Kulonbozo oktatasi rendszerek es formak kozotti tudastranszfer es annak merhetosege

Az információ megszerzése és átadása sohasem volt olyan nagy jelentőségű mint napjainkban. Aki a legfrissebb, legmagasabb szintű információval rendelkezik az előnyre tesz versenytársaival szemben. Igy érthető, hogy a gazdaság és az erősödő piaci verseny egyre nagyobb nyomást gyakorol az oktatási intézményekre is. A vásárlók (hallgatók) a világ minden táján kritikusan figyelik, hogy a pénzükért naprakész tudást kapnak-e. Az oktatási intézményeket (középiskolákat és egyetemeket) Nagy-Britanniában például rangsorolják mind az oktatás színvonala, mind a kutatásban elért eredményei alapján. Ezek az információk megjelennek a napilapokban és egyértelműen jelzik az adott intézmény rangját és a kibocsátott diploma piaci értékét. Az egyre erősödő hallgatókért történő versenyben tehát igen fontos szerepe van a naprakész tudásnak és a több területen is felhasználható készségek oktatásának. A felsőoktatás egyre inkább szolgáltató nagyüzemmé válik, amely igyekszik minél gyorsabban reagálni a piac igényeire. A piac nagy választékot, rugalmas formákat és egymásra építhetőséget kíván, így az egyetemek tárgyai legtöbb helyen már modulokból épülnek fel, ahol a hallgatónak a kötött tantárgyak mellett választható tantárgyaik is vannak. Másik világjelenség az egész életen keresztül tartó folyamatos tanulás igénye. Elfogadott tény, hogy bár különböző idő alatt szakterülettől függően elavul a tudás. Igy a diploma csak egy állomása, de nem a végállomása a tanulásnak. Hogyan tudnak az oktatási intézmények megfelelni az egyre növekvő számú első diplomás képzésének és egy időben hogyan tudják kielégíteni a posztgraduális hosszabb, rövidebb ideig tartó képzések iránti igényt. Ez a dilemma jelen van a nyugati és a keleti oktatási intézményekben egyaránt. A lényeges különbség a rendelkezésre álló időben van. Ami Nagy Britanniában például mintegy ötven év alatt zajlott le az Magyarországon megpróbál megtörténni tíz év alatt. A felgyorsulás érzékeltetésére talán célszerű röviden végigtekintenünk a brit oktatásban végbemenő változásokat az elmúlt ötven évben. Ha ezt párhuzamba állítjuk a magyarországi 1990-töl 2000-ig terjedő tíz esztendő főbb lépéseivel elgondolkodtató képet kapunk

Non-BCS behavior of optical properties across the cuprate phase diagram

The finite-frequency optical properties of the underdoped cuprates, in both the normal and superconducting state, display features which go beyond a Fermi liquid and a BCS description. We provide an understanding of these properties within a simplified analytical model, which has been evolved out of the Hubbard model and ideas based on a resonating valence bond spin liquid. We find that: 1) in underdoped samples, the missing area integrals reveal a second energy scale due to the pseudogap, not present at optimum or overdoping; 2) the real part of the optical self-energy shows a large sharp peak, that emerges with the opening of the pseudogap which exists within the superconducting state and persists in the normal state; and 3) the amount of optical spectral weight which is transferred to the condensate is greatly reduced by the presence of the pseudogap as compared to the Fermi liquid case. These non-BCS features of the superconducting state are in good qualitative agreement with a body of experimental work on different cuprate systems and provide strong evidence from optical conductivity that they are all a manifestation of the pseudogap energy scale.Comment: to appear in PRB Rapid Communication

Linking the structure of alpha-synuclein oligmers to function in Parkinson's disease.

Misfolding and aggregation of alpha-synuclein (a-syn) are associated with a range of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Fibrillar, insoluble aggregates of a-syn, known as Lewy bodies (LBs) are deposited in the substantia nigra and are a pathological hallmark of PD. a-syn is a natively unstructured protein, co-populating extended and more compact conformational forms under equilibrium. The fine balance of this equilibrium can be shifted due to changes in its environment such as alterations in metal content, ionic strength, free dopamine or others, promoting the assembly of a-syn into toxic conformations. Small, soluble oligomers preceding LB formation are thought to be causative, in vitro, different a-syn oligomers have been produced with alternate biochemical properties. Here the primary objective was to uncover the link between conformation and toxic gain of function by the use of functional assays in combination with ESI-IMS-MS. Epitope mapping procedures indicated that different a-syn oligomers have unique epitope features. Dye binding assays such as ThT and ANS fluorescence inferred that the various oligomer types differ in their amyloidogenicity and hydrophobicity. Furthermore, intracellular aggregation assays, MTT cell proliferation and Ca(ll) influx analysis in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells showed that cellular effects correlated with structural features. ESI-IMS-MS spectra of the different oligomers have been acquired and allowed the conformations of the oligomer subsets to be determined. The oligomers assembled up to a hexameric form with a closed ring-like conformation. These results demonstrated that unique structural features are required for toxicity and that a subset of oligomers with characteristic structures may be pivotal in PD

Nonlinear photoluminescence spectra from a quantum dot-cavity system: Direct evidence of pump-induced stimulated emission and anharmonic cavity-QED

We investigate the power-dependent photoluminescence spectra from a strongly coupled quantum dot-cavity system using a quantum master equation technique that accounts for incoherent pumping, pure dephasing, and fermion or boson statistics. Analytical spectra at the one-photon correlation level and the numerically exact multi-photon spectra for fermions are presented. We compare to recent experiments on a quantum dot-micropiller cavity system and show that an excellent fit to the data can be obtained by varying only the incoherent pump rates in direct correspondence with the experiments. Our theory and experiments together show a clear and systematic way of studying stimulated-emission induced broadening and anharmonic cavity-QED.Comment: We have reworked our previous arXiv paper and submitted this latest version for peer revie

Amyloid-β(1-42) aggregation initiates its cellular uptake and cytotoxicity

The accumulation of amyloid beta peptide(1-42) (Abeta(1-42)) in extracellular plaques is one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD). Several studies have suggested that cellular reuptake of Abeta(1-42) may be a crucial step in its cytotoxicity, but the uptake mechanism is not yet understood. Abeta may be present in an aggregated form prior to cellular uptake. Alternatively, monomeric peptide may enter the endocytic pathway and conditions in the endocytic compartments may induce the aggregation process. Our study aims to answer the question whether aggregate formation is a prerequisite or a consequence of Abeta endocytosis. We visualized aggregate formation of fluorescently labeled Abeta(1-42) and tracked its internalization by human neuroblastoma cells and neurons. beta-Sheet-rich Abeta(1-42) aggregates entered the cells at low nanomolar concentration of Abeta(1-42). In contrast, monomer uptake faced a concentration threshold and occurred only at concentrations and time scales that allowed Abeta(1-42) aggregates to form. By uncoupling membrane binding from internalization, we found that Abeta(1-42) monomers bound rapidly to the plasma membrane and formed aggregates there. These structures were subsequently taken up and accumulated in endocytic vesicles. This process correlated with metabolic inhibition. Our data therefore imply that the formation of beta-sheet-rich aggregates is a prerequisite for Abeta(1-42) uptake and cytotoxicity

Neuromodulation via the Cerebrospinal Fluid: Insights from Recent in Vitro Studies

The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occupies the brain’s ventricles and subarachnoid space and, together with the interstitial fluid (ISF), forms a continuous fluidic network that bathes all cells of the central nervous system (CNS). As such, the CSF is well positioned to actively distribute neuromodulators to neural circuits in vivo via volume transmission. Recent in vitro experimental work in brain slices and neuronal cultures has shown that human CSF indeed contains neuromodulators that strongly influence neuronal activity. Here we briefly summarize these new findings and discuss their potential relevance to neural circuits in health and disease