Principles and mechanisms to stimulate the innovative development of regions

Subject. This article analyzes the performance of the innovative development of Russia's regions. Objectives. The article aims to develop an original classification of principles and mechanisms to stimulate innovation development of the regions. Methods. For the study, we used statistical inquiry techniques, and the methods of classification, rating, and graphic visualization. The efficiency of innovation was assessed as the ratio of the volume of innovative products produced in the region to the amount of costs of technological innovation. Results. The article identifies regions, districts and industries that are leaders in terms of the volume of innovation products shipped, innovation and distribution of funding, as well as areas that require certain measures to support innovation development. Conclusions. To intensify innovation processes in industrial regions, comprehensive incentives at all levels of government are needed, taking into account the balance of interests of the stakeholders.

Classification, Rating Scales, and Promoting User-Led Research

Psychiatric research currently faces multiple crises; one is that trust in reported research findings has been eroded. Concerns that much research serves the interests of industry rather than the interests of patients have become mainstream. Such worries are not unique to psychiatry, but extend to many areas of science. One way in which such concerns can be ameliorated is via the development of more amateur/ citizen/ user-led research. I argue that promoting research conducted outside of traditional academic settings promises a range of benefits – both to the non-traditional researchers themselves and to others who want truths to be discovered. Having argued that it would be a good idea to have more user-produced research, I discuss how research by users might be facilitated or hindered by changes to the informational infrastructure of science. In particular, I discuss how different styles of classification, and rating scale, can facilitate the work of some research communities and set-back the work of others.

Survival of Fecal Coliforms in Dry-Composting Toilets

ABSTRACT The dry-composting toilet, which uses neither water nor sewage infrastructure, is a practical solution in areas with inadequate sewage disposal and where water is limited. These systems are becoming increasingly popular and are promoted to sanitize human excreta and to recycle them into fertilizer for nonedible plants, yet there are few data on the safety of this technology. This study analyzed fecal coliform reduction in approximately 90 prefabricated, dry-composting toilets (Sistema Integral de Reciclamiento de Desechos Orgánicos [SIRDOs]) that were installed on the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The purpose of this study was to determine fecal coliform reduction over time and the most probable method of this reduction. Biosolid waste samples were collected and analyzed at approximately 3 and 6 months and were classified based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. Results showed that class A compost (high grade) was present in only 35.8% of SIRDOs after 6 months. The primary mechanism for fecal coliform reduction was found to be desiccation rather than biodegradation. There was a significant correlation (P = 0.008) between classification rating and percent moisture categories of the biosolid samples: drier samples had a greater proportion of class A samples. Solar exposure was critical for maximal class A biosolid end products (P= 0.001). This study only addressed fecal coliforms as an indicator organism, and further research is necessary to determine the safety of composting toilets with respect to other pathogenic microorganisms, some of which are more resistant to desiccation.

Forms of Dreaming

A classification-rating system for formal anomalies in dream experience focuses on the contribution a cognitive psychology of dream bizarreness might make to the question of whether dreaming is a form of thinking. In Part I, two traditional issues in the psychology of dreams—dreaming as “hallucination” and dreaming as symbolic thought—are connected via phenomenological method and cognitive theory. Pans II and III present the relatively infrequent categories of typical dream bizarreness and demonstrate that (a) in departing from realism dreaming tends toward a delirium—visual hallucinosis and cognitive clouding—and seems distinct from schizophrenic, psychedelic, or meditative states and (b) if dream anomalies show a symbolic transformation process, then the roots of that process are visual-spatial, not verbal-propositional.

EFFECTIVENESS OF SIRE PROOFS IN PREDICTING RESULTS OF CORRECTIVE MATINGS FOR CONFORMATION IN CANADIAN HOLSTEIN-FRIESIAN CATTLE

Type classification records of maternal half-sister pairs were analyzed to determine if "Superior" sires differed significantly from "Inferior" sires in their progeny distributions for each type component. "Superior" sires differed by at least one standard deviation in proofs from "Inferior" sires. The sires contrasted were 53 Holstein-Friesian bulls which entered Canadian Artificial Insemination units between 1956 and 1962. Data were analyzed separately for each component of the scorecard and for each classification rating of the dam. Chi-square tests showed highly significant (P <.01) differences in the progeny distributions for the two groups of sires. Differences were most dramatic for size, rump, body capacity and dairy character. In general, higher chi-square values were found for traits with higher heritability estimates. Correlations between sires’ proofs for conformation at the time of mating and their mates’ conformation records for major scorecard components were all positive and highly significant (P <.01) except for dairy character. This indicates that assortative matings are taking place and thus it is essential to adjust for mates of sires to generate accurate sire ratings for conformation.