Impact of long-term resource conservation techniques on biogeochemical characteristics and biological soil quality indicators in a rice green-gram farming system.

Nutrient management in resource conservation practices influence the structural and functional microbial diversities and thereby affect biological processes and biochemical properties in soil. We studied the long-term effects of resource conservation technologies on functional microbial diversity and their interactions with soil biochemical properties and enzymatic activities in tropical rice-green gram cropping system. The experiment includes seven treatments viz., conventional practice (CC), brown manuring (BM), green manuring (GM), wet direct drum sowing, zero tillage, green manuring-customized leaf colour chart based-N application (GM-CLCC-N) and biochar (BC) application. The result of the present study revealed that microbial biomass nitrogen (N), carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) in GM practice were increased by 23.3, 37.7 and 35.1%, respectively than CC. GM, BM and GM-CLCC-N treatments provide higher yields than conventional practice. The average well color development value, Shannon index and McIntosh index were significantly higher by 26.6%, 86.9% and 29.2% in GM as compared to control treatment. So, from this study we can conclude that resource conservation practices like GM, GM-CLCC N and BM in combination with chemical fertilizers provide easily decomposable carbon source to support the microbial growth. Moreover, dominance of microbial activity in biomass amended treatments (GM, GM-CLCC N and BM) indicated that these treatments could supply good amount of labile C sources on real time basis for microbial growth that may protect the stable C fraction in soil, hence could support higher yield and soil organic carbon build-up in long run under rice-green gram soil.

Strain measurement of abdominal aortic aneurysm with real-time 3D ultrasound speckle tracking.

OBJECTIVES: Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture is caused by mechanical vascular tissue failure. Although mechanical properties within the aneurysm vary, currently available ultrasound methods assess only one cross-sectional segment of the aorta. This study aims to establish real-time 3-dimensional (3D) speckle tracking ultrasound to explore local displacement and strain parameters of the whole abdominal aortic aneurysm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Validation was performed on a silicone aneurysm model, perfused in a pulsatile artificial circulatory system. Wall motion of the silicone model was measured simultaneously with a commercial real-time 3D speckle tracking ultrasound system and either with laser-scan micrometry or with video photogrammetry. After validation, 3D ultrasound data were collected from abdominal aortic aneurysms of five patients and displacement and strain parameters were analysed. RESULTS: Displacement parameters measured in vitro by 3D ultrasound and laser scan micrometer or video analysis were significantly correlated at pulse pressures between 40 and 80 mmHg. Strong local differences in displacement and strain were identified within the aortic aneurysms of patients. CONCLUSION: Local wall strain of the whole abdominal aortic aneurysm can be analysed in vivo with real-time 3D ultrasound speckle tracking imaging, offering the prospect of individual non-invasive rupture risk analysis of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Epidemiological study on varicose veins in Budapest.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the prevalence and risk factors of varicose veins and chronic venous disease in Budapest. METHOD: Data were collected using a questionnaire, as well as by performing physical and Doppler ultrasound examination of 566 adult inhabitants of Budapest and some neighbouring villages. RESULTS: The prevalence of lower-extremity varicose veins was 57.1% in the study population. Verified risk factors include advancing age, pregnancy, jobs requiring a lot of standing, blue-collar work and excess body weight. Neither female gender nor the use of oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy was identified as a contributing factor. CONCLUSION: Hungarian prevalence data and risk factors seem to be similar to other European countries.

Quantum dots modulate leukocyte adhesion and transmigration depending on their surface modification.

Although different nanosized materials, including quantum dots (QDs), are intended to be used for biomedical applications, their interactions with microvessels and their inflammatory potential are largely unknown. In this in vivo study we report that leukocyte recruitment is modulated in the presence of quantum dots. We found that the surface chemistry of QDs strongly affects their localization in postcapillary venules, their uptake by perivascular macrophages, and their potential to modify steps of leukocyte recruitment.

Platelet adhesion and fibrinogen deposition in murine microvessels upon inhalation of nanosized carbon particles.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND: The translocation of nanoparticles in the lung toward effector organs via the circulation is considered an important direct pathway for systemic effects of nanoparticles after inhalation. Recently, we have reported that a moderate dose of systemically administered nanosized carbon black particles exerted thrombogenic effects in hepatic microvessels of healthy mice. OBJECTIVES: This study addresses the questions of whether similar thrombogenic effects are also evoked upon inhalation of nanosized carbon particles (NCP) and whether NCP-induced hepatic platelet accumulation is associated with pulmonary or systemic inflammation. METHODS: Two and 8 h after a 24-h exposure to either filtered air or to NCP, intravital fluorescence microscopy of the hepatic microcirculation was performed in C57Bl/6 mice. Parameters of pulmonary or systemic inflammatory response were determined in bronchoalveolar lavage and blood/plasma samples. RESULTS: Inhalative exposure to NCP caused platelet accumulation in the hepatic microvasculature, whereas leukocyte recruitment and sinusoidal perfusion did not differ from controls. Fibrinogen deposition was detected by immunohistochemistry in both hepatic and cardiac microvessels from NCP-exposed mice. In contrast, inhalation of NCP affected neither the plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines nor blood cell counts. Moreover, the bronchoalveolar lavage data indicate that no significant inflammatory response occurred in the lung. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, exposure to NCP exerts thrombogenic effects in the microcirculation of healthy mice independent of the route of administration (i.e. inhalation or systemic intra-arterial administration). The NCP-induced thrombogenic effects are not liver specific, are associated with neither a local nor a systemic inflammatory response, and seem to be independent of pulmonary inflammation.

H1 tau haplotype-related genomic variation at 17q21.3 as an Asian heritage of the European Gypsy population.

In this study, we examine the frequency of a 900 kb inversion at 17q21.3 in the Gypsy and Caucasian populations of Hungary, which may reflect the Asian origin of Gypsy populations. Of the two haplotypes (H1 and H2), H2 is thought to be exclusively of Caucasian origin, and its occurrence in other racial groups is likely to reflect admixture. In our sample, the H1 haplotype was significantly more frequent in the Gypsy population (89.8 vs 75.5%, P<0.001) and was in Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (P=0.017). The 17q21.3 region includes the gene of microtubule-associated protein tau, and this result might imply higher sensitivity to H1 haplotype-related multifactorial tauopathies among Gypsies.