Hunting for Stellar Coronal Mass Ejections

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are explosive events that occur basically daily on the Sun. It is thought that these events play a crucial role in the angular momentum and mass loss of late-type stars, and also shape the environment in which planets form and live. Stellar CMEs can be detected in optical spectra in the Balmer lines, especially in Halpha, as blue-shifted extra emission/absorption. To increase the detection probability one can monitor young open clusters, in which the stars are due to their youth still rapid rotators, and thus magnetically active and likely to exhibit a large number of CMEs. Using ESO facilities and the Nordic Optical Telescope we have obtained time series of multi-object spectroscopic observations of late-type stars in six open clusters with ages ranging from 15 Myrs to 300 Myrs. Additionally, we have studied archival data of numerous active stars. These observations will allow us to obtain information on the occurrence rate of CMEs in late-type stars with different ages and spectral types. Here we report on the preliminary outcome of our studies.Comment: 6 pages, submitted to the proceedings of IAU Symposium 328 'Living Around Active Stars

CONCENTRATIONS OF CITRATE AND KETONE BODIES IN COW´S RAW MILK

The milk composition of high-yielding dairy cows is highly related to their nutrition. The energy deficiency in dairy cows can cause subclinical or clinical ketosis. In ketotic state the concentration of ketone bodies (acetone, AC; acetoacetic acid, ACAC; and β-hydroxybutyric acid, BOHB) increases in the different body fluids and simultaneously, changes in concentration of other compounds are also expected. The authors´ hypothesis is that the members of the TCA-cycle, such as citric acid (CA) also change in association of increased formation of ketone body. To support this hypothesis the concentrations of ketone body components and CA were parallel measured and their relationship was studied in raw milk samples. Based on the AC concentration of the milk samples two groups were formed retrospectively: High Acetone (HA) Group (n=41) of AC concentration >0.4mM and Low Acetone (LA) Group (n=78) with the AC level ≤ 0.4 mM. In all samples very low ACAC level was found, which is a consequence of the spontaneous decarboxylation of ACAC to AC during the usual sample storage. Focusing on the results of HA Group the authors found significant relationship between CA and ketone bodies and a parallel drop of AC and CA during the metabolically crucial first 1-4 weeks of lactation. For this reason they suggest to introduce simple, easy, automated methods to determine AC and/or CA concentration in raw milk

The effect of feeding different glycerol sources on the performance of lactating sows

Glycerol is a by-product of the biodiesel industry and it might be a good alternative to moderate the energy deficiency of sows during the lactation period. Preliminary experiments were carried out to test the effect of a powder, solid based “food grade” glycerol source with 72.9% glycerol content (Trial 1) and a liquid “feed grade” glycerol source with 86% glycerol content (Trial 2) on the performance of lactating sows and their litters. Trial 1 was conducted with 5 Hungarian Large White×Hungarian Landrace sows/treatment (313±24.9 kg) and Trial 2 with 12–12 DanAvl (323±17.0 kg) sows and their litters/treatment. Neither the solid, powder based glycerol (Trial 1), nor the liquid glycerol source (Trial 2) had significant effect on the feed intake, reduction in live weight and back-fat thickness, and weaning-tooestrus interval (p>0.05) of lactating sows. In Trial 2, on the 14th, 21st and 27th days of lactation the milk samples were collected and it was found that 50 kg/t glycerol decreased the protein content of milk samples (p<0.05). Glycerol supplementation had no effect on dry matter, fat, lactose content of milk samples (p>0.05). In Trial 2, no significant difference was found between control and experimental sow groups in triglyceride concentration of blood samples and in the activity of liver enzymes (ALT, AST, GGT; p>0.05), but the concentration of plasma glucose and cholesterol increased tendentiously (p<0.10). Based on our preliminary results, it can be concluded that additional dose trials are needed to perform in order to study the effect of glycerol supplement on milk production and on metabolic processes of lactating sows

Balatoni nagyfelbontású (egycsatornás) szeizmikus szelvények szedimentológiai, sztratigráfiai értelmezése és korrelációja a Balaton környékén felszínen kibukkanó üledékekkel = Sedimentological and stratigraphical interpretation of ultrahigh-resolution (single-channel) seismic profiles acquired on the Lake Balaton and their correlation with outcrop data

Célunk a Balaton holocén iszapja alatt és a környékén felszínen található pannóniai összlet őskörnyezeti és integrált sztratigráfiai értelmezése volt. Következtetéseink terepi szedimentológiai, paleontológiai észleléseken, fúrási adatokon, geoelektromos és földradar méréseken, kísérleti terepi gammaszelvényeken, valamint ultra-nagyfelbontású, kb. 25 m behatolású, vizi szeizmikus szelvények értelmezésén alapulnak. A Pannon-tó "Bakonyi-félsziget" alkotta peremén, a tó kialakulásának transzgressziv fázisában a parthomlok erősen mozgatott vízében fövenypartokon, öblökben és jelentős üledékbehozatalt jelző, ám lokális anyagból épülő Gilbert-deltákon ülepedett a Kállai Homok. Ezzel egyidőben a hullámbázis alatti mélységű nyíltvízben Száki Agyagmárga halmozódott fel. A tó fejlődésének regresszív szakaszában ettől jelentősen eltérő őskörnyezet alakult ki. Az Alpok-Kárpátok felöl érkező üledékkel a Kisalföld medencéjének feltöltése után, a Dunántúli-középhegység sekély vízzel borított öve is feltöltődött, kiterjedt deltasíkság formájában. Gazdag és változatos nyíltvizi faunával jellemezhető homok-aleurit a deltaelőtér hullámbázisnál alig mélyebb vizében Somlói Formációként ülepedett. A delta torkolatok előreépülésével a síkságon öblök képződtek, melyek rétegsorát a rövid idejű, néhány méteres tószintváltozások és a gyakori torkolat-áthelyeződések során kialakuló, ősmaradványtartalommal párhuzamosan változó aleurit-finomhomok-huminites agyag ciklusok épitik fel (Tihanyi Formáció). | The objective was paleoenvironmental and integrated stratigraphical interpretation of the Late Miocene Lake Pannon deposits that underlie the Holocene mud of Lake Balaton and are exposed in the vicinity of that lake. Conclusions are based on sedimentological and paleontological observations in the field, well data analysis, geoelectric and GPR measurements, pilot studies of gamma ray in outcrops, and ultra-high resolution seismic images. The sedimentary history of Lake Pannon along the southern margin of the Bakony peninsula was controlled first by transgression, then by intense regression. During the transgressive interval, sand and gravel (Kálla Fm) were deposited in Gilbert-type deltas built from local sediment sources, and in the strongly agitated shoreface to foreshore of embayments. At the same time, the Szák Claymarl was deposited in sublittoral environments. By the second phase, however, the paleogeography had considerably changed. Sediments originating from the Alps and Carpathians filled the Kisalföld basin and then levelled the shallow basins of the Transdanubian Range by deltaic deposits. In the prodelta, below the wave base, silt and sand of the Somló Fm were deposited. This environment was characterized by rich and diverse brackish-water fauna. The interdistributary bays of the deltaplain were filled by cyclic repetition of silt-fine sand-huminitic clay, controlled by high-frequency, low-amplitude lake level changes and frequent channel avulsions (Tihany Fm)

Újrakezdett kezelés hatása fokozottan védett kékperjés láprét fitomasszájára, faj és virággazdagságára.

A Gyertyán kúti-réteken (Zempléni-hegység) 1993-ban kezdtük felhagyott gyepek rekonstrukciójának vizsgálatát. Junco-Molinion állományokban két kézi kaszával kaszált és két kontroll parcellán belül állandó jelölésű mintanégyzetekben a 12 éven át ismételt kaszálás vegetációra gyakorolt hatását mértük fel. Parcellánként 20 db 1 m2-es kvadrátban felvettük a fajonkénti borítást és a generatív hajtások számát, illetve 32 db 10×10 cm-es fitomassza mintát vettünk. A fűnemű (fű, sás, szittyó), dudva (kétszikűek, Orchidaceae, Iridaceae és Liliaceae taxonok) és holt fitomassza frakciók tömegét légszáraz állapotban mértük. Az összfajszám, a dudvák fajszáma szignifikánsan magasabb, a fűneműek virágzási sikere, fitomasszája és a holt fitomassza mennyisége szignifikánsan alacsonyabb volt a kezelt területeken. A kaszálás a fűnemű csoport fitomasszáját, produktivitását csökkentve segíti faj- és virággazdagabb gyepek kialakítását és fenntartását

A convenient method to pre-screen candidate guide RNAs for CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing by NHEJ-mediated integration of a 'self-cleaving' GFP-expression plasmid.

The efficacies of guide RNAs (gRNAs), the short RNA molecules that bind to and determine the sequence specificity of the Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 nuclease, to mediate DNA cleavage vary dramatically. Thus, the selection of appropriate target sites, and hence spacer sequence, is critical for most applications. Here, we describe a simple, unparalleled method for experimentally pre-testing the efficiencies of various gRNAs targeting a gene. The method explores NHEJ-cloning, genomic integration of a GFP-expressing plasmid without homologous arms and linearized in-cell. The use of 'self- cleaving' GFP-plasmids containing universal gRNAs and corresponding targets alleviates cloning burdens when this method is applied. These universal gRNAs mediate efficient plasmid cleavage and are designed to avoid genomic targets in several model species. The method combines the advantages of the straightforward FACS detection provided by applying fluorescent reporter systems and of the PCR-based approaches being capable of testing targets in their genomic context, without necessitating any extra cloning steps. Additionally, we show that NHEJ-cloning can also be used in mammalian cells for targeted integration of donor plasmids up to 10 kb in size, with up to 30% efficiency, without any selection or enrichment