Some factors responsible for reductions in employment on farms in Hungary

A decline in the number of people working on farms and in the Annual Work Units per unit area was typical of the second half of the first decade of the 21st century in the member states of the European Union. Hungary is one of the countries where this reduction is twice as high as the average. This can be attributed to a number of factors. Of these, the present paper is concerned on the one hand with farm concentration, the low level of farm diversification and pluriactivity and the desire of farmers to expand their farms, and on the other hand with various aspects of the support policy in Hungary aimed at the economic competitiveness and the diversification of the rural economy. The database on which the work was based was taken partly from the digital and printed publications of EUROSTAT and the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) and partly from surveys of 104 farmers in three microregions of Hungary. Even before the global economic crisis, the factors in question tended to result in a decline in farm employment in Hungary, especially on individual farms. The means and measures embodied in the agricultural and rural policies proved too few and too weak to counterbalance this trend

Motivation and intentions of farmers as regards the development of multifunctional agriculture in microregions of Northern and Eastern Hungary

There are an increasing number of references in the literature on the significance of the role of farm households and farm families in the development of multifunctional agriculture. The motivation and intentions of 104 farmers in three LEADER micro-regions in Northern and Eastern Hungary with respect to the present and future structures of their farms (including the expansion of non-agricultural activities and functions) were investigated using questionnaires and narrative interviews. Almost two-thirds of the respondents spoke of the existence of non-agricultural activities and functions, but few of these were market-driven. The farmers ranked the steps that should be taken to increase multifunctionality in their own micro-regions in order of importance and indicated which organisations they thought would be most competent for their implementation. They also noted what factors promoted or inhibited multifunctionality within their own farms

Birtokkoncentráció, foglalkoztatás, diverzifikáció és multifunkcionalitás

A statisztikai adatok szerint a magyar mezőgazdaság munkaerő-felhasználása folyamatosan csökken. Cikkünkben rávilágítunk arra az ellentmondásra, ami a deklarált foglalkoztatási célok és a versenyképességet szolgáló gépberuházási támoga¬tások növekedése, valamint hatásai között feszül. E támogatások hozzájárulhatnak ahhoz, hogy a gazdák birtoknövelési törekvéseit erősítsék, s fokozzák a mezőgazdaság munkaerő-kibocsátását. Nem igazán halad a folyamatot potenciálisan mérséklő tevékenységdiverzifikáció sem. Három LEADER kistérségben 104 gazdálkodóra kiterjedő felmérésünkkel feltártuk a gazdák és gazdacsaládok gazdaságfejlesztési motívumait, a gazdaság diverzifikációjának helyzetét, a multifunkciós mezőgazdálkodással kapcsolatos terveiket, s az ezeket segítő és akadályozó tényezőket. A mezőgazdasági termelésen túli funkciókon belül a nem árujellegű közszolgáltatásokkal külön is foglalkoztunk. A vizsgált gazdák természetesnek tekinthető biztonságos gazdaságfejlesztési motívuma mellett a család jobb megélhetése játszott meghatározó szerepet. Ezek realizálásához legtöbben a földvásárlást tartották a legfontosabbnak. A foglalkoztatásban a családtagok kerültek előtérbe, a mások számára történő munkahelyteremtést a legtöbben – még a diverzifikált gazdaságok esetében is – az utolsó helyekre tették. A rugalmas foglalkoztatási formák terjesztését kifejezetten állami feladatnak tekintik. Mindezek felhívják a figyelmet a központilag megfogalmazott célok, a területi és ágazati folyamatok, s a gazdák gondolkodása közötti, a foglalkoztatás vonatkozásában megjelenő ellentmondásokra. --------------------------------------------------------------- Statistics reveal that the number of people employed in Hungarian agriculture is constantly decreasing. Our paper highlights the contradiction between the employment goals announced and the proliferation and effect of machinery acquisition subsidies granted to improve competitiveness. These subsidies may reinforce farmers’ attempts to increase their land, and contribute to the laying off of agricultural workforce. Diversification of operations could potentially counter this process, but its progress is hardly discernible. We surveyed 104 farmers in three LEADER micro-regions to find out about the farm development motives of farmers and farmer families, the status of farm diversification, their plans concerning multifunctional agriculture, as well as the relevant positive and negative factors. Within the functions other than agricultural production, we specifically addressed public services other than the provision of goods. Apart from their natural desire to develop their farm in a safe manner, the farmers interviewed were motivated mostly by a desire to improve the financial situation of the family. Most of them thought that purchasing more land would be the most important step towards this goal. With respect to employment, family members were mentioned, while the creation of employment opportunities for other was ranked very low, even by diversified farms. The promotion of flexible forms of employment was specifically seen a governmental responsibility. The findings highlight the contradictions existing between centrally announced goals, regional and industry processes and the attitude of farmers in the field of employment

Motivation and intentions of farmers as regards the development of multifunctional agriculture in microregions of Northern and Eastern Hungary

There are an increasing number of references in the literature on the significance of the role of farm households and farm families in the development of multifunctional agriculture. The motivation and intentions of 104 farmers in three LEADER micro-regions in Northern and Eastern Hungary with respect to the present and future structures of their farms (including the expansion of non-agricultural activities and functions) were investigated using questionnaires and narrative interviews. Almost two-thirds of the respondents spoke of the existence of non-agricultural activities and functions, but few of these were market-driven. The farmers ranked the steps that should be taken to increase multifunctionality in their own micro-regions in order of importance and indicated which organisations they thought would be most competent for their implementation. They also noted what factors promoted or inhibited multifunctionality within their own farms.multifunctional agriculture, LEADER, rural economy, interviews, Hungary, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Excess maternal transmission of variants in the THADA gene to offspring with type 2 diabetes

Aims/hypothesis Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 65 genetic loci associated with risk of type 2 diabetes. However, the contribution of distorted parental transmission of alleles to risk of type 2 diabetes has been mostly unexplored. Our goal was therefore to search for parent-of-origin effects (POE) among type 2 diabetes loci in families. Methods Families from the Botnia study (n = 4,211, 1,083 families) were genotyped for 72 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with type 2 diabetes and assessed for POE on type 2 diabetes. The family-based Hungarian Transdanubian Biobank (HTB) (n = 1,463, > 135 families) was used to replicate SNPs showing POE. Association of type 2 diabetes loci within families was also tested. Results Three loci showed nominal POE, including the previously reported variants in KCNQ1, for type 2 diabetes in families from Botnia (rs2237895: p(POE) = 0.037), which can be considered positive controls. The strongest POE was seen for rs7578597 SNP in the THADA gene, showing excess transmission of the maternal risk allele T to diabetic offspring (Botnia: p(POE) = 0.01; HTB p(POE) = 0.045). These data are consistent with previous evidence of allelic imbalance for expression in islets, suggesting that the THADA gene can be imprinted in a POE-specific fashion. Five CpG sites, including those flanking rs7578597, showed differential methylation between diabetic and non-diabetic donor islets. Conclusions/interpretation Taken together, the data emphasise the need for genetic studies to consider from which parent an offspring has inherited a susceptibility allele.Peer reviewe

Viable protoplast formation of the coral endosymbiont alga Symbiodinium spp. in a microfluidics platform

Symbiodiniaceae is an important dinoflagellate family which lives in endosymbiosis with reef invertebrates, including coral polyps, making them central to the holobiont. With coral reefs currently under extreme threat from climate change, there is a pressing need to improve our understanding on the stress tolerance and stress avoidance mechanisms of Symbiodinium spp. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as singlet oxygen are central players in mediating various stress responses; however, the detection of ROS using specific dyes is still far from definitive in intact Symbiodinium cells due to the hindrance of uptake of certain fluorescent dyes because of the presence of the cell wall. Protoplast technology provides a promising platform for studying oxidative stress with the main advantage of removed cell wall, however the preparation of viable protoplasts remains a significant challenge. Previous studies have successfully applied cellulose-based protoplast preparation in Symbiodiniaceae; however, the protoplast formation and regeneration process was found to be suboptimal. Here, we present a microfluidics-based platform which allowed protoplast isolation from individually trapped Symbiodinium cells, by using a precisely adjusted flow of cell wall digestion enzymes (cellulase and macerozyme). Trapped single cells exhibited characteristic changes in their morphology, cessation of cell division and a slight decrease in photosynthetic activity during protoplast formation. Following digestion and transfer to regeneration medium, protoplasts remained photosynthetically active, regrew cell walls, regained motility, and entered exponential growth. Elevated flow rates in the microfluidic chambers resulted in somewhat faster protoplast formation; however, cell wall digestion at higher flow rates partially compromised photosynthetic activity. Physiologically competent protoplasts prepared from trapped cells in microfluidic chambers allowed for the first time the visualization of the intracellular localization of singlet oxygen (using Singlet Oxygen Sensor Green dye) in Symbiodiniaceae, potentially opening new avenues for studying oxidative stress

Hepatic insulin sensitizing substance: a novel ‘sensocrine' mechanism to increase insulin sensitivity in anaesthetized rats

1. We recently described the sensory nitrergic nature of the hepatic insulin sensitizing substance (HISS) mechanism linked to postprandial activation of anterior hepatic plexus fibres in rabbits. This study is designed to assess the involvement of the sensory pathways in this mechanism. 2. Selective sensory denervation of the anterior hepatic plexus (AHP) was achieved by a 3-day perineurial treatment with 2% capsaicin solution in Wistar rats (230–250 g). After 1 week, hyperinsulinaemic (100 μU kg(−1)) euglycaemic (5.5 mmol kg(−1)) glucose clamp studies were performed to estimate insulin sensitivity. 3. The rats with regional AHP sensory denervation exhibited a significantly decreased insulin sensitivity, that is, 9.1±1.0 mg kg(−1) min(−1) glucose reinstalled euglycaemia vs 13.3±1.9 mg kg(−1) min(−1) glucose (P<0.01) in control rats. 4. Acute partial hepatic denervation by AHP cut was without effect on insulin sensitivity, whereas chronic hepatic denervation induced insulin resistance was similar to that achieved by regional AHP capsaicin treatment. 5. Intraportal administration of L-NAME (10 mg kg(−1)) decreased, whereas capsaicin (0.3 mg kg(−1) min(−1)) increased insulin sensitivity. Neither atropine (1 mg kg(−1)) nor acetylcholine (1–10 μg mg min(−1)) produced any significant effect. In animals with preceding regional capsaicin desensitization, none of the pharmacological manoeuvres modified the resulting insulin-resistant state. 6. Cysteamine (200 mg kg(−1) s.c.) is known to cause functional somatostatin depletion-induced insulin resistance similar to that produced by either chronic partial hepatic denervation or perineurial AHP capsaicin desensitization. Intraportal capsaicin (0.3 mg kg(−1) min(−1)) was unable to modify insulin resistance achieved by cysteamine. 7. We conclude that capsaicin-sensitive sensory fibres play a crucial role in neurogenic insulin sensitization known as the HISS mechanism without involvement of anatomical reflex-mediated circuits. The results also suggest that HISS is identical to somatostatin of AHP sensory neural origin

Association of PPAR polymorphisms with cytokine levels in allergic rhinitis

Our aim was to study the association of Pro12Ala and exon6 C161T polymorphisms of PPARgamma and intron7 G/C polymorphisms of PPAR-alpha with clinical symptoms, peak nasal inspiratory flow values, serum soluble TNF-alpha, TNF-R1, Fas, Fas ligand and IgE concentrations in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis during and after pollen season. We performed a follow-up study of 66 Hungarian patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis and 180 healthy referent subjects. We used PCR-RFLP technique and ELISA. The distribution of mutant alleles of PPAR-gamma and -alpha did not differ in patients and referent subjects. Patients carrying the mutant 12Ala, exon6 161T alleles of PPAR-gamma and intron7 C allele of PPAR-alpha had significantly higher clinical symptom score values, TNF-alpha and IgE levels and lower peak nasal inspiratory flow values during and after pollen season. The results indicated that nuclear receptors PPAR-gamma and PPAR-alpha are involved in the regulation of inflammatory mediator production in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis and polymorphisms of the receptors are very likely to contribute to the heterogeneity of clinical and immunological parameters of allergic patients. © 2011 Springer-Verlag

Nonmuscle myosin II

The discovery of nonmuscle myosin II (NMII) is linked to the story of muscle contraction (reviewed in Szent-Gyorgyi 2004). It started in 1864,...This work was funded by grant SAF2014-54705-R from MINECO. Miguel Vicente-Manzanares is a Ramon y Cajal Assistant Professor (RYC2010-06094).Peer Reviewe