Emese Bertáné Szabó

Salivary proteome profiling of oral squamous cell carcinoma in a Hungarian population

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the seventh most common malignancy and the ninth most frequent cause of cancer death in Europe. Within Europe, Hungary has one of the highest rates of OSCC incidence and mortality. Thus, there is an urgent need to improve early detection. Saliva, as a readily available body fluid, became an increasingly important substance for the detection of biomarkers for many diseases. Different research groups have identified salivary biomarkers specific for OSCC for different countries. In this study, saliva samples of Hungarian patients with OSCC were studied to discover disease‐specific and perhaps region‐specific biomarkers. LC‐mass spectrometry (MS)/MS analysis on a linear ion trap‐Orbitrap mass spectrometer was used for qualitative and quantitative salivary protein profiling. More than 500 proteins were identified from saliva by shotgun proteomics. The up‐ and downregulated proteins in the saliva of patients with OSCC highlighted the importance of protein–protein interaction networks involving the immune system and proteolysis in disease development. Two potential biomarkers from our shotgun analysis and a third candidate reported earlier by a Taiwanese group were further examined by ELISA on a larger reference set of samples. Resistin, a biomarker reported in Taiwan but not validated in our study, highlights the necessity of application of standardized analysis methods in different ethnic or geographical populations to identify biomarkers with sufficient specificity and sensitivity.

Relationship between the 0.01 M CaCl 2 - and AL-soluble soil phosphorus contents

The traditional Hungarian method for determining soil phosphorus (P) status is ammonium-lactate acetic acid (AL) extraction. AL is an acidic solution (buffered at pH 3.75), which is also able to dissolve P reserves, so there is a need for extraction methods that also characterize the mobile P pool. 0.01 M CaCl₂-P is considered to directly describe available P forms, because the dilute salt solution has more or less the same ionic strength as the average salt concentration in many soil solutions. The amount of AL-P may be two orders of magnitude greater than that of CaCl₂-P. Previous studies suggested that the relationship between AL-P and CaCl₂-P was influenced by soil parameters. Regression analysis between AL-P and CaCl₂-P showed medium or strong correlations when using soils with homogeneous soil properties, while there was a weak correlation between them for soils with heterogeneous properties. The objective of this study was to increase the accuracy of the conversion between AL-P and CaCl₂-P, by constructing universal equations that also take soil properties into consideration. The AL-P and CaCl₂-P contents were measured in arable soils (n=622) originating from the Hungarian Soil Information and Monitoring System (SIMS). These soils covered a wide range of soil properties. A weak correlation was found between AL-P and CaCl₂-P in SIMS soils. The amounts and ratio of AL-P and CaCl₂-P depended on soil properties such as CaCO₃ content and texture. The ratio of AL-P to CaCl₂-P changed from 37 in noncalcareous soils to 141 on highly calcareous soils. CaCl₂-P decreased as a function of KA (plasticity index according to Arany), which is related to the clay content, while the highest AL-P content was found on loam soils, probably due to the fact that a high proportion of them were calcareous. The relationships between AL-P, CaCl₂-P and soil properties in the SIMS dataset were evaluated using multiple linear regression analysis. In order to select the best model the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was used to compare different models. The soil factors included in the models were pHKCl, humus and CaCO₃ content to describe AL-P, and KA, CaCO₃ content and pHKCₗ to describe CaCl₂-P. AL-P was directly proportional to pHKCₗ, humus and CaCO₃ content, while CaCl₂-P was inversely proportional to KA, CaCO₃ content and pHKCₗ. The explanatory power of the models increased when soil properties were included. The percentage of the explained variance in the AL-P and CaCl₂-P regression models was 56 and 51%, so the accuracy of the conversion between the two extraction methods was still not satisfactory and it does not seem to be possible to prepare a universally applicable equation. Further research is needed to obtain different regression equations for soils with different soil properties, and CaCl₂-P should also be calibrated in long-term P fertilization trials.

Heavy Metal Balance in a Communal Wastewater Treatment Plant

In early 2000, two contamination events at Baia Mare first and Baia Borsa second involving large amounts of toxic elements impacted the Hungarian section of the River Tisza with disastrous ecological and economical impacts. We evaluated the sort- and long-term effects of this pollution by determining the total and bioavailable concentrations of potentially toxic metals from soil samples collected along the Tisza (Tivadar, Vasarosnameny, Rakamaz, and Tiszacsege) in 2000 and between 2011 and 2013. The current and previous results were compared in respect of copper and lead contents.

Evaluation of the Heavy Metal Content of the Upper Tisza River Floodplain Soils over the last Decade

Abstract In early 2000, two contamination events at Baia Mare first and Baia Borsa second involving large amounts of toxic elements impacted the Hungarian section of the River Tisza with disastrous ecological and economical impacts. We evaluated the sort- and long-term effects of this pollution by determining the total and bioavailable concentrations of potentially toxic metals from soil samples collected along the Tisza (Tivadar, Vásárosnamény, Rakamaz, and Tiszacsege) in 2000 and between 2011 and 2013. The current and previous results were compared in respect of copper and lead contents.

Assessment of Environmentally Harmful Nitrogen Surplus by 0.01 M Calcium Chloride Soil Extractant in Long-Term Experiments

Calcium chloride–extractable (1:10 soil/solution ratio, w/v) nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N), organic nitrogen (EON), and Ntotal fractions were measured in two long-term experiments. Both experiments are located in the Great Hungarian Plain. The first experiment was established on a Luvic Phaeozem soil and the second experiment was on a Calcic Chernozem soil. Researchers investigated the effects of long-term fertilization and irrigation on the amounts of nitrogen (N) fractions. Nitrogen rates caused significant increase in NO3-N and Ntotal fractions. These fractions were in close correlation (r = 0.87; r = 0.88) with nitrogen balance. The nitrate content of the 200-cm-deep soil layer of soils under different nitrogen- and water-supply conditions were also studied. As an effect of N overfertilization, the maximum nitrate accumulation on nonirrigated plots occurred in the 200-cm depth, whereas on irrigated plots a nitrate accumulation layer could not be observed in the 200-cm-deep soil layer.