Néhány gyógynövény florális nektáriumának szerkezete és szekréciós aktivitása, a nektár speciális metabolitjai = Structure and secretory activity of floral nectary, specific metabolites of the nectar in some medicinal plants

Részletesen bemutattuk a medvehagyma, a csattanó maszlag és az angyaltrombita nektármirigy szerkezetét. Ismertettük hat repcefajta és -hibrid, több maszlag faj, az angyaltrombita, és a medvehagyma nektárprodukcióját és a szekréció dinamikáját, figyelembe véve a virágzás szakaszait, a napszakokat és a virágok korát. A csattanó maszlag éjszakai nektárszekrécióját is bemutattuk. Az összes vizsgált taxonnál meghatároztuk a nektár cukorösszetételét, a szacharóz és a hexózok arányát, és az összcukortartalmat, rámutatva ezen jellemzők megporzásbiológiai és méhészeti jelentőségére is. Megkíséreltük a fő nektárcukrokon kívül a szekrétum minor komponenseinek kimutatását is, arra a kérdésre választ keresve, hogy az adott taxonra egyébként jellemző vegyületek kiválasztódnak-e a nektárba. Sem a nektárból, sem a mézből nem tudtuk kimutatni a repcéknél a káposztafélékre jellemző glükozinolátokat, a medvehagymánál pedig az alliin aminosavat. Csak néhány almafajtánál detektáltunk di- és triszacharidokat és polifruktánokat. A csattanó maszlag és angyaltrombita nektárjából sikerült kimutatni a burgonyafélékre jellemző alkaloidok közül a szkopolamint, ami toxikológiai szempontból jelentős. Megállapítottuk, hogy a ma termesztett repcéknél a korábbiaknál magasabb a nektár cukorértéke, így méhészeti szempontból értékesebbek. A nektár glükóz-fruktóz hányadosának meghatározása lehetővé teszi a nemesítés során a méz kristályosodására kevésbé hajlamos repcék szelektálását. | The nectary structure of Allium ursinum, Datura stramonium and Brugmansia suaveolens was described in detail. Nectar production and secretion dynamics was analysed in six oilseed rape cultivars and hybrids, several Datura species, B. suaveolens and A. ursinum, with special attention to bloom stage, time of day and flower age. The nocturnal nectar secretion of D. stramonium was also described. Nectar sugar composition, the ratio of sucrose and hexoses and total sugar content was determined in all studied taxa, analysing their pollination biological and apicultural significance. An attempt was made to detect the minor nectar components besides the main nectar sugars, in order to investigate if compounds characteristic to a given taxon are present also in the nectar. Glucosinolates, typical for Brassicaceae were not found either in the nectar or honey of rapes, similarly to the amino acid alliin in A. ursinum. Di- and trisaccharides and polyfructanes were detected only in few apple cultivars. From alkaloids characteristic to Solanaceae, scopolamine was detected in the nectar of D. stramonium and B. suaveolens, which is significant for toxicology. Nectar sugar and thus the apicultural value of currently grown rape cultivars was found to be higher compared to previously cultivated ones. Determining the glucose:fructose ratio of nectar enhances the selection of rapes with lower tendency for the granulation of honey

The landscape of universal quantification in Old Hungarian

This paper presents the system of Old Hungarian expressions conveying universal or maximal readings, as found in Old Hungarian codices. The main empirical findigs are that (i) the OH suffix-keed could be a (temporal) universal quantifier. Expressions with such suffixes can help reconstruct quantifiers from the head-final stage of Hungarian. (ii) Old Hungarian had bare pronouns that acquired a bound, quantificational reading from long-distance operators. Against such a background, minden is claimed to be a quintessential strong D-quantifier: It could undergo raising, and its scope was flexible (within syntactic islands). (iii) These properties of minden are distinctive within the class of particle + indeterminate pronoun complexes (such as vala-ki lit. ‘vala-who’, ‘somebody’), which could be said to lack quantificational force

Laboratory diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis in Hungary

Acanthamoeba species are free-living amebae that can be found in almost every range of environments. Within this genus, numerous species are recognized as human pathogens, potentially causing Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). AK is a corneal disease that is predominantly associated with contact lens use, the epidemiology of which is related to the specific genotype of Acanthamoeba. This study reports seven (7/16; 43.75%) positive cases. Detection of Acanthamoeba in corneal scrapings is based on cultivation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with the molecular taxonomic identification method. By PCR, seven samples were positive; cultivation was successful for five samples, probably because of the low quantity of samples. Genotype identification was carried out with a real-time fluorescence resonance energy transfer PCR assay based on sequence analysis of the 18S rRNA gene, and sensitivity and specificity were evaluated in comparison with traditional parasitological techniques. All seven detected Acanthamoeba strains belonged to the T4 genotype, the main AK-related genotype worldwide. These results confirmed the importance of a complete diagnostic protocol, including a PCR assay, for the clinical diagnosis of AK from human samples. Genotyping allowed the identification of all isolates in the T4 group, thus demonstrating the prevalence of this genotype in Hungary

Nectary structure of Cotoneaster roseus

Cotoneasters are widely planted as ornamentals, which at the same time can serve as a sources of nectar for honey bees and bumble bees. The present study gives a detailed description of the nectary anatomy of Cotoneaster roseus. The floral nectary is located within the receptacle, with well distinguishable regions of the epidermis, glandular tissue and nectary parenchyma. Modified nectary stomata are at level with or below the epidermis; the glandular cells are arranged in 3 to 4 subepidermal layers; and calcium oxalate crystals are typical in the nectary parenchyma. Data are provided on the size and thickness of the nectar gland, which can be significant factors determining the nectar producing ability of the flowers