Degradation of structure and properties of rail surface layer at long-term operation

The microstructure evolution and properties variation of the surface layer of rail steel after passed 500 and 1000 million tons of gross weight (MTGW) have been investigated. The wear rate increases to 3 and 3.4 times after passed 500 and 1000 MTGW, respectively. The corresponding friction coefficient decreases by 1.4 and 1.1 times. The cementite plates were destroyed and formed the cementite particles of around 10-50 nm in size after passed 500 MTGW. The early stage dynamical recrystallization was observed after passed 1000 MTGW. The mechanisms for these have been suggested. The large number of bend extinction contours is revealed in the surface layer. The internal stress field is evaluated

Role of apoptosis genes in aggression revealed using combined analysis of ANDSystem gene networks, expression and genomic data in grey rats with aggressive behavior

Aggressive behavior in animals plays an important role in protecting the territory, offspring, establishing social hierarchical relations, etc. Increased aggression is observed in a number of diseases ( schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, brain degenerative disorders). Neuronal apoptosis is crucial in the maintenance of developmental processes during neurogenesis. Alterations in neuronal apoptosis are observed in aging and neuropathologies accompanied by changes in psycho­emo­ tional state (epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, neurotrauma). The expression of key neuronal apoptosis genes (Casp3, Bax and Bcl-xl) in the brain of highly aggressive rats is significantly altered. The aim of this work was to analyze associative networks that describe genetic interactions between genes/proteins involved in neuronal apoptosis, differentially expressed genes and genes with polymorphisms in grey rats with aggressive behavior. Analysis revealed 819 differentially expressed genes in the hypothalamus, ventral tegmental region and periaqueductus Sylvii grey matter in grey rats with aggressive and tame behavior. The Stx1a, Mbp and Th genes have the highest index of betweenness centrality in the associative network of differentially expressed genes. Genome analysis revealed 137 polymorphic genes. Three of them (Lig4, Parp1 and Pigt) were involved in neuronal apoptosis. It was shown that polymorphic and differentially expressed genes were statistically significantly overrepresented among ge nes interacting with neuronal apoptosis genes (p value < 0.01). Three molecular­genetic chains describing connections between polymorphic and neuronal apoptosis genes mediated by differentially expressed genes were reconstructed. Chains included the polymorphic genes Tsc1, Adamts4 and Lgals3, differentially expressed genes Ezr, Acan, Th and 19 neuronal apoptosis genes. It was shown that neuronal apoptosis is closely related to aggressive behavior in animals

Comorbidity of asthma and hypertension may be mediated by shared genetic dysregulation and drug side effects

Zolotareva O, Saik OV, Königs C, et al. Comorbidity of asthma and hypertension may be mediated by shared genetic dysregulation and drug side effects. Scientific Reports. 2019;9(1): 16302.Asthma and hypertension are complex diseases coinciding more frequently than expected by chance. Unraveling the mechanisms of comorbidity of asthma and hypertension is necessary for choosing the most appropriate treatment plan for patients with this comorbidity. Since both diseases have a strong genetic component in this article we aimed to find and study genes simultaneously associated with asthma and hypertension. We identified 330 shared genes and found that they form six modules on the interaction network. A strong overlap between genes associated with asthma and hypertension was found on the level of eQTL regulated genes and between targets of drugs relevant for asthma and hypertension. This suggests that the phenomenon of comorbidity of asthma and hypertension may be explained by altered genetic regulation or result from drug side effects. In this work we also demonstrate that not only drug indications but also contraindications provide an important source of molecular evidence helpful to uncover disease mechanisms. These findings give a clue to the possible mechanisms of comorbidity and highlight the direction for future research

НОВЫЕ ГЕНЫ-КАНДИДАТЫ ПОДВЕРЖЕННОСТИ ТУБЕРКУЛЕЗУ, УСТАНОВЛЕННЫЕ С ПОМОЩЬЮ ПОСТРОЕНИЯ И АНАЛИЗА АССОЦИАТИВНЫХ СЕТЕЙ

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease caused by infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and influenced by host hereditary and environmental factors. Accumulated genomic data obtained through the use of new methodological approaches, including analysis of associative networks, contribute to the understanding of the hereditary basis of the disease. In the current study, we carried out the reconstruction and analysis of associative network representing molecular genetic links between proteins/genes involved in the development of TB. In the associative network, well studied proteins and genes with a decisive importance in the efficiency of the human immune response against a pathogen predominated. However, this approach identified 12 new genes encoding for the respective proteins in the associative network polymorphismsof which has not been studied regarding the development of TB.Туберкулез (ТБ) является распространенным заболеванием, развитие которого вызвано инфекцией Mycobacterium tuberculosis при модифицирующем влиянии наследственных и средовых факторов. Накопленные к настоящему времени геномные данные способствуют пониманию наследственных основ развития заболевания с использованием новых методологических подходов, в том числе анализа ассоциативных сетей. В настоящем исследовании выполнены реконструкция и анализ ассоциативной сети, представляющей собой молекулярно-генетические взаимосвязи между белками и генами, участвующими в развитии ТБ. Преимущественно в ассоциативной сети находятся хорошо изученные белки и гены, способные оказывать решающее значение в повышении эффективности иммунного ответа организ-ма человека против патогена. Однако, благодаря данному подходу, выявлено 12 новых генов, кодирующих соответствующие белки в ассоциативной сети, полиморфизм которых не изучен в связи с развитием ТБ

Search for New Candidate Genes Involved in the Comorbidity of Asthma and Hypertension Based on Automatic Analysis of Scientific Literature

Saik, Olga V, Demenkov PS, Ivanisenko, Timofey V, et al. Search for New Candidate Genes Involved in the Comorbidity of Asthma and Hypertension Based on Automatic Analysis of Scientific Literature. JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOINFORMATICS. 2018;15(4): 20180054.Comorbid states of diseases significantly complicate diagnosis and treatment. Molecular mechanisms of comorbid states of asthma and hypertension are still poorly understood. Prioritization is a way for identifying genes involved in complex phenotypic traits. Existing methods of prioritization consider genetic, expression and evolutionary data, molecular-genetic networks and other. In the case of molecular-genetic networks, as a rule, protein-protein interactions and KEGG networks are used. ANDSystem allows reconstructing associative gene networks, which include more than 20 types of interactions, including protein-protein interactions, expression regulation, transport, catalysis, etc. In this work, a set of genes has been prioritized to find genes potentially involved in asthma and hypertension comorbidity. The prioritization was carried out using well-known methods (ToppGene and Endeavor) and a cross-talk centrality criterion, calculated by analysis of associative gene networks from ANDSystem. The identified genes, including ILIA, CD40LG, STAT3, IL15, FAS, APP, TLR2, C3, IL13 and CXCL10, may be involved in the molecular mechanisms of comorbid asthma/hypertension. An analysis of the dynamics of the frequency of mentioning the most priority genes in scientific publications revealed that the top 100 priority genes are significantly enriched with genes with increased positive dynamics, which may be a positive sign for further studies of these genes

NEW CANDIDATE GENES FOR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO TUBERCULOSIS IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION AND ANALYSIS OF ASSOCIATIVE NETWORKS

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease caused by infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and influenced by host hereditary and environmental factors. Accumulated genomic data obtained through the use of new methodological approaches, including analysis of associative networks, contribute to the understanding of the hereditary basis of the disease. In the current study, we carried out the reconstruction and analysis of associative network representing molecular genetic links between proteins/genes involved in the development of TB. In the associative network, well studied proteins and genes with a decisive importance in the efficiency of the human immune response against a pathogen predominated. However, this approach identified 12 new genes encoding for the respective proteins in the associative network polymorphismsof which has not been studied regarding the development of TB

Search for New Candidate Genes Involved in the Comorbidity of Asthma and Hypertension Based on Automatic Analysis of Scientific Literature

Comorbid states of diseases significantly complicate diagnosis and treatment. Molecular mechanisms of comorbid states of asthma and hypertension are still poorly understood. Prioritization is a way for identifying genes involved in complex phenotypic traits. Existing methods of prioritization consider genetic, expression and evolutionary data, molecular-genetic networks and other. In the case of molecular-genetic networks, as a rule, protein-protein interactions and KEGG networks are used. ANDSystem allows reconstructing associative gene networks, which include more than 20 types of interactions, including protein-protein interactions, expression regulation, transport, catalysis, etc. In this work, a set of genes has been prioritized to find genes potentially involved in asthma and hypertension comorbidity. The prioritization was carried out using well-known methods (ToppGene and Endeavor) and a cross-talk centrality criterion, calculated by analysis of associative gene networks from ANDSystem. The identified genes, including IL1A, CD40LG, STAT3, IL15, FAS, APP, TLR2, C3, IL13 and CXCL10, may be involved in the molecular mechanisms of comorbid asthma/hypertension. An analysis of the dynamics of the frequency of mentioning the most priority genes in scientific publications revealed that the top 100 priority genes are significantly enriched with genes with increased positive dynamics, which may be a positive sign for further studies of these genes

Contribution of grain boundary related strain accommodation to deformation of ultrafine-grained palladium

Ultrafine-grained Pd specimens with a mean grain size of 130 nm were compressed by 10% in a scanning electron microscope and the strain-induced change in orientations of grains was measured by in-situ electron-backscattering diffraction. A comparison of grain orientations before and after compression straining revealed substantial grain rotations. The analysis of the results performed using polycrystal plasticity simulation showed that the variation of orientations with strain cannot be explained only by crystallographic dislocation slip. A large portion of strain is proved to be accommodated via cooperative non-crystallographic grain rotation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved