Legal regulation of mortgage lending: the experience of Russia and foreign countries

In this paper, authors carry out an analysis of regulation of legal relationships in the sphere of mortgage lending, based on studies of certain international legal acts, monographic publications and scientific publications. They analyze, in particular, the German mortgage lending system, elements of which are used in the development of the Russian mortgage system. The common features and peculiarities of mortgage lending in Germany and Russia are note

A Tri-National program for estimating the link between snow resources and hydrological droughts

To evaluate how summer low flows and droughts are affected by the winter snowpack, a Tri-National effort will analyse data from three catchments: Alpbach (Prealps, central Switzerland), Gudjaretis-Tskali (Little Caucasus, central Georgia), and Kamenice (Jizera Mountains, northern Czech Republic). Two GIS-based rainfall-runoff models will simulate over 10 years of runoff in streams based on rain and snowfall measurements, and further meteorological variables. The models use information on the geographical settings of the catchments together with knowledge of the hydrological processes of runoff generation from rainfall, looking particularly at the relationship between spring snowmelt and summer droughts. These processes include snow accumulation and melt, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge in spring that contributes to (the) summer runoff, and will be studied by means of the environmental isotopes 18O and 2H. Knowledge about the isotopic composition of the different water sources will allow to identify the flow paths and estimate the residence time of snow meltwater in the subsurface and its contribution to the stream. The application of the models in different nested or neighbouring catchments will explore their potential for further development and allow a better early prediction of low-flow periods in various mountainous zones across Europe. The paper presents the planned activities including a first analysis of already available dataset of environmental isotopes, discharge, snow water equivalent and modelling experiments of the (already) available datasets

Terahertz conductivity of Si and of Ge/Si(001) heterostructures with quantum dots

With an MBE technique, a Si/Ge heterostructures are prepared containing layers of nanostructured Ge with quantum dots of size of several nanometers. The effective conductivity of the layers is determined by a quasioptical terahertz-subterahertz coherent source BWO spectroscopy. The conductivity is found to be strongly enhanced compared with the conductivity of bulk germanium. Possible microscopic mechanisms responsible for the enhancement will be discussed. Application of BWO spectrometers for obtaining precise quantitative information on of dielectric properties at THz-subTHz frequencies of semiconducting layers and structures is demonstrated by presenting the temperature dependences of dielectric characteristics of a commercial silicon wafer at frequencies 0.3 to 1.2 THz and temperatures 5K-300K.Comment: Proc. 33rd International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz 2008), September 15-19, 2008, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

Vitamin D (steroid hormone) and the nervous system diseases (literature review)

The present review aims to summarize the activities of vitamin D effects on the nervous system and to clarify a vitamin D role in brain diseases, in the pathogenesis or as a serum biomarker for the disease development and severity. Objective: correlation between chronic nervous system diseases and vitamin D level. Methods: a literature research in PubMed and in Russian electronic resources by keywords: vitamin D, brain diseases, chronic nervous system diseases. Results. Vitamin D as a neurosteroid hormone stimulates cerebral activity in both adult and embryonic brain regulates the activity of neural circuits which are responsible for locomotor, reward-dependent and emotional behavior. Patients with autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, Alzheimer disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease and sleep disorders have been shown to have low level of vitamin D. Discussion. Data are controversial, a further study of vitamin D hypovitaminosis significance is essential for the nervous system chronic diseases manifestation and evaluation of the vitamin D dietary supplement efficiency in patients with the nervous system pathology

Качество жизни при цервикальной дистонии

The aim of the study was to study the physical and psychological components regarding the quality of life of patients with cervical dystonia.Material and methods. 170 respondents were examined. The main group included 120 patients with cervical dystonia, 50 patients were included in the control group, consisting of patients with cervicalgia of various genesis. The diagnosis of cervical dystonia met uniform criteria for the diagnosis and treatment of dystonia adopted in 2011 by the European Federation of Neurological Societies and the Movement Disorders Society (European Federation of Neurological Societies / Movement Disorders Society, EFNS / MDS). In the control group, the pain syndrome of the cervical spine was caused by a degenerative process and was confirmed by X-ray examination and /or MRI. As part of our research, we determined the quality of life in men and women in both groups using the SF-36 questionnaire with a study of the parameters of physical and psychological well-being.Results and conclusion. A considerably significant effect of cervical dystonia on the somatic and mental  parameters regarding the quality of life in both men and women has been established. Significant decrease in all indicators representing the quality of life in patients with cervical dystonia was revealed compared with respondents without dystonic hyperkinesis. As a chronic disease, cervical dystonia leads to psycho-physiological stress, which significantly impairs the quality of life of patients. Significant gender differences were identified: women from the groups of cervical dystonia and cervicalgia were more often exposed to psychological deprivation and reduced physical activity than men from the same groups.Цель. Изучить физические и психологические составляющие качества жизни больных, страдающих цервикальной дистонией.Материалы и методы. Обследованы 170 респондентов: 120 пациентов с цервикальной дистонией составили основную группу, 50 человек включены в группу контроля – респонденты с цервикалгиями различного генеза. Диагноз цервикальной дистонии установлен клинически, согласно единым критериям по диагностике и лечению дистонии, принятым в 2011 г. Европейской федерацией неврологических обществ и Обществом двигательных расстройств (European Federation of Neurological Societies / Movement Disorders Society, EFNS / MDS). Болевой синдром в шейном отделе позвоночника у группы контроля был вызван дегенеративным процессом и подтвержден рентгенографическим обследованием и (или) магнитно-резонансной томографией. В рамках проводимого нами исследования определялось качество жизни у мужчин и женщин в обеих группах с помощью опросника SF-36 с изучением параметров физического и психологического благополучия.Результаты и заключение. Установлено достоверно значимое влияние цервикальной дистонии на соматические и психические параметры качества жизни как у мужчин, так и у женщин. Выявлено достоверное снижение всех показателей качества жизни у больных цервикальной дистонией по сравнению с респондентами, не имеющих дистонического гиперкинеза. Цервикальная дистония как хроническое заболевание приводит к психофизиологическому напряжению, что значительно ухудшает качество жизни больных. Выявлены достоверные гендерные внутригрупповые различия: женщины из групп цервикальной дистонии и цервикалгий в большей степени подвержены психологической депривации и снижению физической деятельности, чем мужчины из этих же групп

Potential of primary drug prevention of cardiotoxicity in the context of anticancer therapy

Aim. To search early signs of cardiotoxicity in patients receiving anticancer therapy and evaluate the effectiveness of cardioprotection with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, beta-blocker and myocardial cytoprotector.Material and methods. The study included 98 patients with high and very high risk of cardiotoxicity according to the Mayo Clinic scale (USA). Cancer patients with hypertension were offered cardioprotective treatment with a fixed-dose combination of perindopril and bisoprolol, and patients with very high risk and concomitant coronary artery disease additionally trimetazidine.The patients were divided into 2 following groups: the experimental group (n=50), where patients were prescribed cardioprotective therapy, and the control group (n=48), which consisted of patients who refused or had contraindications to cardioprotection. All patients underwent an examination, including the collection of complaints and anamnesis, physical examination, electrocardiography and echocardiography with an assessment of left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain before chemotherapy and 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after initiation of anticancer therapy.Results. In patients of the control group, by the end of the follow-up, the left atrial volume index and LV end-diastolic volume index significantly increased. In the main group, these indicators did not change significantly. In the control group, by the final visit, the LV ejection fraction significantly decreased in comparison with the initial value and the value in the first group. After 6, 9 and 12 months, there was a significant decrease in the LV global longitudinal strain in the control group, while in the main group this indicator remained within the normal range. The mortality rate in the control group was significantly higher (15% vs 2% in the experimental group). In the experimental group, cardiotoxic complications occurred in 28%, while in the control group — in 78% of patients.Conclusion. The study demonstrated the significant importance of cardiac monitoring and primary drug prevention of cardiotoxicity of anticancer therapy. A sig nificant deterioration in LV systolic function was shown in patients with a high and very high risk of cardiotoxicity who did not receive cardioprotective therapy, while its high efficiency was demonstrated in patients of the experimental group

Energy scan of the e+e−→hb(nP)π+π−e^+e^- \to h_b(nP)\pi^+\pi^- (n=1,2)(n=1,2) cross sections and evidence for Υ(11020)\Upsilon(11020) decays into charged bottomonium-like states

Using data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ collider, we measure the energy dependence of the $e^+e^- \to h_b(nP)\pi^+\pi^-$ $(n=1,2)$ cross sections from thresholds up to $11.02\,$GeV. We find clear $\Upsilon(10860)$ and $\Upsilon(11020)$ peaks with little or no continuum contribution. We study the resonant substructure of the $\Upsilon(11020) \to h_b(nP)\pi^+\pi^-$ transitions and find evidence that they proceed entirely via the intermediate isovector states $Z_b(10610)$ and $Z_b(10650)$. The relative fraction of these states is loosely constrained by the current data: the hypothesis that only $Z_b(10610)$ is produced is excluded at the level of 3.3 standard deviations, while the hypothesis that only $Z_b(10650)$ is produced is not excluded at a significant level.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter