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

Theoretical Issues of the Formation of the Industrial Policy of Enterprises

The present article specifies the basic principles and components of the social and economic policy of enterprises. Structuring of components enabled the authors to formulate the main directions according to their activity profile and to provide a more detailed definition of the industrial policy of enterprises. The authors showed the nature of the impact of the industrial policy on the industrial complex of enterprises, its importance and relevance; the main problems are also outlined. The specific ways and opportunities for the solution of these problems, formulated by the authors, made it possible to offer the scheme of the main components of the concept of the formation of the industrial policy at enterprises and to define the key purpose, which in turn made it possible to specify tasks, requirements and restrictions when forming the industrial policy of enterprises at the present stage. The research conducted in the present article and the concept of industrial policy offered by the authors are regarded as the instrument of strategic management, the corrective model of the management system of enterprises taking into account the opportunities for strategic development and the influence of sectoral and regional policy, as well as science, which confirms the relevance of this subject. Keywords: social economic policy, external and internal components, infrastructure, industrial complex, concept of formation. JEL Classifications: L52, L53, M1

Plasma Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels in Newborn Infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a type of growth factor that promotes growth and survival of neurons. Fetal exposure to opiates can lead to postnatal withdrawal syndrome, which is referred as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Preclinical and clinical studies have shown an association between opiates exposure and alteration in BDNF expression in the brain and serum levels in adult. However, to date, there are no data available on the effects of opiate exposure on BDNF levels in infant who are exposed to opiates in utero and whether BDNF level may correlate with the severity of NAS. Objective: To compare plasma BDNF levels among NAS and non-NAS infants and to determine the correlation of BDNF levels and the severity of NAS. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study with no intervention involved. Infants ≥35 weeks of gestation were enrolled. BDNF level was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique from blood samples drawn within 48 h of life. The severity of NAS was determined by the length of hospital stay, number of medications required to treat NAS. Results: 67 infants were enrolled, 34 NAS and 33 non-NAS. Mean gestational age did not differ between the two groups. Mean birth weight of NAS infants was significantly lower than the non-NAS infants (3,070 ± 523 vs. 3,340 ± 459 g, p = 0.028). Mean BDNF level in NAS group was 252.2 ± 91.6 ng/ml, significantly higher than 211.3 ± 66.3 ng/ml in the non-NAS group (p = 0.04). There were no differences in BDNF levels between NAS infants that required one medication vs. more than one medication (254 ± 91 vs. 218 ± 106 ng/ml, p = 0.47). There was no correlation between the BDNF levels and length of hospital stay (p = 0.68) among NAS infants. Overall, there were no significant correlations between BDNF levels and NAS scores except at around 15 h after admission (correlation 0.35, p = 0.045). Conclusion: Plasma BDNF level was significantly increased in NAS infants during the first 48 h when compared to non-NAS infants. The correlations between plasma BDNF levels and the severity of NAS warrant further study. These results suggest that BDNF may play a neuromodulatory role during withdrawal after in utero opiate exposure

Classical and quantum: a conflict of interest

We highlight three conflicts between quantum theory and classical general relativity, which make it implausible that a quantum theory of gravity can be arrived at by quantising classical gravity. These conflicts are: quantum nonlocality and space-time structure; the problem of time in quantum theory; and the quantum measurement problem. We explain how these three aspects bear on each other, and how they point towards an underlying noncommutative geometry of space-time.Comment: 15 pages. Published in `Gravity and the quantum' [Essays in honour of Thanu Padmanabhan on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday] Eds. Jasjeet Singh Bagla and Sunu Engineer (Springer, 2017

Bound States of String Networks and D-branes

We show the existence of non-threshold bound states of (p, q) string networks and D3-branes, preserving 1/4 of the full type IIB supersymmetry, interpreted as string networks dissolved in D3-branes. We also write down the expression for the mass density of the system and discuss the extension of the construction to other Dp-branes. Differences in our construction of string networks with the ones interpreted as dyons in N=4 gauge theories are also pointed out.Comment: 11 pages, latex, minor modifications (version to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett.

DFT Study of Planar Boron Sheets: A New Template for Hydrogen Storage

We study the hydrogen storage properties of planar boron sheets and compare them to those of graphene. The binding of molecular hydrogen to the boron sheet (0.05 eV) is stronger than that to graphene. We find that dispersion of alkali metal (AM = Li, Na, and K) atoms onto the boron sheet markedly increases hydrogen binding energies and storage capacities. The unique structure of the boron sheet presents a template for creating a stable lattice of strongly bonded metal atoms with a large nearest neighbor distance. In contrast, AM atoms dispersed on graphene tend to cluster to form a bulk metal. In particular the boron-Li system is found to be a good candidate for hydrogen storage purposes. In the fully loaded case this compound can contain up to 10.7 wt. % molecular hydrogen with an average binding energy of 0.15 eV/H2.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, and 3 table

Models of wave-function collapse, underlying theories, and experimental tests

We describe the state of the art in preparing, manipulating and detecting coherent molecular matter. We focus on experimental methods for handling the quantum motion of compound systems from diatomic molecules to clusters or biomolecules.Molecular quantum optics offers many challenges and innovative prospects: already the combination of two atoms into one molecule takes several well-established methods from atomic physics, such as for instance laser cooling, to their limits. The enormous internal complexity that arises when hundreds or thousands of atoms are bound in a single organic molecule, cluster or nanocrystal provides a richness that can only be tackled by combining methods from atomic physics, chemistry, cluster physics, nanotechnology and the life sciences.We review various molecular beam sources and their suitability for matter-wave experiments. We discuss numerous molecular detection schemes and give an overview over diffraction and interference experiments that have already been performed with molecules or clusters.Applications of de Broglie studies with composite systems range from fundamental tests of physics up to quantum-enhanced metrology in physical chemistry, biophysics and the surface sciences.Nanoparticle quantum optics is a growing field, which will intrigue researchers still for many years to come. This review can, therefore, only be a snapshot of a very dynamical process

Report of the Task Force on Enhancing technology use in agriculture insurance

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a flagship scheme of the Government of India to provide insurance coverage and financial support to farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops, unsown area and damage to harvest produce as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases to stabilise the income of farmers, and to encourage them to adopt modern agricultural practices. The scheme is a considerable improvement over all previous insurance schemes in India and is heavily subsidised by the state and central governments. The scheme aims to cover 50 percent of the farming households within next 3 years. During its implementation in the last one season, several challenges relating to enrolment, yield estimation, loss assessment, and claim settlement were reported by farmers, insurance companies as well as the state governments. It was also noted that several technological opportunities existed for possibly leveraging support to the Indian crop insurance program for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness. NITI Aayog of the Government of India, therefore, constituted a Task Force to deliberate on this subject and identify such potential opportunities. This report summarises the recommendations of the Task Force. The Task Force constituted to address the issue of technology support to crop insurance comprised the following 5 sub-groups: (1) Remote Sensing & Drones; (2) Decision Support Systems, Crop Modelling & Integrated Approaches; (3) IT/ICT in Insurance; (4) Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs); and (5) Technologies for Livestock and Aquaculture Insurance. Each sub-group had several discussions with experts in the respective areas, and submitted draft reports. More than 100 experts related to professional research agencies, insurance industry, banks, and the government contributed to these discussions. Technological options available in the country and abroad were considered by all groups. The Task Force together with the sub-groups then deliberated on key issues and formulated its recommendations as presented in this report. During the discussions it was realised that there were many administrative and institutional issues that needed to be addressed in PMFBY. However, the focus of the Task Force was on its main mandate, technology use in crop insurance. We hope these recommendations would help the Indian crop insurance sector take full advantage of the technological options suggested so as to increase its efficacy and effectiveness leading to reduced agrarian distress in the country

International longitudinal registry of patients with atrial fibrillation and treated with rivaroxaban: RIVaroxaban Evaluation in Real life setting (RIVER)

Background Real-world data on non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are essential in determining whether evidence from randomised controlled clinical trials translate into meaningful clinical benefits for patients in everyday practice. RIVER (RIVaroxaban Evaluation in Real life setting) is an ongoing international, prospective registry of patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and at least one investigator-determined risk factor for stroke who received rivaroxaban as an initial treatment for the prevention of thromboembolic stroke. The aim of this paper is to describe the design of the RIVER registry and baseline characteristics of patients with newly diagnosed NVAF who received rivaroxaban as an initial treatment. Methods and results Between January 2014 and June 2017, RIVER investigators recruited 5072 patients at 309 centres in 17 countries. The aim was to enroll consecutive patients at sites where rivaroxaban was already routinely prescribed for stroke prevention. Each patient is being followed up prospectively for a minimum of 2-years. The registry will capture data on the rate and nature of all thromboembolic events (stroke / systemic embolism), bleeding complications, all-cause mortality and other major cardiovascular events as they occur. Data quality is assured through a combination of remote electronic monitoring and onsite monitoring (including source data verification in 10% of cases). Patients were mostly enrolled by cardiologists (n = 3776, 74.6%), by internal medicine specialists 14.2% (n = 718) and by primary care/general practice physicians 8.2% (n = 417). The mean (SD) age of the population was 69.5 (11.0) years, 44.3% were women. Mean (SD) CHADS2 score was 1.9 (1.2) and CHA2DS2-VASc scores was 3.2 (1.6). Almost all patients (98.5%) were prescribed with once daily dose of rivaroxaban, most commonly 20 mg (76.5%) and 15 mg (20.0%) as their initial treatment; 17.9% of patients received concomitant antiplatelet therapy. Most patients enrolled in RIVER met the recommended threshold for AC therapy (86.6% for 2012 ESC Guidelines, and 79.8% of patients according to 2016 ESC Guidelines). Conclusions The RIVER prospective registry will expand our knowledge of how rivaroxaban is prescribed in everyday practice and whether evidence from clinical trials can be translated to the broader cross-section of patients in the real world

Genome-wide Analyses Identify KIF5A as a Novel ALS Gene

To identify novel genes associated with ALS, we undertook two lines of investigation. We carried out a genome-wide association study comparing 20,806 ALS cases and 59,804 controls. Independently, we performed a rare variant burden analysis comparing 1,138 index familial ALS cases and 19,494 controls. Through both approaches, we identified kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A) as a novel gene associated with ALS. Interestingly, mutations predominantly in the N-terminal motor domain of KIF5A are causative for two neurodegenerative diseases: hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG10) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2). In contrast, ALS-associated mutations are primarily located at the C-terminal cargo-binding tail domain and patients harboring loss-of-function mutations displayed an extended survival relative to typical ALS cases. Taken together, these results broaden the phenotype spectrum resulting from mutations in KIF5A and strengthen the role of cytoskeletal defects in the pathogenesis of ALS.Peer reviewe