Az energiaszektor légköri kibocsátásának éghajlati hatása szempontjából fontos primer és szekunder aeroszolok jellemzése = Characterization of primary and secondary aerosols relevant for climate effect of the atmospheric emissions of the energy sector

Az aeroszolrészecskék kémiai összetételének, morfológiájának és heterogenitásának jellemzése érdekében nagyérzékenységű roncsolásmentes mikroanalitikai módszereket fejlesztettünk és alkalmaztunk; a méret szerint frakcionált aeroszol nyomelemtartalmának meghatározásához totálreflexiós röntgenfluoreszcencia-analízist, az ammónium és nitrát mólarányának meghatározásához, valamint a szén és a cink kémiai állapotának vizsgálatához totálreflexiós geometriájú röntgenabszorpciós spektroszkópiát, egyedi részecskék morfológiájának és heterogenitásának jellemzéséhez elektronmikroszkópos méréseket. Kidolgoztuk a velük harmonizáló méret szerint frakcionált aeroszol-mintavételi technikát, lehetővé téve ugyanazon minta mérését mindhárom módszerrel. Megfelelően alacsony kimutatási határuk (< 1 ng/m3) miatt nagyon rövid mintavételi időkkel gyorsan változó légköri folyamatok nyomonkövetését teszik lehetővé. A módszerek teljesítőképességének bemutatását és a projekt keretében vett aeroszol-mintákon való alkalmazását kiegészítettük a másodlagos aeroszol keletkezését figyelembe vevő modellszámításokkal, a koncentrációk és az aeroszol optikai vastagság összevetésével, valamint kutatórepülőgépes mérésekkel. | In order to characterize chemical composition, morphology and heterogeneity of aerosol particles, highly sensitive non-destructive microanalytical methods were developed and applied. Total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis was used for determination of trace elemental composition of size fractionated aerosol. X-ray absorption spectrometry was used for determination of the molar ratio of ammonium and nitrate, as well as for studying the chemical state of carbon and zinc. A sampling technique was elaborated that harmonizes with the microanalytical methods and allows the collection of size fractionated aerosols. This technique enables the measurement of the same samples with the three microanalytical methods. Because of the sufficiently low detection limits (< 1 ng/m3), the techniques are suitable for tracing of rapidly changing atmospheric processes using extremely short sampling durations. In addition to demonstration of the capabilities of the methods and their application to aerosol samples collected in the framework of the project, atmospheric dispersion model calculations were performed, taking into account the formation of secondary aerosols. The concentrations were compared with aerosol optical thickness data. The sampling apparatus was also tested during research aircraft missions

Effciency Analysis of the Vertex Clustering in Solving the Traveling Salesman Problem

The TSP is the problem to find the shortest path in a graph visiting every nodes exactly once and returning to the start node. Due to the high complexity of TSP, there exists no algorithm for global exact optimization with polynomial cost. In order to provide an acceptable solution for real life problems, the TSP are usually solved with some heuristic optimization problem. The paper proposes a multi layered optimization model, where the node set is partitioned into clusters or into hierarchy of clusters. Based on the test experiments the proposed method is superior to the single level optimization method for both the TSP and MTSP problems

Új utak a prosztatarák terápiájában: a genetikai mintázat szerepe a célzott kezelések kiválasztásában = New approaches in the therapy of prostate cancer: The role of genetic patterns in selecting targeted treatments

A prosztatarák genetikai tesztelésének használata egyre elterjedtebb a klinikai gyakorlatban. Ez elsősorban a PARP-inhibitorok megjelenésének köszönhető, amelyek a prosztataráknak a BRCA és más homológ rekombinációs javító (HRR) gének patogén eltéréseit hordozó eseteiben alkalmazhatóak. Ebből kifolyólag a genetikai vizsgálatok elvégzése a prosztatarák előrehaladott eseteinek kezelése során bekerült a rutinvizsgálatok közé. Ezzel párhuzamosan folyamatosan nő az olyan gyógyszeres kezeléseknek a száma, amelyek alkalmazása célzottan egy bizonyos genetikai eltérés jelenléte esetén lehetséges. Ennek eredményeképpen egyre növekszik azon gének száma, amelyek vizsgálata fontos lehet a prosztatadaganatok kezelési stratégiáinak megválasztásánál. Jelen közleményünk- kel szeretnénk áttekintést nyújtani a prosztatarák molekuláris alcsoportjairól, valamint azokról a génekről, amelyek a jelenleg és a közeljövőben potenciálisan alkalmazható kezelések kiválasztásához szükségesek. = The use of genetic testing for prostate cancer is becoming increasingly common in clinical practice, particularly because of the emergence of PARP inhibitors that target tumours with specific genetic abnormalities in their BRCA and other homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes. At the same time, the number of available therapies that target specific subgroups of prostate cancer based on their genetic makeup is continuously growing. Consequently, the selection of treatment for prostate cancer patients may involve testing multiple genes to allow for more tailored treatment plans that take into account the genetic features of the tumour. In this review we aim to provide an overview on the currently relevant genetic alterations in prostate cancer for therapeutic purposes

Control of the Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita and Weeds in Protected Cucumber with Dimethyl Disulfide (DMDS) over Two Crop Cycles: The First Results in Hungary

The effectiveness of dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) to control root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) and weeds was tested for the first time in Hungary in two consecutive protected cucumber crops with application made only before the first crop. The treatments were Accolade EC (DMDS 94.1%) at 400 l/ha applied by driplines, Nemathorin 10 G (fosthiazate) at 30 kg/ha, and an untreated control. During the first cucumber cycle vigour-index, yield, root-gall index, Meloidogyne juveniles in the soil and germination of weeds were evaluated. All considered parameters were significantly improved by using DMDS compared respectively to the chemical standard and untreated control: (i) vigour-index of 7.0, 4.3 and 3.6; (ii) cumulative yield/sample of 45.1 kg, 30.9 kg, and 16.6 kg; root-gall index (RGI) of 1.2, 4.9, and 5.9; (iii) M. incognita J2/25 g soil of 0.25, 48.5 and 78.0, and (iv) number of weed seedlings/sample in the 20–30 cm soil profile of 1.1, 2.6, and 4.2. During the second cucumber crop, only root-gall index was evaluated. Results showed that a single DMDS treatment applied before the first crop had a prolonged beneficial effect on the following crop. In the second crop cycle, root gall indices were 5.58, 9.18, and 8.44 for DMDS treated plots, chemical control and untreated control, respectively

Analysis of risk factors - especially different types of plexitis - for postoperative relapse in Crohn's disease

AIM: To evaluate the presence of submucosal and myenteric plexitis and its role in predicting postoperative recurrence. METHODS: Data from all patients who underwent Crohn's disease (CD)-related resection at the University of Szeged, Hungary between 2004 and 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic data, smoking habits, previous resection, treatment before and after surgery, resection margins, neural fiber hyperplasia, submucosal and myenteric plexitis were evaluated as possible predictors of postoperative recurrence. Histological samples were analyzed blinded to the postoperative outcome and the clinical history of the patient. Plexitis was evaluated based on the appearance of the most severely inflamed ganglion or nerve bundle. Patients underwent regular follow-up with colonoscopy after surgery. Postoperative recurrence was defined on the basis of endoscopic and clinical findings, and/or the need for additional surgical resection. RESULTS: One hundred and four patients were enrolled in the study. Ileocecal, colonic, and small bowel resection were performed in 73.1%, 22.1% and 4.8% of the cases, respectively. Mean disease duration at the time of surgery was 6.25 years. Twenty-six patients underwent previous CD-related surgery. Forty-three point two percent of the patients were on 5-aminosalicylate, 20% on corticosteroid, 68.3% on immunomodulant, and 4% on anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha postoperative treatment. Postoperative recurrence occurred in 61.5% of the patients; of them 39.1% had surgical recurrence. 92.2% of the recurrences developed within the first five years after the index surgery. Mean disease duration for endoscopic relapse was 2.19 years. The severity of submucosal plexitis was a predictor of the need for second surgery (OR = 1.267, 95%CI: 1.000-1.606, P = 0.050). Female gender (OR = 2.21, 95%CI: 0.98-5.00, P = 0.056), stricturing disease behavior (OR = 3.584, 95%CI: 1.344-9.559, P = 0.011), and isolated ileal localization (OR = 2.671, 95%CI: 1.033-6.910, P = 0.043) were also predictors of postoperative recurrence. No association was revealed between postoperative recurrence and smoking status, postoperative prophylactic treatment and the presence of myenteric plexitis and relapse. CONCLUSION: The presence of severe submucosal plexitis with lymphocytes in the proximal resection margin is more likely to result in postoperative relapse in CD

Acetylation State of Lysine 14 of Histone H3.3 Affects Mutant Huntingtin Induced Pathogenesis

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine-coding CAG repeat in the Huntingtin gene. One of the main causes of neurodegeneration in HD is transcriptional dysregulation that, in part, is caused by the inhibition of histone acetyltransferase (HAT) enzymes. HD pathology can be alleviated by increasing the activity of specific HATs or by inhibiting histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes. To determine which histone’s post-translational modifications (PTMs) might play crucial roles in HD pathology, we investigated the phenotype-modifying effects of PTM mimetic mutations of variant histone H3.3 in a Drosophila model of HD. Specifically, we studied the mutations (K→Q: acetylated; K→R: non-modified; and K→M: methylated) of lysine residues K9, K14, and K27 of transgenic H3.3. In the case of H3.3K14Q modification, we observed the amelioration of all tested phenotypes (viability, longevity, neurodegeneration, motor activity, and circadian rhythm defects), while H3.3K14R had the opposite effect. H3.3K14Q expression prevented the negative effects of reduced Gcn5 (a HAT acting on H3K14) on HD pathology, while it only partially hindered the positive effects of heterozygous Sirt1 (an HDAC acting on H3K14). Thus, we conclude that the Gcn5-dependent acetylation of H3.3K14 might be an important epigenetic contributor to HD pathology