Abstract
We tested several sample pre-treatment protocols for the study of oxygen isotope ratios in the phosphate phase of mammalian enamel of ten different fossil samples. We investigated the effect of different pre-treatment methods and the duration of the hydrogen fluoride treatment on enamel samples from skeletal phosphate with known δ18O values. The samples had been measured previously, so we could compare the ratios measured in our laboratory with the previous values to choose the best chemical preparation procedure. Four pre-soaking methods and two different time intervals of 2 mol dm−3 hydrogen fluoride treatment were compared during our experiments. In our experimental conditions, the distilled water wash and the 6 h of soaking in hydrogen fluoride gave the closest results to the expected δ-values. The steps of the tested preparation processes were repeated at least three times on each sample, so the reproducibility of the process could be also investigated.
Abstract
The growth in Budapest's population at the end of the 19th century was based on the influx of migrants from the countryside, mostly industrial workers. The examination of the social tensions generated by their arrival provides a good illustration of the changes in social policy, one element of which was the operation of soup kitchens. In the mid-19th century, the main driving force behind the founding of soup kitchens was individual religious charity, although by the end of the century, social solidarity and state involvement also contributed to the relief efforts. The present study examines the development of soup kitchens in Budapest based on the historical sources: official documents, and the contemporary press. Using the ethnographic findings of food culture research, it seeks to explain why official soup kitchens were not popular. From an ethnographic point of view, the process of lifestyle change among workers newly breaking away from peasant life and moving to Budapest and its metropolitan area has been little explored to date, and the same applies to the embourgeoisement of the peasantry. When interpreting the processes that accompany labor migration, parallels can be drawn between the eating habits of the workers' regions of origin, the value systems connected with work and food, and the common meals organized for agricultural workers when working away from home. Through a historical and ethnographic approach, the transitional, evolving features of urban foodways emerge in the context of soup kitchens in parallel with the change in lifestyle.
Abstract
In in vivo infection trials, rainbow trout eyed eggs were exposed to three Saprolegnia parasitica (Oomycota) isolates, which differed in biological and genetic characteristics. Infection prevalence, hatching rate, hatching dynamics of fish eggs were quantified, and the study was complemented with histopathology and phylogenetic analyses. We experimentally detected intraspecific differences in the pathogenicity of S. parasitica on rainbow trout eggs. The isolate from rainbow trout eggs was the most virulent to eggs of the same host, whereas isolates from carp skin and fry did not cause as much damage to the eggs. Comparing the outcome of two experimental settings, we confirmed that invasion of fish eggs is more effective by hyphae growth than by the actively moving zoospores. In addition, our findings highlighted that S. parasitica isolates with 100% identical ITS DNA sequences, could differ significantly in virulence. These isolates can be clearly distinguished based on a 650-bp DNA fragment of the DNA-directed RNA polymerase II subunit (RPB2) gene.
Abstract
As a principal pigment in plants, chlorophyll a (Chl a) is widely used to evaluate quality changes and senescence process during storage of leafy vegetables. The determination of Chl a in plant extracts by spectrophotometric methods using various empirical equations is often unreliable. Considering the sensitivity of fluorescence detection, we report here a simple, inexpensive spectrofluorimetric method that can detect and quantify Chl a in plant extracts. The fluorescence standard used for the quantitative determination of Chl a was isolated in our laboratory from the extract of Anthrospira platensis (Spirulina). The method proved to be reliable, fast, and low cost in a study of the influence of the most commonly used domestic storage conditions on Chl a degradation in fresh-cut arugula.
Abstract
The introduction of school meals in the 20th century has its roots in several parallel but independent initiatives. The common source of these initiatives was the practice of philanthropy and charity, based on religious upbringing. Public catering for children was first institutionalized in Budapest by a charitable organization, the Children's Society (Gyermekbarátok Egyesülete), after which several denominational associations followed suit. In the early 20th century, the City of Budapest itself also took the initiative, setting up its first daycare centers where needy children were not only fed but also participated in educational and recreational activities. Resources for social welfare were eroded during the war, thus foreign aid organizations stepped in to help the children of Budapest immediately after the war, while childcare became the sole responsibility of the public authorities from the 1920s. From then on, the state covered the entire costs of providing meals, similar to the system of soup kitchens established specifically for supplying food to destitute adults.
Abstract
The Hungarian writer Sándor Petőfi (1823–1849) achieved the union of the Hungarian people thanks to the verses of his National Song (Nemzeti dal), which have always been quoted and recited with great interest. Therefore, the following paper aims to analyse some problems with the poem's translation into Spanish and present a new version of this emblematic poem for the Hungarians.
Abstract
Background
Mansonellosis is a widely neglected helminth disease which is predominantly observed in tropical regions. This study was conducted to assess potential associations of the prevalence of circulating Mansonella perstans-specific cell-free DNA in human serum and HIV infection in Ghanaian individuals.
Methods
For this purpose, serum samples obtained from Ghanaian HIV-patients (n = 989) and non-HIV-infected Ghanaian control individuals (n = 91) were subjected to real-time PCR targeting the ITS-(internal transcribed spacer-)2 sequence of M. perstans and Mansonella sp. Deux.
Results
Mansonella-specific cell-free DNA was detected in serum samples of only 2 HIV-positive and 0 HIV-negative individuals, making any reliable conclusions on potential associations between HIV and mansonellosis in tropical Ghana unfeasible.
Conclusions
Future epidemiological studies on hypothetical associations between mansonellosis and HIV infections should focus more specifically on high-endemicity settings for both Mansonella spp.-infections and HIV-infections, include higher case numbers and be based on real-time PCR from whole blood rather than from serum, in which only circulating parasite DNA but no more cell-bound parasite DNA can be detected. However, the study did not show associations of HIV infections in Ghanaian individuals with Mansonella worm loads high enough to detect cell-free Mansonella DNA in serum by PCR.
Grätzer and Lakser asked in the 1971 Transactions of the American Mathematical Society if the pseudocomplemented distributive lattices in the amalgamation class of the subvariety generated by 2 n ⊕ 1 can be characterized by the property of not having a * homomorphism onto 2 i ⊕ 1 for 1 < i < n.
In this article, this question is answered.
Abstract
This investigation analyses the academic research development over the last 30 years on behavioural finance in the emerging markets. We use Web of Science database to collect the bibliographic material and a VOS Viewer software to identify similarities by using bibliometric techniques. The results show a significant growth of research in this area, especially after the subprime crisis and highlights the emergence of sub areas of interest to researchers which have arisen in a natural fashion and without a previously defined orientation. There is still no consensus in the literature regarding the causes of this phenomenon and new questions emerge to expand research on herd behaviour in the emerging markets.
Abstract
This paper documents the relationship between advertising expenditures and stock prices. Using the data of non-financial firms from India, the paper shows that advertising expenditures of a firm are sensitive to its own stock prices and to stock prices of its peer firms during the period between 2000 and 2021. These findings remain qualitatively the same when we use different estimation procedures. The paper also shows that the relationship between advertising expenditures and stock prices depends on the level of product market competition. This relationship becomes more pronounced as product competition increases.
