Assessment of hard-to-recover oil reserves production potential in Tomsk region

The development of the licensed areas, profound geological exploration, enhanced oil recovery due to innovative technologies introduction and revitalization of oil production from unconventional horizons could significantly increase the oil production in the Tomsk region. This article deals with the issue of oil producing companies’ affairs of the Tomsk region for the past 10 years and proves the oil production potential growth through the development of both conventional and hard-to-recover unconventional oil reserves, concentrated in the Bazhenov and Tyumen Formations, as well as in the Lower Jurassic sediments. The Russian Federation is far behind from the economically developed countries, especially from the United States, in the exploitation of hard-to-recover unconventional hydrocarbon resources. The «shale revolution» was determined by a complex of financial and tax incentives introduced for oil and gas companies. However, this was mainly beneficial for medium and small sized companies. Therefore, both the business entities and regional authorities should increase the investments spending, as well as introduce the additional tax incentives considering the quality and type of potentially available raw hydrocarbons produced in the region, in contrast to the declared benefits in the territory of Eastern Siberia. The introduction of tax incentives justified by the authors, and the implementation of public-private partnership mechanism will ensure the profitability of marginal and hard-to-recover deposits development of the Tomsk region in the long run, which in its turn, should ensure the stability of the economic development of the reviewed subject of the Russian Federation

The role of microRNAs in learning and long-term memory

The mechanisms of long-term memory formation and ways to improve it (in the case of its impairment) remain an extremely difficult problem yet to be solved. Over the recent years, much attention has been paid to microRNAs in this regard. MicroRNAs are unique endogenous non-coding RNAs about 22 nucleotides in length; each can regulate translation of hundreds of messenger RNA targets, thereby controlling entire gene networks. MicroRNAs are widely represented in the central nervous system. A large number of studies are currently being conducted to investigate the role of microRNAs in the brain functioning. A number of microRNAs have been shown to be involved in the process of synaptic plasticity, as well as in the long-term memory formation. Disruption of microRNA biogenesis leads to significant cognitive dysfunctions. Moreover, impaired microRNA biogenesis is one of the causes of the pathogenesis of mental disorders, neurodegenerative illnesses and senile dementia, which are often accompanied by deterioration in the learning ability and by memory impairment. Optimistic predictions are made that microRNAs can be used as targets for therapeutic treatment and for diagnosing the above pathologies. The importance of applications related to microRNAs significantly raises interest in studying their functions in the brain. Thus, this review is focused on the role of microRNAs in cognitive processes. It describes microRNA biogenesis and the role of miRNAs in the regulation of gene expression, as well as the latest achievements in studying the functional role of microRNAs in learning and in long-term memory formation, depending on the activation or inhibition of their expression. The review presents summarized data on the effect of impaired microRNA biogenesis on long-term memory formation, including those associated with sleep deprivation. In addition, analysis is provided of the current literature related to the prospects of improving cognitive processes by influencing microRNA biogenesis via the use of CRISPR/Cas9 technologies and active mental and physical exercises

Financial Aspects of Technological Concept for Energy Efficiency Enhancement during Stripper Wells Development in Tomsk Region

The issue of operating costs cutting in terms of falling oil prices on the world market actualizes the challenge to find technological solutions to reduce electricity consumption during well operation. This is especially important for stripped-wells of small deposits in Tomsk region. The correlation analysis between the cost of oil production, electricity, heat and fuel consumption during the extraction of one ton of oil allowed the authors to focus on the financial aspect of such technological solutions like periodic well operation in the Shinginskoye field as well as to recommend the application of this method at the other fields in Tomsk region

Opposite roles of serotonin and neuropeptide FMRFamide in the regulation of epigenetic processes involved in the longterm memory formation

Epigenetic modifications are studied intensively to understand mechanisms of long-term memory. We have shown that histone H3 methylation is important for the defense reflexes formation in the mollusk Helix lucorum. We suggested that these epigenetic modifications are controlled by facilitatory and inhibitory pathways involved in the long-term memory formation. Serotonin and neuropeptide FMRFamide play opposite roles in the formation of defensive reflexes. Serotonin strengthens synaptic connections between neurons of the network, and FMRFamid is an inhibitory transmitter leading to long-term depression. To study the epigenetic regulation of the processes involved in the long-term memory formation, we performed comparative studies on the serotonin and FMRFamide effects on histone H3 methylation in the CNS of the Helix. We found that the incubation of the CNS with serotonin induces methylation of histone H3 at both activating (Н3K4me3) and inhibitory (Н3K9me2) sites, while incubation with FMRFamide has an opposite effect reducing methylation of histone H3 in the subesophageal complex of ganglia, important for defensive behaviour. We observed a different methylation pattern of histone H3 in the cerebral ganglia involved in signal processing of food stimuli, where serotonin did not affect the methylation of histone H3 at the activator site and reduced methylation at the inhibitory site, while FMRFamid had no effect on methylation. The data indicate that the facilitatory and inhibitory processes mediated by serotonin and FMRFamide can interact at the epigenetic level, through histone H3 methylation by activating or inhibiting it, respectively. This may underlie the convergence of the activator and inhibitory pathways involved in the long-term memory formation and underlie following regulation of the expression of genes involved in long-term plasticity

Regulation of histone H4 acetylation in the CNS and defensive behavior command neurons of the mollusk Helix mediated by serotonin and neuropeptide FMRFamide

Epigenetic mechanisms are commonly known to underlie memory formation. Presently, scientists’ attention is focused on changes in the levels of histone modifications (mainly acetylation and methylation) in the chromatin of CNS cells tested in various experimental models. Owing to their relatively simple CNSs, mollusks are among the most popular models. Our experiments were con-ducted with the mollusk Helix lucorum because its CNS had been investigated in detail and most of its neurons had been proven to participate in the formation of different behavior patterns, including the prolonged response to various stimuli. This work concerns the influence of various effectors (serotonin and FMRFamide, associated with CNS activator and inhibitory pathways, respectively) on the acetylation of H4 histone in the subesopha­geal ganglion complex and in defensive behavior command neurons of the right and left parietal ganglia (RPa3/2 and LPa3/2) in the snail. Western blot analysis showed that FMRFamide inhibited histone H4 acetylation induced by serotonin in the subesophageal complex of CNS ganglia. How­ever, serotonin and FMRFamide cooperatively enhanced the induction of histone H4 acetylation in RPa3/2 defensive behavior command neurons. No changes were found in the counterpart LPa3/2. It is a new piece of evidence for functional asym­metry in Helix. The inhibitory pathways mediated by FMRFamide not only inhibit the activatory in­tracellular processes in the entire CNS but can also enhance them, as in RPa3/2 defensive behavior command neurons

Oil and gas company policy regarding the concept of sustainable development (water resources)

The paper considers oil and gas companies implementing the strategy of sustainable development. Being vital to the national economy, oil and gas companies have a significant impact on the environment. Having analyzed the statistical data, the authors state that the leading Russian oil and gas companies contribute to the industry dynamics and conduct eco-friendly production practices. The environmental component is reported to be integrated in production, HR, information and other company policies, which results in "greening" both economic cooperation and place of production. The authors report the inverse relation between production dynamics and significance of the impact on water resources

Oil and gas company policy regarding the concept of sustainable development (water resources)

The paper considers oil and gas companies implementing the strategy of sustainable development. Being vital to the national economy, oil and gas companies have a significant impact on the environment. Having analyzed the statistical data, the authors state that the leading Russian oil and gas companies contribute to the industry dynamics and conduct eco-friendly production practices. The environmental component is reported to be integrated in production, HR, information and other company policies, which results in "greening" both economic cooperation and place of production. The authors report the inverse relation between production dynamics and significance of the impact on water resources

Налоговое стимулирование инвестиций частных инвесторов в облигации в Российской Федерации

Статья посвящена анализу особенностей налогового стимулирования инвестиций частных инвесторов в облигации в РФ. Необходимость налогового стимулирования приобретения облигаций частными инвесторами отмечена как составная часть стратегии бондизации, заявленной Банком России. Целью настоящей статьи является анализ специфики применения инвестиционных налоговых льгот в РФ, выявление спорных и требующих конкретизации вопросов. Отмечены широкое освещение темы налогового стимулирования инвестиций в иностранной периодической литературе и практически полное игнорирование данной тематики отечественными авторами. В статье проанализированы налоговые новации в области инвестиций российских частных инвесторов: льгота по купонному доходу корпоративных облигаций, инвестиционные налоговые вычеты (индивидуальные инвестиционные счета и льгота по долгосрочному владению ценными бумагами), льгота по долгосрочному владению ценными бумагами высокотехнологичного (инновационного) сектора экономики. Определены возможности совмещения вышеназванных льгот. Отмечен недостаток количественных данных для оценки эффективности налоговых льгот для частных инвесторов вследствие короткого периода их действия. Авторы пришли к выводу относительно отсутствия единой системы предоставления льгот частным инвесторам и более широком льготировании облигаций в сравнении с прочими инструментами. Конкретным результатами работы можно считать констатацию необходимости внесений изменений в НК РФ с целью выравнивания налогообложения по производным инструментам, созданным на основе облигаций, паям паевых инвестиционных фондов и корректировки ряда технических моментов применения льгот, а также оценку эффективности описанных льгот.The paper addresses the specificities of tax incentives in the form of tax reliefs designated for individual investors, who invest in bonds in the Russian Federation. The need for the use of tax incentives to encourage individual investors to purchase bonds is regarded as an integral aspect of the bondization, announced by the Bank of Russia. The objective of this paper is to analyze the specific features of the investment tax relief implementation in the Russian Federation and to reveal issues that remain controversial and require particularization. It was found that stimulation of investment through tax is widely studied by foreign scientists; however, it is almost completely disregarded in Russia. The following tax innovations related to investments of individual Russian investors were analyzed: tax relief for coupon income, derived from corporate bonds; investment tax deductions (individual investment account and long-term capital gains exemption); long-term capital gains exemption for securities of the high-tech (innovation) sector of economy. Reconciliation schemes for the above-mentioned reliefs were identified. Insufficiency of quantitative data for the effectiveness evaluation of tax relief for individual investors was revealed, which was explained by the short validity period of this relief. The authors proved the absence of a uniform system tax relief instruments for individual investors and found that bond holders have more tax relief options, compared to share holders of other investment instruments. In this context, it was proposed to make amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in order to ensure tax equalization with relation to derivative instruments, designed on the basis of bonds, mutual fund units). In addition, it was recommended to adjust a number of technical aspects, connected with tax relief application and to evaluate the effectiveness of the reliefs under study

Financial Aspects of Technological Concept for Energy Efficiency Enhancement during Stripper Wells Development in Tomsk Region

The issue of operating costs cutting in terms of falling oil prices on the world market actualizes the challenge to find technological solutions to reduce electricity consumption during well operation. This is especially important for stripped-wells of small deposits in Tomsk region. The correlation analysis between the cost of oil production, electricity, heat and fuel consumption during the extraction of one ton of oil allowed the authors to focus on the financial aspect of such technological solutions like periodic well operation in the Shinginskoye field as well as to recommend the application of this method at the other fields in Tomsk region

Approaches of Russian oil companies to optimal capital structure

Oil companies play a vital role in Russian economy. Demand for hydrocarbon products will be increasing for the nearest decades simultaneously with the population growth and social needs. Change of raw-material orientation of Russian economy and the transition to the innovative way of the development do not exclude the development of oil industry in future. Moreover, society believes that this sector must bring the Russian economy on to the road of innovative development due to neo-industrialization. To achieve this, the government power as well as capital management of companies are required. To make their optimal capital structure, it is necessary to minimize the capital cost, decrease definite risks under existing limits, and maximize profitability. The capital structure analysis of Russian and foreign oil companies shows different approaches, reasons, as well as conditions and, consequently, equity capital and debt capital relationship and their cost, which demands the effective capital management strategy