In this study, the content of chelidonine and berberine alkaloids, and sterols and phenols in the Chelidonium majus plant extract were analyzed. Subsequently, the effects of the extract on the germination and growth of Botrytis tulipae fungus on nutritive medium were compared to the effects of fluconazole. The plant extract was used at the minimum inhibitory concentration on B. tulipae developed in tulip leaves and the in vivo effects were investigated. The influence of different concentrations of C. majus extract on the physiological processes of the tulip (gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic light use efficiency, and induced chlorophyll fluorescence) were also tested to assess the applicability of the extract for the protection of ornamental plants against fungal infection. Our results demonstrated that 2% celandine extract does not significantly change the gas exchange parameters (transpiration rate, carbon dioxide uptake, and stomatal conductivity) of leaves exposed for 2 h, and does not interfere with the photochemical processes in the leaves. However, in higher concentrations, it increases the transpiration rate and net carbon dioxide influx. At concentrations of 15% and 20%, the extract lowers the potential quantum yield efficiency of photosystem II and the vitality index of the photosynthetic apparatus. Therefore we recommend the use of lower concentrations (≤6%) of celandine extract for the biological protection of tulips against gray mold.

Our survey has revealed that the phytoplankton in the anthropo-hypersaline lakes of the Transylvanian Basin (Romania) was often dominated by photoautotrophic picoplankton (PPP, cells with a diameter <2 μm). Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify PPP members both in the summer and the winter communities using molecular biological techniques, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequence analysis. The applied PCR-DGGE methods were highly specific to cyanobacteria and green algae. A total of 11 different plankton taxa were identified that were related to several distant taxonomic groups. PPP were represented by a simple community and consisted of two major genotypes, one from the green algal species Picochlorum oklahomense and the other related to marine Synechococcus isolates (Cyanobacteria). These marine PPP species were recorded for the first time in inland saline lakes from Europe. Besides picoplankton, several additional marine taxa (e.g. cryptophytes and haptophytes) were detected among the nanoplankton species. The presence of the identified marine and hypersaline species could be explained by wind, precipitation or waterfowl transfer; however, this latter could have smaller importance.

The aim of our research was primarily to compare the conditional abilities of European countries' Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) referees with those of Hungarian national and county referees and, secondly, to investigate whether the stop tests of FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) provide reliable discrimination criteria between the different levels of referees. The main focuses of our research were speed and endurance, which were measured by the stop tests of FIFA and UEFA-namely, 50- and 200-m sprint runs and a 12-minute run, respectively (Cooper test). In our study, the test results of 2459 soccer referees were analyzed; they include the results of the total Hungarian population of referees and the results from 17 different European countries. Referees were classified into 6 different levels according to their qualifications. The results show that in the 12-minute run, FIFA referees covered the longest distance (3043 +/- 127 m), followed by the Hungarian elite referees (2939 +/- 136 m); less distance was covered by county III-level referees (2522 +/- 270 m). Differences between groups in the endurance event were significant (p < 0.05) in all cases. In the sprint runs, there was no difference between FIFA and Hungarian elite referees. In both sprints, FIFA-level and Hungarian elite referees performed the fastest times, and county III-level referees had the slowest times. It can be concluded that the aerobic fitness level demonstrated in the 12-minute run provides the most adequate criteria for discrimination between different competitive levels. Hungarian elite referees, on the basis of their fitness test results, are comparable with international-level referees. The major quality step in a referee's career can be located at the third-division competition level.

The occurrence and importance of photoautotrophic picoplankton (PPP, cells with a diameter <2 μm) was studied along a trophic and salinity gradient in hypersaline lakes of the Transylvanian Basin (Romania). The studied lakes were found to be rich in PPP, with abundances (maximum: 7.6 x 10 6 cells mL -1 ) higher than in freshwater and marine environments of similar trophic conditions. The contribution of PPP to the total phytoplankton biovolume did not decrease with increasing trophic state as it was generally found in other aquatic environments. Regardless of the trophic conditions, the contribution of PPP could reach 90-100% in these hypersaline lakes.We hypothesized that the PPP predominance might be the result of the low grazing pressure, since heterotrophic nanoflagellates (the main grazers of PPP) were absent in the studied samples.There were significant differences in community composition among the lakes along the salinity gradient. CyPPP predominated in less saline waters (mainly below 5%), while EuPPP were present along the entire salinity range (up to 18.7%), dominating the phytoplankton between 3 and 13% salinity. Above 13% salinity, the phytoplankton was composed mainly of Dunaliella species.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract