Komplex geokémiai és geofizikai mágneses kutatási módszerek együttes fejlesztése talajok toxikus és bioesszenciális nyomelemei mobilitásának jellemzésére = Integrated improvement of complex geochemical and geophysical research methods for characterisation of mobilisations grade of toxic and bioessential elements in soil

Magyarországon először végeztünk talajokon mágneses szuszceptibilitás mérést komplex ásványtani-geokémiai vizsgálatokkal kiegészítve. Célunk a nemzetközi környezetkutatásban alkalmazott, a nehézfém szennyeződések detektálását szolgáló módszerek adaptálása ill. a hazai körülményekre történő alkalmazása volt. A hazánkban legelterjedtebb talajtípusokon (barna erdőtalajok, homoktalajok, réti talajok, csernozjomok, ártéri talajok, szolonyec talajok) mért mágneses szuszceptibilitás és talajgeokémiai alapadatok alapján mind a módszer, mind annak elméleti alapjai vonatkozásában új elvi és gyakorlati következtetésekre jutottunk. Megállapítottuk, hogy egyes talajtulajdonságok (ásványos alkat, struktúra) hasonló nehézfém koncentrációk esetében is jelentősen befolyásolják a mágneses szuszceptibilitás értékeket. A szennyeződések detektálásánál - az eddigi nemzetközi gyakorlattal szemben - nem elegendő csak a felszínen mérni, hanem kontrollként teljes talajszelvény méréseket is be kell iktatni. Az eredmények részletes értékelésével megállapítottuk, hogy a talajok nehézfémtartalma és mágneses szuszceptibilitása közti összefüggés a bolygatatlan talajok esetében a legszembetűnőbb (esetünkben a csernozjomok, a barna erdei talajok, réti talajok). Az állandó és jelenlegi agrárművelés jelentősen befolyásolhatja ezt az összefüggést. A projekt eredményeképpen a módszer elméleti és műszeres háttere a hazai felhasználásra rendelkezésre áll | Magnetic susceptibility measurements completed with complex mineralogical and geochemical examinations on soils was carried out in Hungary for the first time. The purpose of the research was to adapt the methods used in the international environmental research for detection of heavy metal contamination, and to develop them to a method appropriate to the Hungarian conditions. We were led to new theoretical and practical conclusions concerning both the method and its theoretical background on the grounds of the magnetic susceptibility and soil geochemical basic data measured in the field and in the laboratory on the most common soil types of Hungary. We stated that certain properties of soils (such as mineralogy, structure, land use etc.) significantly influence their magnetic susceptibility even if they are characterized by similar heavy metal concentrations. When detecting the contaminations, it is not sufficient to measure only on the soil surface, but occasionally, as a control, the whole soil profile must be measured by applying the method. By detailed evaluation of the results we concluded, that the relation between the magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal content of a soil is the most conspicuous in the case of undisturbed soils (e.g. in our case chernozems, the B horizon of brown forest soils and meadow soils). This relation is strongly influenced even by the permanent or present agricultural activity with no heavy metal pollution

Ecotype-specific blockage of tasiARF production by two different RNA viruses in Arabidopsis

Arabidopsis thaliana is one of the most studied model organisms of plant biology with hundreds of geographical variants called ecotypes. One might expect that this enormous genetic variety could result in a differential response to pathogens. Indeed, we observed previously that the Bur ecotype develops much more severe symptoms (upward curling leaves and wavy leaf margins) upon infection with two positive strand RNA viruses of different families (turnip vein-clearing virus, TVCV, and turnip mosaic virus, TuMV). To find the genes potentially responsible for the ecotype- specific response, we performed a differential expression analysis of the mRNA and sRNA pools of TVCV and TuMV-infected Bur and Col plants along with the corresponding mock controls. We focused on the genes and sRNAs that showed an induced or reduced expression selectively in the Bur virus samples in both virus series. We found that the two ecotypes respond to the viral infection differently, yet both viruses selectively block the production of the TAS3 derived small RNA specimen called tasiARF only in the virus-infected Bur plants. The tasiARF normally forms a gradient through the adaxial and abaxial part of the leaf (being more abundant in the adaxial part) and post-transcriptionally regulates ARF4, a major leaf polarity determinant in plants. The lack of tasiARF-mediated silencing could lead to an ectopically expressed ARF4 in the adaxial part of the leaf where the misregulation of auxin-dependent signaling would result in an irregular growth of the leaf blade manifesting as upward curling leaf and wavy leaf margin. QTL mapping using Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) suggests that the observed symptoms are the result of a multigenic interaction that allows the symptoms to develop only in the Bur ecotype. The particular nature of genetic differences leading to the ecotype-specific symptoms remains obscure and needs further study

Hungary in the decade prior to EU accession, analysing the data (1990-2002)

Public opinion has always keenly followed the convergence of the economic and social role of agriculture. This is especially true nowadays when adverse opinions are expressed in terms of the worth of the sector. Agricultural society is divided and evaluates the process in a contradictory manner, based on different political, economic and emotional identities. As a result, we consider it reasonable to utilise a rich database to truly illustrate and evaluate the converged condition. We hope that experts dealing with agro-economic, economic and social policies will receive a realistic view of the changes that characterised the country between the years of 1990-2002

Release of PACAP-38 in episodic cluster headache patients - an exploratory study

BACKGROUND: Activation of the trigeminal-autonomic reflex, involving the trigeminal ganglion, the superior salivatory nucleus and the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is crucial in the pathophysiology of cluster headache (CH). Since pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-38 (PACAP-38) is present both in the SPG and the trigeminal ganglion (TG) and its role in migraine has been described, our aim was to determine the plasma PACAP-38 levels in different phases of episodic CH (ECH). Peripheral cubital fossa blood samples were taken during the ictal and inter-bout periods of male ECH patients and from age-matched healthy controls (n = 9). Plasma PACAP-38-like immunoreactivity (LI) was measured with specific and sensitive radioimmunoassay. FINDINGS: Significantly lower plasma PACAP-38-LI was detected in the inter-bout period of ECH patients than in healthy controls. However, PACAP-38 was significantly elevated in the plasma during CH attacks as compared to the inter-bout phase in the same subjects (n = 5). CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory study suggests that PACAP-38 may be released during the attacks of ECH. Further patients and long-term follow-up are necessary to reveal its function