Find the book that speaks to you! - a qualitative pilot study for research on Book Consumption

Sales numbers in printed books have been on the slope since many years in Hungary and in many other countries too. Finding the motivations among these decreasing trends of reading and book consumption may eventually help in turning the book industry’s way on this downhill backwards and putting the book consumption on rising trails again. A series of interviews and focus group interviews are coming up within the frames of a doctoral research targeting the exploration of motivators for book consumption and the consumer behavior of book consumers. This article presents a pilot study done in the exploratory phase of the research. The study is a mini focus group interview conducted with fiction reader participants. The article summarizes the theoretical background for book consumption. Being a white spot in the academic discussion, the study outlines the Book Consumption areas for exploration: Reading habits; Parallel Reading; Preferences over E-book v. Printed books; Preferences over the physical attributes of a book; Ways of choosing books to read; Motivations for reading; Re-reading; Process of Book purchasing; Giving Feedback and Recommendations. Analyzing the group discussion the article identifies research topics to be covered in future qualitative studies and suggests potential variables for quantitative research. The study makes suggestions for future research

Primary microglia cell cultures in translational research: Strengths and limitations

Microglia are the resident macrophages in the central nervous system, accounting for 10–15% of the cell mass in the brain. Next to their physiological role in development, monitoring neuronal function and the maintenance of homeostasis, microglia are crucial in the brain's immune defense. Brain injury and chronic neurological disorders are associated with neuroinflammation, in which microglia activation is a central element. Microglia acquire a wide spectrum of activation states in the diseased or injured brain, some of which are neurotoxic. The investigation of microglia (patho)physiology and therapeutic interventions targeting neuroinflammation is a substantial challenge. In addition to in vivo approaches, the application of in vitro model systems has gained significant ground and is essential to complement in vivo work. Primary microglia cultures have proved to be a useful tool. Microglia cultures have offered the opportunity to explore the mechanistic, molecular elements of microglia activation, the microglia secretome, and the efficacy of therapeutic treatments against neuroinflammation. As all model systems, primary microglia cultures have distinct strengths and limitations to be weighed when experiments are designed and when data are interpreted. Here, we set out to provide a succinct overview of the advantages and pitfalls of the use of microglia cultures, which instructs the refinement and further development of this technique to remain useful in the toolbox of microglia researchers. Since there is no conclusive therapy to combat neurotoxicity linked to neuroinflammation in acute brain injury or neurodegenerative disorders, these research tools remain essential to explore therapeutic opportunities. © 2024 The Author

A jó és rossz közti különbségtétel és a NAT

A NAT társadalomismeret tantárgynak a jó és rossz közti különbségtételre vonatkozó követelménye a 4. osztályos tanuló számára csak akkor reális, ha a tananyagban a bűnök és erények ismertetése szerepel. Sőt, mivel a jó és rossz közti különbségtételnél több fokozat lehetséges, ez a követelmény magasabb osztályokban is szerepelhetne, ha a magasabb szintű követelményhez a megfelelő tananyagot is biztosítjuk. Alapfokon elég, ha a tanuló különbséget tud tenni bűn és erény között. Középfokon erkölcsileg meg kell tudni ítélni egy cselekvést, egy folyamatot, egy kapcsolatot. Felsőfokon pedig erkölcsi ítéletet kell tudni mondani egy tv-darabról, egy regényről, vagy egy jogszabályról. A különbségtételt megnehezíti az a tény, hogy ma a társadalom sok bűnt nem tart annak, sőt néha a bűnből erényt csinálnak. A különbségek elbizonytalanodásának az oka, hogy elvesztettük a vonatkozási alapot