Government promoting communication tool in innovation development of companies

New management tools are required to enhance interaction between Russian companies and government agencies for innovation development. A major interactive tool are Government Relations (GR) communications promoting a new relationship model in terms of innovative system management. Interaction with the authorities is a major factor in innovation development, and the company’s excellent reputation in the eyes of the authorities is a key element for business success and implementation of innovations. The study provides an explanation of the notion of ‘Government Relations’ (GR) and examines various academic approaches to GR in modern economics. We investigated the reasons for the development of GR at its present stage. The article looks at several GR tools in Russia public Relations (PR), public-private partnership and corporate social responsibility. We analyzed differences between lobbying and GR and demonstrated that lobbying is one of the key components (active phase) of GR activity. Data are provided on activities of the GR departments of major corporations of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, we examined the characteristics of PR development in Russia and substantiated the need for the implementation of GR into Russian enterprises and for training of highly qualified GR managers in Russia.peer-reviewe

Optical Properties of Cu2S/SnS2 Precursor Layers for the Preparation of Kesterite Cu2SnS3 Photovoltaic Absorber

The Cu2S and SnS2 layers have been prepared by the chemical bath deposition method. The results of SEM and EDX analyses confirm a high stoichiometry of the synthesized semiconductor thin films. The optical properties of the Cu2S and SnS2 layers have been studied, and the optical band gap values have been determined. Keywords: thin films, sulfides, band gap, hydrochemical deposition, transmittance, photovoltaic absorbe

Treatment of Industrial Effluents Using Evaporation Installations

The purpose of the paper is to present the structure of the needs of industrial enterprises in the treatment of industrial effluents using evaporation installations and to analyse parameters of these effluents using the example of Russia. These parameters are the volume flow of wastewater that is supposed to feed the plant, their composition, the origin of the runoff, the type of production, where the runoff was formed. The obtained results of the analysis of data on the effluents of enterprises will help to find out whether the technological schemes and the evaporation installations included in them will be the most popular and efficient from the point of view of environmental safety of production. In addition, based on this work, it becomes clear what conditions require increased attention when developing hardware design of industrial wastewater treatment processes. Main problems of thermal desalination of industrial effluents by evaporation were considered in this paper. © Published under licence by IOP. Publishing Ltd

Predictors of cognitive enhancement after training in preschoolers from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds

The association between socioeconomic status and child cognitive development, and the positive impact of interventions aimed at optimizing cognitive performance, are well-documented. However, few studies have examined how specific socio-environmental factors may moderate the impact of cognitive interventions among poor children. In the present study, we examined how such factors predicted cognitive trajectories during the preschool years, in two samples of children from Argentina, who participated in two cognitive training programs (CTPs) between the years 2002 and 2005: the School Intervention Program (SIP;N=745) and the Cognitive Training Program (CTP;N=333). In both programs children were trained weekly for 16 week sand tested before and after the intervention using a battery of tasks assessing several cogntive control processes (attention, inhibitory control, working memory, flexibility and planning). After applying mixed model analyses, we identified sets of socio-environmental predictors that were associated with higher levels of pre-intervention cognitive control performance and with increased improvement in cognitive control from pre- to post-intervention. Child age, housing conditions, social resources, parental occupation and family composition were associated with performance in specific cognitive domains at baseline. Housing conditions, social resources, parental occupation, family composition, maternal physical health, age, group (intervention/control) and the number of training sessions were related to improvements in specific cognitive skills from pre- to post-training

Organizational Mechanisms for Implementing Russia's Arctic Strategy in the 21st Century

The Arctic in the 21st century remains a popular topic in the natural-scientific, economic, socio-humanitarian, and political spheres. The relevance of studying the Arctic is determined by the fact that in recent decades, deep and irreversible transformations have taken place in this region, and a full under-standing of the causes and consequences of which for the economy and environmental management has not yet developed. As a result of climate change and globalization, there is a growing interest in the Arctic macro-region on the part of many foreign countries that developed strategies and programs for the development of national Arctic zones at the beginning of the XXI century. Against the background of global competition for resources and transport communications, it seems relevant to analyze the features of the development of Russia's state policy for managing the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation in the XXI century. The article analyzes the mechanisms of implementation of Russian state policy in the Arctic based on the strategic planning system and reveals the bottlenecks in the system of state management of the Arctic region. It is concluded that the core of Russia's policy in the Arctic is innovative modernization that can ensure sustainable socio-economic development, infrastructure development, rational use of natural resources, protection of local ecosystems and development of indigenous communities

Uncoupling DISC1 × D2R Protein-Protein Interactions Facilitates Latent Inhibition in Disc1-L100P Animal Model of Schizophrenia and Enhances Synaptic Plasticity via D2 Receptors

Both Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia-1 (DISC1) and dopamine receptors D2R have significant contributions to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Our previous study demonstrated that DISC1 binds to D2R and such protein-protein interaction is enhanced in patients with schizophrenia and Disc1-L100P mouse model of schizophrenia (Su et al., 2014). By uncoupling DISC1 × D2R interaction (trans-activator of transcription (TAT)-D2pep), the synthesized TAT-peptide elicited antipsychotic-like effects in pharmacological and genetic animal models, without motor side effects as tardive dyskinesia commonly seen with typical antipsychotic drugs (APDs), indicating that the potential of TAT-D2pep of becoming a new APD. Therefore, in the current study, we further explored the APD-associated capacities of TAT-D2pep. We found that TAT-D2pep corrected the disrupted latent inhibition (LI), as a hallmark of schizophrenia associated endophenotype, in Disc1-L100P mutant mice—a genetic model of schizophrenia, supporting further APD’ capacity of TAT-D2pep. Moreover, we found that TAT-D2pep elicited nootropic effects in C57BL/6NCrl inbred mice, suggesting that TAT-D2pep acts as a cognitive enhancer, a desirable feature of APDs of the new generation. Namely, TAT-D2pep improved working memory in T-maze, and cognitive flexibility assessed by the LI paradigm, in C57BL/6N mice. Next, we assessed the impact of TAT-D2pep on hippocampal long-term plasticity (LTP) under basal conditions and upon stimulation of D2 receptors using quinpirole. We found comparable effects of TAT-D2pep and its control TAT-D2pep-scrambled peptide (TAT-D2pep-sc) under basal conditions. However, under stimulation of D2R by quinpirole, LTP was enhanced in hippocampal slices incubated with TAT-D2pep, supporting the notion that TAT-D2pep acts in a dopamine-dependent manner and acts as synaptic enhancer. Overall, our experiments demonstrated implication of DISC1 × D2R protein-protein interactions into mechanisms of cognitive and synaptic plasticity, which help to further understand molecular-cellular mechanisms of APD of the next generation

Obesity-induced insulin resistance in human skeletal muscle is characterised by defective activation of p42/p44 MAP kinase

Insulin resistance (IR), an impaired cellular, tissue and whole body response to insulin, is a major pathophysiological defect of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although IR is closely associated with obesity, the identity of the molecular defect(s) underlying obesity-induced IR in skeletal muscle remains controversial; reduced post-receptor signalling of the insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) adaptor protein and downstream effectors such as protein kinase B (PKB) have previously been implicated. We examined expression and/or activation of a number of components of the insulin-signalling cascade in skeletal muscle of 22 healthy young men (with body mass index (BMI) range, 20–37 kg/m2). Whole body insulin sensitivity (M value) and body composition was determined by the hyperinsulinaemic (40 mU. min−1.m−2.), euglycaemic clamp and by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) respectively. Skeletal muscle (vastus lateralis) biopsies were taken before and after one hour of hyperinsulinaemia and the muscle insulin signalling proteins examined by western blot and immunoprecipitation assay. There was a strong inverse relationship between M-value and BMI. The most striking abnormality was significantly reduced insulin-induced activation of p42/44 MAP kinase, measured by specific assay, in the volunteers with poor insulin sensitivity. However, there was no relationship between individuals' BMI or M-value and protein expression/phosphorylation of IRS1, PKB, or p42/44 MAP kinase protein, under basal or hyperinsulinaemic conditions. In the few individuals with poor insulin sensitivity but preserved p42/44 MAP kinase activation, other signalling defects were evident. These findings implicate defective p42/44 MAP kinase signalling as a potential contributor to obesity-related IR in a non-diabetic population, although clearly multiple signalling defects underlie obesity associated IR

STRUCTURE OF RUSSIAN ENTERPRISES’ NEEDS IN EVAPORATION INSTALLATIONS

Russian enterprises’ needs in evaporation equipment for recycling their wastewater were analyzed in the paper. Results of analysis of data about industrial wastewater of enterprises are presented on diagrams, the purpose of which is to form the basis for assessing whether companies’ technology and evaporators used in it of claimed and effective from the point of view of environmental safety.В работе рассмотрены потребности предприятий России в выпарном оборудовании для переработки их сточных вод. Представлены результаты анализа данных о производственных стоках предприятий в виде диаграмм, цель которого — сформировать основание для оценки того, будут ли технологии предприятий и используемые в них выпарные установки востребованы и эффективны с точки зрения экологической безопасности производства

Scenarios for the development of the Arctic region (2020–2035)

The importance of selecting the development of the Arctic seems to be relevant since rapid and irreversible changes are taking place there. Climate change and globalization are their prominent examples. A complex of factors has both positive and negative impacts on the use of natural resources and the positioning of states located not only within the Arctic but also outside it. The questions arise: what is the significance of these changes for geography, politics, and the management system? How should the comprehension of these processes be built? The relevance of the topic is enhanced by the fact that Russia has the most significant Arctic sector among the states with access to the Arctic Ocean. Therefore, our country has a leading role in working out strategies for the development of the Arctic. The comprehensive approach (considering the economic and political-geographical positions) is central in the article to analyze the directions of development of the Arctic territories. The method reveals the possibilities of sustainable development, which will provide Russia with strategic benefits within the Arctic and globally. The article discusses scenarios for the development of the Arctic, including the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, in the long-term perspective (until 2035). Substantiation of the long-term prospects for the development of the Arctic, despite Russian and foreign research, seems to be unrealistic due to lack of knowledge about the nature and consequences of climatic changes currently observed in this region and affecting global environmental management. The authors concluded that the priority directions of the Arctic development should be the ones based on positive and innovative trends

Retrospective analysis of the surgical treatment results of pathology of the macular zone

The article describes the results of surgical treatment of the pathology of the macular area of the retina: macular holes, epiretinal membranes and vitreomacular traction syndrome. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed in all patients before and after the operation. The retinal thickness in the area of the macula and the magnitude of the rupture were measured in case of macular holes. The retinal thickness in the area of the macula was measured before and after epiretinal membrane and vitreomacular traction syndrome surgery. Results: surgical treatment significantly reduces the size of the macular hole by an average of 61% and the thickness of the retina in the center by an average of 22%, and it allows to completely close the gap in 66.7% of cases as well. Removal of the epiretinal membrane and the elimination of vitreomacular traction syndrome can reduce the thickness of the retina in the center by an average of 19% in the immediate postoperative period.В статье рассмотрены результаты хирургического лечения патологии макулярной зоны сетчатки: макулярных разрывов, эпиретинальных мембран и витреомакулярного тракционного синдрома. Всем больным выполнялась оптическая когерентная томография (ОКТ) до и после операции. При макулярном разрыве проводилось измерение толщины сетчатки в области макулы, величины разрыва. При эпиретинальной мембране и витреомакулярном тракционном синдроме измерялась толщина сетчатки в области макулы до и после операции. Результаты: хирургическое лечение значительно уменьшает размеры макулярного разрыва в среднем на 61% и толщину сетчатки в центре в среднем на 22%, а также позволяет полностью закрыть разрыв в 66,7% случаев. Удаление эпиретинальной мембраны и устранение витреомакулярного тракционного синдрома позволяет уменьшить толщину сетчатки в центре в среднем на 19% в ближайшем послеоперационном периоде