Serdülőkori alkoholfogyasztást befolyásoló tényezők : a szociális háló és a barátok szerepe = The influencing factor of adolescents’ drinking behaviour: The role of social networks and peers

Az excesszív alkoholfogyasztás kiemelten fontos népegészségügyi és szociális probléma, amely nemcsak a felnőtt korosztály esetében jelentős, hanem elterjedt jelenség a fiatalok körében is. A serdülőkori alkoholfogyasztás hátterében egy igen komplex rendszer húzódik meg, azonban a különböző társas és családi hatások, a szociális motivációk különösen nagy hangsúlyt kapnak ebben. Jelen tanulmányunkban azokra a szociális és társas hatásokra fókuszálunk, amelyek befolyásolhatják a serdülők alkoholfogyasztását. Kutatásunkat Makón és a környező kistérség falvaiban végeztük, az ott működő összes általános és középiskola bevonásával 2010 tavaszán. A mintánk így teljesen tükrözi egy alföldi kisváros és falusi kistérségének serdülőkorú populációját. A felmérést önkitöltős kérdőívek segítségével végeztük, teljes anonimitást biztosítva a résztvevők számára. A minta tervezett elemszáma 2394 fő volt, a végső elemszám 2072 fő. A felmérésben 7—12. évfolyamon tanuló diákok vettek részt. Az adatok feldolgozásához a leíró statisztikai módszereken túl többváltozós lineáris regresszióanalízist alkalmaztunk. Eredményeink szerint a szocioökonómiai státusz enyhe, negatív összefüggést mutat az alkoholfogyasztás havi prevalenciájával; a szülők iskolai végzettségét tekintve az édesanyák esetében mutatható ki szignifikáns, pozitív, de igen gyenge összefüggés. A legjobb barátok alkoholfogyasztása fontos pozitív prediktora a serdülők alkoholfogyasztásának; ugyanúgy, mint a barátok pozitív vélekedése az alkoholról és a szerfogyasztással kapcsolatos pozitív szociális motivációk. Látható, hogy az egyes addiktív potenciálú szerek, mint az alkohol alkalmazása mögött olyan soktényezős rendszer húzódik meg, amely komplex megoldásokat és beavatkozásokat követel. A stratégia kialakítása során az egészségfejlesztési és prevenciós programok esetében pedig célszerű felmérni a célcsoportot, feltérképezni a szerfogyasztói státuszt, a különböző társas és szociális hatásokat, motivációkat, amelyek lehetővé teszik a célzott prevenciós programok kialakítását, azaz a probléma hatékonyabb megoldását. | Excessive alcohol consumption is a serious public health and social problem, which affects not only the adult population but is a more and more widespread phenomenon among adolescents as well. In the background of adolescents’ alcohol use there is a very complex system, in which the social and family effects, social motives particularly play an important role. The purpose of the present study was to obtain different social networks effects which may have an influence on adolescents’ drinking habits. The study was performed in Mako and the villages in its area in Hungary in all of the schools in the spring of 2010. The sample represented an adolescent population of a small town and the villages in its area. Self-administered questionnaires were applied anonymously among students from grades 7—12. Of the 2,394 questionnaires sent out, 2,072 were returned. Besides descriptive statics multiple linear regression analysis was used to test these interrelationships. According to our results, there is slight but significant relationship between socio-economic status and the monthly prevalence of alcohol drinking; mothers’ education status has a significant connection as a parental schooling variable. Peers’ drinking patterns were revealed to be strong positive predictors, similar to peers’ positive attitudes and social motives related to alcohol. In case of alcohol use — likewise many other addictive substances — there is a complex, multifactorial system in the background, which suggests a need for complex solutions and interventions. During the planning of a prevention or health promotion program it may be necessary to map the substance user status, the different social influences and motives and to assess the target population to be able to plan and perform targeted prevention programs that would provide a better approach to the problem in question

A nemszinaptikus nikotinikus acetilkolin és NMDA receptorok szerepe élettani körülmények között és pathológiás állapotokban = Role of nonsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and NMDA receptors in physiological and pathophysiological conditions

A szélütés (stroke) utáni neurodegeneráció a jelenlegi morbiditási és mortalitási mutatók egyik legfontosabb tényezője. Az iszkémiás stroke kezelésében számos ígéretes gyógyszerjelölt molekula vallott kudarcot a klinikai vizsgálatokban. Ennek valószínűleg az az oka, hogy hiányosak ismereteink az iszkémiás kórképek kialakulásának mechanizmusaira vonatkozólag. A legtöbb központi idegrendszerre ható gyógyszert szinaptikusan elhelyezkedő receptorokra vagy transzporterekre fejlesztik annak érdekében, hogy igazán hatékony gyógyszereket tudjunk fejleszteni, figyelembe kell venni, hogy az extraszinaptikus receptorok és transzporterek száma jóval meghaladja a szinaptikusakét, illetve hogy nagyon sok központi idegrendszeri megbetegedés alapja a nemszinaptikus rendszer malfunkciója. Például, a szinaptikus NMDA receptorok aktivációja neuroprotektív hatást fejt ki, míg az extraszinaptikus NMDA receptor aktiváció excitotoxikus hatású. Konkrét javaslataink a gyógyszerfejlesztést illetően: Az NR2B alegységet tartalmazó NMDA receptorok szelektív gátlói (mint például a fluoxetine), és a nátriumcsatorna gátlók egyes típusai; mint neuroprotektív szerek. A nikotinikus agonisták pozitív modulátorai, amelyek a kognitív problémák kezelésében, ill. a dohányzásról való leszokás segítésében lehetnek hasznosak. | Neurodegeneration after a stroke is one of the major causes of present-day morbidity and mortality. There is a long list of neuroprotective compounds that have failed to be clinically useful in the treatment of ischaemic stroke. This is likely due, at least in part, to our inadequate knowledge regarding the core mechanisms of ischaemic diseases. Most “novel” drugs that target the CNS are designed to act on neurotransmitter receptors or transporters that are localised within synapses. To develop the most effective drugs, it is important to remember that there are extrasynaptic receptors and transporters that may outnumber those located within synapses and that, when malfunctioning, may be responsible for several symptoms of CNS disorders. For example, activation of synaptic NMDA receptors is neuroprotective, whereas stimulation of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors causes excitotoxicity. We suggest that future drug development research consider the following: Compounds that are able to selectively inhibit non-synaptic NR2B Glu receptors (such as Fluoxetine), and specific subtypes of sodium channel inhibitors as neuroprotective compounds. Positive modulators of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. They would be potential drugs in the treatment of memory problems and in smoking cessation

Microglial control of neuronal development via somatic purinergic junctions

Microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, play important roles during development. Although bi-directional communication between microglia and neuronal progenitors or immature neurons has been demonstrated, the main sites of interaction and the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. By using advanced methods, here we provide evidence that microglial processes form specialized contacts with the cell bodies of developing neurons throughout embryonic, early postnatal, and adult neurogenesis. These early developmental contacts are highly reminiscent of somatic purinergic junctions that are instrumental for microglia-neuron communication in the adult brain. The formation and maintenance of these junctions is regulated by functional microglial P2Y12 receptors, and deletion of P2Y12Rs disturbs proliferation of neuronal precursors and leads to aberrant cortical cytoarchitecture during development and in adulthood. We propose that early developmental formation of somatic purinergic junctions represents an important interface for microglia to monitor the status of immature neurons and control neurodevelopment

Iron uptake machinery of chloroplasts tends to utilise stoichiometric ferric-citrate complexes in Brassica napus

In plant shoots, the majority of iron is found in the chloroplasts, incorporated into the photosynthetic, sulphur assimilatory and Fe-S cluster biogenesis apparatuses. Although some members of their Fe transport machinery related to both reduction-based and nicotianamine-complex uptake systems have already been identified, the in vivo substrate preference of the system remained unknown. To clarify the mechanism of action and the substrate preference of the uptake system, intact chloroplasts of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) were subjected to Fe uptake assays using natural and artificial Fe complexes and chelates: Fe(III)-citrate 1:1.1 and 1:10, Fe(III)-malate 1:1.1, Fe(II)- and Fe(III)-nicotianamine 1:1.2, Fe(III)-EDTA 1:1 and Fe(III)-o,o’EDDHA 1:1. Iron complexes were typified by the chemical microenvironment of Fe in the compounds by Mössbauer spectroscopy. Iron uptake by chloroplasts was assessed by determining chloroplast iron content spectrophotometrically. Putative homologue genes of major, Fe uptake related, chloroplast envelope membrane proteins were identified in Brassica napus using the Brassica Database and NCBI. The expression of BnFro7 (Bra037953), BnMar1 (Bra020559), BnNico (Bra037287), BnPic1 (Bra036409), and BnYsl4 (XM_009141995.2) was studied using ß-tubulin (XM_009125342.1) and 18S rRNA (KT225373) as for reference genes in leaves subjected to chloroplast Fe uptake assays. Chloroplast inner envelope ferric chelate reductase activity of the isolated chloroplasts were also monitored using Fe(III)-EDTA. Chloroplasts preferred stoichiometric Fe(III)-citrate compared to Fe(III)-citrate 1:10 and Fe(III)-malate complexes. Moreover, uptake from Fe(III)-NA and Fe(II)-NA but also from Fe(III)-EDTA and Fe(III)-o,o’EDDHA sources were negligible (with significantly higher KM) compared to Fe(III)-citrate complexes. For these latter complexes, the light-inducible component was also missing. Regarding the components of the chloroplast Fe uptake system, genes of the reduction-based Fe uptake system showed high expression only. Nevertheless, the Fe-nicotianamine transport related chloroplast transporter BnYsl4 was mainly expressed in generative tissues. In conclusion, chloroplasts in leaves can only effectively utilize stoichiometric Fe(III)-citrate complexes in their Fe uptake. This work was supported by the grant financed by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Hungary (NKFIH K-124159). Á.Solti was also supported by the Bolyai János Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (BO/00207/15/4)

Identification of herpesvirus transcripts from genomic regions around the replication origins

Long-read sequencing (LRS) techniques enable the identification of full-length RNA molecules in a single run eliminating the need for additional assembly steps. LRS research has exposed unanticipated transcriptomic complexity in various organisms, including viruses. Herpesviruses are known to produce a range of transcripts, either close to or overlapping replication origins (Oris) and neighboring genes related to transcription or replication, which possess confirmed or potential regulatory roles. In our research, we employed both new and previously published LRS and short-read sequencing datasets to uncover additional Ori-proximal transcripts in nine herpesviruses from all three subfamilies (alpha, beta and gamma). We discovered novel long non-coding RNAs, as well as splice and length isoforms of mRNAs. Moreover, our analysis uncovered an intricate network of transcriptional overlaps within the examined genomic regions. We demonstrated that herpesviruses display distinct patterns of transcriptional overlaps in the vicinity of or at the Oris. Our findings suggest the existence of a ‘super regulatory center’ in the genome of alphaherpesviruses that governs the initiation of both DNA replication and global transcription through multilayered interactions among the molecular machineries

In-depth Temporal Transcriptome Profiling of Monkeypox and Host Cells using Nanopore Sequencing

The recent human Monkeypox outbreak underlined the importance of studying basic biology of orthopoxviruses. However, the transcriptome of its causative agent has not been investigated before neither with short-, nor with long-read sequencing approaches. This Oxford Nanopore long-read RNA-Sequencing dataset fills this gap. It will enable the in-depth characterization of the transcriptomic architecture of the monkeypox virus, and may even make possible to annotate novel host transcripts. Moreover, our direct cDNA and native RNA sequencing reads will allow the estimation of gene expression changes of both the virus and the host cells during the infection. Overall, our study will lead to a deeper understanding of the alterations caused by the viral infection on a transcriptome level