Udder health investigations in a Hungarian fleckvieh small-scale herd, related to food safety

Data about the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the udders of Hungarian Fleckvieh cows and about their milk quality parameters is fairly lacking. The aim of this research was to evaluate the prevalence of mastitis pathogens in Hungarian Fleckvieh milk. This study was carried out in a small-scale (n=20) dairy farm in Pest county, Hungary. The cows were milked twice a day in a milking parlor with three stalls. Milk samples were taken from cows at similar stages of lactation and of similar age (n=14) three times during the lactation (beginning, midpoint and end of lactation) from udder quarters (n=168) at the beginning of milking for analyzing pathogenic udder bacteria, and from fully milked udders (n=42) for analyzing milk composition and somatic cell count. The 42 milk samples were divided into four groups by the type (minor or major) and prevalence of the pathogenic bacteria by udder quarter: 1 – all four udder quarters negative; 2 – minor pathogenic bacterial species in one udder quarter; 3 – minor pathogenic bacterial species in two, three or four udder quarters; 4 – major pathogenic bacterial species detected regardless of the case count. It was determined that the mean somatic cell count was 123 thousand cells/ml, moreover pathogenic udder bacterial species have been found in 31% (n=52) of the milk samples. In the investigation the mastitis pathogen most frequently encountered was coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS), which was present in two thirds of the positive samples (n=33). Of the major udder pathogens, Streptococcus uberis (n=13) and Staphylococcus aureus (n=2) were detected in the 168 samples. When major pathogenic bacterial species were detected even in one udder quarter, it significantly affected the mean somatic cell count of the milk of Fleckvieh cows. The elimination of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria is important not only from a food safety point of view, but it is also of paramount importance for the production of high quality milk products. Based on our results, milk with a low somatic cell count and of favorable quality can be produced when compliance with appropriate hygienic practice is ensured under small-scale farm management conditions

Fátlan vegetációtípusok azonosítása légi hiperspektrális távérzékelési módszerrel

Munkánk során egy szikes táj vegetációtípusainak osztályozását végeztük el, légi hiperspektrális adatok felhasználásával. A munka célja a hiperspektrális adatok alkalmazhatóságának vizsgálata volt e komplex társulásoknál, eltérő képosztályozási módszerek alkalmazásával. Vizsgálatunkban hagyományos osztályozó eljárások (Maximum Likelihood Classifier – MLC, Random Forest – RF és Support Vector Machine – SVM) eredményességét teszteltük 10 és 30 pixeles tanítóterületek felhasználásával. A mozaikolt hiperspektrális felvételen a zajszűrés és az információnyerés céljából MNF transzformációt alkalmaztunk. A légi hiperspektrális felvétel AISA EAGLE II szenzorral készült 1m terepi felbontásban. Társulástani besorolás és felszínborítás alapján összesen 20 vegetációosztályt alakítottunk ki. Az osztályokat további négy főbb élőhelykategóriába soroltuk: sztyeppék, nyílt szikes gyepek, szikes rétek, szikes és nem szikes mocsarak. Az SVM és az RF osztályozó eljárások, a pixelek számától függetlenül, majdnem minden vegetációosztálynál megbízhatóan működtek, nagy osztályozási pontosságot adtak. Az MLC bár nagy mintaszámnál nagy pontosságú osztályozást eredményezett, kis mintaszámnál számos osztály esetében alacsony megbízhatósággal működött. Az eredmények alapján elmondható, hogy a komplex fátlan táji környezetben a vegetáció osztályozásra az SVM megfelelő osztályozó lehet, mivel nagyobb pontosságot nyújt, mint az RF és az MLC. Az SVM bizonyult a legkevésbé érzékenynek a tanító területek mintáinak méretére, így alkalmas lehet azokban az esetekben, amikor néhány osztálynál az elérhető pixelek száma korlátozottan áll rendelkezésre

Evaluation of soil bacteria treatments on some physiological parameters of crops by spectral vegetation indices

The effects of soil bacteria treatments on barley and wheat (1. treatment: stubble decomposers + soil inoculators; 2. stubble decomposers + soil regenerators; 3. control) were studied at the Agricultural Research Institute in Kompolt on spectral vegetation indices which are closely related to photochemical processes and photosynthetic pigments in barley and wheat leaves. We applied in vivo field measurements: SPAD 502 relative chlorophyll meter and ASD Field Spec Pro 3 spectroradiometer. This work presents the results of the experiments in 2019, moreover, we compared them with our previously published investigations on several other crops (maize, sunflower, rape, barley) carried out in 2017 and 2018. In 2019 despite the significant level of the standard deviation of data in field conditions, treated (mainly with stubble decomposers + soil inoculators) wheat leaves could be characterized by significantly higher chlorophyll and water content, higher photochemical efficiency, and lower carotenoid content. In the case of barley due to the large standard deviation of data, we couldn’t reveal the beneficial effects of treatments by these methods. Due to the very rainy spring in 2019 some experimental plots - like K9 with barley – wre covered by inland water, which negatively influenced living conditions of soil bacteria. Despite this unfavourable conditions, the first treatment resulted in an 18.9% higher yield of barley and 27.8% higher yield of wheat, while the second treatment increased barley yield with 28.9% and wheat yield with 27.7%. In the case of wheat, spectral vegetation indices could indicate beneficial effects of soil bacteria treatments at the beginning of flowering, similarly to our results in 2017 and 2018 in case of maize, sunflower, rape, and barley

Effects of combined nutrient supply treatments on some physiological parameters of autumn wheat

The Fleischmann Rudolf Research Institute in Kompolt is not only famous for plant breeding but the institute also surveys the effects of different nutrient supply methods since 1918. In 2017, we joined this research supported by EFOP 3.6.1 project. Our aim was to investigate photochemical processes – which is one of the most determinant in case of yield – of crops by in vivo field measurements. We measured the chlorophyll content of leaves using Minolta SPAD 502. We used miniPAM fluorometer to determine actual photochemical efficiency and non-photochemical quenching of PSII during natural light conditions and also to evaluate the pigment (chlorophylls and carotenoids) and water content of leaves we applied field spectrophotometer (ASD FieldSpecPro 3). We utilized these methods by various treatments (1. treatment with soil bacteria + head and base fertilizer; 2. treated by only head fertilizer; 3. treated by only base-fertilizer) in field experiment of autumn wheat (4.1–2.43–1.19 ha) in June, 2017. The difference between treatments was clearly detectable. In the case of the first treatment, physiological processes were more intense and the ripening occurred earlier. The obtained yield was the highest in the case of the area treated by soil bacterial. Based on the results, the first treatment can be recommended in practice

Tőgyegészségügyi vizsgálatok egy hazai magyartarka kisgazdaságban; élelmiszerbiztonsági összefüggések

A vizsgálat egy Pest megyei kisgazdaságban történt, ahol magyartarka teheneket (n=20) tartanak. A teheneket naponta kétszer fejték egy három állásos fejőházban. Az állományból hasonló laktáció szakaszú és életkorú teheneket választottak ki (n=14), amelyektől a laktáció elején, közepén és végén a fejés elején a tőgynegyedekből (öszszesen 168 minta), majd a kifejt tőgyből (42 minta) gyűjtöttek tejmintákat. A tejmintákból (n=42) beltartalmi értékeket, szomatikus sejtszámot, valamint a tőgynegyedekből származó mintákból tőgypatogén baktériumokat határoztak meg. A patogén baktériumfajok típusa (kis- vagy nagyhatású fajok) és tőgynegyedenkénti előfordulásuk szerint a 42 tejmintát négy csoportba osztották: 1 - mind a négy tőgynegyed negatív; 2 - egy tőgynegyedben mutattak ki kishatású (minor) patogén baktériumfajokat; 3 - kettő-négy tőgynegyedben mutattak ki minor patogén baktériumfajokat; 4 - az esetszámtól függetlenül nagyhatású baktériumfajokat mutattak ki. Megállapították, hogy a vizsgált időszakban az átlagos szomatikus sejtszám 123 ezer sejt/ml volt, valamint a tejminták 31%-ából (52 db) lehetett kimutatni tőgypatogén fajokat. Vizsgálatuk során a leggyakoribb kishatású kórokozó a koaguláznegatív Staphylococcus (CNS) volt, ami a pozitív minták kétharmadában (33 db) volt jelen. A nagyhatású tőgypatogének közül a Streptococcus uberis (13 db), valamint a Staphylococcus aureus (2 db) tőgypatogéneket tudták kimutatni a 168 mintából. A nagyhatású patogén baktériumfajok akár egy tőgynegyedből történő kimutatása is nagy hatással volt az átlagos szomatikus sejtszámra, jelentősen megnövelte azt a magyartarka tehenek tejében. A patogén és romlást okozó baktériumok elpusztítása nemcsak élelmiszerbiztonsági szempontok miatt fontos, hanem a minőségi termékek előállítása végett is kiemelkedő jelentőségű. Eredményeik szerint megfelelő higiénia mellett kisgazdaságokban is lehet kis szomatikus sejtszámú és kedvező minőségű tejet termelni

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) in the assessment of inflammatory activity of rheumatoid arthritis patients in remission

Abstract Background: Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a biomarker increasingly used for the assessment of systemic inflammation. We aimed to evaluate suPAR for the assessment of inflammatory activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in remission. Methods: In our cross-sectional study we measured plasma suPAR and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels as well as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in 120 RA patients at various stages of disease activity and 29 healthy age-matched controls. Results: suPAR, CRP and ESR values were higher in RA patients compared to healthy individuals. When suPAR levels were analyzed according to DAS28 scores of RA patients, suPAR level in the subgroup with DAS282.6, but still higher than in controls [4.45 (3.33-5.56) ng/mL vs. 3.66 (3.10-4.67) ng/mL vs. 2.80 (2.06-3.42) ng/mL, p<0.0001, median (interquartile range)]. In contrast, CRP and ESR values were comparable in the subgroup with DAS28</=2.6 and in healthy individuals. We further analyzed the correlation between the number of tender and/or swollen joints and suPAR levels in RA patients in remission. suPAR values were significantly higher in patients with four tender and/or swollen joints than in patients with 2-3 or 0-1 tender and/or swollen joints. Conclusions: While CRP and ESR values indicate remission of the chronic inflammatory process in RA, suPAR values are still elevated compared to healthy individuals. suPAR might be particularly valuable in the recognition of inflammatory activity in patients who are in remission according to DAS28 scores but have symptoms of tender and/or swollen joints

Az első két sikeres, convalescens friss fagyasztott plazmával történő terápia hazai alkalmazása intenzív osztályon kezelt, kritikus állapotú, COVID–19-fertőzésben szenvedő betegekben (A COVID–19-pandémia orvosszakmai kérdései)

Introduction: At present, neither specific curative treatment nor vaccines for novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) are available. There is an urgent need to look for alternative strategies for COVID-19 treatment especially in the case of severe and/or critically ill patients with cytokine release syndrome (CRS).Aim: Convalescent plasma proved to increase survival rates in other severe viral infections. Therefore, convalescent plasma could be a promising treatment option for severe COVID-19 patients.Method: In our article, we present the first two critically ill Hungarian patients with COVID-19 infection treated with convalescent fresh frozen plasma.Results: At the time of plasma therapy both patients were on mechanical ventilation and received antiviral agents and a full scale of supportive care. Each patient received 3 x 200 mL of convalescent plasma of recently recovered donors with sufficient novel anti-coronavirus IgG titers. Subsequent to convalescent plasma infusion, oxygenization improved and inflammatory markers decreased in both individuals. As compared to pretransfusion, lymphocyte counts increased and interleukin-6 level lessened. Both patients were weaned from mechanical ventilation within 2 weeks of treatment. No severe adverse effects were observed.Conclusions: Our experience indicates that convalescent plasma therapy is well tolerated and could potentially improve clinical outcomes. Optimal dose and timing as well as precise assessment of clinical benefit of convalescent plasma therapy will need further investigation in larger, well-controlled trials. This is the first report of the successful use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19 infection in Hungary

Development of mismatch amplification mutation assay (MAMA) for the rapid differentiation of Mycoplasma gallisepticum K vaccine strain from field isolates

Mycoplasma gallisepticum causes respiratory diseases and reproduction disorders in turkeys and chickens. The infection has considerable economic impact due to reduced meat and egg production. Because elimination programmes are not feasible in a large number of poultry farms, vaccination remains the only effective measure of disease control. Differentiating vaccine strains from field isolates is necessary in the control of vaccination programmes and diagnostics. The aim of this study was to develop a polymerase chain reaction based mismatch amplification mutation assay (MAMA) for the discrimination of K vaccine strain (K 5831, Vaxxinova Japan K.K.). After determining the whole genome sequence of the K strain, primers were designed to detect seven different vaccine-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms. After evaluating preliminary results, the MAMA-K-fruA test detecting a single guanine-adenine substitution within the fruA gene (G88A) was found to be the most applicable assay to distinguish the K vaccine strain from field isolates. The detected K strain-specific single nucleotide polymorphism showed genetic stability after serial passage in vitro, but this stability test should still be evaluated in vivo as well, investigating a large number of K strain re-isolates. The MAMA-K-fruA assay was tested on a total of 280 culture and field samples. The designed assay had 102 and 103 template copy number/µl sensitivity in melt-curve analysis based and agarose-gel based assays, respectively, and showed no cross reaction with other avian Mycoplasma species. The new MAMA provides a time- and cost-effective molecular tool for the control of vaccination programmes and for diagnostics