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Element content analyses in the Institute for Food Sciences, Quality Assurance and Microbiology
203-207Views:381The role of chemical elements to ensure and promote our health is undisputed. Some of them are essential for plants, animals and human, others can cause diseases. The major source of mineral constituents is food, drinking water has a minor contribution to it, so the knowledge of elemental intake through food is crucial and needs continuous monitoring and by this way it promotes the food quality assurance and dietetics.
With the evolution of spectroscopic methods increasingly lower concentrations could be determined, so the elemental composition of a sample could be more precisely and fully described. Due to the results the gathered knowledge up to the present is supported and new observations can be done helping us to understand such complex systems as biological organisms are.
The quality of a food is determined by the full process of its production, consequently it starts with agricultural production so elemental-analysis usually cover the whole soil – plant – (animal) – food chain, by this way the „Fork-to-Farm” precept is true in elemental analysis field also.
The history of elemental analysis in the University of Debrecen, Centre for Agricultural and Applied Economic Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Institute of Food Processing, Quality Assurance and Microbiology goes back to 1980s when the so called Regional Measurement Central gave the background for research. The continuous deployment resulted in an obtain of an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) in 1988, which extended the scope of examinations due to its excellent performance characteristics
compared to flame atom absorption (FAAS) and flame emission spectrometers (FES). The instrumental park retain up to date correlate to the developing analytical techniques due to acquiring a newer ICPAES in 1998 and an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer in 2004 – which sensitivity is three order of magnitude better compared to ICP-AES. The Institute supports the work with its own ICP-AES and ICP-MS since 2011. -
The applied mechanical equipments for wastewater treatment in the észak-Alföld region
171-178Views:260In this study we presented the results of a survey research, which was performed during 2015 at 34 sewage treatment works, operating in Észak-alföld region (Hungary). The survey focused on applied mechanical equipment and works of art of the sewage treatment establishments.
The results of the survey showed that the majority of the examined sites (approx 65%) are working with capacity utilization of 50–100%,merely the 12% of plants was overload. It was found analyzing of specific energy consumption of the sites that the largest value (1.1 kWh per m3) was at the plants with smaller capacity (0–1000 m3 per day). It was clear during the questionnaire processing of the survey that almost all of the works applied activated sludge for sewage treatment The sludge treatment of the sewage plants is conducted by two methods; aerobic- and mixed (anaerobic and aerobic) sludge stabilization. We suggest for the plants with small capacity to use deep aerators, since anachronistic method used the at 3% of the settlements.
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Study of factors controlling the amount of 0.01 M CaCl2 extractable Norg fraction
437-449Views:332The use of new methods describing the “readily available” nutrient content of the soil is spreading on a global scale. The 0.01 M CaCl2 extractant is a dilute salt solution in which the easily soluble inorganic (nitrate-N and ammonium-N) and organic N fractions, P, K and micronutrients are also measurable. The 0.01 M CaCl2 has been tested in the University of Debrecen, Institute of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Sciences since the 90’s. The results of the researches related to organic N fraction, performed in the last decades, and the results of the present study (originating from the long-term experiment of Karcag, 2007–2009) can be concluded as follows:The measurement of easily soluble and oxidizable organic nitrogen (Norg), besides inorganic fractions, could improve the nutrient management.The amount of the Norg fraction is determined by the soil conditions, therefore it is considered to be a site-specific parameter.Management practices and cropyear affect the amount of Norg as well. The present research confirmed that, the effect of fertilization on the amount of Norg can be explained by the changing of the yield (related to total biomass production), while the effect of cropyear is related to the differences in mineralization circumstances and yield as well.The measurement of the Norg fraction is increases the accuracy of N-supply, therefore it could prevent the environmentally harmful excess N application as well. -
The recent state of cryopreservation techniques for ex-situ gene conservation and breeding purposes in small ruminants: A review
81-87Views:540The viewpoint of the recent cryopreservation techniques (CT) suggests the use of a reduced volume of cryopreservation solution, high concentration of cryoprotectants and ultra-rapid cooling and warming rates help to reduce cryo-injury and maximize the viability of the preserved animal genetic resources (AnGR). The CT had now become widely accepted as one of the best methods of choice for the ex-situ conservation of AnGR due to its high success rate recorded and no-invasive nature as compared to the conventional slow rate freezing (CSRF). Rapid advances and wide acceptability of the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART’s) particularly artificial insemination (AI) in animal breeding had resulted in a greater loss of a large number of good quality genes in virtually almost all the native breeds of animals across the globe. Small ruminant (SR) animals are not an exception in such present predicaments situation of erosion and dilution of the valuable AnGR among the native breeds. As a result of this, 148 and 16 breeds of sheep and goats respectively have already become extinct in Europe and the Caucasus. In view of the aforementioned situation, the present review aimed at exploring some of the current states of development, roles played and potentials of CT in the conservation of SR genes and genome for the immediate and future breeding purposes for sustainable development. It basically covers; animal genetic resource, the need to conserve AnGR, tools for ex situ in vitro conservation of AnGR and recent developments in breeding and cryopreservation of SR AnGR.
Cryopreservation is playing a pivotal role in ex-situ gene conservation of AnGR. Decline in genetic diversity among SR breed population was high in Europe and the Caucasus. There is therefore, need for improvent on current stringent measures on conservation of AnGR in this region of the world.
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Marginalisation and Multifunctional Land Use in Hungary
50-61Views:193Our study prepared as a brief version of National Report in the frame of EUROLAN Programme. We deal with the interpretation of some definitions (marginalisation of land use, multifunctionality of land use, marginalisation of agriculture, multifunctionality of agriculture), with sorting and reviewing indicators of marginalisation and finally with the analysis of functions of land use. We suggested a dynamic and a static approach of marginalisation. We can explore the dynamic process by time series and the static (regional) one by cross-section analyses.
It is very hard to explain the perspective of the future of marginalisation of land and of agriculture in Hungary. The process of marginalisation seems faster in the agriculture in the coming years, but it depends on the utilisation of new possibilities given by the EU financial resources and by the Common Market. At this moment agriculture seems one of the big losers of the accession.
In the long term we should face considerable challenges in the land use. It is necessary to take into account that there is a supply market of foods and traditional fibre production world-wide. There are limited possibilities to produce and to market for example biodiesel (fuel), bioethanol, or maybe biogas. Thus the environment and landscape preservation becomes more and more real land use alternatives.
The environmental interpretation of the multifunctionality of land use: activities (functions) of environmental preservation and nature conservation in a certain area, which aim to preserve natural resources by the existing socio-economic conditions.
Preservation of rural landscapes is the task mainly for land-users, who can be commanded by legal means and can be encouraged by economic measures to carry out the above activity. In the recent past measures of „command and control” type regulation were predominant, however nowadays, especially in the developed countries, the role of economic incentives increases.
As a conclusion of our analysis we can state that as long as the main land-dependent activities (agriculture, forestry, housing, tourism, local mining) cease to be viable under an existing socio-economic structure, then it is hardly possible to sustain the rural landscape on an appropriate level by non-commodity products (such as environment preservation, cultural heritage, nature conservation, employment etc.).
1 The study was prepared in the frame of EUROLAN (EU-5 Framework Project), QLK5-CT-2002-02346, as a compiled version of the Hungarian National Report, The national project co-ordinator: Prof. Dr. Gabor Szabo.
A part of places with high ecological values coincides with the areas with unfavourable agricultural endowments and underdeveloped micro-regions. We think so that the marginalisation preserves the non-environmental-sound activities and hinders the development of multifunctional agriculture and this process can change only by joint utilisation of endogenous and exogenous resources and methods. Thus the successful programmes for agri-environmental protection and multifunctional land use can serve the moderation of negative effects of marginalisation or maybe the marginalisation process itself. -
The influence of fraction size on the chemical composition of winter wheat flour
123-126Views:239Wheat is one of the most important cereals in the world and the bread made of its flour belongs to the everyday life of human mankind.
The Hungarian standard relating to the laboratory production of wheat flour (MSZ 6367/9-1989) does not mention the type of laboratory mill used for milling, and it only builds up some general criteria, such as: the laboratory mill should be provided with four differently nicked barrels, a sieve with appropriate hole sizes, and also with the separated collections of the pilot flour and the bran. Our study was started at this point and the answers for the following questions were aimed to be found: do the flour patterns studied and produced with different sieving techniques,
widely used in laboratory mills of the same wheat pattern show any alterations after the impact of the formula production as regards chemical constitutions. Various flours of the wheat pattern sieved with different particle sizes were studied in this experiment.
In producing this pattern we used FQC109 type of mill. There were 5 different corn sizes of 250-200; 200-160; 160-125; 125-100; <100 μms used in the partition of the fractions. The results this research confirm that the quality of wheat flour can be modified by different methods of pattern production. -
Horticulture applicability of 3D laser scanner
75-78Views:444As a result of the technological development, remote sensing instruments and methods have become widespread in all segments of life (from precision agriculture through architecture to medicine). Among the innovative development of remote sensing instruments the 3D laser scanner is overriding importance. The horticulture applicability of terrestrial laser scanning technique is innovation in the precision agriculture, because it could be determine the structure of trees and branches, the canopy extension, which can help to recognize some biophysical parameters. The examination was carried out with Leica ScanStation C10 terrestrial laser scanner in the Study and Regional Research Farm of the University of Debrecen near Pallag. In this article I present the measuring principle, the parameters and horticulture applicability of the terrestrial laser scanner.
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Isolation of promoters of tissue and ripening-specific strawberry genes by TAIL-PCR and bioinformatic characterization of the sequences
91-99Views:177Isolation 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. -
Preliminary Critical P-limit Values of 0.01 M CaCl2 Soil Test Procedure
18-21Views:261In the last decade, the 0.01 M CaCl2 extraction procedure was tested as a multi-nutrient extractant. In 1995-97, international joint research activities were carried out within the COPERNICUS project. Detailed calibration of conventional and the 0.01 M CaCl2 extraction procedures for pH, Mg and K were published.
The amount of phosphorus extracted using a 0.01 M CaCl2 solution is very low and reflects the intensity parameter of phosphorus bio-availability. As a readily desorbed P fraction of soils can reflect the soil P-supply and the CaCl2-P values are in close correlation with P-fertiliser rates and P balance. However, the effects of various soil characteristics on CaCl2-P values are different and their interpretation is difficult.
Relatively poor correlations were found between amounts of P extracted by conventional and CaCl2 soil test methods and, therefore, P limit values could not be calculated directly. To characterise the soil P supply at different sites, the CaCl2 desorbed P and the adsorbed P in a modified Baker Soil Test were also applied.
Soil test results of Hungarian long-term fertiliser experiments and recommended CaCl2-P limit values, calculated on yield effects and soil characteristics, are discussed.