Városi aeroszol analízise Kelet-Magyarország régióban = Characterization of urban aerosol in East-Hungary region

A projekt célja légköri aeroszol tulajdonságainak és hatásainak vizsgálata volt Kelet-Magyarországi régióban. Célunk az ATOMKI IBA Laboratóriumában zajló kutatások folytatása, valamint bővítése volt új, nemzetközi szinten is jelentős vizsgálatokkal. Fontosabb eredmények: -Meghatároztuk a városi aeroszol forrásait, azok napszaki, napi és szezonális változásait. Egyedi részecske analízis segítségével azonosítottuk emissziós epizódok és a Cl eredetét. Új analitikai technikát, gyorsítós tömegspektrometriát alkalmaztunk az aeroszol fosszilis és biomassza eredetű komponensének szétválasztására. -Komplex felmérést végeztünk egy elektronikai alkatrészeket előállító cég gyártó csarnokában. A munkahelyi aeroszol összetételét, méretét, forrásait, keletkezési módját határoztuk meg ionnyaláb mikroanalitikával. -Megkezdtük debreceni iskolák felmérését. A tantermekben magas szálló por koncentrációt mértünk, amelynek számos külső és belső forrását azonosítottuk: pl. közlekedés, háztartási fatüzelés, tisztítószerek, meszelt falak, szőnyegek és kémiai kísérletek. -Az aeroszoltól származó terhelés becslésére kiszámítottuk a különböző részecskék emberi légzőrendszer mentén való lerakódásának valószínűségét. -Meghatároztuk egy átlagos kelet-európai város (Debrecen) aeroszol koncentrációjának, elemi összetevőinek és forrásainak hosszú távú tendenciáit és szezonális változásait 1993-2010 között. Kimutattunk Európa forrásterületeire jellemző elemösszetétel „ujjlenyomatokat” is. | The objective of the project was to study the properties of atmospheric aerosol in Debrecen and East-Hungary region by continuing and expanding the aerosol research in the IBA Lab of the ATOMKI with emphasis on characterization of urban aerosol sources and of investigation of indoor aerosol and personal exposure. Main achievements: - Urban aerosol sources and their hourly, daily, weekly and seasonal variation were determined. Origin of Cl and emission episodes was identified with the help of single particle analysis. To separate the fossil and biomass component of carbonaceous aerosol a new techniques, accelerator mass spectrometry was introduced. - A complex survey of the working environment of an electronic product company was made. Composition, size, sources, formation mechanism and evolution of workplace aerosols were determined. - A survey has been started in schools. Several outdoor and indoor sources contributed to the high level classroom pollution, e.g. traffic, heating and cleaning chemicals, wall paint, the carpets or the experiments in laboratories. - To estimate the exposure due to aerosols deposition probabilities along the human respiratory tract was calculated. - Long term tendencies and seasonal variation of the elemental concentrations, mass concentrations and of sources of urban aerosol in an average east-European city (Debrecen) were determined. Characteristic elemental fingerprints of different source areas of Europe were identified

The effect of the tramway track construction on the aerosol pollution in Debrecen, Hungary

In this study the effect of a new tramway track construction on the atmospheric aerosol concentration and composition in Debrecen, Hungary, was investigated. The tramway track construction started in 2011 and it was finished in 2013. PM2.5 and PM10 daily samples were collected with a Gent type filter unit in an urban background site 2 times a week. In addition, a sampling campaign direct next to the construction site was performed with 2-stage personal samplers between the 21st and 30th of September, 2011 – four hours a day, during work- ing hours. We studied the change in concentration and composition of fine and coarse fraction aerosol in comparison with the average of the past 5 years. An additional goal was to investigate the personal aerosol exposure near to the construction sites. In the urban background site a significant increase could be observed both for the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations for 2012 and 2013. In the elemental composition the concentration of Fe, Mn, Ni, and Cr increased significantly for the construction period. The PM10 concentrations measured direct next to the construction site were 10–20 higher than those measured at our urban background site or the data provided by the Hungarian Air Quality monitoring network. Days with very high Pb pollution level (3000 ng/m3) was also recorded

Characterization of urban aerosol sources in Debrecen, Hungary

Debrecen is an average middle European city from the point of view of aerosol pollution. Its locationmakes the city an ideal place for observing aerosol transport processes. Systematic investigation ofatmospheric aerosol of the east-Hungarian region has been performed in the Institute of NuclearResearch of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for 20 years by accelerator based elementalanalytical technique. As a complementation of this research we observed the size distribution andshort-term time variation of the elemental component of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10-PM2.5) urbanaerosol in the frame of sampling campaigns during 2007 and 2008 in a downtown site of Debrecen.Meteorological parameters were also recorded parallel to the aerosol sampling. Elementalconcentrations (Z ≥ 12) were determined by particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analyticaltechnique at the Laboratory of Ion Beam Applications (IBA) of the ATOMKI. On the obtaineddatabase six sources of the urban aerosol were identified: 2 types of soil, domestic heating, sulphateoriginating from long range transport processes, an unidentified source enriched with chlorine andtraffic. Emission episodes were also observed. The short-time variation of urban aerosol combinedwith meteorological data and with mass size distribution serves as a basis to reach a betterunderstanding of the aerosol sources in receptor areas, to select local emission and long rangetransport episodes, to follow the evolution of aerosol, and to make a better estimate on the healthimpact

A bioenergetikai profil vizsgálata 14C-glükóz és 14C-acetát oxidációjának összehasonlításával tumorsejtekben és tumoros szervezetben

A tumorsejtek anyagcseréjét a változó mikrokörnyezeti tényezõk mellett a tumornövekedést támogató genetikai mechanizmusok is befolyásolják. Napjainkban egyre nagyobb az igény a humán tumorok terápiás válaszreakcióinak vagy metabolikus profiljukra épülõ szubtípusainak vizsgálatára. A tumorsejtek és a tumort hordozó gazdaszervezet metabolikus/bioenergetikai jellegének tájékozódó igényû tanulmányozására alkalmas módszernek tartható a 14C-glükóz és 14C-acetát oxidációjának vizsgálata. Munkánkban radioaktívan jelölt bioenergetikai szubsztrátokból felszabaduló CO2 meghatározásával a tumorsejtek (in vitro sejtvonalak, illetve primer humán lymphocyták és leukaemiasejtek) és a tumoros szervezet (SCID, C57Bl/6) metabolikus aktivitását vizsgáltuk in vitro és in vivo. Megállapítottuk, hogy a szolid tumorból származó tumorsejtek többsége fokozottabban oxidálja a glükózt, mint az acetátot, míg a vérbõl izolált AML-, CML- és CLL-sejtek az acetátot oxidálták nagyobb mértékben, mint a glükózt in vitro. In vivo vizsgálatainkban azt tapasztaltuk, hogy a bioenergetikai szubsztrátok intravénás vagy per os adagolásakor kimutatható a tumorok hatása a gazdaszervezet glükóz-, illetve acetátoxidációjára. Elsõ adatot szolgáltattunk az emberi tumort hordozó gazdaszervezetek metabolikus profiljának változásáról xenograft modellen. Összefoglalva, eredményeink szerint több bioenergetikai szubsztrát oxidációjának összehasonlítása informatív módszer lehet a tumorsejtek in vitro, illetve a tumorok és a gazdaszervezet in vivo metabolikus profiljának vizsgálatában

Rapamycin (mTORC1 inhibitor) reduces the production of lactate and 2-hydroxyglutarate oncometabolites in IDH1 mutant fibrosarcoma cells

Background Multiple studies concluded that oncometabolites (e.g. D-2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) related to mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2 (IDH1/2) and lactate) have tumour promoting potential. Regulatory mechanisms implicated in the maintenance of oncometabolite production have great interest. mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) orchestrates different pathways, influences cellular growth and metabolism. Considering hyperactivation of mTOR in several malignancies, the question has been addressed whether mTOR operates through controlling of oncometabolite accumulation in metabolic reprogramming. Methods HT-1080 cells – carrying originally endogenous IDH1 mutation – were used in vitro and in vivo. Anti-tumour effects of rapamycin were studied using different assays. The main sources and productions of the oncometabolites (2-HG and lactate) were analysed by 13C-labeled substrates. Alterations at protein and metabolite levels were followed by Western blot, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry using rapamycin, PP242 and different glutaminase inhibitors, as well. Results Rapamycin (mTORC1 inhibitor) inhibited proliferation, migration and altered the metabolic activity of IDH1 mutant HT-1080 cells. Rapamycin reduced the level of 2-HG sourced mainly from glutamine and glucose derived lactate which correlated to the decreased incorporation of 13C atoms from 13C-substrates. Additionally, decreased expressions of lactate dehydrogenase A and glutaminase were also observed both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions Considering the role of lactate and 2-HG in regulatory network and in metabolic symbiosis it could be assumed that mTOR inhibitors have additional effects besides their anti-proliferative effects in tumours with glycolytic phenotype, especially in case of IDH1 mutation (e.g. acute myeloid leukemias, gliomas, chondrosarcomas). Based on our new results, we suggest targeting mTOR activity depending on the metabolic and besides molecular genetic phenotype of tumours to increase the success of therapies

Micro-PIXE studies on prehistoric chert tools: elemental mapping to determine Palaeolithic lithic procurement

This paper contributes to an understanding of the distances and choices involved in raw material procurement strategies by Upper Palaeolithic communities through a Pyrenean geoarchaeological case study. Methodologically it involved using Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) with a focused proton beam to determine the concentration and distribution of elements in geological samples from three natural primary outcrops belonging to two geological formations outcropping in the French side of the Pyrenees. While it was not possible to distinguish the formation through reference to major and minor elements, some variations were revealed at the trace elemental level. With the aim to determine if these elements were associated with the Si matrix or to a specific inclusion, elemental maps were acquired and the elemental composition of the identified inclusions were also determined. These chemical signatures were then compared to those generated from archaeological artefacts from sites in northern Spain as a means of reconstructing the catchment areas used by prehistoric groups for their chert procurement. The results indicate the existence of trans-Pyrenean long distance procurement strategies during the Magdalenian (13700 to the 18800 cal BP)