Editorial: The Social-Ecological Context of Health Literacy

Most recent empirical findings from the WHO European Region indicate a limited ability to find, understand, critically assess and apply health-related information for between 25% (Slovenia) and 72% (Germany) of the adult population (1). Moreover, it has been widely shown that limited health literacy is associated with poor health behavior, lower use of health screenings, more hospitalization and lower general health (2, 3). With regard to economic effects, limited health literacy causes additional costs that range from 3 to 5% of the annual total health care costs (4). Given these findings, it is not surprising that health literacy is high on the public health agenda with 19 Member States of the WHO European Region having a health literacy policy on a national or local leve

Surveying viruses on ornamental trees and shrubs in two Hungarian botanical gardens and an arboretum

In Hungary the most common disease of fruit trees causing the most severe damages is Plum pox virus (PPV). This is why it is important to know other woody host plants that can be considered as source of infection. National surveys have been carried out since 2002 for revealing the distribution of PPV on ornamental and wild Prunus species.From 2005 this work has been extended to studying other viruses on other woody plants. In two botanical gardens and an arboretum we selected plants (species and varieties) showing virus symptoms among various thousands of woody plants and submitted them to indexing on woody and herbaceous indicators, as well as to testing with ELISA for the presence of the following 11 viruses occurring on woody plants: PPV, Prune dwarf virus (PDV), Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), Cherry leafroll virus (CLRV), Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), Apple mosaic virus (ApMV), Apple chlorotic leafspot virus (ACLSV), Strawberry latent ringspot virus (SLRV), Tomato black ring virus (TBRV) and Arabis mosaic virus (ArMV).Up to now, in 28 plant species and varieties, PPV, PDV, PNRSV, CLRV and ASPV have been detected so far. The presence of PPV was found in 9 species/varieties, such as Prunus cerasifera ’Pendula’, P. cerasifera ’Pissardii’, P. glandulosa, P. glandulosa ‘Alba Plena’, P. glandulosa ’Sinensis’, P. japonica, P. sogdiana, P. tomentosa (from Tibet) and P. x blireana.Seventeen species/varieties were found to be infected with PDV: Lonicera caucasica, L. maackii, L. sachalinensis, Prunus mume ’Omoi-no-mama’, P. salicina (from China), P. spinosa ’Plena’, P. spinosa ’Purpurea’, P. serrulata ’Amanogawa’, P. serrulata ’Ichiyo’, P. serrulata ’Pink Perfection’, P. serrulata ’Taihaku’, P. serrulata ’Yedo-sakura’, P. subhirtella ’Plena’, P. tenella, P. yedoensis, P. yedoensis ’Moerheimii’ and Syringa yunnanensis. Certain species/varieties infected with PDV were positive also for CLRV, such as P. spinosa ’Purpurea’, P. yedoensis, P. yedoensis ’Moerheimii’, P. subhirtella ’Plena’, P. serrulata ’Yedo-sakura’ and to ASPV: P. subhirtella ’Plena’ and P. serrulata ’Yedo-sakura’. PNRSV was detected in P. cerasifera ’ Nigra ’ and ’Hollywood’. The difference of symptoms provoked by PDV on herbaceous hosts suggests that various strains of this virus affect hosts, mainly yellow mottle disease described as a separate strain by Ramaswamy and Posnette on ornamental cherries in 1972. Molecular studies are in progress to confirm the above results. Keywords: ornamental trees and shrubs, virus symptoms, ELISA, Prunus, Lonicera, Syring

Seed collection data encompassing half of the vascular flora of the pannonian ecoregion stored by the pannon seed bank

Seed bank collections have multiple benefits: store genetic material for conservation and research, and their data can also provide valuable scientific information. The Pannon Seed Bank was established during an EU LIFE+ project between 2010 and 2014 with the target to collect and store seeds of approx. 50% of the wild native vascular flora of the Pannonian Biogeographic Region, seed accessions of at least 800 storable species. This task was fully achieved by the end of the project, as altogether 1,853 seed accessions of 910 species are stored. The aim of the present paper is to provide access to the collection data and metadata of the Pannon Seed Bank as it was completed by the end of the project. The collection campaign involved about 40 experts and covered the whole country. Collection and storing applied standard methodology, based on the ENSCONET project. The collection data published in this paper can be used manifold. Geographical data on species occurrences are major input for nature conservation and research. Seed collection date is valuable for ecological studies of phytophagous insects, frugivorous birds and mammals, etc. The database can be partner to international databases (like GBIF) or research infrastructures (e.g. LifeWatch). Hopefully, this data paper will contribute to further motivate the development of native seed collections and their use for conservation and research in Hungary. © 2016 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest

Research on Roma health and access to healthcare: state of the art and future challenges

Health inequalities experienced by Roma people living in Europe presents a persisting challenge for health care programs. Research studies on Roma health conditions reveal that: (1) Roma people suffer from poorer health and unhealthier living conditions compared to majority populations, (2) better data are needed to explain the Roma health gap and design better interventions to reduce this gap, and (3) the poor health of Roma is closely linked to the social determinants of health.This editorial published in the International Journal of Public Health discusses lessons learned from recent research findings and outlines a number of challenges in exploring and addressing the various mechanisms that contribute to the health gap between Roma and majority populations.The editorial was authored by Alina Covaci of the Open Society Foundations' Roma Health Project and Maria Eva Foldes of the Tilburg Law and Economics Center in the Netherlands

Variations in the morphologies and magnetic properties of magnetite crystals in bacteria

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Hungary and the European Union: the political implications of societal security promotion

Hungary's constitutional commitment to support kin-nationals beyond its borders (nation policy) has been a central feature of its post-1989 foreign policy and highlights a particularly important national security concern—the societal security of national identity, culture, language and tradition. This article examines Hungary's societal security concerns and the policy methods it utilises, including its EU membership and the promotion of minority rights at the European level, to help combat these concerns. It is suggested that Hungary has found it somewhat difficult to balance its societal security policy objective with internal economic demands on its welfare system and its external foreign policy objective to maintain good neighbourly relations. This article also notes that Hungary's attempts to Europeanise, or rather 'EU-ise', minority and ethnic rights issues as a means to enhance societal security for the Hungarian nation has certain political consequences for the EU. This suggests that societal security provision is an issue that cannot be overlooked when trying to understand the longer-term implications of EU eastern enlargement