Competitive Opportunities Research Articles

Preparation of Applications for Inventions Created in the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops

Patenting of inventions is the basis of the independence of the Russian Federation in the sphere of high technologies, including dual-use ones. Th e purpose of this work is to review the main approaches to the legal protection of inventions in the Russian Federation. Th e ignorance of these approaches becomes one of the main obstacles to the eff ective patenting of inventions created at the scientifi c research institutes of the NBC Protection Troops. Th e paper is dedicated to the detailed consideration of particular problems, such as the correctness of the title of invention, the importance of clear indication of the purpose of the invention and its closest analogue, the danger of the confusion between technical problems and technical results ect. Th e ignorance of these aspects oft en leads to the delay in the substantive examination of patent applications. Special attention is paid to the procedure of patenting secret inventions and their status. Th e internal logic of the creation of intellectual property objects that should be taken into account during the patenting is shown at the example of patenting antidotes for organophosphorus toxic substances, based on hexahistidine-containing organophosphorus hydrolase. Th e Russian patent system is modern, incorporated into existing international agreements and provides Russian inventors and patent owners all the opportunities for competition in the Russian and world high technology markets. Th e reasons for delays in the substantive examination of patent applications, as well as for the ineffi ciency of patenting inventions in the NBC Protection Troops are purely subjective – poor knowledge of the Russian patent system and MoD orders, and the lack of motivation in opposing patent colonization of Russia

Coopetition in Maritime Tourism: Assessing the Effect of Previous Islands’ Choice and Experience in Tourist Satisfaction

Maritime tourism has become a competitive opportunity for many island destinations in search of sustainable development. This article aims to analyze the hypothesis that tourist satisfaction with nautical destinations depends on the experience of previous visits to competing destinations. This hypothesis is relevant in order to ascertain the extent of potential coopetition between tourist destinations from the point of view of the consumers. This may ask for the need of cooperation within the competitive environment in which tourist destinations manage sustainability. The evidence is obtained from the case of Cape Verde, an archipelago strongly committed to the development of the nautical sector. Survey data from nautical tourists’ satisfaction visiting Cape Verde is modeled utilizing an ordinal logistic approach. Results show that tourist satisfaction with Cape Verde increases with the authenticity of the cultural experience offered by the destination, the diversity and quality of the nautical offer and the security perceived. Moreover, tourists declaring a satisfactory travel experience in other recently visited islands have higher levels of satisfaction with the nautical destination of Cape Verde. This suggests that proper strategies for nautical tourism development in these islands should not only allow tourists to discover the best cultural and local values of the destination, but also enhance their awareness of the quality of the experience provided by island competitors and, therefore establishing a benchmark for the common benefit of all island destinations becomes of interest. In this regard, coopetition strategies among islands with common interests of specialization may allow them to gain better positioning in the international nautical tourism market, and contribute to tourism development and the sustainability of the industry.

Genetic Factors Influencing Sperm Competition.

Females of many different species often mate with multiple males, creating opportunities for competition among their sperm. Although originally unappreciated, sperm competition is now considered a central form of post-copulatory male–male competition that biases fertilization. Assays of differences in sperm competitive ability between males, and interactions between females and males, have made it possible to infer some of the main mechanisms of sperm competition. Nevertheless, classical genetic approaches have encountered difficulties in identifying loci influencing sperm competitiveness while functional and comparative genomic methodologies, as well as genetic variant association studies, have uncovered some interesting candidate genes. We highlight how the systematic implementation of approaches that incorporate gene perturbation assays in experimental competitive settings, together with the monitoring of progeny output or sperm features and behavior, has allowed the identification of genes unambiguously linked to sperm competitiveness. The emerging portrait from 45 genes (33 from fruit flies, 8 from rodents, 2 from nematodes, and 2 from ants) is their remarkable breadth of biological roles exerted through males and females, the non-preponderance of sperm genes, and their overall pleiotropic nature.

Strong first sperm precedence in the freshwater hermaphroditic snail Planorbella trivolvis

ABSTRACTPost-copulatory sexual selection, through either sperm competition or cryptic female choice, is an important aspect of sexual selection in hermaphrodites. We investigated sperm precedence, non-random fertilization of eggs by multiple partners, to determine the potential for sperm competition in the hermaphroditic freshwater snail Planorbella trivolvis. We provided snails with two sequential partners, and assessed paternity using albinism as a genetic marker. We mated albino snails first to a pigmented partner then an albino (PA; n = 26) or first to an albino then a pigmented individual (AP; n = 27) and calculated the proportion of eggs fertilized by the second partner (P2) during the 1st, 3rd, and 5th week post-mating. We collected all egg masses laid each week (~300) and examined the embryos to determine paternity by the presence or absence of eye pigmentation. P2 values were quite low (0.18 ± 0.04) indicating strong first sperm precedence and thus little opportunity for sperm competition. We also found that mating order influenced precedence; when the first mate was an albino P2 values were higher than when the first mate was pigmented, suggesting a difference in sperm transfer or viability or a preference for pigmented partners.

A Systematic Approach for Improving the Software Management Process

Information technology is an indispensable element in applications in today’s industrial era. In addition to modern management approaches, software just as well as hardware is of great importance to ensure competitive advantage if the company needs to keep pace with industrial requirements. Information sector can be seen as a competition opportunity for emerging countries. To be able to exploit this opportunity, companies need to be agile and innovative. In this paper, we suggest a process innovation which is intended to be a new model for designing an efficient and effective software process. The model was applied at a software company, and the results of this study are reported here. Lean and agile approaches were used, and as a result, the firm achieved significant improvements in cost, time, labor force, quality, internal and external customer satisfaction, speed, reliability and productivity.

Italian waste in the circular economy: A agenda for industry regulators in Italy

The advent of the circular economy paradigm has definitively changed the economic nature of municipal waste management and calling for an innovative approach for its economic regulation. This paper discusses how the general framework of the theory of economic regulation of services of general economic interest can fit the MWM industry. We show that this industry exhibits specificities that require an adaptation of regulatory principles, but nonetheless cross-fertilization from the regulatory practice of other utilities is feasible. However, the recognition made shows that the applied economic research on this sector is still in its infant phase, and substantial improvements are needed in order both to understand its mechanisms from a theoretical viewpoint and to provide empirical evidence. Different from other utilities, physical network assets are less dominant and competition opportunities are larger; however, the main constraint to widespread opening of the market descends from contingent reasons determining de-facto market power, and from the superior value of service reliability and contrast to illegal operation.

PBI5 EVALUATION OF THE COST SAVING POTENTIAL OF INTRODUCING AN ADALIMUMAB BIOSIMILAR FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALL LICENSED ADULT ADALIMUMAB INDICATIONS IN GERMANY

To assess the budget impact of introducing an adalimumab biosimilar in Germany for all licensed adult adalimumab indications from a Statutory Health Insurance perspective. A cost-minimisation model was used to estimate the cost-saving potential of introducing adalimumab biosimilars across Germany over a one-year time horizon to identify the full year effect. Current adalimumab treated populations have been estimated through INSIGHTHealth sales data (retail segment data only) and the population was assumed to remain constant during the time period. Prices of adalimumab products were obtained from published sources. For the purposes of this model, calculations assumed that no further discounting would be offered. A full year effect cost saving potential was determined as well as savings opportunities at varying market share of the biosimilars of 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% within the time period. The full year effect of introducing adalimumab biosimilars into the German market was estimated to be approximately €373m assuming the market reverted to biosimilar pricing. The estimated cost saving potential with previously identified varying market share of biosimilars compared with the reference biologic was determined to be approximately €112m, €149m, €186m, €224m and €261m respectively. The introduction of biosimilars represents an opportunity for price competition, substantial budget saving potential within the therapeutic group and the potential for better access to biological therapy within Germany. This supports the AkdA recommendation of a more economical biosimilar prescription alternative in each case, initial prescribing of biosimilars and a physician-driven switch for continuation therapy. The cost minimisation scenario did not include any further discounting which may lead to a potential underestimation of the cost savings.

Ready for work: Educating literary professionals in a region

This paper is a small case study with a brief description and evaluation of regionally based, largely extracurricular professional writing activities by staff, and the opportunities provided to students in the Writing Program, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Southern Cross University. There may be a perception or assumption by some students that creative-writing opportunities are limited in the region, in terms of number and variety, or difficulty of access. This may be due to their own limited experience of the ‘writing world’, which is directly tied to the student cohort demographics. One of our concerns is to prepare students for the rigors of a professional life of writing or other related fields in a literary industry. We provide our students with professional training or work experience opportunities: to read, to write, to publish, to be a publisher/editor, to work in a literary industry context. As well, Hartley (2014: 2) argues ‘for building on regionalism’s concern for place, space, and identity’. Writing and literature are key ways to explore and develop regional specificities. We think that the Northern Rivers is generating a regional literature, a literature of the Northern Rivers Gothic. As teachers, mentors, and residents in a regional area, we recognise that one of our tasks is to help students make connections to existing networks of opportunity, or create them ourselves, through teaching about the literary industry, participating in festivals, holding readings, providing information about publication and competition opportunities, celebrating achievements and engaging in regionally based creative research.

Acute restraint stress alters food-foraging behavior in rats: Taking the easier Way while suffered

Stress can influence decision-making in humans from many cognitive perspectives, while the underlying neurobiological mechanism remains incompletely understood. Food-foraging is a rodent behavior involving strategic possessing of nutritional supply in social context; experimental model of this behavior could help explore the effect of stress on decision-making and the brain mechanism thereof. In the present study, the influence of stress on food-foraging behavior was assessed in rats using an open field choosing paradigm wherein food collection (standard food or sweet food) were associated with social competition (with or without a rat in the cage). Acute restraint stress (ARS) was induced by placing the rat in a plastic restrainer for 2 h before food-foraging behavioral tests, with the effect of stress also determined biochemically and immunohistochemically. Restraint stressed rats showed anxiety-like behavior and elevation of serum corticosterone (CORT) and epinephrine (EPI) relative to controls. Both restraint and control animals preferred sugared food. However, the former group tended to forage food from a cage not occupied by a conspecific rat, whereas the control rats preferred to obtain food from the cage with a social competitor. Thus, the total amount of food foraged and eaten are reduced in the restrained rats than in controls. While the restraint animals had normal social interaction with other rats, they displayed enhanced social agonistic behavior. In brain examination, ARS attenuated the increase in immunolabeling and protein levels of c-fos, p-CREB, p-ERK1/2 in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) observed in control animals in association with food-foraging. These results indicate that restraint stressed rats tend to forage food by taking the advantage of a less competitive opportunity. Mechanistically, this decision-making alternative appears to be mediated through a neuronal deactivation in the ACC. The current findings provide novel insights into neuronal processing of decision-making behavior under the influence of stress.

Sexual conflict drives male manipulation of female postmating responses in Drosophila melanogaster

In many animals, females respond to mating with changes in physiology and behavior that are triggered by molecules transferred by males during mating. In Drosophila melanogaster, proteins in the seminal fluid are responsible for important female postmating responses, including temporal changes in egg production, elevated feeding rates and activity levels, reduced sexual receptivity, and activation of the immune system. It is unclear to what extent these changes are mutually beneficial to females and males or instead represent male manipulation. Here we use an experimental evolution approach in which females are randomly paired with a single male each generation, eliminating any opportunity for competition for mates or mate choice and thereby aligning the evolutionary interests of the sexes. After >150 generations of evolution, males from monogamous populations elicited a weaker postmating stimulation of egg production and activity than males from control populations that evolved with a polygamous mating system. Males from monogamous populations did not differ from males from polygamous populations in their ability to induce refractoriness to remating in females, but they were inferior to polygamous males in sperm competition. Mating-responsive genes in both the female abdomen and head showed a dampened response to mating with males from monogamous populations. Males from monogamous populations also exhibited lower expression of genes encoding seminal fluid proteins, which mediate the female response to mating. Together, these results demonstrate that the female postmating response, and the male molecules involved in eliciting this response, are shaped by ongoing sexual conflict.

Towards a framework for measuring creative economy: evidence from Balkan countries

PurposeThe creative process through which the territorial resources, knowledge and culture are used, exploited and configured to match needs and to achieve congruence with the changing business environment has become a crucial process for competitiveness. This is even more relevant for economies of developing countries which are continuously struggling to reap the benefits of globalisation, as well as to grasp the new opportunities for competitiveness. As such, this paper aims to try to concentrate on the dynamic perspectives of the creative economy of countries by distinguishing between the potentialities and performance. The paper tackles the influence that creativity capacities might have on performance of countries.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology consists in identifying creative economy indicators from a diverse data set of the World Economic Forum and distinguish them between potential and performance indicators.FindingsData reveal as good progress and emphasis is being devoted to increasing the level of creativity; however, the Balkan countries still holdup in their capacity to boost innovation.Practical implicationsThe paper provide a new focus of research on creativity measurement that is significant for understanding what creative capacities territories possess and the ability to make proficient use for growth and innovation.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a new operational framework for measuring and interpreting the creative economy indicators by identifying not only indicators that gauge the potentialities of a country, but also indicators that are linked with the performance dimension, as well as the relationship amongst them.

Political finance: a study on the financing of political parties

Parties as active units in this process in order to work must have access to sources of funding in order to maintain their political presence in society and participate in the process of electoral competition, To win the election, bolstering the huge role that money has played in influencing the principle of equality among contestants in the elections. Those who own money will have a greater chance of winning the elections while less competitive opportunities for others who do not own the money or what they own does not give them the competitive ability to win elections. From this point of view, controlling political finance through legal regulation and institutional, media and popular monitoring has become an important requirement for a successful democratic electoral process.

The diverse echinostomes from East Africa: With a focus on species that use Biomphalaria and Bulinus as intermediate hosts

Echinostomes are a diverse group of digenetic trematodes that are globally distributed. The diversity of echinostomes in Africa remains largely unknown, particularly in analyses using molecular markers. Therefore, we were interested in the composition and host usage patterns of African echinostomes, especially those that also use schistosome transmitting snails as intermediate hosts. We collected adults and larval stages of echinostomes from 19 different localities in East Africa (1 locality in Uganda and 18 in Kenya). In this study we provide locality information, host use, museum vouchers, and genetic data for two loci (28S and nad1) from 98 samples of echinostomes from East Africa. Combining morphological features, host use information, and phylogenetic analyses we found 17 clades of echinostomes in East Africa. Four clades were found to use more than one genus of freshwater snails as their first intermediate hosts. We also determined at least partial life cycles (2 of the 3) of four clades using molecular markers. Of the 17 clades, 13 use Biomphalaria or Bulinus as a first intermediate host. The overlap in host usage creates opportunities for competition, including against human schistosomes. Thus, our study can be used as a foundation for future studies to ascertain the interactions between schistosomes and echinostomes in their respective intermediate hosts.

AsP/InSe Van der Waals Tunneling Heterojunctions with Ultrahigh Reverse Rectification Ratio and High Photosensitivity

AbstractVan der Waals heterojunctions made of 2D materials offer competitive opportunities in designing and achieving multifunctional and high‐performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. However, due to the significant reverse tunneling current in such thin p–n junctions, a low rectification ratio along with a large reverse current is often inevitable for the heterojunctions. Here, a vertically stacked van der Waals heterojunction (vdWH) tunneling device is reported consisting of black arsenic phosphorus (AsP) and indium selenide (InSe), which shows a record high reverse rectification ratio exceeding 107 along with an unusual ultralow forward current below picoampere and a high current on/off ratio over 108 simultaneously at room temperature under the proper band alignment design of both the Schottky junction and the heterojunction. Therefore, the vdWH tunneling device can function as an ultrasensitive photodetector with an ultrahigh light on/off ratio of 1 × 107, a comparable responsivity of around 1 A W−1, and a high detectivity over 1 × 1012 Jones in the visible wavelength range. Furthermore, the device exhibits a clear photovoltaic effect and shows a spectral detection capability up to 1550 nm. The work sheds light on developing future electronic and optoelectronic multifunctional devices based on the van der Waals integration of 2D materials with designed band alignment.

Mergers and acquisitions as an opportunity getting new competitive advantages in agro business

The article is devoted to the issues of mergers and acquisitions of agricultural enterprises of Ukraine, in order to gain new opportunities in competition. The main competitive advantages, which are additionally obtained by weak agribusiness enterprises in forming an integration association with more promising enterprises in this industry, are highlighted. Today, despite the fact that our country is very interested in increasing sales to foreign markets, especially EU markets, under free trade conditions, the question remains about increasing the competitiveness of Ukrainian enterprises and enlarging their volumes. That is why the topic of this research is relevant and has some practical significance for the further development not only of individual enterprises, but also of the agrarian sphere of the economy of Ukraine as a whole. The purpose of this article is to outline the importance of processes such as mergers and acquisitions to improve the competitive advantage of agribusiness. According to the objective, the task was to investigate the current trends in the development of agribusinesses in the context of mergers and acquisitions that have already taken place. The main methods of this study are the methods of empirical research, such as observation, comparison, measurement, as well as abstraction, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction. The results of the study have drawn conclusions on the positive impact of such processes as mergers and acquisitions on the competitiveness of agribusinesses. The value of the research. Scientific and practical significance of the work. The research is of practical value, as evidenced by the recommendations, to improve the competitive position of businesses operating in the agricultural sector by consolidating their businesses and increasing their capital through mergers with other enterprises. JEL Classification: G34, Q12.

Sport psychology in a virtual world: Considerations for practitioners working in eSports

Recent technological advances have steadily led to the increased popularity of videogames. With computers more readily accessible, videogames have become more popular than ever (Murphy, 2009). As the player-base increases for videogames, so have competitive opportunities for participants in these online-based performances, and opportunities for mental skills services in this area. Given the unique technological facets of this performance domain, this article provides sport psychology practitioners with information regarding eSports as an arena for mental skills training, challenges and benefits associated with consultation in eSports, and ethical considerations and best practice suggestions for applied work in this area.

Last Kiss The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby: An Edition of the Manuscript

Last Kiss The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby: An Edition of the Manuscript

The Russian industry: the problems and the further development (ending)

This article describes the various approaches to the analysis of the current situation and the justification of the further development prospects of the Russian industry represented at the round table on June 21,2018 inthe State Duma of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on a subject: «Legislative providing industrial policy of the Russian Federation: technologies, innovations, investments». Attention had also been drawn to issues requiring the globalization, the industrial development inequality of the countries of the world and the Russian regions, the dependences of economic growth on the state of the knowledge economy, the industrial and monetary and credit policy interrelations, the changes in the system of the state regulation of the Russian industry, the business moods, the technological updating results of the industrial enterprises, the features of the investment projects financing in Russia and in industrialized countries, the prospects of the introduction in Russia of the digital technologies of the industrial production management. Among offers of the situation significant improvement there are: the providing for the economic relations participants of the equal competitive opportunities; the completion of the Federal law «About Industrial Policy in the Russian Federation», the involvement in the economy of free money, the updating on the basis of the problems settlement with the financing of the enterprises of the fixed assets, the selective development of the import substitution, the distribution of the positive experience of the successful industrial companies. The author points to a need of the involvement in the discussion and the other important questions concerning the comprehensive analysis of the reasons of the serious lag of the Russian enterprises from the enterprises of the industrialized countries generating the negative consequences; the labor productivity at the industrial enterprises of the different countries of the world and factors of its growth; the influences of the developed bureaucracy, the administrative barriers, the corruption on a situation in the various industries, the applications of the concept of the economical production, the energy productivity and a resource conservation, etc.

Big Data e Valutazione: una relazione ancora da costruire

Recent years have witnessed a tremendous growth in globally generated data as well as in the fast evolution of technologies that allows, in real time, to capture, analyse, and exploit huge data repositories. As data sizes grows, so does the general agreement that data is highly valuable. The automatic extraction of information, together with pioneering data mining and predictive analytics techniques, represents an effective and competitive opportunity, particularly to support decision making processes to answer various research and evaluation questions. In this context Big Data (BD) and the Computational Social Science (CSS) approaches, are expected to challenge the ways social scientist, analysts, and evaluators have worked so far. Big Data are today generally utilized by private business while they remain deeply underutilized in public policy-making sector. Its potential has probably not yet been fully understood. Although significant economic incentives made private businesses move first, there is no reason to hold proper usage of Big Data in the public sector. In evaluation research, BD is even more under-utilized, even when the evaluated interventions could be closely monitored in real-time, this is rarely done. At the present time, there is no much scientific and professional debate on how to integrate Big Data within the evaluation research field. Hence, the main aim of this special issue is to improve knowledge on applicability of BD techniques in the evaluation research for supporting decision-making processes.

A Lab-Based Study of Temperate Forest Termite Impacts on Two Common Wood-Rot Fungi.

Termites and fungi are the primary decomposers of dead wood. Interactions between wood-feeding termites and wood-rot fungi are inevitable given their shared food source. Termites have developed multiple defense strategies against infectious fungi, such as Metarhizium spp., that include antifungal proteins in their saliva and fungal inhibition properties in their gut. The antifungal properties of termite salivary secretions depend on β-1,3-glucanases that are likely to be effective against a broad spectrum of filamentous fungi. Given the overlap in niches, there is opportunity for interference competition between termites and wood-rot fungi to occur. Here we demonstrate that β-1,3-glucanases in the saliva and the antifungal properties of the gut of the eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) affects the growth of two common wood-rot fungi, Gloeophyllum trabeum Persoon (Murrill) (Gloeophyllales: Gloeophyllaceae) and Phanerochaete chrysosporium (Burdsall) (Polyporales: Phanerochaetaceae).