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Attila Kerényi, Professor of Geography, was born in 1943 in Sátoraljaújhely. He earned a degree as a teacher of Geography and Biology in 1967. During the 1980s, he gained national and international scientific recognition for his research on soil erosion processes, and completed his candidate dissertation in 1984. In the 1990s, he became nationally acknowledged for his publications, textbooks and scientific books on landscape and environmental protection, and earned an academic doctorate title in the topic. His scientific work was recognized with numerous awards. In 2020, he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit in recognition of his several decades of research and teaching activities which have greatly contributed to the renewal of geography education at the University of Debrecen. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, his colleagues interviewed Professor Kerényi about his family, profession, achievements and the state of global environmental systems.

This study evaluates the accuracy and repeatability of craniofacial measurements with a 3D light scanner, specifically the EINSTAR scanner, in comparison to traditional caliper measurements for facial anthropometry. Eleven volunteers were assessed by two examiners, one experienced and one inexperienced, who performed direct caliper measurements and indirect measurements using the scanner. Results indicated minimal differences between caliper and scanner results, with overall high accuracy and reliability demonstrated by correlation coefficients. Despite the slightly longer scanning time, the benefits of 3D imaging, including detailed surface mapping and virtual modeling, justify its integration into clinical practice, particularly in maxillofacial surgery and craniofacial assessment. Craniofacial measurements obtained with the EINSTAR scanner showed excellent reliability and accuracy, which qualifies this method for clinical and scientific use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought has emerged as a major challenge to global food and water security, and is particularly pronounced for Algeria, which frequently grapples with water shortages. This paper sought to monitor and assess the temporal and spatial distribution of drought severity across northern Algeria (excluding the Sahara) during the growing season from 2011 to 2022, while exploring the relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) anomaly and climate variables (rainfall and temperature). Temporal NDVI data from the Terra moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite covering the period 2000–2022 and climate data from the European Reanalysis 5th Generation (ERA5) datasets collected during the period 1990–2022 were used. The results showed that a considerable portion of northern Algeria has suffered from droughts of varying degrees of severity during the study period. The years 2022, 2021, 2016, and 2018 were the hardest hit, with 76%, 71%, 66%, and 60% of the area, respectively, experiencing drought conditions. While the relationship between the NDVI anomaly and the climatic factors showed variability across the different years, the steady decrease in vegetation health indicated by the NDVI anomaly corroborates the observed increase in drought intensity during the study period. We conclude that the MODIS-NDVI product offers a cost-efficient approach to monitor drought in data-scarce regions like Algeria, presenting a viable alternative to conventional climate-based drought indices, while serving as an initial step towards formulating drought mitigation plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promising research results have been obtained on the tissue-regeneration properties of PRF (platelet-rich fibrin) in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery. PRF presumably promotes healing and accelerates ossification. In this case report, the patient had a history of Gorlin–Goltz syndrome, also called nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome, an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disease that was known for many years. As a consequence, cysts were detected in both the mandible and maxilla. We performed decompression on this 37-year-old patient, followed by a cystectomy on an extensive lesion in the right angle of the mandible. One cyst from each side of the body mandible and one from the maxilla were completely enucleated, as determined using an intraoral exploration. The resulting bone defect was filled with a composite graft composed of a mixture of A-PRF and a serum albumin-coated bone allograft (BoneAlbumin). The wound was then covered with a PRF membrane. The surgical sites were closed per primam. The postoperative period was uneventful. Biopsies were performed after three and six months of healing for histological micromorphometry analyses. Dental implants were placed at the sampling site. Three months after the implantation, the ossified implants were fitted with superstructures. To date, no complications have appeared with the bone augmentation. The authors interpret from the findings that the combination of A-PRF and BoneAlbumin can be validated as a prosperous bone substitute. It can be safely implanted after a 3-month ossification period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The majority of patients with Marfan syndrome undergo Bentall procedure. Several periprocedural complications may arise; cardiac complications play the most dominant role.

The increasing number of visitors and conflicts resulting from shared use in valorising sensitive wetlands make effective visitor and site management measures essential. In the course of this research, the landscape pattern, the current spatial distribution of tourist activities and the possible arrangement of expedient further development were examined. The study area, Lake Tisza, is an artificial lowland reservoir established in the 1970s with an area of 127 km2 in Hungary. Among its original functions, in addition to flood control, nature conservation and recreation have become the main profiles. The diverse hydro-ecological features and mosaic landscape structure allow for nature conservation and utilisation in tourism. This differentiated use is in line with the worldwide trend of favouring locations with multiple leisure activities in close proximity to each other. Based on the CORINE Land Cover (CLC) 2018 database, 12 different land use categories were identified in the study area. The largest proportion is represented by water bodies (53.29%), while inland marshes and broad-leaved forests cover 22.25% and 16.64%, respectively. The heterogeneity of the area is considerably enhanced by the high patch sizes of the categories pastures, broad-leaved forests and inland marshes. According to the Shannon diversity index, the most complex landscape diversity can be found in the Tiszavalk (1.5) and Poroszló (1.4) basins, considered to be the most suitable for ecotourism, while the lower values of the Sarud (1.1) and Abadszalók (1.1) basins provide suitable conditions for water sport activities and recreational tourism. Continuous adaptation to social needs and the joint protection of natural values is crucial for the sustainable development of Lake Tisza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, contamination levels and the spatial pattern identification, as well as human and environmental health risk assessments of the heavy metals in the phreatic groundwater aquifer of the Oued Souf Valley were investigated for the first time. The applied methodology comprised a combination of heavy-metal pollution indices, inverse distance weighting, and human health risk assessment through water ingestion on samples collected from (14) monitoring wells. The contamination trend in the phreatic aquifer showed Al > B > Sr > Mn > Fe > Pb > Ni > Cr > Ba > Cu > Zn. Similarly, the enrichment trend was Al > B > Sr > Mn > Ni > Pb > Cr > Ba > Cu > Zn. Ecologically, most of the analyzed metals reflected a low potential ecological risk, except for two wells, S13 and S14, which represented a considerable and high ecological risk in terms of Pb. According to the applied grouping method, the samples in the first group indicated a lower risk of contamination in terms of heavy metals due to their lower concentration compared to the second group. This makes the area containing the second group's samples more vulnerable in terms of heavy metals, which could affect urban, preurban, and even agricultural areas. All of the samples (100%) indicated the possibility of potential health risks in the case of children. While six samples showed that the non-cancer toxicity risk is considered low, the rest of the samples had high Hazard Index (HI) values, indicating the possibility of health risks occurring in the case of adults. The constructed vertical drainage system is acting as a supporter and accelerator of the pollution levels in the shallow groundwater aquifer. This is due to its contribution to the penetration of different pollutants into this aquifer system, depending on the residence time of the water, which appears to be long within the drainage system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban development and its climatic consequences have caused urban decision-makers to establish strategies to mitigate climate change. The implementation of different green spaces is one of the main strategies to reduce the environmental and climatic consequences of urbanization. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to reveal the effect of different green space scenarios on micro-bioclimatic conditions of a hospital located in Gorgan city, Golestan province. Therefore, in order to determine the position of the hospital building relative to Gorgan's urban heat island (UHI), the location and changes in UHI intensity of Gorgan were determined as evidence of urban expansion. Since 27 July was determined as the hottest day in Gorgan city based on historical data analysis, the climatic conditions during 27 July 2021 were measured using an AR847 data logger installed in the hospital environment. Additionally, four different conditions, including actual environmental conditions of the hospital (actual conditions), along with the application of cypress trees (scenario A), plane trees (scenario B), and Buxus shrubs (scenario C), have been used to analyze the impact of different vegetation species on the bioclimatic conditions of 5 Azar Hospital during two time intervals, including observational periods (1970–2020) and the decade of the 2040s. Finally, spatiotemporal patterns of the predicted mean vote (PMV) thermal index were calculated for the observational period and during the 2040s using the ENVI-met micro-scale model. Results showed that the study site is in the UHI, which can affect the micro-bioclimatic conditions and the patient's thermal perception. For all designed scenarios, results indicate that the average PMV index will increase by the 2040s. However, implementing different green space scenarios showed that the minimum and maximum values of PMV were found in scenario B, of 2.7. The actual PMV conditions of the studied site increased by 3.5. The scenario introduction of green spaces during the 2040s indicates that the average PMV at the hospital site will be decreased by 0.9 compared to the actual conditions. The study proves that appropriate green space strategies can reduce thermal loads occurring due to global climate change and improve the thermal conditions in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our study we attempt to demonstrate the effects of uninsulated sewage tanks, which are the most important sources of contamination in settlements without sewage systems, on groundwater quality. We compared the results of measurements carried out before and one and a half years after the construction of the sewage system. We established 3 m deep monitoring wells within a 25 m radius of a sewage tank, which were then sampled, and the level of groundwater was recorded. The 3D model constructed on the basis of the saturated zone shows that the effluent wastewater formed a groundwater level dome with a height of more than 1 m. After the sewage tank was taken out of use the difference between the highest and lowest groundwater levels decreased to a few centimetres. In our study we investigated the spatial distribution of NH4+ (ammonium). Using the 3D model we were able to precisely determine the volume of water bodies with different levels of contamination. In an approximately 25 m3 water body, in the immediate environment of a sewage tank in use we detected NH4+ at a concentration which was characteristic of undiluted wastewater (>90 mg·dm−3). After the sewage tank was taken out of use, the concentration in its immediate environment decreased by more than 50%, although almost everywhere in the modelled area concentrations were measured above the limit value. Based on the above, we can conclude that the cleaning process has started, but the complete decontamination of the groundwater will take several years.

National spatial data infrastructure (NSDI) is an essential framework for managing and sharing geospatial data across different sectors and organizations. In Bangladesh, the development of NSDI is still in its early stages, and there are several challenges that need to be addressed to ensure its effective implementation. This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the status of NSDI implementation in Bangladesh using Eelderink's fourteen key variables. The paper examines the current state of NSDI implementation in Bangladesh, identifies strengths and weaknesses, and suggests recommendations for improvement. The findings suggest that while some progress has been made in establishing NSDI in Bangladesh, there are still significant challenges, such as limited funding; weak coordination among stakeholders; and a lack of skilled manpower, awareness, and capacity among users. To address these challenges, in this paper, we recommend several measures to improve the NSDI framework in Bangladesh. These include increasing funding support for NSDI development and maintenance, improving coordination among stakeholders through the establishment of a national coordinating body, enhancing awareness and capacity-building programs for NSDI users, and promoting the use of open data standards to improve data quality and interoperability. It is hoped that these recommendations will be taken into consideration by policymakers and other stakeholders to further enhance the development of NSDI in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outdoor recreation has grown rapidly in recent years, with an increasing preference for areas in good ecological condition. Since lakes represent some of the most important wetlands, providing a wide variety of ecosystem services, they have become a very popular destination. The present study aimed to assess the water quality of the largest artificial lake in Hungary (Kisköre Reservoir—Lake Tisza), and the role of ecological status in tourism development. Monthly water sampling from the basins of the lake (Tiszavalk, Poroszló, Sarud and Abádszalók basins) took place from April–November 2021 and in 2022. The majority of samples from the river section and from the lake are classified as Ca2+-HCO3− type or mixed Ca2+-Na+-HCO3− type. According to the results, the water quality of each basin is considered excellent or good. Rapid warming of the shallow water of the basins was detected during the summer months, resulting in different hydrochemical characteristics (pH, NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N, PO4-P, CODcr BOI5) compared to the river section. Differences in the plant nutrient and oxygen balance component groups have been revealed with hierarchical and two-step cluster analysis as well. The results demonstrated that the hydrochemical properties of the lake's water are substantially influenced by the filling of the lake in spring from the River Tisza and the significant lowering (1.2 m) of the water level in the autumn each year, allowing the drainage of stagnant water, the removal of accumulated sediments and the oxidation of organic matter. The number of tourists on Lake Tisza has increased rapidly over the last decade, confirming that a wide range of ecosystem services have a significant attractive impact on waterfront activities and ecotourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil profiles of the city centre of Debrecen were investigated in order to examine their properties and investigate the vertical distribution of heavy metals as a measure the anthropogenic activity. During the laboratory work the basic soil features were identified (texture, artefact content, pH, CaCO3, and amounts of organic matter). Furthermore, contents of Pb, Zn, Cu and Co in the soils were measured. Most of the metals showed a strong positive correlation with the humus content and the silt fraction. The soils of the city centre are exposed to a significant anthropogenic effect, therefore the original soil morphologies are usually difficult to identify. The soil profiles are greatly disturbed, which is traceable in the vertical distribution of certain soil features and metal contents.

Septic tanks without proper construction and insulation entail a significant risk to the environment. In this study, the environmental impacts of a permeably designed septic tank on shallow groundwater contamination are investigated, and changes in water quality in the period after its elimination in 2014 are assessed. For the purpose of evaluating the pollution level of the site, 10 monitoring wells were installed around the septic tank in 2012 and long-term monitoring was carried out. Analytical measurements revealed a significant level of groundwater contamination in the operational period of the septic tank. Extremely high concentrations of NH4+ (>90 mg/L) were observed in the closest monitoring wells, and in most of the wells, concentrations exceeded the relevant contamination limit. δD and δ18O isotopic ratios of monitoring wells within 1 m from the septic tank indicate continuous recharge of sewage water originating from deeper aquifers. The groundwater dome resulting from the wastewater discharge exceeded 1.1 m, within a distance of 25 m. Statistical analyses also revealed significant changes in water quality depending on the monitoring well location from the septic tank. In the period after the septic tank elimination, considerable changes have been detected. Following the cessation of the wastewater discharge, the groundwater dome around the septic tank disappeared; therefore, differences in groundwater levels have decreased from more than 1 m to a few cm. Significant positive changes were detected in the water quality parameters investigated after the dismantling of the septic tank. Five years after the cessation of the pollutant supply, concentrations still exceeded the contamination limit in most of the monitoring wells, indicating slow decontamination processes with a permanently high level of pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, a climatic synthesis was built to assess the climatic parameters of the Oued Souf Valley through the meteorological data obtained from Guemar station (airport). It was revealed that the hydrological year of Oued Souf Valley is branded by the presence of a dry period and the total absence of a wet period over the year, even during January, when it was observed to have the lowest temperature and highest precipitation, which classified it as a Saharan climate (Hyper arid). The irregularity and the scarcity of precipitation, high temperatures and extremely high evapotranspiration had significant repercussions on surface runoff and infiltration which implies a high pressure on the water resources of Oued Souf valley and may disrupt the future socioeconomic project and increase the damage of natural drought and desertification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum albumin has been identified as an endogenous protein that is integral to early bone regeneration. We hypothesized that albumin addition to allografts may result in better bone remodeling than what can be achieved with anorganic xenografts. Sinus elevations were performed at 32 sites of 18 patients with the lateral window technique. Sites either received filling with an anorganic bovine bone mineral (ABBM, BioOss, Geistlich, CH) or albumin impregnated allograft (BoneAlbumin, OrthoSera, AT). After 6-months patients received dental implants and 16 bone core biopsy samples were obtained from the ABBM filled, and 16 from the BoneAlbumin augmented sites. The biopsies were examined by histomorphometry and µCT. Percentage of the residual graft in the BoneAlbumin group was 0–12.7%, median 5.4% vs. ABBM 6.3–35.9%, median 16.9%, p < 0.05. Results of the µCT analysis showed that the microarchitecture of the augmented bone in the BoneAlbumin group resembles that of the native maxilla in morphometric parameters Trabecular Pattern Factor and Connectivity. Our data show that while ABBM successfully integrates into the newly formed bone tissue as persisting particles, BoneAlbumin is underway towards complete remodeling with new bone closely resembling that of the intact maxilla.

Land-use optimization is an effective technique to produce optimal benefits in urban land-use planning. There are many approaches and methods to optimize land-use allocation. However, the focus on addressing urban sustainability in land-use optimization is very limited. In this study, we presented a GIS-based multicriteria decision-making (GIS-MCDM) approach to optimize the location of a new residential development considering sustainability dimensions (social, economic, and environmental benefits). Rajshahi City in Bangladesh was taken as a case study. Different types of data, including land use, land cover, ecosystem service value, land surface temperature, and carbon storage, were used to define sustainability criteria. Five physical criteria, three sustainability criteria, and two constraints were used to optimize residential land. Fuzzy membership functions were used to standardize the criteria. The ordered weighted averaging (OWA) was used to produce a residential suitability map. Finally, the multiobjective land allocation (MOLA) module of TerrSet v 19.0 was used to generate optimal locations under an alternative decision scenario. The findings suggest that about 9.00% more sustainability benefits can be achieved using our approach. Using our proposed approach, we also generated six alternative decision scenarios. Among the alternative decision strategies, "high risk–no trade-off" proved to be the most optimal decision strategy that generated the highest sustainability benefit in our case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the 1980s, several regions in the northern Sahara of Algeria have been confronting the rising groundwater. Among all these regions, Oued Souf Valley represented one of the most acute affected by this phenomenon. Due to the natural topography and the insufficient/weakness of water management and miscoordination between different sectors that are represented by intensive exploitation of deep groundwater reservoirs which returns to the shallow aquifer, absence of sewage and drainage network, leakage from drinking water supply system, the groundwater has raised to the surface or near to the surface, affecting the traditional cultural environment and urban areas and degrading all socio-economic aspects of the Oued Souf habitants. To preserve the Oued Souf environment, a vertical drainage system has been constructed. Consequently, in this research, an evaluation of the vertical drainage system performance and its impact on groundwater level stabilization has been performed by mapping the water table of the phreatic groundwater level using geostatistical modeling using ordinary kriging (OK) interpolation method, which has been applied to analyze the spatial and temporal structure of groundwater level fluctuation. Meanwhile, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was applied for grouping the wells based on the groundwater fluctuations for 2008, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021. However, the vertical drainage system reflected a significant decline of groundwater from 2009 to 2018 due to the important drained volumes through it but another rising phenomenon might be threatening the region in the near future and this is what was indicated in the 2021 groundwater level data. Cluster analysis has generated four groups based on their fluctuation means that are increasing from the first group to the fourth group ascendingly. The first cluster grouped the drains that have a shallow depth (average mean of 5.91 mbgl) and declined over the clusters. The clusters are spatially combined with significant separation of the fourth cluster which represents the deepest group (12.89 mbgl). Based on this research, several factors are influencing the stability of the phreatic groundwater level and even the performance of the drainage system, the most important of which is the overexploitation from deep groundwater reservoirs such as complex terminal and continental intercalary (in drinking and irrigation) and even the illegal use of the phreatic groundwater with important quantities for irrigation and illegal industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following manuscript presents a comprehensive investigation regarding the influence of electrospinning parameters on fiber quality and mechanical properties of nanofibrous poly(amino acid) meshes. At first, we examine parameters including: solvent options, polymer concentrations, collector speed and distance, voltage, needle sizes and flow rates to prepare fibrous scaffolds based on polysuccinimide. The main objective was to attempt and decrease the fiber diameter as much as possible while not reducing the fiber quality. After that mechanical properties of the meshes were investigated, we demonstrate two possible methods to reinforce them: mechanically induced alignment of the fibers and multilayer compression. Characterization methods include a solubility study, viscosity and conductivity measurements, ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and mechanical uniaxial test. Fiber size was successfully reduced from 615 to 280 nm without any quality aberrations. Mechanical performance not only improved almost three‐fold, but was also enhanced in two directions due to the multilayer composition. With these optimizations, the PSI mesh now possess favorable features for biomedical application according to the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban land use optimization problems, different conflicting objectives are applied. One of the most significant goals in urban land use optimization problems is to maximize environmental benefits. To quantify environmental benefits in land use optimization, many researchers have employed a variety of methodologies. According to previous studies, there is no standard approach for calculating environmental benefits in urban land use allocation problems. Against this background, this study aims to (a) identify indicators of environmental benefits and (b) propose a novel composite index to measure environmental benefits in urban land use optimization problems. This study identified four indicators as a measure of environmental benefits based on a literature assessment and expert opinion. These are spatial compactness, land surface temperature, carbon storage, and ecosystem service value. In this work, we proposed a novel composite environmental benefits index (EBI) to quantify environmental benefits in urban land use allocation problems using an ordered weighted averaging (OWA) method. The study results showed that land surface temperature (LST) is the most influential indicator of environmental benefit while carbon storage is the least important factor. Finally, the proposed method was applied in Rajshahi city in Bangladesh. This study identified that, in an average-risk decision, most of the land (64.55%) of the study area falls within the low-environmental-benefit zone due to a lack of vegetated land cover. The result suggests the potential of using EBI in the land use allocation problem to ensure environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]