Most Common Medico-Legal Autopsy-Related Human and Nonhuman Biological Samples for DNA Analysis

The identification and individualization of biological evidences is crucial to actual criminal investigations. In spite of the differences at the national level, all the legal processes attribute particular importance to forensic DNA analysis. However, none of the qualified results from any professional laboratory can produce substantive, valuable evidence with insufficient quality of samples and/or problems with provision of a pristine and controlled environment. The methodology and efficiency of sampling are distinct in case of living persons and in medico-legal autopsy and crime scenes. This chapter is a short overview from the basic introductory information up to ongoing research, and in accordance with constraints on the chapter size, it briefly discusses the important topics of sample collection at medico-legal autopsy for DNA analysis. The content sorts the major types of samples, reviews the common methods of sampling and the potential risk of poor sampling or contamination transfer. The corpses can be more or less degraded, which in special cases (e.g., paraffin embedded tissues, drowned, burning and/or buried cadaver) allow only for analysis of highly degraded samples. The samples can be associated with tissues of a corpse (e.g., blood, soft tissues, bone, tooth, hair) and/or additional extraneous tissues and remains, which are often mixed (e.g., blood, saliva, semen, vaginal fluid, debris of fingernails) on the corpse

Forensic DNA Technological Advancements as an Emerging Perspective on Medico-Legal Autopsy: A Mini Review

The importance of biological traces and evidences related to a criminal matter has been recognized for a long time. The examination of the expression of genetic polymorphism has been an integral part of the multidisciplinary field of medico-legal autopsy for over a century. Since the initial application of blood group antigens for personalization of a putative perpetrator in a murder case, the discipline of forensic genetics has evolved as a standard of forensic sciences. The real breakthrough, the application of molecular tools and processes for the in-vitro replication of genetic substances, has increasingly allowed the exploitation of advances of molecular genetics for both forensic and criminal investigations. Although there are certainly many more applications and scientific fields in the medico-legal arena, the relatively fast progress of genetics, which has accelerated recently with state-of-art technologies, can provide ever more relevant information in relation to a corpse or the cause and manner that resulted in the corpse for autopsy. This topic concerns the currently accepted forensic DNA technology, and the last section reviews commonly used markers for nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analysis as well as ongoing research. This review also focuses on the increasingly important non-human sources of DNA, and shortly covers the main aspects of animal forensic DNA examination

The Feasibility of Cooperation to Comply with Land Use Change Obligations in the Marosszög Area of South Hungary

In many years excess water inundations generate a major obstacle to farming in the lowland part of Hungary, including the Marosszög area. Diverting water to large distances requires an infrastructure that is costly to develop and maintain. Alternatively, low-lying local land segments could be withdrawn from cultivation and utilized to collect the surplus water. The Ecological Focus Area (EFA) requirement of the EU points to the same direction: it requires that 5% of arable land is converted to other, ecologically more beneficial uses. During the research project it was tested if it is feasible to apply a novel economic policy instrument, an auction to trade land use change obligations, to achieve the EFA requirement in a cost effective way through the cooperation of farmers, while also creating a practical solution to manage the seasonal surplus water cover on land. The research was carried out in an interdisciplinary way: a dynamically coupled fully integrated hydrological model, including surface and subsurface modules, was applied by engineers to better understand the interconnections of land use, local hydrology and the role of the water diversion infrastructure; while a pilot auction exercise was conducted by economists with the participation of farmers to understand if cost reductions can be achieved through cooperation, as opposed to individual fulfilment of EFA obligations. The analysis also revealed which segments of the water diversion network are economic to maintain. It was confirmed that it is possible to improve local water management and satisfy the EFA requirements at a reduced cost if appropriate economic incentives are applied to trigger the cooperation of farmers

β-Amino Acid Organocatalysts in the Asymmetric Michael Addition of Isobutyraldehyde to N-Substituted Maleimides

Asymmetric Michael additions of carbonyl compounds to N-substituted maleimides are among the most convenient reactions to prepare optically pure succinimide building blocks. Although a few β-amino acids were found to be highly efficient organocatalysts in the addition of α-branched aldehydes, the effect of their structure on the results of these reactions has not yet been investigated. In the present study, we disclose several unexpected and interesting structural effects of aliphatic and cycloaliphatic β-amino acids obtained in the enantioselective conjugate addition of isobutyraldehyde to N-benzylmaleimide. The dependence of the sense of the enantioselectivity on the bulkiness of the substituent on the β-carbon atom, the beneficial spatial arrangements of the functional groups in cis isomers with cyclohexane scaffold and the inversion of the enantioselectivity depending on the absence of a base additive observed with some trans isomers are unprecedented findings. The minor influence of the nitrogen substituent of the maleimide ring on both the reaction rate and the enantioselectivity was also evidenced using alicyclic β-amino acid prepared from an easily available terpene derivative

Adaptive Water Management-land Use Practice for Improving Ecosystem Services – a Hungarian Modelling Case Study

During the 20th century in the Hungarian lowlands the emphasis was put on maximizing provisioning ecosystem services (ES), which caused the weakening of regulating and other services. With the growing environmental pressures, it is crucial to apply a more adaptive landscape management. This, however, leads to territorial conflicts, as large areas with water-tolerant land cover (i.e., wetlands, meadows, riparian forests) are needed to buffer extreme hydrological events.We present some findings of the WateRisk project, a research that focused on the possible solutions of these conflicts. In a scenario-based case study, we analyze the outlined issue for the Szamos-Kraszna Interfluve, a 510 km2 lowland catchment heavily affected by excess water. Scenarios were evaluated with an integrated methodology that focuses on the water budget and the total values of ES. The efficiency of the drainage network was found to be minor/moderate as it provided only -1–5% reduction in the spatial extents of inundations, and it contributed only ~20% to the elimination of water coverage. Furthermore, comparing the present (defense-focused) and the alternative (water retention focused) scenarios, the latter turned out to provide higher monetary value for the summed individual and social benefits of ES. This underlines the need for extensive adaptive measures in both water management and landscape planning to create resilience and the ability to cope with contemporary environmental challenges

Gombarezisztencia gének térképezése szőlőben = Mapping resistance genes against fungi in grapevine

Lisztharmat (PM) és peronoszpóra (DM) rezisztencia génekkel kapcsolt markerek szelekcióra való alkalmasságát vizsgáltuk szőlő inter-és intraspecifikus térképezési populációiban. Az interspecifikus hibridek a Muscadina rotundifolia x Vitis vinfera BC4 Cardinal, Kismis moldavszkij és Kismis vatkana fajtákkal előállított BC5 nemzedékei voltak. A M. rotundifolia az ismert RUN1 (PM) és az RPV1 (DM) domináns rezisztencia géneket tartalmazza. A BC5 nemzedékekben 1 CAPS és 3 SSR markerrel hatékonyan szelektáltuk a rezisztens genotípusokat. A V. vinifera fajták általában fogékonyak a lisztharmatra, de a fogékonyságuk eltérő. A Dzsandzsal karát írták le először PM rezisztens fajtaként, később azonban többet is azonosítottak, köztük a Kismis vatkanát, rezisztencia génjüket azonban nem jellemezték. A Nimrang x Kismis vatkana hibrid család elemzése során bebizonyosodott, hogy a Kismis vatkana PM génje, amelyet REN1-nek neveztek el, nem azonos a RUN1-gyel. A 13-as kromoszómára térképeződött, míg a RUN1 a 12-re. A REN1 körül azonosított 3 SSR markerrel genotipizáltuk a Génuai zamatos x Kismis vatkana és BC4 x Kismis vatkana utódokat. Az utóbbi család egyedei közül RUN1/REN1 piramidált genotípusokat szelektáltunk. Az azonos fenotípust meghatározó piramidált géneket tartalmazó növények azonosítása csak DNS-szintű elemzéssel lehetséges. A MAS hatékonyságának növelésére multiplex PCR módszert dolgoztunk ki. A REN1-gyel kapcsolt marker SSR profil alapján a Dzsandzsal kara is REN1 gént hordoz. | For validating markers linked to powdery (PM) and downy (DM) mildew resistance genes, applying them in marker assisted selection (MAS) we analyzed mapping populations, deriving from interspecific crosses of Vitis vinifera with Muscadinia rotundifolia carrying the dominant RUN1 (PM) and RPV1 (DM) resistance genes. One CAPS and 3 SSR markers proved to be adequate for selecting RUN1/RPV1 genotypes in the (M. rotundifolia x V. vinifera) BC4 x Cardinal, BC4 x Kishmish moldavskij and BC4 x Kishmish vatkana families. Kishmish vatkana is a PM resistant V. vinifera cultivar such as Dzhandzhal kara. Involving V. vinifera resistance genes into breeding gives the chance to avoid interspecific crosses. Analysis of a Nimrang x Kishmis vatkana progeny proved that PM resistance gene of Kishmish vatkana, called REN1, is different from RUN1. REN1 mapped into linkage group/LG 13, while RUN1 is in LG12. Three SSR markers were identified around the REN1 locus and applied for MAS in Génuai zamatos x Kishmis vatkana and BC4 x Kishmish vatkana hybrids. In this latter cross we proved the presence of the pyramided PM resistance genes. Plants carrying both RUN1 and REN1 for the same phenotype can be identified only with DNA analysis. This is the first time when SSR markers linked to REN1 were used for MAS. We elaborated a multiplex PCR method suitable for agarose electrophoresis. SSR profiles in REN1 linked loci suggest that Kismish vatkana and Dzhandzhal kara possess the same REN1 PM resistance gene

Differing development paths of spatial income inequalities after the political transition by the example of Hungary and its regions

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A piramis csúcsa? Esettanulmányokra épülő oktatás és a nemzetközi versenyek

Az esettanulmányokra építő oktatás a vezetői legjobb gyakorlatok átadásaként került be a legelső gazdálkodástani oktatási és vezetőképzési programokba az Egyesült Államokban, és erre az oktatási gyakorlatra épülő módszer ma már a világ számos egyetemén elterjedt. A módszer egyik fő előnye, hogy egyszerre fejleszti a hallgatók ismereteinek alkalmazását, problémamegoldó készségeit és segíti a gyakorlati, vállalati kontextus érzékelését, míg a nemzetközi esetversenyek a hallgatói teljesítmények és végső soron az a mögött álló oktatás színvonalának összehasonlítására is szolgálnak. A Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem (BCE) már az 1990-es évek elejétől az amerikai gyakorlat alapján adoptálta az esettanulmányokra épülő oktatást, és bekapcsolódott a nemzetközi esetversenyekbe. A szerzők cikkükben az esettanulmány-alapú oktatás sajátosságairól, az alapszakokhoz kapcsolódó rendszerről és a nemzetközi esetversenyekről adnak áttekintést. Céljuk az, hogy elősegítsék a további kutatásokat és az oktatásfejlesztést

THE TERRITORIAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND IMPLEMENTED CROSS BORDER COOPERATION PROJECTS IN BIHOR COUNTY. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE 2007-2013 AND 2014-2020 PROGRAMMING PERIODS AND EXPLOITATION OF THE EU FUNDS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF TOURISM

Bihor County has remarkable and various tourism resources in the frontier area which could be exploited more efficiently considering the tourism development strategies on different hierarchical levels, opportunities for investments using non-refundable financial support and the multilateral trans-frontier relationships due to its territorial location and historical and ethnical background. This study gives an insight in the relationship and consistency of development strategies, in the importance and the territorial distribution of implemented projects within Interreg IV and V Hungarian-Romanian Cross-border Cooperation Programmes, that concern tourism development in Bihor. All projects regarding Bihor were categorized through content and comparative analysis based on public documentation of Interreg Programmes which contributed to establishing three main category of winner applications: tourism development projects, indirect tourism development projects and other type of projects. The county has an exceptional position due to its high share of the number of projects and the amount of gained aid within the examined programmes, although there exist multilateral territorial inequalities in the location of project partners, in the total amount of non-refundable financial support from European Regional Development Fund and in the gained aid per capita on the level of local governments of the county. Based on the territorial distribution, mostly the urban areas and their catchment rural settlements on the eastern, central and north-western part of the county benefitted from the Interreg VI and V in case of tourism development

The effect of future land use changes on hydrologic ecosystem services: a case study from the Zala catchment, Hungary

Maintaining and, where possible, improving the ecological status of our water resources are of particular importance for the future. So, one of the main drivers of landscape design must be to protect our waters. In this study, we carried out an evaluation of four hydrologic ecosystem services (HES) in the Zala River catchment area, the largest tributary of Lake Balaton (more than half of the lake’s surface inflow comes from the Zala River), Hungary. The lake has great ecological, economic and social importance to the country. We used the cell-based InVEST model to quantify the spatial distribution of flood control, erosion control and nutrient retention ecosystem services for phosphorus and nitrogen; then, we carried out an aggregated evaluation. Thereby, we localized the hot spots of service delivery and tested the effect of focused land use changes in critical areas of low performance on the examined four HES. Forests proved to have the best aggregated result, while croplands near the stream network performed poorly. The modelled change in land use resulted in significant improvement on nutrient filtration and moderate to minimal but improving change for the other HES in most cases. The applied method is suitable as a supporting tool at the watershed level for decision-makers and landscape designers with the aim of protecting water bodies