Abstract We present an overview of the role of generating functions in quantum mechanical contexts, mainly in the modern theory of polarization and in the study of quantum phase transitions. Generating functions enable the derivation of moments and cumulants, quantities which characterize the fluctuations of an underlying probability distribution. In all of the cases we review, the fluctuations are those of a quantum system. We show that the original formalism for geometric phases, in which a quantum system is taken around an adiabatic cycle, can be extended to the case when degeneracy points are encountered along the cycle (quasiadiabatic cycles). The essential tool for this extension is a generalized Bargmann invariant which plays the role of a generating function. From the cumulants generated this way one can form ratios according to the Binder cumulant scheme in statistical mechanics. Such geometric Binder cumulants are sensitive to gap closure, as such, they are useful in identifying metal-insulator, localization, and quantum phase transitions. We present example calculations on simple model systems whose localization properties are well known to validate to approach. We also complement our geometric Binder cumulant calculations with results for the fidelity susceptibility, a quantity directly related to the quantum geometry of the parameter space. CONTENTS I. Introduction 2 II. Basic ingredients 4 A. The problem of the polarization in crystalline systems 4 B. Generating functions, moments, cumulants 5 C. The excess kurtosis and the Binder cumulant 6 D. Berry phases 7 1. The Berry phase 7 2. The open path Berry phase (Zak phase) 8 3. The single point Berry phase 9 E. The generating function in quantum geometry 9 III. Generating functions in crystalline systems 9 A. Periodic probability distributions 10 B. The modern polarization theory for crystalline many-body systems 11 C. Gauge invariant cumulants 12 D. Generating functions for the Berry phase 12 E. Constructing the geometric Binder cumulant for quantum cycles 14 IV. Demonstrative examples 14 A. The Fermi sea 15 B. The Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model 16 C. Localization in the Aubry-André model 17 D. The Aubry-André transition through the fidelity suscebtibility 19 V. Conclusion 19
Szabolcs Duleba, Bálint Farkas, Sarbast Moslem
et al.
Rail freight policy should reflect both the current and foreseen situations of the certain national rail freight market. The situation analysis is often based on expert evaluations, in many cases with the participation of the market players themselves, and their synthesized group opinion is the basis of policy-making. However, the creation of opinion synthesis has not considered the market power of the players so far, and a clear research gap exists on how to properly addressing weights to the respondent experts in the group of evaluators to gain a realistic image on the present and future of the rail freight market. The objective of this paper is to identify problems, risks, and development potential in an EU national rail freight market by an expert survey based new methodology (Sectoral Group Analytic Hierarchy Process, SGAHP) that assigns different decision-maker weights in the respondent group based on the different market power of the players to gain a clear and overall image on the examined market. As a case study, a survey has been conducted in Hungary involving the significant representatives of the national rail freight. Results show that the recruitment and training of human resource is a common problem, while supporting single wagon traffic is meaningless for all players. However, big companies prioritise the reduction of locomotive maintenance time, while small ones strive to have own maintenance facilities. As an implication, the proposed model might help state decision-makers in customizing financial or other support to efficiently increase the competitiveness of the sector, as well as the rail companies to better adopt to the situation. The proposed new model has been proven successful not only from the aspect of robustness and sensitivity, but also of recommending practical modifications in rail freight to transport planners both on national and EU levels.
Szilárd Szabó, Abdelmajeed A. Elrasheed, Lilla Kovács
et al.
Reference data are the most crucial points in model building. In geoscience, a scarcity of sufficient reference data is common. Pseudo-labelling (PL), i.e. incorporating high-probability data in the model-building process, offers a potential solution. We aimed to reveal the efficiency of PL in lithological mapping in a vegetation-free arid region of Sudan. Multiple Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) and Random Forest (RF) were used to classify a Landsat 9 image. Reference data were collected during fieldwork and through visual interpretation. Image processing yielded classified maps with associated probability layers, from which 1000 additional traditional samples (PL data) were extracted at a 95 percent probability. A detailed accuracy assessment was conducted, and accuracy measures were evaluated using statistical analysis and visual inspection. MARS was found to be an ambiguous classifier because the probability was too optimistic related to the overall accuracy (OA) (81% of samples had above 99% probability, OA = 98.2%) compared to RF (21% above 99%, OA = 98.1%); that is, despite the high probability, the accuracy improvement was only 0.1 percent. At the class level, the correlation between probability and the F1-score was low (0.21%). The original and PL-based models resulted in different maps with improved accuracy, although the new model version showed lower probability values for both the classifiers. Visual inspection proved essential for better insights into the spatial patterns: expert knowledge is crucial for controlling the occurrence of rock types and identifying false classifications. The main finding is that probability should be handled carefully, as it does not guarantee high model performance in classification, although the PL approach can lead to more reliable maps.
Objectives: Smartphone addiction is a growing health concern, especially among university students. This updated review expands our 2024 review by synthesizing recent empirical findings on the relationship between physical activity and smartphone addiction among university students. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a thorough search was conducted in PubMed, SSRN, Oxford Research Archive, JSTOR, and Google Scholar. The quality of studies was evaluated with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Results: Sixteen studies published between January 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, met the inclusion criteria: 14 cross-sectional, one randomized controlled trial, and one longitudinal. All emerged from Asia. Most found an inverse relationship between physical activity and smartphone addiction. Experimental and longitudinal studies indicated that structured physical activity could reduce smartphone addiction symptoms over time. However, the predominantly correlational designs warrant cautious interpretation. Still, the directionally consistent average effect size was moderate to large (Cohen's d = ≈ −0.62), highlighting physical activity's protective role. Conclusions: Regular physical activity may prevent or reduce smartphone addiction in university students. However, future studies should employ longitudinal designs, use objective measures, and incorporate qualitative validation. This review reinforces our earlier findings and supports the considerable inverse relationship between physical activity and smartphone addiction.
Abstract Background Several different coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines were authorized and distributed all over the world, including Hungary, but vaccination rates and acceptance of the different vaccines varied through 2021 and subsequent years. In Hungary Western vaccines and the Chinese and Russian vaccines were available in early 2021. Understanding preference and willingness to pay (WTP) for the COVID-19 vaccine could provide information for policy decision making to control the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to assess the socio-demographic factors influencing the COVID-19 vaccination and to analyse individual preferences for the available COVID-19 vaccines in Hungary. Methods A cross-sectional online questionnaire survey was conducted between 25–05-2021 and 08–06-2021 exploring the vaccine acceptance and WTP for vaccination in the Hungarian general population. To assess the preferences towards the different vaccines available in Hungary at the time of the study, we used a multi-step WTP task. Results Altogether 2,000 respondents filled out our survey, with the average age of 49.1 (SD = 15.3), out of whom 370 respondents (18.5%) stated that they already had a COVID-19 infection. Age above 65 years, male gender, higher level of education, higher income and residence in the capital or county seats were associated with a higher probability of vaccination. The average WTP ranged from 14.2 to 30.3 EUR for the different vaccine types. Conclusions Males, respondents with higher education and income stated a higher WTP value for all vaccines. Better socioeconomic status increased both vaccination coverage and willingness to pay for vaccines.
In order to make ecotoxicological studies using bird embryos simpler and more cost effective, kinetic imaging, already proven in human medicine, was tested. In the study, a total of 8 still-living embryos were examined non-invasively with low-intensity (50 keV) X-rays. During the measurement, we tried to assess how the embryos react if they are not stored at the temperature of 38 °C required for hatching for 1 hour.
Gloria Pérez-Gimeno, Gloria Pérez-Gimeno, Miguel Seral-Cortes
et al.
IntroductionFrom genome wide association study (GWAS) a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have previously been associated with blood pressure (BP) levels. A combination of SNPs, forming a genetic risk score (GRS) could be considered as a useful genetic tool to identify individuals at risk of developing hypertension from early stages in life. Therefore, the aim of our study was to build a GRS being able to predict the genetic predisposition to hypertension (HTN) in European adolescents.MethodsData were extracted from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) cross-sectional study. A total of 869 adolescents (53% female), aged 12.5–17.5, with complete genetic and BP information were included. The sample was divided into altered (≥130 mmHg for systolic and/or ≥80 mmHg for diastolic) or normal BP. Based on the literature, a total of 1.534 SNPs from 57 candidate genes related with BP were selected from the HELENA GWAS database.ResultsFrom 1,534 SNPs available, An initial screening of SNPs univariately associated with HTN (p < 0.10) was established, to finally obtain a number of 16 SNPs significantly associated with HTN (p < 0.05) in the multivariate model. The unweighted GRS (uGRS) and weighted GRS (wGRS) were estimated. To validate the GRSs, the area under the curve (AUC) was explored using ten-fold internal cross-validation for uGRS (0.802) and wGRS (0.777). Further covariates of interest were added to the analyses, obtaining a higher predictive ability (AUC values of uGRS: 0.879; wGRS: 0.881 for BMI z-score). Furthermore, the differences between AUCs obtained with and without the addition of covariates were statistically significant (p < 0.05).ConclusionsBoth GRSs, the uGRS and wGRS, could be useful to evaluate the predisposition to hypertension in European adolescents.
Diseases of the circulatory (Cardiovascular) system
The largest population movement in the history of Europe since the Second World War has been the migration process of recent years, which also appeared in Hungary in 2015. The significant demographic movement has resulted in important social reactions and has developed different narratives in the civil and also in the power fields. In Hungary, the refugee issue has become a decisive topic of political discourse since 2015, and the party coalition was among the first in Europe to represent the security policy. As a result, the refugees appeared as a source of danger, so the government has rejected them. In spite of this, the grassroots volunteer groups were organized in the civil sphere, who helped the refugee masses passing through Hungary in 2015. This paper analyses a very brief but very intense manifestation of Hungarian civil society involvement as a social response to current conflicts. We will look at how the 2015 migration wave grassroots crisis management took place in Debrecen. This cultural anthropological research is based on online and offline participatory observations and semi-structured interviews and informal conversations with volunteers who helped refugees in Debrecen. This study focuses on the motivations, attitudes, social responsibility of volunteers and their voluntary activity embedded in broader socio-political conditions. The first part of the article shows the formation and operational peculiarities of solidarity philanthropic organization with refugees in Debrecen. Then follows the individual aspects of volunteering. Finally, it will be discussed the socio-political context of the civil voluntary movement, the political interpretations of refugee assistance, and its impact on volunteering. With outlining a segment of the contemporary volunteer phenomenon we can get closer to provide a framework for understanding the possibilities of the recent civil sphere.
Askar Akaev, Alexander I. Zvyagintsev, Askar Sarygulov
et al.
The outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic and its rapid spread throughout the world in 2020 shed a new light on mathematic models describing the nature of epidemics. However, as the pandemic shocked economies to a much greater extent than earlier epidemics, the recovery potential of economies was emphasized and its inclusion in epidemic models is becoming more important. The present paper deals with the issues of modeling the recovery of economic systems that have undergone severe medical shocks, such as COVID-19. The proposed mathematical model considers the close relationship between the dynamics of pandemics and economic development. This distinguishes it from purely “medical” models, which are used exclusively to study the dynamics of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike standard SIR models, the present approach involves the introduction of the “vaccine” equation to the SIR model and introduces correction components that include the possibility of re-infection and other nuances such as the number of people at risk of infection (not sick with COVID but not vaccinated); sick with COVID; recovered; fully vaccinated (two doses) citizens; the rate of COVID infection; the rate of recovery of infected individuals; the vaccination coefficients, respectively, for those who have not been ill and recovered from COVID; the coefficient of revaccination; the COVID re-infection rate; and the population fluctuation coefficient, which takes into account the effect of population change as a result of births and deaths and due to the departure and return of citizens. The present model contains governance so that it not only generates scenario projections but also models specific governance measures as well to include the pandemic and restore economic growth. The model also adds management issues, so that it not only generates scenario forecasts but simultaneously models specific management measures as well, aiming to suppress the pandemic and restoring economic growth. The model was implemented on specific data on the dynamics of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in selected developing economies.
Zsolt Balla, Eszter Sára Kormányos, Balázs Kui
et al.
The pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis (AP) is not well understood, and the disease does not have specific therapy. Tryptophan metabolite L-kynurenic acid (KYNA) and its synthetic analogue SZR-72 are antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and have immune modulatory roles in several inflammatory diseases. Our aims were to investigate the effects of KYNA and SZR-72 on experimental AP and to reveal their possible mode of action. AP was induced by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of L-ornithine-HCl (LO) in SPRD rats. Animals were pretreated with 75-300 mg/kg KYNA or SZR-72. Control animals were injected with physiological saline instead of LO, KYNA and/or SZR-72. Laboratory and histological parameters, as well as pancreatic and systemic circulation were measured to evaluate AP severity. Pancreatic heat shock protein-72 and IL-1β were measured by western blot and ELISA, respectively. Pancreatic expression of NMDAR1 was investigated by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Viability of isolated pancreatic acinar cells in response to LO, KYNA, SZR-72 and/or NMDA administration was assessed by propidium-iodide assay. The effects of LO and/or SZR-72 on neutrophil granulocyte function was also studied. Almost all investigated laboratory and histological parameters of AP were significantly reduced by administration of 300 mg/kg KYNA or SZR-72, whereas the 150 mg/kg or 75 mg/kg doses were less or not effective, respectively. The decreased pancreatic microcirculation was also improved in the AP groups treated with 300 mg/kg KYNA or SZR-72. Interestingly, pancreatic heat shock protein-72 expression was significantly increased by administration of SZR-72, KYNA and/or LO. mRNA and protein expression of NMDAR1 was detected in pancreatic tissue. LO treatment caused acinar cell toxicity which was reversed by 250 µM KYNA or SZR-72. Treatment of acini with NMDA (25, 250, 2000 µM) did not influence the effects of KYNA or SZR-72. Moreover, SZR-72 reduced LO-induced H2O2 production of neutrophil granulocytes. KYNA and SZR-72 have dose-dependent protective effects on LO-induced AP or acinar toxicity which seem to be independent of pancreatic NMDA receptors. Furthermore, SZR-72 treatment suppressed AP-induced activation of neutrophil granulocytes. This study suggests that administration of KYNA and its derivative could be beneficial in AP.
A tanulmány Mongólia egy 1736-ban jurtaszentélyként alapult kolostorának történetét mutatja be, amely 1937-ig a mai Xöwsgöl megye Tömörbulag járásában állt. A 16 szentélyt és ezer szerzetest számláló, tajgai kolostor könyvnyomtatásáról és fafaragásairól volt híres. Érdekessége, hogy egykori szerzetese, Süx Gotow (1915–2010) nemcsak, hogy részt vett kolostora hagyományának a felélesztésében, hanem annak részletes történetét is ránk hagyta. Jelen tanulmány elsősorban 1999-ben írt könyve alapján szemlélteti Mongólia egykori kolostorainak alapítását, fejlődését és jelenlegi helyzetét.
Background: The public health relevance of health literacy is highlighted by the fact that its higher levels can improve health outcomes and reduce health inequities. In order to design effective interventions for improving health literacy, the relationship between health literacy and other factors such as sociodemographic variables, subjective health and social support must be understood.Objective: Our aim was to test a socioecological model of the determinants of health literacy with a special focus on the effect of residence. Our study investigated geographical differences regarding the levels of health literacy and its determinants as this was not investigated before in European nationwide surveys.Methods: Data was collected by a polling company in a sample (n = 1,200) of the Hungarian adult population nationally representative by age, gender, and permanent residence in 2019 January. The questionnaire included items on sociodemographic data, subjective well-being, social support, and two health literacy scales. A recursive path model was used to outline the mediating effect of social support between sociodemographic variables and health literacy where both direct and indirect effects of the explanatory variables and multiple relationships among the variables were analyzed simultaneously. Multiple-group analysis was applied to the three pre-set categories of permanent residence (capital city, urban and rural).Results: There was no statistically significant difference by residence regarding levels of health literacy. Social support and educational attainment were the most important determinants of health literacy after adjusting for the effect of other sociodemographic variables. However, the magnitude of effect of social support and educational attainment is different between types of settlements, the strongest being in rural areas.Conclusion: Social support seems to mediate the effect of socioeconomic position on health literacy which could be taken into account when designing interventions to improve health literacy, especially in rural areas. Further studies would be needed especially in rural communities to see whether improvement of social support could be utilized in projects to increase the level of health literacy.
Striving for excellence during the assembling process through incorporating the expectations of Industry 4.0 requires complex information management on issues of overall system status, especially the physical characteristics and position of the parts being assembled, as well as the assembling units and tools. This research introduces both an overall customized assembling system supervision model, which is based on a modified four-layer control system hierarchy that suits the specific requirements of such systems and the developed wireless sensor network technology for assembling process management with a particular focus on localization. The developed model highlights the localization problems of the system as well as other aspects required for overall system status determination. The localization of assembled parts is based on the fingerprint localization method by using the received signal strength indicator. The proposed localization algorithms are based either on artificial neural networks or on the weighted k-nearest neighbor method. The developed model has been tested both in laboratory conditions and in a simulated industrial environment. The research results offer a general solution to the problem of assembling system supervision, regardless of size and shape, with emphasis on the localization problem solution.
Bjoern B. Burckhardt, Agnes Maria Ciplea, Anna Laven
et al.
Background: Pediatric trials to add missing data for evidence-based pharmacotherapy are still scarce. A tailored training concept appears to be a promising tool to cope with critical and complex situations before enrolling the very first patient and subsequently to ensure high-quality study conduct. The aim was to facilitate study success by optimizing the preparedness of the study staff shift.Method: An interdisciplinary faculty developed a simulation training focusing on the communication within the informed consent procedure and the conduct of the complex pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) sampling within a simulation facility. Scenarios were video-debriefed by an audio-video system and manikins with artificial blood simulating patients were used. The training was evaluated by participants' self-assessment before and during trial recruitment.Results: The simulation training identified different optimization potentials for improved informed consent process and study conduct. It facilitated the reduction of avoidable errors, especially in the early phase of a clinical study. The knowledge gained through the intervention was used to train the study teams, improve the team composition and optimize the on-ward setting for the FP-7 funded “LENA” project (grant agreement no. 602295). Self-perceived ability to communicate core elements of the trial as well as its correct performance of sample preparation increased significantly (mean, 95% CI, p ≤ 0.0001) from 3 (2.5–3.5) to four points (4.0–4.5), and from 2 (1.5–2.5) to five points (4.0–5.0).Conclusion: An innovative training concept to optimize the informed consent process and study conduct was successfully developed and enabled high-quality conduct of the pediatric trials as of the very first patient visit.
Background. Te critical importance of lexical concreteness and embodied sensorimotor processes for language comprehension is ofen assumed to be beyond doubt. Hungarian grammar is unique in that it expresses certain verb arguments using spatial sufxes, which sometimes create ambiguity between literal spatial adjuncts and abstract verb arguments.
Objective. In the present study, our goal was to investigate the role and m perhaps primacy of concrete spatial meaning when generating the abstract sense of arguments of mental verbs.
Design. Towards that end, we embedded ambiguous verb-noun constructs with both a possible locative adjunct reading (i.e. spatial, literal) and a verb argument reading (i.e. abstract, fgurative), with a continuously varying preference for one or the other, in disambiguating sentence contexts. Using a selfpaced reading paradigm, we measured reading times of verbs and sentence fnal nouns of the ambiguous constructs.
Results. We found no diference in the reaction times to verbs, which suggests that their argument frames were obligatorily activated regardless of sentential context. Nouns were read more slowly in the argument contexts, yet the slower pace was driven by constructs that had a preferred locative reading.
Conclusion. Tis pattern of results contradicts strong embodiment explanations, and can be better accounted for by dual coding theory. Our fndings demonstrate the importance of studying the role of concreteness and metaphoricity in linguistic meaning construction in the context of syntax and sentence processing.
Matthias Corvinus, the Hungarian ruler who was also called the „Warrior King”, was carrying out very intensive policy in Central Europe. Having come to the throne of Hungary in 1458, he soon also seized Moravia, Silesia and Vienna. His wars for the throne in Prague, waged first against George of Poděbrady (1468-1471) and then against Casimir the Jagiellonian (1471-1474), led to devastating raids of Hungarian troops on, among others, Opavian Silesia and Lesser Poland. In retaliation, in the end of 1474 Jagiellonian troops invaded Silesia and for a short period of time besieged Wrocław. Furthermore, in Spring 1488 a conflict over the Duchy of Głogów broke out, which ended in a long siege of this town. An important role in the modern army of Matthias Corvinus was played by firearms. These are often mentioned by written sources from this period and numerous material traces of their use are revealed by archaeological examinations at sites which were affected by invasions.
Archaeology, Ethnology. Social and cultural anthropology
After an overview of general aspects of modelling the pulsation- convection interaction we present reasons why such simulations (in multidimensions) are needed but, at the same time, pose a considerable challenge. We then discuss, for several topics, what insights multidimensional simulations have either already provided or can be expected to yield in the future. We finally discuss properties of our ANTARES code. Many of these features can be expected to be characteristic of other codes which may possibly be applied to these physical questions in the foreseeable future.
We discuss the Drell-Yan production of dileptons at high energies in the forward rapidity region of proton-proton collisions in a hybrid high-energy approach. This approach uses unintegrated gluon distributions in one proton and collinear quark/antiquark distributions in the second proton. We compute various distributions for the case of low-mass dilepton production and compare to the LHCb and ATLAS experimental data on dilepton mass distributions. In distinction to dipole approaches, we include four Drell-Yan structure functions as well as cuts at the level of lepton kinematics. The impact of the interference structure functions is rather small for typical experimental cuts. We find that both side contributions ($g q/\bar q$ and $q/\bar q g$) have to be included even for the LHCb rapidity coverage which is in contradiction with what is usually done in the dipole approach. We present results for different unintegrated gluon distributions from the literature. Some of them include saturation effects, but we see no clear hints of saturation even at small $M_{ll}$.
In this paper, a fourth-order boundary value problem on the half-line is considered and existence of solutions is proved using a minimization principle and the mountain pass theorem.