Abstract:The dominance, diversity and activity density of rove beetles were studied in Central European apple and pear orchards. Altogether 6 877 individuals, belonging to 271 species and 11 subfamilies were collected. Thirteen species presented a relative abundance from 9 to 2% and amounted to almost 56% of all staphylinids recorded. In dominance order they were: Dinaraea angustula (Gyllenhal), Omalium caesum Gravenhorst, Drusilla canaliculata (F.), Sphenoma abdominale Mannerheim, Palporus nitidulus (F.), Xantholinus linearis (Olivier), Dexiogya corticina (Erichson), Coprochara bipustulata L., Mocyta orbata (Erichson), Oligota pumilio Kiessenwetter, Xanthlinus longiventris (Olivier), Tachyporus hypnorum (F.) and Pycnota vicina (Kraatz). The alpha diversity of staphylinids for different environmental conditions was relatively similar but the Shannon-Weiner Index (H) was higher than of other similar studies. However, the activity density was higher in pear, in sand and in abandoned plantations; under different environmental conditions this could not be considered uniform in time. After the cumulative studies on the population dynamics, one can conclude that the highest number of species can be found in spring and in summer. Species D. canaliculata and P. nitidulus presented the similar seasonal dynamics in orchards located in different environmental areas, while O. caesum had the same activity density both in apple and pear orchards.

Background: Cognitive impairment (CI) is a frequent symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS); its prevalence is reported to be 43-70%. It is one of the most important determinants of MS patients' quality of life, as it is one of the main factors for MS patients becoming unemployed. Aim:We aimed to determine the prevalence of CI among the relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) patients in Hungary, to evaluate the predicting factors of CI and to assess the differences between sexes and patients with different educational levels.Patients and methods: Five-hundred and fifty-three CIS and RRMS patients were enrolled to our study from three Hungarian MS centers. Age at screening, age at disease onset, disease duration, EDSS score, sex and educational levels were analyzed as socio-demographic factors. The BICAMS battery was used to assess their cognitive state, the BDI-II battery to assess depression. For statistical analysis, we utilized logistical regression, and used Fisher exact tests, chi-square tests and one-way ANOVA. Results:The mean age of our patients was 44.93±11.69 years, mean age at disease onset was 31.95±10.01 years, the mean disease duration was 13.05±8.05 years and the median EDSS score 2.0 (Range: 6.5, IQR:2.0) points. Three-hundred and sixteen (57.1%) patients had CI. Sex, educational level and EDSS score proved to be significant predictors of CI (OR: 2.71, p<0.001; OR: 1.94, p=0.023; OR: 0.47, p=0.003 respectively). CI was significantly (p<0.001) more frequent among men (70.1%) than women (52.0%). We found, that educational level and EDSS score were only a significant predicting factor among women. Thus, the prevalence of CI among women with college or university degree was significantly (p<0.001) less common (39.4%) than women with 12-15 years of education (57.4%) and women without a high school degree (66.7%). Also, we found that among women with higher EDSS score than 2 points, the prevalence of CI is 69.9% as compared to women with EDSS score between 0-2 points, where the prevalence is 42.8% (p<0.001). No such differences were observed among man. Discussion: Our prevalence data is similar to those reported in the literature (43-70%), and almost identical to the one assessment using the BICAMS battery. We found that men are more vulnerable to CI than women in MS, as was reported recently. We are the first to report however, that higher educational level and lower EDSS scores are only associated with better cognitive performance in women.

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To compare carabid assemblages from transgenic Bt- and isogenic maize in Hungary, we used pitfall traps in an experiment (30x30 m plots, arranged alternately in 6 replications), during the growing season of maize during 2001—2003. We captured altogether 44,103 individuals of 58 species. The most common species in our sampling were Calatlzus ambiguus, Doliclzus halensis, Harpalus distinguendus, H rufipes, Poecilus sericeus and Treclius quadristriatus. The same species dominated both in the Bt- and in the isogenic maize plots. Under our test conditions (plot size and 3 years of sampling), no significant differences were found either in the structural characteristics (number of individuals, number of species and diversity), activity density or seasonal activity patterns ofthe dominant species.

Impact assessment studies rely on relevant sampling methods. Correct evaluation of methods can be done by their concurrent use in the same sampling site and period. Collecting webs of Theridion impressum L. Koch (Araneae: Theridiidae) may serve as an arthropod sampling method: empty cuticles of prey items remain attached to the back side of the leaves with adhesive silk. Our study aimed to compare the applicability of the two methods concurrently (spider web survey and whole plant visual sampling) in a risk assessment study. The spider web survey recorded more predatory insect families than the whole plant visual sampling. Both methods were able to detect significant differences in the quantity of predatory insects in Bt vs. isogenic plots, but not in the same taxa (Nabidae: spider-web, 2001, Bt > Iso; Coccinellidae: plant sampling, 2001, Iso > Bt; Welsh-test, P < 0.05); thus, they could not confirm each other. The lack of confirmation can be explained by differences in the sensitivity and selectivity of the two methods. A web survey of T. impressum has the practical advantage that although we concentrate only on the one species during field sampling, we gain additional information on a wide range of foliage-dwelling arthropods. Due to several biological uncertainties, interpretation and explanation of the results remain problematic. Thus, additional research-based on in-situ observation and recording of T. impressum-prey interactions-is necessary before we could propose web survey method as a complementary tool in ecological impact assessment.