Large-scale Samples Irradiation Facility at the IBR-2 Reactor in Dubna

The irradiation facility at the beam line no.3 of the IBR-2 reactor of the Frank Laboratory for Neutron Physics is described. The facility is aimed at irradiation studies of various objects with area up to 800 cm$^2$ both at cryogenic and ambient temperatures. The energy spectra of neutrons are reconstructed by the method of threshold detector activation. The neutron fluence and $\gamma$ dose rates are measured by means of alanine and thermoluminescent dosimeters. The boron carbide and lead filters or $(n/\gamma)$ converter provide beams of different ratio of doses induced by neutrons and photons. For the lead filter, the flux of fast neutrons with energy more than 0.1 MeV is $1.4 \cdot 10^{10}$ \fln and the neutron dose is about 96\% of the total radiation dose. For the $(n/\gamma)$ converter, the $\gamma$ dose rate is $\sim$500 Gy h$^{-1}$ which is about 85\% of the total dose. The radiation hardness tests of GaAs electronics and materials for the ATLAS detector to be put into operation at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have been performed successfully at this facility

Methylation QTLs in the developing brain and their enrichment in schizophrenia risk loci

We characterized DNA methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTLs) in a large collection (n = 166) of human fetal brain samples spanning 56-166 d post-conception, identifying >16,000 fetal brain mQTLs. Fetal brain mQTLs were primarily cis-acting, enriched in regulatory chromatin domains and transcription factor binding sites, and showed substantial overlap with genetic variants that were also associated with gene expression in the brain. Using tissue from three distinct regions of the adult brain (prefrontal cortex, striatum and cerebellum), we found that most fetal brain mQTLs were developmentally stable, although a subset was characterized by fetal-specific effects. Fetal brain mQTLs were enriched amongst risk loci identified in a recent large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) of schizophrenia, a severe psychiatric disorder with a hypothesized neurodevelopmental component. Finally, we found that mQTLs can be used to refine GWAS loci through the identification of discrete sites of variable fetal brain methylation associated with schizophrenia risk variants

Aphodius (Paraphodius) rugosostriatus Waterhouse 1985

<i>Aphodius</i> (<i>Paraphodius</i>) <i>rugosostriatus</i> Waterhouse, 1985 <p>MATERIAL. Russia: Primorskii krai: Knoring, forest, 17.VII 1981, 1 specimen (Kosheleva); 16-19.VII 1968, 1 specimen (Kascheev M.A.); Khabarovskii krai: Poletnoe, on pastureland, 9.VII 1968, 2 specimens (Radomskaya).</p> <p>DISTRIBUTION. Russian Far East: Primorskii krai, Khabarovskii krai (first record). – China (North, Central, and South) [3], Korea [5], Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Sado, Shikoku, Kyushu) [4].</p> <p> NOTES. As shown by Z. Stebnicka and E. Galante [6] <i>Aphodius raddei</i> Berlov, 1989 descibed from Russia (Primorskii krai, Evseevka) [2] is a pure synonym of <i>A. rugosostriatus</i> Waterhouse, 1985.</p>Published as part of <i>Berlov, E. Ya. & Shabalin, S. A., 2007, New Records Of Scarab Beetles Of The Genus Aphodius Illiger, 1798 (Coleoptera, Scara- Baeidae) In The Russian Far East, pp. 15-16 in Far Eastern Entomologist 173</i> on page 15, DOI: <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10083395">10.5281/zenodo.10083395</a&gt

EFFECT OF CYTOPROTECTION ON THE OXIDATIVE PROCESSES AND ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE

Aim. To investigate the effects of cytoprotection with mildronate (Grindex, Latvia) on oxidative processes and endothelial function in elderly patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Material and methods. 117 elderly (upwards 60 y.o.) patients with IHD were included into controlled study. They were also suffering from heart failure II-III functional class (according to NYHA classification) and from arterial hypertension (AH). All patients were randomized into 2 groups: 1) 67 patients (75,4±0,5 y. o.) were treated with mildronate 500 mg/day simultaneously with basic therapy during 12 weeks (the main group) and 2) 50 patients (74,0±0,6 y. o.) were treated only with basic therapy during 12 weeks (the compare group). Total cholesterol (CH), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high density lipoprotein CH (HDL), LDL antioxidant potential (concentration of α-tocopherol and retinol in LDL), initial level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) products in LDL, LDL resistance to oxidation and blood level of NO metabolites were determined before and after 4 and 12 weeks of the therapy. Results. Mildronate did not have any effect on the blood lipid profile in elderly patients with IHD. The initial level of LPO products in LDL was decreased by 33% and LDL resistance to oxidation was increased by 26% in the main group after 12 weeks of therapy in comparison with the same parameters before the study and in comparison with control group of patients (p<0,05). The blood level of NO metabolites was 1,4 fold higher in the main group of patients after 12 weeks of therapy in comparison with the same parameters before therapy and in comparison with control group of patients (p<0,05). More prominent growth of LDL resistance to oxidation after 12 week therapy with mildronate was revealed in men than in women, in patients with angina II class than in patients with angina III class, in patients with heart failure II class than in patients with heart failure III class. Conclusion. Some antiatherogenic effects of mildronate are observed in elderly patients with IHD. These are the decrease in LPO activity in LDL and the increase in synthesis of NO