabeck, Danielle H; Jansa, Sharon A; Gibbs, H Lisle

2016-11-01

SynopsisVenom and venom resistance are molecular phenotypes widely considered to have diversified through coevolution between predators and prey. However, while evolutionary and functional studies on venom have been extensive, little is known about the molecular basis, variation, and complexity of venom resistance. We review known mechanisms of venom resistance and relate these mechanisms to their predicted impact on coevolutionary dynamics with venomous enemies. We then describe two conceptual approaches which can be used to examine venom/resistance systems. At the intraspecific level, tests of local adaptation in venom and resistance phenotypes can identify the functional mechanisms governing the outcomes of coevolution. At deeper evolutionary timescales, the combination of phylogenetically informed analyses of protein evolution coupled with studies of protein function promise to elucidate the mode and tempo of evolutionary change on potentially coevolving genes. We highlight case studies that use each approach to extend our knowledge of these systems as well as address larger questions about coevolutionary dynamics. We argue that resistance and venom are phenotypic traits which hold exceptional promise for investigating the mechanisms, dynamics, and outcomes of coevolution at the molecular level. Furthermore, extending the understanding of single gene-for-gene interactions to the whole resistance and venom phenotypes may provide a model system for examining the molecular and evolutionary dynamics of complex multi-gene interactions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Co-evolutionary dynamics of the human-environment system in the Heihe River basin in the past 2000years.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Zhixiang; Wei, Yongping; Feng, Qi; Xie, Jiali; Xiao, Honglang; Cheng, Guodong

2018-09-01

There is limited quantitative understanding of interactions between human and environmental systems over the millennial scale. We aim to reveal the co-evolutionary dynamics of the human-environment system in a river basin by simulating the water use and net primary production (NPP) allocation for human and environmental systems over the last 2000years in Heihe River basin (HRB) in northwest China. We partition the catchment total evapotranspiration (ET) into ET for human and environmental systems with a social-hydrological framework and estimate the NPP for human and environmental systems using the Box-Lieth model, then classify the co-evolutionary processes of the human-environment system into distinct phases using the rate of changes of NPP over time, and discover the trade-offs or synergies relationships between them based on the elasticity of change of the NPP for humans to the change of NPP for environment. The co-evolutionary dynamics of human-environment system in the HRB can be divided into four periods, including: Phase I (Han Dynasty-Yuan Dynasty): predevelopment characterized by nearly no trade-offs between human and environment; Phase II (Yuan Dynasty-RC): slow agricultural development: characterized by a small human win due to small trade-offs between human and environment; Phase III (RC-2000): rapid agricultural development: characterized by a large human win due to large trade-offs between human and environment, and Phase IV (2000-2010): a rebalance characterized by large human wins with a small-environment win due to synergies, although these occurred very occasionally. This study provides a quantitative approach to describe the co-evolution of the human-environment system from the perspective of trade-offs and synergies in the millennial scale for the first time. The relationships between humans and environment changed from trade-off to synergy with the implementation of the water reallocation scheme in 2000. These findings improve the

Classification as clustering: a Pareto cooperative-competitive GP approach.

Science.gov (United States)

McIntyre, Andrew R; Heywood, Malcolm I

2011-01-01

Intuitively population based algorithms such as genetic programming provide a natural environment for supporting solutions that learn to decompose the overall task between multiple individuals, or a team. This work presents a framework for evolving teams without recourse to prespecifying the number of cooperating individuals. To do so, each individual evolves a mapping to a distribution of outcomes that, following clustering, establishes the parameterization of a (Gaussian) local membership function. This gives individuals the opportunity to represent subsets of tasks, where the overall task is that of classification under the supervised learning domain. Thus, rather than each team member representing an entire class, individuals are free to identify unique subsets of the overall classification task. The framework is supported by techniques from evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO) and Pareto competitive coevolution. EMO establishes the basis for encouraging individuals to provide accurate yet nonoverlaping behaviors; whereas competitive coevolution provides the mechanism for scaling to potentially large unbalanced datasets. Benchmarking is performed against recent examples of nonlinear SVM classifiers over 12 UCI datasets with between 150 and 200,000 training instances. Solutions from the proposed coevolutionary multiobjective GP framework appear to provide a good balance between classification performance and model complexity, especially as the dataset instance count increases.

A cheat sheet to navigate the complex maze of pharmaceutical exclusivities in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomas, Marta Cavero; Peng, Bo

2017-07-01

As the two leading markets for pharmaceutical and biotech companies, the USA and Europe offer incentives to stimulate drug innovation, including patent and regulatory exclusivities. These exclusivities extend periods during which companies can market their products free of generic or other competition and recoup their investment. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies should carefully assess the different types of exclusivities available when developing regulatory submissions, patent filing strategies. The authors have previously summarized the USA exclusivities in an earlier publication. This article focuses on European exclusivities. Due to space limitations, it focuses on small molecule drugs. Analogously to the format previously used, we have provided a cheat sheet of European exclusivities for small molecule drugs in Figure 1 .

Computational Analysis of Residue Interaction Networks and Coevolutionary Relationships in the Hsp70 Chaperones: A Community-Hopping Model of Allosteric Regulation and Communication.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabrielle Stetz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Allosteric interactions in the Hsp70 proteins are linked with their regulatory mechanisms and cellular functions. Despite significant progress in structural and functional characterization of the Hsp70 proteins fundamental questions concerning modularity of the allosteric interaction networks and hierarchy of signaling pathways in the Hsp70 chaperones remained largely unexplored and poorly understood. In this work, we proposed an integrated computational strategy that combined atomistic and coarse-grained simulations with coevolutionary analysis and network modeling of the residue interactions. A novel aspect of this work is the incorporation of dynamic residue correlations and coevolutionary residue dependencies in the construction of allosteric interaction networks and signaling pathways. We found that functional sites involved in allosteric regulation of Hsp70 may be characterized by structural stability, proximity to global hinge centers and local structural environment that is enriched by highly coevolving flexible residues. These specific characteristics may be necessary for regulation of allosteric structural transitions and could distinguish regulatory sites from nonfunctional conserved residues. The observed confluence of dynamics correlations and coevolutionary residue couplings with global networking features may determine modular organization of allosteric interactions and dictate localization of key mediating sites. Community analysis of the residue interaction networks revealed that concerted rearrangements of local interacting modules at the inter-domain interface may be responsible for global structural changes and a population shift in the DnaK chaperone. The inter-domain communities in the Hsp70 structures harbor the majority of regulatory residues involved in allosteric signaling, suggesting that these sites could be integral to the network organization and coordination of structural changes. Using a network-based formalism of

Sharing Powers Within Exclusive Competences: Rethinking EU Antitrust Law Enforcement

OpenAIRE

Van Cleynenbreugel, Pieter

2016-01-01

Although the establishment of competition rules forms part of the EU’s exclusive competences, the application and enforcement of those rules has always been shared consistently between the EU and its Member States.The sharing of enforcement powers is conceptualised traditionally as a delegation of the exercise of exclusively conferred competences. The Court of Justice of the European Union’s case law in the context of EU antitrust law enforcement nevertheless raises profound questions as to t...

The relative importance of seed competition, resource competition and perturbations on community structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Bohn

2011-05-01

Full Text Available While the regional climate is the primary selection pressure for whether a plant strategy can survive, however, competitive interactions strongly affect the relative abundances of plant strategies within communities. Here, we investigate the relative importance of competition and perturbations on the development of vegetation community structure. To do so, we develop DIVE (Dynamics and Interactions of VEgetation, a simple general model that links plant strategies to their competitive dynamics, using growth and reproduction characteristics that emerge from climatic constraints. The model calculates population dynamics based on establishment, mortality, invasion and exclusion in the presence of different strengths of perturbations, seed and resource competition. The highest levels of diversity were found in simulations without competition as long as mortality is not too high. However, reasonable successional dynamics were only achieved when resource competition is considered. Under high levels of competition, intermediate levels of perturbations were required to obtain coexistence. Since succession and coexistence are observed in plant communities, we conclude that the DIVE model with competition and intermediate levels of perturbation represents an adequate way to model population dynamics. Because of the simplicity and generality of DIVE, it could be used to understand vegetation structure and functioning at the global scale and the response of vegetation to global change.

The efficacy of a commercial competitive exclusion product on Campylobacter colonization in broiler chickens in a 5-week pilot-scale study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneitz, C; Hakkinen, M

2016-05-01

The efficacy of the commercial competitive exclusion product Broilact against Campylobacter jejuni was evaluated in broiler chickens in a 5-week pilot-scale study. Newly-hatched broiler chicks were brought from a commercial hatchery. After arrival 50 seeder chicks were challenged orally with approximately 10(3) cfu of C. jejuni, wing marked, and placed back in a delivery box and moved to a separate room. The rest of the chicks (contact chicks) were placed in floor pens, 100 chicks per pen. Birds in two pens were treated orally on the day of hatch with the commercial competitive exclusion (CE) product Broilact, and three pens were left untreated. The following day 10 seeder chicks were introduced into the Broilact treated and untreated control pens. One pen was left both untreated and unchallenged (0-control). Each week the ceca of 10 contact chicks and one seeder chick were examined quantitatively for Campylobacter The treatment prevented or significantly reduced the colonization of the challenge organism in the ceca during the two first weeks; the percentage of colonized birds being 0% after the first week and 30% after the second week in the Broilact treated groups but was 100% in the control groups the entire 5-week rearing period. During the third rearing week the proportion of Campylobacter positive birds started to increase in the treated pens, being 80% after the third week and 95 and 90% after the fourth and fifth rearing weeks, respectively. Similarly the average count of Campylobacter in the cecal contents of the Broilact treated chicks started to increase, the difference between the treated and control chicks being 1.4 logs at the end of the rearing period. Although the protective effect was temporary and occurred only during the first two weeks of the rearing period, the results of this study support the earlier observations that CE flora designed to protect chicks from Salmonella may also reduce Campylobacter colonization of broiler chickens. © The

Effect of competitive exclusion in rabbits using an autochthonous probiotic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Cunha

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Animal nutrition has been severely challenged by the ban on antimicrobials as growth promoters. This has fostered the study of alternative methods to avoid colonisation by pathogenic bacteria as well as to improve the growth of animals and feed conversion efficiency. These new options should not alter the normal intestinal microbiota, or affect it as little as possible. The use of probiotics, which are live microorganisms that beneficially affect the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance, can be seen as a promising way to achieve that goal. In this study, New Zealand White rabbits were fed diets containing an autochthonous probiotic of Enterococcus spp., with the strains EaI, EfaI and EfaD, and Escherichia coli, with the strains ECI 1, ECI 2 and ECD, during a 25-d trial, to evaluate the impact of the probiotic on the faecal microbiota, including population dynamics and antimicrobial resistance profiles. A control group of rabbits, which was fed a diet containing a commonly used mixture of antimicrobials (colistin, oxytetracycline, and valnemulin, was also studied. To assess the colonisation ability of the mentioned probiotic, the faecal microbiota of the rabbits was characterised up to 10 d after the administration had ended. Isolates of enterococci and E. coli were studied for phylogenetic relationships using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC-PCR and pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE, respectively. Although partially affected by an unexpected clinical impairment suffered by the rabbits in the experimental group, our results showed the following. The difference between the growth rate of the animals treated with antimicrobials and those fed the probiotic was not statistically significant (P> 0.05. The competitive exclusion product was present in the faecal samples in a large proportion, but stopped being recovered by culture as soon as the administration ended and the housing conditions were changed

Epidemiological, evolutionary, and coevolutionary implications of context-dependent parasitism.

Science.gov (United States)

Vale, Pedro F; Wilson, Alastair J; Best, Alex; Boots, Mike; Little, Tom J

2011-04-01

Abstract Victims of infection are expected to suffer increasingly as parasite population growth increases. Yet, under some conditions, faster-growing parasites do not appear to cause more damage, and infections can be quite tolerable. We studied these conditions by assessing how the relationship between parasite population growth and host health is sensitive to environmental variation. In experimental infections of the crustacean Daphnia magna and its bacterial parasite Pasteuria ramosa, we show how easily an interaction can shift from a severe interaction, that is, when host fitness declines substantially with each unit of parasite growth, to a tolerable relationship by changing only simple environmental variables: temperature and food availability. We explored the evolutionary and epidemiological implications of such a shift by modeling pathogen evolution and disease spread under different levels of infection severity and found that environmental shifts that promote tolerance ultimately result in populations harboring more parasitized individuals. We also find that the opportunity for selection, as indicated by the variance around traits, varied considerably with the environmental treatment. Thus, our results suggest two mechanisms that could underlie coevolutionary hotspots and coldspots: spatial variation in tolerance and spatial variation in the opportunity for selection.

Competitive intelligence in UK firms: A typology.

OpenAIRE

Wright, Sheila; Pickton, David W.; Callow, Joanne

2002-01-01

There is a danger of allowing competitive analysis to receive less than adequate attention in the marketing planning process as it is subordinated to a customer driven focus. Clearly important though customers are, they should not dominate marketing strategy and planning to the exclusion of other influential groups, one of these being competitors. With this in mind, a pilot research project was undertaken to gain a better understanding of how UK companies conduct competitive intelligence. ...

Are the metabolomic responses to folivory of closely related plant species linked to macroevolutionary and plant-folivore coevolutionary processes?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rivas-Ubach, Albert [Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington 99354 USA; CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08913 Catalonia Spain; Hódar, José A. [Grupo de Ecología Terrestre, Departamento de Biología Animal y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada Spain; Sardans, Jordi [CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08913 Catalonia Spain; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08913 Catalonia Spain; Kyle, Jennifer E. [Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington 99354 USA; Kim, Young-Mo [Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington 99354 USA; Oravec, Michal [Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bĕlidla 4a CZ-603 00 Brno Czech Republic; Urban, Otmar [Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bĕlidla 4a CZ-603 00 Brno Czech Republic; Guenther, Alex [Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine California 92697 USA; Peñuelas, Josep [CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08913 Catalonia Spain; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-CSIC-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08913 Catalonia Spain

2016-06-02

The debate whether the coevolution of plants and insects or macroevolutionary processes (phylogeny) is the main driver determining the arsenal of molecular defensive compounds of plants remains unresolved. Attacks by herbivorous insects affect not only the composition of defensive compounds in plants but the entire metabolome (the set of molecular metabolites), including defensive compounds. Metabolomes are the final products of genotypes and are directly affected by macroevolutionary processes, so closely related species should have similar metabolomic compositions and may respond in similar ways to attacks by folivores. We analyzed the elemental compositions and metabolomes of needles from Pinus pinaster, P. nigra and P. sylvestris to determine if these closely related Pinus species with different coevolutionary histories with the caterpillars of the processionary moth respond similarly to attacks by this lepidopteran. All pines had different metabolomes and metabolic responses to herbivorous attack. The metabolomic variation among the pine species and the responses to folivory reflected their macroevolutionary relationships, with P. pinaster having the most divergent metabolome. The concentrations of phenolic metabolites were generally not higher in the attacked trees, which had lower concentrations of terpenes, suggesting that herbivores avoid individuals with high concentrations of terpenes. Our results suggest that macroevolutionary history plays important roles in the metabolomic responses of these pine species to folivory, but plant-insect coevolution probably constrains those responses. Combinations of different evolutionary factors and trade-offs are likely responsible for the different responses of each species to folivory, which is not necessarily exclusively linked to plant-insect coevolution.

Picking battles wisely: plant behaviour under competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Novoplansky, Ariel

2009-06-01

Plants are limited in their ability to choose their neighbours, but they are able to orchestrate a wide spectrum of rational competitive behaviours that increase their prospects to prevail under various ecological settings. Through the perception of neighbours, plants are able to anticipate probable competitive interactions and modify their competitive behaviours to maximize their long-term gains. Specifically, plants can minimize competitive encounters by avoiding their neighbours; maximize their competitive effects by aggressively confronting their neighbours; or tolerate the competitive effects of their neighbours. However, the adaptive values of these non-mutually exclusive options are expected to depend strongly on the plants' evolutionary background and to change dynamically according to their past development, and relative sizes and vigour. Additionally, the magnitude of competitive responsiveness is expected to be positively correlated with the reliability of the environmental information regarding the expected competitive interactions and the expected time left for further plastic modifications. Concurrent competition over external and internal resources and morphogenetic signals may enable some plants to increase their efficiency and external competitive performance by discriminately allocating limited resources to their more promising organs at the expense of failing or less successful organs.

Maternal androgens in avian brood parasites and their hosts: responses to parasitism and competition?

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Caldwell; Wingfield, John C.; Fox, David M.; Walker, Brian G.; Thomley, Jill E

2017-01-01

In the coevolutionary dynamic of avian brood parasites and their hosts, maternal (or transgenerational) effects have rarely been investigated. We examined the potential role of elevated yolk testosterone in eggs of the principal brood parasite in North America, the brown-headed cowbird, and three of its frequent host species. Elevated maternal androgens in eggs are a common maternal effect observed in many avian species when breeding conditions are unfavorable. These steroids accelerate embryo development, shorten incubation period, increase nestling growth rate, and enhance begging vigor, all traits that can increase the survival of offspring. We hypothesized that elevated maternal androgens in host eggs are a defense against brood parasitism. Our second hypothesis was that elevated maternal androgens in cowbird eggs are a defense against intra-specific competition. For host species, we found that elevated yolk testosterone was correlated with parasitized nests of small species, those whose nest success is most reduced by cowbird parasitism. For cowbirds, we found that elevated yolk testosterone was correlated with eggs in multiply-parasitized nests, which indicate intra-specific competition for nests due to high cowbird density. We propose experimental work to further examine the use of maternal effects by cowbirds and their hosts.

"Exclusive Dealing Contract and Inefficient Entry Threat"

OpenAIRE

Noriyuki Yanagawa; Ryoko Oki

2008-01-01

This paper examines the effects of exclusive dealing contracts in a simple model with manufacturers-distributors relations. We consider entrants in both manufacturing and distribution sectors. It is well-known that a potential entry threat is welfare increasing under homogenous price competition, even though the potential entrant is less productive. This paper reexamines this intuition by employing the above model. We show that the entry threat of a less-productive manufacturer is welfare dec...

Epidemiological, evolutionary and co-evolutionary implications of context-dependent parasitism

Science.gov (United States)

Vale, Pedro F.; Wilson, Alastair J.; Best, Alex; Boots, Mike; Little, Tom J.

2013-01-01

Victims of infection are expected to suffer increasingly as parasite population growth increases. Yet, under some conditions, faster growing parasites do not appear to cause more damage and infections can be quite tolerable. We studied these conditions by assessing how the relationship between parasite population growth and host health is sensitive to environmental variation. In experimental infections of the crustacean Daphnia magna and its bacterial parasite Pasteuria ramosa we show how easily an interaction can shift from a severe interaction, i.e. when host fitness declines substantially with each unit of parasite growth, to a tolerable relationship by changing only simple environmental variables: temperature and food availability. We explored the evolutionary and epidemiological implications of such a shift by modelling pathogen evolution and disease spread under different levels of infection severity, and find that environmental shifts that promote tolerance ultimately result in populations harbouring more parasitized individuals. We also find that the opportunity for selection, as indicated by the variance around traits, varied considerably with the environmental treatment. Thus our results suggest two mechanisms that could underlie co-evolutionary hot- and coldspots: spatial variation in tolerance and spatial variation in the opportunity for selection. PMID:21460572

The evolution of increased competitive ability, innate competitive advantages, and novel biochemical weapons act in concert for a tropical invader.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Rui-Min; Zheng, Yu-Long; Valiente-Banuet, Alfonso; Callaway, Ragan M; Barclay, Gregor F; Pereyra, Carlos Silva; Feng, Yu-Long

2013-02-01

There are many non-mutually exclusive mechanisms for exotic invasions but few studies have concurrently tested more than one hypothesis for the same species. Here, we tested the evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis in two common garden experiments in which Chromolaena odorata plants originating from native and nonnative ranges were grown in competition with natives from each range, and the novel weapons hypothesis in laboratory experiments with leachates from C. odorata. Compared with conspecifics originating from the native range, C. odorata plants from the nonnative range were stronger competitors at high nutrient concentrations in the nonnative range in China and experienced far more herbivore damage in the native range in Mexico. In both China and Mexico, C. odorata was more suppressed by species native to Mexico than by species native to China. Species native to China were much more inhibited by leaf extracts from C. odorata than species from Mexico, and this difference in allelopathic effects may provide a possible explanation for the biogeographic differences in competitive ability. Our results indicate that EICA, innate competitive advantages, and novel biochemical weapons may act in concert to promote invasion by C. odorata, and emphasize the importance of exploring multiple, non-mutually exclusive mechanisms for invasions. © 2012 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2012 New Phytologist Trust.

Assertiveness of meat-borne Lactococcus piscium strains and their potential for competitive exclusion of spoilage bacteria in situ and in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Hilgarth, M; Nani, M; Vogel, R F

2018-05-01

This study aimed to investigate intraspecies assertiveness of meat-borne Lactococcus piscium isolates, inhibitory effects on unwanted and harmful meat spoilers, and the prevalence on beef deliberately inoculated with Lc. piscium. Co-inoculation of Lc. piscium isolates and spoilers (Brochothrix thermosphacta, Leuconostoc gelidum subsp. gasicomitatum, Carnobacterium divergens, Pseudomonas weihenstephanensis, Serratia liquefaciens, Hafnia alvei) were conducted in sterile meat simulation medium. Differentiation of Lc. piscium strains was carried out with colony-based RAPD-PCR. Selective cultivation was used to differentiate spoilers from Lc. piscium. Intraspecies assertiveness revealed Lc. piscium TMW2.1614 as most assertive strain. Co-inoculation of selected Lc. piscium strains caused substantial growth reduction of spoilers while the extent was strain- and spoiler dependent. Monitoring the microbiota on beef steaks deliberately inoculated with Lc. piscium revealed prevalence over the endogenous microbiota while maintaining a ripened sensory impression without undesired alterations. This study reveals Lc. piscium strains TMW2.1612/2.1614/2.1615 as highly competitive against spoilers in vitro while beef deliberately inoculated with these strains maintained acceptable organoleptics. Selected Lc. piscium strains exhibit high potential for application as bioprotective cultures for competitive exclusion on beef in order to extend minimum shelf life and enhance product safety of meat. © 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Coexistence via coevolution driven by reduced allelochemical effects and increased tolerance to competition between invasive and native plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Fangfang; Lankau, Richard; Peng, Shaolin

2018-04-01

Coevolution can promote long-term coexistence of two competing species if selection acts to reduce the fitness inequality between competitors and/or strengthen negative frequency dependence within each population. However, clear coevolution between plant competitors has been rarely documented. Plant invasions offer opportunities to capture the process of coevolution. Here we investigated how the developing relationship between an invasive forb, Alliaria petiolata, and a native competitor, Pilea pumila, may affect their long-term coexistence, by testing the competitive effects of populations of varying lengths of co-occurrence on each other across a chronosequence of invasion history. Alliaria petiolata and P. pumila tended to develop greater tolerance to competition over invasion history. Their coexistence was promoted more by increases in stabilizing relative to equalizing processes. These changes likely stem in part from reductions in allelopathic traits in the invader and evolution of tolerance in the native. These results suggested that some native species can evolve tolerance against the competitive effects of strong invaders, which likely promoted their persistence in invaded communities. However, the potential for coevolutionary rescue of competing populations is likely to vary across native species, and evolutionary processes should not be expected to compensate for the ecological consequences of exotic invasions. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

47 CFR 22.228 - Cellular rural service area licenses subject to competitive bidding.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cellular rural service area licenses subject to... Procedures § 22.228 Cellular rural service area licenses subject to competitive bidding. Mutually exclusive initial applications for Cellular Rural Service Area licenses are subject to competitive bidding. The...

The Riddle of a Human Being: A Human Singularity of Co-evolutionary Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena N. Knyazeva

2008-10-01

Full Text Available span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: #39;Times New Roman#39;"The theory of self-organization of complex systems studies laws of sustainable co-evolutionary development of structures having different speeds of development as well as laws of assembling of a complex evolutionary whole from parts when some elements of ldquo;memoryrdquo; (the biological memory, i.e. DNA, the memory of culture, i.e. the cultural and historical traditions, etc. must be included. The theory reveals general rules of nonlinear synthesis of complex evolutionary structures. The most important and paradoxical consequences of the holistic view, including an approach to solving the riddle of human personality, are as follows: 1 the explanation why and under what conditions a part (a human can be more complex than a whole (society; 2 in order to reconstruct society it is necessary to change an individual but not by cutting off the supposed undesirable past, since a human being as a microcosm is the synthesis of all previous stages of evolution, and as a result of repression of, it would seem, the wild past one can extinguish a ldquo;divine sparkrdquo; in his soul; 3 in the physical sense, singularity denotes a moment of instability, phase transition; one can talk about the human singularity of co-evolutionary processes, since in such a moment of instability individual actions of a human can play a key role in determining a channel of further development as well as in appearance of a new pattern of collective behavior in society; 4 as the models of nonlinear dynamics, elaborated at the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, show, there is a possibility of a direct influence of the future and even a touch of an infinitely remote future in certain evolutionary regimes and under rigorously definite conditions, more over, it turns out that such a possibility exists only for a human (admittedly, through a specific state of being

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF EXCLUSIVE AND INCLUSIVE TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IN COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asta Savanevičienė

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the practical application of exclusive and inclusive talent management strategies in order to form and maintain a competitive human resource potential of the company. The features of both exclusive and inclusive talent management strategies were defined and their practical appication in companies of various Lithuaniam industries was studied. The input from the respondents suggests that major companies prefer the inclusive talent management strategy, rather than exclusive. Summing up all the research results, the following conclusions were formulated: the features characteristic to inclusive talent management strategy dominate in the companies of manufacturing, banking, catering, consulting, trade, energy, transport, and agribusiness industries. In the company of technology industry, features of a mixed (having both exclusive and inclusive talent management strategy are apparent. The company in the construction-engineering industry has the dominating features of exclusive talent management strategy. Inclusive talent management strategy responds to the principles of human potential development-oriented expression and is an important message for the formulation of further insight into talent management, based on the use of internal potential.

Plant Community Richness Mediates Inhibitory Interactions and Resource Competition between Streptomyces and Fusarium Populations in the Rhizosphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Essarioui, Adil; LeBlanc, Nicholas; Kistler, Harold C; Kinkel, Linda L

2017-07-01

Plant community characteristics impact rhizosphere Streptomyces nutrient competition and antagonistic capacities. However, the effects of Streptomyces on, and their responses to, coexisting microorganisms as a function of plant host or plant species richness have received little attention. In this work, we characterized antagonistic activities and nutrient use among Streptomyces and Fusarium from the rhizosphere of Andropogon gerardii (Ag) and Lespedeza capitata (Lc) plants growing in communities of 1 (monoculture) or 16 (polyculture) plant species. Streptomyces from monoculture were more antagonistic against Fusarium than those from polyculture. In contrast, Fusarium isolates from polyculture had greater inhibitory capacities against Streptomyces than isolates from monoculture. Although Fusarium isolates had on average greater niche widths, the collection of Streptomyces isolates in total used a greater diversity of nutrients for growth. Plant richness, but not plant host, influenced the potential for resource competition between the two taxa. Fusarium isolates had greater niche overlap with Streptomyces in monoculture than polyculture, suggesting greater potential for Fusarium to competitively challenge Streptomyces in monoculture plant communities. In contrast, Streptomyces had greater niche overlap with Fusarium in polyculture than monoculture, suggesting that Fusarium experiences greater resource competition with Streptomyces in polyculture than monoculture. These patterns of competitive and inhibitory phenotypes among Streptomyces and Fusarium populations are consistent with selection for Fusarium-antagonistic Streptomyces populations in the presence of strong Fusarium resource competition in plant monocultures. Similarly, these results suggest selection for Streptomyces-inhibitory Fusarium populations in the presence of strong Streptomyces resource competition in more diverse plant communities. Thus, landscape-scale variation in plant species richness may be

76 FR 44699 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Allocations in the Gulf of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-26

... Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Parts 679 and 680 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska... 0648-AY53 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Allocations in the Gulf of... competition among sectors and support stability in the Pacific cod fishery. This rule would also limit access...

Disturbance and distributions: avoiding exclusion in a warming world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas Sheil

2016-03-01

Full Text Available I highlight how disturbance determines species distributions and the implications for conservation practice. In particular, I describe opportunities to mitigate some of the threats to species resulting from climate change. Ecological theory shows that disturbance processes can often slow or prevent the exclusion of species by competitors and that different disturbance regimes result in different realized niches. There is much evidence of disturbance influencing where species occur. For example, disturbance can lower the high elevation treeline, thus expanding the area for high elevation vegetation that cannot otherwise persist under tree cover. The role of disturbance in influencing interspecific competition and resulting species persistence and distributions appears unjustly neglected. I identify various implications, including opportunities to achieve in situ conservation by expanding plant species ranges and reducing species vulnerability to competitive exclusion. Suitable frequencies, scales, intensities, spatial configurations, and timings of the right forms of disturbance can improve the persistence of targeted species in a wide range of contexts. Such options could reduce the extinctions likely to be associated with climate change. More generally, these mechanisms and the resulting realizable niche also offer novel insights to understanding and manipulating species distributions.

The persistence in a Lotka-Volterra competition systems with impulsive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhen Jin; Han Maoan; Li Guihua

2005-01-01

In this paper, a nonautonomous two-dimensional competitive Lotka-Volterra system with impulsive is considered. we study the persistence and extinction, giving two inequalities involving averages of the growth rates and impulsive value, which guarantees persistence of the system. An extension of the principle of competition exclusion is obtained in this paper. Moreover, several examples are also worked out, they show that the impulsive can change the persistence of the system

Age structure and cooperation in coevolutionary games on dynamic network

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Zilong; Hu, Zhenhua; Zhou, Xiaoping; Yi, Jingzhang

2015-04-01

Our proposed model imitates the growth of a population and describes the age structure and the level of cooperation in games on dynamic network with continuous changes of structure and topology. The removal of nodes and links caused by age-dependent attack, together with the nodes addition standing for the newborns of population, badly ruins Matthew effect in this coevolutionary process. Though the network is generated by growth and preferential attachment, it degenerates into random network and it is no longer heterogeneous. When the removal of nodes and links is equal to the addition of nodes and links, the size of dynamic network is maintained in steady-state, so is the low level of cooperation. Severe structure variation, homogeneous topology and continuous invasion of new defection jointly make dynamic network unsuitable for the survival of cooperator even when the probability with which the newborn players initially adopt the strategy cooperation is high, while things change slightly when the connections of newborn players are restricted. Fortunately, moderate interactions in a generation trigger an optimal recovering process to encourage cooperation. The model developed in this paper outlines an explanation of the cohesion changes in the development process of an organization. Some suggestions for cooperative behavior improvement are given in the end.

Complex coevolutionary history of symbiotic Bacteroidales bacteria of various protists in the gut of termites

Science.gov (United States)

Noda, Satoko; Hongoh, Yuichi; Sato, Tomoyuki; Ohkuma, Moriya

2009-01-01

Background The microbial community in the gut of termites is responsible for the efficient decomposition of recalcitrant lignocellulose. Prominent features of this community are its complexity and the associations of prokaryotes with the cells of cellulolytic flagellated protists. Bacteria in the order Bacteroidales are involved in associations with a wide variety of gut protist species as either intracellular endosymbionts or surface-attached ectosymbionts. In particular, ectosymbionts exhibit distinct morphological patterns of the associations. Therefore, these Bacteroidales symbionts provide an opportunity to investigate not only the coevolutionary relationships with the host protists and their morphological evolution but also how symbiotic associations between prokaryotes and eukaryotes occur and evolve within a complex symbiotic community. Results Molecular phylogeny of 31 taxa of Bacteroidales symbionts from 17 protist genera in 10 families was examined based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Their localization, morphology, and specificity were also examined by fluorescent in situ hybridizations. Although a monophyletic grouping of the ectosymbionts occurred in three related protist families, the symbionts of different protist genera were usually dispersed among several phylogenetic clusters unique to termite-gut bacteria. Similar morphologies of the associations occurred in multiple lineages of the symbionts. Nevertheless, the symbionts of congeneric protist species were closely related to one another, and in most cases, each host species harbored a unique Bacteroidales species. The endosymbionts were distantly related to the ectosymbionts examined so far. Conclusion The coevolutionary history of gut protists and their associated Bacteroidales symbionts is complex. We suggest multiple independent acquisitions of the Bacteroidales symbionts by different protist genera from a pool of diverse bacteria in the gut community. In this sense, the gut could serve as a

Host plant quality mediates competition between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Knegt, B.; Jansa, Jan; Franken, O.; Engelmoer, D.J.P.; Werner, G.D.A.; Bucking, H.; Kiers, E. T.

2016-01-01

Roč. 20, April (2016), s. 233-240 ISSN 1754-5048 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LK11224 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : Biological market * Competitive exclusion * Cooperation Mutualism Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 3.219, year: 2016

Punctuated Equilibrium in Statistical Models of Generalized Coevolutionary Resilience: How Sudden Ecosystem Transitions Can Entrain Both Phenotype Expression and Darwinian Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Rodrick; Wallace, Deborah

We argue that mesoscale ecosystem resilience shifts akin to sudden phase transitions in physical systems can entrain similarly punctuated events of gene expression on more rapid time scales, and, in part through such means, slower changes induced by selection pressure, triggering punctuated equilibrium Darwinian evolutionary transitions on geologic time scales. The approach reduces ecosystem, gene expression, and Darwinian genetic dynamics to a least common denominator of information sources interacting by crosstalk at markedly differing rates. Pettini's 'topological hypothesis', via a homology between information source uncertainty and free energy density, generates a regression-like class of statistical models of sudden coevolutionary phase transition based on the Rate Distortion and Shannon-McMillan Theorems of information theory which links all three levels. A mathematical treatment of Holling's extended keystone hypothesis regarding the particular role of mesoscale phenomena in entraining both slower and faster dynamical structures produces the result. A main theme is the necessity of a cognitive paradigm for gene expression, mirroring I. Cohen's cognitive approach to immune function. Invocation of the necessary conditions imposed by the asymptotic limit theorems of communication theory enables us to penetrate one layer more deeply before needing to impose an empirically-derived phenomenological system of 'Onsager relation' recursive coevolutionary stochastic differential equations. Extending the development to second order via a large deviations argument permits modeling the influence of human cultural structures on ecosystems as 'farming'.

Market Exclusivity Time for Top Selling Originator Drugs in Canada: A Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lexchin, Joel

2017-09-01

This study looks at market exclusivity time for the top selling originator drugs in Canada. Total sales for drugs without competition were also calculated. A list of the top selling originator drugs by dollar sales from 2009 to 2015 inclusive, except for 2010, was compiled along with their annual sales. Health Canada databases were used to extract the following information: generic name, date of Notice of Compliance (NOC, date of marketing authorization), whether the product was a small molecule drug or a biologic, and date of NOC for a generic or biosimilar. Market exclusivity time was calculated in days for drugs. A total of 121 drugs were identified. There were 96 small molecule drugs (63 with a generic competitor and 33 with no generic competitor) and 25 biologics (none with a biosimilar competitor). The 63 drugs with a competitor had a mean market exclusivity time of 4478 days (12.3 years) (95% CI 4159-4798). The 58 drugs without competition had total annual sales of Can$8.59 billion and were on the market for a median of 5357 days (14.7 years) (interquartile range 3291-6679) as of January 31, 2017. Top selling originator drugs in Canada have a considerably longer period of market exclusivity than the 8 to 10 years that the research-based pharmaceutical industry claims. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular evolution of rbcL in three gymnosperm families: identifying adaptive and coevolutionary patterns

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Sen, Lin

2011-06-03

Abstract Background The chloroplast-localized ribulose-1, 5-biphosphate carboxylase\\/oxygenase (Rubisco), the primary enzyme responsible for autotrophy, is instrumental in the continual adaptation of plants to variations in the concentrations of CO2. The large subunit (LSU) of Rubisco is encoded by the chloroplast rbcL gene. Although adaptive processes have been previously identified at this gene, characterizing the relationships between the mutational dynamics at the protein level may yield clues on the biological meaning of such adaptive processes. The role of such coevolutionary dynamics in the continual fine-tuning of RbcL remains obscure. Results We used the timescale and phylogenetic analyses to investigate and search for processes of adaptive evolution in rbcL gene in three gymnosperm families, namely Podocarpaceae, Taxaceae and Cephalotaxaceae. To understand the relationships between regions identified as having evolved under adaptive evolution, we performed coevolutionary analyses using the software CAPS. Importantly, adaptive processes were identified at amino acid sites located on the contact regions among the Rubisco subunits and on the interface between Rubisco and its activase. Adaptive amino acid replacements at these regions may have optimized the holoenzyme activity. This hypothesis was pinpointed by evidence originated from our analysis of coevolution that supported the correlated evolution between Rubisco and its activase. Interestingly, the correlated adaptive processes between both these proteins have paralleled the geological variation history of the concentration of atmospheric CO2. Conclusions The gene rbcL has experienced bursts of adaptations in response to the changing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. These adaptations have emerged as a result of a continuous dynamic of mutations, many of which may have involved innovation of functional Rubisco features. Analysis of the protein structure and the functional implications of such

Phage and bacteria support mutual diversity in a narrowing staircase of coexistence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Härter, Jan Olaf Mirko; Mitarai, Namiko; Sneppen, Kim

2014-01-01

arms race will typically favor high growth rate, but a phage that infects two bacterial strains differently can occasionally eliminate the fastest growing bacteria. This context-dependent fitness allows abrupt resetting of the 'Red-Queen's race' and constrains the local diversity.......The competitive exclusion principle states that phage diversity M should not exceed bacterial diversity N. By analyzing the steady-state solutions of multistrain equations, we find a new constraint: the diversity N of bacteria living on the same resources is constrained to be M or M+1 in terms...... of the diversity of their phage predators. We quantify how the parameter space of coexistence exponentially decreases with diversity. For diversity to grow, an open or evolving ecosystem needs to climb a narrowing 'diversity staircase' by alternatingly adding new bacteria and phages. The unfolding coevolutionary...

Ship Pipe Routing Design Using NSGA-II and Coevolutionary Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wentie Niu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Pipe route design plays a prominent role in ship design. Due to the complex configuration in layout space with numerous pipelines, diverse design constraints, and obstacles, it is a complicated and time-consuming process to obtain the optimal route of ship pipes. In this article, an optimized design method for branch pipe routing is proposed to improve design efficiency and to reduce human errors. By simplifying equipment and ship hull models and dividing workspace into three-dimensional grid cells, the mathematic model of layout space is constructed. Based on the proposed concept of pipe grading method, the optimization model of pipe routing is established. Then an optimization procedure is presented to deal with pipe route planning problem by combining maze algorithm (MA, nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II, and cooperative coevolutionary nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (CCNSGA-II. To improve the performance in genetic algorithm procedure, a fixed-length encoding method is presented based on improved maze algorithm and adaptive region strategy. Fuzzy set theory is employed to extract the best compromise pipeline from Pareto optimal solutions. Simulation test of branch pipe and design optimization of a fuel piping system were carried out to illustrate the design optimization procedure in detail and to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Banking Relations, Competition and Research Incentives

OpenAIRE

Thomas Gehrig

2000-01-01

When banks incur sunk costs to provide ex-ante information about customers, exclusive banking relations will occur under intense price competition when monitoring costs are low. When monitoring costs are sufficiently high, only non-monitored finance will be provided, typically, by multiple lenders. While multiple lending generally is (second-best) efficient when it emerges, relationship lending typically is not. In our framework, the informational rents in relationships of a single financier ...

Vibration-Based Damage Detection in Beams by Cooperative Coevolutionary Genetic Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kittipong Boonlong

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Vibration-based damage detection, a nondestructive method, is based on the fact that vibration characteristics such as natural frequencies and mode shapes of structures are changed when the damage happens. This paper presents cooperative coevolutionary genetic algorithm (CCGA, which is capable for an optimization problem with a large number of decision variables, as the optimizer for the vibration-based damage detection in beams. In the CCGA, a minimized objective function is a numerical indicator of differences between vibration characteristics of the actual damage and those of the anticipated damage. The damage detection in a uniform cross-section cantilever beam, a uniform strength cantilever beam, and a uniform cross-section simply supported beam is used as the test problems. Random noise in the vibration characteristics is also considered in the damage detection. In the simulation analysis, the CCGA provides the superior solutions to those that use standard genetic algorithms presented in previous works, although it uses less numbers of the generated solutions in solution search. The simulation results reveal that the CCGA can efficiently identify the occurred damage in beams for all test problems including the damage detection in a beam with a large number of divided elements such as 300 elements.

High epitope expression levels increase competition between T cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Almut Scherer

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Both theoretical predictions and experimental findings suggest that T cell populations can compete with each other. There is some debate on whether T cells compete for aspecific stimuli, such as access to the surface on antigen-presenting cells (APCs or for specific stimuli, such as their cognate epitope ligand. We have developed an individual-based computer simulation model to study T cell competition. Our model shows that the expression level of foreign epitopes per APC determines whether T cell competition is mainly for specific or aspecific stimuli. Under low epitope expression, competition is mainly for the specific epitope stimuli, and, hence, different epitope-specific T cell populations coexist readily. However, if epitope expression levels are high, aspecific competition becomes more important. Such between-specificity competition can lead to competitive exclusion between different epitope-specific T cell populations. Our model allows us to delineate the circumstances that facilitate coexistence of T cells of different epitope specificity. Understanding mechanisms of T cell coexistence has important practical implications for immune therapies that require a broad immune response.

A further analysis of the role of heterogeneity in coevolutionary spatial games

Science.gov (United States)

Cardinot, Marcos; Griffith, Josephine; O'Riordan, Colm

2018-03-01

Heterogeneity has been studied as one of the most common explanations of the puzzle of cooperation in social dilemmas. A large number of papers have been published discussing the effects of increasing heterogeneity in structured populations of agents, where it has been established that heterogeneity may favour cooperative behaviour if it supports agents to locally coordinate their strategies. In this paper, assuming an existing model of a heterogeneous weighted network, we aim to further this analysis by exploring the relationship (if any) between heterogeneity and cooperation. We adopt a weighted network which is fully populated by agents playing both the Prisoner's Dilemma or the Optional Prisoner's Dilemma games with coevolutionary rules, i.e., not only the strategies but also the link weights evolve over time. Surprisingly, results show that the heterogeneity of link weights (states) on their own does not always promote cooperation; rather cooperation is actually favoured by the increase in the number of overlapping states and not by the heterogeneity itself. We believe that these results can guide further research towards a more accurate analysis of the role of heterogeneity in social dilemmas.

Reciprocal selection causes a coevolutionary arms race between crossbills and lodgepole pine.

Science.gov (United States)

Benkman, Craig W; Parchman, Thomas L; Favis, Amanda; Siepielski, Adam M

2003-08-01

Few studies have shown both reciprocal selection and reciprocal adaptations for a coevolving system in the wild. The goal of our study was to determine whether the patterns of selection on Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta spp. latifolia) and red crossbills (Loxia curvirostra complex) were concordant with earlier published evidence of reciprocal adaptations in lodgepole pine and crossbills on isolated mountain ranges in the absence of red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). We found that selection (directional) by crossbills on lodgepole pine where Tamiasciurus are absent was divergent from the selection (directional) exerted by Tamiasciurus on lodgepole pine. This resulted in divergent selection between areas with and without Tamiasciurus that was congruent with the geographic patterns of cone variation. In the South Hills, Idaho, where Tamiasciurus are absent and red crossbills are thought to be coevolving with lodgepole pine, crossbills experienced stabilizing selection on bill size, with cone structure as the agent of selection. These results show that crossbills and lodgepole pine exhibit reciprocal adaptations in response to reciprocal selection, and they provide insight into the traits mediating and responding to selection in a coevolutionary arms race.

Seed Removal Increased by Scramble Competition with an Invasive Species.

Science.gov (United States)

Minor, Rebecca L; Koprowski, John L

2015-01-01

Competition for seeds has a major influence on the evolution of granivores and the plants on which they rely. The complexity of interactions and coevolutionary relationships vary across forest types. The introduction of non-native granivores has considerable potential to alter seed dispersal dynamics. Non-native species are a major cause of endangerment for native species, but the mechanisms are often unclear. As biological invasions continue to rise, it is important to understand mechanisms to build up strategies to mitigate the threat. Our field experiment quantified the impact of introduced Abert's squirrels (Sciurus aberti) on rates of seed removal within the range of critically endangered Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis), which consumes similar foods. In the presence of invasive Abert's squirrels, the time cones were removed was faster than when the invasive was excluded, accounting for a median removal time of cones available to red and Abert's squirrels that is 32.8% less than that of cones available only to the rare native red squirrels. Moreover, in the presence of Abert's squirrels, removal rates are higher at great distance from a territorial red squirrel larderhoard and in more open portions of the forest, which suggests differential patterns of seed dispersal. The impact on food availability as a result of cone removal by Abert's squirrels suggests the potential of food competition as a mechanism of endangerment for the Mount Graham red squirrel. Furthermore, the magnitude and differential spatial patterns of seed removal suggest that non-native granivores may have impacts on forest regeneration and structure.

Seed Removal Increased by Scramble Competition with an Invasive Species.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca L Minor

Full Text Available Competition for seeds has a major influence on the evolution of granivores and the plants on which they rely. The complexity of interactions and coevolutionary relationships vary across forest types. The introduction of non-native granivores has considerable potential to alter seed dispersal dynamics. Non-native species are a major cause of endangerment for native species, but the mechanisms are often unclear. As biological invasions continue to rise, it is important to understand mechanisms to build up strategies to mitigate the threat. Our field experiment quantified the impact of introduced Abert's squirrels (Sciurus aberti on rates of seed removal within the range of critically endangered Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis, which consumes similar foods. In the presence of invasive Abert's squirrels, the time cones were removed was faster than when the invasive was excluded, accounting for a median removal time of cones available to red and Abert's squirrels that is 32.8% less than that of cones available only to the rare native red squirrels. Moreover, in the presence of Abert's squirrels, removal rates are higher at great distance from a territorial red squirrel larderhoard and in more open portions of the forest, which suggests differential patterns of seed dispersal. The impact on food availability as a result of cone removal by Abert's squirrels suggests the potential of food competition as a mechanism of endangerment for the Mount Graham red squirrel. Furthermore, the magnitude and differential spatial patterns of seed removal suggest that non-native granivores may have impacts on forest regeneration and structure.

A Competitive Partnership Formation Process

OpenAIRE

Andersson, Tommy; Gudmundsson, Jens; Talman, Adolphus; Yang, Zaifu

2013-01-01

A group of heterogeneous agents may form partnerships in pairs. All single agents as well as all partnerships generate values. If two agents choose to cooperate, they need to specify how to split their joint value among one another. In equilibrium, which may or may not exist, no agents have incentives to break up or form new partnerships. This paper proposes a dynamic competitive adjustment process that always either finds an equilibrium or exclusively disproves the existence of any equilibri...

Escalation of a coevolutionary arms race through host rejection of brood parasitic young.

Science.gov (United States)

Langmore, Naomi E; Hunt, Sarah; Kilner, Rebecca M

2003-03-13

Cuckoo nestlings that evict all other young from the nest soon after hatching impose a high reproductive cost on their hosts. In defence, hosts have coevolved strategies to prevent brood parasitism. Puzzlingly, they do not extend beyond the egg stage. Thus, hosts adept at recognizing foreign eggs remain vulnerable to exploitation by cuckoo nestlings. Here we show that the breach of host egg defences by cuckoos creates a new stage in the coevolutionary cycle. We found that defences used during the egg-laying period by host superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) are easily evaded by the Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis), a specialist fairy-wren brood parasite. However, although hosts never deserted their own broods, they later abandoned 40% of nests containing a lone Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo nestling, and 100% of nests with a lone shining bronze-cuckoo nestling (Chrysococcyx lucidus), an occasional fairy-wren brood parasite. Our experiments demonstrate that host discrimination against evictor-cuckoo nestlings is possible, and suggest that it has selected for the evolution of nestling mimicry in bronze-cuckoos.

MICROENCAPSULATION OF INDIGENOUS POULTRY LACTIC ACID BACTERIA PROBIOTIC ON THE COMPETITIVE EXCLUSION AGAINST Salmonella enteritidis AND Escherichia coli IN VITRO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica Sonia Indri Pradipta

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to investigate the effect of microencapsulation of lactic acid bacteria (LAB probiotic isolated from chickens’ gastrointestinal tract on Salmonella enterica serotype enteritidis ATCC 13076 and Escherichia coli EPEC. Probiotic of LAB used were Streptococcus thermophilus strain Kp-2, Lactobacillus murinus strain Ar-3, and Pediococcus acidilactici strain Kd-6. Microencapsulation were conducted by spray drying with inlet/outlet temperatures of 160/80°C using maltodextrin and skim milk powder (20% w/v as coating materials. Competitive exclusion test was conducted in vitro using well diffusion method. Variable measured in this study was the clear zone observed. The data of clear zone among treatments were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA one way followed by Duncan multiple range test (DMRT; except the data of clear zone resulted by probiotic before and after microencapsulation that was analyzed using t-test. The result showed that the ability of each strain against pathogen was decreased after being encapsulated. S. thermophilus before and after microencapsulation had the same antagonistic ability against E. coli and S. enteritidis (P>0.05. Microencapsulation process with spray drying method decreased antagonistic ability of probiotic against pathogenic bacteria both in single and multi strain.

Cry-wolf signals emerging from coevolutionary feedbacks in a tritrophic system

Science.gov (United States)

Yamauchi, Atsushi; van Baalen, Minus; Kobayashi, Yutaka; Takabayashi, Junji; Shiojiri, Kaori; Sabelis, Maurice W.

2015-01-01

For a communication system to be stable, senders should convey honest information. Providing dishonest information, however, can be advantageous to senders, which imposes a constraint on the evolution of communication systems. Beyond single populations and bitrophic systems, one may ask whether stable communication systems can evolve in multitrophic systems. Consider cross-species signalling where herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) attract predators to reduce the damage from arthropod herbivores. Such plant signals may be honest and help predators to identify profitable prey/plant types via HIPV composition and to assess prey density via the amount of HIPVs. There could be selection for dishonest signals that attract predators for protection from possible future herbivory. Recently, we described a case in which plants release a fixed, high amount of HIPVs independent of herbivore load, adopting what we labelled a ‘cry-wolf’ strategy. To understand when such signals evolve, we model coevolutionary interactions between plants, herbivores and predators, and show that both ‘honest’ and ‘cry-wolf’ types can emerge, depending on the assumed plant–herbivore encounter rates and herbivore population density. It is suggested that the ‘cry-wolf’ strategy may have evolved to reduce the risk of heavy damage in the future. Our model suggests that eco-evolutionary feedback loops involving a third species may have important consequences for the stability of this outcome. PMID:26538597

Influence of the host contact sequence on the outcome of competition among aspergillus flavus isolates during host tissue invasion.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehl, H L; Cotty, P J

2011-03-01

Biological control of aflatoxin contamination by Aspergillus flavus is achieved through competitive exclusion of aflatoxin producers by atoxigenic strains. Factors dictating the extent to which competitive displacement occurs during host infection are unknown. The role of initial host contact in competition between pairs of A. flavus isolates coinfecting maize kernels was examined. Isolate success during tissue invasion and reproduction was assessed by quantification of isolate-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms using pyrosequencing. Isolates were inoculated either simultaneously or 1 h apart. Increased success during competition was conferred to the first isolate to contact the host independent of that isolate's innate competitive ability. The first-isolate advantage decreased with the conidial concentration, suggesting capture of limited resources on kernel surfaces contributes to competitive exclusion. Attempts to modify access to putative attachment sites by either coating kernels with dead conidia or washing kernels with solvents did not influence the success of the first isolate, suggesting competition for limited attachment sites on kernel surfaces does not mediate first-isolate advantage. The current study is the first to demonstrate an immediate competitive advantage conferred to A. flavus isolates upon host contact and prior to either germ tube emergence or host colonization. This suggests the timing of host contact is as important to competition during disease cycles as innate competitive ability. Early dispersal to susceptible crop components may allow maintenance within A. flavus populations of genetic types with low competitive ability during host tissue invasion.

Effects of disorder on coexistence and competition between superconducting and insulating states

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mostovoy, MV; Marchetti, FM; Simons, BD; Littlewood, PB

We study effects of nonmagnetic impurities on the competition between the superconducting and electron-hole pairing. We show that disorder can result in coexistence of these two types of ordering in a uniform state, even when in clean materials they are mutually exclusive.

Do competitive interactions in dry heathlands explain plant abundance patterns and species coexistence?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ransijn, Johannes; Damgaard, Christian; Schmidt, Inger K

2015-01-01

Plant community patterns in space and time may be explained by the interactions between competing plant species. The presented study investigates this in a nutrient and species poor ecosystem. The study presents a methodology for inferring competitive interactions from yearly vegetation inventories...... to predict the community dynamics of C. vulgaris and D. flexuosa. This was compared with the observed plant community structure at 198 Danish dry heathland sites. Interspecific competition will most likely lead to competitive exclusion of D. flexuosa at the observed temporal and spatial scale...... and uses this to assess the outcome of competitive interactions and to predict community patterns and dynamics in a Northwest-European dry heathland. Inferred competitive interactions from five consecutive years of measurements in permanent vegetation frames at a single dry heathland site were used...

Connecting functional and statistical definitions of genotype by genotype interactions in coevolutionary studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katy Denise Heath

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Predicting how species interactions evolve requires that we understand the mechanistic basis of coevolution, and thus the functional genotype-by-genotype interactions (G × G that drive reciprocal natural selection. Theory on host-parasite coevolution provides testable hypotheses for empiricists, but depends upon models of functional G × G that remain loosely tethered to the molecular details of any particular system. In practice, reciprocal cross-infection studies are often used to partition the variation in infection or fitness in a population that is attributable to G × G (statistical G × G. Here we use simulations to demonstrate that within-population statistical G × G likely tells us little about the existence of coevolution, its strength, or the genetic basis of functional G × G. Combined with studies of multiple populations or points in time, mapping and molecular techniques can bridge the gap between natural variation and mechanistic models of coevolution, while model-based statistics can formally confront coevolutionary models with cross-infection data. Together these approaches provide a robust framework for inferring the infection genetics underlying statistical G × G, helping unravel the genetic basis of coevolution.

Globalization, social exclusion and work : with special reference to informal employment and gender

OpenAIRE

Carr, Marilyn; Chen, Martha

2004-01-01

Looks at three different patterns that limit competitiveness: a) questionable working conditions in export processing zones or within global value chains that are driven by a foreign or multinational enterprise; b) exclusion of self-employed from the internal governance process of the chain; c) import-flooding putting domestic sectors at a disadvantage. Makes policy recommendations for more favourable inclusion opportunities.

Natural selection drives the fine-scale divergence of a coevolutionary arms race involving a long-mouthed weevil and its obligate host plant

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Toju Hirokazu

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background One of the major recent advances in evolutionary biology is the recognition that evolutionary interactions between species are substantially differentiated among geographic populations. To date, several authors have revealed natural selection pressures mediating the geographically-divergent processes of coevolution. How local, then, is the geographic structuring of natural selection in coevolutionary systems? Results I examined the spatial scale of a "geographic selection mosaic," focusing on a system involving a seed-predatory insect, the camellia weevil (Curculio camelliae, and its host plant, the Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica. In this system, female weevils excavate camellia fruits with their extremely-long mouthparts to lay eggs into seeds, while camellia seeds are protected by thick pericarps. Quantitative evaluation of natural selection demonstrated that thicker camellia pericarps are significantly favored in some, but not all, populations within a small island (Yakushima Island, Japan; diameter ca. 30 km. At the extreme, camellia populations separated by only several kilometers were subject to different selection pressures. Interestingly, in a population with the thickest pericarps, camellia individuals with intermediate pericarp thickness had relatively high fitness when the potential costs of producing thick pericarps were considered. Also importantly, some parameters of the weevil - camellia interaction such as the severity of seed infestation showed clines along temperature, suggesting the effects of climate on the fine-scale geographic differentiation of the coevolutionary processes. Conclusion These results show that natural selection can drive the geographic differentiation of interspecific interactions at surprisingly small spatial scales. Future studies should reveal the evolutionary/ecological outcomes of the "fine scale geographic mosaics" in biological communities.

An analysis of the sources of competition disipline in the European Union and in Albania

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Eriona Katro

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Competition discipline in the European Union is a substantial component of the EU’s institutional framework. The Lisbon Treaty made the “internal market” a shared competence, while necessary competition rules for the internal market are an exclusive competence of the Union. This paper aims to analyse the sources of the competition discipline in the EU and in Albania focusing more on constitutional sources. From this analyses will emerge that sources of competition discipline are numerous and each of them plays an important role in the development of the competition policy. But arises the question if these sources are all equally important or not? This paper will focus also n the importance of each source in both levels: European Union and Albanian discipline of competition.

GLOBAL LOGISTICS , COMPETITIVENESS AND THE NEW INCOTERMS

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Popa Ioan

2013-07-01

The category of global firms should not include just the large transnational corporations, but also the medium and small enterprises that operate exclusively or mainly on the global market. Within this plan there can be created and developed competitive advantages which are primarily based on the reaction speed to the changes in progress, the capacity to adapt to new things and the availability for intercultural communication. These last conditions represent characteristics of the Romanian business approach.

Exclusive contracts in the hospital setting: a two-edged sword, part 1: legal issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Portman, Robert M

2007-05-01

Hospitals routinely enter into contracts with radiology groups for the right to be the exclusive provider of radiology services at the facility in exchange for the group agreeing to provide and manage all aspects of that service within the hospital. These "exclusive contracts" generally result in the radiology department and associated equipment being closed off to physicians who are not part of the contracting group. Exclusive contracts are generally considered to be good for physicians who have them and bad for those excluded by them. In fact, while exclusive contracts offer obvious benefits to the physicians who receive them and obvious disadvantages for those who are excluded, they also present pitfalls for physicians in the chosen group. Part I of this article discusses the legal issues raised by exclusive contracts. Although these agreements appear to be anti-competitive, most courts have rejected antitrust challenges to exclusive contracts. Excluded physicians have had much greater success in attacking exclusive contracting arrangements on breach of contract and procedural/due process grounds. Exclusive contracting arrangements can also raise concerns under the Medicare-Medicaid anti-kickback statute if the contracting physicians are required to pay consideration or accept less than fair market value compensation in exchange for exclusive contracts. These agreements can also raise issues under the Stark II physician self-referral law if the contracting physicians are in a position to refer Medicare or Medicaid patients to the hospital. Part II of this article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of exclusive contracts for physicians covered and not covered by such contracts, as well as strategies for avoiding them or minimizing their potential adverse impact. It also will discuss specific provisions of exclusive contracts that should be included or avoided.

Spatial patterns, ecological niches, and interspecific competition of avian brood parasites: inferring from a case study of Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jin-Won; Noh, Hee-Jin; Lee, Yunkyoung; Kwon, Young-Soo; Kim, Chang-Hoe; Yoo, Jeong-Chil

2014-09-01

Since obligate avian brood parasites depend completely on the effort of other host species for rearing their progeny, the availability of hosts will be a critical resource for their life history. Circumstantial evidence suggests that intense competition for host species may exist not only within but also between species. So far, however, few studies have demonstrated whether the interspecific competition really occurs in the system of avian brood parasitism and how the nature of brood parasitism is related to their niche evolution. Using the occurrence data of five avian brood parasites from two sources of nationwide bird surveys in South Korea and publically available environmental/climatic data, we identified their distribution patterns and ecological niches, and applied species distribution modeling to infer the effect of interspecific competition on their spatial distribution. We found that the distribution patterns of five avian brood parasites could be characterized by altitude and climatic conditions, but overall their spatial ranges and ecological niches extensively overlapped with each other. We also found that the predicted distribution areas of each species were generally comparable to the realized distribution areas, and the numbers of individuals in areas where multiple species were predicted to coexist showed positive relationships among species. In conclusion, despite following different coevolutionary trajectories to adapt to their respect host species, five species of avian brood parasites breeding in South Korea occupied broadly similar ecological niches, implying that they tend to conserve ancestral preferences for ecological conditions. Furthermore, our results indicated that contrary to expectation interspecific competition for host availability between avian brood parasites seemed to be trivial, and thus, play little role in shaping their spatial distributions and ecological niches. Future studies, including the complete ranges of avian brood

Competition along productivity gradients: news from heathlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Delerue, Florian; Gonzalez, Maya; Achat, David L; Puzos, Luc; Augusto, Laurent

2018-05-01

The importance of competition in low productive habitats is still debated. Studies which simultaneously evaluate preemption of resources and consequences for population dynamics are needed for a comprehensive view of competitive outcomes. We cultivated two emblematic species of European heathlands (Calluna vulgaris and Molinia caerulea) in a nursery for 2 years at two fertility levels, reproducing the productivity gradient found in phosphorus (P)-depleted heathlands in southwest France. The second year, we planted Ulex europaeus seedlings, a ubiquitous heathland species, under the cover of the two species to evaluate its ability to regenerate. Half of the seedlings were placed in tubes for exclusion of competitor roots. We measured the development of the competitors aboveground and belowground and their interception of resources (light, water, inorganic P). Ulex seedlings' growth and survival were also measured. Our results on resources interception were consistent with species distribution in heathlands. Molinia, which dominates rich heathlands, was the strongest competitor for light and water in the rich soil. Calluna, which dominates poor heathlands, increased its root allocation in the poor soil, decreasing water and inorganic P availability. However, the impact of total competition and root competition on Ulex seedlings decreased in the poor soil. Other mechanisms, especially decrease of water stress under neighbouring plant cover, appeared to have more influence on the seedlings' response. We found no formal contradiction between Tilman and Grime's theories. Root competition has a primary role in acquisition of soil resources in poor habitats. However, the importance of competition decreases with decreasing fertility.

The importance of industrial property rights, legal monopolies for fair competition; La importancia de los derechos de propiedad industrial. Monopolios legales para una competneica leal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hernandez Rodriguez, J. A.

2011-07-01

Industrial property rights are an exception, perhaps the main, for freedom competition and entrepreneurial freedom. Those rights give the holder an exclusive right, and the existence of these legal monopolies is essential for the development of fair competition. Industrial property rights are national and, therefore, to obtain registration and exclusive rights in several countries, they must register on each of them. However, in recent years are emerging industrial property rights with impact on a number of countries (Community marks and designs). (Author)

Competition Law and the Energy Sector (Konkurenčno pravo in energetski sektor

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Peter Grilc

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the influence and place of competition law in the energy sector. Since energy is considered an economic sector, which is regulated, it also touches the phenomenon of regulation itself, as well as the liberalization. In terms of content it is divided into two parts. The first set is of general and introductory character. It deals with regulation, liberalization and competition law from conceptual aspects and tackles the relationship between rules that constitute sectoral regulation and legislation in the field of competition law. The different packages liberalization in the EU, especially the sectoral report in 2007 are dealt with, as well. The second part goes deeper into the analysis of recent cases in the field of competition law in the EU. It deals with agreements which restrict competition, abuse of dominant position. In particular, it analyses the long-term supply contracts and all steps for their assessment, as well as the competitive problems of public undertakings and undertakings with exclusive rights, and the latest anti-competitive practices.

Neighbour tolerance, not suppression, provides competitive advantage to non-native plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Golivets, Marina; Wallin, Kimberly F

2018-05-01

High competitive ability has often been invoked as a key determinant of invasion success and ecological impacts of non-native plants. Yet our understanding of the strategies that non-natives use to gain competitive dominance remains limited. Particularly, it remains unknown whether the two non-mutually exclusive competitive strategies, neighbour suppression and neighbour tolerance, are equally important for the competitive advantage of non-native plants. Here, we analyse data from 192 peer-reviewed studies on pairwise plant competition within a Bayesian multilevel meta-analytic framework and show that non-native plants outperform their native counterparts due to high tolerance of competition, as opposed to strong suppressive ability. Competitive tolerance ability of non-native plants was driven by neighbour's origin and was expressed in response to a heterospecific native but not heterospecific non-native neighbour. In contrast to natives, non-native species were not more suppressed by hetero- vs. conspecific neighbours, which was partially due to higher intensity of intraspecific competition among non-natives. Heterogeneity in the data was primarily associated with methodological differences among studies and not with phylogenetic relatedness among species. Altogether, our synthesis demonstrates that non-native plants are competitively distinct from native plants and challenges the common notion that neighbour suppression is the primary strategy for plant invasion success. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

A study on the effects of different factors influencing on customer loyalty, profitability and word of mouth advertisement for gaining competitive advantage in tourism industry

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Naser Azad

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the effects of various factors influencing on customer loyalty, profitability and word of mouth advertisement for gaining competitive advantage in tourism industry. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale and distributes it among a random sample of 500 people who purchased some tours from travel agencies. Using structural equation modeling, the study has determined a positive and meaningful impact of pricing strategy, amenity, tourism services, content of trip, marketing mix elements, brand equity, competitive advantage and being exclusive on gaining competitive advantage. In addition, being exclusive and value creation influence positively on word of mouth advertisement. Finally, value creation influences on profitability, positively.

Asymmetric competition impacts evolutionary rescue in a changing environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Den Elzen, Courtney L; Kleynhans, Elizabeth J; Otto, Sarah P

2017-06-28

Interspecific competition can strongly influence the evolutionary response of a species to a changing environment, impacting the chance that the species survives or goes extinct. Previous work has shown that when two species compete for a temporally shifting resource distribution, the species lagging behind the resource peak is the first to go extinct due to competitive exclusion. However, this work assumed symmetrically distributed resources and competition. Asymmetries can generate differences between species in population sizes, genetic variation and trait means. We show that asymmetric resource availability or competition can facilitate coexistence and even occasionally cause the leading species to go extinct first. Surprisingly, we also find cases where traits evolve in the opposite direction to the changing environment because of a 'vacuum of competitive release' created when the lagging species declines in number. Thus, the species exhibiting the slowest rate of trait evolution is not always the most likely to go extinct in a changing environment. Our results demonstrate that the extent to which species appear to be tracking environmental change and the extent to which they are preadapted to that change may not necessarily determine which species will be the winners and which will be the losers in a rapidly changing world. © 2017 The Author(s).

Competitive Dominance by a Bacteriocin-Producing Vibrio harveyi Strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoyt, P R; Sizemore, R K

1982-09-01

Vibrio (Beneckea) harveyi, a bioluminescent marine bacterium, has been shown to produce a bacteriocin-like substance the production of which is mediated by a plasmid. This substance is assumed to be proteinaceous because of its sensitivity to certain proteolytic enzymes. It is stable at low temperatures and can be concentrated by ammonium sulfate precipitation or negative-pressure dialysis. The molecular weight of the bacteriocin was determined to be 2.4 x 10 by molecular exclusion chromatography. Competition experiments indicated that bacteriocin-producing strains predominated over cured variants of the same strain in broth culture experiments. We studied several environmental parameters (pH, salinity, temperature, nutrient concentration) to determine their effects on the competitive advantage bestowed on a bacteriocin-producing strain. Under simulated free-living conditions, no competitive advantage attributable to bacteriocin production was observed. In a simulated enteric habitat, a bacteriocin-producing strain showed dramatic (>90%) inhibition of the sensitive strain within 24 h.

Competition can lead to unexpected patterns in tropical ant communities

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ellwood, M. D. F.; Blüthgen, N.; Fayle, Tom Maurice; Foster, W. A.; Menzel, F.

2016-01-01

Roč. 75, AUG 01 (2016), s. 24-34 ISSN 1146-609X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-32302S; GA ČR(CZ) GA16-09427S Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : ant mosaics * assembly rules * competitive exclusion Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 1.652, year: 2016 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1146609X16300832

Sustainability and collapse in a coevolutionary model of local resource stocks and behavioral patterns on a social network

Science.gov (United States)

Wiedermann, Marc; Donges, Jonathan F.; Heitzig, Jobst; Kurths, Jürgen

2014-05-01

When investigating the causes and consequences of global change, the collective behavior of human beings is considered as having a considerable impact on natural systems. In our work, we propose a conceptual coevolutionary model simulating the dynamics of local renewable resources in interaction with simplistic societal agents exploiting those resources. The society is represented by a social network on which social traits may be transmitted between agents. These traits themselves induce a certain rate of exploitation of the resource, leading either to its depletion or sustainable existence. Traits are exchanged probabilistically according to their instantaneous individual payoff, and hence this process depends on the status of the natural resource. At the same time agents may adaptively restructure their set of acquaintances. Connections with agents having a different trait may be broken while new connections with agents of the same trait are established. We investigate which choices of social parameters, like the frequency of social interaction, rationality and rate of social network adaptation, cause the system to end in a sustainable state and, hence, what can be done to avoid a collapse of the entire system. The importance and influence of the social network structure is analyzed by the variation of link-densities in the underlying network topology and shows significant influence on the expected outcome of the model. For a static network with no adaptation we find a robust phase transition between the two different regimes, sustainable and non-sustainable, which co-exist in parameter space. High connectivity within the social network, e.g., high link-densities, in combination with a fast rate of social learning lead to a likely collapse of the entire co-evolutionary system, whereas slow learning and small network connectivity very likely result in the sustainable existence of the natural resources. Collapse may be avoided by an intelligent rewiring, e

Developing pathways for energy storage in the UK using a coevolutionary framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, Peter G.; Bolton, Ronan; Stone, Dave; Upham, Paul

2013-01-01

A number of recent techno-economic studies have shown that energy storage could offer significant benefits to a low-carbon UK energy system as it faces increased challenges in matching supply and demand. However, the majority of this work has not investigated the real-world issues affecting the widespread deployment of storage. This paper is designed to address this gap by drawing on the systems innovation and socio-technical transitions literature to identify some of the most important contextual factors which are likely to influence storage deployment. Specifically it uses a coevolutionary framework to examine how changes in ecosystems, user practices, business strategies, institutions and technologies are creating a new selection environment and potentially opening up the energy system to new variations of storage for both electricity and heat. The analysis shows how these different dimensions of the energy regime can coevolve in mutually reinforcing ways to create alternative pathways for the energy system which in turn have different flexibility requirements and imply different roles for storage technologies. Using this framework three pathways are developed – user led, decentralised and centralised – which illustrate potential long-term trajectories for energy storage technologies in a low-carbon energy system. - highlights: • Energy storage can play a significant role in a low carbon UK energy system. • Changes in the selection environment will impact its deployment. • Several different deployment pathways are possible. • Its precise role is still subject to considerable uncertainty

The Impact of Taxes on Competition for CEOs.

Science.gov (United States)

Krenn, Peter

2017-07-03

This paper contributes to the question of how taxation of corporate profits and wages affects competition among firms for highly skilled human resources such as CEOs. Use of a theoretical model shows that wage taxes can have a substantial impact on the outcome of such a competition if marginal tax rates are different as in an international labor market. Further, the paper shows that increasing the wage tax rate unilaterally can have an ambiguous effect on observed gross compensation levels. However, in a local labor market for CEOs, observed gross fixed salaries should decline in the wage tax rate. Tax effects in a market for CEOs is a particularly interesting topic because recent developments with respect to compensation practices of top-level managers have opened a public debate about the use of instruments for regulating compensation of those managers. Furthermore, many countries around the world use tax incentives in order to facilitate immigration of highly skilled human resources. The investigation follows an analytical economics-based approach by extending an LEN model with elements of competition for scarce human resources and income taxation. It investigates the impact of differential taxation on the competition between two firms for the exclusive service of a unique, highly skilled CEO.

Competition in health insurance markets: limitations of current measures for policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlon, Dennis P; Chernew, Michael; Swaminathan, Shailender; Lee, Woolton

2006-12-01

Health care reform proposals often rely on increased competition in health insurance markets to drive improved performance in health care costs, access, and quality. We examine a range of data issues related to the measures of health insurance competition used in empirical studies published from 1994-2004. The literature relies exclusively on market structure and penetration variables to measure competition. While these measures are correlated, the degree of correlation is modest, suggesting that choice of measure could influence empirical results. Moreover, certain measurement issues such as the lack of data on PPO enrollment, the treatment of small firms, and omitted market characteristics also could affect the conclusions in empirical studies. Importantly, other types of measures related to competition (e.g., the availability of information on price and outcomes, degree of entry barriers, etc.) are important from both a theoretical and policy perspective, but their impact on market outcomes has not been widely studied.

CONCEPTUAL APPROACH OF COMPETITIVENESS AND INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN COMPETITION AND COMPETITIVENESS

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Tatiana GUTIUM

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article is devoted to analysis of interdependence and correlation between competition and competitiveness, and competition’s consequences. The author analysed some authors’ visions on competitiveness, and common features between theories of competition and competitiveness. Using the synthetic indicator elaborated by author has been evaluated the competitiveness of domestic goods on the internal and external market. At the end of this article, the author has developed proposals to increase competitiveness.

Microcystis aeruginosa strengthens the advantage of Daphnia similoides in competition with Moina micrura.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Hengxing; Hou, Xinying; Xue, Xiaofeng; Chen, Rui; Zhu, Xuexia; Huang, Yuan; Chen, Yafen

2017-08-31

Microcystis blooms are generally associated with zooplankton shifts by disturbing interspecific relationships. The influence of Microcystis on competitive dominance by different sized zooplanktons showed species-specific dependence. We evaluated the competitive responses of small Moina micrura and large Daphnia similoides to the presence of Microcystis using mixed diets comprising 0%, 20%, and 35% of toxic M. aeruginosa, and the rest of green alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa. No competitive exclusion occurred for the two species under the tested diet combinations. In the absence of M. aeruginosa, the biomasses of the two cladocerans were decreased by the competition between them. However, the Daphnia was less inhibited with the higher biomass, suggesting the competitive dominance of Daphnia. M. aeruginosa treatment suppressed the population growths of the two cladocerans, with the reduced carrying capacities. Nonetheless, the population inhibition of Daphnia by competition was alleviated by the increased Microcystis proportion in diet. As a result, the competitive advantage of Daphnia became more pronounced, as indicated by the higher Daphnia: Moina biomass ratio with increased Microcystis proportions. These results suggested that M. aeruginosa strengthens the advantage of D. similoides in competition with M. micrura, which contributes to the diversified zooplankton shifts observed in fields during cyanobacteria blooms.

The role of adaptations in two-strain competition for sylvatic Trypanosoma cruzi transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Kribs-Zaleta, Christopher M; Mubayi, Anuj

2012-01-01

This study presents a continuous-time model for the sylvatic transmission dynamics of two strains of Trypanosoma cruzi enzootic in North America, in order to study the role that adaptations of each strain to distinct modes of transmission (classical stercorarian transmission on the one hand, and vertical and oral transmission on the other) may play in the competition between the two strains. A deterministic model incorporating contact process saturation predicts competitive exclusion, and reproductive numbers for the infection provide a framework for evaluating the competition in terms of adaptive trade-off between distinct transmission modes. Results highlight the importance of oral transmission in mediating the competition between horizontal (stercorarian) and vertical transmission; its presence as a competing contact process advantages vertical transmission even without adaptation to oral transmission, but such adaptation appears necessary to explain the persistence of (vertically-adapted) T. cruzi IV in raccoons and woodrats in the southeastern United States.

Host age modulates within-host parasite competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Izhar, Rony; Routtu, Jarkko; Ben-Ami, Frida

2015-05-01

In many host populations, one of the most striking differences among hosts is their age. While parasite prevalence differences in relation to host age are well known, little is known on how host age impacts ecological and evolutionary dynamics of diseases. Using two clones of the water flea Daphnia magna and two clones of its bacterial parasite Pasteuria ramosa, we examined how host age at exposure influences within-host parasite competition and virulence. We found that multiply-exposed hosts were more susceptible to infection and suffered higher mortality than singly-exposed hosts. Hosts oldest at exposure were least often infected and vice versa. Furthermore, we found that in young multiply-exposed hosts competition was weak, allowing coexistence and transmission of both parasite clones, whereas in older multiply-exposed hosts competitive exclusion was observed. Thus, age-dependent parasite exposure and host demography (age structure) could together play an important role in mediating parasite evolution. At the individual level, our results demonstrate a previously unnoticed interaction of the host's immune system with host age, suggesting that the specificity of immune function changes as hosts mature. Therefore, evolutionary models of parasite virulence might benefit from incorporating age-dependent epidemiological parameters. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

THE IMPACT OF THE EXTERNALITIES GENERATED BY COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE

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Moraru Adrian

2015-07-01

both empirical and theoretical items. Also, it was conducted in a qualitative manner, since the Competitive Intelligence process is made exclusively through qualitative analysis methods.

The effect of a commercial competitive exclusion product on the selection of enrofloxacin resistance in commensal E. coli in broilers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chantziaras, Ilias; Smet, Annemieke; Filippitzi, Maria Eleni; Damiaans, Bert; Haesebrouck, Freddy; Boyen, Filip; Dewulf, Jeroen

2018-06-07

The effect of a competitive exclusion product (Aviguard ® ) on the selection of fluoroquinolone resistance in poultry was assessed in vivo in the absence or presence of fluoroquinolone treatment. Two experiments using a controlled seeder-sentinel animal model (2seeders:4sentinels per group) with one-day-old chicks were used. For both experiments,as soon as the chicks were hatched, the animals of two groups were administered Aviguard ® and two groups were left untreated. Three days later, all groups were inoculated with an enrofloxacin-susceptible commensal E. coli strain. Five days after hatching, two animals per group were inoculated either with a bacteriologically-fit or a bacteriologically non-fit enrofloxacin-resistant commensal E. coli strain. In experiment 2, all groups were orally treated for three consecutive days (Day 8-10) with enrofloxacin. Throughout the experiments, faecal excretion of all inoculated E. coli strains was determined on days 2-5-8-11-18-23 by selective plating (via spiral plater). Linear mixed models were used to assess the effect of Aviguard ® on the selection of fluoroquinolone resistance. The use of Aviguard® (penrofloxacin-resistant E. coli when no enrofloxacin treatment was administered. However, this beneficial effect disappeared (p=0.37) when the animals were treated with enrofloxacin. Similarly, bacterial fitness of the enrofloxacin-resistant E. coli strain used for inoculation had an effect (penrofloxacin resistance when no treatment was administered, whereas this effect was no longer present when enrofloxacin was administered (p =0.70). Thus, enrofloxacin treatment cancelled the beneficial effects from administrating Aviguard ® in one-day-old broiler chicks and resulted in a enrofloxacin-resistant flora.

Hard exclusive QCD processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kugler, W.

2007-01-15

Hard exclusive processes in high energy electron proton scattering offer the opportunity to get access to a new generation of parton distributions, the so-called generalized parton distributions (GPDs). This functions provide more detailed informations about the structure of the nucleon than the usual PDFs obtained from DIS. In this work we present a detailed analysis of exclusive processes, especially of hard exclusive meson production. We investigated the influence of exclusive produced mesons on the semi-inclusive production of mesons at fixed target experiments like HERMES. Further we give a detailed analysis of higher order corrections (NLO) for the exclusive production of mesons in a very broad range of kinematics. (orig.)

Search for exclusive or semi-exclusive $\\gamma\\gamma$ production and observation of exclusive and semi-exclusive $e^+e^−$ production in pp collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$=7 TeV

CERN Document Server

Chatrchyan, Serguei; Sirunyan, Albert M; Tumasyan, Armen; Adam, Wolfgang; Bergauer, Thomas; Dragicevic, Marko; Erö, Janos; Fabjan, Christian; Friedl, Markus; Fruehwirth, Rudolf; Ghete, Vasile Mihai; Hammer, Josef; Hörmann, Natascha; Hrubec, Josef; Jeitler, Manfred; Kiesenhofer, Wolfgang; Knünz, Valentin; Krammer, Manfred; Liko, Dietrich; Mikulec, Ivan; Pernicka, Manfred; Rahbaran, Babak; Rohringer, Christine; Rohringer, Herbert; Schöfbeck, Robert; Strauss, Josef; Taurok, Anton; Wagner, Philipp; Waltenberger, Wolfgang; Walzel, Gerhard; Widl, Edmund; Wulz, Claudia-Elisabeth; Mossolov, Vladimir; Shumeiko, Nikolai; Suarez Gonzalez, Juan; Bansal, Sunil; Cornelis, Tom; De Wolf, Eddi A; Janssen, Xavier; Luyckx, Sten; Maes, Thomas; Mucibello, Luca; Ochesanu, Silvia; Roland, Benoit; Rougny, Romain; Selvaggi, Michele; Staykova, Zlatka; Van Haevermaet, Hans; Van Mechelen, Pierre; Van Remortel, Nick; Van Spilbeeck, Alex; Blekman, Freya; Blyweert, Stijn; D'Hondt, Jorgen; Gonzalez Suarez, Rebeca; Kalogeropoulos, Alexis; Maes, Michael; Olbrechts, Annik; Van Doninck, Walter; Van Mulders, Petra; Van Onsem, Gerrit Patrick; Villella, Ilaria; Clerbaux, Barbara; De Lentdecker, Gilles; Dero, Vincent; Gay, Arnaud; Hreus, Tomas; Léonard, Alexandre; Marage, Pierre Edouard; Reis, Thomas; Thomas, Laurent; Vander Velde, Catherine; Vanlaer, Pascal; Wang, Jian; Adler, Volker; Beernaert, Kelly; Cimmino, Anna; Costantini, Silvia; Garcia, Guillaume; Grunewald, Martin; Klein, Benjamin; Lellouch, Jérémie; Marinov, Andrey; Mccartin, Joseph; Ocampo Rios, Alberto Andres; Ryckbosch, Dirk; Strobbe, Nadja; Thyssen, Filip; Tytgat, Michael; Vanelderen, Lukas; Verwilligen, Piet; Walsh, Sinead; Yazgan, Efe; Zaganidis, Nicolas; Basegmez, Suzan; Bruno, Giacomo; Castello, Roberto; Caudron, Adrien; Ceard, Ludivine; Delaere, Christophe; Du Pree, Tristan; Favart, Denis; Forthomme, Laurent; Giammanco, Andrea; Hollar, Jonathan; Lemaitre, Vincent; Liao, Junhui; Militaru, Otilia; Nuttens, Claude; Pagano, Davide; Perrini, Lucia; Pin, Arnaud; Piotrzkowski, Krzysztof; Schul, Nicolas; Vizan Garcia, Jesus Manuel; Beliy, Nikita; Caebergs, Thierry; Daubie, Evelyne; Hammad, Gregory Habib; Alves, Gilvan; Correa Martins Junior, Marcos; De Jesus Damiao, Dilson; Martins, Thiago; Pol, Maria Elena; Henrique Gomes E Souza, Moacyr; Aldá Júnior, Walter Luiz; Carvalho, Wagner; Custódio, Analu; Melo Da Costa, Eliza; De Oliveira Martins, Carley; Fonseca De Souza, Sandro; Matos Figueiredo, Diego; Mundim, Luiz; Nogima, Helio; Oguri, Vitor; Prado Da Silva, Wanda Lucia; Santoro, Alberto; Soares Jorge, Luana; Sznajder, Andre; Bernardes, Cesar Augusto; De Almeida Dias, Flavia; Tomei, Thiago; De Moraes Gregores, Eduardo; Lagana, Caio; Da Cunha Marinho, Franciole; Mercadante, Pedro G; Novaes, Sergio F; Padula, Sandra; Genchev, Vladimir; Iaydjiev, Plamen; Piperov, Stefan; Rodozov, Mircho; Stoykova, Stefka; Sultanov, Georgi; Tcholakov, Vanio; Trayanov, Rumen; Vutova, Mariana; Dimitrov, Anton; Hadjiiska, Roumyana; Kozhuharov, Venelin; Litov, Leander; Pavlov, Borislav; Petkov, Peicho; Bian, Jian-Guo; Chen, Guo-Ming; Chen, He-Sheng; Jiang, Chun-Hua; Liang, Dong; Liang, Song; Meng, Xiangwei; Tao, Junquan; Wang, Jian; Wang, Xianyou; Wang, Zheng; Xiao, Hong; Xu, Ming; Zang, Jingjing; Zhang, Zhen; Asawatangtrakuldee, Chayanit; Ban, Yong; Guo, Shuang; Guo, Yifei; Li, Wenbo; Liu, Shuai; Mao, Yajun; Qian, Si-Jin; Teng, Haiyun; Wang, Siguang; Zhu, Bo; Zou, Wei; Avila, Carlos; Gomez, Juan Pablo; Gomez Moreno, Bernardo; Osorio Oliveros, Andres Felipe; Sanabria, Juan Carlos; Godinovic, Nikola; Lelas, Damir; Plestina, Roko; Polic, Dunja; Puljak, Ivica; Antunovic, Zeljko; Kovac, Marko; Brigljevic, Vuko; Duric, Senka; Kadija, Kreso; Luetic, Jelena; Morovic, Srecko; Attikis, Alexandros; Galanti, Mario; Mavromanolakis, Georgios; Mousa, Jehad; Nicolaou, Charalambos; Ptochos, Fotios; Razis, Panos A; Finger, Miroslav; Finger Jr, Michael; Assran, Yasser; Elgammal, Sherif; Ellithi Kamel, Ali; Khalil, Shaaban; Mahmoud, Mohammed; Radi, Amr; Kadastik, Mario; Müntel, Mait; Raidal, Martti; Rebane, Liis; Tiko, Andres; Azzolini, Virginia; Eerola, Paula; Fedi, Giacomo; Voutilainen, Mikko; Härkönen, Jaakko; Heikkinen, Mika Aatos; Karimäki, Veikko; Kinnunen, Ritva; Kortelainen, Matti J; Lampén, Tapio; Lassila-Perini, Kati; Lehti, Sami; Lindén, Tomas; Luukka, Panja-Riina; Mäenpää, Teppo; Peltola, Timo; Tuominen, Eija; Tuominiemi, Jorma; Tuovinen, Esa; Ungaro, Donatella; Wendland, Lauri; Banzuzi, Kukka; Karjalainen, Ahti; Korpela, Arja; Tuuva, Tuure; Besancon, Marc; Choudhury, Somnath; Dejardin, Marc; Denegri, Daniel; Fabbro, Bernard; Faure, Jean-Louis; Ferri, Federico; Ganjour, Serguei; Givernaud, Alain; Gras, Philippe; Hamel de Monchenault, Gautier; Jarry, Patrick; Locci, Elizabeth; Malcles, Julie; Millischer, Laurent; Nayak, Aruna; Rander, John; Rosowsky, André; Shreyber, Irina; Titov, Maksym; Baffioni, Stephanie; Beaudette, Florian; Benhabib, Lamia; Bianchini, Lorenzo; Bluj, Michal; Broutin, Clementine; Busson, Philippe; Charlot, Claude; Daci, Nadir; Dahms, Torsten; Dobrzynski, Ludwik; Granier de Cassagnac, Raphael; Haguenauer, Maurice; Miné, Philippe; Mironov, Camelia; Nguyen, Matthew; Ochando, Christophe; Paganini, Pascal; Sabes, David; Salerno, Roberto; Sirois, Yves; Veelken, Christian; Zabi, Alexandre; Agram, Jean-Laurent; Andrea, Jeremy; Bloch, Daniel; Bodin, David; Brom, Jean-Marie; Cardaci, Marco; Chabert, Eric Christian; Collard, Caroline; Conte, Eric; Drouhin, Frédéric; Ferro, Cristina; Fontaine, Jean-Charles; Gelé, Denis; Goerlach, Ulrich; Juillot, Pierre; Le Bihan, Anne-Catherine; Van Hove, Pierre; Fassi, Farida; Mercier, Damien; Beauceron, Stephanie; Beaupere, Nicolas; Bondu, Olivier; Boudoul, Gaelle; Chasserat, Julien; Chierici, Roberto; Contardo, Didier; Depasse, Pierre; El Mamouni, Houmani; Fay, Jean; Gascon, Susan; Gouzevitch, Maxime; Ille, Bernard; Kurca, Tibor; Lethuillier, Morgan; Mirabito, Laurent; Perries, Stephane; Sordini, Viola; Tosi, Silvano; Tschudi, Yohann; Verdier, Patrice; Viret, Sébastien; Tsamalaidze, Zviad; Anagnostou, Georgios; Beranek, Sarah; Edelhoff, Matthias; Feld, Lutz; Heracleous, Natalie; Hindrichs, Otto; Jussen, Ruediger; Klein, Katja; Merz, Jennifer; Ostapchuk, Andrey; Perieanu, Adrian; Raupach, Frank; Sammet, Jan; Schael, Stefan; Sprenger, Daniel; Weber, Hendrik; Wittmer, Bruno; Zhukov, Valery; Ata, Metin; Caudron, Julien; Dietz-Laursonn, Erik; Duchardt, Deborah; Erdmann, Martin; Fischer, Robert; Güth, Andreas; Hebbeker, Thomas; Heidemann, Carsten; Hoepfner, Kerstin; Klingebiel, Dennis; Kreuzer, Peter; Lingemann, Joschka; Magass, Carsten; Merschmeyer, Markus; Meyer, Arnd; Olschewski, Mark; Papacz, Paul; Pieta, Holger; Reithler, Hans; Schmitz, Stefan Antonius; Sonnenschein, Lars; Steggemann, Jan; Teyssier, Daniel; Weber, Martin; Bontenackels, Michael; Cherepanov, Vladimir; Flügge, Günter; Geenen, Heiko; Geisler, Matthias; Haj Ahmad, Wael; Hoehle, Felix; Kargoll, Bastian; Kress, Thomas; Kuessel, Yvonne; Nowack, Andreas; Perchalla, Lars; Pooth, Oliver; Rennefeld, Jörg; Sauerland, Philip; Stahl, Achim; Aldaya Martin, Maria; Behr, Joerg; Behrenhoff, Wolf; Behrens, Ulf; Bergholz, Matthias; Bethani, Agni; Borras, Kerstin; Burgmeier, Armin; Cakir, Altan; Calligaris, Luigi; Campbell, Alan; Castro, Elena; Costanza, Francesco; Dammann, Dirk; Diez Pardos, Carmen; Eckerlin, Guenter; Eckstein, Doris; Flucke, Gero; Geiser, Achim; Glushkov, Ivan; Gunnellini, Paolo; Habib, Shiraz; Hauk, Johannes; Hellwig, Gregor; Jung, Hannes; Kasemann, Matthias; Katsas, Panagiotis; Kleinwort, Claus; Kluge, Hannelies; Knutsson, Albert; Krämer, Mira; Krücker, Dirk; Kuznetsova, Ekaterina; Lange, Wolfgang; Lohmann, Wolfgang; Lutz, Benjamin; Mankel, Rainer; Marfin, Ihar; Marienfeld, Markus; Melzer-Pellmann, Isabell-Alissandra; Meyer, Andreas Bernhard; Mnich, Joachim; Mussgiller, Andreas; Naumann-Emme, Sebastian; Olzem, Jan; Perrey, Hanno; Petrukhin, Alexey; Pitzl, Daniel; Raspereza, Alexei; Ribeiro Cipriano, Pedro M; Riedl, Caroline; Ron, Elias; Rosin, Michele; Salfeld-Nebgen, Jakob; Schmidt, Ringo; Schoerner-Sadenius, Thomas; Sen, Niladri; Spiridonov, Alexander; Stein, Matthias; Walsh, Roberval; Wissing, Christoph; Autermann, Christian; Blobel, Volker; Bobrovskyi, Sergei; Draeger, Jula; Enderle, Holger; Erfle, Joachim; Gebbert, Ulla; Görner, Martin; Hermanns, Thomas; Höing, Rebekka Sophie; Kaschube, Kolja; Kaussen, Gordon; Kirschenmann, Henning; Klanner, Robert; Lange, Jörn; Mura, Benedikt; Nowak, Friederike; Peiffer, Thomas; Pietsch, Niklas; Rathjens, Denis; Sander, Christian; Schettler, Hannes; Schleper, Peter; Schlieckau, Eike; Schmidt, Alexander; Schröder, Matthias; Schum, Torben; Seidel, Markus; Stadie, Hartmut; Steinbrück, Georg; Thomsen, Jan; Barth, Christian; Berger, Joram; Böser, Christian; Chwalek, Thorsten; De Boer, Wim; Descroix, Alexis; Dierlamm, Alexander; Feindt, Michael; Guthoff, Moritz; Hackstein, Christoph; Hartmann, Frank; Hauth, Thomas; Heinrich, Michael; Held, Hauke; Hoffmann, Karl-Heinz; Honc, Simon; Katkov, Igor; Komaragiri, Jyothsna Rani; Martschei, Daniel; Mueller, Steffen; Müller, Thomas; Niegel, Martin; Nürnberg, Andreas; Oberst, Oliver; Oehler, Andreas; Ott, Jochen; Quast, Gunter; Rabbertz, Klaus; Ratnikov, Fedor; Ratnikova, Natalia; Röcker, Steffen; Scheurer, Armin; Schilling, Frank-Peter; Schott, Gregory; Simonis, Hans-Jürgen; Stober, Fred-Markus Helmut; Troendle, Daniel; Ulrich, Ralf; Wagner-Kuhr, Jeannine; Wayand, Stefan; Weiler, Thomas; Zeise, Manuel; Daskalakis, Georgios; Geralis, Theodoros; Kesisoglou, Stilianos; Kyriakis, Aristotelis; Loukas, Demetrios; Manolakos, Ioannis; Markou, Athanasios; Markou, Christos; Mavrommatis, Charalampos; Ntomari, Eleni; Gouskos, Loukas; Mertzimekis, Theodoros; Panagiotou, Apostolos; Saoulidou, Niki; Evangelou, Ioannis; Foudas, Costas; Kokkas, Panagiotis; Manthos, Nikolaos; Papadopoulos, Ioannis; Patras, Vaios; Bencze, Gyorgy; Hajdu, Csaba; Hidas, Pàl; Horvath, Dezso; Sikler, Ferenc; Veszpremi, Viktor; Vesztergombi, Gyorgy; Beni, Noemi; Czellar, Sandor; Molnar, Jozsef; Palinkas, Jozsef; Szillasi, Zoltan; Karancsi, János; Raics, Peter; Trocsanyi, Zoltan Laszlo; Ujvari, Balazs; Bansal, Monika; Beri, Suman Bala; Bhatnagar, Vipin; Dhingra, Nitish; Gupta, Ruchi; Kaur, Manjit; Mehta, Manuk Zubin; Nishu, Nishu; Saini, Lovedeep Kaur; Sharma, Archana; Singh, Jasbir; Kumar, Ashok; Kumar, Arun; Ahuja, Sudha; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Choudhary, Brajesh C; Malhotra, Shivali; Naimuddin, Md; Ranjan, Kirti; Sharma, Varun; Shivpuri, Ram Krishen; Banerjee, Sunanda; Bhattacharya, Satyaki; Dutta, Suchandra; Gomber, Bhawna; Jain, Sandhya; Jain, Shilpi; Khurana, Raman; Sarkar, Subir; Sharan, Manoj; Abdulsalam, Abdulla; Choudhury, Rajani Kant; Dutta, Dipanwita; Kailas, Swaminathan; Kumar, Vineet; Mehta, Pourus; Mohanty, Ajit Kumar; Pant, Lalit Mohan; Shukla, Prashant; Aziz, Tariq; Ganguly, Sanmay; Guchait, Monoranjan; Maity, Manas; Majumder, Gobinda; Mazumdar, Kajari; Mohanty, Gagan Bihari; Parida, Bibhuti; Sudhakar, Katta; Wickramage, Nadeesha; Banerjee, Sudeshna; Dugad, Shashikant; Arfaei, Hessamaddin; Bakhshiansohi, Hamed; Etesami, Seyed Mohsen; Fahim, Ali; Hashemi, Majid; Jafari, Abideh; Khakzad, Mohsen; Mohammadi, Abdollah; Mohammadi Najafabadi, Mojtaba; Paktinat Mehdiabadi, Saeid; Safarzadeh, Batool; Zeinali, Maryam; Abbrescia, Marcello; Barbone, Lucia; Calabria, Cesare; Chhibra, Simranjit Singh; Colaleo, Anna; Creanza, Donato; De Filippis, Nicola; De Palma, Mauro; Fiore, Luigi; Iaselli, Giuseppe; Lusito, Letizia; Maggi, Giorgio; Maggi, Marcello; Marangelli, Bartolomeo; My, Salvatore; Nuzzo, Salvatore; Pacifico, Nicola; Pompili, Alexis; Pugliese, Gabriella; Selvaggi, Giovanna; Silvestris, Lucia; Singh, Gurpreet; Venditti, Rosamaria; Zito, Giuseppe; Abbiendi, Giovanni; Benvenuti, Alberto; Bonacorsi, Daniele; Braibant-Giacomelli, Sylvie; Brigliadori, Luca; Capiluppi, Paolo; Castro, Andrea; Cavallo, Francesca Romana; Cuffiani, Marco; Dallavalle, Gaetano-Marco; Fabbri, Fabrizio; Fanfani, Alessandra; Fasanella, Daniele; Giacomelli, Paolo; Grandi, Claudio; Guiducci, Luigi; Marcellini, Stefano; Masetti, Gianni; Meneghelli, Marco; Montanari, Alessandro; Navarria, Francesco; Odorici, Fabrizio; Perrotta, Andrea; Primavera, Federica; Rossi, Antonio; Rovelli, Tiziano; Siroli, Gian Piero; Travaglini, Riccardo; Albergo, Sebastiano; Cappello, Gigi; Chiorboli, Massimiliano; Costa, Salvatore; Potenza, Renato; Tricomi, Alessia; Tuve, Cristina; Barbagli, Giuseppe; Ciulli, Vitaliano; Civinini, Carlo; D'Alessandro, Raffaello; Focardi, Ettore; Frosali, Simone; Gallo, Elisabetta; Gonzi, Sandro; Meschini, Marco; Paoletti, Simone; Sguazzoni, Giacomo; Tropiano, Antonio; Benussi, Luigi; Bianco, Stefano; Colafranceschi, Stefano; Fabbri, Franco; Piccolo, Davide; Fabbricatore, Pasquale; Musenich, Riccardo; Benaglia, Andrea; De Guio, Federico; Di Matteo, Leonardo; Fiorendi, Sara; Gennai, Simone; Ghezzi, Alessio; Malvezzi, Sandra; Manzoni, Riccardo Andrea; Martelli, Arabella; Massironi, Andrea; Menasce, Dario; Moroni, Luigi; Paganoni, Marco; Pedrini, Daniele; Ragazzi, Stefano; Redaelli, Nicola; Sala, Silvano; Tabarelli de Fatis, Tommaso; Buontempo, Salvatore; Carrillo Montoya, Camilo Andres; Cavallo, Nicola; De Cosa, Annapaola; Dogangun, Oktay; Fabozzi, Francesco; Iorio, Alberto Orso Maria; Lista, Luca; Meola, Sabino; Merola, Mario; Paolucci, Pierluigi; Azzi, Patrizia; Bacchetta, Nicola; Bisello, Dario; Branca, Antonio; Carlin, Roberto; Checchia, Paolo; Dorigo, Tommaso; Gasparini, Fabrizio; Gasparini, Ugo; Gozzelino, Andrea; Gulmini, Michele; Kanishchev, Konstantin; Lacaprara, Stefano; Lazzizzera, Ignazio; Margoni, Martino; Meneguzzo, Anna Teresa; Pazzini, Jacopo; Pozzobon, Nicola; Ronchese, Paolo; Simonetto, Franco; Torassa, Ezio; Tosi, Mia; Vanini, Sara; Zotto, Pierluigi; Zucchetta, Alberto; Zumerle, Gianni; Gabusi, Michele; Ratti, Sergio P; Riccardi, Cristina; Torre, Paola; Vitulo, Paolo; Biasini, Maurizio; Bilei, Gian Mario; Fanò, Livio; Lariccia, Paolo; Lucaroni, Andrea; Mantovani, Giancarlo; Menichelli, Mauro; Nappi, Aniello; Romeo, Francesco; Saha, Anirban; Santocchia, Attilio; Taroni, Silvia; Azzurri, Paolo; Bagliesi, Giuseppe; Boccali, Tommaso; Broccolo, Giuseppe; Castaldi, Rino; D'Agnolo, Raffaele Tito; Dell'Orso, Roberto; Fiori, Francesco; Foà, Lorenzo; Giassi, Alessandro; Kraan, Aafke; Ligabue, Franco; Lomtadze, Teimuraz; Martini, Luca; Messineo, Alberto; Palla, Fabrizio; Rizzi, Andrea; Serban, Alin Titus; Spagnolo, Paolo; Squillacioti, Paola; Tenchini, Roberto; Tonelli, Guido; Venturi, Andrea; Verdini, Piero Giorgio; Barone, Luciano; Cavallari, Francesca; Del Re, Daniele; Diemoz, Marcella; Grassi, Marco; Longo, Egidio; Meridiani, Paolo; Micheli, Francesco; Nourbakhsh, Shervin; Organtini, Giovanni; Paramatti, Riccardo; Rahatlou, Shahram; Sigamani, Michael; Soffi, Livia; Amapane, Nicola; Arcidiacono, Roberta; Argiro, Stefano; Arneodo, Michele; Biino, Cristina; Cartiglia, Nicolo; Costa, Marco; Demaria, Natale; Graziano, Alberto; Mariotti, Chiara; Maselli, Silvia; Migliore, Ernesto; Monaco, Vincenzo; Musich, Marco; Obertino, Maria Margherita; Pastrone, Nadia; Pelliccioni, Mario; Potenza, Alberto; Romero, Alessandra; Ruspa, Marta; Sacchi, Roberto; Sola, Valentina; Solano, Ada; Staiano, Amedeo; Vilela Pereira, Antonio; Belforte, Stefano; Candelise, Vieri; Cossutti, Fabio; Della Ricca, Giuseppe; Gobbo, Benigno; Marone, Matteo; Montanino, Damiana; Penzo, Aldo; Schizzi, Andrea; Heo, Seong Gu; Kim, Tae Yeon; Nam, Soon-Kwon; Chang, Sunghyun; Chung, Jin Hyuk; Kim, Dong Hee; Kim, Gui Nyun; Kong, Dae Jung; Park, Hyangkyu; Ro, Sang-Ryul; Son, Dong-Chul; Son, Taejin; Kim, Jae Yool; Kim, Zero Jaeho; Song, Sanghyeon; Choi, Suyong; Gyun, Dooyeon; Hong, Byung-Sik; Jo, Mihee; Kim, Hyunchul; Kim, Tae Jeong; Lee, Kyong Sei; Moon, Dong Ho; Park, Sung Keun; Choi, Minkyoo; Kang, Seokon; Kim, Ji Hyun; Park, Chawon; Park, Inkyu; Park, Sangnam; Ryu, Geonmo; Cho, Yongjin; Choi, Young-Il; Choi, Young Kyu; Goh, Junghwan; Kim, Min Suk; Kwon, Eunhyang; Lee, Byounghoon; Lee, Jongseok; Lee, Sungeun; Seo, Hyunkwan; Yu, Intae; Bilinskas, Mykolas Jurgis; Grigelionis, Ignas; Janulis, Mindaugas; Juodagalvis, Andrius; Castilla-Valdez, Heriberto; De La Cruz-Burelo, Eduard; Heredia-de La Cruz, Ivan; Lopez-Fernandez, Ricardo; Magaña Villalba, Ricardo; Martínez-Ortega, Jorge; Sánchez-Hernández, Alberto; Villasenor-Cendejas, Luis Manuel; Carrillo Moreno, Salvador; Vazquez Valencia, Fabiola; Salazar Ibarguen, Humberto Antonio; Casimiro Linares, Edgar; Morelos Pineda, Antonio; Reyes-Santos, Marco A; Krofcheck, David; Bell, Alan James; Butler, Philip H; Doesburg, Robert; Reucroft, Steve; Silverwood, Hamish; Ahmad, Muhammad; Asghar, Muhammad Irfan; Hoorani, Hafeez R; Khalid, Shoaib; Khan, Wajid Ali; Khurshid, Taimoor; Qazi, Shamona; Shah, Mehar Ali; Shoaib, Muhammad; Bialkowska, Helena; Boimska, Bozena; Frueboes, Tomasz; Gokieli, Ryszard; Górski, Maciej; Kazana, Malgorzata; Nawrocki, Krzysztof; Romanowska-Rybinska, Katarzyna; Szleper, Michal; Wrochna, Grzegorz; Zalewski, Piotr; Brona, Grzegorz; Bunkowski, Karol; Cwiok, Mikolaj; Dominik, Wojciech; Doroba, Krzysztof; Kalinowski, Artur; Konecki, Marcin; Krolikowski, Jan; Almeida, Nuno; Bargassa, Pedrame; David Tinoco Mendes, Andre; Faccioli, Pietro; Fernandes, Miguel; Ferreira Parracho, Pedro Guilherme; Gallinaro, Michele; Seixas, Joao; Varela, Joao; Vischia, Pietro; Belotelov, Ivan; Bunin, Pavel; Gavrilenko, Mikhail; Golutvin, Igor; Gorbunov, Ilya; Kamenev, Alexey; Karjavin, Vladimir; Kozlov, Guennady; Lanev, Alexander; Malakhov, Alexander; Moisenz, Petr; Palichik, Vladimir; Perelygin, Victor; Shmatov, Sergey; Smirnov, Vitaly; Volodko, Anton; Zarubin, Anatoli; Evstyukhin, Sergey; Golovtsov, Victor; Ivanov, Yury; Kim, Victor; Levchenko, Petr; Murzin, Victor; Oreshkin, Vadim; Smirnov, Igor; Sulimov, Valentin; Uvarov, Lev; Vavilov, Sergey; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Andrey; Andreev, Yuri; Dermenev, Alexander; Gninenko, Sergei; Golubev, Nikolai; Kirsanov, Mikhail; Krasnikov, Nikolai; Matveev, Viktor; Pashenkov, Anatoli; Tlisov, Danila; Toropin, Alexander; Epshteyn, Vladimir; Erofeeva, Maria; Gavrilov, Vladimir; Kossov, Mikhail; Lychkovskaya, Natalia; Popov, Vladimir; Safronov, Grigory; Semenov, Sergey; Stolin, Viatcheslav; Vlasov, Evgueni; Zhokin, Alexander; Belyaev, Andrey; Boos, Edouard; Dudko, Lev; Ershov, Alexander; Gribushin, Andrey; Khein, Lev; Klyukhin, Vyacheslav; Kodolova, Olga; Markina, Anastasia; Obraztsov, Stepan; Perfilov, Maxim; Petrushanko, Sergey; Popov, Andrey; Proskuryakov, Alexander; Sarycheva, Ludmila; Savrin, Viktor; Andreev, Vladimir; Azarkin, Maksim; Dremin, Igor; Kirakosyan, Martin; Leonidov, Andrey; Mesyats, Gennady; Rusakov, Sergey V; Vinogradov, Alexey; Azhgirey, Igor; Bayshev, Igor; Bitioukov, Sergei; Grishin, Viatcheslav; Kachanov, Vassili; Konstantinov, Dmitri; Korablev, Andrey; Krychkine, Victor; Petrov, Vladimir; Ryutin, Roman; Sobol, Andrei; Tourtchanovitch, Leonid; Troshin, Sergey; Tyurin, Nikolay; Uzunian, Andrey; Volkov, Alexey; Adzic, Petar; Djordjevic, Milos; Ekmedzic, Marko; Krpic, Dragomir; Milosevic, Jovan; Aguilar-Benitez, Manuel; Alcaraz Maestre, Juan; Arce, Pedro; Battilana, Carlo; Calvo, Enrique; Cerrada, Marcos; Chamizo Llatas, Maria; Colino, Nicanor; De La Cruz, Begona; Delgado Peris, Antonio; Domínguez Vázquez, Daniel; Fernandez Bedoya, Cristina; Fernández Ramos, Juan Pablo; Ferrando, Antonio; Flix, Jose; Fouz, Maria Cruz; Garcia-Abia, Pablo; Gonzalez Lopez, Oscar; Goy Lopez, Silvia; Hernandez, Jose M; Josa, Maria Isabel; Merino, Gonzalo; Puerta Pelayo, Jesus; Quintario Olmeda, Adrián; Redondo, Ignacio; Romero, Luciano; Santaolalla, Javier; Senghi Soares, Mara; Willmott, Carlos; Albajar, Carmen; Codispoti, Giuseppe; de Trocóniz, Jorge F; Brun, Hugues; Cuevas, Javier; Fernandez Menendez, Javier; Folgueras, Santiago; Gonzalez Caballero, Isidro; Lloret Iglesias, Lara; Piedra Gomez, Jonatan; Brochero Cifuentes, Javier Andres; Cabrillo, Iban Jose; Calderon, Alicia; Chuang, Shan-Huei; Duarte Campderros, Jordi; Felcini, Marta; Fernandez, Marcos; Gomez, Gervasio; Gonzalez Sanchez, Javier; Jorda, Clara; Lobelle Pardo, Patricia; Lopez Virto, Amparo; Marco, Jesus; Marco, Rafael; Martinez Rivero, Celso; Matorras, Francisco; Munoz Sanchez, Francisca Javiela; Rodrigo, Teresa; Rodríguez-Marrero, Ana Yaiza; Ruiz-Jimeno, Alberto; Scodellaro, Luca; Sobron Sanudo, Mar; Vila, Ivan; Vilar Cortabitarte, Rocio; Abbaneo, Duccio; Auffray, Etiennette; Auzinger, Georg; Baillon, Paul; Ball, Austin; Barney, David; Bernet, Colin; Bianchi, Giovanni; Bloch, Philippe; Bocci, Andrea; Bonato, Alessio; Botta, Cristina; Breuker, Horst; Camporesi, Tiziano; Cerminara, Gianluca; Christiansen, Tim; Coarasa Perez, Jose Antonio; D'Enterria, David; Dabrowski, Anne; De Roeck, Albert; Di Guida, Salvatore; Dobson, Marc; Dupont-Sagorin, Niels; Elliott-Peisert, Anna; Frisch, Benjamin; Funk, Wolfgang; Georgiou, Georgios; Giffels, Manuel; Gigi, Dominique; Gill, Karl; Giordano, Domenico; Giunta, Marina; Glege, Frank; Gomez-Reino Garrido, Robert; Govoni, Pietro; Gowdy, Stephen; Guida, Roberto; Hansen, Magnus; Harris, Philip; Hartl, Christian; Harvey, John; Hegner, Benedikt; Hinzmann, Andreas; Innocente, Vincenzo; Janot, Patrick; Kaadze, Ketino; Karavakis, Edward; Kousouris, Konstantinos; Lecoq, Paul; Lee, Yen-Jie; Lenzi, Piergiulio; Lourenco, Carlos; Maki, Tuula; Malberti, Martina; Malgeri, Luca; Mannelli, Marcello; Masetti, Lorenzo; Meijers, Frans; Mersi, Stefano; Meschi, Emilio; Moser, Roland; Mozer, Matthias Ulrich; Mulders, Martijn; Musella, Pasquale; Nesvold, Erik; Orimoto, Toyoko; Orsini, Luciano; Palencia Cortezon, Enrique; Perez, Emmanuelle; Perrozzi, Luca; Petrilli, Achille; Pfeiffer, Andreas; Pierini, Maurizio; Pimiä, Martti; Piparo, Danilo; Polese, Giovanni; Quertenmont, Loic; Racz, Attila; Reece, William; Rodrigues Antunes, Joao; Rolandi, Gigi; Rommerskirchen, Tanja; Rovelli, Chiara; Rovere, Marco; Sakulin, Hannes; Santanastasio, Francesco; Schäfer, Christoph; Schwick, Christoph; Segoni, Ilaria; Sekmen, Sezen; Sharma, Archana; Siegrist, Patrice; Silva, Pedro; Simon, Michal; Sphicas, Paraskevas; Spiga, Daniele; Spiropulu, Maria; Stoye, Markus; Tsirou, Andromachi; Veres, Gabor Istvan; Vlimant, Jean-Roch; Wöhri, Hermine Katharina; Worm, Steven; Zeuner, Wolfram Dietrich; Bertl, Willi; Deiters, Konrad; Erdmann, Wolfram; Gabathuler, Kurt; Horisberger, Roland; Ingram, Quentin; Kaestli, Hans-Christian; König, Stefan; Kotlinski, Danek; Langenegger, Urs; Meier, Frank; Renker, Dieter; Rohe, Tilman; Sibille, Jennifer; Bäni, Lukas; Bortignon, Pierluigi; Buchmann, Marco-Andrea; Casal, Bruno; Chanon, Nicolas; Deisher, Amanda; Dissertori, Günther; Dittmar, Michael; Dünser, Marc; Eugster, Jürg; Freudenreich, Klaus; Grab, Christoph; Hits, Dmitry; Lecomte, Pierre; Lustermann, Werner; Marini, Andrea Carlo; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, Pablo; Mohr, Niklas; Moortgat, Filip; Nägeli, Christoph; Nef, Pascal; Nessi-Tedaldi, Francesca; Pandolfi, Francesco; Pape, Luc; Pauss, Felicitas; Peruzzi, Marco; Ronga, Frederic Jean; Rossini, Marco; Sala, Leonardo; Sanchez, Ann - Karin; Starodumov, Andrei; Stieger, Benjamin; Takahashi, Maiko; Tauscher, Ludwig; Thea, Alessandro; Theofilatos, Konstantinos; Treille, Daniel; Urscheler, Christina; Wallny, Rainer; Weber, Hannsjoerg Artur; Wehrli, Lukas; Aguilo, Ernest; Amsler, Claude; Chiochia, Vincenzo; De Visscher, Simon; Favaro, Carlotta; Ivova Rikova, Mirena; Millan Mejias, Barbara; Otiougova, Polina; Robmann, Peter; Snoek, Hella; Tupputi, Salvatore; Verzetti, Mauro; Chang, Yuan-Hann; Chen, Kuan-Hsin; Kuo, Chia-Ming; Li, Syue-Wei; Lin, Willis; Liu, Zong-Kai; Lu, Yun-Ju; Mekterovic, Darko; Singh, Anil; Volpe, Roberta; Yu, Shin-Shan; Bartalini, Paolo; Chang, Paoti; Chang, You-Hao; Chang, Yu-Wei; Chao, Yuan; Chen, Kai-Feng; Dietz, Charles; Grundler, Ulysses; Hou, George Wei-Shu; Hsiung, Yee; Kao, Kai-Yi; Lei, Yeong-Jyi; Lu, Rong-Shyang; Majumder, Devdatta; Petrakou, Eleni; Shi, Xin; Shiu, Jing-Ge; Tzeng, Yeng-Ming; Wan, Xia; Wang, Minzu; Adiguzel, Aytul; Bakirci, Mustafa Numan; Cerci, Salim; Dozen, Candan; Dumanoglu, Isa; Eskut, Eda; Girgis, Semiray; Gokbulut, Gul; Gurpinar, Emine; Hos, Ilknur; Kangal, Evrim Ersin; Karapinar, Guler; Kayis Topaksu, Aysel; Onengut, Gulsen; Ozdemir, Kadri; Ozturk, Sertac; Polatoz, Ayse; Sogut, Kenan; Sunar Cerci, Deniz; Tali, Bayram; Topakli, Huseyin; Vergili, Latife Nukhet; Vergili, Mehmet; Akin, Ilina Vasileva; Aliev, Takhmasib; Bilin, Bugra; Bilmis, Selcuk; Deniz, Muhammed; Gamsizkan, Halil; Guler, Ali Murat; Ocalan, Kadir; Ozpineci, Altug; Serin, Meltem; Sever, Ramazan; Surat, Ugur Emrah; Yalvac, Metin; Yildirim, Eda; Zeyrek, Mehmet; Gülmez, Erhan; Isildak, Bora; Kaya, Mithat; Kaya, Ozlem; Ozkorucuklu, Suat; Sonmez, Nasuf; Cankocak, Kerem; Levchuk, Leonid; Bostock, Francis; Brooke, James John; Clement, Emyr; Cussans, David; Flacher, Henning; Frazier, Robert; Goldstein, Joel; Grimes, Mark; Heath, Greg P; Heath, Helen F; Kreczko, Lukasz; Metson, Simon; Newbold, Dave M; Nirunpong, Kachanon; Poll, Anthony; Senkin, Sergey; Smith, Vincent J; Williams, Thomas; Basso, Lorenzo; Bell, Ken W; Belyaev, Alexander; Brew, Christopher; Brown, Robert M; Cockerill, David JA; Coughlan, John A; Harder, Kristian; Harper, Sam; Jackson, James; Kennedy, Bruce W; Olaiya, Emmanuel; Petyt, David; Radburn-Smith, Benjamin Charles; Shepherd-Themistocleous, Claire; Tomalin, Ian R; Womersley, William John; Bainbridge, Robert; Ball, Gordon; Beuselinck, Raymond; Buchmuller, Oliver; Colling, David; Cripps, Nicholas; Cutajar, Michael; Dauncey, Paul; Davies, Gavin; Della Negra, Michel; Ferguson, William; Fulcher, Jonathan; Futyan, David; Gilbert, Andrew; Guneratne Bryer, Arlo; Hall, Geoffrey; Hatherell, Zoe; Hays, Jonathan; Iles, Gregory; Jarvis, Martyn; Karapostoli, Georgia; Lyons, Louis; Magnan, Anne-Marie; Marrouche, Jad; Mathias, Bryn; Nandi, Robin; Nash, Jordan; Nikitenko, Alexander; Papageorgiou, Anastasios; Pela, Joao; Pesaresi, Mark; Petridis, Konstantinos; Pioppi, Michele; Raymond, David Mark; Rogerson, Samuel; Rose, Andrew; Ryan, Matthew John; Seez, Christopher; Sharp, Peter; Sparrow, Alex; Tapper, Alexander; Vazquez Acosta, Monica; Virdee, Tejinder; Wakefield, Stuart; Wardle, Nicholas; Whyntie, Tom; Chadwick, Matthew; Cole, Joanne; Hobson, Peter R; Khan, Akram; Kyberd, Paul; Leggat, Duncan; Leslie, Dawn; Martin, William; Reid, Ivan; Symonds, Philip; Teodorescu, Liliana; Turner, Mark; Hatakeyama, Kenichi; Liu, Hongxuan; Scarborough, Tara; Charaf, Otman; Henderson, Conor; Rumerio, Paolo; Avetisyan, Aram; Bose, Tulika; Fantasia, Cory; Heister, Arno; St John, Jason; Lawson, Philip; Lazic, Dragoslav; Rohlf, James; Sperka, David; Sulak, Lawrence; Alimena, Juliette; Bhattacharya, Saptaparna; Cutts, David; Ferapontov, Alexey; Heintz, Ulrich; Jabeen, Shabnam; Kukartsev, Gennadiy; Laird, Edward; Landsberg, Greg; Luk, Michael; Narain, Meenakshi; Nguyen, Duong; Segala, Michael; Sinthuprasith, Tutanon; Speer, Thomas; Tsang, Ka Vang; Breedon, Richard; Breto, Guillermo; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, Manuel; Chauhan, Sushil; Chertok, Maxwell; Conway, John; Conway, Rylan; Cox, Peter Timothy; Dolen, James; Erbacher, Robin; Gardner, Michael; Houtz, Rachel; Ko, Winston; Kopecky, Alexandra; Lander, Richard; Miceli, Tia; Pellett, Dave; Rutherford, Britney; Searle, Matthew; Smith, John; Squires, Michael; Tripathi, Mani; Vasquez Sierra, Ricardo; Andreev, Valeri; Cline, David; Cousins, Robert; Duris, Joseph; Erhan, Samim; Everaerts, Pieter; Farrell, Chris; Hauser, Jay; Ignatenko, Mikhail; Jarvis, Chad; Plager, Charles; Rakness, Gregory; Schlein, Peter; Tucker, Jordan; Valuev, Vyacheslav; Weber, Matthias; Babb, John; Clare, Robert; Dinardo, Mauro Emanuele; Ellison, John Anthony; Gary, J William; Giordano, Ferdinando; Hanson, Gail; Jeng, Geng-Yuan; Liu, Hongliang; Long, Owen Rosser; Luthra, Arun; Nguyen, Harold; Paramesvaran, Sudarshan; Sturdy, Jared; Sumowidagdo, Suharyo; Wilken, Rachel; Wimpenny, Stephen; Andrews, Warren; Branson, James G; Cerati, Giuseppe Benedetto; Cittolin, Sergio; Evans, David; Golf, Frank; Holzner, André; Kelley, Ryan; Lebourgeois, Matthew; Letts, James; Macneill, Ian; Mangano, Boris; Padhi, Sanjay; Palmer, Christopher; Petrucciani, Giovanni; Pieri, Marco; Sani, Matteo; Sharma, Vivek; Simon, Sean; Sudano, Elizabeth; Tadel, Matevz; Tu, Yanjun; Vartak, Adish; Wasserbaech, Steven; Würthwein, Frank; Yagil, Avraham; Yoo, Jaehyeok; Barge, Derek; Bellan, Riccardo; Campagnari, Claudio; D'Alfonso, Mariarosaria; Danielson, Thomas; Flowers, Kristen; Geffert, Paul; Incandela, Joe; Justus, Christopher; Kalavase, Puneeth; Koay, Sue Ann; Kovalskyi, Dmytro; Krutelyov, Vyacheslav; Lowette, Steven; Mccoll, Nickolas; Pavlunin, Viktor; Rebassoo, Finn; Ribnik, Jacob; Richman, Jeffrey; Rossin, Roberto; Stuart, David; To, Wing; West, Christopher; Apresyan, Artur; Bornheim, Adolf; Chen, Yi; Di Marco, Emanuele; Duarte, Javier; Gataullin, Marat; Ma, Yousi; Mott, Alexander; Newman, Harvey B; Rogan, Christopher; Timciuc, Vladlen; Traczyk, Piotr; Veverka, Jan; Wilkinson, Richard; Yang, Yong; Zhu, Ren-Yuan; Akgun, Bora; Carroll, Ryan; Ferguson, Thomas; Iiyama, Yutaro; Jang, Dong Wook; Liu, Yueh-Feng; Paulini, Manfred; Vogel, Helmut; Vorobiev, Igor; Cumalat, John Perry; Drell, Brian Robert; Edelmaier, Christopher; Ford, William T; Gaz, Alessandro; Heyburn, Bernadette; Luiggi Lopez, Eduardo; Smith, James; Stenson, Kevin; Ulmer, Keith; Wagner, Stephen Robert; Alexander, James; Chatterjee, Avishek; Eggert, Nicholas; Gibbons, Lawrence Kent; Heltsley, Brian; Khukhunaishvili, Aleko; Kreis, Benjamin; Mirman, Nathan; Nicolas Kaufman, Gala; Patterson, Juliet Ritchie; Ryd, Anders; Salvati, Emmanuele; Sun, Werner; Teo, Wee Don; Thom, Julia; Thompson, Joshua; Vaughan, Jennifer; Weng, Yao; Winstrom, Lucas; Wittich, Peter; Winn, Dave; Abdullin, Salavat; Albrow, Michael; Anderson, Jacob; Bauerdick, Lothar AT; Beretvas, Andrew; Berryhill, Jeffrey; Bhat, Pushpalatha C; Bloch, Ingo; Burkett, Kevin; Butler, Joel Nathan; Chetluru, Vasundhara; Cheung, Harry; Chlebana, Frank; Elvira, Victor Daniel; Fisk, Ian; Freeman, Jim; Gao, Yanyan; Green, Dan; Gutsche, Oliver; Hanlon, Jim; Harris, Robert M; Hirschauer, James; Hooberman, Benjamin; Jindariani, Sergo; Johnson, Marvin; Joshi, Umesh; Kilminster, Benjamin; Klima, Boaz; Kunori, Shuichi; Kwan, Simon; Leonidopoulos, Christos; Lincoln, Don; Lipton, Ron; Lykken, Joseph; Maeshima, Kaori; Marraffino, John Michael; Maruyama, Sho; Mason, David; McBride, Patricia; Mishra, Kalanand; Mrenna, Stephen; Musienko, Yuri; Newman-Holmes, Catherine; O'Dell, Vivian; Prokofyev, Oleg; Sexton-Kennedy, Elizabeth; Sharma, Seema; Spalding, William J; Spiegel, Leonard; Tan, Ping; Taylor, Lucas; Tkaczyk, Slawek; Tran, Nhan Viet; Uplegger, Lorenzo; Vaandering, Eric Wayne; Vidal, Richard; Whitmore, Juliana; Wu, Weimin; Yang, Fan; Yumiceva, Francisco; Yun, Jae Chul; Acosta, Darin; Avery, Paul; Bourilkov, Dimitri; Chen, Mingshui; Das, Souvik; De Gruttola, Michele; Di Giovanni, Gian Piero; Dobur, Didar; Drozdetskiy, Alexey; Field, Richard D; Fisher, Matthew; Fu, Yu; Furic, Ivan-Kresimir; Gartner, Joseph; Hugon, Justin; Kim, Bockjoo; Konigsberg, Jacobo; Korytov, Andrey; Kropivnitskaya, Anna; Kypreos, Theodore; Low, Jia Fu; Matchev, Konstantin; Milenovic, Predrag; Mitselmakher, Guenakh; Muniz, Lana; Remington, Ronald; Rinkevicius, Aurelijus; Sellers, Paul; Skhirtladze, Nikoloz; Snowball, Matthew; Yelton, John; Zakaria, Mohammed; Gaultney, Vanessa; Lebolo, Luis Miguel; Linn, Stephan; Markowitz, Pete; Martinez, German; Rodriguez, Jorge Luis; Adams, Jordon Rowe; Adams, Todd; Askew, Andrew; Bochenek, Joseph; Chen, Jie; Diamond, Brendan; Gleyzer, Sergei V; Haas, Jeff; Hagopian, Sharon; Hagopian, Vasken; Jenkins, Merrill; Johnson, Kurtis F; Prosper, Harrison; Veeraraghavan, Venkatesh; Weinberg, Marc; Baarmand, Marc M; Dorney, Brian; Hohlmann, Marcus; Kalakhety, Himali; Vodopiyanov, Igor; Adams, Mark Raymond; Anghel, Ioana Maria; Apanasevich, Leonard; Bai, Yuting; Bazterra, Victor Eduardo; Betts, Russell Richard; Bucinskaite, Inga; Callner, Jeremy; Cavanaugh, Richard; Dragoiu, Cosmin; Evdokimov, Olga; Gauthier, Lucie; Gerber, Cecilia Elena; Hofman, David Jonathan; Khalatyan, Samvel; Lacroix, Florent; Malek, Magdalena; O'Brien, Christine; Silkworth, Christopher; Strom, Derek; Varelas, Nikos; Akgun, Ugur; Albayrak, Elif Asli; Bilki, Burak; Clarida, Warren; Duru, Firdevs; Griffiths, Scott; Merlo, Jean-Pierre; Mermerkaya, Hamit; Mestvirishvili, Alexi; Moeller, Anthony; Nachtman, Jane; Newsom, Charles Ray; Norbeck, Edwin; Onel, Yasar; Ozok, Ferhat; Sen, Sercan; Tiras, Emrah; Wetzel, James; Yetkin, Taylan; Yi, Kai; Barnett, Bruce Arnold; Blumenfeld, Barry; Bolognesi, Sara; Fehling, David; Giurgiu, Gavril; Gritsan, Andrei; Guo, Zijin; Hu, Guofan; Maksimovic, Petar; Rappoccio, Salvatore; Swartz, Morris; Whitbeck, Andrew; Baringer, Philip; Bean, Alice; Benelli, Gabriele; Grachov, Oleg; Kenny Iii, Raymond Patrick; Murray, Michael; Noonan, Daniel; Sanders, Stephen; Stringer, Robert; Tinti, Gemma; Wood, Jeffrey Scott; Zhukova, Victoria; Barfuss, Anne-Fleur; Bolton, Tim; Chakaberia, Irakli; Ivanov, Andrew; Khalil, Sadia; Makouski, Mikhail; Maravin, Yurii; Shrestha, Shruti; Svintradze, Irakli; Gronberg, Jeffrey; Lange, David; Wright, Douglas; Baden, Drew; Boutemeur, Madjid; Calvert, Brian; Eno, Sarah Catherine; Gomez, Jaime; Hadley, Nicholas John; Kellogg, Richard G; Kirn, Malina; Kolberg, Ted; Lu, Ying; Marionneau, Matthieu; Mignerey, Alice; Pedro, Kevin; Peterman, Alison; Skuja, Andris; Temple, Jeffrey; Tonjes, Marguerite; Tonwar, Suresh C; Twedt, Elizabeth; Bauer, Gerry; Bendavid, Joshua; Busza, Wit; Butz, Erik; Cali, Ivan Amos; Chan, Matthew; Dutta, Valentina; Gomez Ceballos, Guillelmo; Goncharov, Maxim; Hahn, Kristan Allan; Kim, Yongsun; Klute, Markus; Krajczar, Krisztian; Li, Wei; Luckey, Paul David; Ma, Teng; Nahn, Steve; Paus, Christoph; Ralph, Duncan; Roland, Christof; Roland, Gunther; Rudolph, Matthew; Stephans, George; Stöckli, Fabian; Sumorok, Konstanty; Sung, Kevin; Velicanu, Dragos; Wenger, Edward Allen; Wolf, Roger; Wyslouch, Bolek; Xie, Si; Yang, Mingming; Yilmaz, Yetkin; Yoon, Sungho; Zanetti, Marco; Cooper, Seth; Dahmes, Bryan; De Benedetti, Abraham; Franzoni, Giovanni; Gude, Alexander; Kao, Shih-Chuan; Klapoetke, Kevin; Kubota, Yuichi; Mans, Jeremy; Pastika, Nathaniel; Rusack, Roger; Sasseville, Michael; Singovsky, Alexander; Tambe, Norbert; Turkewitz, Jared; Cremaldi, Lucien Marcus; Kroeger, Rob; Perera, Lalith; Rahmat, Rahmat; Sanders, David A; Avdeeva, Ekaterina; Bloom, Kenneth; Bose, Suvadeep; Butt, Jamila; Claes, Daniel R; Dominguez, Aaron; Eads, Michael; Keller, Jason; Kravchenko, Ilya; Lazo-Flores, Jose; Malbouisson, Helena; Malik, Sudhir; Snow, Gregory R; Baur, Ulrich; Godshalk, Andrew; Iashvili, Ia; Jain, Supriya; Kharchilava, Avto; Kumar, Ashish; Shipkowski, Simon Peter; Smith, Kenneth; Alverson, George; Barberis, Emanuela; Baumgartel, Darin; Chasco, Matthew; Haley, Joseph; Nash, David; Trocino, Daniele; Wood, Darien; Zhang, Jinzhong; Anastassov, Anton; Kubik, Andrew; Mucia, Nicholas; Odell, Nathaniel; Ofierzynski, Radoslaw Adrian; Pollack, Brian; Pozdnyakov, Andrey; Schmitt, Michael Henry; Stoynev, Stoyan; Velasco, Mayda; Won, Steven; Antonelli, Louis; Berry, Douglas; Brinkerhoff, Andrew; Hildreth, Michael; Jessop, Colin; Karmgard, Daniel John; Kolb, Jeff; Lannon, Kevin; Luo, Wuming; Lynch, Sean; Marinelli, Nancy; Morse, David Michael; Pearson, Tessa; Ruchti, Randy; Slaunwhite, Jason; Valls, Nil; Wayne, Mitchell; Wolf, Matthias; Bylsma, Ben; Durkin, Lloyd Stanley; Hart, Andrew; Hill, Christopher; Hughes, Richard; Kotov, Khristian; Ling, Ta-Yung; Puigh, Darren; Rodenburg, Marissa; Vuosalo, Carl; Williams, Grayson; Winer, Brian L; Adam, Nadia; Berry, Edmund; Elmer, Peter; Gerbaudo, Davide; Halyo, Valerie; Hebda, Philip; Hegeman, Jeroen; Hunt, Adam; Jindal, Pratima; Lopes Pegna, David; Lujan, Paul; Marlow, Daniel; Medvedeva, Tatiana; Mooney, Michael; Olsen, James; Piroué, Pierre; Quan, Xiaohang; Raval, Amita; Safdi, Ben; Saka, Halil; Stickland, David; Tully, Christopher; Werner, Jeremy Scott; Zuranski, Andrzej; Acosta, Jhon Gabriel; Brownson, Eric; Huang, Xing Tao; Lopez, Angel; Mendez, Hector; Oliveros, Sandra; Ramirez Vargas, Juan Eduardo; Zatserklyaniy, Andriy; Alagoz, Enver; Barnes, Virgil E; Benedetti, Daniele; Bolla, Gino; Bortoletto, Daniela; De Mattia, Marco; Everett, Adam; Hu, Zhen; Jones, Matthew; Koybasi, Ozhan; Kress, Matthew; Laasanen, Alvin T; Leonardo, Nuno; Maroussov, Vassili; Merkel, Petra; Miller, David Harry; Neumeister, Norbert; Shipsey, Ian; Silvers, David; Svyatkovskiy, Alexey; Vidal Marono, Miguel; Yoo, Hwi Dong; Zablocki, Jakub; Zheng, Yu; Guragain, Samir; Parashar, Neeti; Adair, Antony; Boulahouache, Chaouki; Ecklund, Karl Matthew; Geurts, Frank JM; Padley, Brian Paul; Redjimi, Radia; Roberts, Jay; Zabel, James; Betchart, Burton; Bodek, Arie; Chung, Yeon Sei; Covarelli, Roberto; de Barbaro, Pawel; Demina, Regina; Eshaq, Yossof; Garcia-Bellido, Aran; Goldenzweig, Pablo; Han, Jiyeon; Harel, Amnon; Miner, Daniel Carl; Vishnevskiy, Dmitry; Zielinski, Marek; Bhatti, Anwar; Ciesielski, Robert; Demortier, Luc; Goulianos, Konstantin; Lungu, Gheorghe; Malik, Sarah; Mesropian, Christina; Arora, Sanjay; Barker, Anthony; Chou, John Paul; Contreras-Campana, Christian; Contreras-Campana, Emmanuel; Duggan, Daniel; Ferencek, Dinko; Gershtein, Yuri; Gray, Richard; Halkiadakis, Eva; Hidas, Dean; Lath, Amitabh; Panwalkar, Shruti; Park, Michael; Patel, Rishi; Rekovic, Vladimir; Robles, Jorge; Rose, Keith; Salur, Sevil; Schnetzer, Steve; Seitz, Claudia; Somalwar, Sunil; Stone, Robert; Thomas, Scott; Cerizza, Giordano; Hollingsworth, Matthew; Spanier, Stefan; Yang, Zong-Chang; York, Andrew; Eusebi, Ricardo; Flanagan, Will; Gilmore, Jason; Kamon, Teruki; Khotilovich, Vadim; Montalvo, Roy; Osipenkov, Ilya; Pakhotin, Yuriy; Perloff, Alexx; Roe, Jeffrey; Safonov, Alexei; Sakuma, Tai; Sengupta, Sinjini; Suarez, Indara; Tatarinov, Aysen; Toback, David; Akchurin, Nural; Damgov, Jordan; Dudero, Phillip Russell; Jeong, Chiyoung; Kovitanggoon, Kittikul; Lee, Sung Won; Libeiro, Terence; Roh, Youn; Volobouev, Igor; Appelt, Eric; Florez, Carlos; Greene, Senta; Gurrola, Alfredo; Johns, Willard; Johnston, Cody; Kurt, Pelin; Maguire, Charles; Melo, Andrew; Sheldon, Paul; Snook, Benjamin; Tuo, Shengquan; Velkovska, Julia; Arenton, Michael Wayne; Balazs, Michael; Boutle, Sarah; Cox, Bradley; Francis, Brian; Goodell, Joseph; Hirosky, Robert; Ledovskoy, Alexander; Lin, Chuanzhe; Neu, Christopher; Wood, John; Yohay, Rachel; Gollapinni, Sowjanya; Harr, Robert; Karchin, Paul Edmund; Kottachchi Kankanamge Don, Chamath; Lamichhane, Pramod; Sakharov, Alexandre; Anderson, Michael; Bachtis, Michail; Belknap, Donald; Borrello, Laura; Carlsmith, Duncan; Cepeda, Maria; Dasu, Sridhara; Friis, Evan; Gray, Lindsey; Grogg, Kira Suzanne; Grothe, Monika; Hall-Wilton, Richard; Herndon, Matthew; Hervé, Alain; Klabbers, Pamela; Klukas, Jeffrey; Lanaro, Armando; Lazaridis, Christos; Leonard, Jessica; Loveless, Richard; Mohapatra, Ajit; Ojalvo, Isabel; Palmonari, Francesco; Pierro, Giuseppe Antonio; Ross, Ian; Savin, Alexander; Smith, Wesley H; Swanson, Joshua

2012-01-01

A search for exclusive or semi-exclusive photon pair production, pp to p* + photon pair + p(*) (where p* stands for a diffractively-dissociated proton), and the observation of exclusive and semi-exclusive electron pair production, pp to p(*) + ee + p(*), in proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$=7 TeV, are presented. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC at low instantaneous luminosities. Candidate photon pair or electron pair events are selected by requiring the presence of two photons or a positron and an electron, each with transverse energy ET > 5.5 GeV and pseudorapidity abs(eta) < 2.5, and no other particles in the region abs(eta) < 5.2. No exclusive or semi-exclusive diphoton candidates are found in the data. An upper limit on the cross section for the reaction pp to p(*) + photon pair + p(*), within the above kinematic selections, is set at 1.18 pb at 95% confidence level. Seventeen exclu...

Exclusive Dealing and Entry

OpenAIRE

João Leão

2008-01-01

This paper examines the use of exclusive dealing agreements to prevent the entry of rival firms. An exclusive dealing agreement is a contract between a buyer and a seller where the buyer commits to buy a good exclusively from the seller. One main concern of the literature is to explain how an incumbent seller is able to persuade the buyers to sign an exclusive dealing agreement that deters the entry of a more efficient rival seller. We propose a new explanation when the buyers are downstream ...

Social Exclusion Anxiety

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søndergaard, Dorte Marie

2017-01-01

Social exclusion anxiety is a term which builds on a social-psychological concept of human beings as existentially dependent on social embeddedness. This entry explores the concept in relation to bullying among children, which is a widespread and serious problem in schools and institutions. Social...... exclusion anxiety and longing for belonging are both central aspects of the affects and processes that enact and challenge social groups. Social exclusion anxiety should not be confused with ‘social phobia’, which is a concept within clinical psychology that focuses on the individual and refers to a phobic...... psychological condition. Social exclusion anxiety instead points to a distributed affect which circulates and smolders in all social groups. This is the result of an ever-present risk of someone being judged unworthy to belong to, or deemed not a legitimate participant in, a social group. Such anxiety may...

Search for exclusive or semi-exclusive γγ production and observation of exclusive and semi-exclusive e⁺e^- production in pp collisions at $ \\sqrt{s}=7 $ TeV

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Chatrchyan, S.; Khachatryan, V.; Sirunyan, A. M.; Tumasyan, A.; Adam, W.; Bergauer, T.; Dragicevic, M.; Erö, J.; Fabjan, C.; Friedl, M.; Frühwirth, R.; Ghete, V. M.; Hammer, J.; Hörmann, N.; Hrubec, J.; Jeitler, M.; Kiesenhofer, W.; Knünz, V.; Krammer, M.; Liko, D.; Mikulec, I.; Pernicka, M.; Rahbaran, B.; Rohringer, C.; Rohringer, H.; Schöfbeck, R.; Strauss, J.; Taurok, A.; Wagner, P.; Waltenberger, W.; Walzel, G.; Widl, E.; Wulz, C. -E.; Mossolov, V.; Shumeiko, N.; Suarez Gonzalez, J.; Bansal, S.; Cornelis, T.; De Wolf, E. A.; Janssen, X.; Luyckx, S.; Maes, T.; Mucibello, L.; Ochesanu, S.; Roland, B.; Rougny, R.; Selvaggi, M.; Staykova, Z.; Van Haevermaet, H.; Van Mechelen, P.; Van Remortel, N.; Van Spilbeeck, A.; Blekman, F.; Blyweert, S.; D’Hondt, J.; Gonzalez Suarez, R.; Kalogeropoulos, A.; Maes, M.; Olbrechts, A.; Van Doninck, W.; Van Mulders, P.; Van Onsem, G. P.; Villella, I.; Clerbaux, B.; De Lentdecker, G.; Dero, V.; Gay, A. P. R.; Hreus, T.; Léonard, A.; Marage, P. 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A.; D’Enterria, D.; Dabrowski, A.; De Roeck, A.; Di Guida, S.; Dobson, M.; Dupont-Sagorin, N.; Elliott-Peisert, A.; Frisch, B.; Funk, W.; Georgiou, G.; Giffels, M.; Gigi, D.; Gill, K.; Giordano, D.; Giunta, M.; Glege, F.; Gomez-Reino Garrido, R.; Govoni, P.; Gowdy, S.; Guida, R.; Hansen, M.; Harris, P.; Hartl, C.; Harvey, J.; Hegner, B.; Hinzmann, A.; Innocente, V.; Janot, P.; Kaadze, K.; Karavakis, E.; Kousouris, K.; Lecoq, P.; Lee, Y. -J.; Lenzi, P.; Lourenço, C.; Mäki, T.; Malberti, M.; Malgeri, L.; Mannelli, M.; Masetti, L.; Meijers, F.; Mersi, S.; Meschi, E.; Moser, R.; Mozer, M. U.; Mulders, M.; Musella, P.; Nesvold, E.; Orimoto, T.; Orsini, L.; Palencia Cortezon, E.; Perez, E.; Perrozzi, L.; Petrilli, A.; Pfeiffer, A.; Pierini, M.; Pimiä, M.; Piparo, D.; Polese, G.; Quertenmont, L.; Racz, A.; Reece, W.; Rodrigues Antunes, J.; Rolandi, G.; Rommerskirchen, T.; Rovelli, C.; Rovere, M.; Sakulin, H.; Santanastasio, F.; Schäfer, C.; Schwick, C.; Segoni, I.; Sekmen, S.; Sharma, A.; Siegrist, P.; Silva, P.; Simon, M.; Sphicas, P.; Spiga, D.; Spiropulu, M.; Stoye, M.; Tsirou, A.; Veres, G. I.; Vlimant, J. R.; Wöhri, H. K.; Worm, S. D.; Zeuner, W. D.; Bertl, W.; Deiters, K.; Erdmann, W.; Gabathuler, K.; Horisberger, R.; Ingram, Q.; Kaestli, H. C.; König, S.; Kotlinski, D.; Langenegger, U.; Meier, F.; Renker, D.; Rohe, T.; Sibille, J.; Bäni, L.; Bortignon, P.; Buchmann, M. A.; Casal, B.; Chanon, N.; Deisher, A.; Dissertori, G.; Dittmar, M.; Dünser, M.; Eugster, J.; Freudenreich, K.; Grab, C.; Hits, D.; Lecomte, P.; Lustermann, W.; Marini, A. C.; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, P.; Mohr, N.; Moortgat, F.; Nägeli, C.; Nef, P.; Nessi-Tedaldi, F.; Pandolfi, F.; Pape, L.; Pauss, F.; Peruzzi, M.; Ronga, F. J.; Rossini, M.; Sala, L.; Sanchez, A. K.; Starodumov, A.; Stieger, B.; Takahashi, M.; Tauscher, L.; Thea, A.; Theofilatos, K.; Treille, D.; Urscheler, C.; Wallny, R.; Weber, H. A.; Wehrli, L.; Aguilo, E.; Amsler, C.; Chiochia, V.; De Visscher, S.; Favaro, C.; Ivova Rikova, M.; Millan Mejias, B.; Otiougova, P.; Robmann, P.; Snoek, H.; Tupputi, S.; Verzetti, M.; Chang, Y. H.; Chen, K. H.; Kuo, C. M.; Li, S. W.; Lin, W.; Liu, Z. K.; Lu, Y. J.; Mekterovic, D.; Singh, A. P.; Volpe, R.; Yu, S. S.; Bartalini, P.; Chang, P.; Chang, Y. H.; Chang, Y. W.; Chao, Y.; Chen, K. F.; Dietz, C.; Grundler, U.; Hou, W. -S.; Hsiung, Y.; Kao, K. Y.; Lei, Y. J.; Lu, R. -S.; Majumder, D.; Petrakou, E.; Shi, X.; Shiu, J. G.; Tzeng, Y. M.; Wan, X.; Wang, M.; Adiguzel, A.; Bakirci, M. N.; Cerci, S.; Dozen, C.; Dumanoglu, I.; Eskut, E.; Girgis, S.; Gokbulut, G.; Gurpinar, E.; Hos, I.; Kangal, E. E.; Karapinar, G.; Kayis Topaksu, A.; Onengut, G.; Ozdemir, K.; Ozturk, S.; Polatoz, A.; Sogut, K.; Sunar Cerci, D.; Tali, B.; Topakli, H.; Vergili, L. N.; Vergili, M.; Akin, I. V.; Aliev, T.; Bilin, B.; Bilmis, S.; Deniz, M.; Gamsizkan, H.; Guler, A. M.; Ocalan, K.; Ozpineci, A.; Serin, M.; Sever, R.; Surat, U. E.; Yalvac, M.; Yildirim, E.; Zeyrek, M.; Gülmez, E.; Isildak, B.; Kaya, M.; Kaya, O.; Ozkorucuklu, S.; Sonmez, N.; Cankocak, K.; Levchuk, L.; Bostock, F.; Brooke, J. J.; Clement, E.; Cussans, D.; Flacher, H.; Frazier, R.; Goldstein, J.; Grimes, M.; Heath, G. P.; Heath, H. F.; Kreczko, L.; Metson, S.; Newbold, D. M.; Nirunpong, K.; Poll, A.; Senkin, S.; Smith, V. J.; Williams, T.; Basso, L.; Bell, K. W.; Belyaev, A.; Brew, C.; Brown, R. M.; Cockerill, D. J. A.; Coughlan, J. A.; Harder, K.; Harper, S.; Jackson, J.; Kennedy, B. W.; Olaiya, E.; Petyt, D.; Radburn-Smith, B. C.; Shepherd-Themistocleous, C. H.; Tomalin, I. R.; Womersley, W. J.; Bainbridge, R.; Ball, G.; Beuselinck, R.; Buchmuller, O.; Colling, D.; Cripps, N.; Cutajar, M.; Dauncey, P.; Davies, G.; Della Negra, M.; Ferguson, W.; Fulcher, J.; Futyan, D.; Gilbert, A.; Guneratne Bryer, A.; Hall, G.; Hatherell, Z.; Hays, J.; Iles, G.; Jarvis, M.; Karapostoli, G.; Lyons, L.; Magnan, A. -M.; Marrouche, J.; Mathias, B.; Nandi, R.; Nash, J.; Nikitenko, A.; Papageorgiou, A.; Pela, J.; Pesaresi, M.; Petridis, K.; Pioppi, M.; Raymond, D. M.; Rogerson, S.; Rose, A.; Ryan, M. J.; Seez, C.; Sharp, P.; Sparrow, A.; Tapper, A.; Vazquez Acosta, M.; Virdee, T.; Wakefield, S.; Wardle, N.; Whyntie, T.; Chadwick, M.; Cole, J. E.; Hobson, P. R.; Khan, A.; Kyberd, P.; Leggat, D.; Leslie, D.; Martin, W.; Reid, I. D.; Symonds, P.; Teodorescu, L.; Turner, M.; Hatakeyama, K.; Liu, H.; Scarborough, T.; Charaf, O.; Henderson, C.; Rumerio, P.; Avetisyan, A.; Bose, T.; Fantasia, C.; Heister, A.; St. John, J.; Lawson, P.; Lazic, D.; Rohlf, J.; Sperka, D.; Sulak, L.; Alimena, J.; Bhattacharya, S.; Cutts, D.; Ferapontov, A.; Heintz, U.; Jabeen, S.; Kukartsev, G.; Laird, E.; Landsberg, G.; Luk, M.; Narain, M.; Nguyen, D.; Segala, M.; Sinthuprasith, T.; Speer, T.; Tsang, K. V.; Breedon, R.; Breto, G.; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, M.; Chauhan, S.; Chertok, M.; Conway, J.; Conway, R.; Cox, P. T.; Dolen, J.; Erbacher, R.; Gardner, M.; Houtz, R.; Ko, W.; Kopecky, A.; Lander, R.; Miceli, T.; Pellett, D.; Rutherford, B.; Searle, M.; Smith, J.; Squires, M.; Tripathi, M.; Vasquez Sierra, R.; Andreev, V.; Cline, D.; Cousins, R.; Duris, J.; Erhan, S.; Everaerts, P.; Farrell, C.; Hauser, J.; Ignatenko, M.; Jarvis, C.; Plager, C.; Rakness, G.; Schlein, P.; Tucker, J.; Valuev, V.; Weber, M.; Babb, J.; Clare, R.; Dinardo, M. E.; Ellison, J.; Gary, J. W.; Giordano, F.; Hanson, G.; Jeng, G. Y.; Liu, H.; Long, O. R.; Luthra, A.; Nguyen, H.; Paramesvaran, S.; Sturdy, J.; Sumowidagdo, S.; Wilken, R.; Wimpenny, S.; Andrews, W.; Branson, J. G.; Cerati, G. B.; Cittolin, S.; Evans, D.; Golf, F.; Holzner, A.; Kelley, R.; Lebourgeois, M.; Letts, J.; Macneill, I.; Mangano, B.; Padhi, S.; Palmer, C.; Petrucciani, G.; Pieri, M.; Sani, M.; Sharma, V.; Simon, S.; Sudano, E.; Tadel, M.; Tu, Y.; Vartak, A.; Wasserbaech, S.; Würthwein, F.; Yagil, A.; Yoo, J.; Barge, D.; Bellan, R.; Campagnari, C.; D’Alfonso, M.; Danielson, T.; Flowers, K.; Geffert, P.; Incandela, J.; Justus, C.; Kalavase, P.; Koay, S. A.; Kovalskyi, D.; Krutelyov, V.; Lowette, S.; Mccoll, N.; Pavlunin, V.; Rebassoo, F.; Ribnik, J.; Richman, J.; Rossin, R.; Stuart, D.; To, W.; West, C.; Apresyan, A.; Bornheim, A.; Chen, Y.; Di Marco, E.; Duarte, J.; Gataullin, M.; Ma, Y.; Mott, A.; Newman, H. B.; Rogan, C.; Timciuc, V.; Traczyk, P.; Veverka, J.; Wilkinson, R.; Yang, Y.; Zhu, R. Y.; Akgun, B.; Carroll, R.; Ferguson, T.; Iiyama, Y.; Jang, D. W.; Liu, Y. F.; Paulini, M.; Vogel, H.; Vorobiev, I.; Cumalat, J. P.; Drell, B. R.; Edelmaier, C. J.; Ford, W. T.; Gaz, A.; Heyburn, B.; Luiggi Lopez, E.; Smith, J. G.; Stenson, K.; Ulmer, K. A.; Wagner, S. R.; Alexander, J.; Chatterjee, A.; Eggert, N.; Gibbons, L. K.; Heltsley, B.; Khukhunaishvili, A.; Kreis, B.; Mirman, N.; Nicolas Kaufman, G.; Patterson, J. R.; Ryd, A.; Salvati, E.; Sun, W.; Teo, W. D.; Thom, J.; Thompson, J.; Vaughan, J.; Weng, Y.; Winstrom, L.; Wittich, P.; Winn, D.; Abdullin, S.; Albrow, M.; Anderson, J.; Bauerdick, L. A. T.; Beretvas, A.; Berryhill, J.; Bhat, P. C.; Bloch, I.; Burkett, K.; Butler, J. N.; Chetluru, V.; Cheung, H. W. K.; Chlebana, F.; Elvira, V. D.; Fisk, I.; Freeman, J.; Gao, Y.; Green, D.; Gutsche, O.; Hanlon, J.; Harris, R. M.; Hirschauer, J.; Hooberman, B.; Jindariani, S.; Johnson, M.; Joshi, U.; Kilminster, B.; Klima, B.; Kunori, S.; Kwan, S.; Leonidopoulos, C.; Lincoln, D.; Lipton, R.; Lykken, J.; Maeshima, K.; Marraffino, J. M.; Maruyama, S.; Mason, D.; McBride, P.; Mishra, K.; Mrenna, S.; Musienko, Y.; Newman-Holmes, C.; O’Dell, V.; Prokofyev, O.; Sexton-Kennedy, E.; Sharma, S.; Spalding, W. J.; Spiegel, L.; Tan, P.; Taylor, L.; Tkaczyk, S.; Tran, N. V.; Uplegger, L.; Vaandering, E. W.; Vidal, R.; Whitmore, J.; Wu, W.; Yang, F.; Yumiceva, F.; Yun, J. C.; Acosta, D.; Avery, P.; Bourilkov, D.; Chen, M.; Das, S.; De Gruttola, M.; Di Giovanni, G. P.; Dobur, D.; Drozdetskiy, A.; Field, R. D.; Fisher, M.; Fu, Y.; Furic, I. K.; Gartner, J.; Hugon, J.; Kim, B.; Konigsberg, J.; Korytov, A.; Kropivnitskaya, A.; Kypreos, T.; Low, J. F.; Matchev, K.; Milenovic, P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Muniz, L.; Remington, R.; Rinkevicius, A.; Sellers, P.; Skhirtladze, N.; Snowball, M.; Yelton, J.; Zakaria, M.; Gaultney, V.; Lebolo, L. M.; Linn, S.; Markowitz, P.; Martinez, G.; Rodriguez, J. L.; Adams, J. R.; Adams, T.; Askew, A.; Bochenek, J.; Chen, J.; Diamond, B.; Gleyzer, S. V.; Haas, J.; Hagopian, S.; Hagopian, V.; Jenkins, M.; Johnson, K. F.; Prosper, H.; Veeraraghavan, V.; Weinberg, M.; Baarmand, M. M.; Dorney, B.; Hohlmann, M.; Kalakhety, H.; Vodopiyanov, I.; Adams, M. R.; Anghel, I. M.; Apanasevich, L.; Bai, Y.; Bazterra, V. E.; Betts, R. R.; Bucinskaite, I.; Callner, J.; Cavanaugh, R.; Dragoiu, C.; Evdokimov, O.; Gauthier, L.; Gerber, C. E.; Hofman, D. J.; Khalatyan, S.; Lacroix, F.; Malek, M.; O’Brien, C.; Silkworth, C.; Strom, D.; Varelas, N.; Akgun, U.; Albayrak, E. A.; Bilki, B.; Clarida, W.; Duru, F.; Griffiths, S.; Merlo, J. -P.; Mermerkaya, H.; Mestvirishvili, A.; Moeller, A.; Nachtman, J.; Newsom, C. R.; Norbeck, E.; Onel, Y.; Ozok, F.; Sen, S.; Tiras, E.; Wetzel, J.; Yetkin, T.; Yi, K.; Barnett, B. A.; Blumenfeld, B.; Bolognesi, S.; Fehling, D.; Giurgiu, G.; Gritsan, A. V.; Guo, Z. J.; Hu, G.; Maksimovic, P.; Rappoccio, S.; Swartz, M.; Whitbeck, A.; Baringer, P.; Bean, A.; Benelli, G.; Grachov, O.; Kenny, R. P.; Murray, M.; Noonan, D.; Sanders, S.; Stringer, R.; Tinti, G.; Wood, J. S.; Zhukova, V.; Barfuss, A. F.; Bolton, T.; Chakaberia, I.; Ivanov, A.; Khalil, S.; Makouski, M.; Maravin, Y.; Shrestha, S.; Svintradze, I.; Gronberg, J.; Lange, D.; Wright, D.; Baden, A.; Boutemeur, M.; Calvert, B.; Eno, S. C.; Gomez, J. A.; Hadley, N. J.; Kellogg, R. G.; Kirn, M.; Kolberg, T.; Lu, Y.; Marionneau, M.; Mignerey, A. C.; Pedro, K.; Peterman, A.; Skuja, A.; Temple, J.; Tonjes, M. B.; Tonwar, S. C.; Twedt, E.; Bauer, G.; Bendavid, J.; Busza, W.; Butz, E.; Cali, I. A.; Chan, M.; Dutta, V.; Gomez Ceballos, G.; Goncharov, M.; Hahn, K. A.; Kim, Y.; Klute, M.; Krajczar, K.; Li, W.; Luckey, P. D.; Ma, T.; Nahn, S.; Paus, C.; Ralph, D.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rudolph, M.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stöckli, F.; Sumorok, K.; Sung, K.; Velicanu, D.; Wenger, E. A.; Wolf, R.; Wyslouch, B.; Xie, S.; Yang, M.; Yilmaz, Y.; Yoon, A. S.; Zanetti, M.; Cooper, S. I.; Dahmes, B.; De Benedetti, A.; Franzoni, G.; Gude, A.; Kao, S. C.; Klapoetke, K.; Kubota, Y.; Mans, J.; Pastika, N.; Rusack, R.; Sasseville, M.; Singovsky, A.; Tambe, N.; Turkewitz, J.; Cremaldi, L. M.; Kroeger, R.; Perera, L.; Rahmat, R.; Sanders, D. A.; Avdeeva, E.; Bloom, K.; Bose, S.; Butt, J.; Claes, D. R.; Dominguez, A.; Eads, M.; Keller, J.; Kravchenko, I.; Lazo-Flores, J.; Malbouisson, H.; Malik, S.; Snow, G. R.; Baur, U.; Godshalk, A.; Iashvili, I.; Jain, S.; Kharchilava, A.; Kumar, A.; Shipkowski, S. P.; Smith, K.; Alverson, G.; Barberis, E.; Baumgartel, D.; Chasco, M.; Haley, J.; Nash, D.; Trocino, D.; Wood, D.; Zhang, J.; Anastassov, A.; Kubik, A.; Mucia, N.; Odell, N.; Ofierzynski, R. A.; Pollack, B.; Pozdnyakov, A.; Schmitt, M.; Stoynev, S.; Velasco, M.; Won, S.; Antonelli, L.; Berry, D.; Brinkerhoff, A.; Hildreth, M.; Jessop, C.; Karmgard, D. J.; Kolb, J.; Lannon, K.; Luo, W.; Lynch, S.; Marinelli, N.; Morse, D. M.; Pearson, T.; Ruchti, R.; Slaunwhite, J.; Valls, N.; Wayne, M.; Wolf, M.; Bylsma, B.; Durkin, L. S.; Hart, A.; Hill, C.; Hughes, R.; Hughes, R.; Kotov, K.; Ling, T. Y.; Puigh, D.; Rodenburg, M.; Vuosalo, C.; Williams, G.; Winer, B. L.; Adam, N.; Berry, E.; Elmer, P.; Gerbaudo, D.; Halyo, V.; Hebda, P.; Hegeman, J.; Hunt, A.; Jindal, P.; Lopes Pegna, D.; Lujan, P.; Marlow, D.; Medvedeva, T.; Mooney, M.; Olsen, J.; Piroué, P.; Quan, X.; Raval, A.; Safdi, B.; Saka, H.; Stickland, D.; Tully, C.; Werner, J. S.; Zuranski, A.; Acosta, J. G.; Brownson, E.; Huang, X. T.; Lopez, A.; Mendez, H.; Oliveros, S.; Ramirez Vargas, J. E.; Zatserklyaniy, A.; Alagoz, E.; Barnes, V. E.; Benedetti, D.; Bolla, G.; Bortoletto, D.; De Mattia, M.; Everett, A.; Hu, Z.; Jones, M.; Koybasi, O.; Kress, M.; Laasanen, A. T.; Leonardo, N.; Maroussov, V.; Merkel, P.; Miller, D. H.; Neumeister, N.; Shipsey, I.; Silvers, D.; Svyatkovskiy, A.; Vidal Marono, M.; Yoo, H. D.; Zablocki, J.; Zheng, Y.; Guragain, S.; Parashar, N.; Adair, A.; Boulahouache, C.; Ecklund, K. M.; Geurts, F. J. M.; Padley, B. P.; Redjimi, R.; Roberts, J.; Zabel, J.; Betchart, B.; Bodek, A.; Chung, Y. S.; Covarelli, R.; de Barbaro, P.; Demina, R.; Eshaq, Y.; Garcia-Bellido, A.; Goldenzweig, P.; Han, J.; Harel, A.; Miner, D. C.; Vishnevskiy, D.; Zielinski, M.; Bhatti, A.; Ciesielski, R.; Demortier, L.; Goulianos, K.; Lungu, G.; Malik, S.; Mesropian, C.; Arora, S.; Barker, A.; Chou, J. P.; Contreras-Campana, C.; Contreras-Campana, E.; Duggan, D.; Ferencek, D.; Gershtein, Y.; Gray, R.; Halkiadakis, E.; Hidas, D.; Lath, A.; Panwalkar, S.; Park, M.; Patel, R.; Rekovic, V.; Robles, J.; Rose, K.; Salur, S.; Schnetzer, S.; Seitz, C.; Somalwar, S.; Stone, R.; Thomas, S.; Cerizza, G.; Hollingsworth, M.; Spanier, S.; Yang, Z. C.; York, A.; Eusebi, R.; Flanagan, W.; Gilmore, J.; Kamon, T.; Khotilovich, V.; Montalvo, R.; Osipenkov, I.; Pakhotin, Y.; Perloff, A.; Roe, J.; Safonov, A.; Sakuma, T.; Sengupta, S.; Suarez, I.; Tatarinov, A.; Toback, D.; Akchurin, N.; Damgov, J.; Dudero, P. R.; Jeong, C.; Kovitanggoon, K.; Lee, S. W.; Libeiro, T.; Roh, Y.; Volobouev, I.; Appelt, E.; Florez, C.; Greene, S.; Gurrola, A.; Johns, W.; Johnston, C.; Kurt, P.; Maguire, C.; Melo, A.; Sheldon, P.; Snook, B.; Tuo, S.; Velkovska, J.; Arenton, M. W.; Balazs, M.; Boutle, S.; Cox, B.; Francis, B.; Goodell, J.; Hirosky, R.; Ledovskoy, A.; Lin, C.; Neu, C.; Wood, J.; Yohay, R.; Gollapinni, S.; Harr, R.; Karchin, P. E.; Kottachchi Kankanamge Don, C.; Lamichhane, P.; Sakharov, A.; Anderson, M.; Bachtis, M.; Belknap, D.; Borrello, L.; Carlsmith, D.; Cepeda, M.; Dasu, S.; Friis, E.; Gray, L.; Grogg, K. S.; Grothe, M.; Hall-Wilton, R.; Herndon, M.; Hervé, A.; Klabbers, P.; Klukas, J.; Lanaro, A.; Lazaridis, C.; Leonard, J.; Loveless, R.; Mohapatra, A.; Ojalvo, I.; Palmonari, F.; Pierro, G. A.; Ross, I.; Savin, A.; Smith, W. H.; Swanson, J.

2012-11-15

A search for exclusive or semi-exclusive photon pair production, pp to p(*) + photon pair + p(*) (where p(*) stands for a diffractively-dissociated proton), and the observation of exclusive and semi-exclusive electron pair production, pp to p(*) + ee + p(*), in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, are presented. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC at low instantaneous luminosities. Candidate photon pair or electron pair events are selected by requiring the presence of two photons or a positron and an electron, each with transverse energy ET > 5.5 GeV and pseudorapidity abs(eta) < 2.5, and no other particles in the region abs(eta) < 5.2. No exclusive or semi-exclusive diphoton candidates are found in the data. An upper limit on the cross section for the reaction pp to p(*) + photon pair + p(*), within the above kinematic selections, is set at 1.18 pb at 95% confidence level. Seventeen exclusive or semi-exclusive dielectron candidates are observed, with an estimated background of 0.85 +/- 0.28 (stat.) events, in agreement with the QED-based prediction of 16.3 +/- 1.3 (syst.) events.

Cooperative technological innovation and competitiveness in the nuclear arena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro Galvan, A.; Marco Pelegrin, M.; Salve Galiana, R.; Vallejo Haya, J.; Tagle Gonzalez, J. A.

2000-01-01

R and D and, more recently, technological innovation and its relationship with competitivity are more and more part of conferences, books, articles and political speeches and very often are the central part of them. Innovation has become fashionable and many initiatives have come out in connection with it. However, the relationship between technological innovation and competitivity are not always obvious. The current article intends to illustrate some mechanisms that link these two concepts through a specific case, DTN, that is already providing results for the Spanish nuclear industry and whose example can be extrapolated to other industrial sectors. The importance given by the nuclear to the innovation, the research and the technological development it is not new either exclusively belong to any specific organisation but makes evident the coherence between its traditional approach and the current idea of modernizing the country promoting the national technological capacity. (Author)

Dynamic competition in pharmaceuticals. Patent expiry, generic penetration, and industry structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Magazzini, Laura; Pammolli, Fabio; Riccaboni, Massimo

2004-06-01

This paper investigates patterns of industrial dynamics and competition in the pharmaceutical industry, with particular reference to the consequences of patent expiry in different countries. We focus on the competition at the level of single chemical entities, distinguishing between original brands and generic products. Quarterly data, spanning from July 1987 to December 1998, on sales of pharmaceutical products in four countries (USA, UK, Germany, and France) constitute the basis of our analysis. All the products containing major molecules whose patent expiration date lies between 1986 and 1996 are included in our sample. We show how diffusion of generics is linked to the characteristics of the market and investigate how price dynamics of original products are affected by generic competition. Our empirical investigation shows that the dynamics of drug prices and the competition by generic drugs vary significantly across countries. This heterogeneity notwithstanding, a clear distinction seems to emerge. On the one hand, systems that rely on market-based competition in pharmaceuticals promote a clear distinction between firms that act as innovators and firms that act as imitators after patent expiry. Here, original products enjoy premium prices and exclusivity profits under patent protection, and face fierce price competition after patent expiry. On the other hand, in systems that rely on administered prices, penetration by generic drugs tends to be rather limited. Its descriptive and preliminary nature notwithstanding, our analysis seems to have relevant implications at different levels of generality, especially for Europe.

Formation and dimensions of marketing culture under the contemporary conditions of competition

OpenAIRE

Urbanskienė, Rūta; Žostautienė, Daiva

2002-01-01

Companies seeking to retain their position in the market are in search for competitive advantages. Alas, under contemporary conditions only traditional advantages are not sufficient; such as price, nicer or more convenient package, as competitors rapidly emulate such advantages. The advantages that would not be immediately emulated and the consumer could evaluate them as an exclusive attribute of the company’s activities are necessary nowadays. Such advantages may be provided by marketing cul...

Demolishing the competition: the longitudinal link between competitive video games, competitive gambling, and aggression.

Science.gov (United States)

Adachi, Paul J C; Willoughby, Teena

2013-07-01

The majority of research on the link between video games and aggression has focused on the violent content in games. In contrast, recent experimental research suggests that it is video game competition, not violence, that has the greatest effect on aggression in the short-term. However, no researchers have examined the long-term relationship between video game competition and aggression. In addition, if competition in video games is a significant reason for the link between video game play and aggression, then other competitive activities, such as competitive gambling, also may predict aggression over time. In the current study, we directly assessed the socialization (competitive video game play and competitive gambling predicts aggression over time) versus selection hypotheses (aggression predicts competitive video game play and competitive gambling over time). Adolescents (N = 1,492, 50.8 % female) were surveyed annually from Grade 9 to Grade 12 about their video game play, gambling, and aggressive behaviors. Greater competitive video game play and competitive gambling predicted higher levels of aggression over time, after controlling for previous levels of aggression, supporting the socialization hypothesis. The selection hypothesis also was supported, as aggression predicted greater competitive video game play and competitive gambling over time, after controlling for previous competitive video game play and competitive gambling. Our findings, taken together with the fact that millions of adolescents play competitive video games every day and that competitive gambling may increase as adolescents transition into adulthood, highlight the need for a greater understanding of the relationship between competition and aggression.

Sequence co-evolutionary information is a natural partner to minimally-frustrated models of biomolecular dynamics [version 1; referees: 3 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey K Noel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Experimentally derived structural constraints have been crucial to the implementation of computational models of biomolecular dynamics. For example, not only does crystallography provide essential starting points for molecular simulations but also high-resolution structures permit for parameterization of simplified models. Since the energy landscapes for proteins and other biomolecules have been shown to be minimally frustrated and therefore funneled, these structure-based models have played a major role in understanding the mechanisms governing folding and many functions of these systems. Structural information, however, may be limited in many interesting cases. Recently, the statistical analysis of residue co-evolution in families of protein sequences has provided a complementary method of discovering residue-residue contact interactions involved in functional configurations. These functional configurations are often transient and difficult to capture experimentally. Thus, co-evolutionary information can be merged with that available for experimentally characterized low free-energy structures, in order to more fully capture the true underlying biomolecular energy landscape.

A specter of coexistence: Is centrifugal community organization haunted by the ghost of competition?

Science.gov (United States)

Wasserberg, Gideon; Kotler, B.P.; Morris, D.W.; Abramsky, Z.

2006-01-01

In a centrifugally organized community species prefer the same habitat (called "core") but differ in their secondary habitat preferences. The first model of centrifugal community organization (CCO) predicted that optimally foraging, symmetrically competing species would share use of the core habitat at all density combinations. But one might also assume that the competition in the core habitat is asymmetrical, that is, that one of the species (the dominant) has a behavioral advantage therein. In this study, we asked how should habitat use evolve in a centrifugally organized community if its species compete asymmetrically in the core habitat? To address this question we developed an "isoleg model". The model predicts that in a centrifugally organized community, asymmetric competition promotes the use of the core habitat exclusively by the dominant species at most points in the state space. The separation of the core habitat use by the species ("the ghost of competition past") may be either complete or partial ("partial ghost"), and behavior at the stable competitive equilibrium between the species could determine whether coexistence should occur at the "complete-" or the "partial ghost" regions. This version of CCO should be a common feature of competitive systems.

The fitness costs and trade-off shapes associated with the exclusion of nine antibiotics by OmpF porin channels.

Science.gov (United States)

Phan, Katherine; Ferenci, Thomas

2017-06-01

The trade-off relationship between antibiotic exclusion and nutrient access across the Gram-negative outer membrane is determined by structural constraints in porin channels. The precise nutritional cost of exclusion is unknown for different antibiotics, as are the shapes of the nutrition-susceptibility trade-off. Using a library of 10 engineered isogenic Escherichia coli strains with structural modifications of OmpF porin expressed at a constant level, susceptibilities were measured for nine antibiotics and the nutritional fitness costs estimated by competitions in chemostats. Different antibiotics exhibited a remarkably varied range of geometries in the nutrition-susceptibility trade-off, including convex, concave and sigmoidal trade-off shapes. The trade-off patterns predict the possibility of adaptations in contributing to antibiotic resistance; exclusion of amoxicillin or trimethoprim in ompF mutants can occur with little loss of fitness whereas kanamycin and streptomycin exclusion has a high cost. Some individual OmpF changes even allow positive correlations (trade-ups), resulting in increased fitness and decreased susceptibility specifically to cephalexin or ciprofloxacin. The surprising plasticity of the nutrition-exclusion relationship means that there are no generalisable rules that apply to decreasing susceptibility for all antibiotics. The protein changes are exquisitely specific in determining nutritional fitness and adaptive outcomes in a structural constraint trade-off.

Competitive Exclusion of Parthenium hysterophorus by Other Invasive Species - A Case Study from Andhra Pradesh, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Asha kumari

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The abundance, dominance and growth performance of Parthenium hysterophorus in relation to its field associates in extensively large areas was investigated. The preliminary analysis of the data revealed that P. hysterophorus is a weak or poor competitor and hence it fails to grow in the company of any aggressive species. Senna uniflora and a few other plants were identified for the control of this pernicious weed. The ability of other species to control P. hysterophorus was attributed to allelopathy. In order to understand how Hyptis suaveolens and Senna uniflora are capable of arresting the growth of P. hysterophorus, pot culture experiments in de Wit replacement series, field experiments in experimental plots and experimental manipulation of the competitive species under natural conditions during different seasons were carried out for two years in 2004 and 2005. The results clearly revealed that both H. suaveolens and S. uniflora were highly effective in the management of P. hysterophorus. The results further showed that the physical dominance and the ability of the competitive species to deprive P. hysterophorus of light are mainly responsible for the decline of P. hysterophorus. Allelopathy doesn't seem to play any effective role under natural conditions.

Resource competition and an analytical model of zooplankton feeding on phytoplankton

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, O L; Shugart, H H; O' Neill, R V; Booth, R S; McNaught, D C

1975-01-01

A new consumer-resource The model was developed with specific reference to zooplankton feeding on phytoplankton. In principle, the model can be extended to any terrestrial or aquatic community in which the consumers graze nearly randomly. It is assumed that the food as relatively little escape capabity. An attempt was made to derive the consumer-resource interaction term from first principles.A general form with clearly defined parameters that represent fundamental system processes such as consumer filtering rate. model parameters describes two known forms of feeding:(1): saturation feeding in which the rate remains constant above a given food density while the filtering rate decreases, and(2) inhibited feeding in which a decline appears at high food density. From an examination of the model's equilibrium equations for strongly similar zooplankton species feeding on similar phytoplankton species, the following conclusions were drawn. The competitive exclusion principle has only limited validity. For a community in which the consumers exhibit no intraspecific competition and have identical assimilation efficiency to death-rate ratios, e/d, any number of consumer species may, in fact, coexist and compete for the same food. The equations for a complex community composed of many consumer and food species can be reduced to a single equation with form identical to that of a single-consumer, single-food system. The standard competition coefficient, ..cap alpha.., of the Volterra equation is a poor measure of competition in nonlinear systems. It exhibits incongruous variations with changes in system parameters. In a community with no intraspecific competition, allcompetition coefficients are unity. In a community with intraspecific competition, the competition coefficients C/sub in/ tend to equalize as the number of food species increases, resulting in equal competitive strength of all consumer species in systems of the type studied.

Environmental quality modulates the cooperative and competitive nature of a microbial cross-feeding mutualism

Science.gov (United States)

Hoek, Tim; Axelrod, Kevin; Yurtsev, Eugene; Gore, Jeff

Mutualisms are essential for ecosystem function and stability. However, in some environments the competitive aspects of an interaction may dominate the mutualistic aspects. Although these transitions could have far-reaching implications, it has been difficult to study the causes and consequences of this mutualistic-competitive transition in experimentally tractable systems. Here we experimentally study a microbial cross-feeding mutualism in which each yeast strain supplies an essential amino acid for its partner strain. We find that, depending upon the amino acid concentration, this pair of strains can exhibit any of: obligatory mutualism, facultative mutualism, competition, parasitism, competitive exclusion, or failed mutualism leading to extinction of the population. A simple model capturing the essential features of this interaction predicts that environmental quality specifies the outcome and provides a ``phase diagram'' of net interactions in this mutualism. In addition, the model accurately predicts that changes in the dynamics of the mutualism in deteriorating environments can predict that population collapse is imminent. Our results provide a general framework for how mutualisms may transition between qualitatively different regimes of interaction.

vertical bar Vub vertical bar from exclusive semileptonic B→π decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flynn, Jonathan M.; Nieves, Juan

2007-01-01

We use Omnes representations of the form factors f + and f 0 for exclusive semileptonic B→π decays, paying special attention to the treatment of the B* pole and its effect on f + . We apply them to combine experimental partial branching fraction information with theoretical calculations of both form factors to extract vertical bar V ub vertical bar. The precision we achieve is competitive with the inclusive determination and we do not find a significant discrepancy between our result, vertical bar V ub vertical bar=(3.90+/-0.32+/-0.18)x10 -3 , and the inclusive world average value (4.45+/-0.20+/-0.26)x10 -3 [Heavy Flavor Averaging Group (HFAG), hep-ex/0603003

Surfactant-aided size exclusion chromatography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horneman, D.A.; Wolbers, M.; Zomerdijk, M.; Ottens, M.; Keurentjes, J.T.F.; Wielen, van der L.A.M.

2004-01-01

The flexibility and selectivity of size exclusion chromatog. (SEC) for protein purifn. can be modified by adding non-ionic micelle-forming surfactants to the mobile phase. The micelles exclude proteins from a liq. phase similar to the exclusion effect of the polymer fibers of the size exclusion

The Social Strategy Game: Resource Competition within Female Social Networks among Small-scale Forager-Horticulturalists.

Science.gov (United States)

Rucas, Stacey L; Gurven, Michael; Kaplan, Hillard; Winking, Jeffrey

2010-03-10

This paper examines social determinants of resource competition among Tsimane Amerindian women of Bolivia. We introduce a semi-anonymous experiment (the Social Strategy Game) designed to simulate resource competition among women. Information concerning dyadic social relationships and demographic data were collected to identify variables influencing resource competition intensity, as measured by the number of beads one woman took from another. Relationship variables are used to test how the affiliative or competitive aspects of dyads affect the extent of prosociality in the game. Using a mixed-modeling procedure, we find that women compete with those with whom they are quarreling over accusations of meat theft, mate competition, and rumor spreading. They also compete with members of their social network and with those who were designated as cooperative helpers or as close kin. Women take fewer beads from desired friends, neighbors, and from those viewed as enemies. We interpret favoritism toward enemies as resulting from fear of retribution. Our results suggest that social relations among women are multifaceted and often cannot be simplified by exclusive focus on genetic relatedness, physical proximity, or reciprocity. We argue that a complex understanding of cooperation and competition among women may require important contextual information concerning relationship history in addition to typical features of resource ecology.

Incompatibility and competitive exclusion of genomic segments between sibling Drosophila species.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Shu; Yukilevich, Roman; Chen, Ying; Turissini, David A; Zeng, Kai; Boussy, Ian A; Wu, Chung-I

2012-06-01

The extent and nature of genetic incompatibilities between incipient races and sibling species is of fundamental importance to our view of speciation. However, with the exception of hybrid inviability and sterility factors, little is known about the extent of other, more subtle genetic incompatibilities between incipient species. Here we experimentally demonstrate the prevalence of such genetic incompatibilities between two young allopatric sibling species, Drosophila simulans and D. sechellia. Our experiments took advantage of 12 introgression lines that carried random introgressed D. sechellia segments in different parts of the D. simulans genome. First, we found that these introgression lines did not show any measurable sterility or inviability effects. To study if these sechellia introgressions in a simulans background contained other fitness consequences, we competed and genetically tracked the marked alleles within each introgression against the wild-type alleles for 20 generations. Strikingly, all marked D. sechellia introgression alleles rapidly decreased in frequency in only 6 to 7 generations. We then developed computer simulations to model our competition results. These simulations indicated that selection against D. sechellia introgression alleles was high (average s = 0.43) and that the marker alleles and the incompatible alleles did not separate in 78% of the introgressions. The latter result likely implies that most introgressions contain multiple genetic incompatibilities. Thus, this study reveals that, even at early stages of speciation, many parts of the genome diverge to a point where introducing foreign elements has detrimental fitness consequences, but which cannot be seen using standard sterility and inviability assays.

Exclusive Breastfeeding Determinants in Breastfeeding Mother

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Ika Mustika

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Exclusive breastfeeding until 6 month is very important for baby. The proportion of mothers who exclusively breastfeed their babies up to 6 months remains low. Factors influencing the exclusive breastfeeding namely sociodemograph factors , factors pre / post delivery , and psychosocial factors. This aims of this study to identify determinant factors of exclusive breastfeeding on mother. This research method is a systematic review , by analyzing the various studies on exclusive breastfeeding. There are 17 studies. The results obtained occupational factors most studied with significant results ( median OR = 1.265 . Psychosocial factors that have significant relationship is support of her husband (average OR = 4.716 and family support ( average OR = 1.770 . Conclusions : factors influencing the exclusive breastfeeding is occupational factor. Socialization and support from people nearby, health workers, and all parties is needed for exclusive breastfeeding for six months can be achieved.

Modelling the competition of planktonic and sessile aerobic heterotrophs for complementary nutrients in biofilm reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, T; Saikaly, P E; Oerther, D B

2007-01-01

A comprehensive, simplified microbial biofilm model was developed to evaluate the impact of bioreactor operating parameters on changes in microbial population abundance. Biofilm simulations were conducted using three special cases: fully penetrated, internal mass transfer resistance and external mass transfer resistance. The results of model simulations showed that for certain operating conditions, competition for growth limiting nutrients generated oscillations in the abundance of planktonic and sessile microbial populations. These oscillations resulted in the violation of the competitive exclusion principle where the number of microbial populations was greater than the number of growth limiting nutrients. However, the operating conditions which impacted microbial community diversity were different for the three special cases. Comparing the results of model simulations for dispersed-growth, biofilms and bioflocs showed that oscillations and microbial community diversity were a function of competition as well as other key features of the ecosystem. The significance of the current study is that it is the first to examine competition as a mechanism for controlling microbial community diversity in biofilm reactors.

Semantic interference from distractor pictures in single-picture naming: evidence for competitive lexical selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Jescheniak, Jörg D; Matushanskaya, Asya; Mädebach, Andreas; Müller, Matthias M

2014-10-01

Picture-naming studies have demonstrated interference from semantic-categorically related distractor words, but not from corresponding distractor pictures, and the lack of generality of the interference effect has been argued to challenge theories viewing lexical selection in speech production as a competitive process. Here, we demonstrate that semantic interference from context pictures does become visible, if sufficient attention is allocated to them. We combined picture naming with a spatial-cuing procedure. When participants' attention was shifted to the distractor, semantically related distractor pictures interfered with the response, as compared with unrelated distractor pictures. This finding supports models conceiving lexical retrieval as competitive (Levelt, Roelofs, & Meyer, 1999) but is difficult to reconcile with the response exclusion hypothesis (Finkbeiner & Caramazza, 2006b) proposed as an alternative.

EDITORIAL: Physics competitions Physics competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Jordens, H.; Mathelitsch, L.

2009-11-01

1. Physics competitions: aims and realizations One aim of physics competitions is to increase the interest of young students, primarily at upper secondary level, to physics and natural sciences in general. A competition has motivational aspects known usually from sports events or games—comparing one's own ability with others, of course with the desire to be better and to win. If competitions reach nationwide and even international levels, additional stimulation is created. Competitions provide greatest attraction to possible winners, to the group of gifted people in a particular field. This implies that science contests are excellent tools for the promotion of talented students. Traditional teaching has been shown to have problems in supporting this group of students. Very often teachers are overstretched with the demands of teaching both low- and high-level students. Extracurricular activities are therefore a good chance to relieve the teacher, and to give talented students the opportunity for appropriate training and challenge. The competitions, however, have a broader impact and address more young people than one might guess from the statements above. Training courses and selection at school level give a larger group of students extra and, to some extent, complimentary education in physics. The degree of complexity of the tasks corresponds very often to the standards of the next level of education in the school system. Interestingly, many physics competitions have their origin in countries beyond the former Iron Curtain. They started as regional and national tournaments, were joined by neighbouring countries and have grown, in some cases, to events with participants from more than 80 countries. Although the features mentioned above are common to the different competitions, there are distinct differences between them [1]. The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is the oldest international physics competition for students at upper secondary level [2]. It dates

COMPETITIVENESS AND COMPETITIVE ORIENTATIONS: EVALUATION OF STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Z. Efimova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Education of a competitive student is a strategically significant problem of the system of higher education in modern social and economic conditions. Personal competitiveness and competitive orientations – priority quality of future expert for successful future professional experience.The aim of the present research is to study factors of competitive orientations formation and criteria for evaluation of competitiveness of student’s youth in the Russian society.Methodology and research methods. Results of theoretical researches of Russian and foreign researchers are generalized; secondary analysis of data based on results of sociological researches and analysis of official statistical data are carried out. The results of the sociological survey undertaken in 2017 on the basis of statistical methods were processed and studied by the instrumentality of IBM SPSS Statistics 23 program; 1196 students of institutions of higher and secondary vocational education of the Tyumen region took part.Results and scientific novelty. It is stated that senior students feel themselves more competitive. It is revealed that a quarter of students who took part in the survey, generally men, count themselves competitive. A continuous distance of goal-setting is recorded among these respondents; in every third case they have plans of professional growth for five and more years that allows them to build attractive competitive strategy.The level of the competitiveness is directly connected with such indicators as “social stratum”, “overall life satisfaction”, “self-esteem of health”, “tendency to lead a healthy lifestyle” and “the level of trust in the surrounding people”. Mostly the students oriented on competition look into the future with confidence and optimism.Respondents focused on the competitiveness were more tend to demonstrate their abilities and cause admiration, have a creative approach towards work, be ready for surprises

Developing competitive and sustainable Polish generic medicines market.

Science.gov (United States)

Simoens, Steven

2009-10-01

To descriptively analyze the policy environment surrounding the Polish generic medicines retail market. The policy analysis was based on an international literature review. Also, a simulation exercise was carried out to compute potential savings from substituting generic for originator medicines in Poland using IMS Health pharmaceutical intelligence data. Poland has a mature, high-volume, low-value generic medicines market, primarily driven by the establishment of the reference price at the price of the cheapest medicine in combination with pricing regulation and the low level of medicine prices. The practice of discounting in the distribution chain implies that the National Health Fund and patients do not capture the potential savings from a generic medicines market where companies compete on price. This high-volume market has benefited in the past from the limited availability of originator medicines and a short data exclusivity period, even though there are no incentives for physicians to prescribe generic medicines and a financial disincentive for pharmacists to dispense generic medicines. Increased generic substitution would be expected to reduce public expenditure on originator medicines by 21%. To develop a competitive and sustainable market, Poland needs to consider moving away from competition by discount to competition by price. This could be achieved by replacing maximum distribution margins by fixed margins. Also, Poland may wish to raise reference prices as a temporary measure to boost market entry for medicine classes with few generic medicines.

RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVITY AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING.

Science.gov (United States)

Gegelashvili, M; Meca, A; Schwartz, S J

2015-01-01

In the present study we sought to clarify links between religious exclusivity, as form of intergroup favoritism, and indices of psychosocial functioning. The study of in group favoritism has generally been invoked within Social Identity Theory and related perspectives. However, there is a lack of literature regarding religious exclusivity from the standpoint of social identity. In particular, the ways in which religious exclusivity is linked with other dimensions of religious belief and practice, and with psychosocial functioning, among individuals from different religious backgrounds are not well understood. A sample of 8545 emerging-adult students from 30 U.S. universities completed special measures. Measure of religious exclusivity was developed and validated for this group. The results suggest that exclusivity appears as predictor for impaired psychosocial functioning, low self-esteem and low psychosocial well-being for individuals from organized faiths, as well as for those identifying as agnostic, atheist, or spiritual/nonreligious. These findings are discussed in terms of Social Identity Theory and Terror Management Theory (TMT).

37 CFR 404.7 - Exclusive, co-exclusive and partially exclusive licenses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... lessen competition or create or maintain a violation of the Federal antitrust laws; and (iv) The Federal... maintain a violation of the Federal antitrust laws. (2) In addition to the provisions of § 404.5, the...

Size- and food-dependent growth drives patterns of competitive dominance along productivity gradients.

Science.gov (United States)

Huss, Magnus; Gårdmark, Anna; Van Leeuwen, Anieke; de Roos, André M

2012-04-01

Patterns of coexistence among competing species exhibiting size- and food-dependent growth remain largely unexplored. Here we studied mechanisms behind coexistence and shifts in competitive dominance in a size-structured fish guild, representing sprat and herring stocks in the Baltic Sea, using a physiologically structured model of competing populations. The influence of degree of resource overlap and the possibility of undergoing ontogenetic diet shifts were studied as functions of zooplankton and zoobenthos productivity. By imposing different size-dependent mortalities, we could study the outcome of competition under contrasting environmental regimes representing poor and favorable growth conditions. We found that the identity of the dominant species shifted between low and high productivity. Adding a herring-exclusive benthos resource only provided a competitive advantage over sprat when size-dependent mortality was high enough to allow for rapid growth in the zooplankton niche. Hence, the importance of a bottom-up effect of varying productivity was dependent on a strong top-down effect. Although herring could depress shared resources to lower levels than could sprat and also could access an exclusive resource, the smaller size at maturation of sprat allowed it to coexist with herring and, in some cases, exclude it. Our model system, characterized by interactions among size cohorts, allowed for consumer coexistence even at full resource overlap at intermediate productivities when size-dependent mortality was low. Observed shifts in community patterns were crucially dependent on the explicit consideration of size- and food-dependent growth. Accordingly, we argue that accounting for food-dependent growth and size-dependent interactions is necessary to better predict changes in community structure and dynamics following changes in major ecosystem drivers such as resource productivity and mortality, which are fundamental for our ability to manage exploitation of

Competitive balance in national European soccer competitions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haan, M.A.; Koning, R.H.; van Witteloostuijn, A.; Albert, Jim; Koning, Ruud H.

2007-01-01

According to popular belief, competitive balance in national soccer competitions in Europe has decreased due to the Bosman ruling and the introduction of the Champions League. We test this hypothesis using data from 7 national competitions, for a host of indicators. We find some evidence for

Spatial vegetation patterns and neighborhood competition among woody plants in an East African savanna.

Science.gov (United States)

Dohn, Justin; Augustine, David J; Hanan, Niall P; Ratnam, Jayashree; Sankaran, Mahesh

2017-02-01

The majority of research on savanna vegetation dynamics has focused on the coexistence of woody and herbaceous vegetation. Interactions among woody plants in savannas are relatively poorly understood. We present data from a 10-yr longitudinal study of spatially explicit growth patterns of woody vegetation in an East African savanna following exclusion of large herbivores and in the absence of fire. We examined plant spatial patterns and quantified the degree of competition among woody individuals. Woody plants in this semiarid savanna exhibit strongly clumped spatial distributions at scales of 1-5 m. However, analysis of woody plant growth rates relative to their conspecific and heterospecific neighbors revealed evidence for strong competitive interactions at neighborhood scales of up to 5 m for most woody plant species. Thus, woody plants were aggregated in clumps despite significantly decreased growth rates in close proximity to neighbors, indicating that the spatial distribution of woody plants in this region depends on dispersal and establishment processes rather than on competitive, density-dependent mortality. However, our documentation of suppressive effects of woody plants on neighbors also suggests a potentially important role for tree-tree competition in controlling vegetation structure and indicates that the balanced-competition hypothesis may contribute to well-known patterns in maximum tree cover across rainfall gradients in Africa. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

An Administrative Meter Maid: Using Inter Partes Review and Post-Grant Review to Curb Exclusivity Parking via the "Failure to Market" Provision of the Hatch-Waxman Act.

Science.gov (United States)

Apel, Brian T

2015-01-01

Congress created the unique Hatch-Waxman framework in 1984 to increase the availability of low-cost generic drugs while preserving patent incentives for new drug development. The Hatch-Waxman Act rewards generic drug companies that successfully challenge a pharmaceutical patent: 180 days of market exclusivity before any other generic firm can enter the market. When a generic firm obtains this reward, sometimes drug developers agree to pay generic firms to delay entering the market. These pay-for-delay agreements give rise to exclusivity parking and run counter to congressional intent by delaying full generic drug competition. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act created several statutory forfeiture provisions that proved only marginally effective at curbing the practice of exclusivity parking. More recently, Congress created new quasi-judicial administrative proceedings that effectively replace certain kinds of district court patent litigation. This Note describes the complex statutory scheme that gave rise to exclusivity parking, explains why previous and current attempts to curtail exclusivity parking were and remain ineffective, and suggests amending the "failure to market" provision to include these new administrative proceedings as a way to help curb exclusivity parking.

B cell antigen receptor signaling and internalization are mutually exclusive events.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ping Hou

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Engagement of the B cell antigen receptor initiates two concurrent processes, signaling and receptor internalization. While both are required for normal humoral immune responses, the relationship between these two processes is unknown. Herein, we demonstrate that following receptor ligation, a small subpopulation of B cell antigen receptors are inductively phosphorylated and selectively retained at the cell surface where they can serve as scaffolds for the assembly of signaling molecules. In contrast, the larger population of non-phosphorylated receptors is rapidly endocytosed. Each receptor can undergo only one of two mutually exclusive fates because the tyrosine-based motifs that mediate signaling when phosphorylated mediate internalization when not phosphorylated. Mathematical modeling indicates that the observed competition between receptor phosphorylation and internalization enhances signaling responses to low avidity ligands.

Implementation of mutual exclusion in VHDL

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boersma, M.V.; Benders, L.P.M.; Stevens, M.P.J.; Wilsey, P.A.; Rhodes, D.

1994-01-01

In VHDL it is difficult to implement mutual exclusion at an abstract level since atomic actions are required. A local status model and an arbiter model are presented to achieve mutual exclusion in VHDL. Shared data, protected by a mutual exclusion mechanism, cannot be modelled as a simple, resolved

Reflections on Competition, Competition Regulation and the Current Crises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buch-Hansen, Hubert; Wigger, Angela

2013-01-01

competition came to enjoy such an exalted status in Europe and then challenges conventional wisdom by bringing into focus the downsides of competition. It argues that excessive competition and neoliberal competition regulation have contributed to intensify the economic, political, social and environmental...

27 CFR 8.51 - Exclusion, in general.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS EXCLUSIVE OUTLETS Exclusion § 8.51 Exclusion, in general. (a) Exclusion, in whole or in part occurs: (1) When a practice by an industry member, whether direct, indirect, or... tie or link between the industry member and retailer or by any other means of industry member control...

Modelling growth-competition relationships in trembling aspen and white spruce mixed boreal forests of Western Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jian-Guo; Stadt, Kenneth J; Dawson, Andria; Comeau, Philip G

2013-01-01

We examined the effect of competition on stem growth of Picea glauca and Populus tremuloides in boreal mixedwood stands during the stem exclusion stage. We combined traditional approaches of collecting competition data with dendrochronology to provide retrospective measurements of stem diameter growth. Several competition indices including stand basal area (BA), the sum of stem diameter at breast height (SDBH), and density (N) for the broadleaf and coniferous species, as well as similar indices considering only trees with diameters greater than each subject (BAGR, SDBHGR, and NGR), were evaluated. We used a nonlinear mixed model to characterize the basal area increment over the past 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years as a function of growth of nearby dominant trees, the size of the subject trees, deciduous and coniferous competition indices, and ecoregions. SDBHGR and BAGR were better predictors for spruce, and SDBHGR and NGR were better for aspen, respectively, than other indices. Results showed strongest correlations with long-term stem growth, as the best models integrated growth for 10-25 years for aspen and ≥ 25 for spruce. Our model demonstrated a remarkable capability (adjusted R(2)>0.67) to represent this complex variation in growth as a function of site, size and competition.

Modelling growth-competition relationships in trembling aspen and white spruce mixed boreal forests of Western Canada.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian-Guo Huang

Full Text Available We examined the effect of competition on stem growth of Picea glauca and Populus tremuloides in boreal mixedwood stands during the stem exclusion stage. We combined traditional approaches of collecting competition data with dendrochronology to provide retrospective measurements of stem diameter growth. Several competition indices including stand basal area (BA, the sum of stem diameter at breast height (SDBH, and density (N for the broadleaf and coniferous species, as well as similar indices considering only trees with diameters greater than each subject (BAGR, SDBHGR, and NGR, were evaluated. We used a nonlinear mixed model to characterize the basal area increment over the past 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years as a function of growth of nearby dominant trees, the size of the subject trees, deciduous and coniferous competition indices, and ecoregions. SDBHGR and BAGR were better predictors for spruce, and SDBHGR and NGR were better for aspen, respectively, than other indices. Results showed strongest correlations with long-term stem growth, as the best models integrated growth for 10-25 years for aspen and ≥ 25 for spruce. Our model demonstrated a remarkable capability (adjusted R(2>0.67 to represent this complex variation in growth as a function of site, size and competition.

The effects of exclusive versus non-exclusive breastfeeding on specific infant morbidities in Conakry (Guinea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Marie Moutquin

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Background:This study examines the effect of exclusive versus non-exclusive breastfeeding on specific infant morbidities from birth to nine months, in Conakry (Guinea. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,167 mother-infant pairs who visited one of 20 immunization centres in Conakry for vaccination between the 45th and 270th days of the child’s life. Two data sources were used: the infant health book and an orally administered questionnaire completed with the mother. Data analyses included univariate cross-tabulations and multivariate logistic regression models to estimate the effect of breastfeeding on infant morbidity. Results:Exclusive breastfeeding decreased with the infant’s age. At six months of age, the proportion of infants who were exclusively breastfed was only 15.5%. After adjusting for the infant’s age, and the interaction between the type of breastfeeding and the infant’s age, exclusive breastfeeding significantly protected the infants against many of the studied morbidities (OR: 0.28, CI: 0.15-0.51 and specifically against diarrhoea (OR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.17 – 0.86, respiratory infections (OR: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.14 – 0.50, and low growth rate (OR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.02 – 0.46, but not for otitis, urinary infection, or meningitis. Conclusion:This investigation confirmed the protective effects of exclusive breastfeeding on some specific infant’s morbidities during the first nine months of life. The results of this study are of great importance for the development of an information program designed to encourage the exclusive breastfeeding among the mothers of Conakry, Guinea.

Environmental structure and competitive scoring advantages in team competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Merritt, Sears; Clauset, Aaron

2013-10-01

In most professional sports, playing field structure is kept neutral so that scoring imbalances may be attributed to differences in team skill. It thus remains unknown what impact environmental heterogeneities can have on scoring dynamics or competitive advantages. Applying a novel generative model of scoring dynamics to roughly 10 million team competitions drawn from an online game, we quantify the relationship between the structure within a competition and its scoring dynamics, while controlling the impact of chance. Despite wide structural variations, we observe a common three-phase pattern in the tempo of events. Tempo and balance are highly predictable from a competition's structural features alone and teams exploit environmental heterogeneities for sustained competitive advantage. Surprisingly, the most balanced competitions are associated with specific environmental heterogeneities, not from equally skilled teams. These results shed new light on the design principles of balanced competition, and illustrate the potential of online game data for investigating social dynamics and competition.

Prevalence of dental erosion in adolescent competitive swimmers exposed to gas-chlorinated swimming pool water.

Science.gov (United States)

Buczkowska-Radlińska, J; Łagocka, R; Kaczmarek, W; Górski, M; Nowicka, A

2013-03-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of dental erosion among competitive swimmers of the local swimming club in Szczecin, Poland, who train in closely monitored gas-chlorinated swimming pool water. The population for this survey consisted of a group of junior competitive swimmers who had been training for an average of 7 years, a group of senior competitive swimmers who had been training for an average of 10 years, and a group of recreational swimmers. All subjects underwent a clinical dental examination and responded to a questionnaire regarding aspects of dental erosion. In pool water samples, the concentration of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, sodium, and potassium ions and pH were determined. The degree of hydroxyapatite saturation was also calculated. Dental erosion was found in more than 26 % of the competitive swimmers and 10 % of the recreational swimmers. The lesions in competitive swimmers were on both the labial and palatal surfaces of the anterior teeth, whereas erosions in recreational swimmers developed exclusively on the palatal surfaces. Although the pH of the pool water was neutral, it was undersaturated with respect to hydroxyapatite. The factors that increase the risk of dental erosion include the duration of swimming and the amount of training. An increased risk of erosion may be related to undersaturation of pool water with hydroxyapatite components. To decrease the risk of erosion in competitive swimmers, the degree of dental hydroxyapatite saturation should be a controlled parameter in pool water.

Women in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balashevska, Y.; Kireev, S.; Navalikhin, V.

2015-01-01

Today, 29 years after the Chernobyl accident, the Exclusion Zone still remains an areal unsealed radiation source of around 2600 km"2. It is not just a gigantic radioactive waste storage facility (the amount of radioactive waste accumulated within the Zone, except for the Shelter, is estimated at about 2.8 million m"3), but also a unique research and engineering platform for biologists, radiologists, chemists and physicists. Taking into account the amount of the radionuclides released during the accident, it becomes quite understood that the radiological environment in the Exclusion Zone is far from favorable. However, among the Exclusion Zone personnel who numbers 5000, there are female workers. The poster represents the results of the research performed among the female employees of the largest enterprise of the Exclusion Zone, “Chornobyl Spetskombinat”. The survey was performed with the view to knowing what makes women work in the most radioactively contaminated area in Europe, and what their role is, to revealing their fears and hopes, and to estimating the chances of the brave women of Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to succeed in their careers. (author)

Predation, Competition, and Abiotic Disturbance: Population Dynamics of Small Mammals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yunger, John A. [Northern Illinois U.

1996-01-01

Predation and food availability have been implicated in annual non-cyclic fluctuations of vertebrate prey at mid-latitudes. The timing and magnitude of these factors are unclear due to a lack of large-scale field experiments, little attention to interactions, and a failure to closely link vertebrate predators with their prey. From October 1992 to January 1996, small mammal populations were censused on eight 0.6 ha plots at monthly intervals in a 32-ha prairie restoration at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Illinois. Terrestrial vertebrate predators were excluded after July 1993 from four of the eight plots and canid diets monitored. Both terrestrial and avian vertebrate predators were excluded in March 1994. During 1993 small mammal densities (i.e., Microtus pennsylvanicus, Peromyscus leucopus, and P. maniculatus) were relatively high. Following peak densities in late summer, Microtus numbers were 2-3x greater on exclusion plots relative to controls due to preferential selection of Microtus by canids, as reflected in diets. Following an ice-storm and crash in small mammal numbers (particularly Microtus), vertebrate predator exclusion had no detectable effect on P. leucopus numbers, probably due to an abundance of alternative prey (i.e., Sylvilagus floridanus). Meadow vole numbers began to increase in Fall 1995, and a numerical effect of predator exclusion, similar to that in 1993, was observed. Predator exclusion had no detectable effect on the movements and spatial patterns of Microtus during 1993. There was a significant decrease in home range and a significant increase in home range overlap for £.. leucopus on the predator exclusion plots. The change in spatial behavior may be due to interspecific competition with Microtus resulting from increased densities on exclusion plots. Thus, predators had an indirect effect on .f.. leucopus spatial patterns mediated through M. pennsylvanicus. The role of food limitation was studied using natural and manipulative

Predation, Competition, and Abiotic Disturbance: Population Dynamics of Small Mammals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yunger, John A.; /Northern Illinois U. /Northern Illinois U.

1996-01-01

Predation and food availability have been implicated in annual non-cyclic fluctuations of vertebrate prey at mid-latitudes. The timing and magnitude of these factors are unclear due to a lack of large-scale field experiments, little attention to interactions, and a failure to closely link vertebrate predators with their prey. From October 1992 to January 1996, small mammal populations were censused on eight 0.6 ha plots at monthly intervals in a 32-ha prairie restoration at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Illinois. Terrestrial vertebrate predators were excluded after July 1993 from four of the eight plots and canid diets monitored. Both terrestrial and avian vertebrate predators were excluded in March 1994. During 1993 small mammal densities (i.e., Microtus Pennsylvanicus, Peromyscus leucopus, and P. maniculatus) were relatively high. Following peak densities in late summer, Microtus numbers wer 2-3x greater on exclusion plots relative to controls due to preferential selection of Microtus by canids, as reflected in dits. Following an ice-storm and crash in small mammal numbers (particularly Microtus), vertebrate predator exclusion had no detectable effect on P. leucopus numbers, probably due to an abundance of alternative prey (i.e., Sylvilagus floridanus). Meadow vole numbers began to increase in Fall 1995, and a numerical effect of predator exclusion, similar to that in 1993, was observed. Predator exclusion had no detectable effect on the movements and spatial patterns of Microtus during 1993. There was a significant decrease in home range and a significant increase in home range overlap for P. leucopus on the predator exclusion plots. The change in spatial behavior may be due to interspecific competition with Microtus resulting from increased densities on exclusion plots. Thus, predators had an indirect effect on P. leucopus spatial patterns mediated through M. Pennsylvanicus. The role of food limitation was studied using natural and manipulative

Competition between yogurt probiotics and periodontal pathogens in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yunwo; Xiao, Liying; Shen, Da; Hao, Yuqing

2010-09-01

To investigate the competition between probiotics in bio-yogurt and periodontal pathogens in vitro. The antimicrobial activity of bio-yogurt was studied by agar diffusion assays, using eight species of putative periodontal pathogens and a 'protective bacteria' as indicator strains. Four probiotic bacterial species (Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium) were isolated from yogurt and used to rate the competitive exclusion between probiotics and periodontal pathogens. Fresh yogurt inhibited all the periodontal pathogens included in this work, showing inhibition zones ranging from 9.3 (standard deviation 0.6) mm to 17.3 (standard deviation 1.7) mm, whereas heat-treated yogurt showed lower antimicrobial activity. In addition, neither fresh yogurt nor heat-treated yogurt inhibited the 'protective bacteria', Streptococcus sanguinis. The competition between yogurt probiotics and periodontal pathogens depended on the sequence of inoculation. When probiotics were inoculated first, Bifidobacterium inhibited Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas circumdentaria, and Prevotella nigrescens; L. acidophilus inhibited P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. circumdentaria, P. nigrescens, and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius; L. bulgaricus inhibited P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans, and P. nigrescens; and S. thermophilus inhibited P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum, and P. nigrescens. However, their antimicrobial properties were reduced when both species (probiotics and periodontal pathogens) were inoculated simultaneously. When periodontal pathogens were inoculated first, Prevotella intermedia inhibited Bifidobacterium and S. thermophilus. The results demonstrated that bio-yogurt and the probiotics that it contains are capable of inhibiting specific periodontal pathogens but have no effect on the periodontal protective bacteria.

Socio-hydrologic modeling to understand and mediate the competition for water between agriculture development and environmental health: Murrumbidgee River basin, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

van Emmerik, T. H. M.; Li, Z.; Sivapalan, M.; Pande, S.; Kandasamy, J.; Savenije, H. H. G.; Chanan, A.; Vigneswaran, S.

2014-10-01

Competition for water between humans and ecosystems is set to become a flash point in the coming decades in many parts of the world. An entirely new and comprehensive quantitative framework is needed to establish a holistic understanding of that competition, thereby enabling the development of effective mediation strategies. This paper presents a modeling study centered on the Murrumbidgee River basin (MRB). The MRB has witnessed a unique system dynamics over the last 100 years as a result of interactions between patterns of water management and climate driven hydrological variability. Data analysis has revealed a pendulum swing between agricultural development and restoration of environmental health and ecosystem services over different stages of basin-scale water resource development. A parsimonious, stylized, quasi-distributed coupled socio-hydrologic system model that simulates the two-way coupling between human and hydrological systems of the MRB is used to mimic and explain dominant features of the pendulum swing. The model consists of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations that describe the interaction between five state variables that govern the co-evolution: reservoir storage, irrigated area, human population, ecosystem health, and environmental awareness. The model simulations track the propagation of the external climatic and socio-economic drivers through this coupled, complex system to the emergence of the pendulum swing. The model results point to a competition between human "productive" and environmental "restorative" forces that underpin the pendulum swing. Both the forces are endogenous, i.e., generated by the system dynamics in response to external drivers and mediated by humans through technology change and environmental awareness, respectively. Sensitivity analysis carried out with the model further reveals that socio-hydrologic modeling can be used as a tool to explain or gain insight into observed co-evolutionary dynamics of diverse

Energy taxes, environment and competitiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munksgaard, J.; Gaern Hansen, L.; Bech-Ravn, C.; Ramskov, J.L.

2006-11-01

Economic theory about foreign trade and competition as well as empirical studies of relevance are not making evident that industries in general should pay lower environmental taxes than other kind of consumers. Consequently, economic theory cannot justify the present Danish energy tax regime where households are required to pay high energy taxes whereas industries are allowed to pay low energy taxes. On the contrary, it is more likely that reduced industry taxes will result in reduced welfare to society, lower income and lower employment as compared to a scenario of equal energy taxes. Theory can justify, however, a stepwise introduction of green taxes in order to make industries and markets adapt to the new regulatory framework. Moreover, some theoretical contributions argue that under certain circumstances one could point to a need for protecting certain kinds of industries (e.g. industries employing unskilled labour), but an exclusive tax reduction given to all industries is not supported by economic theory. By using the GTAP model we have calculated the welfare effect of levelling Danish energy taxes so households and industries have to pay equal energy taxes. The GTAP model has a good and international reputation for being designed to analyse international trade and competitiveness. We find that levelling the Danish energy taxes will increase welfare in Denmark by 1.3% equivalent to DKK 8 billion. The Danish energy tax reform, however, will cause an increase in CO 2 emissions in neighbouring countries. The calculation does not consider the influence of the EU market for tradable CO 2 permits introduced as from January 2005. (au)

Retail competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

Retail competition as the cornerstone of a competitive electricity marketplace was the subject of the seventh in the series of policy discussion papers developed at the Market Design Conference. Concern was expressed that because of the complexities involved in market design and technical implementation, the retail competition may lag behind other elements of the implementation of the new market design. A variety of key issues were debated, including the role of physical versus financial contracts, the form of retail competition and financial settlement systems in the short term, the requirement to separate 'competitive' (metering, billing, maintenance, consumer education) from non-competitive' (the transmission wires) services and the role of municipal electric utilities. It was agreed that the IMO should play an important role in defining and enforcing the separation of services, and that as a general rule, the development of policy in this area should be guided by the principle of maximizing the potential for competition

Competitive intelligence as an enabler for firm competitiveness: An overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Maune

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to provide an overview, from literature, about how competitive intelligence can be an enabler towards a firm’s competitiveness. This overview is done under the background of intense global competition that firms are currently experiencing. This paper used a qualitative content analysis as a data collection methodology on all identified journal articles on competitive intelligence and firm competitiveness. To identify relevant literature, academic databases and search engines were used. Moreover, a review of references in related studies led to more relevant sources, the references of which were further reviewed and analysed. To ensure reliability and trustworthiness, peer-reviewed journal articles and triangulation were used. The paper found that competitive intelligence is an important enabler of firm competitiveness. The findings from this paper will assist business managers to understand and improve their outlook of competitive intelligence as an enabler of firm competitiveness and will be of great academic value.

Sexual size dimorphism, canine dimorphism, and male-male competition in primates: where do humans fit in?

Science.gov (United States)

Plavcan, J Michael

2012-03-01

Sexual size dimorphism is generally associated with sexual selection via agonistic male competition in nonhuman primates. These primate models play an important role in understanding the origins and evolution of human behavior. Human size dimorphism is often hypothesized to be associated with high rates of male violence and polygyny. This raises the question of whether human dimorphism and patterns of male violence are inherited from a common ancestor with chimpanzees or are uniquely derived. Here I review patterns of, and causal models for, dimorphism in humans and other primates. While dimorphism in primates is associated with agonistic male mate competition, a variety of factors can affect male and female size, and thereby dimorphism. The causes of human sexual size dimorphism are uncertain, and could involve several non-mutually-exclusive mechanisms, such as mate competition, resource competition, intergroup violence, and female choice. A phylogenetic reconstruction of the evolution of dimorphism, including fossil hominins, indicates that the modern human condition is derived. This suggests that at least some behavioral similarities with Pan associated with dimorphism may have arisen independently, and not directly from a common ancestor.

Exclusive Rights and State Aid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ølykke, Grith Skovgaard

2017-01-01

Exclusive rights are granted in order to regulate markets as one of several possible tools of public intervention. The article considers the role of State aid law in the regulation of exclusive rights. Whereas the right of Member States to organise markets as monopolies and the choice of provider...... are regulated by free movement rules and Article 106 TFEU, State aid law regulates the terms of the right to ensure that the beneficiary is not granted an economic advantage. Exclusive rights may be granted on various terms: for a payment, in combination with compensation or as compensation. The two former...... kinds of terms are regulated under State aid law which requires market terms. The granting of exclusive rights as compensation is analysed on the basis of the Eventech judgment, and it is found that when no financial transaction is included in the grant, it resembles a decision to organise a market...

Softening the Blow of Social Exclusion: The Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gili Freedman

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Social exclusion is an interactive process between multiple people, yet previous research has focused almost solely on the negative impacts on targets. What advice is there for people on the other side (i.e., sources who want to minimize its negative impact and preserve their own reputation? To provide an impetus for research on the interactive nature of exclusion, we propose the Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion. Our theory postulates that targets and sources’ needs are better maintained if sources use clear, explicit verbal communication. We propose that sources have three options: explicit rejection (clearly stating no, ostracism (ignoring, and ambiguous rejection (being unclear. Drawing on psychology, sociology, communications, and business research, we propose that when sources use explicit rejection, targets’ feelings will be less hurt, their needs will be better protected, and sources will experience less backlash and emotional toil than if sources use ambiguous rejection or ostracism. Finally, we propose how the language of rejections may impact both parties.

Softening the Blow of Social Exclusion: The Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion

Science.gov (United States)

Freedman, Gili; Williams, Kipling D.; Beer, Jennifer S.

2016-01-01

Social exclusion is an interactive process between multiple people, yet previous research has focused almost solely on the negative impacts on targets. What advice is there for people on the other side (i.e., sources) who want to minimize its negative impact and preserve their own reputation? To provide an impetus for research on the interactive nature of exclusion, we propose the Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion. Our theory postulates that targets and sources’ needs are better maintained if sources use clear, explicit verbal communication. We propose that sources have three options: explicit rejection (clearly stating no), ostracism (ignoring), and ambiguous rejection (being unclear). Drawing on psychology, sociology, communications, and business research, we propose that when sources use explicit rejection, targets’ feelings will be less hurt, their needs will be better protected, and sources will experience less backlash and emotional toil than if sources use ambiguous rejection or ostracism. Finally, we propose how the language of rejections may impact both parties. PMID:27777566

Competitive Intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeron, Pierrette; Hiller, Christine A.

2002-01-01

Reviews the evolution of competitive intelligence since 1994, including terminology and definitions and analytical techniques. Addresses the issue of ethics; explores how information technology supports the competitive intelligence process; and discusses education and training opportunities for competitive intelligence, including core competencies…

Generalized exclusion and Hopf algebras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yildiz, A

2002-01-01

We propose a generalized oscillator algebra at the roots of unity with generalized exclusion and we investigate the braided Hopf structure. We find that there are two solutions: these are the generalized exclusions of the bosonic and fermionic types. We also discuss the covariance properties of these oscillators

Healthy Competition and Unsound Comparison: Reforming Educational Competition in Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Søren

2015-01-01

It is frequently claimed that the "competition state" responds to external competition by making competition increasingly central to its internal processes as well. This article discusses education reform in Singapore as departing from the opposite position. In Singapore "excessive" competition in education is now targeted by…

Problems of Chernobyl exclusion zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The collection reflects the results of researches and test-design activities in the exclusion area of the Chernobyl NPP directed to elaborate the equipment and devices for scientific researches and elimination of the accident after effects at the Chernobyl NPP and to study composition and structure of solid-phase bearers of the activity in the soil of the exclusion area, form transformation of decay products, radionuclide composition of the fuel precipitation in the nearest zone of the Chernobyl NPP. Special attention is paid to medical-biological problems of the accident after effects influence on flora, fauna and human health, labour conditions and sick rate of people working in the exclusion area

Problems of Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kholosha, V.Yi.

2014-01-01

The collection comprises the results of researches and design activity in the ChNPP exclusion zone, aimed at the development of technologies, equipment and devices for radioactive waste management and ChNPP accident clean-up, at studying the composition and structure of the Exclusion zone soil activity solid bearers, form transformation of the fission products of fuel fallout radionuclide composition in the ChNPP near zone, the spatial distribution of radionuclides and other radioecological issues.. Much attention is paid to medical and biological aspects of the accident influence on the flora, fauna and people's health, labour conditions and incidence of the workers of the Exclusion zone

Negotiations and Exclusivity Contracts for Advertising

OpenAIRE

Anthony Dukes; Esther Gal–Or

2003-01-01

Exclusive advertising on a given media outlet is usually profitable for an advertiser because consumers are less aware of competing products. However, for such arrangements to exist, media must benefit as well. We examine conditions under which such exclusive advertising contracts benefit both advertisers and media outlets (referred to as ) by illustrating that exclusive equilibria arise in a theoretical model of the media, advertisers, and consumers who participate in both the product and me...

Exclusive processes in pp collisions in CMS

OpenAIRE

da Silveira, Gustavo G.; Collaboration, for the CMS

2013-01-01

We report the results on the searches of exclusive production of low- and high-mass pairs with the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector in proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV. The analyses comprise the central exclusive $\\gamma\\gamma$ production, the exclusive two-photon production of dileptons, $e^{+}e^{-}$ and $\\mu^{+}\\mu^{-}$, and the exclusive two-photon production of $W$ pairs in the asymmetric $e^{\\pm}\\mu^{\\mp}$ decay channel. No diphotons candidates are observed in data and ...

Within-host competition does not select for virulence in malaria parasites; studies with Plasmodium yoelii.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hussein M Abkallo

2015-02-01

Full Text Available In endemic areas with high transmission intensities, malaria infections are very often composed of multiple genetically distinct strains of malaria parasites. It has been hypothesised that this leads to intra-host competition, in which parasite strains compete for resources such as space and nutrients. This competition may have repercussions for the host, the parasite, and the vector in terms of disease severity, vector fitness, and parasite transmission potential and fitness. It has also been argued that within-host competition could lead to selection for more virulent parasites. Here we use the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii to assess the consequences of mixed strain infections on disease severity and parasite fitness. Three isogenic strains with dramatically different growth rates (and hence virulence were maintained in mice in single infections or in mixed strain infections with a genetically distinct strain. We compared the virulence (defined as harm to the mammalian host of mixed strain infections with that of single infections, and assessed whether competition impacted on parasite fitness, assessed by transmission potential. We found that mixed infections were associated with a higher degree of disease severity and a prolonged infection time. In the mixed infections, the strain with the slower growth rate was often responsible for the competitive exclusion of the faster growing strain, presumably through host immune-mediated mechanisms. Importantly, and in contrast to previous work conducted with Plasmodium chabaudi, we found no correlation between parasite virulence and transmission potential to mosquitoes, suggesting that within-host competition would not drive the evolution of parasite virulence in P. yoelii.

Outcomes of Hip Arthroscopy in Competitive Athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Perets, Itay; Hartigan, David E; Chaharbakhshi, Edwin O; Ashberg, Lyall; Ortiz-Declet, Victor; Domb, Benjamin G

2017-08-01

To evaluate the minimum 2-year postoperative clinical outcomes and the rate of return to sports in athletes who underwent capsular plication for the treatment of ligamentous laxity and/or borderline dysplasia during hip arthroscopy for the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement and labral pathology. Since 2008, data were prospectively collected on patients who underwent hip arthroscopy for the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement and/or labral tears. Inclusion criteria were as follows: athlete at the high school, collegiate, or professional levels preoperatively, underwent capsular plication, and preoperatively recorded patient-reported outcome scores including modified Harris hip score (mHHS), nonarthritic athletic hip score (NAHS), hip outcome score-sports-specific subscale (HOS-SSS), and visual analog scale (VAS). Exclusion criteria were as follows: 1, and previous hip conditions. Sports activity and competitive levels were collected at a minimum of 2 years postoperatively. Fifty-one hips (49 patients) met the inclusion criteria, and 41 hips (39 patients) had minimum 2-year follow-up (80.4% follow-up). Mean mHHS increased from 67.1 preoperatively to 83.5 (P arthroscopies allowed the patients to return to sports at follow-up. Thirty-four (82.9%) hip arthroscopies allowed the patients to maintain their competitive physical abilities at follow-up. Patient-reported outcomes and VAS in athletes significantly improved at a minimum of 2 years after capsular plication as a part of hip arthroscopy addressing varying pathologies. In addition, most patients returned to sports at similar or higher competitive levels. These results suggest that capsular plication is a favorable treatment option in athletes with ligamentous laxity and/or borderline dysplasia. Level IV, therapeutic case series. Copyright © 2017 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New contributions to central exclusive production of dijets in proton-(anti)proton collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maciula, Rafal; Pasechnik, Roman; Szczurek, Antoni

2011-01-01

We consider central exclusive production of gg dijets in proton-proton (proton-antiproton) collisions at LHC and Tevatron for different intermediate and final gluon polarizations. The amplitude for the process is derived within the k perpendicular -factorization approach (with both the standard QCD and the Lipatov's effective three-gluon vertices) and is considered in various kinematical asymptotia, in particular, in the important limit of high-p perpendicular jets. Compared to earlier works we include emissions of gluons from different gluonic t-channel lines as well as emission of quark-antiquark dijets. Rapidity distributions, gluon jet p perpendicular distributions and invariant dijet mass distributions are presented. We explore the competition of the standard diagram with both jets emitted from a single t-channel gluon and the one with the emission from both t-channel gluons. The second mechanism requires a special treatment. We propose two different approaches. Including special kinematics and using properties of off-diagonal gluons at small x and ξ, we arrive to correlations in two-dimensional distributions in rapidity of one and second jet. We find that the second contribution is much smaller than that known from the literature. The digluon production constitutes an important background to exclusive Higgs production.

A Modeling Comparison of Methanogenesis from Noncompetitive vs Competitive Substrates in a Simulated Hypersaline Microbial Mat

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, K. L.; Potter, C.; Hoehler, T.

2005-12-01

The well-documented assumption about methanogens that co-occur in hypersaline mat communities with sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is that they rely entirely on non-competitive substrates for methanogenesis. The reason for this is that during sulfate reduction, sulfur-reducing bacteria efficiently utilize H2, leaving a concentration too low for methanogenesis. Early results from recent work on a hypersaline microbial mat from salt evaporation ponds of Guerrero Negro, Baja, Mexico cast doubt that methanogenesis only occurs via non-competitive substrates, because it shows an excess of H2 in the mat rather than a paucity. We explore the use of our simulation model of the microbial biogeochemistry of a hypersaline mat (named MBGC) to compare methane production rates in a 1 cm thick mat when the methanogens use competitive substrates versus noncompetitive substrates. In the `non-competitive substrate' version of the model, methanogens rely exclusively on methylated amines that are accumulated as compatible solutes in cyanobacteria and released after lysis. In contrast, the `competitive substrate' models examine methanogen use of substrates (such as H2 + acetate) with different SRB population sizes (from absent to low). The comparison of these models of methane and sulfide biogeochemistry of a hypersaline mat has both ecological and geobiological significance, as one hypothesis of Archean microbial mats is that they existed in a low sulfate environment.

EDITORIAL: Physics competitions Physics competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Jordens, H.; Mathelitsch, L.

2010-07-01

This editorial opens the second special section on physics competitions in European Journal of Physics. In the first section last year, we asked for feedback on the idea of such a section and on the content of the articles. We received no answer whatsoever, which can be interpreted in two ways: the section is not interesting enough to raise motivation for feedback, or the reader is satisfied. Having no indication which scenario is the correct one, we are optimistic and favour the second. The section at hand contains three articles. Again, as last year, the organizer of the annual Olympiad reports on tasks and outcomes of this competition. The Olympiad took place in Merida, Mexico, and was by far the largest event with 316 contestants from 68 countries. Again, the predominance of Asian/Chinese students was manifest, showing how serious the training is taken by both their authorities and students. Unfortunately, the winners of the last International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT), the team from Korea, did not accept the offer to report on their prize-winning contribution. We are thankful that two students from Austria, who achieved second place with their team, took over and reported on the task which they presented in the finals of the competition. It connects the fields of sport and physics and explains a special move in skateboarding. The third contribution introduces a different competition, 'International Conference of Young Scientists'. On one hand, as in the Olympiad, it addresses individuals, not teams. On the other, as in the IYPT, students have several months to prepare and also the quality of the presentation is an important element of the judgment. In fact, this competition comes closer to real scientific research compared to the other events. Finally and again, we hope that this section will serve several purposes: To show the competitions as a very important tool in the support of gifted students. To raise awareness amongst university teachers, and

Power market competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, J.

1998-01-01

In the Unites States the prospect of greater competition in wholesale power market was immediately eclipsed by talk of retail competition. Attempts to move to retail competition have been costly and complex. Prudent public policy and economic analyses suggest that retail competition not be implemented until it can first be demonstrated that effective competition exists in wholesale power markets [it

Lunabotics Mining Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Rob; Murphy, Gloria

2010-01-01

This slide presentation describes a competition to design a lunar robot (lunabot) that can be controlled either remotely or autonomously, isolated from the operator, and is designed to mine a lunar aggregate simulant. The competition is part of a systems engineering curriculum. The 2010 competition winners in five areas of the competition were acknowledged, and the 2011 competition was announced.

10 CFR 1009.4 - Exclusions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Exclusions. 1009.4 Section 1009.4 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (GENERAL PROVISIONS) GENERAL POLICY FOR PRICING AND CHARGING FOR MATERIALS AND SERVICES SOLD BY DOE § 1009.4 Exclusions. This part shall not apply when the amount to be priced or charged is...

33 CFR 2.30 - Exclusive Economic Zone.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Exclusive Economic Zone. 2.30... JURISDICTION Jurisdictional Terms § 2.30 Exclusive Economic Zone. (a) With respect to the United States... States exercises sovereignty, exclusive economic zone means the zone seaward of and adjacent to the...

Exclusive Higgs production at the LHC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dechambre, Alice [Universite de Liege, Institut d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique, Allee du 6 aout, 17 - Bat. B5c, B-4000 Liege 1 - Sart-Tilman (Belgium); Staszewski, Rafal [IRFU/SPP, CEA-Saclay, bat. 141, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Henryk Niewodniczanski, Institute of Nuclear Physics - PAN, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Krakow (Poland); Royon, Christophe [IRFU/SPP, CEA-Saclay, bat. 141, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)

2010-07-01

After a brief description of the models of exclusive diffractive Higgs production, we first evaluate the theoretical uncertainties that affect the calculation of exclusive cross section (jets, Higgs...). In addition, in view of the recent measurement of exclusive di-jet at CDF and the new implementation of the corresponding cross section in FPMC (Forward Physics Monte-Carlo), we developed an analysis strategy that can be used to narrow down these uncertainties with the help of early LHC measurement. (authors)

A systematic review-meta-analysis and meta-regression on the effect of selected competitive exclusion products on Salmonella spp. prevalence and concentration in broiler chickens.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, Ashley K; Farrar, Ashley M; Waddell, Lisa A; Wilkins, Wendy; Wilhelm, Barbara J; Bucher, Oliver; Wills, Robert W; Bailey, R Hart; Varga, Csaba; McEwen, Scott A; Rajić, Andrijana

2013-08-01

The effectiveness of various competitive exclusion (CE) products for reducing Salmonella colonization in broiler chickens was evaluated using systematic review-meta-analysis-meta-regression (SR-MA-MR). Relevance screening identified 201 relevant studies that were subjected to methodological assessment. Of these studies, 159 were suitable for data extraction, 66 were presented in a number of MAs and 130 were examined in a meta-regression (MR). Fourteen different CE products were identified, 9 of them commercial products, and the most common route of administration was oral gavage (63.7% of trials). Meta-analyses indicated that a number of CE products reduce Salmonella colonization in broilers, the most effective one being Preempt™ which was formerly known as CF-3. Five study characteristics (publication year, CE type, CE route, sample origin, and Salmonella serovar administered/recovered) and three methodological soundness characteristics (treatment assignment, intervention and laboratory methods description) were retained as statistically significant (pchicken source CE culture products in effectiveness. The administration of CE through spraying the chicks at the hatchery was determined to be just as effective as the oral gavage treatment, and more practical for farmers to administer. The results of this study could be useful in decision-making concerning the on-farm use of CE products in broiler chickens, and as inputs for risk assessments as the industry pushes for more antibiotic-free alternatives. Out of the various interventions to reduce Salmonella colonization in broilers on-farm, CE was the most studied; its inability to be licenced in certain countries and proof of consistent efficacy remains a barrier. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Alternatives to Exclusive "He."

Science.gov (United States)

Todd-Mancillas, William R.

A study was conducted to determine the effects on reading comprehension of the use of the exclusive pronoun "he" and more or less contrived alternatives. Subjects, 358 students enrolled in an introduction to human communication at a large northeastern university, read three different forms of the same essay. One essay form exclusively used "he,"…

18 CFR 1308.3 - Exclusions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Exclusions. 1308.3... General Matters § 1308.3 Exclusions. (a) This part does not apply to any TVA contract which does not contain a disputes clause. (b) Except as otherwise specifically provided, this part does not apply to any...

Competitive Strategies in the Luxury Sector: a Qualitative Comparative Analysis on the Fashion Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margherita ANGIONI

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Despite the difficult economic period, companies in luxury sector are showing better results than those in the consumer products market. The objective of this paper is to analyse the competitive strategies in the luxury sector and in particular, in the personal luxury. To this end, we have chosen to study the case of an Italian company (Tod's Group, leader in the personal luxury according to consumers perception. Basing on a theoretical model of competitive strategy, this study shows a comparison with the strategic choices of three main competitors of Tod's, which offer products with similar values (Made in Italy, exclusivity and high craftsmanship; they are listed companies; they derive from a family business and the family still holds the company's control. The analysis highlights the ability of the Tod's Group in valorizing its capabilities and skills, and the ability of the management to exploit the available relational network.

Host-parasite coevolution can promote the evolution of seed banking as a bet-hedging strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Verin, Mélissa; Tellier, Aurélien

2018-04-20

Seed (egg) banking is a common bet-hedging strategy maximizing the fitness of organisms facing environmental unpredictability by the delayed emergence of offspring. Yet, this condition often requires fast and drastic stochastic shifts between good and bad years. We hypothesize that the host seed banking strategy can evolve in response to coevolution with parasites because the coevolutionary cycles promote a gradually changing environment over longer times than seed persistence. We study the evolution of host germination fraction as a quantitative trait using both pairwise competition and multiple mutant competition methods, while the germination locus can be genetically linked or unlinked with the host locus under coevolution. In a gene-for-gene model of coevolution, hosts evolve a seed bank strategy under unstable coevolutionary cycles promoted by moderate to high costs of resistance or strong disease severity. Moreover, when assuming genetic linkage between coevolving and germination loci, the resistant genotype always evolves seed banking in contrast to susceptible hosts. Under a matching-allele interaction, both hosts' genotypes exhibit the same seed banking strategy irrespective of the genetic linkage between loci. We suggest host-parasite coevolution as an additional hypothesis for the evolution of seed banking as a temporal bet-hedging strategy. © 2018 The Author(s). Evolution © 2018 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Abnormal neural responses to social exclusion in schizophrenia.

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Victoria B Gradin

Full Text Available Social exclusion is an influential concept in politics, mental health and social psychology. Studies on healthy subjects have implicated the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC, a region involved in emotional and social information processing, in neural responses to social exclusion. Impairments in social interactions are common in schizophrenia and are associated with reduced quality of life. Core symptoms such as delusions usually have a social content. However little is known about the neural underpinnings of social abnormalities. The aim of this study was to investigate the neural substrates of social exclusion in schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls underwent fMRI while participating in a popular social exclusion paradigm. This task involves passing a 'ball' between the participant and two cartoon representations of other subjects. The extent of social exclusion (ball not being passed to the participant was parametrically varied throughout the task. Replicating previous findings, increasing social exclusion activated the mPFC in controls. In contrast, patients with schizophrenia failed to modulate mPFC responses with increasing exclusion. Furthermore, the blunted response to exclusion correlated with increased severity of positive symptoms. These data support the hypothesis that the neural response to social exclusion differs in schizophrenia, highlighting the mPFC as a potential substrate of impaired social interactions.

27 CFR 6.151 - Exclusion, in general.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS âTIED-HOUSEâ Exclusion § 6.151 Exclusion, in general. (a) Exclusion, in whole or in part occurs: (1) When a practice by an industry member, whether direct, indirect, or through... or link between the industry member and retailer or by any other means of industry member control...

27 CFR 10.51 - Exclusion, in general.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS COMMERCIAL BRIBERY Exclusion § 10.51 Exclusion, in general. (a) Exclusion, in whole or in part occurs: (1) When a practice by an industry member, whether direct, indirect, or... a tie or link between the industry member and trade buyer or by any other means of industry member...

Competition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bridoux, F.; Vodosek, M.; Den Hartog, D.N.; McNett, J.M.

2014-01-01

Competition traditionally refers to the actions that firms take in a product market to outperform rivals in attracting customers and generating revenues. Yet, competition extends beyond product markets to other arenas such as factor markets, where firms compete for resources, and the political

Competition in Japan

OpenAIRE

Michael E. Porter; Mariko Sakakibara

2004-01-01

This article examines competition in Japan and its link to postwar economic prosperity. While Japan's industrial structure and competition policy seem to indicate that competition in Japan has been less intense, the empirical evidence does not support this conclusion. The sectors in which competition was restricted prove to be those where Japan was not internationally successful. In the internationally successful sectors, internal competition in Japan was invariably fierce. While the level of...

Competitive bidding in Medicare: who benefits from competition?

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Zirui; Landrum, Mary Beth; Chernew, Michael E

2012-09-01

To conduct the first empirical study of competitive bidding in Medicare. We analyzed 2006-2010 Medicare Advantage data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services using longitudinal models adjusted for market and plan characteristics. A $1 increase in Medicare's payment to health maintenance organization (HMO) plans led to a $0.49 (P service plans included, higher Medicare payments increased bids less ($0.33 per dollar), suggesting more competition among these latter plans. As a market-based alternative to cost control through administrative pricing, competitive bidding relies on private insurance plans proposing prices they are willing to accept for insuring a beneficiary. However, competition is imperfect in the Medicare bidding market. As much as half of every dollar in increased plan payment went to higher bids rather than to beneficiaries. While having more insurers in a market lowered bids, the design of any bidding system for Medicare should recognize this shortcoming of competition.

The liberalization of the electricity market in Austria aspects of competition and deregulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lausegger, S.

2001-05-01

The subject of the thesis is the deregulation of the Austrian electricity market. It starts with an introduction in the historical background of the legal basis, which until 1998 had been determined exclusively by national law. The main fields of interest in this chapter lay within the federal nature of Austrian electricity law. The next chapter deals with electricity in European Community law, it focuses on the fundamental freedoms of the Treaty on one hand and the Directive 96/92 on Common Provisions for the Electricity Markets on the other. On the basis of this introduction, the Austrian National Electricity Law (e.g. the 'Elektrizitaewirtschafts- und -organisationsgesetz 1998' and the 'Energieliberalisierungsgesetz 2000') has to be assessed. It can be shown that the transformation of Community Law has only partly been successful. Only on the basis of this national and European regulatory framework, an evaluation of the current situation is made according to the principles of competition law (e.g. horizontal agreements, abuse of market power, merger control, state aid). Either national and Community competition law is being discussed, as Community competition law also applies to competition restrictions that are caused by state action. The Austrian way of furthering renewable energies can be named as an example for an insufficient transformation. The last chapter focuses on various aspects of contract law in the deregulated market. Finally, a short summary presents the academic results of the thesis. (author)

Competitive Priorities and Competitive Advantage in Jordanian Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Awwad, Abdulkareem S.; Al Khattab, Adel A.; Anchor, J.R

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research was to explore and predict the relationship between the competitive priorities (quality, cost, flexibility and delivery) and the competitive advantage of firms in the Jordanian Industrial Sector. A population of 88 Jordanian manufacturing firms, registered on the Amman Stock Exchange, was targeted using a cross-sectional survey employing a questionnaire method of data collection. The results of the data analysis indicate a significant relationship between competit...

Co-evolutionary interactions between host resistance and pathogen avirulence genes in rice-Magnaporthe oryzae pathosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Pankaj Kumar; Ray, Soham; Thakur, Shallu; Rathour, Rajeev; Sharma, Vinay; Sharma, Tilak Raj

2018-06-01

Rice and Magnaporthe oryzae constitutes an ideal pathosystem for studying host-pathogen interaction in cereals crops. There are two alternative hypotheses, viz. Arms race and Trench warfare, which explain the co-evolutionary dynamics of hosts and pathogens which are under continuous confrontation. Arms race proposes that both R- and Avr- genes of host and pathogen, respectively, undergo positive selection. Alternatively, trench warfare suggests that either R- or Avr- gene in the pathosystem is under balanced selection intending to stabilize the genetic advantage gained over the opposition. Here, we made an attempt to test the above-stated hypotheses in rice-M. oryzae pathosystem at loci of three R-Avr gene pairs, Piz-t-AvrPiz-t, Pi54-AvrPi54 and Pita-AvrPita using allele mining approach. Allele mining is an efficient way to capture allelic variants existing in the population and to study the selective forces imposed on the variants during evolution. Results of nucleotide diversity, neutrality statistics and phylogenetic analyses reveal that Piz-t, Pi54 and AvrPita are diversified and under positive selection at their corresponding loci, while their counterparts, AvrPiz-t, AvrPi54 and Pita are conserved and under balancing selection, in nature. These results imply that rice-M. oryzae populations are engaged in a trench warfare at least at the three R/Avr loci studied. It is a maiden attempt to study the co-evolution of three R-Avr gene pairs in this pathosystem. Knowledge gained from this study will help in understanding the evolutionary dynamics of host-pathogen interaction in a better way and will also aid in developing new durable blast resistant rice varieties in future. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Resource Availability Modulates the Cooperative and Competitive Nature of a Microbial Cross-Feeding Mutualism.

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Tim A Hoek

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Mutualisms between species play an important role in ecosystem function and stability. However, in some environments, the competitive aspects of an interaction may dominate the mutualistic aspects. Although these transitions could have far-reaching implications, it has been difficult to study the causes and consequences of this mutualistic-competitive transition in experimentally tractable systems. Here, we study a microbial cross-feeding mutualism in which each yeast strain supplies an essential amino acid for its partner strain. We find that, depending upon the amount of freely available amino acid in the environment, this pair of strains can exhibit an obligatory mutualism, facultative mutualism, competition, parasitism, competitive exclusion, or failed mutualism leading to extinction of the population. A simple model capturing the essential features of this interaction explains how resource availability modulates the interaction and predicts that changes in the dynamics of the mutualism in deteriorating environments can provide advance warning that collapse of the mutualism is imminent. We confirm this prediction experimentally by showing that, in the high nutrient competitive regime, the strains rapidly reach a common carrying capacity before slowly reaching the equilibrium ratio between the strains. However, in the low nutrient regime, before collapse of the obligate mutualism, we find that the ratio rapidly reaches its equilibrium and it is the total abundance that is slow to reach equilibrium. Our results provide a general framework for how mutualisms may transition between qualitatively different regimes of interaction in response to changes in nutrient availability in the environment.

Social Exclusion/Inclusion: Foucault's Analytics of Exclusion, the Political Ecology of Social Inclusion and the Legitimation of Inclusive Education

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Michael A.; Besley, Tina A. C.

2014-01-01

This article offers a broad philosophical and historical background to the dyad of social exclusion/inclusion by examining the analytics and politics of exclusion first by reference to Michel Foucault who studies the modern history of exclusion and makes it central to his approach in understanding the development of modern institutions of emerging…

Mutually Exclusive CBC-Containing Complexes Contribute to RNA Fate

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Simone Giacometti

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The nuclear cap-binding complex (CBC stimulates processing reactions of capped RNAs, including their splicing, 3′-end formation, degradation, and transport. CBC effects are particular for individual RNA families, but how such selectivity is achieved remains elusive. Here, we analyze three main CBC partners known to impact different RNA species. ARS2 stimulates 3′-end formation/transcription termination of several transcript types, ZC3H18 stimulates degradation of a diverse set of RNAs, and PHAX functions in pre-small nuclear RNA/small nucleolar RNA (pre-snRNA/snoRNA transport. Surprisingly, these proteins all bind capped RNAs without strong preferences for given transcripts, and their steady-state binding correlates poorly with their function. Despite this, PHAX and ZC3H18 compete for CBC binding and we demonstrate that this competitive binding is functionally relevant. We further show that CBC-containing complexes are short lived in vivo, and we therefore suggest that RNA fate involves the transient formation of mutually exclusive CBC complexes, which may only be consequential at particular checkpoints during RNA biogenesis.

The Literature Review of a New Form of Competitiveness Called City Competitiveness

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Osman EROĞLU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available With globalization, the rapid development of information technologies and the rapid changes in the economic structure, the country’s borders at a time increasingly depreciate and the importance of city competitiveness reveals. Although it is an ongoing debate around the world whether cities compete with each other, city competitiveness is a new form of competitiveness. Cities compete with each other to increase their competitiveness. City competitiveness is defined as having better values compared to other cities. In this study, a new form of competitiveness called city competitiveness is examined.

Improved self-exclusion program: preliminary results.

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Nicole; Boutin, Claude; Ladouceur, Robert

2008-12-01

The gambling industry has offered self-exclusion programs for quite a long time. Such measures are designed to limit access to gaming opportunities and provide problem gamblers with the help they need to cease or limit their gambling behaviour. However, few studies have empirically evaluated these programs. This study has three objectives: (1) to observe the participation in an improved self-exclusion program that includes an initial voluntary evaluation, phone support, and a mandatory meeting, (2) to evaluate satisfaction and usefulness of this service as perceived by self-excluders, (3) to measure the preliminary impact of this improved program. One hundred sixteen self-excluders completed a questionnaire about their satisfaction and their perception of the usefulness during the mandatory meeting. Among those participants, 39 attended an initial meeting. Comparisons between data collected at the initial meeting and data taken at the final meeting were made for those 39 participants. Data showed that gamblers chose the improved self-exclusion program 75% of the time; 25% preferred to sign a regular self-exclusion contract. Among those who chose the improved service, 40% wanted an initial voluntary evaluation and 37% of these individuals actually attended that meeting. Seventy percent of gamblers came to the mandatory meeting, which was a required condition to end their self-exclusion. The majority of participants were satisfied with the improved self-exclusion service and perceived it as useful. Major improvements were observed between the final and the initial evaluation on time and money spent, consequences of gambling, DSM-IV score, and psychological distress. The applicability of an improved self-exclusion program is discussed and, as shown in our study, the inclusion of a final mandatory meeting might not be so repulsive for self-excluders. Future research directives are also proposed.

Productive and Unproductive Competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guerra, Alice; Luppi, Barbara; Parisi, Francesco

Conventional theories of competition classify contests as being either “productive,” when the competitive efforts generate a surplus for society, or “unproductive,” when competition generates no social surplus and merely distributes already existing resources. These two discrete categories of com...... and socially optimal levels of competition in the full range of intermediate cases, as well as in the extremum cases of destructive and super-productive competition.......Conventional theories of competition classify contests as being either “productive,” when the competitive efforts generate a surplus for society, or “unproductive,” when competition generates no social surplus and merely distributes already existing resources. These two discrete categories...... of competition create a division of real-world situations into analytical categories that fails to recognize the entire spectrum of competitive activities. Taking the existing models of productive and unproductive competition as benchmark idealizations, this paper explores the relationship between the privately...

Mixing, entropy and competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klimenko, A Y

2012-01-01

Non-traditional thermodynamics, applied to random behaviour associated with turbulence, mixing and competition, is reviewed and analysed. Competitive mixing represents a general framework for the study of generic properties of competitive systems and can be used to model a wide class of non-equilibrium phenomena ranging from turbulent premixed flames and invasion waves to complex competitive systems. We demonstrate consistency of the general principles of competition with thermodynamic description, review and analyse the related entropy concepts and introduce the corresponding competitive H-theorem. A competitive system can be characterized by a thermodynamic quantity—competitive potential—which determines the likely direction of evolution of the system. Contested resources tend to move between systems from lower to higher values of the competitive potential. There is, however, an important difference between conventional thermodynamics and competitive thermodynamics. While conventional thermodynamics is constrained by its zeroth law and is fundamentally transitive, the transitivity of competitive thermodynamics depends on the transitivity of the competition rules. Intransitivities are common in the real world and are responsible for complex behaviour in competitive systems. This work follows ideas and methods that have originated from the analysis of turbulent combustion, but reviews a much broader scope of issues linked to mixing and competition, including thermodynamic characterization of complex competitive systems with self-organization. The approach presented here is interdisciplinary and is addressed to the general educated readers, whereas the mathematical details can be found in the appendices. (comment)

Dancing in the Dark: Competition over the "Meaning of Competition"

OpenAIRE

Metcalfe John Stanley

2009-01-01

Competing concepts of competition provide a sharp divide between theories of economic order and theories of economic transformation. The shift from competition as a state of affairs and competition as a creative process provides the divergence of perspective that is the topic of this paper. We link the Smith Marshall approach of rivalry and open competition to the more modern evolutionary view based on variation cum selection perspectives on innovation and the adaptive role of market processe...

Competitive intelligence: An instrument to enhance South Africa’s competitiveness

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Wilma Viviers

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The case for Competitive Intelligence (CI as an instrument that can enhance the competitiveness of South African companies and South Africa as a country is strong. Various global competitive rankings measurements have indicated over a number of years the areas in which competitiveness is lacking. Moreover, these rankings have indicated that South Africa has failed to improve its position year on year. The fact that the world is becoming increasingly competitive for South African entities is undisputed. Coupled with a fluctuating exchange rate and the country’s geographical proximity, this poses unique challenges facing South African managers who have to deal with various regulations and legislative matters. In order to create and sustain an effective knowledge economy and to enhance global competitiveness, South Africa however has to put appropriate strategies/measures in place to stimulate, encourage and grow knowledge practices. Competitive Intelligence (CI as a means of making more sense of the competitive business environment and to identify opportunities and risks in time to act upon can be effectively used as a means to enhance competitiveness. Valuable lessons from successful CI practices in the business sector and government can be learnt from elsewhere in the world. CI should be investigated and adapted for South Africa’s business environment. It is therefore the aim of this article to first attempt to describe the role of CI in enhancing competitiveness, specifically in South Africa and secondly, to stimulate thought on how to secure momentum in enhancing CI as an academic field by developing relevant CI courses as well as demonstrating the value of CI to companies in South Africa through research and collaboration between academics and the private and public sectors.

COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH INFORMATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raluca Daniela RIZEA

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Intelligence competitiveness has already started to build its road in the company’s long term strategies. Nonetheless, business executives continue to look for ways to apply information technology strategically to their businesses. Using information managers manage to communicate, to convey their knowledge about markets, competitors, products, services and operations. Even if data and information are all over there are few amounts of managers that realize the importance of them to the success of the business. This article will review competitive forces and competitive information systems strategies for gaining competitive advantages, explain concepts of value chain, value co-opetition (competition and cooperation, and discuss innovation strategy. Co-opetition is a strategy whereby companies cooperate and compete at the same time with their competitors, complementors (i.e. hardware and software businesses, customers, suppliers. The article discuss an important dimension of information system, identifies competitive advantages and enhancing competitive strategies thought information systems.

Putting competition into perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, L. III.

1993-01-01

This paper examines the current level of competition in the electric industry in the context of the history of the industry and the development of electric markets in other counties. The topics of the paper include competition in the history of the American electric industry, the current state of competition, the competitive situation in Texas, competition in other electric markets, and competitive changes in the US market

Central Exclusive Production at LHCb

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00392425

2017-01-01

The LHCb detector, with its excellent momentum resolution and flexible trigger strategy, is ideally suited for measuring particles produced exclusively. In addition, a new system of forward shower counters has been installed upstream and downstream of the detector, and has been used to facilitate studies of Central Exclusive Production. Such measurements of integrated and differential cross-section in both Run 1 and Run 2 of the LHC, are summarised here.

Exclusion statistics and integrable models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mashkevich, S.

1998-01-01

The definition of exclusion statistics, as given by Haldane, allows for a statistical interaction between distinguishable particles (multi-species statistics). The thermodynamic quantities for such statistics ca be evaluated exactly. The explicit expressions for the cluster coefficients are presented. Furthermore, single-species exclusion statistics is realized in one-dimensional integrable models. The interesting questions of generalizing this correspondence onto the higher-dimensional and the multi-species cases remain essentially open

Subspace exclusion zones for damage localization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bernal, Dionisio; Ulriksen, Martin Dalgaard

2018-01-01

, this is exploited in the context of structural damage localization to cast the Subspace Exclusion Zone (SEZ) scheme, which locates damage by reconstructing the captured field quantity shifts from analytical subspaces indexed by postulated boundaries, the so-called exclusion zones (EZs), in a model of the structure...

Multinationals and Institutional Competitiveness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hull Kristensen, Peer; Morgan, Glenn

This article discusses how institutional competitiveness and multinationals are mutually enriching concepts. Seen from the perspective of Multinationals, institutional competitiveness becomes expressed at two levels. At the level of corporate HQs institutional competitiveness proves itself...... competitiveness of Liberal Market Economies and Coordinated Markets Economies under the current competitive regime....

Association between Exclusive Breastfeeding and Child Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghaniyyatul Khudri

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Child development highly correlates with child’s quality. The fastest child development period is during the first three years, also called golden period. This research was aimed to discover correlation between exclussive breastfeeding and child development in Cipacing Village Jatinangor, district of Sumedang. Methods: This research was conducted using cross-sectional method in thirteen Pos Pelayanan Terpadu (Posyandu Cipacing Village in Jatinangor. One hundred and two children aged 12−24 months with their caregiver were recruited as respondents by using cluster sampling method. Hist ory of exclusive breastfeeding was assessed with questionnaire while child development status was assesed with Kuesioner Pra Skrining Perkembangan (KPSP in September 2013 after informed consent was obtained. Chi-square test analysis was performed to determine correlation between exclusive breastfeeding and child development status. Results: Overall, children in Cipacing Village had non-exclusive breastfeeding history (83.3%, and only 16.7% respondents had exclusive breastfeeding history. Meanwhile, 89.2% of children had normal development status, and 10.8% had delayed development status. Statistic analysis using chi-square test in the level of 95% confidence between exclusive breastfeeding and child development showed p=0.686 and odds ratio 2.133. Conclusions: There is no significant relationship between history of exclusive breastfeeding and child development status.

THE PROFILE OF DIGITAL EXCLUSION IN BRAZILIAN SOCIETY

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Lília Bilati de Almeida

2006-11-01

Full Text Available The digital exclusion comes gaining prominence in the last years. The attentions are converging to this subject that is already seen as a cause and consequence of exclusion in our society. Brazil has a lot of inequalities that creates a request for politics of transference and income generation. However, it is not enough become the ways available, it is important show to people how the technologies can contribute for their tasks and activities, bringing knowledge and opportunities.This work, based on bibliographical, reflexive and qualitative researches, approaches the aspects that are usually associated with digital exclusion, as the social exclusion, the knowledge society, the e-gov and contemporary economy, among others, and the factors that need to be taken in consideration to prepare combat politics for digital exclusion. As a result of this reflection, its possible to identify some of the real consequences and the meaning of the digital exclusion in the Brazilian society. The motal of this work was the observation of impacts that information technology over work and the Brazilian citizens' life. With this study, it intends to emphasize real consequences and meaning of digital exclusion in Brazilian society.

Species interactions and response time to climate change: ice-cover and terrestrial run-off shaping Arctic char and brown trout competitive asymmetries

Science.gov (United States)

Finstad, A. G.; Palm Helland, I.; Jonsson, B.; Forseth, T.; Foldvik, A.; Hessen, D. O.; Hendrichsen, D. K.; Berg, O. K.; Ulvan, E.; Ugedal, O.

2011-12-01

There has been a growing recognition that single species responses to climate change often mainly are driven by interaction with other organisms and single species studies therefore not are sufficient to recognize and project ecological climate change impacts. Here, we study how performance, relative abundance and the distribution of two common Arctic and sub-Arctic freshwater fishes (brown trout and Arctic char) are driven by competitive interactions. The interactions are modified both by direct climatic effects on temperature and ice-cover, and indirectly through climate forcing of terrestrial vegetation pattern and associated carbon and nutrient run-off. We first use laboratory studies to show that Arctic char, which is the world's most northernmost distributed freshwater fish, outperform trout under low light levels and also have comparable higher growth efficiency. Corresponding to this, a combination of time series and time-for-space analyses show that ice-cover duration and carbon and nutrient load mediated by catchment vegetation properties strongly affected the outcome of the competition and likely drive the species distribution pattern through competitive exclusion. In brief, while shorter ice-cover period and decreased carbon load favored brown trout, increased ice-cover period and increased carbon load favored Arctic char. Length of ice-covered period and export of allochthonous material from catchments are major, but contrasting, climatic drivers of competitive interaction between these two freshwater lake top-predators. While projected climate change lead to decreased ice-cover, corresponding increase in forest and shrub cover amplify carbon and nutrient run-off. Although a likely outcome of future Arctic and sub-arctic climate scenarios are retractions of the Arctic char distribution area caused by competitive exclusion, the main drivers will act on different time scales. While ice-cover will change instantaneously with increasing temperature

Long-term competitive dynamics of two cryptic rotifer species: diapause and fluctuating conditions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Gabaldón

Full Text Available Life-history traits may have an important role in promoting species coexistence. However, the complexity of certain life cycles makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the conditions for coexistence or exclusion based on the study of short-term competitive dynamics. Brachionus plicatilis and B. manjavacasare two cryptic rotifer species co-occurring in many lakes on the Iberian Peninsula. They have a complex life cycle in which cyclical parthenogenesis occurs with diapausing stages being the result of sexual reproduction. B. plicatilis and B. manjavacasare identical in morphology and size, their biotic niches are broadly overlapping, and they have similar competitive abilities. However, the species differ in life-history traits involving sexual reproduction and diapause, and respond differently to salinity and temperature. As in the case of certain other species that are extremely similar in morphology, a fluctuating environment are considered to be important for their coexistence. We studied the long-term competitive dynamics of B. plicatilis and B. manjavacas under different salinity regimes (constant and fluctuating. Moreover, we focused on the dynamics of the diapausing egg bank to explore how the outcome of the entire life cycle of these rotifers can work to mediate stable coexistence. We demonstrated that these species do not coexist under constant-salinity environment, as the outcome of competition is affected by the level of salinity-at low salinity, B. plicatilis excluded B. manjavacas, and the opposite outcome occurred at high salinity. Competitive dynamics under fluctuating salinity showed that the dominance of one species over the other also tended to fluctuate. The duration of co-occurrence of these species was favoured by salinity fluctuation and perhaps by the existence of a diapausing egg bank. Stable coexistence was not found in our system, which suggests that other factors or other salinity fluctuation patterns might act as

Long-term competitive dynamics of two cryptic rotifer species: diapause and fluctuating conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabaldón, Carmen; Carmona, María José; Montero-Pau, Javier; Serra, Manuel

2015-01-01

Life-history traits may have an important role in promoting species coexistence. However, the complexity of certain life cycles makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the conditions for coexistence or exclusion based on the study of short-term competitive dynamics. Brachionus plicatilis and B. manjavacasare two cryptic rotifer species co-occurring in many lakes on the Iberian Peninsula. They have a complex life cycle in which cyclical parthenogenesis occurs with diapausing stages being the result of sexual reproduction. B. plicatilis and B. manjavacasare identical in morphology and size, their biotic niches are broadly overlapping, and they have similar competitive abilities. However, the species differ in life-history traits involving sexual reproduction and diapause, and respond differently to salinity and temperature. As in the case of certain other species that are extremely similar in morphology, a fluctuating environment are considered to be important for their coexistence. We studied the long-term competitive dynamics of B. plicatilis and B. manjavacas under different salinity regimes (constant and fluctuating). Moreover, we focused on the dynamics of the diapausing egg bank to explore how the outcome of the entire life cycle of these rotifers can work to mediate stable coexistence. We demonstrated that these species do not coexist under constant-salinity environment, as the outcome of competition is affected by the level of salinity-at low salinity, B. plicatilis excluded B. manjavacas, and the opposite outcome occurred at high salinity. Competitive dynamics under fluctuating salinity showed that the dominance of one species over the other also tended to fluctuate. The duration of co-occurrence of these species was favoured by salinity fluctuation and perhaps by the existence of a diapausing egg bank. Stable coexistence was not found in our system, which suggests that other factors or other salinity fluctuation patterns might act as stabilizing

Climate-driven Sympatry does not Lead to Foraging Competition Between Adélie and Gentoo Penguins

Science.gov (United States)

Cimino, M. A.; Moline, M. A.; Fraser, W.; Patterson-Fraser, D.; Oliver, M. J.

2016-02-01

Climate-driven sympatry may lead to competition for food resources between species, population shifts and changes in ecosystem structure. Rapid warming in the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is coincident with increasing gentoo penguin and decreasing Adélie penguin populations, suggesting that competition for food may exacerbate the Adélie penguin decline. At Palmer Station, we tested for foraging competition between these species by comparing their prey, Antarctic krill, distributions and penguin foraging behaviors on fine scales. To study these predator-prey dynamics, we simultaneously deployed penguin satellite transmitters, and a REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle that acoustically detected krill aggregations and measured physical and biological properties of the water column. We detected krill aggregations within the horizontal and vertical foraging ranges of Adélie and gentoo penguin. In the upper 100 m of the water column, the distribution of krill aggregations were mainly associated with CHL and light, suggesting that krill selected for habitats that balance the need to consume food and avoid predation. Adélie and gentoo penguins mainly had spatially segregated foraging areas but in areas of overlap, gentoo penguins switched foraging behavior by foraging at deeper depths, a strategy which limits competition with Adélie penguins. This suggests that climate-driven sympatry does not necessarily result in competitive exclusion. Contrary to a recent theory, which suggests that increased competition for krill is the major driver of Adélie penguin population declines, we suggest that declines in Adélie penguins along the WAP are more likely due to direct and indirect climate impacts on their life histories.

EDITORIAL: Physics competitions Physics competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Jordens, H.; Mathelitsch, L.

2011-07-01

International tests on competences, such as TIMSS or PISA, and knowledge of young students have revealed low average scores in many countries, often unexpectedly. One effective measure to increase the average standard of a population is to bring the last third of the group to a higher level. Therefore, many nations put some effort into this activity. This brings the danger that not enough attention is paid to students at the other end, those who are talented. Indeed, it is a very difficult task for a teacher to support the less able and at the same time challenge the gifted students, to lead them to the limits of their abilities and provide for a smooth transition to university study. Physics competitions have been proven to fulfil these last demands to a large degree, and therefore are an important additional and, to some extent, complementary tool for the promotion of talented students. This third special section on physics competitions in European Journal of Physics contains three papers, each dealing with a different form of science contest. The first continues the series of presentations of tasks performed at the International Young Physicists' Tournament, which was held in Vienna in 2011. First place went to the team from Singapore, and they have put their investigation on vertical oscillations of coupled magnets into written form (not required by the tournament, where an oral presentation and a defence and discussion are the central aspects). Their paper shows how rich in physics this problem is, and what level of solutions high-school students can already achieve. Sadly, those responsible for the organization of last year's International Physics Olympiad did not provide us with a report on this competition. This is unfortunate, since the Olympiad in Zagreb was very successful and, in particular, the experimental tasks were creative and demanding. Very similar to the aims and the execution of the Physics Olympiad is the International Olympiad on Astronomy

Exploring an Age Difference in Preschool Children's Competitiveness Following a Competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yu; Zhu, Yi

2018-01-01

Literature suggests that resource acquisition compels competition in young children. However, little is still known about the development of preschool children's competitiveness. In this preliminary study, 166 children (aged 2-4 and 5-6 years) engaged in a dyadic competition which resulted in a winning and a losing group (in a control/non-competition group, participants engaged in a similar task which did not lead to winning/losing outcome), and then experimenters tracked their decisions to compete again with a rival (i.e., an individual they interacted in the previous competition task) and a non-rival competitor (i.e., an anonymous classmate they did not interact in the previous competition task) for a reward, respectively. As expected, results showed an age-related decreasing trend in the percentage of choices to compete with a competitor. However, this age difference was only significant in the control group when participants played with the partner with whom they interacted in the previous game and in the losing group when participants competed with a non-rival competitor. This study contributes to our knowledge of how competitiveness develop in preschool childhood, and calls for further research on the roles of motivation and cognitive control in children's competitiveness.

The effect of swimming on oral health status: competitive versus non-competitive athletes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simonetta D’ERCOLE

2016-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Young swimmers are particularly susceptible to the onset of oral diseases. Objective To evaluate the oral health status in young competitive and non-competitive swimmers, involving an assessment of salivary cariogenic bacteria and secretory IgA (S-IgA concentration. Material and Methods Before training sessions (T1, 54 competitive and 69 non-competitive swimmers had the following parameters assessed: decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT, Plaque Index (PlI, and Gingival Index (GI. At T1 and after training sessions (T2, stimulated saliva was collected and microbiological and immunological analyses were performed. Results Competitive swimmers trained 2.02±0.09 hours 5 times a week, while non-competitive swimmers trained 2.03±0.18 hours a week. A total of 14.7% of competitive swimmers suffered dental trauma related to sports. Only 11.76% of the competitive swimmers took a daily dose of fluoride, against 32.65% of non-competitive swimmers (p=0.029. Neither group followed an established diet or presented statistically significant differences in terms of nutritional supplement drink and chocolate intake. There were statistically significant differences in terms of oral hygiene. No significant difference in clinical indexes (DMFT, PlI, and GI was present. S. mutans was harbored by 18.6% of competitive and the 32.2% of non-competitive swimmers. S. sobrinus was detected in 22.03% of competitive and 91.6% of non-competitive swimmers (p<0.05. S. sanguinis was found only in the saliva of competitive swimmers. The average S-IgA of competitive swimmers decreased significantly at T2 (p<0.05. The pool water had a daily average pH of 7.22. Conclusions Microbial markers, immune status and sporting characteristics are important for establishing guidelines for management of training load in order to minimize physical stress and the risk of oral infection.

AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION v PFIZER: EVERGREENING AND MARKET POWER AS A BLOCKBUSTER DRUG GOES OFF PATENT.

Science.gov (United States)

Faunce, Thomas

2015-06-01

In Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 113, the ACCC alleged that Pfizer's "Project LEAP" involved a scheme to lock pharmacists into substituting its generic version of the high sales volume anti-cholesterol drug, patent-expired atorvastatin (Lipitor), which took advantage of a substantial degree of market power for a purpose proscribed by s 46(1)(c) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). The ACCC also claimed that Pfizer's actions constituted a course of exclusive dealing pursuant to s 47(1)(d) and (e) for the proscribed purpose of lessening competition. Flick J in the Federal Court of Australia, in a judgment heavy with quotations but sparse in reasoning, dismissed the ACCC's Amended Originating Application alleging abuse of market power and ordered the ACCC to pay Pfizer's costs. The ACCC has now appealed the decision. This column explores this case in the context of Pfizer's broader strategies to preserve its income globally from this high sales volume drug in the period following its patent expiration.

Factors influencing knowledge and practice of exclusive ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Factors influencing knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Nyando ... The overall objective of this study was to determine factors influencing the ... EBF and its benefits), pre lacteal feeds and exclusive breastfeeding consistency.

The profile of digital exclusion in Brazilian society

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Marcelo Genestra

2005-03-01

Full Text Available The digital exclusion comes gaining prominence in the last years. The attentions are convergingto this subject that is already seen as a cause and consequence of exclusion in our society. Brazilhas a lot of inequalities that creates a request for politics of transference and income generation.However, it is not enough become the ways available, it is important show to people how thetechnologies can contribute for their tasks and activities, bringing knowledge and opportunities.This work, based on bibliographical, reflexive and qualitative researches, approaches the aspectsthat are usually associated with digital exclusion, as the social exclusion, the knowledge society,the e-gov and contemporary economy, among others, and the factors that need to be taken inconsideration to prepare combat politics for digital exclusion. As a result of this reflection, its

Teenage pregnancy and exclusive breastfeeding rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Puapompong, Pawin; Raungrongmorakot, Kasem; Manolerdtewan, Wichian; Ketsuwan, Sukwadee; Wongin, Sinutchanan

2014-09-01

Teenage pregnancy is an important health issue globally and in Thailand Younger age mothers decide on the breastfeeding practices ofthe first 6-month. To find the rates of 6-month exclusive breastfeeding practices of teenage mothers and compare them with the rates of 6-month exclusive breastfeeding practices in mothers who are 20 years of age or more. Three thousand five hundred sixty three normal, postpartum women, who delivered without complications at the HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center in the Nakhon Nayok Province between 2010 and2013 were included in this study. At the second daypostpartum, the data of latch scores and the data of the practice of exclusive breastfeeding were collected Telephone follow-ups on the seventh, fourteenth, and forty-fifth postpartum days and at the second, fourth, and sixth month postpartum month were collected and used for exclusive breastfeeding data following discharge. Demographic data included the maternal age, parity, gestational age, marital status, occupation, religion, route ofdelivery, estimated blood loss, body mass index, nipple length, and the childs birth weight. The collected data was analyzed by the t-test, Chi-square, and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. The percentage of teenage pregnancies was at 14.8% (527 cases). On postpartum day 2, the percentage of latch scores of 8 or less was 66.4%. At the seventh, fourteenth, and forty-fifth day and at the second, fourth, and sixth months postpartum, the exclusive breastfeeding rates were 88.5, 78.5, 57.6, 43.1, 32.9, and27.0%, respectively. Comparison of the 6-month exclusive breastfeeding rates between teenage mothers and mothers 20 years ofage or older were not statistically significant (pteenage mothers was at 27.0% and had no significant differences from the rates of mothers 20 years of age or more.

Novel weapons and invasion: biogeographic differences in the competitive effects of Centaurea maculosa and its root exudate (+/-)-catechin.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Wei-Ming; Feng, Yulong; Ridenour, Wendy M; Thelen, Giles C; Pollock, Jarrod L; Diaconu, Alecu; Callaway, Ragan M

2009-04-01

Recent studies suggest that the invasive success of Centaurea maculosa may be related to its stronger allelopathic effects on native North American species than on related European species, one component of the "novel weapons" hypothesis. Other research indicates that C. maculosa plants from the invasive range in North America have evolved to be larger and better competitors than conspecifics from the native range in Europe, a component of the "evolution of increased competitive ability" hypothesis. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, but this evidence sets the stage for comparing the relative importance of evolved competitive ability to inherent competitive traits. In a competition experiment with a large number of C. maculosa populations, we found no difference in the competitive effects of C. maculosa plants from North America and Europe on other species. However, both North American and European C. maculosa were much better competitors against plants native to North America than congeners native to Romania, collected in areas where C. maculosa is also native. These results are consistent with the novel weapons hypothesis. But, in a second experiment using just one population from North America and Europe, and where North American and European species were collected from a broader range of sites, competitive interactions were weaker overall, and the competitive effects of C. maculosa were slightly stronger against European species than against North American species. Also consistent with the novel weapons hypothesis, (+/-)-catechin had stronger effects on native North American species than on native European species in two experiments. Our results suggest that the regional composition of the plant communities being invaded by C. maculosa may be more important for invasive success than the evolution of increased size and competitive ability.

Romania's Competitiveness and Competitive Position in Global Context

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Valentin NECULITA

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Competitiveness increase has become a primordial framework of the social and economic development strategies of most world countries (mainly the most developed ones over the last decades. The vigorous boost of the contemporary phenomenon of globalization, which has widened the global area of economies, sectors and firms confrontation, has laid an emphasis on their competitiveness importance for their favorable position in the international competition and has therefore force the status to take proper, broad and concerted measures to stimulate the determining factors of action and to take better advantage of their effects. The purpose of the paper is to determine whether an increase in competitiveness could reduce the disparities between regions. The E.U. Member States and regions need significant financial help to solve various structural problems and to achieve their potential of growth. Romania is no exception, one of the main problems being the low rate in attracting European funds.

Competitive exclusion among fig wasps achieved via entrainment of host plant flowering phenology.

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Min Liu

Full Text Available Molecular techniques are revealing increasing numbers of morphologically similar but co-existing cryptic species, challenging the niche theory. To understand the co-existence mechanism, we studied phenologies of morphologically similar species of fig wasps that pollinate the creeping fig (F. pumila in eastern China. We compared phenologies of fig wasp emergence and host flowering at sites where one or both pollinators were present. At the site where both pollinators were present, we used sticky traps to capture the emerged fig wasps and identified species identity using mitochondrial DNA COI gene. We also genotyped F. pumila individuals of the three sites using polymorphic microsatellites to detect whether the host populations were differentiated. Male F. pumila produced two major crops annually, with figs receptive in spring and summer. A small partial third crop of receptive figs occurred in the autumn, but few of the second crop figs matured at that time. Hence, few pollinators were available to enter third crop figs and they mostly aborted, resulting in two generations of pollinating wasps each year, plus a partial third generation. Receptive figs were produced on male plants in spring and summer, timed to coincide with the release of short-lived adult pollinators from the same individual plants. Most plants were pollinated by a single species. Plants pollinated by Wiebesia sp. 1 released wasps earlier than those pollinated by Wiebesia sp. 3, with little overlap. Plants occupied by different pollinators were not spatially separated, nor genetically distinct. Our findings show that these differences created mismatches with the flight periods of the other Wiebesia species, largely 'reserving' individual plants for the resident pollinator species. This pre-emptive competitive displacement may prevent long term co-existence of the two pollinators.

Diversifying evolution of competitiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldauf, Sebastian A; Engqvist, Leif; Weissing, Franz J

2014-10-29

In many species, individuals express phenotypic characteristics that enhance their competitiveness, that is, the ability to acquire resources in competition with others. Moreover, the degree of competitiveness varies considerably across individuals and in time. By means of an evolutionary model, we provide an explanation for this finding. We make the assumption that investment into competitiveness enhances the probability to acquire a high-quality resource, but at the same time reduces the ability of exploiting acquired resources with maximal efficiency. The model reveals that under a broad range of conditions competitiveness either converges to a polymorphic state, where individuals differing in competitive ability stably coexist, or is subject to perpetual transitions between periods of high and low competitiveness. The dynamics becomes even more complex if females can evolve preferences for (or against) competitive males. In extreme cases, such preferences can even drive the population to extinction.

Managing Multiple Sources of Competitive Advantage in a Complex Competitive Environment

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Alexandre Howard Henry Lapersonne

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to review the literature on the topic of sustained and temporary competitive advantage creation, specifically in dynamic markets, and to propose further research possibilities. After having analyzed the main trends and scholars’ works on the subject, it was concluded that a firm which has been experiencing erosion of its core sources of economic rent generation, should have diversified its strategy portfolio in a search for new sources of competitive advantage, ones that could compensate for the decline of profits provoked by intensive competitive environments. This review concludes with the hypothesis that firms, who have decided to enter and manage multiple competitive environments, should have developed a multiple strategies framework approach. The management of this source of competitive advantage portfolio should have allowed persistence of a firm’s superior economic performance through the management of diverse temporary advantages lifecycle and through a resilient effect, where a very successful source of competitive advantage compensates the ones that have been eroded. Additionally, the review indicates that economies of emerging countries, such as the ones from the BRIC block, should present a more complex competitive environment due to their historical nature of cultural diversity, social contrasts and frequent economic disruption, and also because of recent institutional normalization that has turned the market into hypercompetition. Consequently, the study of complex competition should be appropriate in such environments.

78 FR 55687 - Notice of Intent To Grant an Exclusive, Partially Exclusive or Non-Exclusive License of the...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-11

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Notice of Intent To Grant an Exclusive, Partially..., 2012 Entitled ''Tie-Down and Jack Fitting Assembly for Helicopter'' AGENCY: Department of the Army, [email protected]us.army.mil . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The patent application relates to the aviation platforms...

Crop–weed competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gallandt, Eric R.; Weiner, Jacob

2015-01-01

importantly, weed density and time of emergence relative to the crop. Practices that (1) reduce the density of weeds, (2) maximise occupation of space or uptake of resources by the crop or (3) establish an early-season size advantage of the crop over the weeds will minimise the competitive effects of weeds...... on crops. Longer term management of crop–weed competition can be achieved through crop rotations, specifically crop sequences that reduce the weed seed bank, and therefore seedling density, and prevent proliferation of perennial weeds. Key ConceptsKey Concepts * Plant growth requires sunlight, water...... an early-season competitive advantage to the crop and (3) maximising resource capture by the crop using competitive species, competitive cultivars, high sowing densities, optimal spatial arrangement, intercropping complimentary species or transplanting....

A Conceptual Mapping Resource Advantage Theory, Competitive Advantage Theory, and Transient Competitive Advantage

OpenAIRE

Jasanta PERANGINANGIN

2015-01-01

Competitive advantage is the main purposed of the business entity focusing on market base view. Resource advantage theorists put their concern to empowering resources development with resources based view, in the other side needs to redefining competitive advantage. All the competitive advantage are transient, concluded the end of competitive advantage. Redefining competitive advantage by selling migration and shrewdness outward. This research to emphasize innovation capability rarely appears...

A STUDY OF THE REQUIRED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING PROGRAM IN PUBLIC COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS HELD BY CESPE

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Fátima de Souza Freire

2012-11-01

Full Text Available With a view to standardizing the contents offered to future Accounting professionals, the Federal Accounting Council (CFC elaborated the National Proposal for Undergraduate Accountancy Program Contents. Thus, the curriculum that Higher Education Institutions (HEI adopt serves as an ally for students’ professional conquests. Stability and favorable job conditions attract many people to the dispute for a public function, with a growing Braz ilian public competitive examination market. According to the National Association for Protection and Support to Public Competitive Examinations (Anpac, between 2003 and 2009, the number of public servants in the executive power with a higher education degree in Brazil increased by 26%. The aim of this study was to confront the CFC’s suggested knowledge with the contents required during tests applied in public competitive examinations for Accountancy professionals. The intent is to identify what Public Accounting knowledge is demanded from candidates for the public career. Through a documentary research, 561 calls from public competitive examinations exclusively for Accountancy professionals were selected for the study sample. They were classified according to the proposed program contents, the test questions by the Center for Selection and Event Promotion (Cespe, between 2000 and 2009. In conclusion, the most frequent required Public Accounting areas are contents related to Public Equity and Budget. The results demonstrate that the CFC’s suggested content is in line with the knowledge required from candidates for public functions.

Robotics Competitions: An Overview of First© Events and VEX© Competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Habib, Maria A.

2012-01-01

Robotics competitions generate excitement and raise the profile of a robotics program. This article provides an overview of robotics competitions, concentrating on those sponsored by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and RECF (Robotics Education and Competition Foundation). FIRST® LEGO® League and VEX® robotics…

Model of reversible vesicular transport with exclusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bressloff, Paul C; Karamched, Bhargav R

2016-01-01

A major question in neurobiology concerns the mechanics behind the motor-driven transport and delivery of vesicles to synaptic targets along the axon of a neuron. Experimental evidence suggests that the distribution of vesicles along the axon is relatively uniform and that vesicular delivery to synapses is reversible. A recent modeling study has made explicit the crucial role that reversibility in vesicular delivery to synapses plays in achieving uniformity in vesicle distribution, so called synaptic democracy (Bressloff et al 2015 Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 168101). In this paper we generalize the previous model by accounting for exclusion effects (hard-core repulsion) that may occur between molecular motor-cargo complexes (particles) moving along the same microtubule track. The resulting model takes the form of an exclusion process with four internal states, which distinguish between motile and stationary particles, and whether or not a particle is carrying vesicles. By applying a mean field approximation and an adiabatic approximation we reduce the system of ODEs describing the evolution of occupation numbers of the sites on a 1D lattice to a system of hydrodynamic equations in the continuum limit. We find that reversibility in vesicular delivery allows for synaptic democracy even in the presence of exclusion effects, although exclusion does exacerbate nonuniform distributions of vesicles in an axon when compared with a model without exclusion. We also uncover the relationship between our model and other models of exclusion processes with internal states. (paper)

Definition of Exclusion Zones Using Seismic Data

Science.gov (United States)

Bartal, Y.; Villagran, M.; Ben Horin, Y.; Leonard, G.; Joswig, M.

- In verifying compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), there is a motivation to be effective, efficient and economical and to prevent abuse of the right to conduct an On-site Inspection (OSI) in the territory of a challenged State Party. In particular, it is in the interest of a State Party to avoid irrelevant search in specific areas. In this study we propose several techniques to determine `exclusion zones', which are defined as areas where an event could not have possibly occurred. All techniques are based on simple ideas of arrival time differences between seismic stations and thus are less prone to modeling errors compared to standard event location methods. The techniques proposed are: angular sector exclusion based on a tripartite micro array, half-space exclusion based on a station pair, and closed area exclusion based on circumferential networks.

Two-channel totally asymmetric simple exclusion processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pronina, Ekaterina; Kolomeisky, Anatoly B

2004-01-01

Totally asymmetric simple exclusion processes, consisting of two coupled parallel lattice chains with particles interacting with hard-core exclusion and moving along the channels and between them, are considered. In the limit of strong coupling between the channels, the particle currents, density profiles and a phase diagram are calculated exactly by mapping the system into an effective one-channel totally asymmetric exclusion model. For intermediate couplings, a simple approximate theory, that describes the particle dynamics in vertical clusters of two corresponding parallel sites exactly and neglects the correlations between different vertical clusters, is developed. It is found that, similarly to the case of one-channel totally asymmetric simple exclusion processes, there are three stationary state phases, although the phase boundaries and stationary properties strongly depend on inter-channel coupling. Extensive computer Monte Carlo simulations fully support the theoretical predictions

Exclusion statistics and integrable models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mashkevich, S.

1998-01-01

The definition of exclusion statistics that was given by Haldane admits a 'statistical interaction' between distinguishable particles (multispecies statistics). For such statistics, thermodynamic quantities can be evaluated exactly; explicit expressions are presented here for cluster coefficients. Furthermore, single-species exclusion statistics is realized in one-dimensional integrable models of the Calogero-Sutherland type. The interesting questions of generalizing this correspondence to the higher-dimensional and the multispecies cases remain essentially open; however, our results provide some hints as to searches for the models in question

The psychology of exclusivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Troy Jollimore

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Friendship and romantic love are, by their very nature, exclusive relationships. This paper suggests that we can better understand the nature of the exclusivity in question by understanding what is wrong with the view of practical reasoning I call the Comprehensive Surveyor View. The CSV claims that practical reasoning, in order to be rational, must be a process of choosing the best available alternative from a perspective that is as detached and objective as possible. But this view, while it means to be neutral between various value-bearers, in fact incorporates a bias against those value-bearers that can only be appreciated from a perspective that is not detached—that can only be appreciated, for instance, by agents who bear long-term commitments to the values in question. In the realm of personal relationships, such commitments tend to give rise to the sort of exclusivity that characterizes friendship and romantic love; they prevent the agent from being impartial between her beloved’s needs, interests, etc., and those of other persons. In such contexts, I suggest, needs and claims of other persons may be silenced in much the way that, as John McDowell has suggested, the temptations of immorality are silenced for the virtuous agent.

Anti- versus Pro-Competitive Mergers

OpenAIRE

Fridolfsson, Sven-Olof

2007-01-01

In a framework where mergers are mutually excluding, I show that firms pursue anti- rather than (alternative) pro-competitive mergers. Potential outsiders to anti-competitive mergers refrain from pursuing pro-competitive mergers if the positive externalities from anti-competitive mergers are strong enough. Potential outsiders to pro-competitive mergers pursue anti-competitive mergers if the negative externalities from the pro-competitive mergers are strong enough. Potential participants in an...

How similar can co-occurring species be in the presence of competition and ecological drift?

Science.gov (United States)

Capitán, José A; Cuenda, Sara; Alonso, David

2015-09-06

If two species live on a single resource, the one with a slight advantage will out-compete the other: complete competitors cannot coexist. This is known as the competitive exclusion principle. If no extinction occurs, it is because evolutionary adaptation to slightly different niches takes place. Therefore, it is widely accepted that ecological communities are assembled by evolutionary differentiation and progressive adaptation of species to different niches. However, some ecologists have recently challenged this classic paradigm highlighting the importance of chance and stochasticity. Using a synthetic framework for community dynamics, here we show that, while deterministic descriptors predict coexistence, species similarity is limited in a more restrictive way in the presence of stochasticity. We analyse the stochastic extinction phenomenon, showing that extinction occurs as competitive overlap increases above a certain threshold well below its deterministic counterpart. We also prove that the extinction threshold cannot be ascribed only to demographic fluctuations around small population sizes. The more restrictive limit to species similarity is, therefore, a consequence of the complex interplay between competitive interactions and ecological drift. As a practical implication, we show that the existence of a stochastic limit to similarity has important consequences in the recovery of fragmented habitats. © 2015 The Author(s).

Approximate kernel competitive learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jian-Sheng; Zheng, Wei-Shi; Lai, Jian-Huang

2015-03-01

Kernel competitive learning has been successfully used to achieve robust clustering. However, kernel competitive learning (KCL) is not scalable for large scale data processing, because (1) it has to calculate and store the full kernel matrix that is too large to be calculated and kept in the memory and (2) it cannot be computed in parallel. In this paper we develop a framework of approximate kernel competitive learning for processing large scale dataset. The proposed framework consists of two parts. First, it derives an approximate kernel competitive learning (AKCL), which learns kernel competitive learning in a subspace via sampling. We provide solid theoretical analysis on why the proposed approximation modelling would work for kernel competitive learning, and furthermore, we show that the computational complexity of AKCL is largely reduced. Second, we propose a pseudo-parallelled approximate kernel competitive learning (PAKCL) based on a set-based kernel competitive learning strategy, which overcomes the obstacle of using parallel programming in kernel competitive learning and significantly accelerates the approximate kernel competitive learning for large scale clustering. The empirical evaluation on publicly available datasets shows that the proposed AKCL and PAKCL can perform comparably as KCL, with a large reduction on computational cost. Also, the proposed methods achieve more effective clustering performance in terms of clustering precision against related approximate clustering approaches. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exclusive processes and the exclusive-inclusive connection in quantum chromodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brodsky, S.J.; Lepage, G.P.

1979-03-01

An outline of a new analysis of exclusive processes and quantum chromodynamics is presented. The main elements of this work involve a consistent Fock space decomposition of the hadronic wave function, plus evolution equations for wave functions which allow an exact evaluation of hadronic matrix elements in the asymptotic short distance limit. 77 references

Coal competitiveness?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogeaux, B.

2006-01-01

Will coal electrical plants be more competitive in the coming years? Answering this one cannot be limited to merely comparing estimates based on reference electricity production costs. The competitiveness of coal will indeed depend on the final product marketed, as the MWhs are not equal: is the purpose to produce base, half-base MWh? Does the electrical equipment structure require flexible MWh (for instance in the event of significant intermittent renewable energy amounts), and therefore plants able to adjust their power rapidly? But the competitiveness of coal will also depend on many factors that will correct reference cost estimates: uncertainties, risks, externalities. These factors will need to be appreciated on a case by case basis. We introduce some of the reasoning used to better appreciate the future competitiveness of coal, and the main factors conditioning it in three contrasting regions of the world: Europe, USA, china. (author)

GLOBAL COMPETITION AND ROMANIA’S NATIONAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pop Nicolae Alexandru

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Analyzing products and services around us it is clear that most of them are the result of production factors, labor and capital becoming more international and increasingly less and less national. We are witnessing the globalization of markets and production, to a large global integration and interdependence, increase personalization of production and services as a result of new communication systems interaction and flexible production processes. Markets will continue to homogenize and diversify at the same time, so it is important that as a global marketer one addresses a market segment defined by income, age, and consumption habits and not by membership of a nation. The most visible and polarized is the premium segment fighting for high income clients where brand value plays an important role. Instead identification of large segments of customers offers the advantages of scale economy in production and marketing for global enterprises. Consumer profile is the dominant global consumer requesting and accepting global products and services easily. In fact, what can force an economic alignment to achieve the best performance, rather than the global consumer. The research methodology used includes literature review, comparative analysis, synthesis of data based on bibliographic resources and official documents.The aim of the paper is to highlight current models that underlie the competitive advantage of nations and assess the competitive advantage of Romania in the context of the global market. A case study is used to offer an overview of competitive advantage of Antibiotice Iasi SA, a competitive player, in a global pharmaceutical market with strong global competition. Countries moderate companies’ achievements of global efficiency objectives due to the countries’ rivalry. Romania has to understand that it is in competition with other countries in order to fulfill economic, political and social objectives. The scope in the end is the well

Problems of Chernobyl exclusion zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The collection comprises the results of researches and design activity in the ChNPP exclusion zone with the aim to develop technology, equipment and instruments for RAW management and accident clean-up, studying of the composition and structure of the activity solid bearers in the soil of the exclusion zone and transformation of the radionuclides in the nearest zone of ChNPP. Much attention is paid to medical and biological problems of the accident influence on the flora, fauna and people's health labour conditions and incidence of the people involved

Problems of Chornobyl Exclusion Zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kashparov, V.A.

2009-01-01

The collection comprises the results of researches and design activity in the ChNPP exclusion zone with the aim to develop technology, equipment and instruments for RAW management and accident clean-up, studying of the composition and structure of the activity solid bearers in the soil of the exclusion zone and transformation of the radionuclides in the nearest zone of ChNPP. Much attention is paid to medical and biological problems of the accident influence on the flora, fauna and people's health, labour conditions and incidence of the people involved.

Social support for schoolchildren at risk of social exclusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivanauskiene V.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Social exclusion is a wider concept than poverty and includes not only material conditions but also inability to participate in economic, social, political and cultural life. The essence of social exclusion is social relationships (more exactly breaking off relationships, which may mean not only pushing away some members of the society, but also breaking off relationships with the society from the side of a person himself/herself. The reasons of origin of social exclusion may be legal, political, economical, social and cultural. Nowadays social exclusion is predetermined by social-economic factors. According to Poviliūnas (2001, the problems of children’s social exclusion may be solved ensuring proper education, care of public health, safety and minimal life standard. Growing aggression and violence of schoolchildren and their social exclusion are nowadays an important issue of political debate and media reports. Often schoolchildren face the risk of social exclusion at school during the period of adolescence. The risk also depends on the social status of their family in the society and the relationship of the family members. The aim of the article is to identify characteristic features of schoolchildren at risk of social exclusion and analyze social support provided for them. A quantitative research was carried out to achieve the aim. The method of data collection is a questionnaire. 105 teachers working in 3 secondary schools in Lithuania participated in the research. The research results revealed that most often schoolchildren face the risk of social exclusion at school during adolescence period. They are characterized as incommunicative, unsociable, passive, and shy, do not trust others, are vulnerable, have learning problems and avoid collaborative activities. These schoolchildren usually come from families of social risk or single parent families. The support provided at school by teachers to schoolchildren at risk of social exclusion

Exploring an Age Difference in Preschool Children’s Competitiveness Following a Competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Hu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Literature suggests that resource acquisition compels competition in young children. However, little is still known about the development of preschool children’s competitiveness. In this preliminary study, 166 children (aged 2–4 and 5–6 years engaged in a dyadic competition which resulted in a winning and a losing group (in a control/non-competition group, participants engaged in a similar task which did not lead to winning/losing outcome, and then experimenters tracked their decisions to compete again with a rival (i.e., an individual they interacted in the previous competition task and a non-rival competitor (i.e., an anonymous classmate they did not interact in the previous competition task for a reward, respectively. As expected, results showed an age-related decreasing trend in the percentage of choices to compete with a competitor. However, this age difference was only significant in the control group when participants played with the partner with whom they interacted in the previous game and in the losing group when participants competed with a non-rival competitor. This study contributes to our knowledge of how competitiveness develop in preschool childhood, and calls for further research on the roles of motivation and cognitive control in children’s competitiveness.

Exploring an Age Difference in Preschool Children’s Competitiveness Following a Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yu; Zhu, Yi

2018-01-01

Literature suggests that resource acquisition compels competition in young children. However, little is still known about the development of preschool children’s competitiveness. In this preliminary study, 166 children (aged 2–4 and 5–6 years) engaged in a dyadic competition which resulted in a winning and a losing group (in a control/non-competition group, participants engaged in a similar task which did not lead to winning/losing outcome), and then experimenters tracked their decisions to compete again with a rival (i.e., an individual they interacted in the previous competition task) and a non-rival competitor (i.e., an anonymous classmate they did not interact in the previous competition task) for a reward, respectively. As expected, results showed an age-related decreasing trend in the percentage of choices to compete with a competitor. However, this age difference was only significant in the control group when participants played with the partner with whom they interacted in the previous game and in the losing group when participants competed with a non-rival competitor. This study contributes to our knowledge of how competitiveness develop in preschool childhood, and calls for further research on the roles of motivation and cognitive control in children’s competitiveness. PMID:29593610

FIRST 2002, 2003, 2004 Robotics Competition(s)

Science.gov (United States)

Purman, Richard

2004-01-01

The New Horizons Regional Education Center (NHREC) in Hampton, VA sought and received NASA funding to support its participation in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 FIRST Robotics Competitions. FIRST, Inc. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization which encourages the application of creative science, math, and computer science principles to solve real-world engineering problems. The FIRST competition is an international engineering contest featuring high school, government, and business partnerships.

COEVOLUTIONARY SEMANTICS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION GENESIS AND EVOLUTIONARY RISK (BETWEEN THE BIOAESTHETICS AND BIOPOLITICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. T. Cheshko

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose (metatask of the present work is to attempt to give a glance at the problem of existential and anthropological risk caused by the contemporary man-made civilization from the perspective of comparison and confrontation of aesthetics, the substrate of which is emotional and metaphorical interpretation of individual subjective values and politics feeding by objectively rational interests of social groups. In both cases there is some semantic gap present between the represented social reality and its representation in perception of works of art and in the political doctrines as well. Methodology of the research is evolutionary anthropologicalcomparativistics. Originality of the conducted analysis comes to the following: As the antithesis to biological and social reductionism in interpretation of the phenomenon of bio-power it is proposed a co-evolutionary semantic model in accordance with which the described semantic gap is of the substantial nature related to the complex module organization of a consistent and adaptive human strategy consisting of three associated but independently functional modules (genetic, cultural and techno-rational. Evolutionary trajectory of all anthropogenesis components including civilization cultural and social-political evolution is identified by the proportion between two macro variables – evolutionary effectiveness and evolutionary stability (sameness, i.e. preservation in the context of consequential transformations of some invariants of Homo sapiens species specificity organization. It should be noted that inasmuch as in respect to human, some modules of the evolutionary (adaptive strategy assume self-reflection attributes, it would be more correctly to state about evolutionary correctness, i.e. correspondence to some perfection. As a result, the future of human nature depends not only on the rationalist principles of ethics of Homo species (the archaism of Jurgen Habermas, but also on the holistic and

Digital exclusion in higher education contexts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khalid, Md. Saifuddin; Pedersen, Mette Jun Lykkegaard

2016-01-01

The integration and adoption of digital technologies have enabled improvements in the quality of and inclusion in higher education. However, a significant proportion of the population has either remained or become digitally excluded. This systematic literature review elucidates the factors...... underlying the concepts of “digital exclusion” and the “digital divide” in higher education. The identified factors are grouped into three categories: social exclusion (i.e., low income, ICT-avoidance as the norm, lack of motivation and commitment, and physical or mental disability), digital exclusion (i.......e., lack of hardware devices and Internet services) and accessibility (which include the division between rural and urban areas, as well as disparities in ICT literacy and information literacy). These factors are multi-tiered and overlapping. Studies on the digital divide, digital exclusion, and barriers...

Why Social Exclusion Persists among Older People in Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riyana Miranti

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The existing literature on social exclusion among older people, though relatively limited, suggests that disadvantage among older people is cumulative in nature. Some aspects of disadvantage starting at early life stages have long-term consequences. As such, older people with disadvantages may be subject to higher risks of persistent social exclusion. This article aims to improve understanding of social exclusion and its persistence among senior Australians in three ways. Firstly, the incidence of social exclusion among older people is analysed using selected indicators. Secondly, the study examines whether an older person experiencing social exclusion at one time is more likely to experience it again (persistence. Thirdly, it investigates what factors may be protecting older people from social exclusion. The analysis is conducted using the first eight waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA Survey. The sample of older people is disaggregated into a younger group (55–64 years at wave 1 and an older group (65+ years. The article suggests that higher education and income, as well as better health conditions and previous employment experiences, are important protective factors from social exclusion for older Australians.

[Allergic colitis in exclusively breast-fed infants].

Science.gov (United States)

Sierra Salinas, C; Blasco Alonso, J; Olivares Sánchez, L; Barco Gálvez, A; del Río Mapelli, L

2006-02-01

Eosinophilic colitis is induced by antigens present in cow's milk proteins in formula or human milk. In the last few years, an increasing number of cases have been diagnosed in exclusively breast-fed infants. We performed a retrospective study of 13 infants diagnosed with allergic colitis in our unit between January 1997 and January 2004. All the infants had been exclusively breast-fed. In all patients, initial symptoms were digestive (12 with mucus and bloody stools). Onset of symptoms occurred at 0-3 months in 77 %. Laboratory data of the allergic compound were negative. The main locations were the descending and sigmoid colon (75 %). Biopsy demonstrated acute inflammation, with neutrophil infiltration and an increase in eosinophils. In all patients, initial treatment consisted of exclusion of cow's milk proteins from the mother's diet. Ten of the 13 patients showed no improvement, requiring exclusive administration of protein-free hydrolyzate. In 3 infants, breastfeeding was maintained (breastfeeding without cow's milk proteins plus hydrolyzate). Diagnosis of eosinophilic colitis is based on exclusion of other causes of specific colitis and typical endoscopic and ultrastructural findings. Moreover, a satisfactory response to dietary treatment must be demonstrated. This diagnosis should be considered in breast-fed infants with rectal bleeding without involvement of general health status.

Competition policy and environmental protection, obstacles to competition in the waste sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alanen, J.; Marttinen, K.; Steiner, N.

2000-08-01

This study deals with the legal rules that affect the conditions of competition in the waste sector at both the EU level and national level in Finland. This study describes further, on a more general level, the relation between the EC's internal market rules and competition rules and the actions involving environmental protection taken by public authorities (EG, Member States) and enterprises. Hazardous waste is not studied in this report. The study comprises two parts: The first part deals with the free movement of waste, EG rules on the transportation of waste between Member States, and the specific EG rules and Finnish laws and regulations on waste. The aim of this study has been, on the one hand, to discuss cases where restrictions of competition in the waste sector are a direct consequence of EG rules on waste and, on the other hand, situations where EG rules or the large margin of manoeuvre left with the Member States create problems with a view to a well functioning competition at the national level. Part two deals with the application of EG rules and Finnish competition rules to companies' agreements on actions involving environmental protection and especially waste management, and to their operations in general and, in certain cases, also to the measures taken by Member States. The EG rules on waste do not pay enough attention to competition aspects. The different requirements set by Member States result in distortion of competition while the rules governing the shipments of waste are not effective enough. From the internal market point of view, more binding and detailed rules are motivated. Competition rules are fully applicable to enterprises' measures aimed at environmental protection that restrict competition. Environmental protection aspects in connection with a case-to-case consideration of interests is, however, gaining importance. Those restrictions of competition in the waste sector that EC has dealt with have without exception concerned the

The Relationship Between Exclusions from Gambling Arcades and Accessibility: Evidence from a Newly Introduced Exclusion Program in Hesse, Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Strohäker, Tanja; Becker, Tilman

2018-02-28

An exclusion system for gambling arcades has been introduced recently in the state of Hesse. The aim of this paper is to identify significant predictors that are useful in explaining the variation of exclusions between different Hessian communities. Next to socio-demographic factors, we control for three different accessibility variables in two models: the number of electronic gambling machines (EGMs) in model I, and the number of locations and density of gambling machines at a location in model II. We disentangle the association between EGMs and exclusions of model I into a location and a clustering effect. Considering the socio-demographic variables, the explanatory power of our cross-sectional models is rather low. Only the age group of the 30-39 years old and those who are not in a partnership (in model I) yield significant results. As self-exclusion systems reduce availability for the group of vulnerable players, this analysis provides evidence for the assumption that the two groups-pathological gamblers and vulnerable players-seem to have little overlap concerning sociodemographic characteristics. The accessibility variables, on the other hand, turn out to be significantly associated with the number of exclusions. All three of them are statistically significant and their association is positive. The results of model II show that the location effect is more pronounced then the clustering effect of EGMs, i.e. the effect of an additional single-licensed arcade on the number of exclusions is stronger than the increase in the number of license at one location.

Larval competition between Aphidius ervi and Praon volucre (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) in Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

Science.gov (United States)

Sidney, Lívia Alvarenga; Bueno, Vanda Helena Paes; Lins, Juracy Caldeira; Sampaio, Marcus Vinicius; Silva, Diego Bastos

2010-10-01

Interspecific competition between parasitoid larvae may influence the size, structure, and stability of the population, leading to a reduction in total parasitism and thus restricting the pest control. Aphidius ervi (Haliday) and Praon volucre (Haliday) are endoparasitoids that possess a wide host range and present considerable potential for the biological control of the aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas). The larval competition between A. ervi and P. volucre, and the possible intrinsic competitive superiority of one of the parasitoids in M. euphorbiae, have been studied. In single parasitism experiments, mated parasitoid females (n=10) were maintained individually in contact with M. euphorbiae hosts (n=30) inside petri dishes containing lettuce leaf discs and maintained in environmental chamber at 22 ± 1°C, 70 ± 10% RH, and 12-h photophase. The multiple parasitism experiments consisted of exposing single parasitized aphids (n=120) to the second parasitoid species. Two oviposition events were performed with a 4-h interval between them, namely the following: sequence A (oviposition by A. ervi, followed by P. volucre) and sequence B (oviposition by P. volucre, followed by A. ervi). Oviposition sequence A generated 24 A. ervi and 55 P. volucre adults, whereas oviposition sequence B generated 23 and 49 adults. P. volucre is an intrinsically superior competitor compared with A. ervi, and the use of the two species simultaneously may result in competitive exclusion and influence the stability of the parasitoid population.

Theoretical aspects of competitive advantage and competition

OpenAIRE

Hudakova, Ivana

2009-01-01

The concept of competitive advantage is well-known for many of us and a number of literary resources focused on entrepreneurship and functioning of economies deal with it, either directly or indirectly. The understanding of the term competitive advantage though sometimes varies. One can only perceive it when looking at it as a whole, a live organism that is constantly developing in a complex dynamic entrepreneurial environment, the individual parts of which do not function when separated from...

Knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among women ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among women with children aged between 9 ... PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH ... Conclusion: Most mothers knew the benefits and definitions of exclusive breastfeeding.

Ireland's Competitiveness Challenge 2011

OpenAIRE

2012-01-01

The NCC publishes two annual competitiveness reports. Ireland's Competitiveness Challenge focuses on the national competitiveness issues of most importance to the enterprise sector and identifies policy recommendations required to address these issues. The report focuses on pursuing policies to improve competitiveness, particularly those to reduce the cost base for enterprise, to enhance the performance of the entire education system, and to deliver meaningful public sector reform. Ireland's ...

Analyzing Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Strategically Managing Resource Allocations to Achieve Operational Competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Malek Nurul Aida

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In today’s dynamic business environment, a key challenge for all companies is to make adaptive adjustments to their manufacturing strategy. This study demonstrates the competitive priorities of manufacturing strategy in hydro-power case company to evaluate the level of sustainable competitive advantage and also to further analyze how business strategies are aligned with manufacturing strategies. This research is based on new holistic analytical evaluation of manufacturing strategy index, sense and respond, and sustainable competitive advantage models. These models help to describe, evaluate, and optimize resource allocation to meet the performance requirements in dynamic decision making. Furthermore, these models evaluate operational competitiveness for manufacturing strategies according to the multi-criteria priority. The results show that the adjustments of competitive priorities in manufacturing strategies by implementing the proposed holistic analytical models are helpful in strategically managing business operations. The discussion derives the most critical attributes in business operations while alignment of resource allocation with competitive priorities help to strategically focus those attributes. In conclusion, we argue that resource allocation and manufacturing strategies have become the most important capabilities in a business environment where companies focus to get a sustainable competitive advantage.

Barriers to Exclusive Breastfeeding among Urban Mothers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lazina Sharmin

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Breastfeeding is the unique source of nutrition and it plays an important role in the growth, development and survival of the infants. The initiation of breastfeeding within one hour and continuation of only breast milk up to six months ensure maximum benefits. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in Bangladesh is 56% which is low. We designed this study to find out the factors influencing the duration of breastfeeding in Bangladeshi population. Objective: To study the factors influencing noncompliance to exclusive breastfeeding. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in Dhaka Shishu Hospital during the period January to June 2011. It includes 125 infant (1–12 months-mother pairs randomly selected from the inpatient and outpatient departments of Dhaka Shishu Hospital. Mother-infant pairs were divided into two groups based on continuation of only breastfeeding up to six months. Outcomes were compared between two groups. Results: In this study exclusive breastfeeding was found in 27.2% and nonexclusive breastfeeding was in 72.8% cases. It was found that in most cases (40% termination of breastfeeding was at 3--4 months. The study revealed that insufficient milk production due to poor position and attachment, social factors such as influence of husband and other family members, joining to service etc act as barrier to exclusive breastfeeding. Mass media and advice from health professionals had a higher influence on lower rate of exclusive breastfeeding. Women who were multiparous, housewives were more likely to maintain optimal breastfeeding. Conclusion: The present study reveals some important factors contributing to low rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Bangladesh.

Competitive differentiation through brand extensions in the era of hyper competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudiu-Catalin Munteanu

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In the era of hyper competition, competitive differentiation has become increasingly important. Brand extensions are used by companies across various industries for competitive differentiation. But in the era of hyper competition, a successful differentiation strategy requires that a brand emphasizes on uniqueness rather than commoditization. In this article, we make a case for creating a meaningful differentiation strategy. We emphasize the role of brand extensions for competitive differentiation and highlight the main perils of using brand extensions as a primary differentiation strategy. By using qualitative research, we identify primary objectives for brand extensions in practice. This investigation uses in-depth interviews with 14 senior brand managers across various industries to highlight brand portfolio strategies in relation to the brand differentiation strategy. Findings reveal that for business at the base of the pyramid, in markets such as Romania, brand managers are using brand extensions to increase sales or to boost short-term revenue rather than to implement a coherent differentiation strategy. We conclude with multiple recommendations for improving brand extension usage as a strategic instrument for creating meaningful differentiation in the era of hyper competition.

Getting Competitive: Competitive Intelligence Is a Smart next Step for Information Pros

Science.gov (United States)

Correia, Cynthia Cheng

2006-01-01

Competitive Intelligence (CI) has become an attractive concept for Library and Information Science professionals, as information and research functions have become commoditized by end users, and financial, competitive, and performance pressures increase the need to demonstrate value. In the current competitive and cost-cutting environment,…

Exclusive vector meson production at HERA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szuba, Dorota

2013-01-01

The exclusive photoproduction of Υ has been studied with the ZEUS detector in ep collisions at HERA. The exponential slope, b, of the |t|-dependence of the cross section, where t is the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, has been measured. This constitutes the first measurement of the |t|-dependence of the γp→Υp cross section. The differential crosssections as a function of t at lower energies of γp centre-of-mass has been studied in exclusive diffractive photoproduction of J/ψ mesons with the H1 detector. The exclusive electroproduction of two pions has been measured by the ZEUS experiment. The two-pion invariant-mass distribution is interpreted in terms of the pion electromagnetic form factor, assuming that the studied mass range includes the contributions of the ρ, ρ′ and . ρ'' vector-meson states.

The Competitive Perception

OpenAIRE

Lima, João Tiago

2012-01-01

This paper aims to define what competitive perception is. Using Dufrenne’s phenomenological analysis of the art spectator’s experience, namely the concept of aesthetic perception, I will claim that it is useful to apply this phenomenological approach to the experience of watching sport events. I will argue that the concepts of uncertainty and auto teleology, being two main features in sport competition, are helpful to define competitive perception.

ANALYSIS OF COMPETITION INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. O. Egorova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzed and systematized the definition of "competition" proposed by domestic and foreign scholars in the field of strategic management, based on these discovered and refined essence of the concept of "competition". We consider the price and non-price competition. Examples are given of the methods of competition used in the practice of industrial activities. Substantiated that the forms and methods of competition must be constantly improved through the search for new competitive advantages.

FINANCIAL EXCLUSION OF THE RURAL POPULATION IN POLAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryszard Kata

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper attempts to assess the extent of fi nancial exclusion of the rural population in Poland. One of the most basic measures of fi nancial exclusion is percentage of adult residents lacking a bank account. This and other measures verifying the population’s use of fundamental banking services and the statistical data on development of banking infrastructure in the territorial context were then employed to conduct an assessment of the extent and causes of fi nancial exclusion with a particular emphasis on the rural areas. The fi ndings show that, like in many other countries, the extent of provision of fi nancial services among the rural population is more limited compared to the urban population. The fi nancial exclusion, has much deeper roots going beyond the geographical factors. The real causes of the fi nancial exclusion lie not only in access to banking services but also in their price, the population’s income, as well as being strongly aff ected by information and behaviour.

Exclusion and authorization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooper, J.R.

2003-01-01

'Everyone in the world is exposed to radiation from natural and artificial sources. Any realistic system of radiological protection must have a clearly defined scope if it is not to apply to the whole of mankind's activities'. This quote, from ICRP Publication 60 (ICRP, 1991), remains apposite. The main tool for defining scope is the concept of exclusion: situations, sources or exposures that are excluded from the system of radiological protection are, to all intents and purposes, ignored. Sources and exposures that are not excluded are within the scope of the system of protection and by inference within regulatory systems implementing ICRP recommendations. These sources and exposures should be subject to appropriate authorization by the relevant regulatory authority. In order to avoid excessive regulatory procedures, however, provisions should be made for granting an exemption in cases where it is clear that regulatory provisions are unnecessary. Exemption is a regulatory tool intended to facilitate efficient use of regulatory resources. Nevertheless, the regulatory act of granting exemptions is, in itself, a form of authorization and the material or situation so exempted remains within the regulatory system. This distinction between exclusion and exemption is an important one. Historically, the concept of exclusion has been applied to sources or exposures that are essentially unamenable to control because of their widespread nature. The usually quoted examples are cosmic radiation at ground level and 40 K in the body. Clearly, many exposures from natural sources could fall into this category. The challenges are firstly to establish a sound basis for deciding which should be excluded and which should be controlled, and secondly to see if the concept could or should be applied to artificial sources and exposures. These two questions are the subject of this paper. (author)

Competition in energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haynes, Warren

1995-01-01

With changes occurring within both the gas and electricity industries and both sectors undergoing simultaneous reforms at the State and national levels it is timely to look at some major aspects of the energy-reform processes in Australia and to attempt to offer some perspectives from the viewpoint of an industry user of energy. From an industry user's viewpoint there is quantifiable evidence that competition in the energy sector will deliver major economic benefits to industry and the nation. The reform process currently in train will increase Australia's international competitiveness. Commonwealth-State collaboration is useful on economic issues which require a national consistent approach. Many significant and complex arrangement apply to the gas and electricity sectors which add to the complexity of the respective reform processes. More competitive arrangements are therefore required more quickly at several stages of the gas-sector reform process, such as in the commercialization of government utilities, resolving the issue of third-party transmission pricing, and the removal of State governments' impediments to competitive trading. The Hilmer Report on National Competition Policy will help deal with some difficult structural and transitional issues, e.g. third-party access, competitive structures, regulatory regimes, and a consistent national approach.(author). 1 fig., 1 photo

10 CFR 781.52 - Exclusive and partially exclusive licenses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... subsidiaries and to affiliates within the corporate structure of which the licensee is a part, if any. However... on competition in the U.S.; (3) Projected market size; (4) The benefit to the U.S. Government, U.S... United States (including any Government agency), the States, and domestic municipal governments, unless...

29 CFR 793.20 - Exclusive engagement in exempt work.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Exclusive engagement in exempt work. 793.20 Section 793.20... LABOR STANDARDS ACT Workweek Application of Exemption § 793.20 Exclusive engagement in exempt work. An employee who engages exclusively in a workweek in work which is exempt under section 13(b)(9) is exempt...

Architectural Competition and BIM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Nils Lykke; Frandsen, Anne Kathrine; Øien, Turid Borgestrand

2015-01-01

on architecturalcompetitions, a series of interviews was conducted with building clients as well as architects, focusing on the impact of the above-mentioned changes within the building sector on architectural competitions as an institution. In the interviews, ICT and notleast BIM was a recurring theme that both parties saw...... as having a positive impact on competitions. But when looking closely into the answers, these revealed diverse understandings of how and why the impact of BIM on competitions could be said to be positive. The paper sheds light on the interaction between the actors (building clients, architects and client...... consultants) and the applied technologies (competition forms, ICT tools, directives) in architectural competitions in a theoretical actor-network perspective. The diverging understandings of the role of BIM are demonstrating one of many negotiations in progress in the network of architectural competitions...

Polyandrous females provide sons with more competitive sperm: Support for the sexy-sperm hypothesis in the rattlebox moth (Utetheisa ornatrix).

Science.gov (United States)

Egan, Andrea L; Hook, Kristin A; Reeve, H Kern; Iyengar, Vikram K

2016-01-01

Given the costs of multiple mating, why has female polyandry evolved? Utetheisa ornatrix moths are well suited for studying multiple mating in females because females are highly polyandrous over their life span, with each male mate transferring a substantial spermatophore with both genetic and nongenetic material. The accumulation of resources might explain the prevalence of polyandry in this species, but another, not mutually exclusive, possibility is that females mate multiply to increase the probability that their sons will inherit more-competitive sperm. This latter "sexy-sperm" hypothesis posits that female multiple mating and male sperm competitiveness coevolve via a Fisherian runaway process. We tested the sexy-sperm hypothesis by using competitive double matings to compare the sperm competition success of sons of polyandrous versus monandrous females. In accordance with sexy-sperm theory, we found that in 511 offspring across 17 families, the male whose polyandrous mother mated once with each of three different males sired significantly more of all total offspring (81%) than did the male whose monandrous mother was mated thrice to a single male. Interestingly, sons of polyandrous mothers had a significantly biased sex ratio of their brood toward sons, also in support of the hypothesis. © 2015 The Author(s). Evolution © 2015 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Fighting poverty and exclusion through social investment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kvist, Jon

The fight against poverty and social exclusion is at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. With more than 120 million people in the EU at risk of poverty or social exclusion, EU leaders have pledged to bring at least 20 million people out of poverty an...

Quality and Competition

OpenAIRE

Rajiv D. Banker; Inder Khosla; Kingshuk K. Sinha

1998-01-01

In recent years, the practitioner literature in operations management has seen a dramatic surge in articles on quality management. It reflects the increased emphasis on quality by U.S. firms, which has been attributed largely to increased competition faced by them. The question of how quality is influenced by competitive intensity, however, has not received much attention, either in the practitioner or the academic research literatures. The notion of competitive intensity itself has not been ...

Can Competition Keep the Restrooms Clean? Price, Quality and Spatial Competition

OpenAIRE

Pennerstorfer, Dieter

2017-01-01

This article investigates the influence of competition on price and product quality among Austrian camping sites, a market characterized by both horizontal (spatial) and vertical product differentiation. Theoretically, the effect of competition on quality is ambiguous and depends on the degree of cost substitutability between output and quality. Estimating a system of equations shows that intense competition has a positive impact on product quality and a negative effect on prices (conditional...

Competition for Assistance Agreements

Science.gov (United States)

It is EPA policy to promote competition in the award of assistance agreements to the maximum extent practicable.When assistance agreements are awarded competitively, it is EPA policy that the competitive process be fair and open & that no applicant receive

Exclusive channels in semi-inclusive production of pions and kaons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markus Diehl; Wolfgang Kugler; Andreas Schaefer; Christian Weiss

2005-01-01

We investigate the role of exclusive channels in semi-inclusive electroproduction of pions and kaons. Using the QCD factorization theorem for hard exclusive processes we evaluate the cross sections for exclusive pseudoscalar and vector meson production in terms of generalized parton distributions and meson distribution amplitudes. We investigate the uncertainties arising from the modeling of the nonperturbative input quantities. Combining these results with available experimental data, we compare the cross sections for exclusive channels to that obtained from quark fragmentation in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering. We find that rho0 production is the only exclusive channel with significant contributions to semi-inclusive pion production at large z and moderate Q2. The corresponding contribution to kaon production from the decay of exclusively produced phi and Kstar is rather small

Exclusive channels in semi-inclusive production of pions and kaons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markus Diehl; Wolfgang Kugler; Andreas Schaefer; Christian Weiss

2005-06-01

We investigate the role of exclusive channels in semi-inclusive electroproduction of pions and kaons. Using the QCD factorization theorem for hard exclusive processes we evaluate the cross sections for exclusive pseudoscalar and vector meson production in terms of generalized parton distributions and meson distribution amplitudes. We investigate the uncertainties arising from the modeling of the nonperturbative input quantities. Combining these results with available experimental data, we compare the cross sections for exclusive channels to that obtained from quark fragmentation in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering. We find that rho0 production is the only exclusive channel with significant contributions to semi-inclusive pion production at large z and moderate Q2. The corresponding contribution to kaon production from the decay of exclusively produced phi and Kstar is rather small.

29 CFR 780.317 - Man-day exclusion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Man-day exclusion. 780.317 Section 780.317 Labor...) Statutory Provisions § 780.317 Man-day exclusion. Section 3(e)(2) specifically excludes from the employer's man-day total (as defined in section 3(u)) employees who qualify for exemption under section 13(a)(6...

29 CFR 780.309 - Man-day exclusion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Man-day exclusion. 780.309 Section 780.309 Labor...) Statutory Provisions § 780.309 Man-day exclusion. Section 3(e)(1) specifically excludes from the employer's man-day total (as defined in section 3(u)) employees who qualify for exemption under section 13(a)(6...

Competitive strategies and models of business management in the Brazilian electric sector; Estrategias competitivas e modelos de gestao empresarial no setor eletrico brasileiro

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Figueiredo, Breno Pinto

1999-12-15

This study draws attention to the fact that most of the discussions and studies related to the restructuring of electricity industry in Brazil, almost exclusively address the technological and institutional aspects involved in the question, when competitive strategies and management models to be followed by power companies are essential to ensure the consolidation of new design of the institutional industry in the daily operation of business. The proposition is that the evaluation of competitive strategies and management models can be a working tool for the State, in addition to offer to the electric power companies administrators an initial map or check list for planning and operation of its business, in the institutional model that is being implemented for the Brazilian electric sector.

Exclusive vector meson production at HERA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szuba, Dorota [Hamburg University, Hamburg (Germany); Collaboration: H1 Collaboration; ZEUS Collaboration

2013-04-15

The exclusive photoproduction of {Upsilon} has been studied with the ZEUS detector in ep collisions at HERA. The exponential slope, b, of the |t|-dependence of the cross section, where t is the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, has been measured. This constitutes the first measurement of the |t|-dependence of the {gamma}p{yields}{Upsilon}p cross section. The differential crosssections as a function of t at lower energies of {gamma}p centre-of-mass has been studied in exclusive diffractive photoproduction of J/{psi} mesons with the H1 detector. The exclusive electroproduction of two pions has been measured by the ZEUS experiment. The two-pion invariant-mass distribution is interpreted in terms of the pion electromagnetic form factor, assuming that the studied mass range includes the contributions of the {rho}, {rho} Prime and . {rho}'' vector-meson states.

Can competition reduce quality?

OpenAIRE

Brekke, Kurt; Siciliani, Luigi; Straume, Odd Rune

2017-01-01

In a spatial competition setting there is usually a non-negative relationship between competition and quality. In this paper we offer a novel mechanism whereby competition leads to lower quality. This mechanism relies on two key assumptions, namely that the providers are motivated and risk-averse. We show that the negative relationship between competition and quality is robust to any given number of firms in the market and whether quality and price decisions are simultaneous or sequential. We...

Competition Policy in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Lee, Cassey

2004-01-01

Malaysia does not have a national competition law. Competition is regulated at the sectoral level in the country. Two economic sectors have legal provisions for competition law but these have been relatively ineffectively enforced. The benefits of Malaysia's industrial policy as well as the policy reforms in regulation and trade have been compromised by the lack of a formal institution to address competition related issues. Hence, the future priority and direction of regulatory reform is obvi...

Competitive strategy : Sorrin Puutarha

OpenAIRE

Haaristo, Emilia

2010-01-01

The thesis handles the fresh food product industry in Finland and especially one company operating in the industry and its competitive position. Sorrin Puutarha manufactures ready-to-use fresh cut salad bag, which is sold in the grocery stores. The objective of the thesis was to find competitive advantages of the case company. Once the competitive advantages were identified the purpose was to choose a fitting competitive strategy that would strengthen those advantages. The field study was con...

Exclusive processes in pp collisions in CMS

CERN Document Server

Da Silveira, Gustavo Gil

2013-01-01

We report the results on the searches of exclusive production of low- and high-mass pairs with the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector in proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV. The analyses comprise the central exclusive $\\gamma\\gamma$ production, the exclusive two-photon production of dileptons, $e^{+}e^{-}$ and $\\mu^{+}\\mu^{-}$, and the exclusive two-photon production of $W$ pairs in the asymmetric $e^{\\pm}\\mu^{\\mp}$ decay channel. No diphotons candidates are observed in data and an upper limit on the cross section is set to 1.18 pb with 95% confidence level for $E_{T}(\\gamma)>$ 5.5 GeV and $|\\eta(\\gamma)|$ 5.5 GeV and $|\\eta(e)|$ 11.5 GeV, $p_{\\textrm{T}}(\\mu)>$ 4 GeV and $|\\eta(\\mu)|$ 4 GeV, $|\\eta(\\mu)|$ 20 GeV. Moreover, the study of the tail of the dilepton transverse momentum distribution resulted in model-independent upper limits for the anomalous quartic gauge couplings, which are of the order of 10$^{-4}$.

Calculating exclusion limits for weakly interacting massive particle direct detection experiments without background subtraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, Anne M.

2002-01-01

Competitive limits on the weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) spin-independent scattering cross section are currently being produced by 76 Ge detectors originally designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay, such as the Heidelberg-Moscow and IGEX experiments. In the absence of background subtraction, limits on the WIMP interaction cross section are set by calculating the upper confidence limit on the theoretical event rate, given the observed event rate. The standard analysis technique involves calculating the 90% upper confidence limit on the number of events in each bin, and excluding any set of parameters (WIMP mass and cross section) which produces a theoretical event rate for any bin which exceeds the 90% upper confidence limit on the event rate for that bin. We show that, if there is more than one energy bin, this produces exclusion limits that are actually at a lower degree of confidence than 90%, and are hence erroneously tight. We formulate criteria which produce true 90% confidence exclusion limits in these circumstances, including calculating the individual bin confidence limit for which the overall probability that no bins exceed this confidence limit is 90% and calculating the 90% minimum confidence limit on the number of bins which exceed their individual bin 90% confidence limits. We then compare the limits on the WIMP cross section produced by these criteria with those found using the standard technique, using data from the Heidelberg-Moscow and IGEX experiments

Competitive societies are happy if the women are less competitive than the men

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van de Vliert, E.; Janssen, O.

2002-01-01

Societies are less happy to the extent that their members are more competitive. A 42-nation regression study, based on aggregated indicators of female competitiveness, male competitiveness, four components of happiness, and national development restricts this negative cultural link between overall

Síndromes mielodisplásticas: diagnóstico de exclusão Myelodysplastic syndromes: diagnosis by exclusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia M. M. Magalhães

2006-09-01

Full Text Available As síndromes mielodisplásticas são comuns nos indivíduos com idade superior a 60 anos e se apresentam laboratorialmente com macrocitose isolada, anemia, citopenias isoladas ou combinadas e alterações morfológicas na medula óssea. O diagnóstico depende da exclusão de causas não clonais e reversíveis. Especialmente nas fases mais precoces da doença, na ausência de excesso de blastos, sideroblastos em anel ou alteração citogenética clonal, o diagnóstico requer um protocolo de exclusão. A exposição recente a agentes tóxicos ou drogas citostáticas, a deficiência de vitamina B12 e ácido fólico e o uso recente de fatores de crescimento são considerados fatores de exclusão absolutos. O etilismo, a anemia da doença crônica, distúrbios metabólicos, hormonais, auto-imunes e infecções virais devem ser excluídos ou interpretados com cautela. Outras doenças da célula-tronco hematopoética devem ser consideradas, sobretudo na SMD hipocelular. Em alguns casos, um período mínimo de seis meses de seguimento é necessário.Myelodysplastic syndromes are common in elderly people. Laboratory presentation includes isolated macrocytosis, anemia, isolated or combined cytopenias and dysplastic bone marrow. Diagnosis depends on exclusion of non-clonal and reversible disorders. Especially in lowest grade of the disease, with no blast excess, no ringed sideroblasts, no clonal cytogenetic abnormalities the diagnosis requires an exclusion protocol. Recent exposure to toxin, cytotoxic drugs or growth factor therapy and vitamin B12 or folate deficiency are considered absolute exclusion factors precluding the definite diagnosis. Alcohol abuse, chronic inflammatory states, auto-immune disorders, metabolic dysfunctions, hormonal disorders and viral infections must all be ruled out or interpreted with caution. Some diseases of the pluripotential stem cell must also be considered especially in hypocellular MDS. Moreover, in some cases a 6-month

Environmental determinism, and not interspecific competition, drives morphological variability in Australasian warblers (Acanthizidae).

Science.gov (United States)

García-Navas, Vicente; Rodríguez-Rey, Marta; Marki, Petter Z; Christidis, Les

2018-04-01

Interspecific competition is thought to play a key role in determining the coexistence of closely related species within adaptive radiations. Competition for ecological resources can lead to different outcomes from character displacement to, ultimately, competitive exclusion. Accordingly, divergent natural selection should disfavor those species that are the most similar to their competitor in resource use, thereby increasing morphological disparity. Here, we examined ecomorphological variability within an Australo-Papuan bird radiation, the Acanthizidae, which include both allopatric and sympatric complexes. In addition, we investigated whether morphological similarities between species are related to environmental factors at fine scale (foraging niche) and/or large scale (climate). Contrary to that predicted by the competition hypothesis, we did not find a significant correlation between the morphological similarities found between species and their degree of range overlap. Comparative modeling based on both a priori and data-driven identification of selective regimes suggested that foraging niche is a poor predictor of morphological variability in acanthizids. By contrast, our results indicate that climatic conditions were an important factor in the formation of morphological variation. We found a significant negative correlation between species scores for PC1 (positively associated to tarsus length and tail length) and both temperature and precipitation, whereas PC2 (positively associated to bill length and wing length) correlated positively with precipitation. In addition, we found that species inhabiting the same region are closer to each other in morphospace than to species outside that region regardless of genus to which they belong or its foraging strategy. Our results indicate that the conservative body form of acanthizids is one that can work under a wide variety of environments (an all-purpose morphology), and the observed interspecific similarity is

Interpreting Sustainability through Co-Evolution: Evidence from Religious Accommodations in Rome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola M. A. Paniccia

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, concepts such as sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness have become fundamental for the development of tourist destinations, and thus, particularly, for the generation of value co-creation processes. To understand the role of tourism firms in these processes, more theoretical and empirical research is required. This paper addresses this need by examining the increasing role played by religious accommodations, adopting a co-evolutionary approach to sustainability and the resulting value co-creation processes. The study focuses on the dynamics of the relationship between this new hospitality model, territories, and tourists, through the analysis of six case studies localized in the historic centre of Rome (Italy. Findings show that religious accommodations can be considered as a new sustainability-oriented hospitality model that, by creating effective multi-level co-evolutionary adaptations with its territory and tourists, positively affects sustainable development as well as the generation of value co-creation processes. The paper contributes significantly both to sustainability literature and to the study of new hospitality models. Thus, theoretical and managerial implications emerge, together with suggestions for future research.

The State of Competition and the Competition Regime of Ethiopia ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

The socialist regime's economic policies are further compounding the problems that businesses face. ... This project seeks to investigate the barriers to competition, the potential gaps in Ethiopia's revised competition law (Trade Practices Proclamation), and the possible challenges that ... Bulletin de BRAS - Janvier 2018.

The Competitive Advantages of Retail Enterprises: the Factor and the Result of Competitive Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chorna Maryna V.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at systematization and development of a conceptual-categorical apparatus of the essence of competitive advantages. The approaches to their interpretation have been allocated. The essential characteristics and stages of the life cycle of competitive advantages are considered. As active stages it is suggested to consider the following: formation, implementation, and development. The basic properties of competitive advantages such as dual character have been substantiated and supplemented. Both the factor and the effective nature of competitive advantages are characterized. On the basis of the mentioned approaches together with the identified features, a definition of the concept of «competitive advantages» as economic category has been proposed. Its use as a base along with taking into consideration the functional specificity of trade enterprises has allowed: clarifying the essence of competitive advantages of retail enterprises; suggesting their definition as a factor and as a result of competitive relations. The identification of dual character will increase the possibilities to assess competitive advantages. Prospects for further researches in this direction are connected with allocating of peculiarities and kinds of competitive advantages of retail trade enterprises with the purpose of increasing the of validity of decisions on their formation, implementation, and development.

REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF COMPETITION POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liviana Andreea Niminet

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Competition policy starts by shaping a legislative framework. This is aimed to establish boundaries for conducting competition and also sets limits of licit and illicit demarcation, for competitive and anticompetitive practices. The Romanian Competition Law has a divalent approach and it aims to provide specific behavioral conditions in order to stimulate and protect free-market competition, with the ultimate goal of developing a balanced, efficient and competitive economy. Our country’s Competition policy is based on punishing the behavior. There are three such types of anti-competitive behavior, namely: agreements between undertakings, abuse of dominant position and mergers and other concentrations between undertakings. Recent Practice proved that this “enforcement-conduct-punishment” structure is not necessary the best way to address competition and it is high time for authorities to switch both regulation and enforcement of competition from the “classical perspective” towards concepts like “competition advocacy” and “soft power” and give competition policy a new, reshaped face.

Stigma and Exclusion in Cross-Cultural Contexts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annie Elizabeth Pohlman

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Discriminatory and marginalising discourses affect the cultural and social realities of people in all human societies. Across time and place, these discourses manifest in numerous tangible and intangible ways, creating stigma and forms of exclusion by means particular to their cultural, historical, political and social contexts. These discourses also manifest in varying degrees of harm; from verbal abuse and behavioural forms of exclusion, to physical abuse and neglect, and exclusionary practices at institutional, legal and regulatory levels. Such forms of stigma cause direct physical and mental harm and other forms of persecution. The papers in this special issue arise from a one-day symposium held at the University of Queensland in February 2013. The symposium, ‘Stigma and Exclusion in Cross-Cultural Contexts’, brought together researchers and community-based practitioners from across Australia and overseas to explore marginalization, discriminatory discourses and stigma in a wide range of historical and cross-cultural settings. By critically engaging with experiences of social, political and cultural exclusion and marginalisation in different contexts, we aimed to elucidate how discourses of stigma are created, contested and negotiated in cross-cultural settings. We also aimed to explore stigmatisation in its lived realities: as discourses of exclusion; as the fleshy reality of discrimination in social worlds; as part of the life narratives of individuals and groups; and as discourses of agency and counter-discourses in responding to stigma.

Negative adsorption due to electrostatic exclusion of micelles.

Science.gov (United States)

Somasundaran, P; Ananthapadmanabhan, K P; Deo, Puspendu

2005-10-15

Interactions of surfactants with solid substrates are important in the controlling of processes such as flotation, coating, flocculation and sedimentation. These interactions usually lead to adsorption on solids, but can also result in an exclusion of the reagents with dire consequences. In this work electrostatic exclusion of negatively charged dodecylbenzene sulfonate micelles from quartz/water, Bio-Sil/water and alumina/water interfaces has been investigated as a function of pH and ionic strength. Measurable negative adsorption of these surfactants from similarly charged solid/liquid interface was observed in the micellar region. In the case of porous samples with large surface area, comparison of pore size with the micelle size is necessary to avoid any erroneous conclusions regarding the role of electrostatic exclusion in a given system. A theoretical model for the electrostatic exclusion of micelles is developed and used to calculate the adsorption of negatively charged dodecylbenzene sulfonate on negatively charged quartz (pH 7), silica (Bio-Sil A, pH 3) and alumina (pH 11) in the micellar concentration region. The micellar exclusion values calculated using the model are in excellent agreement with the experimental results.

PRICES IN COMPETITIVE SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VADUVA MARIA

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Regularities of competitive market determine rules for determining prices and their dynamics. Orientation prices to competition (competitive pricing is the strategy most frequently used in countries with market economies and especially for exports. Moreover, in an economy dominated by market competition it cannot be ignored without certain risks the prices resulting from competition between products bidders. Companies that use this type of strategy seek to maintain a level of prices linked to that charged by other competitors (or exporting producers generally no longer covering production costs or demand, relying on the assumption that the average market price is a reasonable basis of costs. But the way how practical guidance and reporting to the competition in every price strategy, will be determined by the company's market position, by the available power and enjoyed prestige, objectives and prospects of its market share etc. according to these elements, there may be several versions of pricing strategies oriented to competitors.

Changes in Subjective Sleep Quality Before a Competition and Their Relation to Competitive Anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrlenspiel, Felix; Erlacher, Daniel; Ziegler, Matthias

2016-12-09

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of competitions on subjective sleep quality. Previous studies have been inconclusive and lack differentiated and standardized measurements of subjective sleep quality. Furthermore the temporal relation between precompetitive anxiety and sleep quality was investigated. Anxiety and nervousness associated with competitions are considered to cause sleep impairments. A convenience sample of N = 79 elite male athletes from various sports participated. In a time-to-event paradigm, sleep quality and competitive anxiety were assessed via standardized self-report measurements 4 days before a competition and on the day of the competition. Univariate analyses were used to examine differences between time points. To examine cross-lagged effects between anxiety and sleep quality a latent change score model (LCSM) was specified that tested an effect of anxiety on changes in sleep quality. Evaluations of nocturnal sleep deteriorated significantly from 4 days before competition to the day of competition, but there were no differences regarding perceptions of the restorative value of sleep. LCSM revealed that athletes who reported more intense worry symptoms 4 days before competition also reported greater deterioration in evaluations of nocturnal sleep. The findings support earlier reports of impaired subjective sleep quality before competitions. Precompetitive sleep impairments appear also to be preceded by cognitive anxiety. Whereas interventions should thus address worry-cognitions associated with competition and sleep, research should address the practical importance of these perceptions of sleep impairments.

European-American Children's and Adolescents' Evaluations of Interracial Exclusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Killen, M; Kelly, M; Richardson, C; Crystal, D; Ruck, M

2010-05-01

No research, to date, has investigated the role of ethnic school composition (and intergroup contact) on European-American youth's use of stereotypes to explain interracial discomfort in the context of peer exclusion. In this study European-American 4 th , 7 th and 10 th grade students ( N = 414), attending low and high ethnically diverse public schools (with low and high self-reports of cross-race/ethnic friendships, respectively) evaluated three contexts of interracial exclusion (at lunch time, at a school dance, and at a sleepover). In addition to age and context effects, participants enrolled in high diversity schools were less likely to use stereotypes to explain racial discomfort, more likely to view racial exclusion as wrong, and more likely to estimate that racial exclusion occurs, than were participants enrolled in low diversity schools. These findings have implications for the role of social experience on racial attitudes and judgments about exclusion.

Peer Exclusion During the Pubertal Transition: The Role of Social Competence.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Rona; Halawah, Amira; Trinh, Sarah L

2018-01-01

For some youth, early puberty is accompanied by peer exclusion. Yet early developers may experience less peer exclusion if they have social competence, which would bolster their ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with their peers. Accordingly, the present study tests whether pubertal timing and tempo predicts decrements in children's social competence and whether decrements in social competence account for associations between puberty (timing and tempo) and peer exclusion over time. Longitudinal data were drawn from 1364 families (48% female; 76% White; M = 9.32 years, SD = .48, at Wave 3) who participated in Waves 3-5 (i.e., grades 4-6) of Phase III of the NICHD-SECCYD. The results from latent growth curve models indicated that earlier pubertal timing and more rapid pubertal tempo among girls were associated with high initial levels of peer exclusion. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed that early developers' susceptibility to peer exclusion was associated with their initial level of social competence. In boys, pubertal timing and tempo were not directly associated with peer exclusion; instead, indirect effects of pubertal timing on peer exclusion (intercept, slope) occurred through initial levels of social competence. On average, early developers' who had low levels of social competence also had high initial levels of peer exclusion but experienced decrements in peer exclusion over time. The association between the intercepts for puberty and peer exclusion and the slopes for social competence and peer exclusion were stronger for boys than girls. Overall, our findings suggest that early developers' susceptibility to and experiences of peer exclusion are associated with their development of social competence.

Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2014

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2014, which is produced under the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, outlines the National Competitiveness Council’s view of the main competitiveness issues confronting the business sector in Ireland over the medium term, and sets out a series of policy responses required to address these challenges. Building on their earlier benchmarking of Irish competitiveness, the Council focus on six major themes in the 2014 report: addressing cost competitiveness; broadening ...

Corporate competitiveness and sustainability risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Udo Braendle

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at providing a theoretical analysis of the existing research on corporate competition and sustainability risks that occur when companies aspire to reach maximum competitive advantages and gain competitive benefits compared to their rivals. Competitiveness has been described as a multidimensional, theoretical and relative concept linked with the market mechanism. The concept of competitiveness may refer to different levels of aggregation: national, regional, industrial and individual companies. This paper contributes to the theoretical research on corporate competitiveness by the analysis of old and new definitions of this category. It also notes that the sustainability risks connected to competition can be divided into several groups where the authors highlight environmental, legal, financial risks, behaviour risks and state-related risks as the most crucial ones. For companies to be fit for the competitive challenge, the paper identifies main characteristics of such risks and gives policy guidance for their avoidance

Gains and losses of exclusivity in grocery retailing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gielens, K.J.P.; Gijsbrechts, E.; Dekimpe, M.G.

Conventional wisdom dictates that convenience goods should be distributed as intensively as possible. Still, exclusivity arrangements are rapidly gaining way in grocery retailing. We discuss the possible performance outcomes of exclusivity deals, and propose a unified framework (i) to quantify the

A Neural Network Model for the Correlation between Sprinters’ Pre-competition Anxiety and Competition Performance

OpenAIRE

Jiwei Yao; Yongliang Yang; Xiang Xie; Wenxin Xu; Xiushi Ding

2013-01-01

Sprint is an important sporting event in track and field competition, in which, athletes’ pre-competition anxiety will greatly affect them in bringing into play their competence, which will then influence their final performance in the competition. For this reason, to study the correlation between sprinters’ pre-competition anxiety and their competition performance is of great significance in predicting athletes’ performance under difference anxiety state. After having analyzed domestic and f...

COMPETITION: CLASSICAL VERSUS NEOCLASSICAL VIEW

OpenAIRE

Mihaela Cornelia Sandu

2013-01-01

Competition is an important element from economical theory. Over time it has experienced several definitions and classifications much of them being contradictory. In this paper I will make a parallel between classical and neoclassical point of view according to competition. Keywords. Competition; neoclassical theory; classical theory; monopolistic; perfect competition.

The effects of nurse staffing on hospital financial performance: competitive versus less competitive markets.

Science.gov (United States)

Everhart, Damian; Neff, Donna; Al-Amin, Mona; Nogle, June; Weech-Maldonado, Robert

2013-01-01

Hospitals facing financial uncertainty have sought to reduce nurse staffing as a way to increase profitability. However, nurse staffing has been found to be important in terms of quality of patient care and nursing-related outcomes. Nurse staffing can provide a competitive advantage to hospitals and as a result of better financial performance, particularly in more competitive markets. In this study, we build on the Resource-Based View of the Firm to determine the effect of nurse staffing on total profit margin in more competitive and less competitive hospital markets in Florida. By combining a Florida statewide nursing survey with the American Hospital Association Annual Survey and the Area Resource File, three separate multivariate linear regression models were conducted to determine the effect of nurse staffing on financial performance while accounting for market competitiveness. The analysis was limited to acute care hospitals. Nurse staffing levels had a positive association with financial performance (β = 3.3, p = .02) in competitive hospital markets, but no significant association was found in less competitive hospital markets. Hospitals in more competitive hospital markets should reconsider reducing nursing staff, as these cost-cutting measures may be inefficient and negatively affect financial performance.

Barriers to postnatal care and exclusive breastfeeding among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Conclusion: Poor knowledge and inaccessibility to health facilities were the main obstacles to postnatal care while the practice of exclusive breastfeeding was limited by the stress and mothers refusal. Keywords: Exclusive breastfeeding, postnatal care, southeastern Nigeria, urban women. Nigerian Medical Journal | Vol.

Children's judgements and emotions about social exclusion based on weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Christine; Malti, Tina

2014-09-01

This study examined children's judgements and emotions associated with weight-based social exclusion using an ethnically diverse sample of one hundred and seventeen 9- and 13-year-old children. Children were interviewed about three scenarios depicting weight-based exclusion in athletic, academic, and social contexts. Children's judgements of exclusion, emotions attributed to the excluder and excluded targets, and justifications for judgements and emotions were examined. Overall, children judged weight-based exclusion to be wrong for moral reasons. However, they viewed weight-based exclusion in athletic contexts as less wrong compared with academic contexts, and they used more social-conventional reasoning to justify judgements and emotions attributed to excluders in athletic contexts compared with academic and social contexts. Children also expected excluded targets to feel negative emotions, whereas a range of positive and negative emotions was attributed to excluders. In addition, older children were more accepting of weight-based exclusion in athletic contexts than in academic and social contexts. We discuss the results in relation to the development of children's understanding of, and emotions associated with, exclusion based on weight. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

The new competitive intelligence agents: "Programming" competitive intelligence ethics into corporate cultures

OpenAIRE

Betsy Van der Veer Martens; Emilie Steele Giustozzi

2011-01-01

This article examines some of the ethical issues involved in competitive intelligence activities on the Internet. We discuss the importance of an ethical framework for the performance of competitive intelligence, especially the Code of Ethics of SCIP (the leading professional association for strategic and competitive professionals), in the context of today's networked global environment. The virtual borderlines separating national economic and military territories online are becoming increasi...

Problems of Chernobyl exclusion zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The collection comprises the results of researches and design activity in the ChNPP exclusion zone with the aim to develop technology, equipment and instruments for RAW management and accident clean-up, studying of the composition and structure of the activity solid bearers in the soil of the exclusion zone and transformation of the radionuclides in the nearest zone of ChNPP. Much attention is paid to medical and biological problems of the accident influence on the flora, fauna and people's health, labour conditions and incidence of the people involved. The collection comprises the information for scientists, experts, postgraduates and students in gaged in ecology, radioecology, nuclear engineering, radiology, radiochemistry and radiobiology

Testing the exclusivity effect in location memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Daniel P A; Dunn, Andrew K; Baguley, Thom

2013-01-01

There is growing literature exploring the possibility of parallel retrieval of location memories, although this literature focuses primarily on the speed of retrieval with little attention to the accuracy of location memory recall. Baguley, Lansdale, Lines, and Parkin (2006) found that when a person has two or more memories for an object's location, their recall accuracy suggests that only one representation can be retrieved at a time (exclusivity). This finding is counterintuitive given evidence of non-exclusive recall in the wider memory literature. The current experiment explored the exclusivity effect further and aimed to promote an alternative outcome (i.e., independence or superadditivity) by encouraging the participants to combine multiple representations of space at encoding or retrieval. This was encouraged by using anchor (points of reference) labels that could be combined to form a single strongly associated combination. It was hypothesised that the ability to combine the anchor labels would allow the two representations to be retrieved concurrently, generating higher levels of recall accuracy. The results demonstrate further support for the exclusivity hypothesis, showing no significant improvement in recall accuracy when there are multiple representations of a target object's location as compared to a single representation.

The Analysis of Competitive Strategy and Suggestions for Didi under the Background of the New Car-hailing Regulation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tingting; Zhao, Lei

2017-10-01

The emergence of car-hailing service satisfies the need of public travel in Internet era. Didi—the representative of car-hailing service, provides users with cost-effective service and great travel experience and quickly became the leader in the field of mobile travel depending on its price advantage, market segmentation, fast respond and some other competitive strategies. However, the promulgation of the new car-hailing regulation brings many challenges to Didi. After the new regulation, it is hard for Didi to gap away significantly from its competitors in scale and price. Thus the differentiated service is the competitive focus for all platforms. So there is an urgent need for Didi to do something to make difference, such as improving the interface design of the platform and the process of order allocation, establishing exclusive ‘station’, increasing the interaction between drivers and passengers. By doing so, Didi can reduce the information asymmetry and increase the user engagement and loyalty with high quality service.

Rationality alters the rank between peer punishment and social exclusion

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, Xiukai; Wu, Bin; Wang, Long

2018-02-01

Peer punishment and social exclusion are two ways to punish free-riders. Previous work usually focuses on how their presence, either peer punishment or social exclusion, shapes the evolution of cooperation. Little attention has been given to which of these two strategies is favored by natural selection when they are both present. Here we investigate how rationality alters the ranking of these two strategies. Under weak rationality, for compulsory public goods games, peer punishment has an evolutionary advantage over social exclusion if the efficiency of punishment or the cost of exclusion is high. Furthermore, this rank is preserved for voluntary public goods games where loners are involved. Under strong rationality, however, peer punishment cannot prevail over social exclusion for both compulsory and voluntary public goods games. This indicates that rationality greatly alters the rank between peer punishment and social exclusion. Moreover, we find that this ranking is sensitive to the rationality. Our work thus gives an insight into how different types of punishment evolve.

The role of above-ground competition and nitrogen vs. phosphorus enrichment in seedling survival of common European plant species of semi-natural grasslands.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias Ceulemans

Full Text Available Anthropogenic activities have severely altered fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus in ecosystems worldwide. In grasslands, subsequent negative effects are commonly attributed to competitive exclusion of plant species following increased above-ground biomass production. However, some studies have shown that this does not fully account for nutrient enrichment effects, questioning whether lowering competition by reducing grassland productivity through mowing or herbivory can mitigate the environmental impact of nutrient pollution. Furthermore, few studies so far discriminate between nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. We performed a full factorial experiment in greenhouse mesocosms combining nitrogen and phosphorus addition with two clipping regimes designed to relax above-ground competition. Next, we studied the survival and growth of seedlings of eight common European grassland species and found that five out of eight species showed higher survival under the clipping regime with the lowest above-ground competition. Phosphorus addition negatively affected seven plant species and nitrogen addition negatively affected four plant species. Importantly, the negative effects of nutrient addition and higher above-ground competition were independent of each other for all but one species. Our results suggest that at any given level of soil nutrients, relaxation of above-ground competition allows for higher seedling survival in grasslands. At the same time, even at low levels of above-ground competition, nutrient enrichment negatively affects survival as compared to nutrient-poor conditions. Therefore, although maintaining low above-ground competition appears essential for species' recruitment, for instance through mowing or herbivory, these management efforts are likely to be insufficient and we conclude that environmental policies aimed to reduce both excess nitrogen and particularly phosphorus inputs are also necessary.

Social exclusion impairs distractor suppression but not target enhancement in selective attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Mengsi; Li, Zhiai; Diao, Liuting; Fan, Lingxia; Zhang, Lijie; Yuan, Shuge; Yang, Dong

2017-11-01

Social exclusion has been thought to weaken one's ability to exert inhibitory control. Existing studies have primarily focused on the relationship between exclusion and behavioral inhibition, and have reported that exclusion impairs behavioral inhibition. However, whether exclusion also affects selective attention, another important aspect of inhibitory control, remains unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore whether social exclusion impairs selective attention, and to specifically examine its effect on two hypothesized mechanisms of selective attention: target enhancement and distractor suppression. The Cyberball game was used to manipulate social exclusion. Participants then performed a visual search task while event-related potentials were recorded. In the visual search task, target and salient distractor were either both presented laterally or one was presented on the vertical midline and the other laterally. Results showed that social exclusion differentially affected target and distractor processing. While exclusion impaired distractor suppression, reflected as smaller distractor-positivity (Pd) amplitudes for the exclusion group compared to the inclusion group, it did not affect target enhancement, reflected as similar target-negativity (Nt) amplitudes for both the exclusion and inclusion groups. Together, these results extend our understanding of the relationship between exclusion and inhibitory control, and suggest that social exclusion affects selective attention in a more complex manner than previously thought. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

''Follow that quark!'' (and other exclusive stories)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carroll, A.S.

1987-01-01

Quarks are considered to be the basic constituents of matter. In a series of recent experiments, Carroll studied exclusive reactions as a means of determining the interactions between quarks. Quantum Chromo-dynamics (QCD) is the modern theory of the interaction of quarks. This theory explains how quarks are held together via the strong interaction in particles known as hadrons. Hadrons consisting of three quarks are called baryons. Hadrons made up of a quark and an antiquark are called mesons. In his lecture, Carroll describes what happens when two hadrons collide and scatter to large angles. The violence of the collision causes the gluons that bind the quarks in a particular hadron to temporarily lose their grip on particular quarks. Quarks scramble toward renewed unity with other quarks, and they undergo rearrangement, which generally results in additional new particles. A two-body exclusive reaction has occurred when the same number of particles exist before and after the collisions. At large angles these exclusive reactions are very rare. The labels on the quarks known as flavor enable the experimenter to follow the history of individual quarks in detail during these exclusive reactions. Carroll describes the equipment used in the experiment to measure short distance, hard collisions at large angles. The collisions he discusses occur when a known beam of mesons or protons collide with a stationary proton target. Finally, Carroll summarizes what the experiments have shown from the study of exclusive reactions and what light some of their results shed on the theory of QCD

Social Exclusion in Childhood: A Developmental Intergroup Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Killen, Melanie; Mulvey, Kelly Lynn; Hitti, Aline

2013-01-01

"Interpersonal" rejection and "intergroup" exclusion in childhood reflect different, but complementary, aspects of child development. Interpersonal rejection focuses on individual differences in personality traits, such as wariness and being fearful, to explain bully-victim relationships. In contrast, intergroup exclusion focuses on how in-group…

The Pauli Exclusion Principle

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

his exclusion principle, the quantum theory was a mess. Moreover, it could ... This is a function of all the coordinates and 'internal variables' such as spin, of all the ... must remain basically the same (ie change by a phase factor at most) if we ...

Social exclusion of children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Annette Roest; Anne Marike Lokhorst; Cok Vrooman

2010-01-01

Original title: Sociale uitsluiting bij kinderen. Combating social exclusion of children is a subject that has received growing attention in Dutch government policy in recent years. To date, however, no analysis has been performed to ascertain the extent and origins of this phenomenon. This

Gender and Competition in Adolescence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreber, Anna; Essen, Emma von; Ranehill, Eva

2013-01-01

We look at gender differences among adolescents in Sweden in preferences for competition, altruism and risk. For competitiveness, we explore two different tasks that differ in associated stereotypes. We find no gender difference in competitiveness when comparing performance under competition...... to that without competition. We further find that boys and girls are equally likely to self-select into competition in a verbal task, but that boys are significantly more likely to choose to compete in a mathematical task. This gender gap diminishes and becomes nonsignificant when we control for actual...... performance, beliefs about relative performance, and risk preferences, or for beliefs only. Girls are also more altruistic and less risk taking than boys....

The exclusion problem in seasonally forced epidemiological systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenman, J V; Adams, B

2015-02-21

The pathogen exclusion problem is the problem of finding control measures that will exclude a pathogen from an ecological system or, if the system is already disease-free, maintain it in that state. To solve this problem we work within a holistic control theory framework which is consistent with conventional theory for simple systems (where there is no external forcing and constant controls) and seamlessly generalises to complex systems that are subject to multiple component seasonal forcing and targeted variable controls. We develop, customise and integrate a range of numerical and algebraic procedures that provide a coherent methodology powerful enough to solve the exclusion problem in the general case. An important aspect of our solution procedure is its two-stage structure which reveals the epidemiological consequences of the controls used for exclusion. This information augments technical and economic considerations in the design of an acceptable exclusion strategy. Our methodology is used in two examples to show how time-varying controls can exploit the interference and reinforcement created by the external and internal lag structure and encourage the system to 'take over' some of the exclusion effort. On-off control switching, resonant amplification, optimality and controllability are important issues that emerge in the discussion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in the healthy newborn.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazo-Tomé, Pedro Luis Del; Suárez-Rodríguez, Marta

2018-01-01

The best nourishment for infants during the first 6 months of life is exclusive breastfeeding. It is recommended along with other food to complement the diet until the child is 2 years old, as long as the mother and the child are willing to continue with it. The objectives of this study were to determine he exclusive breastfeeding rate in full term newborns at hospital discharge and 15 days later and to analyze the factors that positively affect the exclusive breastfeeding. A prospective study was conducted in which a sample of postpartum women with full term newborns was recruited during hospital admission. Different variables were compiled and two interviews were made to determine the kind of feeding they were giving their children and if it was maintained at 15 days of birth. Exclusive breastfeeding rate at hospital discharge is much lower than recommended. It significantly decreases at 15 days of birth, increasing artificial feeding. It seems that having a vaginal birth, no complications giving birth, providing early breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact in the delivery room are predisposing factors necessary to establish a good breastfeeding at hospital discharge. Despite the efforts of professionals, the percentage of newborns with exclusive breastfeeding at birth is not enough for the current recommendations. Copyright: © 2018 Permanyer.

Is healthy competition healthy? New evidence of the impact of hospital competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Gift, Thomas L; Arnould, Richard; DeBrock, Larry

2002-01-01

Competition among hospitals is commonly regarded as inefficient due to the medical arms race phenomenon, but most evidence for this hypothesis predates the Medicare prospective payment system and preferred provider legislation. Recent studies indicate hospital competition reduces costs and prices, but nearly all such research has focused on California. We add to the body of literature that analyzes the effects of competition in hospital markets. Using data from the state of Washington, we show that hospitals assume more risk in competitive markets by being more likely to accept prospective payment arrangements with insurers. If the arrangement is retrospective, the hospital is more likely to offer a discount as the number of competing hospitals increases. Both findings indicate that competitive forces operate the same in hospital markets as in most others: as the number of competitors increases, prices decrease and market power shifts from the suppliers to purchasers. The medical arms race hypothesis that favors more concentrated hospital markets no longer appears to be valid.

Competition between health maintenance organizations and nonintegrated health insurance companies in health insurance markets.

Science.gov (United States)

Baranes, Edmond; Bardey, David

2015-12-01

This article examines a model of competition between two types of health insurer: Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and nonintegrated insurers. HMOs vertically integrate health care providers and pay them at a competitive price, while nonintegrated health insurers work as indemnity plans and pay the health care providers freely chosen by policyholders at a wholesale price. Such difference is referred to as an input price effect which, at first glance, favors HMOs. Moreover, we assume that policyholders place a positive value on the provider diversity supplied by their health insurance plan and that this value increases with the probability of disease. Due to the restricted choice of health care providers in HMOs a risk segmentation occurs: policyholders who choose nonintegrated health insurers are characterized by higher risk, which also tends to favor HMOs. Our equilibrium analysis reveals that the equilibrium allocation only depends on the number of HMOs in the case of exclusivity contracts between HMOs and providers. Surprisingly, our model shows that the interplay between risk segmentation and input price effects may generate ambiguous results. More precisely, we reveal that vertical integration in health insurance markets may decrease health insurers' premiums.

The neural correlates of dealing with social exclusion in childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Meulen, Mara; Steinbeis, Nikolaus; Achterberg, Michelle; Bilo, Elisabeth; van den Bulk, Bianca G; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H; Crone, Eveline A

2017-08-01

Observing social exclusion can be a distressing experience for children that can be followed by concerns for self-inclusion (self-concerns), as well as prosocial behavior to help others in distress (other-concerns). Indeed, behavioral studies have shown that observed social exclusion elicits prosocial compensating behavior in children, but motivations for the compensation of social exclusion are not well understood. To distinguish between self-concerns and other-concerns when observing social exclusion in childhood, participants (aged 7-10) played a four-player Prosocial Cyberball Game in which they could toss a ball to three other players. When one player was excluded by the two other players, the participant could compensate for this exclusion by tossing the ball more often to the excluded player. Using a three-sample replication (N = 18, N = 27, and N = 26) and meta-analysis design, we demonstrated consistent prosocial compensating behavior in children in response to observing social exclusion. On a neural level, we found activity in reward and salience related areas (striatum and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)) when participants experienced inclusion, and activity in social perception related areas (orbitofrontal cortex) when participants experienced exclusion. In contrast, no condition specific neural effects were observed for prosocial compensating behavior. These findings suggest that in childhood observed social exclusion is associated with stronger neural activity for self-concern. This study aims to overcome some of the issues of replicability in developmental psychology and neuroscience by using a replication and meta-analysis design, showing consistent prosocial compensating behavior to the excluded player, and replicable neural correlates of experiencing exclusion and inclusion during middle childhood. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Current and future competitiveness of bioenergy - Conceptions about competitiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ling, E.; Lundgren, K.; Maartensson, Kjell

1998-01-01

It is important to visualize the conceptions that guide the behaviour of the actors within the energy system to be able to, in an efficient manner, increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. A major issue is to elucidate explicit and implicit presumptions within judgements on the competitiveness of bioenergy. This study focuses on how conceptions of bioenergy in the form of patterns of thinking, influence whether bioenergy can become competitive. The aim of the study is to develop a framework that will enable an increased understanding of the competitiveness of bioenergy today and in the future. The conceptions that the actors of the energy system uphold are studied and analysed. The conceptions of the actors are seen as key factors for the understanding of the function of the energy system and accordingly also for the understanding of the competitiveness of bioenergy. The over-all method perspective in the study is an actor approach. The actors' conceptions have been identified from interviews with 30 significant actors within the energy system. The material from the interviews has been synthesised into nine ideal types of actors. These nine 'model actors' are seen as representing the whole material and form the basis for the further analysis of the competitiveness of bioenergy as depending on patterns of thinking called logics. Three idealized logics are developed. The three logics developed in the study are production logic, market logic and socio-economic logic. (Upholders of the logics rank energy sources after production cost, profitability, and socio-economic legitimacy, respectively.) The logics co-exist within the different parts of the energy system. A single person can even uphold more than one logic. The three logics have however different weight in different organisations and in different parts of the energy system. Finally, the study proposes an enlarged description of the competitiveness of bioenergy in three dimensions: price

The Effects of Nurse Staffing on Hospital Financial Performance: Competitive Versus Less Competitive Markets

Science.gov (United States)

Everhart, Damian; Neff, Donna; Al-Amin, Mona; Nogle, June; Weech-Maldonado, Robert

2013-01-01

Background Hospitals facing financial uncertainty have sought to reduce nurse staffing as a way to increase profitability. However, nurse staffing has been found to be important in terms of quality of patient care and nursing related outcomes. Nurse staffing can provide a competitive advantage to hospitals and as a result better financial performance, particularly in more competitive markets Purpose In this study we build on the Resource-Based View of the Firm to determine the effect of nurse staffing on total profit margin in more competitive and less competitive hospital markets in Florida. Methodology/Approach By combining a Florida statewide nursing survey with the American Hospital Association Annual Survey and the Area Resource File, three separate multivariate linear regression models were conducted to determine the effect of nurse staffing on financial performance while accounting for market competitiveness. The analysis was limited to acute care hospitals. Findings Nurse staffing levels had a positive association with financial performance (β=3.3; p=0.02) in competitive hospital markets, but no significant association was found in less competitive hospital markets. Practice Implications Hospitals in more competitive hospital markets should reconsider reducing nursing staff, as these cost cutting measures may be inefficient and negatively affect financial performance. PMID:22543824

International arbitration and its exclusion from the Brussels regime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamed Alavi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The Brussels regime, which regulates the matters of transnational litigation excludes arbitration from its scope. Upon formation of the Brussels regime the existing instruments concerning arbitration - the United Nations Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and the 1961 European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration - were believed to be sufficient. The original Brussels Convention 1968 on recognition and enforcement of judgments delivered in the courts of the EU Member States expressly provided for the exclusion of arbitration. The following Brussels I Regulation followed the trend and reinforced the exclusion of arbitration from their material scopes. The rationale for doing so was primarily the prevention of parallel proceedings and irreconcilable judgments. The arbitration exclusion from the Brussels regime has caused a fair amount of confusion, especially regarding the extent and limits of the exclusion. That is, whether the arbitration agreement, the arbitral award and its consequences are covered by the exclusion or they may fall under the scope of the Brussels regulation if they constitute only an incidental question to the main cause of action? The confusion was illustrated in the ECJ judgment West Tankers, which generated negative feedback from the arbitration community and indicated the need for reform. The recently adopted Recast Regulation took it upon itself to clarify the relationship between arbitration and the EU regime of transnational litigation. The exclusion is reinforced ye again and its boundaries are specified in the Preamble. However, whether or not the concerns about the extent and objectives of arbitration exclusion have been at present eliminated, remains to be seen.

Heterogeneous logics of competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mossin, Christiane

2015-01-01

of competition are only realized as particular forms of social organization by virtue of interplaying with other kinds of logics, like legal logics. (2) Competition logics enjoy a peculiar status in-between constructedness and givenness; although competition depends on laws and mechanisms of socialization, we...... still experience competition as an expression of spontaneous human activities. On the basis of these perspectives, a study of fundamental rights of EU law, springing from the principle of ‘free movement of people’, is conducted. The first part of the empirical analysis seeks to detect the presence...... of a presumed logic of competition within EU law, whereas the second part focuses on particular legal logics. In this respect, the so-called ‘real link criterion’ (determining the access to transnational social rights for certain groups of unemployed people) is given special attention. What is particularly...

Recent progress in competitive intelligence, competitive technical intelligence and knowledge management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dou Henri

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the role of competitive intelligence and knowledge management to create, maintain and sustain competitive advantages. The triple helix model, based on the integration of the public sector (government, business models (private corporations and universities to promote innovation is examined. Research trends in competitive intelligence are presented. It concludes that the systematic use of the technology monitoring should support the comparison between various business models of companies that hold the market best practices and form a basis to knowledge for the decision making process and strategies development.

Exclusive processes in QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, A.H.

1981-01-01

In this talk I concentrate on purely exclusive processes. In Sec. II form factors and exclusive decays of heavy quarkonium states will be discussed. In Sec. III elastic wide angle elastic scattering will be considered with emphasis placed on the energy dependence for a fixed angle. The x → 1 limit of structure functions is discussed in Sec. IV. This is a limit which matches on, in a rather complicated way, with transition form factors. In Sec. V the idea of intrinsic charm is considered, mostly from a conceptual viewpoint as to its definition and possible existence. In Sec. VI there is a brief discussion of calculations of matrix elements which occur in deeply inelastic scattering by use of a bag model. In Sec. VII wee parton cancellations and Sudakov corrections for μ-pair production are considered. Sec. VIII concerns soft particle production and the mutliplicity of hadrons in a jet. (orig./HSI)

Knowledge and compliance of lactating mothers on exclusive ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life for optimal growth, development and health. Breastfeeding initiation rates are reportedly high in South Africa, however, a dramatic drop in exclusive breastfeeding rates was reported in infants aged 4 to 6 months, where ...

Exclusive Breastfeeding and Malaria in Early Infancy: Experience ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in African children including infants while the roles of exclusive breastfeeding in the prevention of infections and protection against several common childhood morbidities are widely acknowledged. To study the role of exclusive breastfeeding on the incidence of malaria in ...

Competition Regime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danilo Icaza Ortiz

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is a review of the competition regime works of various authors, published under the auspices of the University of the Hemispheres and the Corporation for Studies and Publications. Analyzes the structure, the general concepts, case law taken for development. Includes comments on the usefulness of this work for the study of competition law and the contribution to the lawyers who want to practice in this branch of economic law.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PRUNEA Ana Daniela

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Rapid changes in market characteristics and the technological innovations are common and faster challenges, resulting in products, processes and technologies. The competitive advantage is volatile, difficult to obtain and more difficult to maintain and strengthened with consumers who through their individual choices polarization confirms the recognition performance and award competitive advantages, thus causing the competitive ranking of companies present in a particular market. The competitive advantage lies in the focus of the performance of companies in competitive markets and innovation is a source for obtaining and consolidating it. Companies will need to demonstrate the capacity to adapt to changes in the business environment so as to maintain the helded positions. This paper treats this aspect behavior that companies should adopt to get on the account of innovation a sustainable competitive advantage. I started of the work in the elaboration from the theory of developed by Michael Porter in his book "Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance" we applied methods listed thus trying to point out possible ways of creating competitive advantage by companies. We have presented the sources of competitive advantage and the factors on which depends its creation. Walking theoretical research revealed how lack of competitive advantage leads to a lack of competitiveness of companies and the benefits that arise with the creation of this type of asset. Among the most important benefits is to increase performances. Once the competitive advantage is achieved, it must be maintained and updated market conditions and the methods that can be created a sustainable competitive advantage represent the answers to many of the companies questions are fighting for survival in an environment of fierce competition. The implementation of methods for obtaining competitive advantages, but also exist dangers, that every company should know them

5 CFR 351.403 - Competitive level.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Competitive level. 351.403 Section 351... FORCE Scope of Competition § 351.403 Competitive level. (a)(1) Each agency shall establish competitive levels consisting of all positions in a competitive area which are in the same grade (or occupational...

Competition in education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Hanne; Christensen, Søren

Competition in education has two functions: selection and motivation. How do these two functions correlate, contradict or co-exist? How has the educational system reflected on the relation between competition as motivational technology and as a technology for selection? The aim of this paper...... is to formulate the problem of competition in education as a relation between selection and motivation and provide an analytical strategy to grasp this problem. Our ambition is to theorize the problem and give empirical illustrations of how the connection between selection and motivation has been articulated...... in various educational institutions and programs....

Measurement of exclusive processes with CMS

CERN Document Server

Bylinkin, Alexander

2017-01-01

Exclusive vector meson photoproduction is studied in ultra-peripheral pPb collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV. The cross sections are measured as a function of the photon-proton centre-of-mass energy, extending the energy range explored by H1 and ZEUS Experiments at HERA. In addition, the differential cross sections ($d\\sigma/d\\left |t\\right|$), where $\\left |t\\right|\\approx p^{2}_{T}$ is the squared transverse momentum of produced vector mesons, are measured and the slope parameters are obtained. The results are compared to previous measurements and to theoretical predictions. We also report a measurement of the exclusive or quasi-exclusive $W^{+}W^{-}$ production in pp collisions at $\\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV ($7$ TeV) using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $19.7$ fb$^{-1}$ ($5.5$fb$^{-1}$), respectively. In this study, we look for any deviations that there might be from the Standard Model, and the results are used to set limits on the Anomalous Quartic Gauge Couplings. Finally, the latest p...

5 CFR 351.402 - Competitive area.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Competitive area. 351.402 Section 351.402... Competition § 351.402 Competitive area. (a) Each agency shall establish competitive areas in which employees compete for retention under this part. (b) A competitive area must be defined solely in terms of the...

Competition in investment banking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrina Ellis

2011-01-01

Full Text Available We construct a comprehensive measure of overall investment banking competitiveness for follow-on offerings that aggregates the various dimensions of competition such as fees, pricing accuracy, analyst recommendations, distributional abilities, market making prowess, debt offering capabilities, and overall reputation. The measure allows us to incorporate trade-offs that investment banks may use in competing for new or established clients. We find that firms who switch to similar-quality underwriters enjoy more intense competition among investment banks which manifests in lower fees and more optimistic recommendations. Investment banks do compete vigorously for some clients, with the level of competition related to the likelihood of gaining or losing clients. Finally, investment banks not performing up to market norms are more likely to be dropped in the follow-on offering. In contrast, firms who seek a higher reputation underwriter face relatively non-competitive markets.

Effect of Serotype on Pneumococcal Competition in a Mouse Colonization Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Trzciński, Krzysztof; Li, Yuan; Weinberger, Daniel M; Thompson, Claudette M; Cordy, Derrick; Bessolo, Andrew; Malley, Richard; Lipsitch, Marc

2015-09-15

Competitive interactions between Streptococcus pneumoniae strains during host colonization could influence the serotype distribution in nasopharyngeal carriage and pneumococcal disease. We evaluated the competitive fitness of strains of serotypes 6B, 14, 19A, 19F, 23F, and 35B in a mouse model of multiserotype carriage. Isogenic variants were constructed using clinical strains as the capsule gene donors. Animals were intranasally inoculated with a mixture of up to six pneumococcal strains of different serotypes, with separate experiments involving either clinical isolates or isogenic capsule-switch variants of clinical strain TIGR4. Upper-respiratory-tract samples were repeatedly collected from animals in order to monitor changes in the serotype ratios using quantitative PCR. A reproducible hierarchy of capsular types developed in the airways of mice inoculated with multiple strains. Serotype ranks in this hierarchy were similar among pneumococcal strains of different genetic backgrounds in different strains of mice and were not altered when tested under a range of host conditions. This rank correlated with the measure of the metabolic cost of capsule synthesis and in vitro measure of pneumococcal cell surface charge, both parameters considered to be predictors of serotype-specific fitness in carriage. This study demonstrates the presence of a robust competitive hierarchy of pneumococcal serotypes in vivo that is driven mainly, but not exclusively, by the capsule itself. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the leading cause of death due to respiratory bacterial infections but also a commensal frequently carried in upper airways. Available vaccines induce immune responses against polysaccharides coating pneumococcal cells, but with over 90 different capsular types (serotypes) identified, they can only target strains of the selected few serotypes most prevalent in disease. Vaccines not only protect vaccinated individuals against disease but also protect by

Apparent competition and native consumers exacerbate the strong competitive effect of an exotic plant species.

Science.gov (United States)

Orrock, John L; Dutra, Humberto P; Marquis, Robert J; Barber, Nicholas

2015-04-01

Direct and indirect effects can play a key role in invasions, but experiments evaluating both are rare. We examined the roles of direct competition and apparent competition by exotic Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) by manipulating (1) L. maackii vegetation, (2) presence of L. maackii fruits, and (3) access to plants by small mammals and deer. Direct competition with L. maackii reduced the abundance and richness of native and exotic species, and native consumers significantly reduced the abundance and richness of native species. Although effects of direct competition and consumption were more pervasive, richness of native plants was also reduced through apparent competition, as small-mammal consumers reduced richness only when L. maackii fruits were present. Our experiment reveals the multiple, interactive pathways that affect the success and impact of an invasive exotic plant: exotic plants may directly benefit from reduced attack by native consumers, may directly exert strong competitive effects on native plants, and may also benefit from apparent competition.

On the surprising rigidity of the Pauli exclusion principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, O.W.

1989-01-01

I review recent attempts to construct a local quantum field theory of small violations of the Pauli exclusion principle and suggest a qualitative reason for the surprising rigidity of the Pauli principle. I suggest that small violations can occur in our four-dimensional world as a consequence of the compactification of a higher-dimensional theory in which the exclusion principle is exactly valid. I briefly mention a recent experiment which places a severe limit on possible violations of the exclusion principle. (orig.)

Measuring social exclusion in healthcare settings: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Patrick; O'Donovan, Diarmuid; Elmusharaf, Khalifa

2018-02-02

Social exclusion is a concept that has been widely debated in recent years; a particular focus of the discussion has been its significance in relation to health. The meanings of the phrase "social exclusion", and the closely associated term "social inclusion", are contested in the literature. Both of these concepts are important in relation to health and the area of primary healthcare in particular. Thus, several tools for the measurement of social exclusion or social inclusion status in health care settings have been developed. A scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted to examine tools developed since 2000 that measure social exclusion or social inclusion. We focused on those measurement tools developed for use with individual patients in healthcare settings. Efforts were made to obtain a copy of each of the original tools, and all relevant background literature. All tools retrieved were compared in tables, and the specific domains that were included in each measure were tabulated. Twenty-two measurement tools were included in the final scoping review. The majority of these had been specifically developed for the measurement of social inclusion or social exclusion, but a small number were created for the measurement of other closely aligned concepts. The majority of the tools included were constructed for engaging with patients in mental health settings. The tools varied greatly in their design, the scoring systems and the ways they were administered. The domains covered by these tools varied widely and some of the tools were quite narrow in the areas of focus. A review of the definitions of both social inclusion and social exclusion also revealed the variations among the explanations of these complex concepts. There are several definitions of both social inclusion and social exclusion in use and they differ greatly in scope. While there are many tools that have been developed for measuring these concepts in healthcare settings, these

Competitive Pressure: Competitive Dynamics as Reactions to Multiple Rivals

OpenAIRE

Zucchini, Leon; Kretschmer, Tobias

2011-01-01

Competitive dynamics research has focused primarily on interactions between dyads of firms. Drawing on the awareness-motivation-capability framework and strategic group theory we extend this by proposing that firms’ actions are influenced by perceived competitive pressure resulting from actions by several rivals. We predict that firms’ action magnitude is influenced by the total number of rival actions accumulating in the market, and that this effect is moderated by strategic group membership...

Competitiveness and Management of Technology

OpenAIRE

Cheng, Ming Yu

2015-01-01

This paper delves into competition and technology management as a means of economic development. Expanding from Porter's framework on competitiveness and using a novel framework of PTGE（People, Technology, Government and Environment）, this paper argues that three types of competitive advantage could be created. These competitive advantages range from passive to active advantages, i.e. natural advantage, duplicated advantage and niche advantage. Technology and effective management of technolog...

LENIENCY POLICY FOR COMPETITIVE ACTIVITY

OpenAIRE

Ilie Moga

2013-01-01

A market driven economy is inconceivable without competition. In this system, the competition is beneficial firstly for consumers, but also for producers. The former have the ability to satisfy their needs according to taste and financial ability, while the latter are incentivized to innovate and increase efficiency. Competition induces natural selection among companies. This selection must adhere to strictly abiding by competition law regulation, while regulation must benefit both consumers ...

Young mothers, first time parenthood and exclusive breastfeeding in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Naanyu, Violet

2008-12-01

Breastfeeding behaviour is explored in Kenya using data collected in the town of Eldoret, Kenya. This paper specifically examines duration of exclusive breastfeeding among young mothers below 20 years of age as compared to older cohorts. Additionally, focus is laid on the effect of first time motherhood and breastfeeding difficulties on exclusive breastfeeding. Results show that Eldoret mothers are aware of benefits of breastfeeding; nevertheless, the mean duration for exclusive breastfeeding in this sample is 2.4 months. Higher durations of exclusive breastfeeding are associated with increasing age and first time motherhood. Predictably, breastfeeding difficulties bear a negative association with exclusive breastfeeding. While HIV is transmissible through breastfeeding, breast milk remains a vital source of nourishment for infants in Sub-Saharan Africa. More research on mothering should examine the changing socio-economic milieu and its influence on women's infant feeding decisions

17 CFR 242.505 - Exclusion for news media.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Exclusion for news media. 242...-Analyst Certification § 242.505 Exclusion for news media. No provision of this Regulation AC shall apply to any person who: (a) Is the publisher of any bona fide newspaper, news magazine or business or...

Who Are the Children Most Vulnerable to Social Exclusion? The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem, Popularity, and Nonverbal Intelligence on Cognitive Performance Following Social Exclusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Tobia, Valentina; Riva, Paolo; Caprin, Claudia

2017-05-01

Social exclusion has a profound emotional impact on children. However, there is still limited and partly conflicting experimental evidence for the possible effect of social exclusion on children's cognitive performance. In the present study, we tested the possibility that some children are more vulnerable than others to the negative effects of social exclusion on cognitive performance. We selected 4 potential candidates that could moderate the effects of social exclusion: relational self-esteem, peer ratings of popularity, rejection sensitivity and nonverbal intelligence. Individual differences in these 4 potential moderating factors were first assessed in a sample of 318 children (45.6 % females; mean age = 9.92 years). Then, in a subsequent experimental session, the participants were either socially included or excluded using a typical manipulation (i.e., the Cyberball paradigm). Following the manipulation, the children's cognitive performance was assessed using a logical reasoning test. The results showed that the children with lower scores for relational self-esteem (the bottom 37.46 % of the sample), lower popularity (43.49 %) or weaker nonverbal intelligence (37.80 %) performed worse on the logical reasoning test following social exclusion. Moreover, children with combined low self-esteem, popularity and nonverbal intelligence were the most affected by social exclusion. This study identified factors that make some children more vulnerable to the negative effects of social exclusion. Overall, the present work underscores the value of considering basic cognitive and relational individual differences when developing interventions aimed at preventing the negative effects of social exclusion among children.

Ombuds' Corner: Social exclusion

CERN Document Server

Vincent Vuillemin

2012-01-01

In this special video edition of the Ombuds' Corner, Vincent Vuillemin takes a look at a social exclusion at CERN. Please note that the characters and situations appearing in this work are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental.   Contact the Ombuds Early!

Behavioral and life-history evidence for interspecific competition in the larvae of two heliconian butterflies

Science.gov (United States)

Millan, Carolina; Borges, Simone Silva; Rodrigues, Daniela; Moreira, Gilson Rudinei Pires

2013-10-01

Interspecific competition in herbivorous insects remains a controversial issue. To date, many studied systems have not met assumptions of the traditional competition theory, and a new paradigm has been emerging. We examined the behavioral and life-history consequences of common host plant use of Heliconius erato and Dryas iulia (Nymphalidae) in relation to Passiflora suberosa (Passifloraceae). Larvae of the former use the apical portion of this host; the latter is presumably able to explore all plant parts. We assessed host use pattern in relation to leaf age, when reared either alone ( D. iulia) or together ( D. iulia and H. erato). Larval feeding choice tests with respect to leaf age were performed, and performance was recorded. Observations were made to assess antagonistic behavior of H. erato and D. iulia towards each other, if any. Similarly to H. erato, D. iulia fed on the young leaves significantly more than the mature ones; larvae were not induced to prefer mature leaves. First instars of H. erato used only the apical parts of P. suberosa and displayed aggressive behavior towards D. iulia, which moved to the lower shoot portions. Larval mortality and development time of both species significantly increased when reared together; such performance costs were more pronounced in D. iulia than H. erato. Our study gathers evidences that use of P. suberosa by these heliconian butterflies represent a case of competitive exclusion resulting in niche differentiation, where costs are higher for D. iulia than H. erato.

Competitive versus comparative advantage

OpenAIRE

Neary, J. Peter

2002-01-01

I explore the interactions between comparative, competitive and absolute advantage in a two-country model of oligopoly in general equilibrium. Comparative advantage always determines the direction of trade, but both competitive and absolute advantage affect resource allocation, trade patterns and trade volumes. Competitive advantage in the sense of more home firms drives foreign firms out of marginal sectors but also makes some marginal home sectors uncompetitive. Absolute advantage in the se...

COMPETITION AS MARKET MECHANISM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Ya. Kazhuro

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The essence of a competition as an objective law for development of the commodities production based on private ownership of the means of production and commodity exchange has been revealed in the paper. The paper presents an economic basis of market economy (private ownership which generates a corresponding production objective. Such purpose is a maximization of profit and a minimization of market subject expenses. Therefore, a struggle for the most favourable conditions on commodity production and sales is inevitable in such situation. The struggle is considered in the community with developed market economy as a competition.The competition is regarded not as an exogenic factor exerting its influence on market economic system from the outside, but as an objective phenomenon which is inherent to management market system in itself. Such treatment is substantiated by economic disintegration of individual commodity producers. Being an important engine of market economy, the competition does not establish its laws, and its role is to be an executive of data which are internally inherent in commodity production laws and firstly it concerns a profit maximization law which defines a purpose and guiding motif of economic entities in the given economy.The competition plays a contradictory role under conditions of market economy. On the one hand, it makes manufacturers constantly to aspire to expense reduction for the sake of profit increase. This has resulted in labour productivity increase, production cost decrease and a company receives an opportunity to reduce retail price for its products. Consequently, the competition acts as a potential factor for lowering of prices while increasing production efficiency. On the other hand, sellers have more freedom in price fixing under conditions of imperfect competition as they sell their products under the conditions of a monopolistic competition or an oligopoly. This is the main weakest point of the market

Alcohol, poverty and social exclusion: Alcohol consumption among the homeless and those at risk of social exclusion in Madrid.

Science.gov (United States)

Panadero, Sonia; Vázquez, José Juan; Martín, Rosa María

2016-06-14

The work analyzes different aspects related to alcohol consumption among homeless people and people at risk of social exclusion. The data was gathered from a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid (n = 188) and a sample of people at risk of social exclusion (n = 164) matched in sex, age, and origin (Spaniards vs. foreigners). The results showed that homeless people present a greater consumption of alcohol and have experienced more problems derived from its consumption than people at risk of social exclusion. Most of the homeless people who had alcohol-related problems had had them prior to their homelessness, and they stated they had poorer health and had experienced a greater number of homelessness episodes. Despite the relevance of problems related to alcohol among our sample, only a small percentage of the sample had participated in treatment programs for alcohol consumption.

Marketing Aspect of Banking Competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nieizviestna Olena V.

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to study the need for application of marketing tools in order to improve competitiveness and competitive advantages of banks. By analyzing, systematizing and summarizing the scientific works of many scientists, the relationship between the competitiveness of the commercial bank and its share in the banking market has been discovered. In the process of studying the integration of the strategy of maximizing customer satisfaction in the practice of strategic competition in the banking market there was presented the author’s position regarding the need to take into account the structure of the customer loyalty, as it is it that helps to properly distribute the bank’s marketing efforts. It has been proved that the technology of bank marketing should not only include the systems of identifying customer needs, creation of new financial products, but also contribute to the formation of the multi-factor strategic model of competitive strategy of the bank competitive development. It has been proposed to use the SWOT-analysis in order to effectively manage the bank’s competitiveness.

Competition Advocacy: the Italian Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salvatore Rebecchini

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Competition advocacy is considered, together with enforcement, the core business of an antitrust authority. Broadly speaking there are at least three main tasks regularly performed by most, if not all, antitrust agencies that are amenable to the advocacy function: addressing laws and regulations in order to remove unnecessary impediments to competition; engaging in sector enquiries to understand markets behavior and identify critical issues; explaining the benefits of open competitive markets to the public opinion. This article examines these three main tasks and outlines the challenges for competition agencies, with references to the experience of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA and the initiatives undertaken at international level.

Determinants of the exclusive breastfeeding abandonment: psychosocial factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Campos Martins Machado

2014-12-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE To assess the determinants of exclusive breastfeeding abandonment. METHODS Longitudinal study based on a birth cohort in Viçosa, MG, Southeastern Brazil. In 2011/2012, 168 new mothers accessing the public health network were followed. Three interviews, at 30, 60, and 120 days postpartum, with the new mothers were conducted. Exclusive breastfeeding abandonment was analyzed in the first, second, and fourth months after childbirth. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was applied to identify depressive symptoms in the first and second meetings, with a score of ≥ 12 considered as the cutoff point. Socioeconomic, demographic, and obstetric variables were investigated, along with emotional conditions and the new mothers’ social network during pregnancy and the postpartum period. RESULTS The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding abandonment at 30, 60, and 120 days postpartum was 53.6% (n = 90, 47.6% (n = 80, and 69.6% (n = 117, respectively, and its incidence in the fourth month compared with the first was 48.7%. Depressive symptoms and traumatic delivery were associated with exclusive breastfeeding abandonment in the second month after childbirth. In the fourth month, the following variables were significant: lower maternal education levels, lack of homeownership, returning to work, not receiving guidance on breastfeeding in the postpartum period, mother’s negative reaction to the news of pregnancy, and not receiving assistance from their partners for infant care. CONCLUSIONS Psychosocial and sociodemographic factors were strong predictors of early exclusive breastfeeding abandonment. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and provide early treatment to nursing mothers with depressive symptoms, decreasing the associated morbidity and promoting greater duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Support from health professionals, as well as that received at home and at work, can assist in this process.

26 CFR 25.2503-2 - Exclusions from gifts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 14 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Exclusions from gifts. 25.2503-2 Section 25... GIFT TAXES GIFT TAX; GIFTS MADE AFTER DECEMBER 31, 1954 Determination of Tax Liability § 25.2503-2 Exclusions from gifts. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (f) of this section (involving gifts to a...

40 CFR 35.6555 - Competition.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... current and include enough qualified sources to ensure maximum open and free competition. Recipients must... transactions in a manner providing maximum full and open competition. (a) Restrictions on competition... bonding requirements; (3) Noncompetitive pricing practices between firms or between affiliated companies...

Public healthcare interests require strict competition enforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Loozen, Edith M H

2015-07-01

Several countries have introduced competition in their health systems in order to maintain the supply of high quality health care in a cost-effective manner. The introduction of competition triggers competition enforcement. Since healthcare is characterized by specific market failures, many favor healthcare-specific competition enforcement in order not only to account for the competition interest, but also for the healthcare interests. The question is whether healthcare systems based on competition can succeed when competition enforcement deviates from standard practice. This paper analyzes whether healthcare-specific competition enforcement is theoretically sound and practically effective. This is exemplified by the Dutch system that is based on regulated competition and thus crucially depends on getting competition enforcement right. Governments are responsible for correcting market failures. Markets are responsible for maximizing the public healthcare interests. By securing sufficient competitive pressure, competition enforcement makes sure they do. When interpreted according to welfare-economics, competition law takes into account both costs and benefits specific market behavior may have for healthcare. Competition agencies and judiciary are not legitimized to deviate from standard evidentiary requirements. Dutch case law shows that healthcare-specific enforcement favors the healthcare undertakings concerned, but to the detriment of public health care. Healthcare-specific competition enforcement is conceptually flawed and counterproductive. In order for healthcare systems based on competition to succeed, competition enforcement should be strict. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The competitiveness of national tourism industry

OpenAIRE

Rūtelionė, Aušra

2005-01-01

The purpose of the scientific research is to suggest the model of national tourism industry competitiveness and determine the main factors that increase national tourism industry competitiveness basing on fundamental national competitiveness theories and national tourism industry competitiveness conceptions.

Exclusive Production at CMS

CERN Document Server

Walczak, Marek

2016-01-01

I briefly introduce so-called central exclusive production. I mainly focus on the example analyses that have been performed in the CMS experiment at CERN. I conclude with ideas and perspectives for future work that will be done during Run 2 of the LHC. I pay special attention to the ultraperipheral collisions.

Central Exclusive Production at LHCb

CERN Document Server

INSPIRE-00106463

2015-01-01

Central Exclusive Production is a unique QCD process in which particles are produced via colourless propagators. Several results have been obtained at LHCb for the production of single charmonia, pairs of charmonia, and single bottomonia.

Competition in electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, W.

1996-01-01

This article examines expanded wholesale and retail competition and the effect that they are likely to have on the electric power industry. The author believes that expanded wholesale competition is good and will bring immediate benefit to all electric consumers; however, based on the experience of the natural gas industry and the electric power industry in California and other parts of the world, the author counsels caution in moving toward expanded retail competition

Career Guidance and Social Exclusion: A Cautionary Tale.

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, A. G.

2001-01-01

Examines the relationship of career guidance to public-policy interventions designed to address social exclusion. Analyzes the nature and origin of the concept of social exclusion and reviews the roles of career guidance in response to it, particularly in relation to young people who have dropped out of formal education or are at high risk of…

On the multidimensionality of political competition: Measuring political competition in a Bartolinian Way

OpenAIRE

Bühlmann, M; Zumbach, D

2011-01-01

Political competition plays a crucial role in the democratic cycle, be it as a possible mainspring of political participation or as the essential element of democratic accountability and responsiveness. Thus, it is not surprising that many scholars focus on the impact and meaning of political competition. Unfortunately, such is very often misspecified as a unidimensional concept. At least since Stefano Bartolini's seminal paper Collusion, Competition and Democracy (1999, 2000), however, th...

Competitive Intelligence and Social Advantage.

Science.gov (United States)

Davenport, Elisabeth; Cronin, Blaise

1994-01-01

Presents an overview of issues concerning civilian competitive intelligence (CI). Topics discussed include competitive advantage in academic and research environments; public domain information and libraries; covert and overt competitive intelligence; data diversity; use of the Internet; cooperative intelligence; and implications for library and…

Integrated model of destination competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armenski Tanja

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to determine the weakest point of Serbian destination competitiveness as a tourist destination in comparation with its main competitors. The paper is organized as follows. The short introduction of the previous research on the destination competitiveness is followed by description of the Integrated model of destination competitiveness (Dwyer et al, 2003 that was used as the main reference framework. Section three is devoted to the description of the previous studies on competitiveness of Serbian tourism, while section four outlines the statistical methodology employed in this study and presents and interprets the empirical results. The results showed that Serbia is more competitive in its natural, cultural and created resources than in destination management while, according to the Integrated model, Serbia is less competitive in demand conditions that refer to the image and awareness of the destination itself.

A model for competitiveness level analysis in sports competitions: Application to basketball

Science.gov (United States)

de Saá Guerra, Y.; Martín González, J. M.; Sarmiento Montesdeoca, S.; Rodríguez Ruiz, D.; García-Rodríguez, A.; García-Manso, J. M.

2012-05-01

The degree of overall competitiveness of a sport league is a complex phenomenon. It is difficult to assess and quantify all elements that yield the final standing. In this paper, we analyze the general behavior of the result matrices of each season and we use the corresponding results as a probably density. Thus, the results of previous seasons are a way to investigate the probability that each team has to reach a certain number of victories. We developed a model based on Shannon entropy using two extreme competitive structures (a hierarchical structure and a random structure), and applied this model to investigate the competitiveness of two of the best professional basketball leagues: the NBA (USA) and the ACB (Spain). Both leagues’ entropy levels are high (NBA mean 0.983; ACB mean 0.980), indicating high competitiveness, although the entropy of the ACB (from 0.986 to 0.972) demonstrated more seasonal variability than that of the NBA (from 0.985 to 0.990), a possible result of greater sporting gradients in the ACB. The use of this methodology has proven useful for investigating the competitiveness of sports leagues as well as their underlying variability across time.

Competition Experiments for Legume Infection Identify Burkholderia phymatum as a Highly Competitive β-Rhizobium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Lardi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Members of the genus Burkholderia (β-proteobacteria have only recently been shown to be able to establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with several legumes, which is why they are also referred to as β-rhizobia. Therefore, very little is known about the competitiveness of these species to nodulate different legume host plants. In this study, we tested the competitiveness of several Burkholderia type strains (B. diazotrophica, B. mimosarum, B. phymatum, B. sabiae, B. symbiotica and B. tuberum to nodulate four legumes (Phaseolus vulgaris, Macroptilium atropurpureum, Vigna unguiculata and Mimosa pudica under our closely defined growth conditions. The assessment of nodule occupancy of these species on different legume host plants revealed that B. phymatum was the most competitive strain in the three papilionoid legumes (bean, cowpea and siratro, while B. mimosarum outcompeted the other strains in mimosa. The analysis of phenotypes known to play a role in nodulation competitiveness (motility, exopolysaccharide production and additional in vitro competition assays among β-rhizobial strains suggested that B. phymatum has the potential to be a very competitive legume symbiont.

Social exclusion of older persons: a scoping review and conceptual framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Kieran; Scharf, Thomas; Keating, Norah

2017-03-01

As a concept, social exclusion has considerable potential to explain and respond to disadvantage in later life. However, in the context of ageing populations, the construct remains ambiguous. A disjointed evidence-base, spread across disparate disciplines, compounds the challenge of developing a coherent understanding of exclusion in older age. This article addresses this research deficit by presenting the findings of a two-stage scoping review encompassing seven separate reviews of the international literature pertaining to old-age social exclusion. Stage one involved a review of conceptual frameworks on old-age exclusion, identifying conceptual understandings and key domains of later-life exclusion. Stage two involved scoping reviews on each domain (six in all). Stage one identified six conceptual frameworks on old-age exclusion and six common domains across these frameworks: neighbourhood and community; services, amenities and mobility; social relations; material and financial resources; socio-cultural aspects; and civic participation. International literature concentrated on the first four domains, but indicated a general lack of research knowledge and of theoretical development. Drawing on all seven scoping reviews and a knowledge synthesis, the article presents a new definition and conceptual framework relating to old-age exclusion.

Business Ideas Competition

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

Business Ideas Competition "The Rainbow Seed Fund is a UK fund, which provides finance to support the commercialization of good ideas founded on scientific research; it is for the benefit of the UK industry in particular. To encourage ideas from CERN the Rainbow Seed Fund is running a business ideas competition.The winner of this competition will receive an immediate cash prize of GBP £1,000. In addition the Rainbow Seed Fund may well provide finance for market research, for protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and for prototyping to take the idea forward. Further awards of GBP £750 will be made for ideas which gain investment from the Fund.Candidates will only be required to prepare a 2-4-page summary of their business idea, and not a full business plan. Full details and an entry form are available at www.rainbowseedfund.com ." ALL Members of the Personnel seeking participation in the business ideas competition are asked to submit their ideas via the CERN TT Unit (Jean-Marie.Le Goff@cern.ch) th...

Avoiding the known prior acts exclusion when insuring newly acquired entities.

Science.gov (United States)

Gasior, J P; Passannante, W G

1998-09-01

Adding a new entity to an organization's existing insurance program can be problematic if the existing policy contains a known prior acts exclusion clause. By purportedly excluding claims that a policyholder "could have reasonably foreseen or discovered," the known prior acts exclusion allows the insurer to reject those claims after a lawsuit has been filed policyholders should have known prior acts exclusion clauses removed from their policies or work with their insurers on language that will clarify the policy regarding this exclusion.

Innovation and strategic competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jović Mile B.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Paper discussed relationships of innovation to achieving strategic competitiveness in today globalized economic environment. Special attention is devoted to the nature of competitive advantages on global industries as well national level. Competitive advantage is a firm's ability to transform inputs into goods and services at a profit on a sustained basis, better than competitors. Comparative advantage resides in the factor endowments and created endowments of particular regions. Beside the traditional endowment approach (land, natural resources, labor and the size of the local population it is emphasized the importance of created one such as skilled labor, the technology and knowledge base, government support and culture. Creating corporate or country competitiveness roadmap there are no substantial difference - innovative as well strategic approach is essential.

BUSINESS COMPETITORS AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SUCIU TITUS

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the concept of competition, both from the perspective of the economic sector –where it is characteristic for pure monopole, oligopoly, monopole competition and pure competition, as well asfrom the market’s point of view – where it determines the strategies, objectives, advantages and weaknesses of acompany. The main point of the paper is the criticism of the pure and perfect competition theory. Concluding,the author insists on innovation, especially on the model of open innovation.

Improving competitive ability of chickpea with sowthistle

OpenAIRE

Cici, S.-Z.-H.; Kristiansen, P.; Sindel, B.M.

2005-01-01

An experiment was conducted to examine the extent of root and canopy interference of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) with sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus L.). Sowthistle was surrounded with either two or eight chickpea plants. There were different types of competition: no competition, shoot competition, root competition and full competition (root and shoot). The performance of sowthistle grown in full competition with two chickpea plants was the same as that grown with root competition only. Al...

Exclusive breastfeeding among Canadian Inuit: results from the Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

McIsaac, Kathryn E; Lou, Wendy; Sellen, Daniel; Young, T Kue

2014-05-01

Very little population-based research has been conducted around the exclusive breastfeeding practices of Inuit Canadians. This research aims to assess the distribution of exclusive breastfeeding among Inuit Canadians and to identify factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding as recommended. We use data from 188 infant-mother dyads who completed the Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey, a cross-sectional, population-based survey of Inuit children aged 3 to 5 years. A series of multinomial logistic regression models were run to identify factors associated with 4 exclusive breastfeeding durations (≤ 1 month, > 1- 6.5 months). Of infants, 23% were exclusively breastfed as recommended (ie, between 5.5 and 6.5 months; 95% CI, 16.2-29.3). Many infants (61%) were exclusively breastfed for less than 5.5 months and 16% (95% CI, 10.9-22.0) were exclusively breastfed for more than 6.5 months. Families receiving income support were less likely to discontinue exclusive breastfeeding before 5.5 months (pOR1- Inuit Canadian infants receive suboptimal exclusive breastfeeding. National, provincial, and community-specific interventions to protect, promote, and support exclusive breastfeeding should emphasize not only the benefits of exclusively breastfeeding to 6 months but also the importance of timely introduction of complementary foods into the infant's diet.

"They don't understand that we also exist": South African participants in competitive disability sport and the politics of identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Swartz, Leslie; Bantjes, Jason; Knight, Bradley; Wilmot, Greg; Derman, Wayne

2018-01-01

To describe how athletes with disabilities talk about their experiences of participating in competitive disability sport in South Africa. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 athletes with disabilities. Data were analysed via thematic content analysis using an inductive data driven process. Participants described their involvement in competitive sport as a positive experience; they described it as a catalyst for the recasting of identities and reframing an understanding of physical impairment, a context for empowerment and resistance of disablist attitudes, and an arena in which a sense of inclusion and belonging is experienced. However, their narratives also lay bare something of the struggle on the part of persons with disabilities to be seen as fully human and reveal how participants reproduce some unhelpful disablist discourses. There are complex contradictions and cross-currents in the way athletes with disabilities describe their participation in competitive disability sport. These narratives highlight political and ideological tensions about inclusion and representation and remind us of the need to document the experiences of persons with disabilities and the potential dangers inherent in idealizing disability sport. Implications for Rehabilitation Competitive sport is a useful context for rehabilitation and the empowerment of persons with disabilities. Athletes with disabilities say that they are able to resist dominant stereotypes about disability and recast their identities through participation in competitive sport. Disability sport seems to provide a setting in which persons with disabilities can reproduce unhelpful disablist discourses. There are dangers inherent in idealizing competitive disability sport. Even where athletes with disabilities are competing at the highest level and are successful, rehabilitation professionals must be aware of these issues, must be able to listen for experiences of exclusion and low self

European-American Children’s and Adolescents’ Evaluations of Interracial Exclusion

Science.gov (United States)

Killen, M.; Kelly, M.; Richardson, C.; Crystal, D.; Ruck, M.

2014-01-01

No research, to date, has investigated the role of ethnic school composition (and intergroup contact) on European-American youth’s use of stereotypes to explain interracial discomfort in the context of peer exclusion. In this study European-American 4th, 7th and 10th grade students (N = 414), attending low and high ethnically diverse public schools (with low and high self-reports of cross-race/ethnic friendships, respectively) evaluated three contexts of interracial exclusion (at lunch time, at a school dance, and at a sleepover). In addition to age and context effects, participants enrolled in high diversity schools were less likely to use stereotypes to explain racial discomfort, more likely to view racial exclusion as wrong, and more likely to estimate that racial exclusion occurs, than were participants enrolled in low diversity schools. These findings have implications for the role of social experience on racial attitudes and judgments about exclusion. PMID:25328425

The competitive challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burr, M.T.

1992-01-01

This article examines the strategies necessary to succeed in the increasingly competitive independent power industry. The topics of the article include the factors encouraging mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, the availability of financing, changes in the market, regulatory climate changes, competition and power planning, Not In My Back Yard and project siting, and the road ahead

Effect of prenatal education on breastfeeding initiation and exclusive ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The prevalence of breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding is low globally in both developing and developed countries despite the promotion interventions on breastfeeding rates in early infancy. In Ethiopia, the proportion of women who practiced early breastfeeding initiation (EBI) and exclusive ...

The Competitiveness of Alternative Hydrogen Pathways

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anders Chr.

to transport services and in market competitiveness and societal competitiveness. The major societal competitive advantage of hydrogen is its convertibility to electricity and from any other source of energy. This enables a flexible use of natural gas and primary electricity as transport fuels. The major...... advantage in market competitiveness is the energy efficiency of the fuel cell. This advantage is, however, to some extent balanced by the costs associated with conversion, transport, and storage. The balance between these factors required for market competitiveness is identified.......The paper surveys the literature on the competitiveness of alternative hydrogen pathways in the transport sector. The competitiveness of the alternative systems can be differentiated in the “well-to-tank (WtT)” and “tank-to-wheel (TtW)” sections of the pathway transforming primary energy...

40 CFR 35.382 - Competitive process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Competitive process. 35.382 Section 35...)(3)) § 35.382 Competitive process. State Wetlands Development Grants are awarded on a competitive... established by EPA. After the competitive process is complete, the recipient can, at its discretion, accept...

40 CFR 35.603 - Competitive process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Competitive process. 35.603 Section 35... (section 104(b)(3)) § 35.603 Competitive process. EPA will award water quality cooperative agreement funds through a competitive process in accordance with national program guidance. After the competitive process...

Testing the Pauli Exclusion Principle for Electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marton, J; Berucci, C; Cargnelli, M; Ishiwatari, T; Bartalucci, S; Bragadireanu, M; Curceanu, C; Guaraldo, C; Iliescu, M; Pietreanu, D; Piscicchia, K; Ponta, T; Vidal, A Romero; Scordo, A; Sirghi, D L; Bertolucci, S; Matteo, S Di; Egger, J-P; Laubenstein, M; Milotti, E

2013-01-01

One of the fundamental rules of nature and a pillar in the foundation of quantum theory and thus of modern physics is represented by the Pauli Exclusion Principle. We know that this principle is extremely well fulfilled due to many observations. Numerous experiments were performed to search for tiny violation of this rule in various systems. The experiment VIP at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory is searching for possible small violations of the Pauli Exclusion Principle for electrons leading to forbidden X-ray transitions in copper atoms. VIP is aiming at a test of the Pauli Exclusion Principle for electrons with high accuracy, down to the level of 10 −29 – 10 −30 , thus improving the previous limit by 3–4 orders of magnitude. The experimental method, results obtained so far and new developments within VIP2 (follow-up experiment at Gran Sasso, in preparation) to further increase the precision by 2 orders of magnitude will be presented

COMPETITION IN ROMANIAN BANKING SECTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Capraru Bogdan

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Recent turmoil in the global financial system has impacted severely on the banking sector with many banks suffering large losses and necessitating the need to raise additional capital privately or through their respective national governments. In our study we investigate the impact of structural reforms performed throughout the European Union (EU accession process on competition and contestability of banking systems in Romania. The literature of the measurement of competition can be divided into two major approaches: structural and non-structural. The structural approach to the assessment of competition embraces the Structure-Conduct-Performance Hypothesis (SCP and the Efficient Structure Hypothesis (ESH. The structural approach, as the name suggests, assesses bank competition by examining measures of market structure such as concentration ratios (the share of assets held by the top 3 or 5 institutions or indices (e.g., the Herfindhal-Hirschman index and supposes that higher concentration in the banking market causes less competitive bank conduct and leads to higher bank profitability. The SCP model is originally developed by Bain (1956. The second approach, ESH, developed by Demsetz (1973 and Peltzmann (1977 suggests that the superior performance of the market leaders determines the market structure, implying that higher efficiency produces both higher concentration and greater profitability. The non-structural indicators of competition are mainly based on the measures of monopoly power developed by Lerner (1934. The Lerner Index suggests the mark-up of price over marginal cost. An alternative non-structural indicator of the degree of market competition is the Panzar and Rosse (1987 H-statistic. The H-statistic measures the extent to which changes in banking costs are reflected in changes in banking revenues. In order to examine the level of competition and market power of banks in Romania for period 2003 - 2009, we estimate the non

Competitiveness on the International Tourism Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca Gabriela Turtureanu

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This paper comes to present and analyse the features of tourism in the main countries in Central and Western Europe, as well as the different strategies these countries adopt in order to maintain the competitiveness of the field.In the beginning, we have defined competitiveness, as the prerequisite of market success, we have analysed its components and the main factors that determine it, as well as the competitiveness – competitive advantage relation.During the last years, competitiveness has turned into one of the common concepts used in order to approach and describe the sustainable development of the tourism and travel industry. Expert literature has defined concepts such as tourism and travel competitiveness or touristic destinations competitiveness, suggesting not only the significance of the concept but also the emphasis that touristic organizations should lay on this aspect.The competitiveness of touristic destinations and, generally speaking, the global competitiveness of the tourism industry became vital for the survival and growth of the touristic organizations on the international market, provided by the growth of spare time and the growth of the level of income that is available for spending the time.

SOCIAL ASPECTS OF COMPETITIVENESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klimova A. V.

2014-06-01

Full Text Available One of the most important conditions of the existence of every organization, every enterprise is to insure the long-term sustainable development, one of the conditions of which is the increase of an organizational competitiveness. In modern economic conditions, social aspects of competitiveness are now in the foreground of interest, because just the strategy of social responsibility (SSR of modern enterprises can assure some commercial benefits, in responding, at the same time, to the social demands and in creating its well-being. Such an approach is in the basis of the notion of competitiveness. Along with «rigid parameters», such as price characteristics, the capability to deal with competitors, effective financial and production policies, «flexible factors» of competitiveness are of a big importance: a personnel potential, individual and collective competencies, organizational and managerial capabilities. As a result, we have formulated a research hypothesis: the organizational competitiveness is defined by individual and collective competencies of an organization, is based on socially responsible actions, confirms the demand for the object and insures its sustainable long-term development. Any organization should base all its actions aimed to increase its competitiveness on its intellectual potential, or on the management of individual and collective competencies that assure the sustainable development and the goal achievement. For every organizational strategic action, an effective combination of these competencies exists. So, we suggest a new definition of competitiveness: it is a social and economic category of understanding of the social responsibility, having as a central element individual and collective competencies, based on socially responsible actions of an enterprise, insuring its long-term sustainable development.

Signatures of co-evolutionary host-pathogen interactions in the genome of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae.

Science.gov (United States)

Flores-Ponce, Mitzi; Vallebueno-Estrada, Miguel; González-Orozco, Eduardo; Ramos-Aboites, Hilda E; García-Chávez, J Noé; Simões, Nelson; Montiel, Rafael

2017-04-26

The entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae has been used worldwide as a biocontrol agent for insect pests, making it an interesting model for understanding parasite-host interactions. Two models propose that these interactions are co-evolutionary processes in such a way that equilibrium is never reached. In one model, known as "arms race", new alleles in relevant genes are fixed in both host and pathogens by directional positive selection, producing recurrent and alternating selective sweeps. In the other model, known as"trench warfare", persistent dynamic fluctuations in allele frequencies are sustained by balancing selection. There are some examples of genes evolving according to both models, however, it is not clear to what extent these interactions might alter genome-level evolutionary patterns and intraspecific diversity. Here we investigate some of these aspects by studying genomic variation in S. carpocapsae and other pathogenic and free-living nematodes from phylogenetic clades IV and V. To look for signatures of an arms-race dynamic, we conducted massive scans to detect directional positive selection in interspecific data. In free-living nematodes, we detected a significantly higher proportion of genes with sites under positive selection than in parasitic nematodes. However, in these genes, we found more enriched Gene Ontology terms in parasites. To detect possible effects of dynamic polymorphisms interactions we looked for signatures of balancing selection in intraspecific genomic data. The observed distribution of Tajima's D values in S. carpocapsae was more skewed to positive values and significantly different from the observed distribution in the free-living Caenorhabditis briggsae. Also, the proportion of significant positive values of Tajima's D was elevated in genes that were differentially expressed after induction with insect tissues as compared to both non-differentially expressed genes and the global scan. Our study provides a first

Designing competitions for education in robotics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Nils Axel; Ravn, Ole

2012-01-01

The paper describes design considerations for making a robot competition. Topics as level of participants, learning objective, evaluation form, task design and competition rules are treated. It is shown that careful design considering these topics are necessary for a succesful outcome of a compet......The paper describes design considerations for making a robot competition. Topics as level of participants, learning objective, evaluation form, task design and competition rules are treated. It is shown that careful design considering these topics are necessary for a succesful outcome...... of a competition. The conclusions are based on examples from more than 15 years of experience with robotic competitions....

Social exclusion domains of the elderly: A systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maliheh Khalvati

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The elderly are considered as one of the vulnerable groups as they are subjected to the risk of decrease of participation in different domains of their life due to losing their jobs, a drop in salary and the increase of health-related problems. The current research was aimed to seek the elderly social exclusion domains in various countries around the world. Methods: This systematic review analyzed the published studies from 1999 to 2013. The articles were searched using the keywords of social exclusion along with old people, aging, elderly both in Persian and English in Google search engine and the Iranian and international databases. From among 77 studies obtained, 16 studies met the inclusion criteria for this research. Results: the findings indicated that the majority of studies (9 were conducted in Britain and the most common logical model was distributional and relational approach. Indicators were categorized in 5 domains: economic, social, health, environmental and neighborhood, and discrimination and elderly-oriented. In 50 percent of studies, access or lack of access to services, civil participations and social relations, in 12.5 percent of studies, access to proper health and in 18.7 percent of studies, living in secure environment and neighborhood were the indicators which attracted the most attention in evaluating the elderly social exclusion. Conclusion: Generally, choosing a logical and proper model to design and evaluate social exclusion contributed to decreasing the problems of social exclusion evaluation. Using the data gathered in family panels can also facilitate access to the data related to periodical evaluation of social exclusion.

48 CFR 252.229-7006 - Value added tax exclusion (United Kingdom).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Value added tax exclusion... CLAUSES Text of Provisions And Clauses 252.229-7006 Value added tax exclusion (United Kingdom). As prescribed in 229.402-70(f), use the following clause: Value Added Tax Exclusion (United Kingdom) (JUN 1997...

Casino Self- and Forced Excluders' Gambling Behavior Before and After Exclusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotter, Roxana; Kräplin, Anja; Bühringer, Gerhard

2018-06-01

Casino exclusion programs are intended to prevent or limit gambling-related harm. Although previous research showed that self-exclusion is associated with reduced gambling, it remains unknown whether self- and forced excluded subjects show different patterns of gambling behavior and if exclusion from casino gambling affects all gambling activities. The present study retrospectively investigated (1) the role of voluntariness of exclusion for the first time, and (2) general gambling behavior of excluded individuals before and after exclusion. A total of N = 215 casino excluders (self-excluders: n = 187, forced excluders: n = 28) completed an online survey or a face-to-face interview up to 8 years after enrollment. Self- and forced excluders showed similar rates of abstinence (self-excluders: 19.3%, forced excluders: 28.6%) and reduction (self-excluders: 67.4%, forced excluders: 60.7%), even though forced excluders reported a significantly greater initial gambling intensity compared to self-excluders (e.g., pre-exclusion gambling time; self-excluders: 3.2 days/week, forced excluders: 4.3 days/week). Overall, results indicated that 20.5% of excluders stopped all gambling activities and another 66.5% reduced their gambling. Those who continued gambling significantly reduced this behavior in every segment, except for gambling halls. Findings indicate that self- and forced exclusion are associated with similarly reduced gambling behavior, even in non-excluded segments. However, unchanged gambling in gambling halls emphasizes the importance to implement consistent exclusion programs over all gambling segments.

MACROECONOMIC ASPECTS OF COMPETITIVENESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg Hooke

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In the process of globalization of world economic processes, the role of individual national economies increases, comparative advantages of the development of a country are formed, and their competitiveness is ensured. That is why it is worth emphasizing the importance of increasing the competitiveness of each individual country, based on its internal capacity. In a broad aspect, the competitiveness of the national economy is perceived as the ability of the country to ensure the balance of its external proportions and to avoid those constraints imposed by the foreign economic sphere, to self-organizing the improvement of their world economic ties. The competitiveness of the economy at the macro level is associated with the duration of the cycle of reproduction of the main productive assets and, accordingly, the jobs, productive forces of society and determined by the overall economic efficiency of investment. The criteria of competitiveness of the national economy are the growth of social productivity of labor, increase of social and economic efficiency of production and standard of living of the population. The competitiveness of the national economy determines sustainable socio-economic development of the country, as well as sustainable development predetermines the competitiveness of not only the country, but also all its levels. Scientific results are obtained using special methods of research of economic objects and phenomena, that is, based on the correlation and regressive, comparative analysis (establishing the relationship between the indicator factor, as well as economic modeling. Findings. Generalizing analysis and the importance of the macroeconomic aspect of competitiveness were used in the research paper, which will allow to better respond to the economic situation, in accordance with the trends of the “green” transformation of the economy; which in turn will solve important problems of the development and implementation of its

77 FR 38771 - Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent License

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-29

... Exclusive Patent License AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice of prospective grant of exclusive patent license. SUMMARY: This is a notice in accordance... embodied in U.S. Patent Application No. 13/346,999 titled ``Chirped-Pulse Terahertz Spectroscopy for...

Competition Policy and Innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møllgaard, Peter; Lorentzen, Jo

2005-01-01

We briefly review the rationale behind technological alliances and provide a snapshot oftheir role in global competition, especially insofar as it is based around intellectual capital.They nicely illustrate the increased importance of horizontal agreements and thusestablish the relevance of the t......We briefly review the rationale behind technological alliances and provide a snapshot oftheir role in global competition, especially insofar as it is based around intellectual capital.They nicely illustrate the increased importance of horizontal agreements and thusestablish the relevance...... of the topic. We move on to discuss the organisation of industriesin a dynamic context and draw out consequences for competition policy. We concludewith an outlook on the underlying tensions between technology alliances, competitionpolicy, and industrial policy.JEL codes: L4, L5, O31Keywords: Competition...

COMPETITIVENESS FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelu Eugen POPESCU

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The current economic environment puts pressure on all national economies which struggle to improve their competitiveness and innovativeness in a sustainable way. This article aims to present the current state of the competitiveness by reviewing the main literature and worldwide researches, in order to provide a brief overview of the determinants that drive productivity and economic success at global and national level, taking into consideration the entrepreneurial activity for a country’s competitiveness and economic growth. The paper identifies the ways in which efficiency driven countries can improve their policies and get a better return on their investments, underlining a set of competitiveness enhancing policies (measures that can be implemented by public and private institutions in order to strengthen the economic fundamentals of the economies.

Facilitative-competitive interactions in an old-growth forest: the importance of large-diameter trees as benefactors and stimulators for forest community assembly.

Science.gov (United States)

Fichtner, Andreas; Forrester, David I; Härdtle, Werner; Sturm, Knut; von Oheimb, Goddert

2015-01-01

The role of competition in tree communities is increasingly well understood, while little is known about the patterns and mechanisms of the interplay between above- and belowground competition in tree communities. This knowledge, however, is crucial for a better understanding of community dynamics and developing adaptive near-natural management strategies. We assessed neighbourhood interactions in an unmanaged old-growth European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forest by quantifying variation in the intensity of above- (shading) and belowground competition (crowding) among dominant and co-dominant canopy beech trees during tree maturation. Shading had on average a much larger impact on radial growth than crowding and the sensitivity to changes in competitive conditions was lowest for crowding effects. We found that each mode of competition reduced the effect of the other. Increasing crowding reduced the negative effect of shading, and at high levels of shading, crowding actually had a facilitative effect and increased growth. Our study demonstrates that complementarity in above- and belowground processes enable F. sylvatica to alter resource acquisition strategies, thus optimising tree radial growth. As a result, competition seemed to become less important in stands with a high growing stock and tree communities with a long continuity of anthropogenic undisturbed population dynamics. We suggest that growth rates do not exclusively depend on the density of potential competitors at the intraspecific level, but on the conspecific aggregation of large-diameter trees and their functional role for regulating biotic filtering processes. This finding highlights the potential importance of the rarely examined relationship between the spatial aggregation pattern of large-diameter trees and the outcome of neighbourhood interactions, which may be central to community dynamics and the related forest ecosystem services.

Facilitative-Competitive Interactions in an Old-Growth Forest: The Importance of Large-Diameter Trees as Benefactors and Stimulators for Forest Community Assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Fichtner, Andreas; Forrester, David I.; Härdtle, Werner; Sturm, Knut; von Oheimb, Goddert

2015-01-01

The role of competition in tree communities is increasingly well understood, while little is known about the patterns and mechanisms of the interplay between above- and belowground competition in tree communities. This knowledge, however, is crucial for a better understanding of community dynamics and developing adaptive near-natural management strategies. We assessed neighbourhood interactions in an unmanaged old-growth European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forest by quantifying variation in the intensity of above- (shading) and belowground competition (crowding) among dominant and co-dominant canopy beech trees during tree maturation. Shading had on average a much larger impact on radial growth than crowding and the sensitivity to changes in competitive conditions was lowest for crowding effects. We found that each mode of competition reduced the effect of the other. Increasing crowding reduced the negative effect of shading, and at high levels of shading, crowding actually had a facilitative effect and increased growth. Our study demonstrates that complementarity in above- and belowground processes enable F. sylvatica to alter resource acquisition strategies, thus optimising tree radial growth. As a result, competition seemed to become less important in stands with a high growing stock and tree communities with a long continuity of anthropogenic undisturbed population dynamics. We suggest that growth rates do not exclusively depend on the density of potential competitors at the intraspecific level, but on the conspecific aggregation of large-diameter trees and their functional role for regulating biotic filtering processes. This finding highlights the potential importance of the rarely examined relationship between the spatial aggregation pattern of large-diameter trees and the outcome of neighbourhood interactions, which may be central to community dynamics and the related forest ecosystem services. PMID:25803035

Exclusive B Decays to Charmonium Final States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barrera, Barbara

2000-10-13

We report on exclusive decays of B mesons into final states containing charmonium using data collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II storage rings. The charmonium states considered here are J/{psi}, {psi}(2S), and {chi}{sub c1}. Branching fractions for several exclusive final states, a measurement of the decay amplitudes for the B{sup 0} {yields} J/{psi} K* decay, and measurements of the B{sup 0} and B{sup +} masses are presented. All of the results we present here are preliminary.

Product market competition and corporate governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Chou

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates whether product market competition acts as an external mechanism for disciplining management and also whether there is any relationship between the degree of competition a firm faces and its corporate governance. We find that firms in competitive industries or with low market power tend to have weak corporate governance structures. Results are robust to various competition measures at firm and industry levels, even after controlling for firm-specific variables. We further find that corporate governance quality has a significant effect on performance only when product market competition is weak. The overall evidence suggests that product market competition has a substantial impact on corporate governance and that it substitutes for corporate governance quality. Finally, we provide evidence that the disciplinary force of competition on management is from the fear of liquidation.

The Necessity of ASEAN Competition Law: Rethinking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Udin Silalahi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As outlined in the AEC Blueprint, all ASEAN member states (AMSs will endeavour to introduce competition policy by 2015. At present 7 (seven AMSs, namely: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar have the national competition laws to supervise anti-competitive conduct in the domestic market. But the question is what if happened unfair competition between ASEAN member states, due to the agreement or businesses activities by business actors that harm competition? ASEAN has an ASEAN Regional Guidelines on Competition Policy (ARGCP that developed by ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC as framework for member states to develop its own competition law or policy and as a guideline in measuring that directly affect the behaviour of enterprises and the structure of industry and markets. Regional Guideline is just to help AMSs in increasing of awareness of important policy, not to sustain the competition among ASEAN member countries. Until now there is no ASEAN Competition Law and Institution to oversee competition among ASEAN member countries. In this era, ASEAN economic integration it is a certainty that anti-competitive among AMSs will happen.

Competitive advantage and corporate communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitić Sanja

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Strategic importance of corporate communications and its role in the development of competitive advantage has attracted interest of numerous researchers in the fields of organization, management, marketing and public relations. Recent studies particularly emphasise the growing importance of soft factors, such as reputation in the development of competitive advantage. Concept of reputation is strongly connected with stakeholder theory, which stresses the importance of corporate communications for competitive advantage of firms. The paper focuses on competitive advantage and the link among strategy, reputation and corporate communications.

Exclusive processes at Jefferson Lab

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

There is no clear guidance from theory as to the limits of the transition region; .... behavior in exclusive photoreactions with hadrons in the final state at large t may provide .... The planned medium acceptance detector (MAD) system in Hall A.

Exclusive breastfeeding rate and factors associated with infant feeding practices in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yovita Ananta

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background Breast milk is the ideal food for infants. According to the 2007 Indonesian National Household Health Survey, only 23% of mothers exclusively breastfeed for six months. Objectives To determine the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia, to evaluate factors associated with infant feeding practices, and to compare the nutritional and developmental status between exclusively-breastfed and formula-fed infants. Methods A survey was conducted in hospitals located in 17 provinces in Indonesia. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding was calculated. Many variables were investigated as potential predictors for exclusive breastfeeding using a multivariable logistic regression analysis. Further analysis was performed to compare the nutritional and developmental status between exclusively breastfed and formula-fed infants at the time of survey. Results From 1,804 infant subjects, the overall rate of exclusive breastfeeding was 46.3%, ranging from 10.5% in East Java to 66.9% in Jambi. Predominant breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and formula feeding rates were 14.3%, 8.6%, and 30.7%, respectively. Maternal unemployment was associated with a longer duration of breastfeeding (P=0.000. There were significantly more formula-fed infants who were undernourished compared to exclusively-breastfed infants (14% vs. 8%, P=0.001. There were also significantly more infants in the formula-fed group who had abnormal head circumference compared to those in the exclusively-breastfed group (9% vs. 6%, P=0.031. Child development, as assessed by the Pre-screening Developmental Questionnaire, was similar between the two groups (P=0.996. Conclusion The overall rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia is 46.3%. Maternal unemployment is associated with longer duration of breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfed infants have significant better growth and head circumference compared to formula fed infants, while the development is similar between the two groups.

Competition in a Business Network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ellegaard, Chris; Medlin, Christopher J

Competition and cooperation stabilize and structure business networks. In business research there is little focus on network based competition between firms and on how firms compete to gain network position. We review a range of conceptualizations of competition and cooperation and work towards...... research and also managerial thinking about network strategy and implementation....

Theoretical Basis Of The Company Competitiveness Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Nikiforovich Belkin

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the basic theoretical questions of the company competitiveness assessment. The state of modern economic thought on this issue is shown. The main factors of the company competitiveness are specified. A specific role of staff of an enterprise is revealed: on the one hand, it is a resource, on the other is a subject, resulting in productive movement all factors of competitiveness, i.e. the staff is a critical factor in the company competitiveness. The criterion of company competitiveness is proposed, on its basis, the concept of “competitive enterprise” is defined. The most well-known approaches for assessing the company competitiveness are analyzed. The author’s method of the company competitiveness assessment based on the dynamics of the integral index of competitiveness is provided. For those cases, when it is impossible to determine the proportion of products on the market, it is proposed to evaluate the company competitiveness on the profitability of its production. The article shows the experience in calculating of the company competitiveness on the proposed author’s methods.

Discovering the Nature of Competitive Personality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga A. Klyueva

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The concept of “competitiveness” has been most thoroughly developed in theframework of modern economics and management. Apart from economic factors,this concept also embraces social and psychological factors, but economic modelsdo not reveal the psychological essence of the concept of “competitive personality.”Analytical review of the psychological and educational case studies of the competitive-personality problem has brought to light the ambiguity in this concept alongwith a multitude of models that distinguish individual aspects of a competitivepersonality. Most creators of the various models emphasize the quality of the conditionsnecessary for forming and developing a competitive personality.In economics, competition is an essential, inherent feature of various types of activitywhere conflicts of interest occur. However, the established economic modelof competitive personality reduces and replaces the psychological content of theconcept.Theoretically and experimentally the authors of this article substantiate their disclosureof the competitive-personality concept via its creative potential. Results ofan in-depth study confirm that the ability to achieve success through one’s owninitiative, anticipating the demands of competition, appears to be the backbonefor competitiveness of personality.

48 CFR 1328.203-7 - Exclusion of individual sureties.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Exclusion of individual sureties. 1328.203-7 Section 1328.203-7 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE... Exclusion of individual sureties. The designee authorized to exclude an individual from acting as a surety...

The ADS/QCD correspondence and exclusive processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brodsky, Stanley J.; De Teramond, Guy F.; Deur, Alexandre

2011-01-01

The AdS/CFT correspondence between theories in AdS space and conformal field theories in physical space-time provides an analytic, semi-classical, color-confining model for strongly-coupled QCD. The soft-wall AdS/QCD model, modified by a positive-sign dilaton metric, leads to a remarkable one-parameter description of nonperturbative hadron dynamics at zero quark mass, including a zero-mass pion and meson and baryon Regge spectra of linear trajectories with the same slope in orbital angular momentum L and radial quantum number n. One also predicts the form of the non-perturbative effective coupling alpha AdS/s (Q) and its Beta-function which agrees with the effective coupling alphag1 extracted from the Bjorken sum rule. Light-front holography, which connects the fifth-dimensional coordinate of AdS space z to an invariant impact separation variable zeta, allows one to compute the analytic form of the frame-independent light-front wave functions, the fundamental entities which encode hadron properties as well as decay constants, form factors, deeply-virtual Compton scattering, exclusive heavy hadron decays, and other exclusive scattering amplitudes. One thus obtains a relativistic description of hadrons in QCD at the amplitude level with dimensional counting for exclusive reactions at high momentum transfer. As specific examples, we discuss the behavior of the pion and nucleon form factors in the space-like and time-like regions. We also review the phenomenology of exclusive processes including some anomalous empirical results.

Environmental regulation and competitiveness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mulatu, A.; Florax, R.J.G.M.; Withagen, C.A.A.M.

2001-01-01

The potential relationship between domestic environmental regulation and international competitiveness has evoked various speculations. The common neoclassical train of thought is that strict environmental regulation is detrimental to the competitiveness of industry, and that it induces phenomena

Competition for a better future? Effects of competition on child care quality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Akgündüz, Y.E.; Plantenga, J.

2013-01-01

Little is known about how competition affects child care centers’ quality. This paper examines the impact of competition on the quality of Dutch child care centers. The results show that high density of child care centers in an area improves scores in quality assessment measures. The positive

Regional Competitiveness and Its Implications for Development

OpenAIRE

Daryono Soebagyo; Triyono Triyono; Yuli Tri Cahyono

2015-01-01

This study was conducted to identify regional competitiveness in some areas of Central Java. Regional competitiveness became one of the issues in regional development policy since the enactment of local autonomy.Measurement of regional competitiveness has been mostly done through ranking as a benchmark the competitiveness of the region. Mapping regional competitiveness in Indonesia has been made to all counties and cities, which shows the competitiveness ranking of each region. Competitivenes...

Competition between deformability and charge transport in semiconducting polymers for flexible and stretchable electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Printz, Adam D.; Lipomi, Darren J.

2016-01-01

The primary goal of the field concerned with organic semiconductors is to produce devices with performance approaching that of silicon electronics, but with the deformability—flexibility and stretchability—of conventional plastics. However, an inherent competition between deformability and charge transport has long been observed in these materials, and achieving the extreme (or even moderate) deformability implied by the word “plastic” concurrently with high charge transport may be elusive. This competition arises because the properties needed for high carrier mobilities—e.g., rigid chains in π-conjugated polymers and high degrees of crystallinity in the solid state—are antithetical to deformability. On the device scale, this competition can lead to low-performance yet mechanically robust devices, or high-performance devices that fail catastrophically (e.g., cracking, cohesive failure, and delamination) under strain. There are, however, some observations that contradict the notion of the mutual exclusivity of electronic and mechanical performances. These observations suggest that this problem may not be a fundamental trade-off, but rather an inconvenience that may be negotiated by a logical selection of materials and processing conditions. For example, the selection of the poly(3-alkylthiophene) with a critical side-chain length—poly(3-heptylthiophene) (n = 7)—marries the high deformability of poly(3-octylthiophene) (n = 8) with the high electronic performance (as manifested in photovoltaic efficiency) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (n = 6). This review explores the relationship between deformability and charge transport in organic semiconductors. The principal conclusions are that reducing the competition between these two parameters is in fact possible, with two demonstrated routes being: (1) incorporation of softer, insulating material into a stiffer, semiconducting material and (2) increasing disorder in a highly ordered film, but not

Competition between deformability and charge transport in semiconducting polymers for flexible and stretchable electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Printz, Adam D.; Lipomi, Darren J., E-mail: dlipomi@ucsd.edu [Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, Mail Code 0448, La Jolla, California 92093-0448 (United States)

2016-06-15

The primary goal of the field concerned with organic semiconductors is to produce devices with performance approaching that of silicon electronics, but with the deformability—flexibility and stretchability—of conventional plastics. However, an inherent competition between deformability and charge transport has long been observed in these materials, and achieving the extreme (or even moderate) deformability implied by the word “plastic” concurrently with high charge transport may be elusive. This competition arises because the properties needed for high carrier mobilities—e.g., rigid chains in π-conjugated polymers and high degrees of crystallinity in the solid state—are antithetical to deformability. On the device scale, this competition can lead to low-performance yet mechanically robust devices, or high-performance devices that fail catastrophically (e.g., cracking, cohesive failure, and delamination) under strain. There are, however, some observations that contradict the notion of the mutual exclusivity of electronic and mechanical performances. These observations suggest that this problem may not be a fundamental trade-off, but rather an inconvenience that may be negotiated by a logical selection of materials and processing conditions. For example, the selection of the poly(3-alkylthiophene) with a critical side-chain length—poly(3-heptylthiophene) (n = 7)—marries the high deformability of poly(3-octylthiophene) (n = 8) with the high electronic performance (as manifested in photovoltaic efficiency) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (n = 6). This review explores the relationship between deformability and charge transport in organic semiconductors. The principal conclusions are that reducing the competition between these two parameters is in fact possible, with two demonstrated routes being: (1) incorporation of softer, insulating material into a stiffer, semiconducting material and (2) increasing disorder in a highly ordered film, but not

Export competitiveness of pakistani horticultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhtar, W.; Akmal, N.; Shah, H.; Tahir, A.; Niazi, M.A.

2013-01-01

This paper examines Pakistan's competitiveness in export of selected horticulture commodities by employing set of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and revealed competitive advantage indices with respect to global trade. Results demonstrate that Pakistan has comparative and competitive advantage over the period under analysis and indicates a transition from comparative and competitive disadvantage to comparative and competitive advantage during the period under analysis. Tangerines, mandarins, clem have maintained relatively higher revealed comparative advantage as compared to other categories for the whole period under analysis. Onion export has revealed comparative advantage with some fluctuations over time. The research indicates that Pakistan's comparative and competitive advantages have been increasing in all the selected commodities during period under analysis which indicates the potential of horticulture exports for foreign exchange earnings. There is need to strengthen comparative and competitive advantage in horticulture sector by policy support and facilitating role by all stakeholders. (author)

Exclusive meson production at COMPASS

CERN Document Server

Pochodzalla, Josef; Moinester, Murray; Piller, Gunther; Sandacz, Andrzej; Vanderhaeghen, Marc; Pochodzalla, Josef; Mankiewicz, Lech; Moinester, Murray; Piller, Gunther; Sandacz, Andrzej; Vanderhaeghen, Marc

1999-01-01

We explore the feasibility to study exclusive meson production (EMP) in hard muon-proton scattering at the COMPASS experiment. These measurements constrain the off-forward parton distributions (OFPD's) of the proton, which are related to the quark orbital contribution to the proton spin.

Exclusive hadronic and nuclear processes in QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brodsky, S.J.

1985-12-01

Hadronic and nuclear processes are covered, in which all final particles are measured at large invariant masses compared with each other, i.e., large momentum transfer exclusive reactions. Hadronic wave functions in QCD and QCD sum rule constraints on hadron wave functions are discussed. The question of the range of applicability of the factorization formula and perturbation theory for exclusive processes is considered. Some consequences of quark and gluon degrees of freedom in nuclei are discussed which are outside the usual domain of traditional nuclear physics. 44 refs., 7 figs

Exclusion Statistics in Conformal Field Theory Spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoutens, K.

1997-01-01

We propose a new method for investigating the exclusion statistics of quasiparticles in conformal field theory (CFT) spectra. The method leads to one-particle distribution functions, which generalize the Fermi-Dirac distribution. For the simplest SU(n) invariant CFTs we find a generalization of Gentile parafermions, and we obtain new distributions for the simplest Z N -invariant CFTs. In special examples, our approach reproduces distributions based on 'fractional exclusion statistics' in the sense of Haldane. We comment on applications to fractional quantum Hall effect edge theories. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

The practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers attending a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine reported infant feeding practice with reference to exclusive breastfeeding, exclusive formula feeding and mixed feeding at six weeks postpartum among women attending a postnatal clinic in the Tswaing subdistrict of North West province, and the strength of the association ...

77 FR 65673 - Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent License

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-30

... Exclusive Patent License AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce. ACTION: Notice of prospective grant of exclusive patent license. SUMMARY: This is a notice in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(e.... Patent Application No. 61/625,511 titled ``UV-Assisted Alcohol Sensing with Zinc Oxide Functionalized...

77 FR 48130 - Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent License

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-13

... Exclusive Patent License AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce. ACTION: Notice of prospective grant of exclusive patent license. SUMMARY: This is a notice in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(e... Provisional Application for Patent Application No. 61,638,362 titled ``Flow Cytometer Systems and Associated...

Competition for nutrients and light: testing advances in resource competition with a natural phytoplankton community.

Science.gov (United States)

Burson, Amanda; Stomp, Maayke; Greenwell, Emma; Grosse, Julia; Huisman, Jef

2018-05-01

A key challenge in ecology is to understand how nutrients and light affect the biodiversity and community structure of phytoplankton and plant communities. According to resource competition models, ratios of limiting nutrients are major determinants of species composition. At high nutrient levels, however, species interactions may shift to competition for light, which might make nutrient ratios less relevant. The "nutrient-load hypothesis" merges these two perspectives, by extending the classic model of competition for two nutrients to include competition for light. Here, we test five key predictions of the nutrient-load hypothesis using multispecies competition experiments. A marine phytoplankton community sampled from the North Sea was inoculated in laboratory chemostats provided with different nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loads to induce either single resource limitation or co-limitation of N, P, and light. Four of the five predictions were validated by the experiments. In particular, different resource limitations favored the dominance of different species. Increasing nutrient loads caused changes in phytoplankton species composition, even if the N:P ratio of the nutrient loads remained constant, by shifting the species interactions from competition for nutrients to competition for light. In all treatments, small species became dominant whereas larger species were competitively excluded, supporting the common view that small cell size provides a competitive advantage under resource-limited conditions. Contrary to expectation, all treatments led to coexistence of diatoms, cyanobacteria and green algae, resulting in a higher diversity of species than predicted by theory. Because the coexisting species comprised three phyla with different photosynthetic pigments, we speculate that niche differentiation in the light spectrum might play a role. Our results show that mechanistic resource competition models that integrate nutrient-based and light-based approaches

MEASURING COMPETITIVENESS OF ECONOMIC ENTITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MUNGIU-PUPĂZAN MARIANA CLAUDIA

2013-12-01

Full Text Available A competitive structure of a national economy is influenced by the competitiveness of each of the actors made the national economy. In other words, to achieve competitive economic structure shall contribute all sectors of the national economy and hence all branches of the national economy, all organizations within each branch. Thus, the productive sectors of the economy contribute by increasing their competitiveness, GDP growth, added value, while other branches making a contribution through activity, increased quality of life (health, culture, social in training skilled labor (education to ensure effective functioning of the judiciary, protection of private property and citizen safety, lower crime rate (police, reducing the risk of political instability, increasing social cohesion, social disparities (richness and extreme poverty, and discrimination against women and minority groups. Human resources are probably the most important factor determining the competitiveness of an area. The ability of a country to move up the value chain is closely related to human resource capability. In understanding the competitive evaluation is important to assess not only in terms of education, improvement, skills and work experience, but also in terms of other attributes, more difficult to measure, as entrepreneurial relationships, creativity and risk tolerance. Secondly, we must accept that individual productivity is determined by external factors. Latent potential of the individual can develop when the person moves to another environment that provides better and more opportunities. Currently structural changes to remain competitive obtaining essential parameters of the Romanian economy to cope with competitive pressures of the single European market.

Concept analysis of competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bychkovskii Andrei Yurevich

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Approaches to determine the competitiveness of enterprises. The techniques of estimating the probability of bankruptcy as the lowest level of competitiveness of the organization. Asked to assess the competitiveness on the basis of the analysis of internal and external factors of the company. External factors are asked to provide a financial and economic, political, industrial, technological, social, environmental. Internal factors proposed to explore, using the model of "the golden rule of business economics" in conjunction with approaches for assessing the ability of the enterprise to create value.

Using the Competitive Dimensions to Achieve Competitive Advantage A Study on Jordanian Private Hospitals

OpenAIRE

Salah M. Diab

2014-01-01

This study aims to know, if the Jordanian private hospitals using the competitive dimensions to achieve competitive advantage, the Study populations consists of all managers at the Jordanian private hospital, were as the sample consisting of (200) managers. The simple statistical methods were used like repetitions, percentages, means, standard deviations, and multiple liner regression .The results showed that the Jordanian private hospitals used all the competition dimensions to achieve compe...

Social Exclusion of Disadvantaged Groups in the Modern Russian Society

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Evelina Ravilevna Galieva

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Social exclusion is both a scientific theory and a socio-political discourse. This paper deals with the study of social exclusion of deprived groups such as drug users, which is based on an analysis of complex issues arising from the spread and use of psychoactive substances. The spread of drug abuse as a phenomenon is the cause of the stigmatization of communities and the exclusion of drug users from societies. The problem carriers are not only patients with drug addiction, but also those who have experience of one-time, episodic experiments with drugs and psychotropic substances. This paper is based on the results of empirical studies, which the subject was the study of drug use practices in modern society. The combination of a quantitative and qualitative strategy for data collection and analysis represented a dynamic accumulation of information at different levels about the object under study – social exclusion of drug users: methods of document analysis were applied such as regulatory legal acts, interviews with drug users and experts in the field of drug use and questionnaire survey, as well as secondary analysis of data from all-Russian sociological research. The social exclusion of deprived groups and ways to overcome it directly depend on the nature of the scenarios for social exclusion, which is the result of the stigmatization of deprived groups.

Analysis of the key competitive advantage resources - the case of BRF Foods

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Jacir Favretto

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to analyze the relationship between organizational capabilities and the competitive performance of BRF Foods, using the Resource Based View method. It is a case study, developed in agribusiness with the controller of the BRF unit located in Concordia, Santa Catarina. A document analysis of sustainability and management reports was also conducted for the year 2014. It was found that technology, central planning of raw materials and centrally planned sales are considered valuable resources. Improvement of the usage conditions of natural resources (finite, through the reduction of water and energy consumption and programs for the sustainability of agriculture, pig farming and poultry farming are considered rare resources. Design, R & D, given technology, market vision and the existence of exclusive contract are difficult resources to imitate. Among the organizational resources, brand, structured distribution capacity, development of new products and market niches are particularly important.

Modeling discrete competitive facility location

CERN Document Server

Karakitsiou, Athanasia

2015-01-01

This book presents an up-to-date review of modeling and optimization approaches for location problems along with a new bi-level programming methodology which captures the effect of competition of both producers and customers on facility location decisions. While many optimization approaches simplify location problems by assuming decision making in isolation, this monograph focuses on models which take into account the competitive environment in which such decisions are made. New insights in modeling, algorithmic and theoretical possibilities are opened by this approach and new applications are possible. Competition on equal term plus competition between market leader and followers are considered in this study, consequently bi-level optimization methodology is emphasized and further developed. This book provides insights regarding modeling complexity and algorithmic approaches to discrete competitive location problems. In traditional location modeling, assignment of customer demands to supply sources are made ...

Child Social Exclusion Risk and Child Health Outcomes in Australia.

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Itismita Mohanty

Full Text Available This paper studies the relationship between the risk of child social exclusion, as measured by the Child Social Exclusion (CSE index and its individual domains, and child health outcomes at the small area level in Australia. The CSE index is Australia's only national small-area index of the risk of child social exclusion. It includes five domains that capture different components of social exclusion: socio-economic background, education, connectedness, housing and health services.The paper used data from the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM, University of Canberra for the CSE Index and its domains and two key Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW data sources for the health outcome measures: the National Hospital Morbidity Database and the National Mortality Database.The results show positive associations between rates of both of the negative health outcomes: potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPH and avoidable deaths, and the overall risk of child social exclusion as well as with the index domains. This analysis at the small-area level can be used to identify and study areas with unexpectedly good or bad health outcomes relative to their estimated risk of child social exclusion. We show that children's health outcomes are worse in remote parts of Australia than what would be expected solely based on the CSE index.The results of this study suggest that developing composite indices of the risk of child social exclusion can provide valuable guidance for local interventions and programs aimed at improving children's health outcomes. They also indicate the importance of taking a small-area approach when conducting geographic modelling of disadvantage.

Electricity market competition and nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varley, C.; Paffenbarger, J.

1999-01-01

Throughout the world, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries' governments are promoting competitive electricity markets. In particular, there is a move away from administrative price-setting by government institutions to market price-setting through the introduction of competition. Today this is often focused on competition in generation. However, competition among final electricity suppliers and distributors to provide effective consumer choice is a further step that governments are likely to pursue as experience with market reform grows. This competitive environment will undoubtedly impact upon the nuclear generation industry. Competition will provide an opportunity to reinvigorate nuclear power; it will improve the transparency of energy policy-making and the policy framework for nuclear power; it will spur innovation in existing plants and help prospects for new plant build; and provide a strong impetus for cost reduction and innovation. This paper discusses these issues in detail. It looks at the potential benefits and challenges to the nuclear generation industry arising from an increasingly competitive market. (author)

48 CFR 28.203-7 - Exclusion of individual sureties.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Exclusion of individual... Exclusion of individual sureties. (a) An individual may be excluded from acting as a surety on bonds... of protecting the Government. (b) An individual may be excluded for any of the following causes: (1...

Social exclusion and education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jokić Vesna

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Social exclusion is a process whereby certain individuals are pushed to the edge of society and prevented from participating fully by virtue of their poverty, or lack of basic competencies and lifelong learning opportunities or as a result of discrimination. This distances them from job, income and education opportunities as well as social and community networks and activities. Quality education (conditions and access/accessibility/availability is one of the factors that significantly influence the reduced social exclusion. In other words, education has is key role key role in ensuring social inclusion (equal opportunities and active social participation. At the same time, education and lifelong learning is established as the basis for achieving the goals of sustainable economic development (economy based on knowledge and to achieve social cohesion. Quality education is a prerequisite for progress, development and well-being of the community. Conditions and accessibility to education have become priorities of national reforms in most European countries. The subject of this paper is the educational structure of population of Serbia and the accessibility of education. The analysis covers the educational structure with regard to age, gender and type of settlement (city and other/villages settlements.

Breastfeeding in Tigray and Gonder, Ethiopia, with special reference to exclusive/almost exclusive breastfeeding beyond six months.

Science.gov (United States)

Getahun, Zewditu; Scherbaum, Veronika; Taffese, Yonas; Teshome, Beka; Biesalski, Hans Konrad

2004-11-01

This study assesses the initiation and duration of exclusive/almost exclusive breastfeeding (Ex/AEx-BF) versus partial breastfeeding (P-BF) and its relationship to infant growth and maternal body mass index (BMI) in Ethiopian infants up to 12 months of age (Tigray n = 471; Gonder n =596). Initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hr after birth was 1.7 times more common in Tigray. In Gonder 19% of the mothers started breastfeeding on the third day of delivery and consequently, a significant higher proportion of newborns were offered prelacteal feeds (Phigher in both regions compared to the Ex/AEx-BF group (in Gonder 25% vs 5.9%; in Tigray 42.9% vs 33.3%). Nutrition education to raise awareness of mothers regarding initiation of exclusive breastfeeding directly after birth, the value of colostrum and avoidance of pre-postlacteal feeds, needs to be implemented. A new health package to be implemented could be a proper vehicle to reach the rural population, which doesn't have access to health services. The relationship between infant growth, mode of feeding and mothers nutritional status should be further investigated, particularly in populations with a high prevalence of maternal and infant nutrition and where long term breastfeeding is practiced.

Competition, Ownership and Productivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baghdasaryan, Delia; la Cour, Lisbeth

2013-01-01

Theoretical results support two concurrent views regarding the mediating role that ownership structure might play on the effect of competition on firm performance. According to one stream of literature, competition has a high, positive impact in companies that have an effective ownership structur...

Density profiles of the exclusive queuing process

Science.gov (United States)

Arita, Chikashi; Schadschneider, Andreas

2012-12-01

The exclusive queuing process (EQP) incorporates the exclusion principle into classic queuing models. It is characterized by, in addition to the entrance probability α and exit probability β, a third parameter: the hopping probability p. The EQP can be interpreted as an exclusion process of variable system length. Its phase diagram in the parameter space (α,β) is divided into a convergent phase and a divergent phase by a critical line which consists of a curved part and a straight part. Here we extend previous studies of this phase diagram. We identify subphases in the divergent phase, which can be distinguished by means of the shape of the density profile, and determine the velocity of the system length growth. This is done for EQPs with different update rules (parallel, backward sequential and continuous time). We also investigate the dynamics of the system length and the number of customers on the critical line. They are diffusive or subdiffusive with non-universal exponents that also depend on the update rules.

Costing and competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, K; Brignall, S

1994-01-01

Working for patients established a new system of contracts between providers and purchasers of healthcare, with prices based on full costs, avoiding cross-subsidization. The new regime necessitates greatly improved costing systems, to improve the efficiency of service provision by creating price competition between providers. Ken Bates and Stan Brignall argue that non-price competition also occurs, with providers 'differentiating' on quality of service/product, flexibility or innovation.

Intergroup Contact is Related to Evaluations of Interracial Peer Exclusion in African American Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruck, Martin D; Park, Henry; Crystal, David S; Killen, Melanie

2015-06-01

There are few published studies on the influence of intergroup contact on ethnic minority public school students' evaluations of interracial exclusion. In this study, African American children and adolescents (N = 158, 4th, 7th, and 10th grade; 67.1%) were individually interviewed regarding peer exclusion for scenarios depicting cross-race peer exclusion in various contexts. The level of positive intergroup contact, attribution of motives for exclusion, wrongfulness ratings, reasoning about exclusion, estimations of the frequency of exclusion, and awareness of the use of stereotypes to justify racial exclusion were assessed. Intergroup contact was significantly related to attributions of racial motives, higher ratings of wrongfulness, greater use of moral reasoning, and higher estimations of the frequency of exclusion. In addition to context effects, with increasing grade participants were more likely to refer to the historical and social circumstances contributing to the manifestation of racial stereotypes used to justify exclusion. The findings are discussed in terms of the existing research on intergroup relations and evaluations of social exclusion.

29 CFR 801.10 - Exclusion for public sector employers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Exclusion for public sector employers. 801.10 Section 801... public sector employers. (a) Section 7(a) provides an exclusion from the Act's coverage for the United... public officials (i.e., appointed by an elected public official(s) and/or subject to removal procedures...

48 CFR 828.203-7 - Exclusion of individual sureties.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Exclusion of individual... Exclusion of individual sureties. The DSPE may make the determinations referenced in FAR 28.203-7: (a) To exclude individuals from acting as surety on bonds; and (b) To accept bonds from individuals named on the...

32 CFR Appendix B to Part 989 - Categorical Exclusions

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

.... Proponent/EPF Responsibility Although a proposed action may qualify for a categorical exclusion from the requirements for environmental impact analysis under NEPA, this exclusion does not relieve the EPF or the... an EIS or an EA resulting in a FONSI. The EPF must document application of this CATEX on AF Form 813...

Computing with competition in biochemical networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Genot, Anthony J; Fujii, Teruo; Rondelez, Yannick

2012-11-16

Cells rely on limited resources such as enzymes or transcription factors to process signals and make decisions. However, independent cellular pathways often compete for a common molecular resource. Competition is difficult to analyze because of its nonlinear global nature, and its role remains unclear. Here we show how decision pathways such as transcription networks may exploit competition to process information. Competition for one resource leads to the recognition of convex sets of patterns, whereas competition for several resources (overlapping or cascaded regulons) allows even more general pattern recognition. Competition also generates surprising couplings, such as correlating species that share no resource but a common competitor. The mechanism we propose relies on three primitives that are ubiquitous in cells: multiinput motifs, competition for a resource, and positive feedback loops.

Distributed Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2018-02-27

The Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) is a periodic solicitation through the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) is a periodic solicitation through the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Manufacturers of small and medium wind turbines are awarded cost-shared grants via a competitive process to optimize their designs, develop advanced manufacturing processes, and perform turbine testing. The goals of the CIP are to make wind energy cost competitive with other distributed generation technology and increase the number of wind turbine designs certified to national testing standards. This fact sheet describes the CIP and funding awarded as part of the project.ufacturers of small and medium wind turbines are awarded cost-shared grants via a competitive process to optimize their designs, develop advanced manufacturing processes, and perform turbine testing. The goals of the CIP are to make wind energy cost competitive with other distributed generation technology and increase the number of wind turbine designs certified to national testing standards. This fact sheet describes the CIP and funding awarded as part of the project.

Evolutionary disarmament in interspecific competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Kisdi, E; Geritz, S A

2001-12-22

Competitive asymmetry, which is the advantage of having a larger body or stronger weaponry than a contestant, drives spectacular evolutionary arms races in intraspecific competition. Similar asymmetries are well documented in interspecific competition, yet they seldom lead to exaggerated traits. Here we demonstrate that two species with substantially different size may undergo parallel coevolution towards a smaller size under the same ecological conditions where a single species would exhibit an evolutionary arms race. We show that disarmament occurs for a wide range of parameters in an ecologically explicit model of competition for a single shared resource; disarmament also occurs in a simple Lotka-Volterra competition model. A key property of both models is the interplay between evolutionary dynamics and population density. The mechanism does not rely on very specific features of the model. Thus, evolutionary disarmament may be widespread and may help to explain the lack of interspecific arms races.

Clash of the crabs: Interspecific, inter-cohort competition between the native European green crab, Carcinus maenas and the exotic brush clawed crab Hemigrapsus takanoi on artificial oyster reefs

Science.gov (United States)

van den Brink, Anneke; Hutting, Samara

2017-10-01

Interaction between cohorts was investigated with juveniles of the native crab Carcinus maenas and adults of the exotic crab Hemigrapsus takanoi on artificial, intertidal oyster reefs. The reefs are occupied by C. maenas seasonally as a nursery habitat and consistently by adult H. takanoi. There was a distinct decrease in abundance of C. maenas of the same carapace width as most adult H. takanoi, suggesting competition at this size was occurring. Laboratory experiments indicated that H. takanoi was a more aggressive competitor for food and, with consistently high abundance on the reefs, may result in some exclusion of C. maenas from their nursery habitat. While total exclusion of C. maenas on the oyster reefs is unlikely, cohabitation may result in reduced population size or increased use of alternative nursery habitats.

Sport competitions in Antique Chersoneses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moutiev A.V.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available It is examined the content of physical education in Chersoneses in the ancient period. It is shown the participation of citizens in the Chersoneses competitions at various levels. Stressed the importance of physical culture, sports, sports training, organizing and conducting athletic competitions. Show the direction of physical education of youth, training for local and Panhellenic competitions, military service. The role of the teacher of gymnastics in physical education students in public schools. It is noted that the study involved in Chersoneses pedagogical methods and techniques. It is established that the citizens of Chersoneses actively participated in Panhellenic competitions and they became the victors.

Excluded and behaving unethically: social exclusion, physiological responses, and unethical behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Kouchaki, Maryam; Wareham, Justin

2015-03-01

Across 2 studies, we investigated the ethical consequences of physiological responses to social exclusion. In Study 1, participants who were socially excluded were more likely to engage in unethical behavior to make money and the level of physiological arousal experienced during exclusion--measured using galvanic skin response--mediated the effects of exclusion on unethical behavior. Likewise, in Study 2, results from a sample of supervisor-subordinate dyads revealed a positive relationship between experience of workplace ostracism and unethical behaviors as rated by the immediate supervisors. This relationship was mediated by employees' reports of experienced physiological arousal. Together, the results of these studies demonstrate that physiological arousal accompanies social exclusion and provides an explanatory mechanism for the increased unethical behavior in both samples. Theoretical implications of these findings for research on ethical behavior and social exclusion in the workplace are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Examining the dark side of competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blake, M.

1990-01-01

This article examines the effect that increased competition among electric power suppliers will have on overall service to the customer and to profits. Some topics discussed are the coexistence of competition and cooperation, electric utility profits at risk and the dark side of competition - business failures. The author feels there is a basic conflict between some of the features of the competitive market model and the obligation to serve

Decision-making in plants under competition

OpenAIRE

Gruntman, Michal; Groß, Dorothee; Májeková, Maria; Tielbörger, Katja

2017-01-01

Plants can plastically respond to light competition in three strategies, comprising vertical growth, which promotes competitive dominance; shade tolerance, which maximises performance under shade; or lateral growth, which offers avoidance of competition. Here, we test the hypothesis that plants can ‘choose’ between these responses, according to their abilities to competitively overcome their neighbours. We study this hypothesis in the clonal plant Potentilla reptans using an experimental setu...

Observation of Central Exclusive Diphoton Production at the Tevatron

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brucken, Jens Erik [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Helsinki Inst. of Physics (Finland)

2013-01-01

We have observed exclusive γγ production in proton-antiproton collisions at the Tevatron at √ s = 1.96 TeV. We use data corresponding to 1.11 ± 0.07 fb-1 integrated luminosity taken by the Run II Collider Detector at Fermilab, with a trigger requiring two electromagnetic showers, each with transverse energy ET > 2 GeV, and vetoing on hits in the forward beam shower counters. We select events with two electromagnetic showers, each with transverse energy ET > 2.5 GeV and pseudorapidity |η| < 1.0, with no other particles detected in -7.4 < η < +7.4. The two showers have similar ET and an azimuthal angle separation Δφ ~ π; we find 34 events with exactly two matching charged particle tracks, agreeing with expectations for the QED process p¯p → p+e+e- + ¯p by two photon exchange; and we find 43 events with no tracks. The latter are candidates for the exclusive process p¯p → p + γγ + ¯p by double pomeron exchange. We use the strip and wire chambers at the longitudinal shower maximum position within the calorimeter to measure a possible exclusive background from IP + IP → π0π0, and conclude that it is consistent with zero and is < 15 events at 95% C.L. The measured cross section is σγγ,excl(|η| < 1, ET (γ) > 2.5 GeV) = 2.48 +0.40 -0.35(stat) +0.40 -0.51(syst) pb and in agreement with the theoretical predictions. This process is closely related to exclusive Higgs boson production pp → p + H + p at the Large Hadron Collider. The observation of the exclusive production of diphotons shows that exclusive Higgs production can happen and could be observed with a proper experimental setup.

Factors Influencing The Practice Of Exclusive Breastfeeding In Three ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Breastfeeding is the super food for babies and is sufficient if given exclusively in the first six months of a baby's life. In Nigeria, the practice of breastfeeding is high but Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) rates remain low at 13%. Several interrelating factors directly or indirectly affect the decision or ability of mothers ...

Imaging partons in exclusive scattering processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diehl, Markus

2012-06-15

The spatial distribution of partons in the proton can be probed in suitable exclusive scattering processes. I report on recent performance estimates for parton imaging at a proposed Electron-Ion Collider.

Competitiveness levels in cattle herd farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Rocha Marques

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this experiment was to identify improvement demands for farms with different levels of competitiveness in the west of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. A total of 63 owners of large farms were interviewed (farms with an area greater than 900ha by applying a semi-structured questionnaire, guided by four drivers: technology (TEC, management (MAN, market relations (MR and the institutional environment (IE.It was used the Statistical Analysis System 9.2 software to perform the cluster analysis and identify farmers' characteristics. Three random clusters with different levels of competitiveness were observed: low competitiveness level (LCL, middle competitiveness level (MCL and high competitiveness level (HCL. The 29 variables (sub factors were evaluated in the cluster analysis according to level of impact on competitiveness, being classified into variables of high, medium or low impact. Stratification was carried out, ranking demands for improvements from aspects attributed by experts in relation to sub factors. The farmers with low competitiveness level (LTL had an unfavorable status for MAN, while the farmers belonging to clusters MCL and HCL have, respectively, favorable and neutral status for the same driver. The management characteristics determined the level of competitiveness of the farms surveyed

COMPETITIVENESS IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: ROMANIAN STYLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia-Elena TUCLEA

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper is presented one of the important sectors of the nationaleconomy, at least from its potential for development perspective: thehospitality industry. The research interest is related to finding out the mainfactors of competitiveness in this field. This research attempts to identify theessential aspects of competitiveness in the hospitality industry. Theobjectives pursued refer to: discovering the degree to which the concept ofcompetitiveness is understood and capitalized on by the managers in theRomanian hospitality industry; identifying a set of factors considered decisivein raising the competitiveness of Romanian firms in the hospitality industry;identifying the strategic concerns of firms operating in the Romanianhospitality industry, in order to establish the connection between strategy andthe competitiveness of the firms belonging to this sector.As a result, the hypotheses are: in the hospitality industry there areparticularities which influence the firms’ competitiveness and strategicorientation; preoccupation towards raising competitiveness and strategicorientation is influenced by the type of exploitation and the number of stars(level of comfort; in the hospitality industry, managers focus on cost controland service quality as decisive factors of competitiveness.

Designing the Lunar Regolith Excavation Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Christopher

2009-01-01

The project assigned this summer involves designing a lunar regolith mining robotics competition. This process involves consulting several assets available at the Kennedy Space Center. The process involves several steps. The first step is to determine the requirements for the competition. Once these requirements are determined, the dimensions of the playing field are drawn up, first by hand, and then using computer models. After these drawings are tentatively decided upon, the cost of materials must be determined, so as to fit within the allotted budget for the project. The materials are to then be ordered, assembled, broken down, and stored throughout the duration of the competition. We must also design the advertisements and logos for the competition. This is to market and publicize the competition to college level teams. We must also determine the rules for the competition so as to have uniform requirements for all teams. Once these processes are completed, the competition can be finalized and publicized for the public. The contributing parties are Greg Galloway, Robert Mueller, Susan Sawyer, Gloria Murphy, Julia Nething, and Cassandra Liles.

Competitive Aggression without Interaction: Effects of Competitive versus Cooperative Instructions on Aggressive Behavior in Video Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Craig A.; Morrow, Melissa

1995-01-01

Extended and tested Deutsch's theory of competition effects. Predicted that people view competitive situations as inherently more aggressive than cooperative ones. Predicted that leading people to think of an aggressive situation in competitive terms would increase aggressive behavior. Increase of kill ratio occurred in absence of changes in…