A politikai filozófia a világjárványról

Összefoglaló. Ez a filozófiai esszé arra tesz kísérletet, hogy megpróbálja nyomon követni a világjárvány kibontakozását, a változatos védelmi stratégiákat, valamint a mégiscsak bekövetkező tragédiákat a politikai filozófia perspektívájából. Mégpedig valós időben. Az esszé abból a hipotézisből indul ki, hogy az emberiséget váratlanul érte ugyan a járvány, mégis igen gyorsan tudott reagálni (lásd az oltóanyag előállításának gyorsaságát), az egyes emberek azonban nem tudtak kilépni saját természetük korlátai közül. Ennek megfelelően a hatalom ismét elkövette a szokásos hibákat, a lázadók lázadtak, és a politika továbbra is a konfliktusok kezelésének művészete maradt. A politikával foglalkozóknak azonban kincsesbánya ez a korszak a politika természetének elemzéséhez. Summary. This paper, written in the genre of the literary essay, tries to keep track of the birth and development of the pandemic, the various defence strategies and the tragedies that took place anyhow, from the perspective of the discipline of political philosophy. Now political philosophy is not characteristically ready to react promptly to the events of the day. It has got a long term perspective, and therefore has no intention to keep an eye on the headlines of the online news portals. It has got long term debits, which cannot be easily paid back in cash. And yet the claim of the paper is that in fact we are confronted by a state of affairs when political philosophy is obliged to take note of contemporary events. And it has to try to respond to those events almost “real time” or directly. We are aware of 4 million dead, by now, which is an unacceptable number. To tackle states of emergency parliaments are usually ready to offer exceptional measures for government action, even in parliamentary democracies. Yet politicians do not necessarily want to take on board the struggle with the virus – they can easily drop it out from the issues of the day –, claiming that public health should not be politicized. Yet by leaving the stage to let professional experts make the decisions, they give up their chance to unite the camp. Statesmen can only unite their camp behind them, if they make use of the window of opportunity opened by an emergency situation, and if they are able to make use of the phobias and anxieties of everyday people, in the fashionable populist, plebeian manner. The essay analyses two basic relationships influenced by the pandemic. One is claimed to be the intergovernmental, or global scene. Here, the great and developing powers are competing with each other, through the still mostly acceptable international norms of taking advantage of inequality. The other is the inner political scene, where there is a growing distrust between the authorities and the ordinary people, fuelled by restrictions, fake news, and forms either of controlling society by illegal means, or of influencing leaders by indirect means. The last part of the essay presents three major aspects from where one can analyse the happenings: a social, a communicational and an economic perspective on its effects. The essay finishes with some cautionary, sceptical notes on human nature, in order to keep vigilance in emergency situations on the loss of balance, either internal or external, to avoid the major dangers.

Melatonin Protects Tobacco Suspension Cells against Pb-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Recent studies have shown that melatonin is an important molecule in plant physiology. It seems that the most important is that melatonin effectively eliminates oxidative stress (direct and indirect antioxidant) and switches on different defence strategies (preventive and interventive actions) during environmental stresses. In the presented report, exogenous melatonin potential to protect Nicotiana tabacum L. line Bright Yellow 2 (BY-2) exposed to lead against death was examined. Analyses of cell proliferation and viability, the level of intracellular calcium, changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) as well as possible translocation of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol and subsequent caspase-like proteolytic activity were conducted. Our results indicate that pretreatment BY-2 with melatonin protected tobacco cells against mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase-like activation caused by lead. The findings suggest the possible role of this indoleamine in the molecular mechanism of mitochondria, safeguarding against potential collapse and cytochrome c release. Thus, it seems that applied melatonin acted as an effective factor, promoting survival and increasing plant tolerance to lead.

Quantum Technologies Impact on Electromagnetic Spectrum Monitoring

Electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) superiority represents a prerequisite for resilient defence strategies, capable of effective and adequate response to our global security environment. Besides, quantum communications are being considered one of the most promising technologies with applications in security related domains. To this extent, the development of quantum communication infrastructures will significantly impact the architecture of the modern electromagnetic operational environment. Quantum technologies pave the way towards revolutionary technologies by exploiting physical phenomena from different angles and enabling extremely sensitive measurements of multiple parameters including electromagnetic fields. This paper aims to present a short description of quantum technologies with applications for electromagnetic spectrum monitoring and discusses their impact on future electromagnetic warfare operations.

Histochemical observations in Piper malgassicum (Piperaceae) with a special focus on the epidermis

This is the first contribution about the histochemistry of vegetative and reproductive aerial organs in the genus Piper L. Piper malgassicum accumulates alkaloids and terpenes in the epidermis and the underlying layers of parenchyma, both in the leaves, in the stems and in anthers. Some idioblasts appear to contain a large amount of secondary metabolites. The micro-anatomical analysis showed peculiar secretory structures both in the leaves, in the anthers and in the ovary. Several lipid aggregates, alkaloid droplets and calcium oxalate crystals were observed in leaves and stems, indicating their role in defence strategies, mechanical support, and pollinators attraction. In the anthers, we observed elaioplasts whose content suggest an alternative and indirect function in pollination and defence against micro-organisms. Besides, some lipid aggregates surrounded by microtubules, detected in the anthers, were recognized as lipotubuloids. The tapetum was of secretory type. Alkaloids and terpenes were widely distributed in the plant confirming the important biological role of this type of biomolecules and its functional range. In the anthers, terpene and polyphenol inclusions appeared particularly abundant in the epidermal layer, whereas calcium oxalate crystals were observed close to the ovule in the ovary at maturity.

Defence strategies in an online community of caregivers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand caregivers’ discursive constructions and responses to their unwanted (family and social) role as resulting in exchanges on social media. Online group platforms are understood as particularly suitable for the expression of intimate feelings among adults, for meeting and exhibiting stigma issues, and for the circulation of information and support (Suler, 2004; McCormack, 2010; Pounds et al., 2018). Design/methodology/approach This paper draws from digital Conversation Analysis (Giles et al., 2015), and considers data after combining quantitative (corpus analysis) and qualitative methods, from a critical discourse analysis perspective. The Stereotype Content Model (SCM; Fiske et al., 2002) is used together with collocation analysis to understand categorisations, which ultimately result in a defence strategy (Assimakopoulos et al., 2017) to negotiate the Self and the Others (Tannen, 1992). Findings Considering that the digital environment allows a discursive negotiation of identities, data suggest that these interactions are expressions of membership construction, group solidarity and empowerment, that normalise and legitimise emotions with the ultimate goal of (self-)acceptance. Originality/value This study provides a basis for further research on caregivers’ self-positioning in power-relations with others.

In-depth evaluation of root infection systems using the vascular fungus Verticillium longisporum as soil-borne model pathogen

Background While leaves are far more accessible for analysing plant defences, roots are hidden in the soil, leading to difficulties in studying soil-borne interactions. Inoculation strategies for infecting model plants with model root pathogens are described in the literature, but it remains demanding to obtain a methodological overview. To address this challenge, this study uses the model root pathogen Verticillium longisporum on Arabidopsis thaliana host plants and provides recommendations for selecting appropriate infection systems to investigate how plants cope with root pathogens. Results A novel root infection system is introduced, while two existing ones are precisely described and optimized. Step-by-step protocols are presented and accompanied by pathogenicity tests, transcriptional analyses of indole-glucosinolate marker genes and independent confirmations using reporter constructs. Advantages and disadvantages of each infection system are assessed. Overall, the results validate the importance of indole-glucosinolates as secondary metabolites that limit the Verticillium propagation in its host plant. Conclusion Detailed assistances on studying host defence strategies and responses against V. longisporum is provided. Furthermore, other soil-borne microorganisms (e.g., V. dahliae) or model plants, such as economically important oilseed rape and tomato, can be introduced in the infection systems described. Hence, these proven manuals can support finding a root infection system for your specific research questions to further decipher root-microbe interactions.