Creating Traveller Experiences - Travellers' Perspective

We were interested in how travellers create their experiences and we wanted to focus on their role in creating these experiences. Because there has not been a study made about InterRailing in recent years we are going to study this subject. Our aim is that this study will contribute to the research on traveller experiences

Consumption patterns in the market of pork and pork products

Pork is a source of nutrients essential for the human body but still it is regarded by consumers as a non-healthy product. The main objective of the study was to analyse consumption patterns concerning pork products and to define alternative target markets in bigger Hungarian towns. In the course of the research, 494 people, representative of the base population, were questioned. According to the results obtained, the consumers’ opinion and the already formed image are less favourable regarding pork than poultry in almost all respects. Respondents regarded pork as an out-of-date, slightly boring and aging product. The applied cluster analysis identified five different consumer segments. Among them, rational young consumers represent the primary target group, which can be reached by efficient communication. The most important task of a collective marketing strategy is to alter the unfavourable image of pork

Consumption patterns in the market of pork and pork products

Pork is a source of nutrients essential for the human body but still it is regarded by consumers as a non-healthy product. The main objective of the study was to analyse consumption patterns concerning pork products and to define alternative target markets in bigger Hungarian towns. In the course of the research, 494 people, representative of the base population, were questioned. According to the results obtained, the consumers’ opinion and the already formed image are less favourable regarding pork than poultry in almost all respects. Respondents regarded pork as an out-of-date, slightly boring and aging product. The applied cluster analysis identified five different consumer segments. Among them, rational young consumers represent the primary target group, which can be reached by efficient communication. The most important task of a collective marketing strategy is to alter the unfavourable image of pork.pork, consumption patterns, segmentation, re-positioning, Marketing,

The Role of L-Arginine-NO System in Female Reproduction: A Narrative Review

Accumulating evidence are available on the involvement of l-arginine-nitric oxide (NO) system in complex biological processes and numerous clinical conditions. Particular attention was made to reveal the association of l-arginine and methylarginines to outcome measures of women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). This review attempts to summarize the expression and function of the essential elements of this system with particular reference to the different stages of female reproduction. A literature search was performed on the PubMed and Google Scholar systems. Publications were selected for evaluation according to the results presented in the Abstract. The regulatory role of NO during the period of folliculogenesis, oocyte maturation, fertilization, embryogenesis, implantation, placentation, pregnancy, and delivery was surveyed. The major aspects of cellular l-arginine uptake via cationic amino acid transporters (CATs), arginine catabolism by nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) to NO and l-citrulline and by arginase to ornithine, and polyamines are presented. The importance of NOS inhibition by methylated arginines and the redox-sensitive elements of the process of NO generation are also shown. The l-arginine-NO system plays a crucial role in all stages of female reproduction. Insufficiently low or excessively high rates of NO generation may have adverse influences on IVF outcome

Use of 18F-FDG-PET-CT in glioma surveillance: A single centre experience

INTRODUCTION Radiological surveillance in glioma surgery is primarily with MRI. Differentiating between disease progression and radionecrosis can be challenging. In our unit, in selected cases when there is suspicion of radiological recurrence, progression or to aid in differentiating progression from radionecrosis, we have augmented our surveillance with 18F-FDG-PET-CT which can highlight areas of metabolic activity which correlate with increased tumour activity. RESULTS We identified 19 cases of PET imaging for glioma surveillance of whom we could assess 17 notes and images. Mean age was 45.06 (30–67) with male: female ratio 9:8. 15 /17(88.2%) patients had surgery and 2 declined surgery(7 biopsy only, 8 debulk and 2 declined surgery). Initial histology was pilocytic astrocytoma (1), grade II (4, 26.7%), grade III (6, 40%), GBM (3) and non-specific tissue (1). 5 patients had evidence of increased uptake on PET and all showed clinical progression, with only 3 clinically fit for surgery (histology showed 2 recurrence, 1 transformation). 10 patients had no increased uptake on FDG with 4 on on-going surveillance for an average of 8.5 years (7–12), 2 clinically progressed at 2 and 8 years after initial presentation at the point of PET imaging and received palliative chemotherapy, 1 had concurrent inoperable lung cancer and was palliated, 1 patient had transformation from glioma grade II - III, 1 had grade 2 histology, and 1 had only gliotic tissue on re-operation CONCLUSIONS A positive FDG PET has a positive correlation with disease progression and may be considered as an adjunct test in glioma surveillance

Relevance of anxiety in the perinatal period: prospective study in a Hungarian sample

There is increasing evidence that anxiety occurs frequently during pregnancy and can be one of the most important risk factors and predictors of postpartum depression (PPD). The aim of our study was to investigate whether antenatal anxiety is an independent predictor of PPD. We used the data of 476 women enrolled in a prospective study in a single maternity unit. The first assessment was conducted between 22 and 40 weeks gestation and a second time 8-12 months postpartum. Symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Based on our results, antenatal anxiety measured by a subscale of EPDS has predicted better PPD than the antenatal depressive subscale. However, the most relevant predictor of PPD might be the trait anxiety level of a women measured by STAI Trait Scale, whereas a cutoff value of 38 was identified to indicate higher risk of PPD

Inhibition of the human epithelial calcium channel TRPV6 by 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB)

TRPV6, a highly calcium-selective member of the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel superfamily, is a major pathway for calcium absorption in the fetal and adult body. It is expressed abundantly in the duodenum, the placenta and exocrine tissues. TRVP6 was postulated to contribute to store-operated calcium channel (SOC) activity in certain cell types such as exocrine cells. In this study, we tested 2-APB, a widely used SOC inhibitor on human TRPV6 (hTRPV6) activity using fluorescence imaging, patch clamp and radioactive tracer techniques in transiently and stably transfected HEK293 cells. We found that the basal calcium and cadmium influx was higher in HEK293 cells transfected with hTRPV6 than in non-transfected cells. 2-APB inhibited hTRPV6 activity in both transient and stably transfected cells. This effect was slightly sensitive toward extracellular calcium. The extracellular sodium concentration did not affect the inhibition of hTRPV6 by 2-APB. However, N-methyl-d-glucamine significantly diminished the inhibitory effect of 2-APB presumably through direct interaction with this compound. Furthermore, 2-APB inhibited the activity of TRPV6 orthologs but not human TRPV5. 2-APB may serve as a parental compound for the development of therapeutic strategies specifically targeting the hTRPV6 calcium channel

Heavy metal cations permeate the TRPV6 epithelial cation channel

TRPV6 belongs to the vanilloid family of the transient receptor potential channel (TRP) superfamily. This calcium-selective channel is highly expressed in the duodenum and the placenta, being responsible for calcium absorption in the body and fetus. Previous observations have suggested that TRPV6 is not only permeable to calcium but also to other divalent cations in epithelial tissues. In this study, we tested whether TRPV6 is indeed also permeable to cations such as zinc and cadmium. We found that the basal intracellular calcium concentration was higher in HEK293 cells transfected with hTRPV6 than in non-transfected cells, and that this difference almost disappeared in nominally calcium-free solution. Live cell imaging experiments with Fura-2 and NewPort Green DCF showed that overexpression of human TRPV6 increased the permeability for Ca(2+), Ba(2+), Sr(2+), Mn(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+), and interestingly also for La(3+) and Gd(3+). These results were confirmed using the patch clamp technique. (45)Ca uptake experiments showed that cadmium, lanthanum and gadolinium were also highly efficient inhibitors of TRPV6-mediated calcium influx at higher micromolar concentrations. Our results suggest that TRPV6 is not only involved in calcium transport but also in the transport of other divalent cations, including heavy metal ions, which may have toxicological implications

A novel SPECT-based approach reveals early mechanisms of central and peripheral inflammation after cerebral ischemia.

Inflammation that develops in the brain and peripheral organs after stroke contributes profoundly to poor outcome of patients. However, mechanisms through which inflammation impacts on brain injury and overall outcome are improperly understood, in part because the earliest inflammatory events after brain injury are not revealed by current imaging tools. Here, we show that single-photon emission computed tomography (NanoSPECT/CT Plus) allows visualization of blood brain barrier (BBB) injury after experimental stroke well before changes can be detected with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Early 99mTc-DTPA (diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid) signal changes predict infarct development and systemic inflammation preceding experimental stroke leads to very early perfusion deficits and increased BBB injury within 2 hours after the onset of ischemia. Acute brain injury also leads to peripheral inflammation and immunosuppression, which contribute to poor outcome of stroke patients. The SPECT imaging revealed early (within 2 hours) changes in perfusion, barrier function and inflammation in the lungs and the gut after experimental stroke, with good predictive value for the development of histopathologic changes at later time points. Collectively, visualization of early inflammatory changes after stroke could open new translational research avenues to elucidate the interactions between central and peripheral inflammation and to evaluate in vivo 'multi-system' effects of putative anti-inflammatory treatments