Are There Cultural Regions in Hungary?

Drawing up cultural macro-regions in Hungary is hardly possible as not even two of the highly developed mezo-regions are contacting, not speaking about forming a bloc; they rather constitute a mosaic on the country map. Those on medium cultural level make up two groups, while, though the ones with a low standard are mostly found along the Danube as a single bloc, they are isolated by Pest county, statistically grouped in one region with them, with a genuine cultural level far exceeding the low cluster. Consequently, it is only justified to speak about cultural regions in the sense that, on the whole, Dunántúl is on a higher standard than the eastern half of the country

Comparison of flue gas desulphurization processes based on life cycle assessment

In this work, the environmental impact assessment is prepared for three different flue gas desulphurization (FGD) processes: (1) intra-furnace sulphur removal during coal combustion with limestone addition, (2) FGD with wet lime scrubbing, (3) regenerative copper oxide flue gas clean-up process. The evaluation and ranking of the three processes according to their environmental impacts is completed for the treatment of as much flue gas that contains 1 kg sulphur. The assessment of the environmental impacts is carried out with the Eco-indicator 99 life cycle impact assessment methodology based on life cycle inventories collected from existing coal fuelled power plants. The environmental assessment is prepared for three different scenarios according to degree of the utilization of the by-products obtained during the desulphurization: (1) zero utilization, (2) full utilization, (3) utilization according to industrial statistics. The results show that all the three investigated FGD processes have about 80% lower environmental impact than the uncontrolled release of sulphur oxides into air. Intra-furnace limestone addition and wet scrubbing processes use similar principal of physical chemistry and they have similar environmental indices. The basis of the regenerative process is a sorption/reduction/oxidation cycle that has higher SO2 removal efficiency than the two other processes. This higher efficiency results in a significantly lower environmental impact

A SLAM és a SLAM-család receptorainak funkcionális vizsgálata dendritikus sejtekben = The role of SLAM and SLAM-related receptors in dendritic cell functions

A dendritikus sejtek (DS-ek) szabályozó tevékenységüket többek között a T-sejt válasz erősségét és minőségét is szabályozó ún. ko-stimulációs jelek modulációjával végzik. A pályazat keretében a SLAM (Signaling Lymphocyte Activation Molecule) receptor családba tartozó CD84 co-receptor humán monocita-eredetű dendritikus sejtekben betöltött funkcióit vizsgáltuk. 1. A CD84 receptor funkcionális vizsgálatára két egymást kiegészítő in vitro rendszert állítottunk be. Az egyikben a CD84/CD84 homoasszociáció CD40-ligand vagy Lipopoliszacharid-indukálta aktivációra gyakorolt hatását vizsgáltuk CD84 molekulát expresszáló fibroblaszt sejtek és DS-ek közös tenyészeteiben. A másikban a CD84 expressziót RNS-interferencia segítségével gátoltuk. 2. Kimutattuk, hogy a CD84 receptor fontos szerepet játszik a dendritikus sejtek funkcionális aktivitásának szabályozásában és ezen keresztül a naív T-sejtek differenciációjának szabályozásában 3. Microarray analízissel azonosítottunk a CD84 receptor által szabályozott géneket és jelátviteli pályákat. A szabályozott gének többsége az egyes típusú interferon útvonal része ami jelentős lehet az SLE-vel való kapcsolat szempontjából. 4. A receptorfunkciók szabályozásának egyik fontos és hatékony módja az alternatív splicing. A CD84-nek 7 alternatív splicing segítségével képződő variánsát ismerjük. Ezekre specifikus kvantitatív PCR assay-ket állítottunk be és jellemeztük az egyes variánsok mennyiségét nyugvó és aktivált DS-ekben. | The immunoregulatory function of dendritic cells (DC-s) is delivered in part via the modulation of co-receptor signaling that has a major effect on the intensity and quality of the T-cell response. In this work we examined the function of CD84, a member of the SLAM (Signaling Lymphocyte Activation Molecule) receptor family in regulating various dendritic cell functions. 1. We set up two complementary in vitro systems to study the effect of CD84 on signaling in dendritic cells induced by CD40-ligand or Lipopolysaccharide (LPS). CD84 expression was modulated by overexpression or RNA-interference. 2. We found that CD84 is an important regulator of dendritic cell functions including the regulation of effector T-cell differentiation from naive T lymphocytes. 3. By microarray analysis we identified target genes and signaling pathways controlled by CD84. Many of the CD84-regulated genes are part of the type I interferon pathway that may be highly significant considering the connection between SLAM receptors and Lupus. 4. A recently emerging field of regulation of gene function is modulation of transcripts generated by alternative splicing. We developed gene transcript-specific quantitative PCR assays for the seven splice forms of CD84 and characterized their expression in resting and activated DC-

Insomnia symptoms do, but chronotype does not show relevant associations with mental well-being and negative dream experiences

Chronotypes are diversely associated with sleep quality and mental health. Eveningness is generally associated with lower sleep quality and with increased risk for mental health complaints. Along with insomnia symptoms, frequent dysphoric dreams might be key elements of disturbed sleep, and may also indicate psychological imbalance. Our cross-sectional online study aimed to examine whether eveningness can be considered as an independent risk factor of poor mental well-being or whether this association is explained by symptoms of insomnia. Secondly, we examined the associations between eveningness and frequent dysphoric dreaming taking into account the influence of mental well-being and insomnia complaints. Method: We released an online survey with Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, Athens Insomnia Scale, General Mental Health, and frequency of dysphoric dreaming: nightmares and bad dreams separately. We analyzed the data of 2077 participants (M AGE = 28.5, SD = 9.6). Eveningness showed a weak but independent association with mental well-being. Additional analyses showed no signs of associations between eveningness and dysphoric dreaming, such as nightmares and bad dreams. The frequency of bad dreams was associated with insomnia complaints and mental well-being, but nightmare frequency was only linked to insomnia symptoms, but not to mental well-being. Insomnia complaints emerged as a more robust factor in poorer mental well-being than the eveningness preference. Eveningness was not associated with dysphoric dreaming. Restoring insomnia might be essential in individuals at risk for mental health complaints

Magajáró fa- és tuskófeldolgozó gép vizsgálata és fejlesztése.

A VIZSGÁLAT ÉS Fejlesztés tárgyát képező gép funkciója a fakitermelés utan a földből kiforgatott gyö ¬ kértuskók ÉS fűrészipari célra tartózkodás Mellett alkalmas faanyagok helyszíni feldolgozása (aprítása). AZ aprítással a fakitermelés melléktermékeként keletkező a Nagy mennyiségben Autóüveges Autóüveges Autóüveges ÉS jelentős energiaértékkel rendelkező gyökértuskók tüzelőanyagként hasznosíthatók vagy esetleg Egyéb célokra is felhasználhatóvá válnak. A gépre épülő Technológia széleskörű elterjedésével megszüntethető a termőterületeken Tárolt, a termőterület 10-15%-a lefoglaló, Lassan (35-40 Év alatt) lebomló tuskók felhalmozása, ugyanakkor a folyamatosan keletkező, jelentős mennyiségű faanyag megújuló energiaforrásként hasznosítható. A kísérleti gép fejlesztését a fásszárú energiahor ¬ dozókkal szembeni piaci igények növekedése ÉS Minőségi elvárásai is indokolják

A molecular model of the full-length human NOD-like receptor family CARD domain containing 5 (NLRC5) protein

BACKGROUND: Pattern recognition receptors of the immune system have key roles in the regulation of pathways after the recognition of microbial- and danger-associated molecular patterns in vertebrates. Members of NOD-like receptor (NLR) family typically function intracellularly. The NOD-like receptor family CARD domain containing 5 (NLRC5) is the largest member of this family that also contains the largest number of leucine-rich repeats (LRRs). Due to the lack of crystal structures of full-length NLRs, projects have been initiated with the aim to model certain or all members of the family, but systematic studies did not model the full-length NLRC5 due to its unique domain architecture. Our aim was to analyze the LRR sequences of NLRC5 and some NLRC5-related proteins and to build a model for the full-length human NLRC5 by homology modeling. RESULTS: LRR sequences of NLRC5 were aligned and were compared with the consensus pattern of ribonuclease inhibitor protein (RI)-like LRR subfamily. Two types of alternating consensus patterns previously identified for RI repeats were also found in NLRC5. A homology model for full-length human NLRC5 was prepared and, besides the closed conformation of monomeric NLRC5, a heptameric platform was also modeled for the opened conformational NLRC5 monomers. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of consensus patterns of leucine-rich repeat sequences helped to identify LRRs in NLRC5 and to predict their number and position within the protein. In spite of the lack of fully adequate template structures, the presence of an untypical CARD domain and unusually high number of LRRs in NLRC5, we were able to construct a homology model for both the monomeric and homo-heptameric full-length human NLRC5 protein

Drosophila Rab39 Attenuates Lysosomal Degradation

Lysosomal degradation, the common destination of autophagy and endocytosis, is one of the most important elements of eukaryotic metabolism. The small GTPases Rab39A and B are potential new effectors of this pathway, as their malfunction is implicated in severe human diseases like cancer and neurodegeneration. In this study, the lysosomal regulatory role of the single Drosophila Rab39 ortholog was characterized, providing valuable insight into the potential cell biological mechanisms mediated by these proteins. Using a de novo CRISPR-generated rab39 mutant, we found no failure in the early steps of endocytosis and autophagy. On the contrary, we found that Rab39 mutant nephrocytes internalize and degrade endocytic cargo at a higher rate compared to control cells. In addition, Rab39 mutant fat body cells contain small yet functional autolysosomes without lysosomal fusion defect. Our data identify Drosophila Rab39 as a negative regulator of lysosomal clearance during both endocytosis and autophagy

Fenntartható fejlődés és fogyasztás tiszta technológiákkal valamint megújuló nyersanyagokkal és energiákkal = Sustainable development and consumption with clean technologies and renewable raw materials and energies

A 3 téma: 1. Membrános műveletek környezetvédelmi céllal i) pervaporáció (pvap) és membránszűrés (msz) kísérleti és elméleti kutatása ii) metodologia kidolgozása biner és terner elegyek pvap-jának modellezésére iii) pvap.-on alapuló új hibrid eljárás ipari oldószer-visszanyerésére iv) msz.-re bemutattuk széleskörűen alkalmazhatóságát v) megállapítottuk a kétlépéses msz.-i technikák alkalmazhatósági előnyeit vi) a msz sikeres modellezése. 2. Szilárd anyagok szuperkritikus fluid extrakciójának vizsgálata, és az anyagátadás modellezése i) több növény félüzemi méretű extrakciója szuperkritikus szén-dioxiddal ii) a művelet leírására egy egyszerűsített és egy összetettebb modellt alkalmazva megállapítottuk a mintaelőkészítés, az extrakciós- és szeparációs körülmények paraméterekre gyakorolt hatását iii) a Sovava modell fejlesztése, iv) a különböző extrakciókkal kapott termékek összehasonlítása. 3. Cellulázok és kísérő enzimek hatásának kísérletes és matematikai tanulmányozása A hazai agro lignocellulóz (lc) technológiai potenciáljának, és az etanolgyártás szempontjából lehetséges nyersanyagok összetételének maghatározása. i) a lc nyersanyagok mikrobiológiai bonthatóságát javító egyes kémiai előkezelések ii) az előkezelt nyersanyagok enzimtermelésben történő hasznosítása iii)a fermentációs paraméterek hatása iv) az előállított enzim-keverékek jellemzőit és hidrolítikus hatékonysága v) az előkezelt lc.-k hidrolízisének kinetikája. | The three major subjects: 1. Membrane separations i) experimental and theoretical research of pervaporation and membrane filtrations, ii) new methodology for the modelling of pervap. of biner and terner mixtures, iii) pervap. based new hybrid technology to demonstrate the contribution to sustainable development, iv) prove of the wide range applicability of membr. filtrations, v) definition of succesful area of the two-step-membr. filtration, vi) modelling of membr. filtration. 2. Supercriticial extraction: i) several plants were extracted in a pilot unit using supercritical CO2, ii) employing a simple and a more detailed mathematical model the effects of the sample preparations, the extraction and separation conditions on parameters were examined. iii) the detailed model was improved, iv) the different products obtained with different extraction were compared. 3. Lignocellulose The potential of agricultural lignocellulosic byproducts for ethanol production in Hungary were assessed and composition analysis of feedstocks were carried out. In our work: i) chemical pretreatments for improved microbial degradability of lignocellulosic raw materials; ii) utilization of pretreated raw materials in enzyme production; iii) the effects of fermentation parameters; iv) the characteristic and hydrolytic performance of in-house produced enzyme mixtures; v) hydrolysis kinetic of pretreated lignocelluloses were investigated