Case-control study to measure influenza vaccine effectiveness during the 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-11 influenza seasons in Hungary

Resulting from the constant evolution of influenza viruses, influenza vaccine effectiveness can vary from year to year depending on the matching between the circulating strains and the ones that are included in the vaccine.Within a European programme to monitor seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness, the Hungarian team conducted case-control studies in 2008-9, 2009-10 and 2010-11. Sentinel GPs swabbed a systematic sample of patients consulting for influenza-like symptoms. Influenza confirmed cases were compared to influenza negative controls. Influenza vaccine effectiveness estimates were obtained using 1- odds ratio. We adjusted estimates for age-group, month of onset, chronic diseases, smoking, previous influenza vaccinations, previous hospitalisations and GP visits in the previous 12 months. In 2008-2009 50 GPs, in 2009-2010 87 GPs and in 2010-2011 98 GPs participated in the study. In 2009-2010 the adjusted pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness was 79.1% (95% CI 12.8-95.0%) for 18+ age group, and 80.1% (95% CI: 7.7-95.7%) in the 18-59 age group. According to the preliminary results of the 2010-2011 study the adjusted seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness was 85.6% (95% CI: 27.0-97.2%). During the pilot study in 2008-2009 the sample was too small to obtain vaccine effectiveness results.Case control study with the participation of GPs who are involved in the sentinel influenza surveillance system is feasible. Larger sample size is needed to achieve greater precision for subgroup analysis

A reformkori Magyarország nevelésügye a sajtó tükrében = Press and pedagogy in Hungary during the Reformed Age

A most zárult kutatás keretében, (mely szerves folytatása az 1998-2002-es futamidejű OTKA kutatásomnak, mely a felvilágosodás kori magyar nevelésügyet vizsgálta a korabeli sajtó tükrében) nemzetközi együttműködéssel, teljességre törekedve feltártuk és feldolgoztuk a hazai reformkor időszakának teljes magyar nyelvű sajtóanyagából azokat a közleményeket, melyek a nevelésüggyel foglalkoztak. A magyarországi sajtó és a nevelésügy kapcsolata, és reformkori helyzete mindeddig feltáratlan terület volt. Arra kerestem a választ, hogy a lapok milyen módon közvetítették a neveléssel kapcsolatos új eszméket, a külföldi és hazai törekvéseket az olvasóiknak? Hogyan járult hozzá a sajtó az eszmék népszerűsítéséhez, hogyan próbálta meg a tájékoztatni és befolyásolni az olvasókat és az oktatásügy döntéshozóit egyes kérdésekben? Melyek voltak azok a legfőbb, nevelésügyet érintő területek, melyekkel a sajtó kiemelten foglakozott? Hatottak-e, és hogyan, a nevelés gyakorlatára a sajtóban megjelent írások? Olyan kérdések ezek, melyekre neveléstörténet-írásunk még nem adott kielégítő választ. Kutatásunkkal reményeink szerint hozzájárultunk a magyarországi nevelés reformkori történetének pontosabb, és az eddigiektől eltérő szempontú megismeréséhez. A kutatás időszakában két önálló kötet és 16 tanulmány jelent meg a kutatás témakörében a témavezető és munkatársainak tollából. Eredményinket nem csak publikációk formájában közöltük, hanem hazai és nemzetközi konferenciákon is bemutattuk. | This research is the continuation of my previous OTKA project that focused on the discourses in the press about the history of Hungarian education in the Era of Enlightenment. This project in joint international cooperation analyzed all the materials from the contemporary press that were relevant to, or about education. My central question was how the journals mediated the new ideas, principles, foreign and national endeavors to the Hungarian readers at that time. What knowledge did the readers learn, who were interested in contemporary problems, including the field of education as well? How did the Press contribute to the popularization of ideas, and how did it try to inform and influence the readers and the decision-makers? Which were the fields that were considered as very important from the point of the Press? Did the published writings, and if yes how, influence the practice of education? These questions have not been answered yet. Therefore this current project aimed to answer these questions based on contemporary primary sources. 2 volumes and 16 studies have been published from the field by the researchers. Besides not only have the texts been published, but they also have been presented at various conferences both abroad and in Hungary

Increased nociceptin/orphanin FQ plasma levels in hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: The heptadecapeptide nociceptin alias orphanin FQ is the endogenous agonist of opioid receptor-like1 receptor. It is involved in modulation of pain and cognition. High blood level was reported in patients with acute and chronic pain, and in Wilson disease. An accidental observation led us to investigate nociceptin in hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: Plasma nociceptin level was measured by radioimmunoassay, aprotinin was used as protease inhibitor. Hepatocellular carcinoma was diagnosed by laboratory, ultrasound, other imaging, and confirmed by fine needle biopsy. Results were compared to healthy controls and patients with other chronic liver diseases. RESULTS: Although nociceptin levels were elevated in patients with Wilson disease (14.0 +/- 2.7 pg/mL, n = 26), primary biliary cirrhosis (12.1 +/- 3.2 pg/mL, n = 21) and liver cirrhosis (12.8 +/- 4.0 pg/mL, n = 15) compared to the healthy controls (9.2 +/- 1.8 pg/mL, n = 29, P < 0.001 for each), in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma a ten-fold increase was found (105.9 &PLUSMN; 14.4 pg/mL, n = 29, P < 0.0001). High plasma levels were found in each hepatocellular carcinoma patient including those with normal alpha fetoprotein and those with pain (104.9 +/- 14.9 pg/mL, n = 12) and without (107.7 +/- 14.5 pg/mL, n = 6). CONCLUSION: A very high nociceptin plasma level seems to be an indicator for hepatocellular carcinoma. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanism and clinical significance of this novel finding

Rising plasma nociceptin level during development of HCC: A case report

AIM: Although liver cirrhosis is a predisposing factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), relatively few reports are available on HCC in primary biliary cirrhosis. High plasma nociceptin (N/OFQ) level has been shown in Wilson disease and in patients with acute and chronic pain. METHODS: We report a follow-up case of HCC, which developed in a patient with primary biliary cirrhosis. The tumor appeared 18 years after the diagnosis of PBC and led to death within two years. Alfa fetoprotein and serum nociceptin levels were monitored before and during the development of HCC. Nociceptin content was also measured in the tumor tissue. RESULTS: The importance and the curiosity of the presented case was the novel finding of the progressive elevation of plasma nociceptin level up to 17-fold (172 pg/mL) above the baseline (9.2 +/- 1.8 pg/mL) parallel with the elevation of alpha fetoprotein (from 13 ng/mL up to 3 480 ng/mL) during tumor development. Nociceptin content was more than 15-fold higher in the neoplastic tissue (0.16 pg/mg) than that in the tumor-free liver tissue samples (0.01 pg/mg) taken during the autopsy. CONCLUSION: Results are in concordance with our previous observation that a very high plasma nociceptin level may be considered as an indicator for hepatocellular carcinoma

ÉLŐ SEJTEK ADHÉZIÓJÁNAK MONITOROZÁSA OPTIKAI BIOSZENZOROKKAL

Egy újszerű, nagy áteresztőképességű optikai bioszenzor, az Epic BenchTop (BT) segítségével azt vizsgáltuk, hogyan függ a rákos sejtek kiterülésének kinetikája a integrin-ligandum RGD-motívumok átlagos felületi sűrűségétől (νRGD) [1]. A biologiallag inaktív PLL-g-PEG kopolimer, és az RGD-funkcionalizált PLL-g-PEG-RGD vegyített oldatait használtuk a felületi bevonatok elkészítéséhez, νRGD-t négy nagységrenden keresztül hangoltuk. Modell sejtvonalként az erősen adherens HeLa rákos sejtvonalat használtuk, a kiterülés kinetikáját az Epic BT bioszenzorral egyedülálló minőségben rögzítettük. A kapott görbéket kinetikai elemzésnek vetettük alá: az adatokat a logisztikus egyenlettel illesztettük meg, hogy meghatározhassuk, hogyan függ a felületi ligandsúrúségtől a sejtkiterülés sebességi állandója (r), illetve a maximális bioszenzor jel (∆λmax). Eredményeink szerint r nem függ νRGD-től, átlagos értéke 0.062±0.004 min-1. Ezzel szemben ∆λmax, ami egyenesen arányos a kiterült sejt átlagos kontaktterületével, növekedett, ahogy νRGD-t növeltük. Ezt a viselkedést egy egyszerű monovalens kötési reakcióval leírva meghatároztuk a PLL-PEG-RGD molekula RGD-motívuma és a sejt integrinjei közötti kölcsönhatás két dimenziós disszociációs állandóját, mely 1753 μm-2-nek adódott. Ebből egyszerűen származtatható a kapcsolat 3D-s disszociációs állandója, melynek értéke ~30 μM. Mindezen eredményehez egyedülló módon teljesen noninvazív és jelölésmentes kísérleteken keresztül jutottunk

Study of basic taste recognition among the tourism and catering management students of the Budapest Business School

The role of sensory analyses in the food industry and in gastronomy has increased significantly in the last decade. The regulation of both quality and certification is of paramount importance in this area as well. In this paper presenting our series of analyses, we endeavored to find out to what extent tourism and catering management students are able to recognize the four basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) when using all of their senses, and whether their abilities are affected by the exclusion of sight and smell. In the first part of the study, tasters could use all their sense organs. In this case, sweet and salty tastes were properly recognized by more than 75% of the students. However, sour and bitter tastes were correctly identified by only 30% of the students, many mixed them up, and a quarter of the students did not even attempt to identify the taste. In terms of sensing sweet, salty and sour tastes, there was no difference between men and women, but the bitter taste was properly identified by more than 40% of men, and only 30% of women. False identification of bitter and sour tastes to such a large extent can be explained by significant consumption of coffee, tea or cigarettes, or by an inappropriate diet [7]. During smoking, substances in the tobacco smoke can greatly impair the functioning of taste buds. Consumption of energy drinks and tea can also add to the flavor reducing effect of coffee and cigarettes, so these factors together could be responsible for the large number of false identification of the bitter taste

Nocturnal Red Light Application Modulated the Fumonisin B1-Induced Changes in Glutathione Transferases of Different Wheat Cultivars

Plant defense responses against Fusarium infection can be controlled by light. In this study, the effects of nocturnal red light were investigated on glutathione transferases (GSTs) in the leaves of the moderate- and high- Fusarium resistant wheat cultivars, GK Ígéret and GK Arató, respectively. GST activity increased in the light phase during the day, while it decreased after midnight. Since GST activity was lowest at midnight, we examined whether red light application at midnight could prevent the night-time drop in enzyme activity. We found that 15-min-long nocturnal red light application was effective to increase GST activity at dawn. The effects of red light pretreatments on GST expression and activity, as well as the oxidative stress induced by fumonisin B1 (FB1), were investigated. FB1 exposure increased GST activity and the expression of GST genes at dawn but nocturnal red light application in combination with the mycotoxin also increased GST activity and the transcript levels of the selected GST s in the resistant GK Arató. In addition to its effects on GSTs, it was discovered that, depending on the degree of tolerance, nocturnal red light increased the activity of the major antioxidant enzymes at dawn in both of the chosen wheat genotypes. These decreased FB1’s oxidative stress-causing actions, resulting in lower lipid peroxidation and less cell viability loss when exposed to the mycotoxin. Pretreatment with nocturnal red light enhanced the activity of GST and antioxidant enzymes in wheat plant leaves, contributing to FB1 detoxification and reducing oxidative stress