BACKGROUND A rural pharmacy initiative (RPI) designed to increase access to medicines in rural Kyrgyzstan created a network of 12 pharmacies using a revolving drug fund mechanism in 12 villages where no pharmacies previously existed. The objective of this study was to determine if the establishment of the RPI resulted in the unforeseen benefit of triggering medicine price competition in pre-exi...

In mice with a diverse B cell repertoire, hen egg lysozyme (HEL) autoantigen-binding B cells are excluded from follicles and eliminated in 3 days. To explore the roles of competitor B cells and of T cells in this mechanism of self-tolerance, HEL-specific B cells were transferred into mice containing HEL and deficient in endogenous B cells (muMT), T cells (TCR-/-), or B and T cells (RAG1-/-). Pr...

Although equilibrium competitive radioligand binding studies are often used to characterize hormone and neurotransmitter receptors, the kinetics of such experiments have not been extensively explored. The interactions of the radioligand and competitor with the receptors can be described by two differential equations which can be solved to yield a single equation describing the binding of the ra...

Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Aedes atropalpus (Coquillett) (Diptera: Culicidae) are container-dwelling mosquito species that are well established in the eastern United States. Interspecific larval competition studies have shown Ae. albopictus to be a superior competitor over many species. A laboratory experiment was conducted in artificial containers to evaluate the effects of malathion on larv...

In search advertising, we observe different patterns of branded keyword purchase behavior by the brand owner and its competitor. In particular, under a specific branded keyword, we may observe in the sponsored link, only the brand owner, only the competitor, both, or neither. In this paper, we aim to understand their strategies in a competitive environment. We first derive conditions for each p...

The use of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with internal RNA competitive standards (competitors) provides a means for measuring absolute amounts of mRNA transcripts in small numbers of cells. Most quantitative competitive (QC)-RT-PCR methods require analysis of multiple reactions to determine the equimolar point of the products produced from mRNA vs. competitor RNA. Her...

The adaptive landscape provides the foundational bridge between micro- and macroevolution. One well-known caveat to this perspective is that fitness surfaces depend on ecological context, including competitor frequency, traits measured, and resource abundance. However, this view is based largely on intraspecific studies. It is still unknown how context-dependence affects the larger features of ...

The novel weapons hypothesis posits that biochemical compounds secreted by an invasive species facilitate its success by reducing the performance and survival of other species. This mechanism has been proposed to explain the widespread invasion of the biennial plant, Alliaria petiolata, in North America. Root exudates produced by A. petiolata, a nonmycorrhizal plant, suppress the growth of myco...