New Product Announcements as Market Signals. A content analysis in the DRAM chip industry

New-product announcements (NPAs) have considerable effects on competitors in industrial markets. Several studies have shown that the perceived threat caused by an NPA may trigger severe competitive reactions. Yet it is still unclear how the perception of threat by competitors is related to the specific content of the announcement. In this study we explore the actual content of NPAs observed in a particular market. We do this through a multi-year content analysis of new-product announcements in the DRAM memory chip industry. We analyze patterns in the occurrence of attributes and demonstrate how firm strategy affects NPA content. Findings from this study provide important insights for managers about the design of NPAs. It also triggers further research on the use of NPAs in competitive industrial markets.competition;innovation;market signals;new product announcement;semiconductors

ANALYSIS OF NON- PERFORMING ASSETS IN COVID– 19 PERIODS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE BANKS OF INDIA

In this present paper we have focused on Private and government banks NPAs. This is a comparative study of government and private sector banks, here we have analyzed the relationship between Private bank NPAs and Government banks NPAs. we have analyzed significant difference between private banks NPAs and government banks NPAs. In our study we found that after 2017 the government and private sector banks has increasing growth rate of GNPAs. Government sector 2016-2017 gross NPAs growth rate was 11.7 percent which increased to 14.6 percent. (RBI financial stability repost 2018) In year 2018-19 the growth rate increased 11.6 percent. In case of private banks it has increasing rate from 2017 to 2020.   COVID- 19, NPA, GNPAs, Private Banks, Government Banks, RB

Clinical and molecular epidemiology of human bocavirus in respiratory and fecal samples from children in Hong Kong

Background. Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a recently discovered parvovirus associated with respiratory tract infections in children. We conducted the first systematic prospective clinical and molecular study using nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) and fecal samples. Methods. NPAs negative for influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, and coronavirus and fecal samples from patients with acute gastroenteritis were included. On the basis of results from a pilot study using 400 NPAs from all age groups, a prospective 12-month study was conducted to detect HBoV in 1200 NPAs and 1435 fecal samples from patients <18 years old by polymerase chain reaction. The complete genome sequences of HBoVs from 12 NPAs and 12 fecal samples were determined. Results. Of the 400 NPAs collected in the pilot study, 20 (5.0%) were found to contain HBoV, all from children <5 years old. In the subsequent prospective study of pediatric patients, HBoV was detected in 83 (6.9%) of 1200 NPAs. Upper and lower respiratory tract infections were equally common. HBoV was detected in 30 (2.1%) of 1435 fecal samples. Fever and watery diarrhea were the most common symptoms. The seasonality of HBoV in NPAs and fecal samples was similar. Codetection with other pathogens occurred in 33% and 56% of NPAs and fecal samples, respectively, from patients with HBoV infection. Genomes of HBoVs from NPAs and fecal samples displayed minimal sequence variations. Conclusions. HBoV was detected in fecal specimens in children with acute gastroenteritis. A single lineage of HBoV was associated with both respiratory tract and enteric infections. © 2007 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Anthropization processes and protection of the environment: an assessment of land cover changes in Sardinia, Italy

Protection of the environment is implemented through preventive and mitigating measures aimed at hindering anthropization processes. These measures may possibly entail the establishment of natural protected areas and sites where conservation measures are stated under the provisions of the “Habitats” Directive (no. 92/43/EEC) and Directive no. 2009/147/EC (the so-called “Birds” Directive, which modifies Directive no. 79/409/EEC). A straightforward way of assessing widespread anthropization processes consists in analyzing land cover changes related artificialization processes concerning natural areas. In this study, we assess land cover changes by using the simplified land cover taxonomy of the Land and Ecosystem Account classes and by analyzing transition processes; in addition, we propose a comparative appraisal of land cover changes occurring in areas characterized by different protection regimes, as follows: areas protected under the provisions of national or regional acts or regulations, sites belonging to the Natura 2000 network, that is protected under the Habitats or Birds Directives, and unprotected areas. We analyze anthropization processes that take place in Sardinia, an Italian insular region characterized by the presence of several national and regional protected areas and by a significant system of Natura 2000 sites, and assess land cover changes over a twelve-year period (2000-2012). The outcomes of our study put in evidence important lessons related to the definition and implementation of planning policies aiming at preventing anthropization processes in Sardinia. Moreover, the assessment methodology we implement in our study can be exported to other European regions in order to set up planning processes which fit the local features of land cover changes

Evaluation of the National Parks Sustainable Development Fund

The Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) is a new pilot funding stream for English National Park Authorities and the Broads Authority (henceforth collectively NPAs or ‘Parks’), launched in July 2002 by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The aim is to provide a flexible and non-bureaucratic means of funding projects that “aid the achievement of National Park purposes by encouraging individuals, community groups and businesses to cooperate together to develop practical sustainable solutions to the management of their activities”. SDF is a novel and unique funding stream intended to support original and innovative projects. Although the funding is relatively small (some £2.6m or £325,000 per park over the 18 months to this report) the aim is ambitious; with a minimum of preconceptions or formalities, to “develop and test new ways of achieving a more sustainable way of living in the countryside”. In each Park, small SDF Panels, serviced by, but at arms length from, the NPA have been established to oversee delivery of the Fund, to foster innovative projects and to monitor their outcomes at Park level. The SDF Prospectus declares that monitoring and evaluation are to involve a “very light touch regime”.. Auditing of individual projects by the SDF panel is to be achieved mainly by maintaining close contact with the projects as they develop. Whilst responsibility may be delegated, panel members are encouraged to take a personal interest in projects. Each NPA is required to submit to the Minister of State for Rural Affairs (and to copy to the Countryside Agency) an annual report. This should summarise the performance of the fund against performance indicators which are to be developed by NPAs themselves in the light of experience of the fund. First Annual Reports must be submitted to the Minister of State for Rural Affairs (and copied to the Countryside Agency) at the end of March 2004 NPAs are encouraged to learn from the experience of delivering the Fund and to promote the results to a wider rural audience. In addition to this Park level monitoring, the Countryside Agency (CA) on behalf of Defra has commissioned the Centre for European Protected Area Research (CEPAR) to conduct an evaluation of how SDF has performed against its key objectives after the first eighteen months of its operation, to aid decisions about the future of the scheme from April 2005

Solution structure of a repeated unit of the ABA-1 nematode polyprotein allergen of ascaris reveals a novel fold and two discrete lipid-binding sites

Parasitic nematode worms cause serious health problems in humans and other animals. They can induce allergic-type immune responses, which can be harmful but may at the same time protect against the infections. Allergens are proteins that trigger allergic reactions and these parasites produce a type that is confined to nematodes, the nematode polyprotein allergens (NPAs). These are synthesized as large precursor proteins comprising repeating units of similar amino acid sequence that are subsequently cleaved into multiple copies of the allergen protein. NPAs bind small lipids such as fatty acids and retinol (Vitamin A) and probably transport these sensitive and insoluble compounds between the tissues of the worms. Nematodes cannot synthesize these lipids, so NPAs may also be crucial for extracting nutrients from their hosts. They may also be involved in altering immune responses by controlling the lipids by which the immune and inflammatory cells communicate. We describe the molecular structure of one unit of an NPA, the well-known ABA-1 allergen of Ascaris and find its structure to be of a type not previously found for lipid-binding proteins, and we describe the unusual sites where lipids bind within this structur

Automated Negotiation for Provisioning Virtual Private Networks Using FIPA-Compliant Agents

This paper describes the design and implementation of negotiating agents for the task of provisioning virtual private networks. The agents and their interactions comply with the FIPA specification and they are implemented using the FIPA-OS agent framework. Particular attention is focused on the design and implementation of the negotiation algorithms

Climate change threatens the most biodiverse regions of Mexico

International audienceClimate change threatens Earth's biodiversity, although its impacts are variable and depend on the capacity of species and ecosystems to cope with the magnitude and speed of change. Natural protected areas (NPAs) constitute potential refugia for species' persistence and for sustaining the provisioning of ecosystem services. Biosphere reserves are NPAs that are less altered by human actions and provide habitat to endemic, threatened or endangered species. Here, we aim to evaluate the threat imposed by climate change on the network of biosphere reserves in Mexico. Focusing on five bioclimatic variables, we computed the climatic space – measured as an n-dimensional hypervolume – of 40 NPAs. Increases in temperature are predicted for all NPAs by 2050, whereas decreases in annual rainfall are predicted for 30 NPAs. By 2050, 31 NPAs that provide habitat to 22,866 recorded species are predicted to lose 100% of their baseline climatic space, shifting to completely novel climates. On average, the other nine NPAs are predicted to lose 55.7% (SD = 26.7%) of their baseline climatic space, while 54.5% (SD = 32.5%) of the future climatic space will be novel. Seventeen NPAs may lose climate variability (homogenization), decreasing species' niches. The extent to which non-analogue conditions will remain within the tolerance of species and ecosystems is currently unknown. Finally, we propose a vulnerability index to categorise NPAs based on their loss of existing climatic space, total geographic area, species richness, and uniqueness of species composition, finding los Tuxtlas and Tiburon Ballena as the most and least vulnerable NPAs, respectively