B.S. Zhukov and his Research Approach to the Study of Antiquities of the IV–I Millennium BC of the Eastern Europe Forest Zone

The paper considers methodological approaches in B.S. Zhukov’s scientific activity, one of the bright representatives of Russian archaeology in the 20s of the XX century. The basic principles of the paleoethnology he used in his studies are presented. An overview of the speeches of leading Russian ethnologists and paleoethnologists at the meetings of 1926 and 1927 is given. It is emphasized that the main problems discussed there were related to the development of the cultural-historical method. The main theses of B.S. Zhukov's main work "The theory of chronological and territorial modifications..." of 1929 are generalized. A high assessment is given to this work, which, firstly, demonstrated certain methods of analytical work with sources and, secondly, put extensive material of the IV–I millennium BC in the system, mainly from the territory of the Volga forest region. Innovative methods of study pottery collections introduced by B.S. Zhukov are considered

An Analysis of the Impact of Monetary Policy on Bank Lending in Russia

This article examines the role of the banking channel in transmitting Russia’s monetary policy. As the financial market is forming and data samples are increasing, there are emerging new conditions for getting a deeper insight into various aspects of monetary policy conducted by the Bank of Russia. The article explores the dependence of bank lending on monetary policy. The author tries to establish whether there are causal statistically significant instruments of monetary policy for the volumes of corporate lending. As independent variables, the author investigates the impact of the monetary base, the money supply, the refinancing rate, and the interbank lending rate. The assessment was conducted using the generalized method of moments. Based on a quarterly sample of data from 2002 to 2013, the author establishes the statistically significant impact of the money supply, the monetary base, the interbank lending rate, and the refinancing rate. The resulting empirical findings substantiate the hypothesis about the existence of a bank lending channel in Russia

An Analysis of the Impact of Monetary Policy on Bank Lending in Russia

This article examines the role of the banking channel in transmitting Russia’s monetary policy. As the financial market is forming and data samples are increasing, there are emerging new conditions for getting a deeper insight into various aspects of monetary policy conducted by the Bank of Russia. The article explores the dependence of bank lending on monetary policy. The author tries to establish whether there are causal statistically significant instruments of monetary policy for the volumes of corporate lending. As independent variables, the author investigates the impact of the monetary base, the money supply, the refinancing rate, and the interbank lending rate. The assessment was conducted using the generalized method of moments. Based on a quarterly sample of data from 2002 to 2013, the author establishes the statistically significant impact of the money supply, the monetary base, the interbank lending rate, and the refinancing rate. The resulting empirical findings substantiate the hypothesis about the existence of a bank lending channel in Russia

Comparative Analysis of Approaches and Treatment Results of Patients with Early and Nonearly Rheumatoid Arthritis

The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of different therapy regimens impact on the effectiveness of treatment of patients with early and late rheumatoid arthritis in steady-state. Data on ongoing basis anti-inflammatory therapy of rheumatoid arthritis and the treatment of associated conditions were obtained by continuous copying from case histories of hospital department patients. The observations lasted 12 months. The activity of rheumatoid arthritis before and after the treatment was determined by the DAS 28 (Disease Activity Score) index. The treatment results were evaluated as per the laboratory research and the DAS 28 index, including the counting of painful and swollen joints, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and health assessment of the patient on a visual analogue scale

Inflamm-Aging and Brain Insulin Resistance: New Insights and Role of Life-style Strategies on Cognitive and Social Determinants in Aging and Neurodegeneration

Over the past decades, the human life span has dramatically increased, and therefore, a steady increase in diseases associated with age (such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease) is expected. In these neurodegenerative diseases, there is a cognitive decline and memory loss, which accompany increased systemic inflammation, the inflamm-aging, and the insulin resistance. Despite numerous studies of age-related pathologies, data on the contribution of brain insulin resistance and innate immunity components to aging are insufficient. Recently, much research has been focused on the consequences of nutrients and adiposity- and nutrient-related signals in brain aging and cognitive decline. Moreover, given the role of metainflammation in neurodegeneration, lifestyle interventions such as calorie restriction may be an effective way to break the vicious cycle of metainflammation and have a role in social behavior. The various effects of calorie restriction on metainflammation, insulin resistance, and neurodegeneration have been described. Less attention has been paid to the social determinants of aging and the possible mechanism by which calorie restriction might influence social behavior. The purpose of this review is to discuss current knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of geroscience-immunosenescence, inflamm-aging, and metainflammation-which makes a significant contribution to aging. A substantial part of the review is devoted to frontiers in the brain insulin resistance in relation to neuroinflammation. In addition, we summarize new data on potential mechanisms of calorie restriction that influence as a lifestyle intervention on the social brain. This knowledge can be used to initiate successful aging and slow the onset of neurodegenerative diseases

Integrative neurochemistry and neurobiology of social recognition and behavior analyzed with respect to CD38-dependent brain oxytocin secretion

This review summarizes the literature and our own data regarding the role of NAD+-glycohydrolase/CD38- controlled molecular mechanisms of hypothalamic and pituitary oxytocin secretion in social behavior regulation. Current approaches to the modulation of both CD38 expression and brain cell activity that represent prospective treatments for disorders associated with altered social behavior are discussed. © 2013 Bentham Science Publishers

Efficiency of Monetary Policy Mechanisms Before and After the 2008 Financial Crisis in the Russian Economy

The goal of this work is to reveal differences in transferring the regulator’s policy before and after the 2008 financial crisis. The research was made by using the method of vector auto-regression. The analysis was related to the channel of interest rate, corporate crediting, volumes of money supply, and growth of the prices level. Differences in the monetary policy of the regulator before and after the 2008 financial crisis were interpreted. Changes in the transfer of the regulator’s monetary policy via channels of the monetary transmission: the level of prices, interest, rate, bank crediting, and channel of monetary flows were statistically confirmed. It was determined that the specified channels had relative importance in transferring the policy and acted with the relatively different level of efficiency during the pre- and post-crisis period. The growth of efficiency of the channel related to the unforeseen growth of prices level, channel of bank crediting, and channel of monetary flows during the post-crisis period were revealed. Results of the research can be used for further theoretical and empiric analysis of the transmission mechanism. Results of such researches are useful for the regulator to pursue efficient monetary policy, for commercial banks to take into account when forming the development strategy whose important element is a system of financial stability managemen

Selegiline ameliorates depression-like behavior in mice lacking the CD157/BST1 gene, a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is accompanied by various non-motor symptoms including depression and anxiety, which may precede the onset of motor symptoms. Selegiline is an irreversible monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) inhibitor, and is widely used in the treatment of PD and major depression. However, there are few reports about the effects of selegiline on non-motor symptoms in PD. The aim of this study was to explore the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of selegiline, using CD157/BST1 knockout (CD157 KO) mouse, a PD-related genetic model displaying depression and anxiety, compared with other antiparkinsonian drugs and an antidepressant, and was to investigate the effects of selegiline on biochemical parameters in emotion-related brain regions. A single administration of selegiline (1–10 mg/kg) dose-dependently reduced immobility time in the forced swimming test (FST) in CD157 KO mice, but not C57BL/6N wild-type (WT) mice. At 10 mg/kg, but not 3 mg/kg, selegiline significantly increased climbing time in CD157 KO mice. A single administration of the antiparkinsonian drugs pramipexole (a dopamine (DA) D2/D3 receptor agonist) or rasagiline (another MAO-B inhibitor), and repeated injections of a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant (NaSSA), mirtazapine, also decreased immobility time, but did not increase climbing time, in CD157 KO mice. The antidepressant-like effects of 10 mg/kg selegiline were comparable to those of 10 mg/kg rasagiline, and tended to be stronger than those of 1 mg/kg rasagiline. After the FST, CD157 KO mice showed decreases in striatal and hippocampal serotonin (5-HT) content, cortical norepinephrine (NE) content, and plasma corticosterone concentration. A single administration of selegiline at 10 mg/kg returned striatal 5-HT, cortical NE, and plasma corticosterone levels to those observed in WT mice. In the open field test (OFT), repeated administration of mirtazapine had anxiolytic effects, and selegiline nonsignificantly ameliorated anxiety-like behaviors in CD157 KO mice. In the social interaction and preference tests, repeated mirtazapine ameliorated the high anxiety and low sociability of CD157 KO mice, whereas selegiline did not. These results indicate that selegiline has antidepressant and mild anxiolytic effects in CD157 KO mice, and suggest that it is an effective antiparkinsonian drug for depressive and anxiety symptoms in PD patients with a CD157 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). © 2017 Kasai, Yoshihara, Lopatina, Ishihara and Higashida

Investigating the Impact of Monetary Policy using the Vector Autoregression Method

Careful identification of the transmission channels of monetary policy is an important step in the global assessment of the major institutional changes. Research in this area should be constantly updated because of the strong structural dynamics. The goal of this paper is to study the monetary transmission in the Russian economy. The study was carried out using the vector autoregression (VAR) method. The analysis of impulse functions of interest rate shocks, corporate lending, volume of money supply, growth of prices and the exchange rate was carried out. An interpretation of the transmission channels of the Russian economy was given. The following channels were considered: Interest rate, bank lending, cash flows, unforeseen prices and the exchange rate channel. All channels under consideration are statistically confirmed, but they exist with varying degrees of effectiveness. The existence of weak channels of monetary transmission is associated with the depressive state of the economy, lack of its growth in recent years, and high inflation, as well as with the policy of shift from the ruble rate targeting to the inflation targeting policy. The outcomes of use of the standard VAR methods for the developing Russian economy can be used as a guideline for further theoretical and empirical analysis of the transmission mechanism

Oxytocin-induced elevation of ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity, cyclic ADP-riboseor Ca2+ concentrations is involved in autoregulation of oxytocin secretionin the hypothalamus and posterior pituitary in male mice

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Locally released oxytocin (OT) activates OT receptors (2.1:OXY:1:OT:) in neighboring neurons in the hypothalamus and their terminals in the posterior pituitary, resulting in further OT release, best known in autoregulation occurring during labor or milk ejection in reproductive females. OT also plays a critical role in social behavior of non-reproductive females and even in males in mammals from rodents to humans. Social behavior is disrupted when elevation of free intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and OT secretion are reduced in male and female CD38 knockout mice. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate whether ADP-ribosyl cyclase-dependent signaling is involved in OT-induced OT release for social recognition in males, independent from female reproduction, and to determine its molecular mechanism. Here, we report that ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity was increased by OT in crude membrane preparations of the hypothalamus and posterior pituitary in male mice, and that OT elicited an increase in [Ca2+]i in the isolated terminals over a period of 5 min. The increases in cyclase and [Ca2+]i were partially inhibited by nonspecific protein kinase inhibitors and a protein kinase C specific inhibitor, calphostin C. Subsequently, OT-induced OT release was also inhibited by calphostin C to levels inhibited by vasotocin, an OT receptor antagonist, and 8-bromo-cADP-ribose. These results demonstrate that OT receptors are functionally coupled to membrane-bound ADP-ribosyl cyclase and/or CD38 and suggest that cADPR-mediated intracellular calcium signaling is involved in autoregulation of OT release, which is sensitive to protein kinase C, in the hypothalamus and neurohypophysis in male mice. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved