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This paper presents an investigation of echo-pairs in Hungarian. Echo-pairs are formed by duplicating a base with an altered initial consonant and have diminutive, playful, or intimate connotations (e.g., cica [t͡sit͡sɒ] "cat" → cica-mica [t͡sit͡sɒ-mit͡sɒ] "cat. dim "). Echo-pairs are commonly seen as an example of extra-grammatical morphology in the literature. Our goal in looking at this phenomenon is to gain a better understanding of the morphological mechanisms underlying extra-grammatical phenomena and shed new light on the distinction between plain and extra-grammatical morphology. We analyze data from (a) a collection of echo-pairs extracted from a large corpus of online texts and (b) a large-scale online nonce-word experiment with close to 1,500 participants. Our results reveal two key phonological patterns in the data and some additional systematic variation across words and experimental stimuli. We compare two different models of morphology, the Minimal Generalization Learner and the Generalized Context Model, in terms of their ability to capture this variation. We find that echo-pair formation is best captured by lexicon-oriented models such as the Generalized Context Model, but only when they rely on a structured similarity metric that encodes broader generalizations about the data. Our results do not support a clear-cut distinction between extra-grammatical and plain morphological processes, and we suggest that some of the peculiar characteristics of extra-grammatical phenomena such as echo-pair formation may simply follow from their special function and the limited set of contexts in which they appear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how income poverty is affected by changes to the scale of tax-benefit policies and which are the most cost-effective policies in reducing poverty or limiting its increase in seven diverse EU countries. We do that by measuring the implications of increasing/reducing the scale of each policy instrument, using microsimulation methods while holding constant the policy design and national context. We consider commonly applied policy instruments with a direct effect on household income: child benefits, social assistance, income tax lower thresholds and a benchmark case of rescaling the whole tax-benefit system. We find that the assessment of the most cost-effective instrument may depend on the measure of poverty used and the direction and scale of the change. Nevertheless, our results indicate that the options that reduce poverty most cost-effectively in most countries are increasing child benefits and social assistance, while reducing the former is a particularly poverty-increasing way of making budgetary cuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an optimization model for biogas power plant feedstock mixture with respect to feedstock and transportation costs using a differential evolution algorithm (DEA) is presented. A mathematical model and an optimization problem are presented. The proposed model introduces an optimal mixture of different feedstock combinations in a biogas power plant and informs about the maximal transportation distance for each feedstock before being unprofitable. In the case study, the proposed model is applied to five most commonly used feedstock in biogas power plants in Croatia and Hungary. The research is performed for a situation when the biogas power plant is not owned by the farm owner but by a third party. An optimization procedure is performed for each scenario with a cost of methane production that does not exceed 0.75 EUR/m3 in 1 MWe biogas power plant. The results show the needed yearly amounts and the maximum transportation distance of each feedstock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clarithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic widely used for eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection, and thus resistance to this antibiotic is a major cause of treatment failure. Here, we present the results of a retrospective observational study of clarithromycin resistance (Cla-res) in 4744 H. pylori-infected patients from Central Hungary. We use immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization on fixed gastric tissue samples to determine H. pylori infection and to infer Cla-res status, respectively. We correlate this information with macrolide dispensing data for the same patients (available through a prescription database) and develop a mathematical model of the population dynamics of Cla-res H. pylori infections. Cla-res is found in 5.5% of macrolide-naive patients (primary Cla-res), with no significant sex difference. The model predicts that this primary Cla-res originates from transmission of resistant bacteria in 98.7% of cases, and derives from spontaneous mutations in the other 1.3%. We find an age-dependent preponderance of female patients among secondary (macrolide-exposed) clarithromycin-resistant infections, predominantly associated with prior use of macrolides for non-eradication purposes. Our results shed light into the sources of primary resistant cases, and indicate that the growth rate of Cla-res prevalence would likely decrease if macrolides were no longer used for purposes other than H. pylori eradication. Clarithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic widely used for eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection. Here, Kocsmár et al. study clarithromycin resistance and previous macrolide consumption in 4,744 H. pylori-infected patients, shedding light into the sources of primary resistant cases and the role played by prior consumption of macrolides for non-eradication purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to alleviate child poverty, contemporary European welfare states have shifted their focus increasingly towards child-centred investment strategies. However, studies examining the generosity of welfare states to families with children focus mainly on cash benefit packages, or on government expenditure, while not taking into account the actual out-of-pocket costs families have to make to fulfil their needs. This article aims at contributing to existing studies by: (1) empirically assessing the needs and costs of children across welfare states by making use of cross-nationally comparable reference budgets, while taking into account publicly provided or subsidised services; (2) simulating the cash benefits and taxes that affect households with children through the tax–benefit system, by making use of the new Hypothetical Household Tool (HHoT) in EUROMOD; and (3) combining both types of information in order to compare the essential out-of-pocket costs for children between 6 and 18 years old with the simulated cash benefit packages. We propose a new indicator that can be used to assess welfare state generosity to families with children: the child cost compensation indicator. The use of the indicator is empirically illustrated by comparing six European welfare states: Belgium, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Spain. The article shows that, even though with important cross-national variation, cash transfers generally amount to less than 60 percent of the cost of children. Although in five out of six countries support for families is higher at the lower end of the income distribution, for households living on a low gross wage, the income of a family with children is less adequate compared to a similar childless family and is in many cases insufficient to participate adequately in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When and how do social movements form to mobilize action across national boundaries? In the context of the 2015 movement to support Syrian refugees, we develop an integrative model of transnational social movement formation shaped by pre‐existing world‐views (social dominance orientation and right‐wing authoritarianism) and social media exposure to iconic events, resulting in an emergent group consciousness ("we are", "we believe", "we feel"). Group consciousness is, in turn, the proximal predictor of solidarity with refugees. Participants were from six countries: Hungary (N = 267), Romania (N = 163), Germany (N = 190), the United Kingdom (N = 159), the United States (N = 244) and Australia (N = 344). Multi‐group structural equation models confirmed that group consciousness, shaped by individual differences and exposure to events through social media, was the proximal predictor of solidarity. The subjective meaning of group consciousness varied across samples, reflecting national differences. Results support the importance of considering individual and national differences, and group processes in understanding emergent social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several empirical models aimed at describing human mobility have been proposed in the past. Most of them are based on an unjustified analogy, with a focus on gravity and physical vector or scalar fields. Recently, however, statistical physicists introduced a new category of models that are theoretically motivated by a few simple and reasonable socioeconomic assumptions. The Radiation Model (Simini et al. 2012) and the Radiation Model with Selection (Simini-Maritan-Néda 2013) are such successful approaches. Here, we introduce a new version of the radiation model, the Travel Cost Optimized Radiation Model, and test its applicability for describing the commuting patterns in Hungary. We compare critically the performance of this model with the results of the previous radiation type models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]