Background: Updates on the development of minimally invasive and catheter-based techniques in equine cardiology is necessary, as these methods have been rapidly evolving. Objectives: To review the technical and technological conditions of the interventional methods in equine cardiology compared to human medicine. Materials and Methods: Altogether 52 publications have been reviewed. Results and Discussion: Different methods of interventional cardiology is getting more and more widespread in human and equine medicine. There are a lot of technical issues, that are making difficult the adaptation of human interventional methods in horses. The main differences are the larger size of the equine thorax and heart and the dissimilarities in the electrical properties of the conduction system in the heart. Beside the development of transvenous electrical cardioversion and the implantation of pacemakers in equids, in the last few years the use of the 12-lead ECG, electroanatomic mapping and implantation of loop recorders are the main development in the field of diagnostics, and the use of radiofrequency ablation is the main innovation in the therapy of arrhythmias. The novel methods in diagnostic imaging are the use of 3D ultrasonography, the expansion of views of 2D echocardiography and the evolving of intracardiac ultrasonography. In human medicine, reducing radiation exposure and increasing the capacity of interventional methods with quicker and better technology, including novel ablation sources and better mapping technology to avoid recurrence are the main goals. In the field of equine cardiology, the progression is much slower because of lower ethical importance and financial sources, but a wider range of diagnostic and therapeutical tools are currently available for clinicians.

Due to their outstanding anthocyanin content, elderberries are mainly used in the food industry to produce pigment concentrations. Thanks to the increase in demand, elderberry is grown on ever greater areas in Hungary and in neighbouring countries. Cultivar use, however, is very one-sided, being practically restricted to ‘Haschberg’. As this cultivar has many negative properties, growers have begun to plant and test new cultivars. When determining the commodity value of cultivars, it is important to examine not only the physical traits of the fruit, but also their main chemical parameters. In the present experiment the chemical properties (soluble solids and titratable acid content, total polyphenol and anthocyanin content, antioxidant capacity) of the fruit of 11 elderberry cultivars (‘Haidegg 13’, ‘Haidegg 17’, ‘Haschberg’, K3, ‘Korsör’, ‘Samdal’, ‘Samidan’, ‘Samocco’, ‘Sampo’, ‘Samyl’, ‘Weihenstephan’) were analysed in three consecutive years. In addition to the comparative evaluation of the cultivars, this work also aimed to discover correlations between the components and to study the effect of the year on the chemical composition of the fruit. Significant differences were found between the cultivars for the soluble solids content (F(10;8.74)=9.71; p=0.001), the titratable acid content (F(10;22)=7.91; p<0.001), the polyphenol content (F(10;22)=9.77; p<0.001), the anthocyanin content (F(10;8.52)=36.18; p<0.001) and the antioxidant capacity (F(10;22)=3.61; p=0.006). A year effect was proved for the water-soluble solids content (F(2;30)=4.02; p=0.028) and the antioxidant capacity (F(2;30)=5.21; p=0.011). Among the chemical properties, a significant positive linear correlation was only detected between the polyphenol and anthocyanin contents (r=0.91; p<0.001). Among the cultivars, ‘Sampo’, ‘Samidan’ and ‘Weihenstephan’ exhibited outstanding polyphenol and anthocyanin contents. The soluble solids content and antioxidant capacity of ‘Haidegg 17’ were also promising.

Background: Cardiac arrhythmias are relatively common in horses, but ventricular tachycardia is infrequent, therefore limited information is available about its therapy in the Hungarian literature. Objectives: To present three cases of ventricular tachycardia treated successfully with orally administered propranolol. Materials and methods: Descriptive clinical report. Results and discussion: Three horses with elevated heart rate and colic like signs were referred to our equine clinics for further investigation and therapy. After excluding gastrointestinal and systemic diseases, uniform ventricular tachycardia was confirmed by resting electrocardiography using base-apex lead. Other ancillary diagnostic tests including echocardiography, measurement of serum cardiac troponin I concentration were used to reveal signs of structural cardiac abnormalities and possible myocardial injuries. Cardioversion in all cases was started with lidocaine first administered in bolus, then as a continuous rate of infusion. This treatment did slow the rate temporarily but was unable to convert the rhythm. As soon as the continuous rate infusion was withdrawn, a quick and spontaneous return to a marked tachycardia occurred. Therefore, following human literature and reported dose rates in horses, propranolol was administered orally. This therapy subsequently led to conversion to sinus rhythm. All horses received crystalloid fluids intravenously and other supportive treatment. Intravenous dexamethasone sodium phosphate was also given to two animals. After the conversion and successful recovery, horses were discharged, and the oral propranolol therapy was continued at home for different duration between eight days and one month. Follow-up cardiac examination four to eight weeks later revealed sinus rhythm in all cases. Our findings highlight the importance of performing ECG on horses with resting tachycardia exceeding 70-80/beats per minute.

Background: Atrial fibrillation is a relatively common and significant arrhythmia in horses, but the Hungarian literature lacks the information about its clinical presentation, diagnosis and therapy. Objectives: To present five cases of atrial fibrillation treated with orally administered quinidine sulphate. Materials and methods: Descriptive clinical report. Results and discussion: Five adult horses with suspected atrial fibrillation based on cardiac auscultation were referred for further investigation and therapy. Four of them showed exercise intolerance, as well. Based on previous physical examinations, haematology and biochemistry, systemic diseases were excluded. On presentation, all horses were bright, alert and responsive, and they did not show signs of congestive heart failure. Atrial fibrillation was confirmed by resting electrocardiography using base-apex lead in all cases. Echocardiography revealed normal findings in three horses, mild left ventricular dilation and aortic regurgitation in one animal, and moderate aortic root and left ventricular dilation in another one. Fractional shortening of the left ventricle was decreased in this horse. Cardioversion with oral quinidine sulphate, administered via a nasogastric tube was attempted in four cases. This treatment was successful after two or three doses in two horses which remained in sinus rhythm until discharge from the hospital. Follow-up electrocardiography four to eight weeks later revealed sinus rhythm in both cases. One horse converted back to sinus rhythm after six doses of quinidine and two doses of oral digoxin, but later atrial fibrillation recurred. One horse started to show moderate colic signs and tachycardia after the third dose of quinidine, therefore the treatment was ceased. The last case which was doing only very light work, was not treated by the request of the owner. Our findings highlight the importance of performing cardiac auscultation and ECG on horses with exercise intolerance.

Fruit samples were analysed to investigate the suitability of Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) for the rapid discrimination of elderberry genotypes.Parallel analysis with classical chemical techniques and spectral measurements was performed on 11 cultivars originating from various European countries.The titratable acidity (TA) and soluble solids content (SSC) of the fruit, and the geographical origin and breeding method of the cultivar were used as reference data.Three spectrum transformation methods (standard normal variation, multiplicative scatter correction and first derivative) were applied in the calibration process.The statistical analysis and comparison of the samples was carried out using principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA).In all cases the analysis demonstrated a correlation between the spectra and both the chemical traits (TA and SSC) of the fruit and the other reference data, indicating that pattern recognition was not a chance occurrence.This work provides the first evidence that the NIR technique can be successfully applied to distinguish between elderberry genotypes on the basis of fruit quality, thus opening up new possibilities in breeding cultivars for food industry purposes.

Background: New updates about the epidemiology and aetiology of equine grass sickness (EGS) are necessary since the diagnosis of the first Hungarian cases in 2001. Objectives: To review the epidemiology, aetiology, clinical signs, treatment and diagnostic opportunities of equine grass sickness, including its Hungarian relations. Materials and Methods: 98 publications have been reviewed. Results and Discussion: Equine grass sickness or equine dysautonomia is a frequently fatal polyneuropathy, which affects both the peripheral and central nervous systems. The disease occurs almost only in grazing horses. EGS was first described in the United Kingdom (Scotland) in 1909, but after that it appeared in many countries around the world including Hungary from 2001. Grass sickness has three main forms: acute, subacute and chronic, but there is an overlap between the forms, because the signs reflect the severity of neuronal degeneration in the autonomic and enteric nervous system. Accurate, non-invasive, ante mortem diagnosis is not available. A definitive diagnosis can be made by histopathological examination of the affected ganglia during exploratory laparotomy or after euthanasia. Acute and subacute cases of EGS are fatal, but selected chronic cases can be treated successfully with intensive nursing care. Vaccine trials have been performed in the United Kingdom, but until the causative agent is identified, the only way of prevention is the reduction of the premises-and management-related risk factors. The disease occurs yearly in a North-Hungarian stud with severe outbreaks in certain years. The last outbreak was in April 2017, when 15 foals were euthanized or died in the acute form of the disease after a marked decrease in temperature and heavy snowing during which the horses were kept in a stable. Also, there was a histopathologically confirmed case in Pest county, therefore Hungarian veterinarians should be prepared to prevent, diagnose, and occasionally treat cases.

Background: Defining the sex of individual birds can be crucial for scientific studies and captive breeding, as well. However, many bird species (and almost all nestling) can only be sexed via molecular methods. Universal diagnostic primers that can sex most birds are used widely, most commonly those that are based on amplifying differently sized fragments of the CHD1 (Chromo-helicase DNA binding protein 1) gene on the sex chromosomes. Still, little is known about their reliability in several avian orders or in different tissue samples. Objectives: The aim of this research was to test four frequently used universal bird sexing markers in 13 Neognathae bird orders and in different sample types. These markers (P2/P8, 2550F/2718R, CHD1-i16 and CHD1-i9) amplify fragments of intronic regions of the CHD1-Z and CHD1-W genes. Samples of more than 60 bird species and various tissue types (feathers of different sizes, dried and fluid blood) were tested. Amplified CHD1 fragments were visualized with UV light, following agarose gel electrophoresis. Results and Discussion: Our results confirm the universality of these primer pairs in most avian orders, but their application needs some consideration. 21% of the small size feathers gave no detectable results. The marker CHD1-i9 did not work in 14.5% of the feather samples. Such error occurred only in 4% of blood samples. The marker P2/P8 needed the longest electrophoresis time, but did not yield visible sex-specific bands even after 120 minutes in nine species. Similarly, no sex-specific bands were detected with 2550F/2718R in seven species. In CHD1-i16, aspecific bands making sexing diagnosis difficult were common, and even after improving the protocol, four species gave inconsistent results. In conclusion, these four markers can be assumed as near universal, easy-to-use tools for molecular sexing of Neognathae birds, but they all have some limitations. When choosing a marker for molecular sexing, not only the species, but also the tissue sample should be taken into consideration. We suggest to avoid the CHD1-i9 marker when using small or degraded feather samples. P2/P8 is not recommended when the size difference between the two sex chromosome-linked fragments is too small.

The hexaploid European plum ( Prunus domestica L.) is an economically important fruit species with limited information on its genetic structure. Our objective was to fingerprint 55 cultivars using seven simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to estimate the polymorphism level and determine allelic variation and genetic relationships among local and international cultivars. The primer pairs amplified a total of 135 alleles ranging from six to 27 alleles per locus, displaying high polymorphism. All genotypes were clearly distinguished with the seven SSRs used in this study. In a neighbor-joining cluster analysis, cultivars belonging to the same species did not group together. Foreign modern cultivars clustered together, and Hungarian landraces positioned distantly from those. STRUCTURE analysis indicated three genetically distinct groups of the studied genotypes. Each cluster of Hungarian landrace cultivars received strong bootstrap support (89% to 100%). Most genotypes kept under identical name showed different DNA fingerprints. A principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed the information provided by the dendrogram and clarified the origin of ʻFehérszilva’. Our results confirmed the potential of the application of SSR markers in plum breeding.

Abstract Ornithological studies often rely on large temporal scale ringing datasets as source of information. However, basic descriptive statistics of collected data are rarely provided. In order to fill this gap, here we present the first item of a series of exploratory analyses of migration timing and body size measurements of the most frequent Passerine species at a ringing station located in Central Hungary (1984–2015). First, we give a concise description of foreign ring recoveries of the Pied Flycatcher in relation to Hungary. We then shift focus to data of 2860 individuals deriving from the ringing station, where birds have been trapped, handled and ringed with standardized methodology since 1984. Timing is described through annual and daily capture and recapture frequencies and their descriptive statistics. We show annual mean arrival dates within the study period and we present the cumulative distribution of first captures with stopover durations. We present the distributions of wing, third primary, tail length and body mass, and the annual means of these variables. Furthermore, we show the distribution of individual fat and muscle scores, and the distribution of body mass within each fat score category. We distinguish migration periods (spring and autumn), age (i.e. juveniles and adults) and sex groups. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the analysed variables. However, we do not aim to interpret the obtained results, merely draw attention to interesting patterns, that may be worth exploring in detail. Data used here are available upon request for further analyses.

Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni) are popular pets. Blood biochemistry is an essential tool for the early diagnosis of the diseases. The objective of the study was to investigate the biological variations in selected blood biochemical values in healthy tortoises through repeated samplings in the same animals. We also aimed to evaluate the values in time-related manner of sampling. Blood samples were taken five times (in two-month intervals) from the dorsal coccygeal vein. Twelve clinically healthy 2,5 year- old male tortoises were housed indoors. For each dataset, the mean, the standard deviation and the 95\% confidence interval of the mean were calculated. Mixed effect linear model was fitted with blood parameters as response variables, samples as fix factors and individuals as random factors. The mean levels and standard deviations are as follows: Ca, 2.3 ± 0.3 mmol/l; ionized Ca, 1.3 ± 0.4 mmol/l; P, 1.1 ± 0.3 mmol/l; uric acid, 121.1 ± 56.3 µmol/l; AST, 76.8 ± 42.8 IU/l; sodium, 127.7 ± 4.0 mmol/l; potassium, 4.5 ± 0.6 mmol/l. Except AST, sampling time had significant effect on the parameters. Despite the statistically significant difference between the collected samples, standard deviations were small in all samplings except for the uric acid. Accordingly, the clinical relevance of the sampling seems to be important especially for uric acid. In order to eliminate the possible effects of the time of sampling, repeated measurements are recommended if biochemical parameters are not in the reference intervals.

Due to the substantial damage caused in Hungarian plum orchards by the spread of plum pox virus (PPV), high-yielding, often self-fertile German, Serbian and Romanian cultivars with better resistance to PPV have been introduced. Observations on growth characteristics, flowering and harvest time, yield potential and PPV resistance have been made in commercial plum orchards and gene bank collections since 2006, and these were supplemented with laboratory analysis on the fruit. German cultivars have spread widely in recent years, so it is particularly important to investigate the production value of these cultivars. In addition to field observations, a detailed analysis has been made over the last two years of the physical and chemical properties of the fruit of the most promising German cultivars (‘Topfive’, ‘Toptaste’, ‘Tophit’, ‘Topend Plus’ and ‘Jojo’) and of the control cultivars ‘Cacanska rodna’ and ‘Stanley’. The use of the German cultivars led to a lengthening of the harvest period, as fruit could still be harvested from ‘Topend Plus’ even in the middle of October. The onset of bearing was early for these cultivars, which had good yield potential, producing large numbers of buds not only on the spurs, but also on the long shoots. With the exception of ‘Jojo’ the cultivars exhibited greater initial vigour and the scaffold branches grew at a steeper angle, so greater care was required to form a favourable crown structure. The cultivar most resistant to PPV was ‘Jojo’, and ‘Topend Plus’ exhibited moderately severe leaf symptoms, while the other cultivars had only mild leaf symptoms. Among the cultivars included in the study, ‘Topend Plus’ and ‘Tophit’ had the largest fruit size, while ‘Toptaste’ had outstanding chemical properties, especially as regards the soluble solids and polyphenol contents.

Frost hardiness of flower buds of three plum (Prunus domestica L) cultivars ('Cacanska lepotica', 'Stanley', 'Besztercei') was characterised by the LT50 values calculated from artificial freezing experiments conducted during eight dormancy periods between 2004 and 2016. Of the two variance components, the year effect was the strongest at the beginning of dormancy explaining around 60% of the phenotypic variation in LT50 values, while the effect of genotype started to increase from November and reached its maximum in the middle of January, when 81.2% of the variance in LT50 was due to the genotype. During the first part of winter the frost hardiness of the overwintering organs developed gradually in parallel to the decreasing ambient temperature. Flower buds were the most frost tolerant in the first half of January, when the maximum LT50 of 'Cacanska lepotica' was -22.8 degrees C, for 'Stanley' -24.8 degrees C and for 'Besztercei' it was -26.5 degrees C, averaged over the 8 dormancy periods. From the end of dormancy the effect of year became much stronger over the genotypic differences from the second half of January. Milder days during this period resulted in faster flower bud development paralleled by a steeper and quicker decline in frost tolerance, which may significantly increase the probability of frost damages in flowers caused by late winter and spring frosts. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The aim of the study was to determine the long-term effects of two different vitamin and mineral supplements on the growth and health of Hermann's tortoises. Twelve one-month-old tortoises were randomly divided into two groups of six animals (group A and B). Diets were supplemented on a daily basis with two different products ("A": vit. D350 000 IU/kg, 150 g/kg Ca or "B": vit. D3, 2000 IU/kg, 148 g/kg Ca) for 12 months. Product "B" was richer in most of the vitamins. Weight and shell parameters were measured weekly. After one year animals in group B had significantly higher final body weights than those in group A (186.7 g vs. 131.6 g). The shell of the individuals in group A was firm and healthy, while all the tortoises in group B (in different levels) had weakened shells. The loss of bone tissue was not so serious to have visual signs on x-rays. High amount of vitamins (vitamin E, K, B1, 2, 6, 12, biotin) given for safety reasons and relatively low level of vitamin D3 (like in product "B") applied on a daily basis seem to be disadvantageous. The moderate metabolic bone disease that developed in group B during the experiment could be treated after the study by using the supplement "A". The authors recommend such supplements which have similar ingredients to product "A" for growing tortoises housed indoor with low or without irradiation exposure to UVB.

The development of genetic methods broadens the scope of non-invasive sample types. Large shed feathers are good material for genetic analyses, since they are easy to collect and a single feather can provide a sufficient amount of DNA for PCR-based methods. Previous studies have demonstrated that feather quality and type affect the DNA quality extracted from the feather tips. Besides the tip, the superior umbilicus part of the shaft is also proposed as an appropriate source of DNA. In our study, we examined whether some feather parameters (physical condition, type and size) and storage time affect amplification success of DNA extracted from the superior umbilicus of shed Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) feathers. We also tested the effects of sunlight, temperature and humidity on DNA extracted from Domestic Goose (Anser anser domesticus) feathers with amplification of fragments of various sizes, modelling the environmental conditions of the moulting season. While good quality feathers usually provided sufficient DNA, the usability of the DNA extracted from moderate quality feathers were affected by feather type. DNA quality was influenced in order of importance by humidity, direct sunlight and heat. Our findings support the usability of DNA samples derived from the superior umbilicus of shed feathers, and help to schedule field work by careful consideration of our results about feather quality and environmental factors.

Global environmental processes like climate change could severely affect population level migratory behaviour of long range migrant birds. We analyzed changes in migration phenology and biometrics of three closely-related long-distance migrant Acrocephalus species. We used the records of 12 063 Sedge, 12 913 Reed, and 5 409 Marsh Warblers caught and ringed between 1989–2009, at a Hungarian stopover site. Quantile regressions were used to analyse the changes in spring and autumn migration phenology. Median spring arrival date of Sedge and Reed Warblers shifted 6.5 and 7.5 days earlier, respectively. Autumn arrival of all species shifted one (Reed and Marsh Warblers) or two (Sedge Warbler) weeks later. Mean body mass of adult Reed and Marsh Warblers decreased in spring (by 0.3 and 0.2 grams, respectively) and in autumn (by 0.8 and 0.2 grams, respectively) while body mass of adult Sedge Warblers decreased only in autumn (by 0.4 grams). Mean wing length of all species increased significantly (range of change: 0.6–1 mm). Despite the fact that the studied species are closely related, all three have remarkably different migration strategies. However, similar patterns can be observed in the studied parameters, indicating that global processes may have general effects on these species, albeit through markedly different mechanisms.

The distribution area and the timing of migration of many bird species have recently changed, presumably due to climatic factors. In our study, we estimated the effect of climate change on migration phenology and biometrics of two sister Sylvia species: the medium-distance migrant Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) and the long-distance migrant Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin). We used the data of 52,440 Blackcaps and 6,943 Garden Warblers caught and ringed at the Ócsa Bird Ringing Station (47°15′N, 19°15′E) in Hungary between 1984 and 2008. The age and in case of Blackcaps the sex groups were handled separately. The timing of the spring migration of Garden Warblers shifted earlier, whereas it did not change in Blackcaps during the study period. We presume—in accordance with other observations concerning Blackcaps in West-Europe—that it probably has changed earlier than the 1980s. The timing of autumn migration shifted about 2 weeks later in all age and sex groups of Blackcaps. We found significant correlation in the timing of autumn migration of sex groups, the sign of the differences between the timing of males and females changed. Juvenile Garden Warblers shifted their autumn migration 13 days later, but adults did not. Mean body mass decreased while mean wing length increased suggesting a change in the composition of the trans-migrant population. We hypothesise that due to climate change the breeding range of these species expanded northwards, producing an increased ratio of long-winged northern individuals in the trans-migrant populations.

The aim of dogrose breeding for fruit purposes is to select genotypes suitable for cultivation and to produce new genotypes by crossing. Physical and chemical analyses, prospective genotypes have been developed from R. inodora , R. corymbifera, R. rubiginosa and R. canina varieties.In the course of the investigations, the highest vitamin C content was found in the hips of R. inodora and R. rubiginosa . The glucose and fructose contents ranged from 9.57–13.36 g/100 g, averaged over several years. The amounts of these two carbohydrates were equal, or in some taxa (e.g. R. corymbifera, R. canina Sz3) the fructose content was higher.The glucose, fructose and vitamin C contents changed at different rates in each taxon during ripening. The results showed that the fructose content reached its peak a week earlier than the glucose content. The vitamin C content of morphological varieties of R. canina did not change substantially during ripening.