94 research outputs found
Production Technology and Competitiveness In the Hungarian Manufacturing Industry
Following the big transformations of the 1990s, enterprise structure and technological level seem to
have become stabilised in Hungary. Under these circumstances it is especially interesting to identify
the elements responsible for competitiveness in general, and the role technology plays in development
in particular, according to managers experienced in production and marketing. This empirical
study â based on in-depth interviews and field research â summarises characteristics of the technological
level in the sectors examined, role of technology and labour in production, effects of foreign
direct investment, relations between competition and firm-level factors determining competitiveness,
and concludes by summing up those most frequently mentioned proposals that should be incorporated
into economic policy according to managers. Main findings indicate that more qualified,
more intensive and cheaper labour can be substituted for high technology. The competitiveness of an
enterprise is not determined by technology alone, but rather by a combination of technology, the parameters
of available labour and the costs of investment increasing productivity. The insufficiency
of inter-company relations, together with a shortage of available assets necessary for investment
constitute the major threat undermining the competitiveness of enterprises in present-day Hungary
PĂĄneurĂłpai regiszter: a Helicobacter pylori-fertĆzĂ©s kezelĂ©se. FerencvĂĄrosi adatok, 2013â2019 = Pan-European Registry on Helicobacter pylori management Results from FerencvĂĄros, Budapest, 2013â2019
Absztrakt:
Bevezetés: A påneurópai H. pylori-regisztert
2013-ban dolgoztåk ki az európai eradikåciós kezelések monitorozåsåra.
CélkitƱzés: Az eradikåciós kezelések hatåsossågånak
kiértékelése jåróbeteg-szakrendelésen. Módszer: 2013 és 2019
között 247 beteget regisztrĂĄltunk egy prospektĂv, nem intervencionĂĄlis
tanulmĂĄnyba. A fertĆzĂ©st endoszkĂłpos, szövettani, ureĂĄzgyorsteszt Ă©s
13C-urea-kilĂ©gzĂ©si vizsgĂĄlattal igazoltuk. A betegek elsĆ
kezelésként 7 napos hårmas (PPI + amoxicillin + klaritromicin vagy tinidazol),
mĂłdosĂtott szekvenciĂĄlis (10 nap amoxicillin 5 napig + tinidazol + levofloxacin
5 napig), 10 napos egyidejƱ négyes (PPI + amoxicillin + tetraciklin vagy
doxiciklin + metronidazol vagy tinidazol) vagy bizmutalapĂș nĂ©gyes kezelĂ©st
kaptak. MĂĄsodik Ă©s harmadik kezelĂ©skĂ©nt bizmut- vagy nem bizmutalapĂș nĂ©gyes
kezelést adtunk. Eredmények: Az eradikåciós arånyok protokoll
szerint az alĂĄbbiak: 82,7% (95%-os megbĂzhatĂłsĂĄgi tartomĂĄny: 68,1â97,4) (hĂĄrmas
kezelĂ©s), 85,2% (75,4â93,9) (szekvenciĂĄlis kezelĂ©s), 95,1% (89,6â100,0)
(egyidejƱ nĂ©gyes sĂ©ma), 82,8% (69,7â95,9) (bizmutalapĂș kezelĂ©s). A mĂĄsodik
kezelĂ©s 70,0%-os (52,6â87,4), a harmadik 54,5%-os (19,4â86,6) eredmĂ©nyt Ă©rt el.
KövetkeztetĂ©s: Az elsĆ kezelĂ©sben az egyidejƱ nĂ©gyes sĂ©ma
eredménye szignifikånsan jobb, mint a hårmas kezelésé, és nem szignifikånsan
jobb, mint a szekvenciĂĄlis Ă©s a bizmutalapĂș kezelĂ©sĂ©. A mĂĄsodik Ă©s a harmadik
kezelĂ©s eredmĂ©nye szuboptimĂĄlis. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(47): 1856â1863.
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Abstract:
Introduction: The Pan-European Registry on Helicobacter
pylori management was conceived in 2013 to monitor eradication
practices in Europe for 10 years. Aim: To assess the efficacy
of different eradication regimens in a single outpatient clinic of
gastroenterology. Method: Between 2013 and 2019, 247 patients
were registered in a prospective non-interventional study. The infection was
diagnosed either by endoscopy, histology, rapid urease test or
13C-urea breath test. As first-line treatment, the patients received
either a 7-day triple regimen (any of PPI + amoxicillin + clarithromycin or
tinidazole), 10-day modified sequential treatment (PPI + amoxicillin for 5 days
+ tinidazole and levofloxacin for 5 days), 10-day quadruple concomitant
treatment (PPI + amoxicillin + tetracycline or doxycycline + metronidazole or
tinidazole) or bismuth-based quadruple treatment. Bismuth or non-bismuth based
quadruple or alternative regimens were given as second- or third-line treatment.
Results: The eradication rates on per protocol basis were:
82.7% (95% confidence interval: 68.1â97.4) (first-line regimens), 85.2%
(75.4â94.9) (sequential treatment), 95.1% (89.6â100) (concomitant treatment) and
82.6% (69.7â95.9) (bismuth-based quadruple regimen). Second-line regimens
achieved 65.2% (48.2â83.0) and third-line therapy 54.5% (19.4â86.6),
respectively. Conclusion: The first-line concomitant regimen
was superior to triple and not significantly better than the sequential or
bismuth-based treatment. Second- and third-line regimens achieved largely
suboptimal results. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(47): 1856â1863
Development of a large-scale pathogen screening test for the biosafety evaluation of canine mesenchymal stem cells
Background
The action of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is the subject of intense research in the field of regenerative medicine, including their potential use in companion animals, such as dogs. To ensure the safety of canine MSC batches for their application in regenerative medicine, a quality control test must be conducted in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Based on guidance provided by the European Medicines Agency, this study aimed to develop and validate a highly sensitive and robust, nucleic acid-based test panel for the detection of various canine pathogens. Analytical sensitivity, specificity, amplification efficiency, and linearity were evaluated to ensure robust assessment. Additionally, viable spike-in controls were used to control for optimal nucleic acid extraction. The conventional PCR-based and real-time PCR-based pathogen assays were evaluated in a real-life setting, by direct testing MSC batches.
Results
The established nucleic acid-based assays displayed remarkable sensitivity, detecting 100â1 copies/reaction of template DNA. They also exhibited high specificity and efficiency. Moreover, highly effective nucleic acid isolation was confirmed by the sensitive detection of spike-in controls. The detection capacity of our optimized and validated methods was determined by direct pathogen testing of nine MSC batches that displayed unusual phenotypes, such as reduced cell division or other deviating characteristics. Among these MCS batches of uncertain purity, only one tested negative for all pathogens. The direct testing of these samples yielded positive results for important canine pathogens, including tick-borne disease-associated species and viral members of the canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC). Notably, samples positive for the etiological agents responsible for enteritis (CPV), leptospirosis (Leptospira interrogans), and neosporosis (Neospora caninum) were also identified. Furthermore, we conducted biosafety evaluation of 12 MSC batches intended for therapeutic application. Eleven MSC batches were found to be free of extraneous agents, and only one tested positive for a specific pathogen, namely, canine parvovirus.
Conclusion
In this study, we established and validated reliable, highly sensitive, and accurate nucleic acid-based testing methods for a broad spectrum of canine pathogens
Neocortical Axon Arbors Trade-off Material and Conduction Delay Conservation
The brain contains a complex network of axons rapidly communicating information between billions of synaptically connected neurons. The morphology of individual axons, therefore, defines the course of information flow within the brain. More than a century ago, RamĂłn y Cajal proposed that conservation laws to save material (wire) length and limit conduction delay regulate the design of individual axon arbors in cerebral cortex. Yet the spatial and temporal communication costs of single neocortical axons remain undefined. Here, using reconstructions of in vivo labelled excitatory spiny cell and inhibitory basket cell intracortical axons combined with a variety of graph optimization algorithms, we empirically investigated Cajal's conservation laws in cerebral cortex for whole three-dimensional (3D) axon arbors, to our knowledge the first study of its kind. We found intracortical axons were significantly longer than optimal. The temporal cost of cortical axons was also suboptimal though far superior to wire-minimized arbors. We discovered that cortical axon branching appears to promote a low temporal dispersion of axonal latencies and a tight relationship between cortical distance and axonal latency. In addition, inhibitory basket cell axonal latencies may occur within a much narrower temporal window than excitatory spiny cell axons, which may help boost signal detection. Thus, to optimize neuronal network communication we find that a modest excess of axonal wire is traded-off to enhance arbor temporal economy and precision. Our results offer insight into the principles of brain organization and communication in and development of grey matter, where temporal precision is a crucial prerequisite for coincidence detection, synchronization and rapid network oscillations
Obstacles and opportunities in the functionalanalysis of extracellular vesicle RNA â an ISEVposition paper
The release of RNA-containing extracellular vesicles (EV) into the extracellular milieu has been demonstrated in a multitude of different in vitro cell systems and in a variety of body fluids. RNA-containing EV are in the limelight for their capacity to communicate genetically encoded messages to other cells, their suitability as candidate biomarkers for diseases, and their use as therapeutic agents. Although EV-RNA has attracted enormous interest from basic researchers, clinicians, and industry, we currently have limited knowledge on which mechanisms drive and regulate RNA incorporation into EV and on how RNA-encoded messages affect signalling processes in EV-targeted cells. Moreover, EV-RNA research faces various technical challenges, such as standardisation of EV isolation methods, optimisation of methodologies to isolate and characterise minute quantities of RNA found in EV, and development of approaches to demonstrate functional transfer of EV-RNA in vivo. These topics were discussed at the 2015 EV-RNA workshop of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles. This position paper was written by the participants of the workshop not only to give an overview of the current state of knowledge in the field, but also to clarify that our incomplete knowledge â of the nature of EV(-RNA)s and of how to effectively and reliably study them â currently prohibits the implementation of gold standards in EV-RNA research. In addition, this paper creates awareness of possibilities and limitations of currently used strategies to investigate EV-RNA and calls for caution in interpretation of the obtained data
Cell-derived extracellular vesicles can be used as a biomarker reservoir for glioblastoma tumor subtyping
Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors for which treatment options and biomarkers are limited. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) produced by both GBM and stromal cells are central in the inter-cellular communication that is taking place in the tumor bulk. As tumor sEVs are accessible in biofluids, recent reports have suggested that sEVs contain valuable biomarkers for GBM patient diagnosis and follow-up. The aim of the current study was to describe the protein content of sEVs produced by different GBM cell lines and patient-derived stem cells. Our results reveal that the content of the sEVs mirrors the phenotypic signature of the respective GBM cells, leading to the description of potential informative sEV-associated biomarkers for GBM subtyping, such as CD44. Overall, these data could assist future GBM in vitro studies and provide insights for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods as well as personalized treatment strategies
Psychopathological features of irritable bowel syndrome patients with and without functional dyspepsia: a cross sectional study
Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FD) show considerable overlap and are both associated with psychiatric comorbidity. The present study aimed to investigate whether IBS patients with FD show higher levels of psychopathology than those without FD. As a preliminary analysis, it also evaluated the psychopathological differences, if any, between IBS patients featuring the two Rome III-defined FD subtypes, i.e. postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) and epigastric pain syndrome (EPS).Methods: Consecutive outpatients (n = 82, F = 67, mean age 41.6 ± 12.7 years) referred to our third level gastroenterological centre, matching the Rome III criteria for IBS and, if present, for concurrent FD, were recruited. They were asked to complete a 90-item self-rating questionnaire, the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R), in order to assess the psychological status. Comparisons between groups were carried out using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test.Results: Patients with IBS only were 56 (68.3%, F = 43, mean age 41.6 ± 13.3 years) and patients with both IBS and FD were 26 (31.7%, F = 24, mean age 41.8 ± 11.5 years), 17 of whom had PDS and 9 EPS. Patients with both IBS and FD scored significantly higher on the SCL-90-R GSI and on eight out of the nine subscales than patients with IBS only (P ranging from 0.000 to 0.03). No difference was found between IBS patients with PDS and IBS patients with EPS (P ranging from 0.07 to 0.97), but this result has to be considered provisional, given the small sample size of the two subgroups.Conclusions: IBS-FD overlap is associated with an increased severity of psychopathological features. This finding suggests that a substantial subset of patients of a third level gastroenterological centre with both IBS and FD may benefit from psychological assessment and treatment. © 2011 Piacentino et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd
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