Edit Fenyvesi, Gábor Gyula Kiss, Dénes Molnár
et al.
The constancy of nuclear decay rates can be investigated via long-duration precision measurements. It is still an open question whether any (annual) modulation can be observed. Long-lasting nuclear decay rate measurements have been the subject of considerable research effort. A decay rate measurement with a 137Cs source is currently being conducted 30 meters below the ground at the Jánossy Underground Research Laboratory (JURLab, Csillebérc, Hungary) utilizing a High-purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. The laboratory is the low-radiation-background part of the Vesztergombi High Energy Laboratory (VLAB) on the KFKI campus, Csillebérc, Hungary. From October 2022 to April 2024, data of 18 months' worth have been collected, providing a new opportunity to look for variations in decay rates. The experimental setup, data processing method, and the first results of this measurement are presented here.
Edit Fenyvesi, Gergely Gábor Barnaföldi, Gábor Gyula Kiss
et al.
The question whether an annual modulation is observable during nuclear decay rate measurements has long been the subject of research. One of the possible explanations for the annual variations would be the effect of solar neutrinos, the flux of which changes in correlation with the Earth-Sun distance. A decay rate measurement with a $^{137}$Cs source and a HPGe detector is currently being conducted 30 meters below the ground at Jánossy Underground Research Laboratory (Csillebérc, Hungary). The laboratory is part of the Vesztergombi High Energy Laboratory (VLAB), one of the TOP 50 research infrastructures in Hungary. From October 2022 to March 2023, data of six months' worth has been collected, and hence this is a new opportunity to check whether the annual variation in decay rate can be observed. The laboratory, the experiment, the data processing method, and the first results are presented in this study.
Amino acids (AAs) have broad nutritional, therapeutic, and medical significance and thus are one of the most common active ingredients of nutritional supplements. Analytical strategies for determining AAs are high-priced and often limited to methods that require modification of AA polarity or incorporation of an aromatic moiety. The aim of this work was to develop a new method for the determination of L-arginine, L-ornithine, and L-lysine on low-cost microchip electrophoresis instrumentation conjugated with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection. A solution consisting of 0.3 M acetic acid and 1 × 10<sup>−5</sup> M iminodiacetic acid has been identified as the optimal background electrolyte, ensuring the shortest possible analysis time. The short migration times of amino acids (t ≤ 64 s) and method simplicity resulted in high analysis throughput with high precision and linearity (R<sup>2</sup><inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>≥</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> 0.9971). The limit of detection values ranged from 0.15 to 0.19 × 10<sup>−6</sup> M. The accuracy of the proposed method was confirmed by recovery measurements. The results were compared with CE-UV-VIS and HPLC-DAD methods and showed good agreement. This work represents the first successful demonstration of the ME-C<sup>4</sup>D analysis of L-arginine, L-ornithine, and L-lysine in real samples.
The dense neuropil of the central nervous system leaves only limited space for extracellular substances free. The advent of immunohistochemistry, soon followed by advanced diagnostic tools, enabled us to explore the biochemical heterogeneity and compartmentalization of the brain extracellular matrix in exploratory and clinical research alike. The composition of the extracellular matrix is critical to shape neuronal function; changes in its assembly trigger or reflect brain/spinal cord malfunction. In this study, we focus on extracellular matrix changes in neurodegenerative disorders. We summarize its phenotypic appearance and biochemical characteristics, as well as the major enzymes which regulate and remodel matrix establishment in disease. The specifically built basement membrane of the central nervous system, perineuronal nets and perisynaptic axonal coats can protect neurons from toxic agents, and biochemical analysis revealed how the individual glycosaminoglycan and proteoglycan components interact with these molecules. Depending on the site, type and progress of the disease, select matrix components can either proactively trigger the formation of disease-specific harmful products, or reactively accumulate, likely to reduce tissue breakdown and neuronal loss. We review the diagnostic use and the increasing importance of medical screening of extracellular matrix components, especially enzymes, which informs us about disease status and, better yet, allows us to forecast illness.
Individuals socio-demographic and economic characteristics crucially shape the spread of an epidemic by largely determining the exposure level to the virus and the severity of the disease for those who got infected. While the complex interplay between individual characteristics and epidemic dynamics is widely recognized, traditional mathematical models often overlook these factors. In this study, we examine two important aspects of human behavior relevant to epidemics: contact patterns and vaccination uptake. Using data collected during the Covid-19 pandemic in Hungary, we first identify the dimensions along which individuals exhibit the greatest variation in their contact patterns and vaccination attitudes. We find that generally privileged groups of the population have higher number of contact and a higher vaccination uptake with respect to disadvantaged groups. Subsequently, we propose a data-driven epidemiological model that incorporates these behavioral differences. Finally, we apply our model to analyze the fourth wave of Covid-19 in Hungary, providing valuable insights into real-world scenarios. By bridging the gap between individual characteristics and epidemic spread, our research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of disease dynamics and informs effective public health strategies.
This document presents the contents of three lectures delivered by the author at the Erdős Center School ``Optimal Transport on Quantum Structures'', Septemer 19-23, 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. It presents a fairly self contained account of an active topic of current research, and this account should be accessible to most graduate students, as befits lectures for a school. The main results are known, but there a number of new proofs and some new results.
Jaume Gomez-Caturla, Nestor Montanes, Luis Quiles-Carrillo
et al.
The present work reports on the development of environmentally friendly, completely biodegradable wood plastic composites based on polylactide (PLA) and tangerine peel flour (TPF), plasticized by α-terpinyl acetate (TA). The TPF varied in the 10–30 wt% while the PLA to TA (wt%/wt%) was set to 4 (i.e., 25 wt% TA plasticizer was added with regard to the PLA wt%). The developed composites were processed by extrusion and injection molding. The composites presented excellent elongation at break, achieving values of 300% for the PLA+TA sample. Elongation at break values of 200% for the PLA composite with 10 wt% TPF and plasticized with TA were obtained. Those results were confirmed by the appearance of filament-like structures observed in field emission scanning electron microscopy images. Differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis revealed a remarkable decrease in the glass transition temperature of PLA as a result of the plasticizing effect of TA. Glass transition was reduced from 63°C down to 41°C approximately. This implied an increase in the ductility of the material. The samples with TPF exhibited a dark brown color, making them perfect for wood plastic composite applications. Water contact angle results show that TA and TPF change the wetting properties of the obtained composites. A general decrease in the water contact angle was observed with the addition of TPF and TA. Finally, disintegration tests proved that the developed composites are fully biodegradable. All the samples except for neat PLA achieved 100% disintegration in controlled compost soil conditions after 5 weeks, while neat PLA reached complete disintegration in 6 weeks.
Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials, Chemical technology
In this study, Call Detail Records (CDR), covering Budapest, Hungary has been processed to analyze the circadian rhythm of the subscribers. An indicator, called wake-up time, is introduced to describe a behavior of a group of subscribers. It is defined as the time, when the mobile phone activity of a group rises in the morning. Its counterpart is the time, when the activity falls in the evening. Inhabitant and area-based aggregation are also presented. The former is to consider the people who live in an area, the latter uses the transit activity in an area to describe the behavior of a part of the city. The opening hours of the malls and the nightlife of the party district was used to demonstrate this application, as real-life examples. The proposed approach was also used to estimate the working hours of the workplaces. The findings are in a good agreement with practice in Hungary, and also support the workplace detection method. Negative correlation was found between wake-up time and mobility indicators (Entropy, Radius of Gyration): On workdays, people wake up earlier and travel more, on holidays it is quite the contrary. The wake-up time was evaluated in different socioeconomic classes, using housing prices and mobile phones prices, as well. It was found that lower socioeconomic groups tend to wake up earlier.
The Twelfth International Workshop on Non-Classical Models of Automata and Applications (NCMA 2022) was held in Debrecen, Hungary, on August 26 and 27, 2022, organized by the University of Debrecen. The NCMA workshop series was established in 2009 as an annual event for researchers working on non-classical and classical models of automata, grammars or related devices. Such models are investigated both as theoretical models and as formal models for applications from different points of view.
Napjaink gazdasági szemlélete megköveteli többek között a reoülőgép üzemeltetőktől is, hogy egyre inkább a karbosemlegesség felé szervezzék át működésüket különböző innovatív technológiák bevezetésével.
Jelen tanulmány célja, hogy mely innovatív formájának köszönhetően hozzájárul a repülőgépek üzemanyagfogyasztásának, ezáltal a légszennyezés lecsökkentéséhez.
Adeel Aslam, Che Suraya Zin, Shazia Jamshed
et al.
Self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) has become considerably common in developing countries, which is a critical factor for driving antibiotic resistance. Individuals involved in SMA generally do not have adequate knowledge regarding the appropriate use, indications and dosage of these drugs. The objective of the present study was to investigate population SMA practices, knowledge and sociodemographic factors associated with SMA in Islamabad, Pakistan. The study adopted a cross-sectional methodology and data collection was performed through an anonymous, structured and pilot-tested questionnaire, which was interview-administered. Inferential statistics and multivariate logistic regression were performed. Out of 480 participants, 55.6% (<i>n</i> = 267) were male with a mean age of 37.1 ± 10.1 years; the total prevalence of SMA was 32.5%. Ciprofloxacin (42.9%) was the most commonly used antibiotic to treat coughs or colds, a runny nose, flu or sore throat, diarrhea or fevers, which were relevant reasons for SMA. Findings from multivariate logistic regression showed that predictors of SMA were: male gender (95% CI: 0.383–1.005), age (95% CI: 0.317–0.953) and highest level of education (95% CI: 0.961–0.649). Despite reasonable access to healthcare facilities, people are still obtaining antibiotics without prescription, bypassing diagnostic and consultative healthcare services. Thus, the government must implement strict healthcare policies to restrict the sale of antibiotics without prescriptions, while at the same time, targeted public awareness campaigns about the proper use of antibiotics are also required.
In this study I investigate several questions related to adaptive restoration, i.e. when a functioning piece of architecture operates with a different purpose to its original one, as well as the role of aesthetics in re-purposing, and the importance of the special forms of experience such a conversion provides. The questions connected to these architectural projects are not only theoretically inspiring, leading to diverse and broad fields of research in architecture, art and aesthetics, but are also crucial on a practical level, and hence require caution and precise consideration, given the impact the final results of such projects may have, as well as in terms of the effect and efficiency of the new space. Creative and adaptive re-purpose, modification or complete change of function can have wonderful potential, as well as, obviously, presenting serious hazards to avoid. What is equally important, however, is that this will also contribute to a strengthening of awareness of architecture and its aesthetic qualities, hence further promoting the idea of safeguarding and care of edifices and of tangible heritage.
We discuss spectral clustering from a variety of perspectives that include extending techniques to rectangular arrays, considering the problem of discrepancy minimization, and applying the methods to directed graphs. Near-optimal clusters can be obtained by singular value decomposition together with the weighted kk-means algorithm. In the case of rectangular arrays, this means enhancing the method of correspondence analysis with clustering, while in the case of edge-weighted graphs, a normalized Laplacian-based clustering. In the latter case, it is proved that a spectral gap between the (k−1)\left(k-1)st and kkth smallest positive eigenvalues of the normalized Laplacian matrix gives rise to a sudden decrease of the inner cluster variances when the number of clusters of the vertex representatives is 2k−1{2}^{k-1}, but only the first k−1k-1 eigenvectors are used in the representation. The ensemble of these eigenvectors constitute the so-called Fiedler-carpet.
In this article, we explore the relationship between cellular phone data and housing prices in Budapest, Hungary. We determine mobility indicators from one months of Call Detail Records (CDR) data, while the property price data are used to characterize the socioeconomic status at the Capital of Hungary. First, we validated the proposed methodology by comparing the Home and Work locations estimation and the commuting patterns derived from the cellular network dataset with reports of the national mini census. We investigated the statistical relationships between mobile phone indicators, such as Radius of Gyration, the distance between Home and Work locations or the Entropy of visited cells, and measures of economic status based on housing prices. Our findings show that the mobility correlates significantly with the socioeconomic status. We performed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on combined vectors of mobility indicators in order to characterize the dependence of mobility habits on socioeconomic status. The results of the PCA investigation showed remarkable correlation of housing prices and mobility customs.
Tamás Prugberger, Csilla Csák, Géza Károlyi
et al.
A tanulmány kritikai elemzését adja az inszolvencia magyar szabályozásának. Megvizsgálja az USA és a nyugat-európai országok (Németország, Ausztria, Olaszország, Franciaország, Anglia és Svájc) ide vonatkozó törvényeit. A törvényeken túl vizsgálja a hozzájuk kapcsolódó lehetséges precedenseket is. A szerzők összehasonlítják a magyar fizetésképtelenségi eljárást a külföldi államok jogával és a korábbi magyar jogi rendezéssel, végül pedig javaslatokat tesznek a jelenlegi magyar szabályozás megváltoztatására.