pH-oscillations in the bromate-sulfite reaction in semibatch and in gel-fed batch reactors

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Nesting activity of cavity-nesting bees and wasps is lower in small-scale apple orchards compared to nearby semi-natural habitats

Commercially reared cavity-nesting bees have been studied mainly in large, intensively managed orchards. However, knowledge on wild cavity-nesting bee and wasp communities and their potential limitations in smaller orchards remain insufficient. We compared the colonization rate of trapnests, nesting success, parasitism and response to flower resources of cavity-nesting bees and wasps between apple orchards and nearby semi-natural habitats (SNHs). Trapnests were placed in orchards and neighbouring SNHs. Colonization dynamics were studied and herbaceous flower resources were estimated. Furthermore, nest and brood cell quantity, number of alive offspring and nest parasitism rate were assessed. We found a higher colonization rate in the SNHs than in the orchards. Both bees and wasps made more nests, completed more brood cells and had a higher number of alive offspring in the SNHs. The number of bee nests in the orchards showed a positive correlation with the species richness of the flowering plants. The nest parasitism of wasps was higher in the SNHs. Apple orchards in the studied small-scale system were generally less colonized by cavity-nesting hymenopterans than nearby SNHs that can be important reservoirs of these ecosystem service provider hymenopterans. Our results highlight the importance of diverse flowering herbaceous vegetation in the understory that increased the number of bee nests in orchards and that could have a positive effect on the nesting activity of the bee species active in summer. Therefore, management practices that support flowering plant species in the understory vegetation are highly recommended in such orchards

Nemlineáris dinamikai jelenségek kémiai rendszerekben = Nonlinear dynamical phenomena in chemical systems

Időben és térben periodikus kémiai rendszerek (oszcilláló kémiai reakciók és kémiai mintázatképződés) új variánsainak előállítását, mechanisztikus vizsgálatát és az alkalmazási lehetőségek kutatását jelöltük meg célkitűzésként. -Előállítottunk egy új oszcillátor családot, amelynek általános összetétele: Mn(VII/IV/III)-H2PO2- -Pt felület. Az új rendszerek (3 variáns) a nyitott áramkörű elektrokémiai oszcillátorok közé sorolhatók. -Kidolgoztuk az oszcilláló kémiai rendszerek előállításának egy új módszerét. Alkalmazásával előállítottuk a Ca2+-ion, Al3+-ion és F--ion oszcillátorokat. -Előállítottuk a Briggs-Rauscher típusú oszcillátor család egy új tagját, megadtuk a valószínű mechanizmust és szimuláltuk az oszcillációkat. -A BrO3- -CHD-katalizátor összetételű oszcilláló kémiai rendszerek működését egy 30 reakcióból álló mechanizmussal szimuláltuk. - Mechanizmust javasoltunk a bromát-aceton-hipofoszfit-Mn(II)-Ru(II) összetételű oszcilláló kémiai rendszerben észlelt dinamikai viselkedés magyarázatára. - Előállítottuk a "kettős szubsztrát-kettős katalizátor"-t tartalmazó bromát oszcillátorban a primer oszcillátort (összetétele: BrO3- -BrAc-Ru(II)). - Egy pH-oszcillátorból és egy pH-érzékeny gélből összeállított rendszerben megkíséreltük az oszcilláció kémiai energiáját mechanikai munkává alakítani. Eredményeinket 13 közleményben (Össz. i.f. 60,8) publikáltuk. | The goals of the proposed research were to design new variants of chemical systems that are periodic in time and space, to study their mechanism and to look for practical applications. -A new oscillatory family (composition: Mn(VII/IV/III)-H2PO2- -Pt surface) was designed. The new systems (3 variants) belong to the group of the open circuit electrochemical oscillators. -A systematic approach for design of chemical oscillators was developed. The new method has significantly extended the number of elements that are able of participating in oscillatory processes. So far sustained periodic pulses in the concentration of Ca2+, Al3+ and F- ions were induced by using the method. -A new member of the Briggs-Rauscher type oscillators was found. Mechanism for explaining the oscillations was proposed. -A 30-step mechanism was suggested to simulate the rich dynamical behavior observed in the BrO3- -CHD- catalyst type oscillators. -The BrO3- -BrAc-Ru(II) subsystem was found to be the core oscillator what is responsible for the long lasting temporal and spatial periodicity that appear in the 5-component BrO3- -Aceton-H2PO2- -Mn(II)-Ru(II) batch oscillatory system. -An attempt was made to convert the chemical energy of the oscillatory reaction to mechanical work by coupling a pH oscillator to a pH-sensitive gel. -The results have been published in 13 scientific papers (Sum. i.f.: 60.8)

Disease course, frequency of relapses and survival of 73 patients with juvenile or adult dermatomyositis

Objective Our aim is to present the disease course, frequency of relapses and survival of juvenile and adult dermatomyositis (JDM/DM) patients. Methods Analysis was performed using data on 73 patients. The median follow-up for 38 JDM patients was 32 months and 78 months for 35 adult DM patients. Results 23/38 JDM patients (60%) had monophasic, 12/38 (31.6%) had polycyclic and 3138 (7.9%) had chronic disease. Among children treated only with glucocorticoids, 12/20 (60%) had monophasic and 8/20 (40%) had polycyclic disease. 10/17 (58.8%) children, who required second-line immunosuppressive agents, had monophasic and 4/17 (23.5%) had polycyclic disease. 18/35 DM (51.4%) patients had monophasic, 13/35 (37.1%) had polycyclic, 1/35 (2.9%) had chronic disease and 3135 (8.6%) had fulminant myositis. Among DM patients requiring only glucocorticoids, 12/20 (60%) were monophasic and 8/20 (40%) were polycyclic. In patients requiring second-line immunosuppressive agents, 6/15 patients (40%) had monophasic and 5/15 (33.3%) had polycyclic disease. Among patients with polycyclic disease, the risk of relapse was higher during first year than later in the disease course. None of the JDM patients have died, while 4 disease-specific deaths occurred in adult patients. There was no significant difference between the survival of JDM and DM patients. Discussion There was no correlation between relapse-free survival and the initial therapeutic regimen. Many of our patients had polycyclic or chronic disease. As relapses can occur after a prolonged disease-free interval, patients should be followed for at least 2 years. Although we found a favourable survival rate, further investigations are needed to assess functional outcome