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In 2014, we had the opportunity to study a Bronze Age multilayered settlement at Boconád-Alatka-puszta within the framework of a KEOP project. The site is located in the southern part of Heves County, northeast of Boconád. On the basis of archaeological research, the examined settlement layers can be connected to the Hatvan culture. In the central part of the settlement, surrounded by a ditch, human bones, i.e. fragments of skeletal bones and skulls of a child and an adult were recovered, concentrated in the same area, at the lowerpart of the plowed layer and the gray layer below it. Shell jewellery and a bone tool observed at the level ofthe bones were presumably the remnants of grave goods. It is certain that, taking advantage of the features of the place, the burials might take place after the abandonment of the settlement. Due to the extent of the disturbance, the results of scientific research may give the answer to who buried here and when.

Recent studies on using soil enhancer material, such as biochar, provide varying results from a soil hydrological and chemical perspective. Therefore, research focusing on soil-biochar-plant interactions is still necessary to enhance our knowledge on complex effects of biochar on soil characteristics. The present study investigated the changes in soil water content (SWC) and soil respiration (belowground CO2 production) over time during the growth of Capsicum annuum (pepper) in pot experiments. Concurrently, we investigated the influence of grain husk biochar with the amount of 0, 0.5%, 2.5%, and 5.0% (by weight) added to silt loam soil. Pepper plants were grown under natural environmental conditions to better represent field conditions, and additional irrigation was applied. SWC among treatments showed minor changes to precipitation during the beginning of the study while plants were in the growing phase. The highest water holding throughout the experiment was observed in the case of BC5.0. CO2 production increased in biochar amended soils during the first few days of the experiments; while the overall cumulative CO2 production was the highest in control and the lowest in BC2.5 treatments. We used the HYDRUS 1D soil hydrological model to simulate changes in SWC, using the control treatment without biochar as a reference data source for model calibration. The simulated SWC dynamics fitted well the measured ones in all treatments. Therefore, the HYDRUS 1D can be an exceptionally valuable tool to predict the hydrological response of different amount of biochar addition to silt loam soil including plant growth.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant tumor of bone usually occurring in young adolescent and children. This disease has a poor prognosis, because of the metastases in the period of tumor progression, which are usually developed previous to the clinical diagnosis. In this paper, a 2000-year-old ancient bone remain with osteogenic sarcoma was analyzed searching for tumor biomarkers which are closely related to this disease. After a specific extraction SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis followed by tryptic digestion was performed. After the digestion the samples were measured using MALDI TOF/TOF MS. Healthy bone samples from same archaeological site were used as control samples. Our results show that in the pathological skeletal remain several well known tumor biomarkers are detected such as annexin A10, BCL-2-like protein, calgizzarin, rho GTPase-activating protein 7, HSP beta-6 protein, transferrin and vimentin compared to the control samples. The identified protein biomarkers can be useful in the discovery of malignant bone lesions such as osteosarcoma in the very early stage of the disease from paleoanthropological remains.

Climate, hydrology and vegetation are closely linked at local, regional and global scales. The recent land use and plant production systems are adapted to the present climatic conditions. Thus, studies on the influence of possible climate change scenarios on the water and heat regimes of the soil-plant-atmosphere system are important in order to work out plant production strategies, adjusted to changed conditions. In this study the effect of two possible climate change scenarios on the soil water regime of a Chernozem soil was estimated for a Hungarian site. Soil water content dynamics simulated for different conventional and soil conserving soil tillage systems were evaluated, using the SWAP soil water balance simulation model. The combined effect of different soil tillage systems and climate scenarios was analysed. Climate scenarios were represented through the cumulative probability function of the annual precipitation sum. The SWAP model was calibrated against the measured in the representative soil profiles soil water content data. The site- and soil-specific parameters were set and kept constant during the scenario studies. According to the simulation results, increase in the average growing season temperature showed increase in climate induced soil drought sensitivity. The evaluated soil water content dynamics indicated more variable and less predictable soil water regime compared to the present climate. It was found that appropriate soil tillage systems that are combined with mulching and ensure soil loosening could reliably decrease water losses from the soil. From this aspect cultivator treatment created the most favourable for the plants soil conditions. It was concluded that soil conserving soil management systems, adapted to local conditions could contribute to soil moisture conservation and could increase the amount of plant available water under changing climatic conditions.

Biotic and abiotic stress effects can limit the productivity of plants to great extent. In Hungary, drought is one of the most important constrains of biomass production, even at the present climatic conditions. The climate change scenarios, developed for the Carpathian basin for the nearest future predict further decrease in surface water resources. Consequently, it is essential to develop drought stress tolerant wheat genotypes to ensure sustainable and productive wheat production under changed climate conditions. The aim of the present study was to compare the stress tolerance of two winter wheat genotypes at two different scales. Soil water regime and development of plants, grown in a pot experiment and in large undisturbed soil columns were evaluated. The pot experiments were carried out in a climatic room in three replicates. GK Élet wheat genotype was planted in six, and Mv Emese in other six pots. Two pots were left without plant for evaporation studies. Based on the mass of the soil columns without plant the evaporation from the bare soil surface was calculated in order to distinguish the evaporation and the transpiration with appropriate precision. A complex stress diagnosis system was developed to monitor the water balance elements. ECH2O type capacitive soil moisture probes were installed in each of the pots to perform soil water content measurements four times a day. The irrigation demand was determined according to the hydrolimits, derived from soil hydrophysical properties. In case of both genotypes three plants were provided with the optimum water supply, while the other three ones were drought-stressed. In the undisturbed soil columns, the same wheat genotypes were sawn in one replicate. Similar watering strategy was applied. TDR soil moisture probes were installed in the soil at various depths to monitor changes in soil water content. In order to study the drought stress reaction of the wheat plants, microsensors of 1.6 mm diameter were implanted into the stems and connected to a quadrupole mass spectrometer for gas analysis. The stress status was indicated in the plants grown on partly non-irrigated soil columns by the lower CO2 level at both genotypes. It was concluded that the developed stress diagnosis system could be used for soil water balance elements calculations. This enables more precise estimation of plant water consumption in order to evaluate the drought sensitivity of different wheat genotypes.