Development and validation of an LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of L-DOPA in oat

L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), currently the most effective known therapeutic agent for the symptomatic relief of Parkinson’s disease, is one of the highly active allelochemicals that inhibit the growth and development of certain plant species. A tropical legume, Mucuna pruriens, has been shown to contain from 2 to 7% L-DOPA. However, little is known about the L-DOPA contents of other plants. The aim of our work was to develop and validate a simple method for the LC-MS/MS determination of L-DOPA in different oat varieties. During the development of the method, various LC and MS parameters were optimized from the aspect of sensitivity. In the final method, the calibration curve was linear over the concentration range 10-10,000 pg/μl. L-DOPA could be detected at 18 μg/kg level through use of the [(M+H)-NH3]+ fragment of the [M+H]+ molecular ion. The intraday precision and accuracy were all within acceptable ranges

An Experiential comparative analysis of two remote usability testing methods

Remote usability testing is a key tool for usability professionals. Several remote methods exist and it is often difficult to choose the appropriate method. Testing lower-fidelity prototypes often present unique problems because they provide minimally aesthetic and minimally interactive partial representations of a final product. This qualitative and experiential pilot study is an attempt to compare a remote synchronous (RS) usability testing method where the moderator and participant are displaced by space, and a remote asynchronous (RA) usability testing method where the moderator and participant are displaced by both time and space. An important byproduct of the comparison is the creation of a low-cost, online asynchronous testing mechanism. The results show that the usability issues and participant experience vary between remote synchronous and asynchronous usability testing. While the remote asynchronous method does not require a test moderator and participants find it more convenient to complete the test whenever he or she chooses, participants may require clarification on tasks and usability issues discovered during the test. Participants are also critical of the remote asynchronous method and sometimes find it difficult to complete an entire session on his or her own time without anyone to guide them. Further research is needed to validate the results using a more controlled methodology

MYRIADS OF COMPETENCES THAT INTERWEAVE OUR LIVES

The subject of the paper is to highlight the importance and role, competences play in our lives. Aim of research: We are not aware of the fact, either, how many competences we have, and we actually use day by day for our social contacts. Result of research: Personal competencies (can) enhance employability, the chances of being successful and competitive in the labour market together with some personality traits that make a powerful impact on hiring decisions. Communication skills and linguistic competence also add a lot to selecting the ideal candidate not to mention intercultural and multicultural communication together with cultural intelligence, all of which have become essential in our globalised world. Socio-cultural competences are also regarded as key issues nowadays. Conclusion: One of the objectives of the paper was to give an overview of the most frequent key competencies that are prevalent not only in the labour market, but also in everyday situations. The present analysis mainly contains key findings from professional literature

THE ROLE OF SKILLS AND COMPETENCES IN THE NATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION AND IN THE LABOUR MARKET

Due to the rapid technological, technical and economic development in the 21st century, knowledge and learning have become decisive economic factors and the role of human resources has also come in the limelight. The competitiveness of an entire national economy, a region or even a continent is basically determined by human resources with the suitable competencies. The labour market is in need of graduates who possess not only expertise in its strict sense but also master some economic, IT and foreign language skills. The free movement of labour is only of benefit to those who are able to communicate in a foreign language at a suitable level in addition to having specialised knowledge. We set out to carry out a questionnaire-based study to prove that attitudes in higher education need to be changed. The findings clearly show that both the students and the employers agree that the effectiveness of foreign language teaching needs to be improved and that students should be equipped with broader and more modern knowledge in the fields of finance, accountancy, law, economics and marketing. At the same time, today’s higher education is characterised by too many programmes and majors rather than the development of competencies meeting the real needs of the labour market. To sum it up, we can conclude that to improve Hungary’s competitiveness, the acquisition and the offering of the competences analysed in our research is indispensable. ------------------------------------------------- A XXI. század rohamos technológiai, technikai, gazdasági fejlÅ‘désének köszönhetÅ‘en a tudás és a tanulás egyre inkább gazdasági tényezÅ‘vé válik. Egy nemzetgazdaság, egy régió vagy akár egy kontinens versenyképességét is alapvetÅ‘en meghatározza a megfelelÅ‘ kompetenciákkal rendelkezÅ‘ humán erÅ‘forrás. A munkaerÅ‘piac a szűken értelmezett szakismeret mellett gazdasági, számí¬tástechnikai és idegen nyelvi ismeretekkel rendelkezÅ‘ diplomás szakembereket keres. A munkaerÅ‘ szabad áramlása csak azok számára jelent elÅ‘nyt, akik a magas szintű szaktudás mellett megfelelÅ‘en képesek idegen nyelven kommunikálni. Kutatásunk célja volt, hogy kérdőíves felméréssel támasszuk alá azt a tényt, hogy a felsÅ‘oktatásban is szemléletváltásra van szükség. A jelenlegi eredmények egyértelműen bizonyítják, hogy a hallgatók és a munkáltatók szerint is rendkívül fontos az idegen nyelvi oktatás hatékonyságának növelése, a pénzügyi, számviteli, jogi, közgazdasági és marketingismeretek bÅ‘vítése és korszerűsítése. Ugyanakkor a mai felsÅ‘oktatásra inkább a szakburjánzás jellemzÅ‘, mintsem a munkaerÅ‘piac igényeihez igazodó kompetenciák fejlesztése. Összegzésképpen elmondható, hogy Magyarország versenyképességének növelése szempontjából a kutatásunkban vizsgált kompetenciák elsajátítása és elsajátíttatása nélkülözhetetlen tényezÅ‘.competence, competitiveness, human resources, model, education, labour market, kompetencia, versenyképesség, emberi erÅ‘forrás, modell, oktatás, munkaerÅ‘piac, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

THE MANIFESTATION OF HEALTH-CONSCIOUSNESS IN FOOD PREFERENCE AND CONSUMPTION AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE ACCORDING TO AN EMPIRIC STUDY

In our study we set out to find answers to the question of how today’s secondary schools students in Hungary assessed certain food products. We examined in the target group also the development of relationship between the preference of a certain product and its assessment from the health point of view. We assumed that both the preference and assessment of food for its effects on health were not only influenced by the gender of consumers but also by the type of the school attended and to a large extent by the development level of the region of domicile. In conclusion, young people had shown some signs of awareness of what is healthy eating and they had been able to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy foodstuffs, but their consumption was still significantly dominated by what they considered to be pleasant food. A possible consequence of this finding is that nearly a quarter of young people and a third of boys consider themselves suffering from overweight. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Kutatásunkban arra kerestük a választ, hogy a mai magyar középiskolások körében milyen a megítélése az egyes élelmiszeripari termékeknek. Vizsgáltuk, hogy az élelmiszerek kedveltsége és annak egészségesség megítélése között ho-gyan alakul a kapcsolat a vizsgált csoport esetében. Feltételezésünk volt, hogy mind a kedveltséget, mind a különbözÅ‘ élelmiszerek megítélését az egészségesség szempontjából nemcsak a fogyasztók neme, de az iskola típusa és a lakóhely sze-rinti régió gazdasági fejlettsége is nagy mértékben befolyásolja. Összességében megállapítást nyert, hogy bár a fiatalok mutattak olyan jeleket, hogy ismerik az egészséges táplálkozás alapjait, illetve hogy különbséget tudnak tenni egészséges és egészségtelen élelmiszerek között, mégis fogyasztásukat ma még sokkal inkább az élvezeti jellemzÅ‘k dominálják. Talán ennek is köszönhetÅ‘, hogy a fiatalok saját magukról kiállított bizonyítványa alapján közel egynegyedük küszködik súlyproblémával – a fiúknak pedig az egyharmada!questionnary, high schools, level of healthy consumption, kérdőíves felmérés, középiskolások, egészséges fogyasztás szintje, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing,

Improving employability by means of personal competencies in HR

The subject of the present paper, among others, is to illustrate what employability means and what key business and personal competencies (can) enhance the success of employees and their competitiveness in the labour market together with some personality traits that have a powerful impact on hiring. Aim of research: An answer is also sought to the question of how competencies have been transformed, how their role was appreciated and re-evaluated and what skills and abilities are no longer necessary to be successful in the labour market versus the ones that were not required previously, but have become indispensable these days. Result of research: An overview of the current Hungarian labour market situation and specialities was given on the basis of our primary research. Conclusions: The present analysis contains the correlation between employability and (personal) competencies

International and National Trends in the Market of Eating Out

In our paper we examine the Western European and overseas trends of eating out by analyzing relevant secondary data. Behind the increasing role of eating out we can notice several economic social and value changes. One of the stressed factors is time, which has even changed food consuming habits. It is true both in national and international relations that consumers tend to rely on the services of eating out increasingly to have more free time at their disposal. Consequently there is less and less time on food preparation and cooking so new eating trends are on their way. We assume international trends are also reflected in the domestic market of eating out but in an altered form and their effect can be a bit delayed. Like on the level of food consuming preferences, dissonant trends also appear in eating out habits and, as a result the market is being further polarized.eating out, leisure time, national trends, internatinal trends

Neglected Basal Cell Carcinomas in the 21st Century

Although tumors on the surface of the skin are considered to be easily recognizable, neglected advanced skin neoplasms are encountered even in the 21st century. There can be numerous causes of the delay in the diagnosis: fear of the diagnosis and the treatment, becoming accustomed to a slowly growing tumor, old age, a low social milieu, and an inadequate hygienic culture are among the factors leading some people not to seek medical advice. The treatment of such advanced neoplasms is usually challenging. The therapy of neglected cases demands an individual multidisciplinary approach and teamwork. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common cutaneous tumor, usually develops in the elderly, grows slowly, and has an extremely low metastatic potential; these factors are suggesting that BCCs might well be the “ideal candidates” for neglected tumors. Five neglected advanced cases of BCC were diagnosed in our dermatological institute between 2000 and 2009. The clinical characteristics and treatment modalities of these neoplasms are discussed, together with the possible causes of the neglect