Evidence for Prehistoric Salt Extraction Rediscovered in the Hungarian Central Mining Museum

© The Society of Antiquaries of London, 2011This paper describes a group of wooden objects (a trough, ladder, mallet and other pieces) found in 1817 in a salt mine in north-eastern Austria-Hungary, now Ukraine, which have recently come to light in the Hungarian Central Mining Museum in Sopron. It presents new radiocarbon dates indicating that the objects date to the Bronze Age, except for one that belongs to the early medieval period. Their function is briefly considered in the context of recent excavation and survey work in Romania, and specifically the remarkable discoveries from Ba˘ ile Figa near Beclean, northern Transylvania, where several similar troughs and other objects have been found. Taken together, the finds shed light on the scale of salt exploitation in central and eastern Europe in prehistoric times.Society of Antiquarie

A diabetes mellitus kapcsolata a depresszióval, a szorongással és az életminőséggel

Many studies demonstrated that psychological factors play an important role in the development and course of diabetes mellitus.The focus of our research, among the first in a Hungarian sample, was to examine depression and anxiety levels and diabetes-specific quality of life in people with type 2 diabetes, to explore gender differences, and to analyze the relationship of depression and anxiety with diabetes-specific quality of life.157 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (women: 58.6%, men: 40.1%) were assessed for levels of depression Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale - Hungarian version), anxiety (Spielberger's Trait Anxiety Questionnaire) and diabetes-specific quality of life (Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life - Hungarian version).65% of subjects did not show depressive symptoms, but 56.1% showed moderate trait anxiety. More severe depressive symptoms (U = 1625, p<0.001) and higher trait anxiety (U = 1556, p<0.001) were significantly more frequent in women compared to men. Depressive symptom severity and trait anxiety were inversely and weakly correlated with diabetes-specific quality of life.In summary, the results suggest that the psychological state (depressive symptoms and anxiety) in patients with type 2 diabetes is associated with their diabetes-specific quality of life. Women with diabetes also have higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to men with diabetes.Psychological assessment of patients' depressive and anxiety symptoms and quality of life is recommended in the care of diabetic patients, and appropriate treatment is recommended as needed. This may improve patients' quality of life, therapeutic cooperation and disease prognosis. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(45): 1789-1797

Mechanism of hydration of biocompatible silica-casein aerogels probed by NMR and SANS reveal backbone rigidity

Starting from TMOS and implementing co-gelation in the sol-gel method, silica was hybridized with an industrial formulation of bovine casein. The hybrid alcogels were dried in supercritical CO2 to yield crack-free silica-casein aerogel monoliths of casein contents ranging from 4.7 wt% to 28 wt%. Cross-linked hybrid aerogels were produced from formaldehyde treated alcogels. The microstructures and the morphologies of the silica-casein aerogels highly resemble to that of pristine silica aerogels. The primary building blocks are spherical particles that interconnect into mesoporous networks (average dpore = 20 nm and SBET = 700 nm2/g), as shown by SEM, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and N2 adsorption-desorption porosimetry. Contrast variation SANS experiments show that silica and casein form homogeneous nanocomposite backbones. The interaction of water with silica-casein aerogels was investigated by SANS, and by NMR cryoporometry, relaxometry and diffusiometry. Even when fully saturated with water, the hybrid silica-casein aerogels retain their original, highly permeable, open mesoporous structures that formed under supercritical drying. This represents a unique and advantageous wetting mechanism among hybrid inorganic-biopolymer materials, since the strong hydration of the biopolymer component often causes the deformation of the backbone and the consequent collapse of the porous structure. Silica-casein aerogels are biocompatible and inert for CHO-K1 cells