34 research outputs found
Improved recovery of ancient DNA from subfossil wood. Application to the world's oldest Late Glacial pine forest
No full textAncient DNA from historical and subfossil wood has a great potential to provide new insights into the history of tree populations. However, its extraction and analysis have not become routine, mainly because contamination of the wood with modern plant material can complicate the verification of genetic information.Here, we used sapwood tissue from 22 subfossil pines that were growing c. 13000yr bp in Zurich, Switzerland. We developed and evaluated protocols to eliminate surface contamination, and we tested ancient DNA authenticity based on plastid DNA metabarcoding and the assessment of post-mortem DNA damage.A novel approach using laser irradiation coupled with bleaching and surface removal was most efficient in eliminating contaminating DNA. DNA metabarcoding confirmed which ancient DNA samples repeatedly amplified pine DNA and were free of exogenous plant taxa. Pine DNA sequences of these samples showed a high degree of cytosine to thymine mismatches, typical of post-mortem damage.Stringent decontamination of wood surfaces combined with DNA metabarcoding and assessment of post-mortem DNA damage allowed us to authenticate ancient DNA retrieved from the oldest Late Glacial pine forest. These techniques can be applied to any subfossil wood and are likely to improve the accessibility of relict wood for genome-scale ancient DNA studies
Coral-ID: A forensically validated genetic test to identify precious coral material and its application to objects seized from illegal traffic
Get PDFThe production and trade of objects manufactured from the skeletal axis of coralid precious corals is a historically, culturally and economically important global industry. Coralids are members of the diverse Coralliidae family, which contains several species complexes and morphospecies. For most precious coral found in the jewelry trade, the color remains the sole clue and link to the taxonomic identity of the individual. Different coralid species have however similar or overlapping colors resulting in difficulty to taxonomically identify jewelry objects, including four species listed by the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) whose international transport and trade requires species-specific and country of origin documentation. We aimed at developing a reliable method to taxonomically identify coralid material with the objective of distinguishing CITES protected species from their non-protected counterparts. We present Coral-ID, a genetic assay to taxonomically classify coralid objects using quasi non-destructive sampling. The assay classifies the analyzed sample in one of six taxonomic categories and performs at least presumptive separation of CITES-listed and non-listed species in all cases. Developmental validation experiments prove that Coral-ID is a specific, accurate and very sensitive method. As the first attempt to randomly sample corals in the trade to identify them, we applied Coral-ID on 20 precious coral objects seized by custom authorities upon import to in Switzerland. Thirteen (65%) of these samples could be analyzed; three of these were found to be presumptively CITES-listed, and 10 of them have proven to originate from non-CITES-listed species
Enumeratio és ékesség Árkay Bertalan 1945 utáni (usque) 12 temploma
Get PDFThe paper presents Bertalan Árkay’s post-1945 smaller churches and through them the architect’s formal solutions and working method on the basis of plans in the estate, archival sources and his own list of works. After a source critical collation of the listed sources, the author takes stock of the elements of the oeuvre and identifying the buildings attributed to Árkay she clarifies the size of the oeuvre. She has found that between 1945 and 1953 he planned three churches (Cegléd, Gerjen, Kömpöc) but the construction of the Cegléd church was interrupted by the historical circumstances. Between 1957 and ’60 he made plans for nine churches (Győr-Kisbácsa, Szalkszentmárton, Vecsés Andrássy-telep, Hernád, Inárcs, Móricgát, Tiszalök, Újtikos, Vecsés-Óplébánia) seven of which were constructed on his plans. In 1961–65 he planned and built the churches of Pátroha, Parádsasvár and Tiszaeszlár. After the identification of restoration work and the contributions of other architects, it could be concluded that in addition to the churches of Hort and Taksony Bertalan Árkay saw 12 of his planned churches built up.
The examination of the buildings and the plan drawings confirmed that Árkay had some favourite formal solutions that he was wont to resort to. Regarding the façade design, three versions can be differentiated: one with a façade tower, one with a gable wall, and one with a pediment. As for window types, he had a penchant for windows with circular head, windows/French windows designed upon the arms of the cross and rosettes subdivided with a cross. Comparing them to the material in the estate one finds that Árkay often reused his motifs designed 20–25 years earlier. Behind the repeated forms of details (portals, choir) collaboration with the same craftsmen can be discerned.
By correcting some facts of the biography the author clarifies that apart from his work in state planning offices, Bertalan Árkay accepted several ecclesiastical commissions. It also came to light that in addition to planning new buildings he often undertook the restoration of buildings and the designing of objects of furnishing in any style.
The final conclusion is that after 1945 Bertalan Árkay was not able to repeat the architecture historical bravura he achieved with the Városmajor church, the prelude to modern Hungarian church architecture, designed with his father Aladár Árkay. In aesthetic terms his smaller churches satisfy the standards of ecclesiastic art and the expectations of the users, but their historicizing elements remove them from the contemporary trends of architecture, and their repetition shows routine rather than architectural invention
A Jósika-orgona (Syringa josikaea Jacq. fil. ex Rchb.) aktuális és történeti biogeográfiája = The actual and historical biogeography of Syringa josikaea Jacq. fil. ex Rchb.
Get PDFA Jósika-orgona (Syringa josikaea Jacq. fil. ex Rchb.) az Erdélyi-szigethegység és az Ukrajnai-Kárpátok bennszülött cserjefaja. Rokonságának ázsiai elterjedése miatt vetődött föl, hogy egy reliktum fajjal állunk szemben. Ez a kérdés már több, mint száz éve (Pax 1898) foglalkoztatja a
szakmai közvéleményt. Annak hatására, hogy fosszíliákat S. josikaea őseként azonosítottak, mára e faj a Kárpát-medence harmadkori reliktumainak tankönyvi példája lett. A reliktum növényfajok történeti biogeográfiája eltér az egyes területeket borító növényzet többségéhez képest, emiatt a
reliktumok történeti biogeográfiája fontos adatokkal egészítheti ki a flóratörténetről szerzett
ismereteket. A rokonság elterjedésének ismerete és néhány fosszília alapján azonban a fajok származásáról és történeti biogeográfiájáról csak bizonytalansággal lehet hipotéziseket felállítani. Különösen igaz ez régebbi földtörténeti korok reliktumai esetében, ahol az eltelt hosszú idő alatt számos tényező befolyásolhatta a faj fennmaradását és elterjedését. Az utóbbi évtizedekben a molekuláris genetikai technikák fejlődése új lehetőséget adott a fajtörténet feltárásához és évszázados hipotézisek igazolására vagy elvetésére (Avise 2000). Molekuláris genetikai módszerekkel vizsgálhatóvá vált a S. josikaea leszármazási ideje, és hogy ez milyen földtörténeti eseményekkel áll kapcsolatban
Recenzió Dr. Bertalan Péter: Sorsfordító évek 1990-1994 Dilemmák és alternatívák a gazdaságpolitikában című könyvéről = Review on Game-changing Years 1990-1994 Dilemmas and Alternatives in Economic Policy by Péter Bertalan
No full textA recenzióban bemutatásra kerülő könyv a legmodernebb geopolitikai, hálózatelméleti megközelítések és primer források alkalmazásával elemzi a rendszerváltáshoz vezető utat a hidegháború kezdetétől napjaink válságáig. Nemcsak maga az 1990-1994-ig tartó időszak áll a fókuszpontban, hiszen az eseményeket alakító hálózatok már jóval korábban mozgásba lendültek, és mindmáig meghatározó tényezői a világpolitikának, és régiónk jövőjének is kulcselemei. A hiánypótló kutatómunka eredményeként megismerhetjük azokat a komplex folyamatokat, melyek elvezettek a rendszerváltáshoz, és a világpolitika átalakulásához az 1990-es években. Egy sokat vitatott időszakról, történelmünk sorsfordító éveiről szerezhetünk mélyebb tudást, valamint a hálózatokban való gondolkodáshoz is hozzásegít bennünket Dr. Bertalan Péter műve. | The book presented in this review analyses the events that led to the Hungarian regime change, applying primary sources and the latest methodology of network theory and geopolitics from the start of the Cold War to the recent crisis. The author not only focuses on the period of 1990-1994, as the networks shaping the events have already been set in motion long before, and are determining factors still today in world politics while playing a key role in the future of the region. As a result of this unique analysis, all the complex processes are revealed that led to the change of regime in Hungary and the shifts in world politics in the 1990’s. The book by Dr. Péter Bertalan contributes to a greater understanding of the debated, game changing period of the regime change, and also helps us understand how to think in terms of networks
A magyarföldi husáng (Ferula sadleriana) populációinak állapotfelmérése 2008-ban
Get PDFA reliktumendemizmus magyarföldi husáng (Ferula sadleriana Ledeb.) világállománya nyolc diszperz populáció a Kárpát-medencében: a Gerecse, a Pilis, a Börzsöny és a Bükk-hegység egy-egy pontján, a Tordai-hasadéknál, valamint kettő az Aggteleki-karszt szlovákiai oldalán. Egy további, valószínűleg telepített kis népessége van a Pilisben a Kis-Kevélyen. A populációk sziklagyepek, sztyeplejtők és bokorerdők vegetációmozaikjában élnek. Valamennyi élőhely természetvédelmi oltalom alatt áll. 2008 nyarán felkerestük és felmértük állományait. A legkisebb (Börzsöny, 4000 egyed) populáció mérete két nagyságrendnyit tér el. Ez a többször termő, évelő lágyszárú növényfaj mindenütt érlel termést, ám ezt a szárba szökkent egyedeket fogyasztó vad veszélyezteti. Elkerítéssel hatékonyan csökkenthető a vadrágás. Az állományok megőrzéséhez szükséges még az emberi taposás kizárása és a mozaikos bokorerdő növényzet fenntartása. Így akár a néhány tíz egyedet számláló populációk magtermése is elegendő lehet egy állomány megerősödéséhez. A természetvédelmi kezeléseknek is köszönhetően ma az összes populáció fennmaradása biztosítottnak tűnik, ami egy izolált előfordulású, feltehetően elkülönült genetikai állományú populációkból álló fajnál különösen fontos lehet
Characterization of Nuclear Microsatellite Markers for the Narrow Endemic Syringa josikaea Jacq. fil. ex Rchb.
Get PDFThe species of the genus Syringa L. are among the most popular ornamental plants worldwide. One particular species, Syringa josikaea, a rare endemic of the Carpathian Mountains, is of great conservation interest. Although microsatellite markers may be useful for studying the genetic variability of varieties and populations, no microsatellites have previously been characterized for any species of the Syringa genus. Our aim was therefore to test the applicability of microsatellite primers developed for neighboring genera (Olea and Ligustrum) and to complement these with markers isolated and characterized for S. josikaea. Twelve primer pairs of Olea and Ligustrum were tested by optimizing PCR conditions and checking the variability in 40 samples of two populations of S. josikaea. Two of them proved to be easy to PCR amplify and variable at the same time. To develop new primers we constructed a microsatellite enriched library and sequenced 48 clones. 18 sequences contained microsatellite motifs, and three of the designed primer pairs presented high allele variability. The five primer pairs characterized for S. josikaea proved to be highly informative and sufficient to distinguish between individuals. These microsatellite primers are valuable tools to study genetic variation of native populations, genetic lineages of hybrids and cultivars of S. josikaea.</p
Hope and Satisfaction. Travellers' letters in tourism research
No full textPresent paper is part of a larger study focusing on a special form of religiously motivated travel. The market leader on the field of religiously motivated organized mass tourism, shortly religious tourism, is Macroworld Pilgrim Travel Agency in Hungary. An important source of present research is the so-called travellers' letters, written feedback addressed to the agency. With the help of more than thousand letters, the author intends to point out some characteristic experiences of contemporary religious tourism
Versengő múltak, versengő jelenek történelem a diszkurzív térben
Get PDFIn his article the author analyses four letters sent to the editor of The European newspaper. The first European 'national' weekly was published between 1990 and 1998. The newspaper dealing mainly with European issues was a propagator of a common European identity. That is why the four letters can be subject of cultural analysis. The letters written by an Albanian, a Greek and a Macedonian reader were based on their writers' historical knowledge. The author tries to point out what kind of conflicts can rise from the clash of different national histories and their 'folk' usage
