Inclusive education and social competence development

Students with special educational needs are exposed to the same social and cultural effects as any other child. Their social and emotional development also evolves under those influences and they, too, must adjust to the conditions of their environment. In several cases, however, an inadequate learning environment keeps these children from experiencing and learning social skills and abilities (such as self-confidence and independence). Inclusive education for children with special educational needs is not common practice in Hungary even though it is equally well suited to fostering different social skills and abilities in children with either average or non-average development. This paper endeavours to argue for the importance of having inclusive education in Hungary by discussing examples abroad, with special emphasis on research and practical implementations in Great Britain

Separable Subsurface Scattering

In this paper, we propose two real-time models for simulating subsurface scattering for a large variety of translucent materials, which need under 0.5 ms per frame to execute. This makes them a practical option for real-time production scenarios. Current state-of-the-art, real-time approaches simulate subsurface light transport by approximating the radially symmetric non-separable diffusion kernel with a sum of separable Gaussians, which requires multiple (up to 12) 1D convolutions. In this work we relax the requirement of radial symmetry to approximate a 2D diffuse reflectance profile by a single separable kernel. We first show that low-rank approximations based on matrix factorization outperform previous approaches, but they still need several passes to get good results. To solve this, we present two different separable models: the first one yields a high-quality diffusion simulation, while the second one offers an attractive trade-off between physical accuracy and artistic control. Both allow rendering of subsurface scattering using only two 1D convolutions, reducing both execution time and memory consumption, while delivering results comparable to techniques with higher cost. Using our importance-sampling and jittering strategies, only seven samples per pixel are required. Our methods can be implemented as simple post-processing steps without intrusive changes to existing rendering pipelines

Parentage testing and looking for single nucleotide markers associated with antler quality in deer (<i>Cervus elaphus</i>)

To provide a cost-efficient parentage testing kit for red deer (Cervus elaphus), a 63 SNP set has been developed from a high-density Illumina BovineHD BeadChip containing 777 962 SNPs after filtering of genotypes of 50 stags. The successful genotyping rate was 38.6 % on the chip. The ratio of polymorphic loci among effectively genotyped loci was 6.5 %. The selected 63 SNPs have been applied to 960 animals to perform parentage control. Thirty SNPs out of the 63 had worked on the OpenArray platform. Their combined value of the probability of identity and exclusion probability was 4.9×10-11 and 0.99803, respectively. A search for loci linked with antler quality was also performed on the genotypes of the above-mentioned stags. Association studies revealed 14 SNPs associated with antler quality, where low-quality antlers with short and thin main beam antlers had values from 1 to 2, while high-quality antlers with long and strong main beams had values between 4 and 5. The chance for a stag to be correctly identified as having high-value antlers is expected to be over 88 %.</p

Age group, location or pedagogue: factors affecting parental choice of kindergartens in Hungary

Hungary has experienced significant political, economic, demographic and social changes since the end of Soviet domination in the 1990s. The gradual move towards liberal-democracy has been accompanied by growing emphasis on individualism, choice and diversity. Universal kindergarten provision for 5-6 year olds is a long established feature of the Hungarian education system, but little is known about parental choice (Török, 2004). A case study (Yin, 2004) of factors influencing parental choice and satisfaction was undertaken in one Hungarian town. This was based on a survey of 251 parents of children attending both mixed-age and same-age groups across 12 kindergartens. Parents suggested that the most important influences were geographical location and the individual pedagogue(s). Given that traditionally each pedagogue follows ‘their’ cohort from kindergarten entry to primary school, their influence appears heightened. Although generally satisfied with their chosen arrangement, parents from same-age groups expressed significantly more confidence and satisfaction, particularly in relation to cognitive development and preparation for school. Parents appear less convinced about the trend towards mixed-age groups and questions are raised about sufficiency of evidence of their benefits in a Hungarian context and the driving factors behind change

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification based approach as an alternative to recombinase polymerase amplification based detection of Mangalitza component in food products

We used an alternative approach, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, to detect Mangalitza component in food products, and it has been compared to an established Recombinase Polymerase Amplification test. The correlation between the assays was significant (P<0.01). Linear determination coefficient between the assays was 0.993 and level of diagnostic agreement was high (Kappa=0.971). Previously, a real-time PCR method based on TaqMan probe was developed (Szántó-Egész et al., 2013) for detection of Mangalitza meat in food products, using a Mangalitza specific sequence. Other Mangalitza specific sequences suitable for the same purpose are also in use (V. Stéger, personal communication). Approaches like real-time monitoring of accumulation of the specific DNA product usually require specialised laboratory equipment. For Mangalitza detection, portable Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) approach has been developed (Szántó-Egész et al., 2016), which requires a device capable of maintaining 39 °C and a lateral flow strip with easy yes/no indication of the successful amplification. We wanted to develop another fast, non-PCR based test with minimal laboratory requirement to provide a third possibility to detect Mangalitza component in food

Meat quality traits of M. longissimus lumborum from White Mangalica and (Duroc x White Mangalica) x White Mangalica pigs reared under intensive conditions and slaughtered at about 180-kg live weight

The objective of the study was to evaluate the meat quality of the Serbian autochthonous White Mangalica pure bred pig and its crossbreed with Duroc. A total of 24 pigs [White Mangalica WM, n = 12, and (Duroc x White Mangalica) x White Mangalica) - (DWM)WM, n = 12)] were slaughtered on average 638 and 509 d of age, respectively. Colour and marbling score, and all physical (pH, instrumental colour and water holding capacity) and chemical (proximate and mineral composition and fatty acids profile) analyses were performed on M. Iongissimus lumborum. Pork from WM had higher marbling score and intramuscular fat content and was redder in colour than from (DWM)WM; while opposite was determined for moisture content. In intramuscular fat, WM had higher content of oleic acid as well as total monounsaturated fatty acids than (DWM)WM, while (DWM)WM had higher linoleic and arachidonic acids as well as total polyunsaturated fatty acids content. Inclusion of 25% Duroc gave pork with lower content of iron, copper and manganese. In summary, irrespective of differences in some particular traits White Mangalica crossbreds can represent a good alternative to pure White Mangalica without worsening the meat quality

A robust, low- to medium-throughput prnp genotyping system in sheep

BACKGROUND: In many countries breeding programs for resistance to scrapie in sheep are established. Therefore, the demand on genotyping capacities of the polymorphisms of the prion protein gene (prnp) relevant to presently known disease associations and EU regulations is steadily increasing. Most published typing methods are not well suited for routine typing of large sample numbers in smaller service laboratories for different reasons: they require partly manual data processing, sophisticated and sensitive protocols, high efforts regarding time and manpower, multiple step reactions or substantial hardware investments. To overcome these drawbacks, we developed a prnp typing method that is based on a `multiplex amplification refractory mutation system' (ARMS) reaction. METHODS: In this study we combined the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) with standard fluorescent based fragment length analyses method to develop a prnp genotyping method (PRNP ARMS). RESULTS: By optimised primer design it was possible to type the 4 relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the prnp simultaneously in one multiplex reaction. Automated fragment length analysis enabled automated allele designation. Suitability of the PRNP ARMS for routine application was proven by typing samples with known genotypes and larger sample numbers from half-sib families. CONCLUSION: The ARMS PRNP typing method established in this study is universally suited for a broad range of typing projects with different requirements. It provides an efficient and inexpensive diagnostic mutation analysis that will improve the quality of prnp genotyping compared with other low-cost methods. It can be implemented by most molecular genetic laboratories using standard equipment

A dual fluorescent multiprobe assay for prion protein genotyping in sheep

BACKGROUND: Scrapie and BSE belong to a group of fatal, transmissible, neurodegenerative diseases called TSE. In order to minimize the risk of natural scrapie and presumed natural BSE in sheep, breeding programmes towards TSE resistance are conducted in many countries based on resistance rendering PRNP polymorphisms at codons 136 (A/V), 154 (R/H) and 171 (R/H/Q). Therefore, a reliable, fast and cost-effective method for routine PRNP genotyping in sheep, applicable in standard equipped molecular genetic laboratories, will be a vital instrument to fulfill the need of genotyping hundreds or thousands of sheep. METHODS: A dual fluorescent multiprobe assay consisting of 2 closed tube PCR reactions containing respectively 4 and 3 dual-labelled fluorescent ASO probes for the detection in real-time of the 7 allelic variants of sheep PRNP mentioned above. RESULTS: The assay is succesfully performed using unpurified DNA as a template for PCR, without any post-PCR manipulations and with semi-automatic determination of the PRNP genotypes. The performance of the assay was confirmed via PCR-RFLP and sequencing in a cross-validation study with 50 sheep. CONCLUSIONS: We report the development and validation of a robust, reliable and reproducible method for PRNP genotyping of a few to many sheep samples in a fast, simple and cost-effective way, applicable in standard equipped molecular genetic laboratories. The described primer/probe design strategy can also be applied for the detection of other polymorphisms or disease causing mutations

Locked Nucleic Acid Pentamers as Universal PCR Primers for Genomic DNA Amplification

Background: Multiplexing technologies, which allow for simultaneous detection of multiple nucleic acid sequences in a single reaction, can save a lot of time, cost and labor compared to traditional single reaction detection methods. However, the multiplexing method currently used requires precise handiwork and many complicated steps, making a new, simpler technique desirable. Oligonucleotides containing locked nucleic acid residues are an attractive tool because they have strong affinities for their complementary targets, they have been used to avoid dimer formation and mismatch hybridization and to enhance efficient priming. In this study, we aimed to investigate the use of locked nucleic acid pentamers for genomic DNA amplification and multiplex genotyping. Results: We designed locked nucleic acid pentamers as universal PCR primers for genomic DNA amplification. The locked nucleic acid pentamers were able to prime amplification of the selected sequences within the investigated genomes, and the resulting products were similar in length to those obtained by restriction digest. In Real Time PCR of genomic DNA from three bacterial species, locked nucleic acid pentamers showed high priming efficiencies. Data from bias tests demonstrated that locked nucleic acid pentamers have equal affinities for each of the six genes tested from the Klebsiella pneumoniae genome. Combined with suspension array genotyping, locked nucleic acid pentamer-based PCR amplification was able to identify a total of 15 strains, including 3 species of bacteria, by gene- and species-specific probes. Among the 32 specie