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Health factor in food consumption
125-132Views:143Consumer lifestyle and health are relevant factors to understanding consumption preferences. In the last few decades the number of lifestyle diseases has dramatically increased. The main cause for these diseases is the change in lifestyle; including a lack of attention to physical activity and good nutrition. Health and lifestyle are important factors by purchase decision process. In accordance with these, I examine the consumer behaviour toward soft drinks with special regards to healthy lifestyle and the state of health. My examinations can be considered mainly as a
qualitative research, which can serve as a basis for further analyses and research, however, the conclusions and experience gained from it are worthy of consideration. I differentiated five soft drink categories: ice tea, carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices, mineral waters, sport and energy drinks and studied the consumer behaviour toward them. The study focuses on the consumption of these and the factors influencing their purchase with special regards to lifestyle. -
The effect of various composts on vegetable green mass on two soil types
179-183Views:359Composting of sewage sludges makes easier the utilization of sewage sludge in the agriculture and the composts in good quality could increase the nutrient content of soil. Due to the composting process, the sewage sludge composts with high organic matter content can be utilized in the same way as other composts or farmyard manure.
Composts produced in different ways have different effects on the physical, chemical and biological properties of different soils, although their positive effects have already proved in the literature. In our study the effects of composts from different composting processes were investigated in soil-plant systems. The different physical and chemical properties of the two examined soil types (arenosol and chernozem)strongly influenced the nutrient supply capacity of composts which could be characterized by the growth of ray-grass as a test plant in the pot experiment. In this work we examined the effects of three different composts on the green weight of plants on the fourth and eighth weeks after the treatment and sowing. -
Investigations on Mud on Heavy Metal Contaminated Flood-Plain of Tisza
96-101Views:611At the beginning of the year 2000 subsequently to a mine accident high heavy metal content mud entered the catchment area of the Tisza and was transported through the whole Hungarian section of the river. The majority of the heavy metals had been bounded to the floating sediment that was deposited on the flood-plain soil during flood forming a new, 5-10 cm thick layer. In the mud samples collected after the flood there was a clearly visible dark grey layer with significantly higher heavy metal content that was formed by the pollution wave and it was sorruonded by a light layer. The upper layer of flood-plain soils are formed from this mud layer during the soil development process, so the amount of Lakanen-Erviö soluble heavy metals that correlate with bioavailable heavy metal content was examined as well. In this case only the lead content was significantly higher in the dark layer.
New mud samples were collected after the 2001 flood. Separate layers could not have been identified, their colour was similar to those of the previous year’s light layers’. Comparing to this light layer the total Zn and Lakanen-Erivö soluble metal content was significantly lower in the mud samples of the year 2001. While the proportions of total and Lakanen-Erviö soluble metal concentrations were equal in both of the layers regarding the elements, these ratios have significantly changed next year regarding Pb and Zn: the amount of Lakanen-Erviö soluble metals considerably decreased.
As a result of sequential extraction the heavy metal content was rather low in the water soluble and exchangeable and NaOH-soluble fractions, so heavy metals found in the mud could be released in greater amount only in case of a heavy acidification. -
Isolation of promoters of tissue and ripening-specific strawberry genes by TAIL-PCR and bioinformatic characterization of the sequences
91-99Views:148Isolation of ripening- and tissue-specific promoters has become a very important subject of the genetic regulation and plant physiology research in recent years. It could be possible to reveal the regulation of gene expression, and it may be a very useful approach in the biotechnology. In our work, we have isolated promoter regions of genes exhibiting ripening- and tissuespecific expression in our previous experiments, and the data were
characterized by bioinformatic methods. In the sequence of the ripening-specific Spatula and ACC-oxidase promoters (ACCoxidase is one of the key-enzymes of ethylene biosynthesis, directly related to the process of ripening); we could identify auxin- and ethylene-related cis-regulatory elements. This suggests that there is an interaction between ripening and ethylene-synthesis, in case of non-climacteric strawberry, too. We investigated the promoter regions of three green receptacle-specific genes (putative nitrilaselike protein, Ring transcription factor and an aquaporin protein)
and we could identify several regulatory elements, which refer to hormonal regulation. Additionally, we could find several cisacting elements which associated with stress-responsiveness and endospermium-specific expression. -
Mitigation of environment impact of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species
159-164Views:375The Fusarium fungi hazards the grain quality of cereals, therefore significantly affects their utilization as animal feed or consumable product. The Fusarium can decrease the quality of wheat in different ways: decreases the germination capability, causes visible discoloration, mould may appear, reduces the dry material and nutrient content of the grain, causes mycotoxin infection – as a result given by its by-product. Micotoxins produced by Fusarium genus, as the trichotecenes (T-2, HT-2, deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, Fusarenone-X) and the zearalenone (F-2) are the most common in Hungary. Occurrence of fumonisins first discovered in 1988 are must be identified carefully. About 20–30% of the overall worldwide production of cereals is infected with Fusarium and its toxins, which situation is similar in Hungary. This infection causes serious yield-losses in cereal production. In the case of cereal products, which non-utilizable as forage seems, an optimal solution is utilizing as biogas raw material, but it is also important to examine the effect of the infected cereal on the anaerobe digestion process.
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Role of hypothalamic neuropeptides in feed intake regulation of livestock species (literary review)
63-68Views:492Energy balance is the net result of the energy intake (nutrition) and expenditure (basic metabolic rate). The purpose of the daily feed intake is to provide energy and nutrients for maintenance, production and fill and maintain energy storages in form of glycogen and fat. Animals can adjust their feed intake to ensure their energy demand. Food intake regulation in animals and human is a very complex process, in which the digestive system, the central nervous system, the joining hormonal and non-hormonal factors, and the integrating hypothalamus take part. This review primarily focuses on the action mechanism of some important appetite regulating neuropeptides, and their impacts on the performance traits of the economically significant animal species.
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Evaluation of IT-Investments
378-386Views:163An informatical innovation is essentially a private business in the life of a venture but the ability of evolution and adaptability of ventures is remarkable for the national economy too. This is why it is important to observe the economical effects of IT investments. The introduction of an information system – as in the cases of other investments – requires pre- and post-calculations for payback of fixed assest, thrift and profitability. The operation of an information system means not only one-off acquisition of instruments and intangible assets, but requires continuous development, version control and improvement of hardware in the sake of conservation. There is a high rate of depreciation of IT investments in Hungary, because such goods change too quickly, together with the economic environment. If the conservation of IT instrument value wanted one has to make new expansions continually. IT specialists have determined some indices, one of which is Total cost of Ownership, which is an important indicator for investment analysis. In practice, there are some other models and methods we can adopt in our analysis. In this paper, I collected several relevant and usable methods for pre analysis of IT projects. Management can adopt these models in his investment process to make sound decisions.
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Influence of collective wine marketing on hungarian wine sector
37-41Views:159Nowadays, the importance of marketing is increasingly obvious. The number of those who apply those possibilities and methods provided by the marketing with which more efficient operation and higher amount of profit can be obtained is increasing. Special marketing fields have appeared that make the marketing characteristics of the single trades, product groups and industrial branches are widely known and utilized. During the more than 10 years following the changes of regime, the Hungarian wine market underwent a huge change. It is obvious, that this process has not stopped, and further market rearrangements may be claimed. The product and price policies have changed. Out of the marketing mix elements, mostly the marketing communication has changed, and the costumer has come to the centre. This marketing approach resulted in the formation of the newly established Hungarian Wine Marketing Public Benefit Company. The common marketing activity of the organization should have positive impacts on the industrial branch, although its efficient operation still has hindrances
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Influencing the growth kinetics of yeast strains with vitamin supplementation
113-115Views:240The aim of the current experiment was to optimize the creation process of single cell protein on plant-based substrate solution with the intention to improve end-product turn out by means of adding vitamin solution. Based on the results of the fermentation processes of yeast strains, it was concluded that the vitamin-supplementation produced its greatest effect on the dry matter production, primarily on the K. marxianus DSM 4908 strain, while it was less beneficent when it comes to the figures of wet cell mass. In addition, it can be assumed that vitamin supplementation increased the maximum specific rate of growth (μmax) and decreased the generation time (tg) significantly. In the case of the K. marxianus yeast strain on corn steep liquor treated with vitamin-supplementation, the highest (μmax) and the lowest (tg) data were observed [(0.226 h-1) and (4.4 h), respectively]. Based on the results it was found that K. marxianus DSM 4908 is expedient to be applied on corn steep liquor medium in order to determine its suitability to produce additive for feeding.
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Development of a New Maize (Zea mays L.) Breeding Program
25-30Views:253Genetic manipulation may not replace any conventional method in crop breeding programs, but it can be an important adjunct to them. Plant regeneration via tissue culture is becoming increasingly more common in monocots such as corn (Zea mays L.). In vitro culturability and regeneration ability of corn decreased as homozigosity increased, which suggested that these two attributes were controlled primarily by dominant gene action. Pollen (gametophytic) selection for resistance to aflatoxin in corn can greatly facilitate recurrent selection and screening of germplasm for resistance at a much less cost and shorter time than field testing. Integration of in vivo and in vitro techniques in maize breeding program has been developed to obtain desirable agronomic attributes, speed up the breeding process and enhance the genes responsible for them. The efficiency of anther and tissue cultures in most cereals such as maize and wheat have reached the stage where it can be used in breeding programs to some extent and many new cultivars produced by genetic manipulation have now reached the market.
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Comparison of Added Value between Bioethanol Production and the Most Important Animal Production Branches Based on Concentrated Fodder, as Potential Competitors
111-115Views:147There are an enormous amount (2-3 million t/yr) of corn surplus is available year by year in Hungary. Inland utilization is an unsolved problem, whereas export facilities of raw (unprocessed) material could not be regarded as optimal way because of logistical barriers and the very low producer’s price. There are two basic opportunities for the export of the surplus of maize with reduced transportational costs and higher value:
animal production and process of bio-ethanol. In Hungarian conditions both of them demand the same raw material so they should compete with each other for maize. Both need financial aid at least for the investment in order to reach profit. Decision makers are influenced by several factors in allocating of national supports between the differential branches, one of them could be the added value developing in the given vertical change. I will introduce and analyze the expectable added values of the abovementioned competitive activities. -
Investigating the potential for dual-purpose use in winter oats
35-42Views:400Dual-purpose usage is not a common technology for oats in Hungary, which is not surprising, as the area sown to our main crop is also very low. Yet the crop has a lot of untapped potential, not to mention its excellent nutritional parameters. In our experiment we investigated how much biomass can be expected after mowing winter oats at different phenological stages and whether we can expect a valuable grain yield after this process. Mowing was carried out at one-week intervals on a total of 4 occasions with 2 cutting heights. Plant height and NDVI values of the vegetation in the plots were measured during the experiment. After the harvest of the fully ripened grains, the yield and the thousand kernel weight (TKW) were determined. Our results show that with a lower cutting height (6 cm), a higher biomass yield can be achieved. The cutting height had no statistically verifiable effect on either NDVI or plant height. Droughty weather conditions during subsequent mowing significantly reduced the regeneration capacity of the plants, which was strongly reflected in the measured parameters. Furthermore, a higher grain yield was measured at a cutting height of 9 cm, which decreased gradually with the mowing time. Neither the cutting height nor the mowing time had any effect on the TKW.
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On the Knowledge of University Students About the Strategies of National Sustainable Development
232-240Views:173The definition of sustainable development has a past which spans two decades. Today it is evident that the three pillars of sustainable development – environment, economy and society – have a strong correspondence and equally effect on every people. The UN’s Environment and Development Conference in 1992 declared the requirement in the document of Objectives for the XXI. century, that governments should prepare national sustainable development strategies. The World Conference of Sustainable Development in August 2002 made a stronger decision: „the states should make immediate steps forward … defining and preparing their national sustainable development, and for the purpose to start its realization until 2005”. Most of the countries fulfilled these requirements, and the Hungarian government promises to prepare its national strategy by the end of 2004.
The aim of my study is to survey the knowledge of university students about the above mentioned process and generally about the topic of sustainable development. The selection of the target group is justified by the importance of young intelligentsia in the future. In order to examine their knowledge, I prepared a questionnaire and from the emerging primary data, my conclusion and statements have been deducted by a processing-analysing course, on the bases of which I made my suggestions. -
Experiment of quality properties of dehydrated fruits
7-15Views:198The lyophilization is the joint application of freezing and drying. It is an up-to-date conserving procedure, the point of which is that the humidity existing in the frozen humid material is transferred from the solid state directly into the gaseous state at a temperature below 0 oC under vacuum. Out of the procedures applied nowadays, this is the most tolerant drying process.
With regard to the high investment and operational costs, freeze drying is applied only for valuable, heat-sensitive materials when the technological aim is to preserve such properties as aroma, taste and colour as well as such components as proteins and vitamins. This procedure is suitable for drying and conserving certain foodstuffs, stimulants, organic chemicals, medicines and similar sensitive and valuable materials.
In our institute, we have been conducting freeze drying experiments with regional fruits and vegetables since the year 2005. During the first phase, we examined the heat- and material transfer as well as the abstraction of humidity, while during the second phase we analysed the rehydration ability and nutrient content of the freeze-dried materials as compared to those dried with the method of convection. Moreover we have conducted penetration measurements with a portable hardness tester.
To sum up the results gained so far, we can state that the quality of the lyophilized materials is better than those dried in the traditional way. It originates partly in the fact that the temperature and pressure applied for the freeze drying are smaller and the drying period is far longer than for the convection drying.
In contrast to convection-dried materials, freeze dried materials set in close to their original water-content, keep their original shape and size after being rehydrated. The reason of it the porous, spongy structure (flexible cell wall) of the lyophilized products which is able to take up moisture quickly. In addition, the lyophilized products can be rehydrated faster than those dried in the traditional way.
Regarding the results of the chemical analyses, the following conclusion can be drawn: the vacuum freeze drying results a small decrease of nutrient content and nutritive value for the lyophilized products.
The results of the hardness tests support the statement that the majority of agricultural materials cannot be considered as an ideal flexible body, because during the experiment the flexibility coefficient changed when going from the surface of the material inwards. In addition, the penetration tests also confirm that the surface of the convection-dried vegetables is at least 1.5-3 times harder than that of the freeze-dried products. The reason of it that it takes place during the drying denaturation processes.
The article summarizes the results of our research work listed above, in accordance with our experiments conducted by using the characteristic fruits (apple, plum) of the Nyírség Region. -
Land use changes in suburban areas – case study of Lublin
43-46Views:162The main reason to analyzing the space structure in the Lublin area is to determine the direction and pace of suburbanization in municipalities adjacent to Lublin, distinction factors and motives of population movements to the suburbs, complain rural-urban interaction and multifunctionality of land use. Housing development over the years was accompanied by confusion in planning documents and the law. Changes in regulations on land use in 1994 and 2003 in Poland additionally deepened the negative situation. Local authorities failed to control the spontaneous process of suburbanization, which adversely affected not only the spatial structure of municipalities, but also on local relationship, landscape, land use and the former urban systems. The result are long-term problems associated with incompatibility rural areas to support a growing number of residents, such as failure of the social and technical infrastructure.
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How does the S-locus determining self-incompatibility in stone fruits work in self-compatible peach?
93-100Views:288The majority of stone fruit species are self-incompatible, a feature that is determined by a specific recognition mechanism between the S-ribonuclease enzymes residing in the pistils and the F-box proteins expressed in the pollen tubes. Failure in the function of any component of this bipartite system resulted in self-compatibility (SC) in many cultivars of Prunus species. Peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.) is the only species in the Prunoideae subfamily that is traditionally known to be self-compatible, but its molecular background is completely unknown. Isoelectric focusing and S-gene specific PCR revealed that SC is not due to functional inability of pistil ribonucleases. We hypothesize that SC may be a consequence of a kind of pollen-part mutation or the action of one or more currently unknown modifier gene(s). Only two S-alleles were identified in a set of peach genotypes of various origin and phenotypes in contrast to the 17–30 alleles described in self-incompatible fruit trees. Most important commercial cultivars carry the same S-allele and are in a homozygote state. This indicates the common origin of these cultivars and also the consequence of self-fertilization. According to the available information, this is the first report to elucidate the role of S-locus in the fertilization process of peach.
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Using of e-learning in agricultural training programs
117-124Views:155We use the Moodle at the University of Debrecen, Businessand Agricultural Department since January 2007. The Moodle is an open source Learning Management System. Learning Management System (or LMS) which is a software package, which enables the management and delivery of learning content and resources to students. Most LMS systems are web-based to facilitate „anytime, anywhere” access to learning content and administration. LMS tracks student progress in a course and indicates completions. At the least, learning management systems
track individual student progress, record scores of quizzes and tests within an online learning program, and track course completions. The Moodle has more and more function at our Department in education. In January we worked to introduce Moodle in our Faculty. Therefore, we took lessons for the tutors about the usage of the Moodle. Our aim was to develop such a learning system, which is an integral part of educational process,
to improve the efficiency of agricultural higher education. -
A simple but powerful tool for the assessment of financial progress in EU co-funded grant programmes – Simple Progress Overview Tool (SPOT)
67-72Views:207Mid-term evaluation of grant programmes always aim to assess the financial progress of the programme. Progress to date assessment is conducted via addressing three issues: by overviewing progress so far, by exploring the reasons behind the current level of progress, and by answering the specific evaluation questions formulated as a result of progress overview. The Simple Progress Overview Tool is a method and a tool facilitating the overview of financial progress, supporting the exploration of reasons behind the current level of progress and enabling the identification of targeted further evaluation questions. The methodology applies the Du Pont approach of division to factors, in which the variable describing a phenomenon is divided into the multiplication of factors (milestone stages of the process) influencing the variable. Also, this division to factors facilitates the identification of reasons behind progress. The factors carry individually meaningful information to the evaluation of progress. This method was used by many EU member states including the Czech Republic, Romania, and Malta for the evaluation of progress in the course of the mid-term evaluation of their National Strategic Reference Frameworks.
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Evaluating economic value properties of different beetroot varieties
137-142Views:265The root vegetables have a pivotal role in the vegetable consumption and to form a healthy diet. The consumption of natural juices, like apple-beetroot are becoming more popular and the drying-, the pharmaceutical- and canning industry require more beetroot to process. For the processing, the industry requires easily peeled and round shaped roots, therefore to use the proper variety is very important. The primary quality parameters are the inner color intensity, uniform color and water soluble dry matter content.
4 beetroot varieties were evaluated (Libero, Rubin, Detroit 2 and Cylindra) in the 3 years experiment which was carried out at the University of Debrecen, Institutes for Agricultural Research and Educational Farm, Botanical and Exhibiton Garden. The soil type was calcareous chernozem. Leaf length, shape index and water soluble solid content were measured, and sensory evaluation was carried out on taste, inner color intensity and white ring.
To summarize, we can state the exception of Rubin genotype all of the varieties are suitable for second cultivation and good for processing (canned, juice, powder).