Search

This paper engages with state, citizen, and civil society responses to refugees in Budapest and Hungary more widely in order to 'provincialise' European migration policy and politics. We introduce grounded, eastern 'frontline' realities and histories to complicate European claims to universality and hierarchies of "goodness". Through ethnographic work that documents and analyses refugee reception after the so-called 2015 refugee crisis, we shed light on the diverse forms of existing crises affecting the EU. These conflicts involve contestations over i) who is deemed European (questions that have been asked both of migrants and East Europeans), and ii) the 'Europeanisation' project as it has entailed new governance and funding arrangements for the development of civil society organisations. These new governance modes have attempted to re-shape city-state-EU dynamics, purposefully eliding problematic nation-state responses to refugees. These have heightened opposition to EU power-creep from conservative governments. Through an empirically rich discussion of the Hungarian context in relation to Europe, this paper speaks to the broader spectrum of grounded and politicised populist responses that have challenged the EU's governance and future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kawasaki is a relatively rare mucocutaneous acute childhood lymph node infection of unknown cause1 . Immunological disorders can occur, which create antibodies that attack endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells of blood vessels. Due to inflammatory changes, the wall of blood vessels is damaged, and there is a risk of a blood vessel aneurysm or thrombosis. It starts with febrility, conjunctivitis, skin rash, enlarged lymph nodes on the neck, and less frequently described complications on the heart in the sense of coronary artery aneurysms. Peripheral arterial and aortic aneurysms occur rarely but can lead to severe complications such as aneurysm rupture or acute ischemia1 . Although most aneurysms due to Kawasaki disease are diagnosed within a few weeks of diagnosis, it can develop later in life. In this case, the first symptoms appear in a 10-year-old boy who is hospitalized due to a high temperature that only decreases with the use of antipyretics, despite the use of antibiotics. Other symptoms include conjunctivitis and pleural effusion. Ten years after the diagnosis, the patient was hospitalized due to a thoracoabdominal aneurysm. The operation was successfully performed in Budapest, and the resection of the thoracoabdominal aneurysm was performed with reimplantation of the intercostal visceral and renal arteries along with a left nephrectomy and reconstruction up to the bifurcation. Seventeen years later, he was hospitalized in the vascular cardiology department due to ischemia of the left hand due to thrombosis from a previously known aneurysm of the subclavian and axillary artery, manifested as pain and tingling in the fingers of the left hand. ABI plethysmography, MSCT coronary angiography, ergometry and scintigraphy were performed, according to which it was decided to discharge the patient with regular controls and rivoxaban. Two weeks later, he was re-hospitalized due to progressive pain and tingling in his arm, and it was decided to perform an emergency subclavian bypass with a VSM graft. After the operation, the patient was discharged in good general condition. The aim of the paper is to describe the case of a 38-year-old patient with the development of multiple coronary artery aneurysms and limb artery aneurysms, as well as a thoracoabdominal aneurysm because of Kawasaki disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A temporary monitoring system was installed on the 175-year-old historical Széchenyi Chain Bridge during its reconstruction. The bridge is in the downtown area in the capital city of Hungary and plays a significant role in the city life of Budapest. Six-month-long measurements were conducted during the reconstruction process of the bridge, yielding crucial insights into the structural behaviour of the historical structure. The measurement results were evaluated; the findings encompass the rotation capacity of the pins between the chain elements and the structural response to temperature changes. This information helped the decision-making between 2021 and 2023 by the designers and construction company during the reconstruction. For instance, daily temperature fluctuations resulted in increased bending moments in the chain elements, rising up to 158% compared to the values observed during a proof load test in 2018. Furthermore, the measurements reveal an approximate 42% increase in normal forces compared to the proof load test, which highlights the high sensitivity of chain bridges to temperature fluctuations, where geometric stiffness plays a crucial role. Reconstruction, namely reducing self-weight, notably intensifies the impact on normal forces and bending moments. These outcomes strongly emphasize the dominance of the dead load and self-weight in the case of chain bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council of Europe's Budapest Convention on cybercrime (2001) remains a key landmark in multilateral governance on cybersecurity. Negotiated over two decades ago, this regional agreement gains renewed significance today through its enduring impact, its rarity as a binding multilateral agreement on cyber-issues, and its role in shaping the debate on free speech and the criminalization of online content. This article asks how the almost-total exclusion of content crimes from the Convention can be explained. Drawing on new documents published for the twentieth anniversary of the Convention, including detailed testimonials from its chair and principal drafters, the article highlights the importance of long-term career connections among technically-savvy and diplomatically experienced negotiators, creating a transnational policy network that overcame differences and power imbalances. Understanding how the Budapest Convention resolved disagreements helps contextualize current crises in multilateral cybersecurity and cybercrime governance and provides a path away from growing digital authoritarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cycling food couriers in Hungary tend to normalise and justify for themselves the precarious gig working conditions as a sports activity. To understand the blurring between sport and work, I carried out participant observation, conducted semi-structured interviews and discourse analysis. I worked as a bicycle courier in Budapest in July and August 2021. The successful boom of the cycling-based food delivery platforms depends on the extraction of bodily resources. Food delivery companies create new frontiers as they frame labour as challenging cardio activity. The riders embrace the idea that they get paid for training their body, which activity is otherwise expensive and tiring. The workers utilise their knowledge from their past sporting activities about nutrition and pain relief to increase their workload. Sporting rivalry and boasting of results are active features of the courier community. Although my interviewees proudly claimed themselves entrepreneurs, the body experiences reveal the cleavage between gig wage labour and idealised entrepreneurship. The pain and dangers of urban cycling work highlight the unequal relationship and make couriers critical of the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Built Environment Education (BEE) plays an important role in urban sustainability as citizens who are more aware of the surrounding architectural heritage have better opportunities to develop a sense of place and place attachment. Themes and stories make the architectural fabric of a city more legible that is why urban walking tours are such a popular format for BEE initiatives. These experience-based educative events are originally constructed for visitors (mainly tourists) of a city to receive in-situ impressions of the built heritage during their visit. But in recent years, the new phenomenon of proximity tourism appeared, inviting locals to participate in walking tours to discover their own neighbourhood, rendering this tourist-focused activity into a BEE tool for adults. Urban walks have been used in architectural education at the university level for quite some time, and recently organisations focusing on BEE have adapted the format as well, which therefore can reach a wide range of audiences. This research presents the quantitative and geo-referenced analysis of 449 photos taken during the walking tours by participants and a qualitative content analysis of the photos. The results of a questionnaire completed by 119 students upon the end of their walking tour are presented and analysed to determine the effectiveness of this BEE methodology. Results show that the experience-based format of urban walking tours in the context of BEE can contribute to the forming of sense of place for participants, and therefore should be considered as an educational tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, today's affordable housing and co-housing projects represent complex products, complementing the physical intervention with economic and social techniques. This means that purely environmental and economical evaluation is not sufficient for these projects. While environmental and economical evaluation methodologies are widespread and advanced in the construction sector, methodologies to evaluate the social impacts of housing projects are rarely used and therefore underdeveloped. This study elaborates a framework to evaluate and monitor the social impacts of a complex social housing and co-housing project. The method adopted implements the Social Life Cycle Assessment, integrating a Post Occupancy Evaluation as the main tool for collecting and analysing data. The presented assessment framework is elaborated for the E-Co-Housing Model, a new experimental model so far as the development of affordable housing in Budapest is concerned. However, it delivers a starting point for more complex sustainability analysis of residential buildings in general. The guideline for the Evaluation Framework is the methodology of the Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products, clarifying and improving some of its usual elements. The study of the E-Co-Housing Model shows that housing products, especially affordable and co-housing projects significantly differ from other products. The differences are their main stakeholder groups, their life cycle stages and in their impact ways too. Therefore, housing products need a special S-LCA methodology to assess in a balanced way the complex aspects of its environmental, economic, and social sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travelers choose transport modes on the basis of their preferences in which the features onboard vehicles affect the choice of transport modes. In economic theory, it is found that travelers seek to maximize their travel utilities. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are to be on the market when machines will replace human drivers. AVs are to be used for different purposes, such as transporting passengers and goods. In literature, some research studied AVs in combination with other transport modes, whereas fewer studies have considered the impact of a camera onboard carsharing and privately shared autonomous vehicles (PSAVs) on traveler choices. This research was developed to predict the impact of traveler preferences on the availability of PSAV and carsharing considering certain variables, such as travel time, travel cost, waiting/walking time, and the availability of camera onboard (i.e., as an indication of comfort and privacy factors). A stated preference (SP) survey was designed in which sociodemographic and travel variables were included. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was designed and included in the SP survey. The SP survey was distributed in Budapest, Hungary, where 313 respondents were collected. The discrete choice modeling approach is used, in which the multinomial logit (MNL) model was applied in developing a transport mode choice model. The developed model estimated the impact of different variables on transport modes as well as the willingness of travelers to use carsharing and PSAVs. The model explained the effects of trip length, income, gender, education, occupation, frequent current transport mode, and trip purpose on travelers' selection of transport mode. In conclusion, it demonstrated that people tend to use carsharing more than PSAVs, and the availability of cameras onboard decreases the probability of using a transport mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to examine the spatial distribution of road traffic accidents in Budapest, Hungary. The primary objective was to identify the factors associated with traffic accidents on the city's transportation network and to determine the locations of the most frequent accidents during peak and off-peak hours. A quantitative methodology was employed in this study, utilizing a dataset of recent accidents that occurred between 2019 and 2021, classified into peak and off-peak incidents. The data was analyzed using Python software and Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) tools for big data analytics. These programs enabled the creation of spatial maps of the study area and the identification of accident spots based on latitude and longitude information. A decision tree classification approach was used in the machine-learning method implemented with Python software. Additionally, the dataset file was uploaded to QGIS, which applied the heatmap (Kernel Density Estimation) algorithm to identify accident hotspots. The study findings revealed that the city center was the most common location for accidents overall, with peak and off-peak times, lanes, and days of the week investigated as potential contributing factors. The target variable was the number of accidents involving serious and minor injuries, which were found to be significantly associated with the identified accidents in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the source publication of a yet undiscovered DEGOB protocol from 1945 taken by survivor and interviewer Erna Galosi, recording her husband Elemer Galosi's testimony after returning from Bergen-Belsen to Budapest. The protocol was found in its original form by their great-granddaughter at home after decades of unvoicing the struggles and tragedy the family had survived. This testimony is first published here by Alexandra M. Szabo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Budapesten kora rézkori temetkezések csak településekről vagy elszórtan ismertek. Jelenleg egyedülálló a XVII. ker. Rákoscsaba-Majorhegy, észak lelőhelyen előkerült több sírt magában foglaló, önálló temetkezési hely. A temetkezések két területileg is elkülönülő csoportot alkotnak, közöttük a mellékletadásban és a halottakkal való bánásmódban is eltérések mutatkoznak. E jelenség mögött a térség összekötő és közvetítő szerepe, de társadalmi, identitás béli tényezők is meghúzódhatnak. Early Copper Age burials in the territory of Budapest had primarily been known from the contemporary settlements or were discovered as lone graves. The burial ground investigated at Rákoscsaba, Major-hegy north, in Budapest, District XVII., consisting of several inhumations is still unique in this regard. The discovered graves formed two separate groups; this spatial distinction was also reflected by the treatment of the deceased and the variety of grave goods present at the site. The distinction between burials could be explained either by the location and the role the site played in the network of interactions, or by social, economic factors, but it may also be considered as expressions of local identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJa) are prominent phytohormones that are involved in stress reactions. Both compounds may influence the biosynthesis of secondary compounds; however, scientific experiments in vivo are rare and contradictive. This paper reports on a study on the elicitation of volatiles and total phenolics (TPC) by MeJa and SA. The subjects were four Lamiaceae species studied in open field conditions in Budapest (Hungary). According to the results, both elicitors provoked specific responses in each plant species depending on the dosage applied and the parameter studied; 2 mM of SA stimulated essential oil (EO) accumulation in marjoram and peppermint, while in hyssop 0.1 mM was optimal. MeJa proved to be effective only in marjoram and in basil. In marjoram, cis-sabinene hydrate was decreased and in hyssop, isopinocamphone was increased by both dosages of SA. In peppermint, pulegone content was reduced by 2 mM SA, but no significant change of the major components of basil EO was detected. SA was successful in increasing TPC and antioxidant activity (AC) in three of the experimental species, but not in hyssop. In marjoram, only 0.1 mM induced TPC and eventually AC, while in peppermint and basil both dosages of SA were effective. Optimalisation of the treatments is suggested in further in vivo experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative potential (OP) is an emerging health-related metric which integrates several physicochemical properties of particulate matter (PM) that are involved in the pathogenesis of the diseases resulting from exposure to PM. Daily PM 2.5 -fraction aerosol samples collected in the rural background of the Carpathian Basin and in the suburban area and centre of its largest city of Budapest in each season over 1 year were utilised to study the OP at the related locations for the first time. The samples were analysed for particulate matter mass, main carbonaceous species, levoglucosan and 20 chemical elements. The resulting data sets were subjected to positive matrix factorisation to derive the main aerosol sources. Biomass burning (BB), suspended dust, road traffic, oil combustion mixed with coal combustion and long-range transport, vehicle metal wear, and mixed industrial sources were identified. The OP of the sample extracts in simulated lung fluid was determined by ascorbic acid (AA) and dithiothreitol (DTT) assays. The comparison of the OP data sets revealed some differences in the sensitivities of the assays. In the heating period, both the OP and PM mass levels were higher than in spring and summer, but there was a clear misalignment between them. In addition, the heating period : non-heating period OP ratios in the urban locations were larger than for the rural background by factors of 2–4. The OP data sets were attributed to the main aerosol sources using multiple linear regression with the weighted least squares approach. The OP was unambiguously dominated by BB at all sampling locations in winter and autumn. The joint effects of motor vehicles involving the road traffic and vehicle metal wear played the most important role in summer and spring, with considerable contributions from oil combustion and resuspended dust. In winter, there is temporal coincidence between the most severe daily PM health limit exceedances in the whole Carpathian Basin and the chemical PM composition causing larger OP. Similarly, in spring and summer, there is a spatial coincidence in Budapest between the urban hotspots of OP-active aerosol constituents from traffic and the high population density in central quarters. These features offer possibilities for more efficient season-specific air quality regulations focusing on well-selected aerosol sources or experimentally determined OP, rather than on PM mass in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship between philosophers and war, raising questions about how philosophers should ethically and politically relate to war and the military, as well as the powers and limits of philosophical inquiry in military matters. The article reviews Steven Umbrello's book, "Designed for Death: Controlling Killer Robots," which explores the concept of meaningful human control over autonomous weapon systems. While the author acknowledges the value of Umbrello's argument, they also criticize his failure to address the ethical implications of designing and deploying "killer robots." Overall, the article suggests that Umbrello's work contributes to the literature on autonomous weapon systems but could benefit from a more politically ambitious approach. [Extracted from the article]

Rapidly evolving clinical data suggest that the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and vaccination against COVID-19 might be associated with thyroid disturbances. However, studies remain limited among the pediatric population. Our aim was to assess the prevalence and permanence of thyroid autoimmunity (TA) and dysfunction in children after an acute infection and its potential association with vaccination. A prospective, multicenter registry analysis was performed among 458 children (mean age: 12.4 ± 3,8 years, 45.4% male) with preceding COVID-19. Patient inclusion lasted from 24th March, 2021 to 23rd March, 2022 at three pediatric outpatient facilities at Semmelweis University, Budapest. Primary outcomes were the rate of thyroid disturbances assessed by laboratory parameters (thyroid function tests, antithyroglobulin [ATG] and anti-thyroid peroxidase [ATPO] antibodies) and thyroid ultrasound. TA rate among vaccinated and unvaccinated children was determined. Children with newly diagnosed thyroid alterations were followed up for 12.7 ± 4.3 months. Six children had previous thyroid disease. Out of 452 children, 30 cases (6.6%) of newly diagnosed TA (six of them had abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH] levels) and eight cases (1.8%) of isolated TSH elevation were observed. Ultrasound-proven autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) was 4.0%. No association was found between COVID-19 vaccination and thyroid autoimmunity (χ2(1,N = 452) = 0.138, p = 0.815). Among children with TA, 73.3% had long-lasting alterations. Conclusion: Vaccination had no effect on the prevalence of TA. Until further controlled studies state otherwise, children with preceding COVID-19 might benefit from thyroid screening. What is Known: • Numerous case reports implicate that coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 can be responsible for thyroid disturbances. • Thyroid alterations discovered during acute COVID-19 tend to cease by time and only incidental thyroid autoimmunity (TA) is diagnosed after COVID-19. In adults, no increase in vaccine-related hyper- or hypothyroidism was found. What is New: • TA rate after COVID-19 vaccination among children was not increased. TA had no role in long COVID syndrome. • We discovered a considerable rate of TA (6.6%) and ultrasound-proven autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) (4.0%) after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the majority of these alterations remained positive after 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities host diverse people and their mixing is the engine of prosperity. In turn, segregation and inequalities are common features of most cities and locations that enable the meeting of people with different socio-economic status are key for urban inclusion. In this study, we adopt the concept of economic complexity to quantify the sophistication of amenity supply at urban locations. We propose that neighborhood complexity and amenity complexity are connected to the ability of locations to attract diverse visitors from various socio-economic backgrounds across the city. We construct the measures of amenity complexity based on the local portfolio of diverse and non-ubiquitous amenities in Budapest, Hungary. Socio-economic mixing at visited third places is investigated by tracing the daily mobility of individuals and by characterizing their status by the real-estate price of their home locations. Results suggest that measures of ubiquity and diversity of amenities do not, but neighborhood complexity and amenity complexity are correlated with the urban centrality of locations. Urban centrality is a strong predictor of socio-economic mixing, but both neighborhood complexity and amenity complexity add further explanatory power to our models. Our work combines urban mobility data with economic complexity thinking to show that the diversity of non-ubiquitous amenities, central locations, and the potentials for socio-economic mixing are interrelated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses of the Living Memorial: a counter-monumental installation located since 2014 in the highly contested Szabadság ('Liberty') Square in central Budapest, Hungary. The focus on the LM allows showcasing it as a unique type of commemorative installation that not only contests the current Hungarian top-down, hegemonic narrations and practices of memory but also counteracts the country's politicised and ideologised narrations of the past. The LM is explored as a dialogical 'nexus' of, on the one hand, individual, lived experiences of the Holocaust in Hungary in 1944–45 and, on the other, of the wider historical and contemporary socio-historical narratives as well as commemorating practices. Presented in the article – and set against the wider input from memory and commemoration research – the systematic, discourse-ethnographic analysis of the Living Memorial links its discursive and visual as well as spatial aspects with the exploration of various types of spectator engagement. In doing so, the article connects the wider context of memory and commemoration in the national and city spaces – and specifically in the often strongly politicised capital milieus – to the specific, localised contexts of 'commemorative battlegrounds' wherein 'official' displays of memory clash with, and are opposed by, their bottom-up, counterhegemonic contestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five terrestrial slug species are reported from Hungary, either for the first time or confirming earlier records that had been considered unreliable: Limacus maculatus, Deroceras invadens, Ambigolimax valentianus, Ambigolimax parvipenis, and Milax nigricans. In all cases identification was supported by anatomical examination and barcoding sequences of the COI mitochondrial gene. For M. nigricans we also sequenced individuals of this species from Italy and France so as to establish differences to sequences of M. gagates. Most records came from garden centres in Budapest and from two botanical gardens; these habitats may therefore be crucial in the spreading of non-indigenous species. A Facebook appeal was used to involve citizen scientists in searching for further sites for L. maculatus, but the Limacus populations reported proved all to be L. flavus. Studies over the last four years have added altogether seven slug species to the 26 hitherto recognised in the Hungarian fauna. This demonstrates the importance of continuing to check for additional introduced species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport policymakers need to have an in-depth understanding of public transport (PT) customers in order to effectively manage transport systems and maintain the attractiveness of these systems to potential users. This research aims to compare the perceptions and satisfaction levels of two groups of PT users (habitual and occasional) among university staff and students regarding the quality of PT through a new integrated approach. A sample of 500 participants from Budapest, Hungary was used. Two stages of analysis were conducted: a descriptive analysis was conducted in the first stage, and Student's t-tests of two independent samples were applied to identify the varying perceptions and overall satisfaction. Second, a new integrated ordered probit model (OPM) and an importance–performance analysis (IPA) were used to envisage how best to prioritize actions for transport enhancement. The results show that in the circle of commuters, the habitual PT users were more satisfied with the existing PT service than the occasional PT users. According to the findings of the IPA, for habitual users, the attribute "information provided" has a high priority for improvement, whereas the cost for both user types was found to be significant for all models, contributing to overall satisfaction. This factor was included in the possible overkill quadrant, suggesting that there might be more cost resources than needed. The new model, along with the case study results, may help policymakers and transport operators to make better decisions regarding the identification of service priority areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the relative lack of studies concerning characterisation of online crime in court judgements. The goal was to outline the social context of computer-dependent online offences in Lithuania as enacted in court practice. It is an internationally relevant example of the applied outcomes of local legislation enacting the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. We focused on four key themes to explore how computer-dependent online crime was defined in court practice: offences, offenders, victims, and sentences, bound by the concept of selectivity in criminal justice. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to analyse 265 court judgements in online offence cases in Lithuania from the years 2017–2021. The results revealed that the majority of the offences were computer-enabled rather than computer-dependent , carried out by persons with previous experience in the criminal justice system seeking financial gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study explores the question: what kind of landscape situations emerge between the urban fabric and a school building as a result of 21st-century suburbanisation? To answer this question, we will compare a traditional school town and a suburban settlement. Located less than thirty kilometres from Budapest, the traditional town is Vác, one of the most important historical school towns in Hungary. Dunakeszi, on the other hand, directly borders the capital and was a rural settlement at the beginning of the 20th century. This settlement is a typical example of urban sprawl. Its schools have occupied a place in the urban fabric since the second half of the 20th century. During our research, we used thick description and thoroughly analysed where the buildings are situated within the given urban structure, how their appearance can be described, and what their architecture communicates. Our basic argument is that while traditional settlement schools are a central element of the urban fabric, in the suburbs, schools occupy empty spaces of 'leftover plots' or develop new campuses in the interurban landscape. The results showed that regardless of the historical past of a given settlement, 21st-century educational institutions create separated, closed campuses in areas affected by suburbanisation processes. The primary reason for moving out is simply a lack of space in downtown areas, which is universally apparent in larger cities. The various roles and tasks schools fulfil also contribute to the process, for example the integration of sports fields or the increasing expectation to be accessible by car. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 18th International Society for Twin Studies convention took place between June 15−17, 2023, in Budapest, Hungary. A selective sampling of highlights from the meeting are presented. This is followed by a brief overview of ongoing twin research at the University of Aberystwyth in Wales and some twin treasures in the National Library. Next, reviews of timely research that examine temperamental similarities and twin relations, the maximization of twin research designs, a rare ectopic twin pregnancy, and twins' academic self-concept formation are presented. The final section covers stories appearing in various media sources that are informative, enlightening, and interesting, namely a reunion of identical infant twins, the birth of identical-fraternal quadruplets, identical twin comedians, meeting an unrelated look-alike, and twins in the Tour de France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floristical records of one fungus and ten flowering plants are presented from Hungary. We report a new occurrence of Calvatia candida in a valuable Pannonian sandy steppe habitat. Some of our floristical data present new occurrences of species that are rare in Hungary, but in the case of Orobanche minor, Minuartia viscosa, due to the low number of recent floristical data, we also try to clarify the distribution pattern of the species with data from specimens documented in the BP herbarium. The first occurrences of the rare, red-listed species Papaver hybridum was detected from the Duna-sík region. We report the first data of Orobanche minor from the Hungarian Middle Mountain Ranges, Minuartia viscosa is new for the southern part of the Mezőföld. A new record of Dactylorhiza sambucina from the Vértes Mts, which is in decline in our low-middle mountain areas, is published, an important observation from a conservation point of view. The data of Potentilla patula reported here is a new observation for the area of Cserhát-vidék. Our other data are from ruderal habitats, where we report observations of taxa that are mainly expanding but with few records in Hungary. The second Hungarian record of Senecio × helwingii is from the district of Zugló in Budapest. Erigeron sumatrensis has been found in several regions of Hungary, Euphorbia glyptosperma, Gypsophila perfoliata new occurrences were found in the border of Kecskemét. The recently suggested spreading of Medicago orbicularis is confirmed by new occurrence data from the Tihany Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The review is an overview of the reports and events presented at the European Shakespeare Research Association (ESRA) conference held in Budapest in July 2023. Two main themes are emphasized: Shakespeare in post-pandemic times - an issue closely related to the ever-expanding application of multimedia and virtual reality in the arts, and Shakespeare in situations of conflict and authoritarian societies, inevitably reflecting on perhaps the most acute crisis in Europe - the war in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the excavations prior to the building of the M0 motorway in Hungary between 1988 and 1989 remains of various cultures were unearthed on the almost 2,500 m² site of Szigetszentmiklós-Üdülősor, among others a late Celtic rural settlement. Further excavations in 2008 and 2010 revealed additional parts of the settlement. From one of the features came an enormous deer antler with some ceramic fragments. This feature was largely similar to the one excavated in 1989, also containing an antler. Both were found on the area of the waterside settlement. For sure these findings can be connected to the Celtic cultural cycle, in which the red deer and the roe were regarded as sacred. Although the original Celtic names are unknown and they are not recorded until the late Celtic era, based on the Graeco-Roman inscriptions one can safely assume these findings were offerings to the Celtic deer god. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SARS-CoV-2 is a pandemic that affects road traffic flaw and crashes globally. This study attempted to compare the situation of road traffic crashes in the city of Budapest before and after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to better understand its long-term percussive effects. The study considers 12208 road traffic crashes that registered between 20 May 2018 - 31 December 2021. The rate and severity of road traffic crashes during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic examined by using a percentage frequency distribution and a severity index. This study depicted that most crashes reported during the normal daytime between15:01-18:00 (peak hour). The study indicated that during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic the road traffic crashes were reduced by 20.15%. A rear-end collision was one of the most common type of catastrophes highly registered. Road users, particularly drivers, heavily endorsed crashes. Even though the proportion of road traffic crashes caused by alcohol consumption was modest (6%), the rate of alcohol consumption and its concentration increased slightly during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. At the same time the number of crashes caused by high-speed traffic maneuvers reduced. Improper interpretation of road traffic signs, road pavement condition and failure to respect proper sight distance were influential reasons of road traffic crashes among the top. Meanwhile, the distributional impact of careless driving in the aftermath of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic causes a shift in rank. Therefore, this study proved that during SARS-CoV-2 pandemics road traffic crashes reduced, the rate and concentration of alcohol consumption increased, and careless driving was encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how Kodály, his student Antal Molnár and his colleague Imre Molnár, and their adversary Emil Haraszti saw Scriabin’s music throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Audiences were responsive, as seen by the continuous performance of his works by Hungarian and international musicians beginning in 1906. There was a great deal of curiosity in his orchestral pieces, but only four of them were played ten times throughout the course of a century. Rêverie and Le Poème Divin debuted in Budapest in 1910, followed by Le Poème de l’extase in 1919, although Prometheus did not make its appearance until 2001. Kodály found his music peculiar and disinteresting, judging it to be a poorer disciple of Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy. However, following the composer’s death, his pupils discovered new values in him, characterizing him as mythical (like A. Molnár A.) and mystical (like I. Molnár). And Haraszti thought it was excellent music. A different interpretation referred to Scriabin as the "Russian Bartók." He was regarded as "one of the most inventive experimenters of his time," which was a mixed acclaim. After 1945, newspapers mostly complimented his pianopieces and symphony conductors. Marxist aesthetes after 1949 saw his work as a failure due to his spiritual goals, which A. Molnár regarded as a distinctive value. Two pioneering conductors, who considered Kodály their distant teacher, Z. Kocsis and A. Ertüngealp, gave the first performances of his hitherto unperformed pieces after 1990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence is the most critical life stage for experimentation with substance use; however, this is also the most suitable period for strengthening protective factors and thus promoting adult physical and mental health. Since smoking and drinking still appear among the most frequent types of substance abuse in Europe, this study aims to examine the role of potential protective factors at multiple levels for adolescent smoking and drinking: psychological factors at the individual level, aspects of school attachment at the school level, social support variables at the social level, and measures of quality of life at the level of mental health. This cross-sectional survey involved a sample of adolescents (aged 11–18 years, N = 276) in Budapest and villages in its metropolitan area (Hungary). In addition to descriptive statistics, logistic regression analyses were used to detect odds for potential protective factors. There were no sex differences in adolescents' substance use. Self-control seems to be a universal and most determining protective factor against substance use, while other potential protective factors (self-esteem, resilience, social support from family or significant others, school attachment, and mental well-being) may also contribute to prevention. However, age and friend support acted as risk factors. Findings suggest that a complex approach to prevention should receive consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban‐induced habitat conversion drastically changes soil life in a variety of ways. Soil sealing, human disturbance, habitat fragmentation, industrial and vehicular pollution are the main causes of urban soil degradation. Soil arthropods, as one of the most abundant and diverse group of soil fauna, are involved in many soil processes that are of great importance in maintaining soil health and multifunctionality. Nevertheless, soil quality is still mainly characterized by physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters. Here, we assessed and compared the biological soil quality in woody (REF: reference forest, REM: remnant forest) and nonwoody (TURF: public turfgrass, and RUD: ruderal habitat) types of urban green spaces along a disturbance and management intensity gradient in the Budapest metropolitan area (Hungary), using community metrics and soil arthropod‐based indicators. Vegetation cover and landscape characteristics of study sites were quantified through vegetation and urbanization indices, respectively. Basic soil properties, total and bioavailable concentrations of the main heavy metals (Cd, Co, Hg, Ni, Zn) were also measured. Acari, Collembola, and Hymenoptera (mainly Formicidae) were the most abundant groups. Litter‐dweller taxa, particularly Protura, proved to be the most sensitive to urban disturbance. Representatives of Hemiptera, Diptera, Symphyla, and Pauropoda were common in low densities. The taxonomic diversity of soil arthropod assemblages in nonwoody and woody habitats was similar. Although the integrated faunal indices showed no differences among soil habitat types, they provided different responses and, consequently, different information. Our findings demonstrated that the biological quality and arthropod community structure of soils were strongly impacted by soil C/N and heavy metal contamination. We found that low and moderate levels of pollution have adverse effects on edaphic fauna, suggesting biological degradation of soils, even below pollution limits. Nevertheless, more disturbed urban green spaces have been shown to play a significant role in maintaining belowground biodiversity, thereby soil functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote sustainable urban mobility and reduce environmental pollution, transportation policies worldwide aim to decrease reliance on fossil fuels. This requires reducing private car use through policy instruments such as urban vehicle access regulations (UVARs) and promoting alternative sustainable transport technologies such as electromobility. Considering that the deployment of such regulations and the market penetration of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is still low in Hungary, this study aimed to examine the willingness of urban dwellers in Budapest, Hungary, to adopt battery electric vehicles (BEVs) upon implementation of an UVAR measure. The study analysed the BEV adoption intention of 409 urban residents who participated in an UVAR study in 2022. The results show that age is a significant factor, with individuals aged 35–44 most likely to adopt BEVs. However, other socio-demographic characteristics did not significantly affect willingness to adopt BEVs. Additionally, pro-environmental behaviour or attitude did not significantly predict BEV adoption. Based on these findings, this study highlights the importance of considering multiple interrelated factors and provides policy insights for promoting sustainable transportation technology adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, a compulsory English language exam was introduced at Semmelweis University, Budapest for medical students, who are also offered optional preparatory courses. The exam material is based on CLIL and it assesses language skills needed for doctors (history taking, instructions on examinations, clinical handover, documentation). The guidelines of CEFR have been adapted to support medical students in becoming independent users of English in clinical practice. Mediation is an important skill so after consulting clinicians, we identified clinical handover as oral and written mediation, the latter also serving as a basis for case report papers. In this case study, we analysed students' language proficiency regarding written handover in one exam period. Lexicogrammatical units were identified in authentic Anglo-Saxon clinical teaching material to prepare students for handover scenarios developed in cooperation with a clinician, using the SBAR system. Solutions of the written mediation tasks by 54 examinees (14 attended course) from the winter semester of the 2021/22 academic year were digitalised and analysed using the Sketch Engine software. We investigated the most frequently used language patterns and their percentage applied correctly in the instructed group. A significant difference was found between the two groups in the number and correctness of patterns used. 82.5% of the patterns included in the course material were used correctly by the instructed students. A higher ratio of non-instructed students used no or incorrect patterns. Semmelweis University is a research and elite university so all students should have the skills essential for medical communication concerning handover and the ability of publishing case reports. We concluded that self-study material should be made available for students who are unable to attend the courses. 1. Content and Language Integrated Learning 2. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages 3. Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active substances detected in surface water in Hungary today include pain and anti-inflammatory agents and antiepileptics, as wastewater treatment mechanisms cannot remove these micropollutants. The aim of our research is to detect residues of four pain-killer drugs—naproxen, nimesulide, diclofenac, and ibuprofen—and an anti-epileptic drug—carbamazepine—in water samples we collected (n = 8) from the Danube. Our samples were concentrated using solid-phase extraction and then detected with HPLC. During the evaluation, we looked for a significant difference in the concentration of the active substances. Naproxen was detectable in the largest amount in one sampling point, with an average concentration of 12,029.337 ± 1772.957 ng/L, while ibuprofen was present in the second highest concentration in another sampling site, which reached an average concentration of 4048.112 ± 2086.789 ng/L. We examined water samples taken from the same sampling sites but at different distances from the riverbank, and we found a significant difference regarding the active substance naproxen at the sampling site in Budapest District XX. The analytes were detected in varying amounts in all the water samples, so the contamination in the examined section is significant. Examining the turnover data on medicines and our results, we concluded that pharmaceutical consumption significantly contributes to the pollution of the Danube. In order to protect water quality, further research would be advisable in the field of mechanisms for wastewater treatment in order to achieve the complete removal of drug residues from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities can play an important role in the transition toward sustainable living; however, a meso perspective bridging individual behavior and social context has rarely been applied. To address this issue, our study introduces the broad landscape of nonprofit community-based organizations as meso-level entities whose activities relate in one way or another to sustainability. Through an exploratory study relying on in-depth interviews, we examine the meaning of community and the role of sustainability in the operation of these communities. The emergence of a new authoritarianism in Hungary gives a special context for the study and enables identification of the characteristics of urban communities from "illiberal democracy." The findings indicate the presence of five different types of community-based organizations with sustainability-related activities. We argue for the analytical usefulness of a meso-level perspective and for the importance of researching how community-based organizations help individuals in transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hungary's capital, Budapest is divided into 23 districts, which have significantly distinct topography: thus, having different level of vulnerability to certain climatic effects; in addition, their climate adaptation potential also varies. This study aimed to analyze the 23 districts of Budapest, Hungary, in terms of their climate adaptation consciousness from governmental perspective. The study compares the 23 districts through a scoring matrix with three main categories - attitude, planning, and implementation - and several criteria. In addition, interviews were organized with municipal employees with 43 questions following the structure of the scoring matrix, learning more about the districts' commitment to climate adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic and transport researchers, policymakers, and vehicle manufacturers are interested in investigating the implications and the influence of autonomous vehicles (AV) because a gradual deployment of such new technologies is expected to take place in the future. This research investigates the impacts of the AVs emergence on traffic performance for the city of Budapest in three future traffic scenarios with different AV market replacement rates for the year 2030. The network was modeled using simulation-based dynamic traffic assignment in PTV Visum software. Four traffic performance parameters were analyzed to explore the impacts of AV's emergence on the network. The results showed noticeable improvements among the four investigated traffic performance parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to some literature about communication in a target language, digital competency and creativity are highly important, and achieving this is exceedingly feasible with the methods employed in experiential education. The aim of the present study was to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the online and offline digital education of students at the University of Public Service (hereinafter: UPS) in Budapest, Hungary, utilizing planned experience-based research. The relevance of the research covers two independent and separate quantitative research themes: 1. digital education during the first period of the coronavirus pandemic; and 2. online quantitative exploratory research. The results of the research support the planned experience-based research and confirm it is suitable for measuring the “flow state” of students, where flow is the optimal state where someone is fully engaged in a task at hand with little distraction. It was revealed that students can reach a high flow state when participating in a digital learning environment, which facilitates high motivation to participate in the lessons and has positive effects on the development of the students’ communication and digital competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Budapest is well known as a tourist destination, but it is also a study destination, attracting more and more international students each year. Destinations are important in tourism: their perceived image can influence the decision of travelers. The same is true for study destinations and educational tourism: the perceived image of a city and of a university among students influences whether a student prefers a given destination. In the current research we analyze the image of Budapest as a study destination: we show the opinion of 10 Turkish students of the city and analyze the motivations and experiences behind and connected to their chosen place of study. We will show that the international reputation of the universities in the city is just one factor influencing students: accessibility and social and cultural activities also play a decisive role in the decision of students to study in Budapest. Results also show that Budapest as an educational destination fulfilled the expectation of Turkish students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magic has been a very popular form of entertainment for thousands of years and the learning and developmental processes that take place during the process of practicing and performing the trick—are a precious phenomenon from an educational point of view. The MiniMagic kindergarten program was launched in September 2021 in a kindergarten in Józsefváros, Budapest (Hungary), in a district with a very diverse population that calls for an inclusive attitude and pedagogical methods to educate all the children successfully. The innovative program aims to develop skills and build community by integrating magic tricks into the curriculum. A well-known Hungarian magician teaches magic tricks appropriate for 4 to 6-year-old children with unanimous success. The program does not simply introduce tricks; he embeds them in storytelling sessions. This article presents how the theory about the educational values of magical tricks is turned into practice in a kindergarten showing the educational values and developmental results. I complement the analysis of the theory and practice with recommendations for practitioners, explaining the ideal context and methods of implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Architectonics & Architecture / Építés - Építészettudomány is the property of Akademiai Kiado and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The most important thing nowadays is to use available resources to develop infrastructure as efficiently as possible. In this regard, evaluating the deterioration of tramway tracks is critical from both a technical and an economic viewpoint. In Hungary, seven types of superstructure systems are currently differentiated in the case of tramway transport, but the geometrical deterioration, lifecycle, and lifecycle cost of the tramway tracks are not accurately known. The current study aimed to evaluate and compare the results of track geometry measurements of two different "open" tramway superstructure systems depending on their traffic load and age. The geometry measurements we re executed by TrackScan 4.01 instrument, developed and maintained by a Hungarian developer company called Metalelektro Méréstechnika Ltd. The evaluation of the measurements showed a clear relationship between the traffic load, age, and track deterioration. Based on the results, it can be generally stated, concerning "open" superstructure systems, that regardless of the "open" superstructure system or the level of traffic load, the average value of alignment is decreasing; however, the average value of the longitudinal level is increasing. Furthermore, the deterioration of an older ballasted track with lower traffic is similar to that of a younger ballasted track that has a higher traffic load. Another significant result was that the deterioration of the track gauge parameter in the case of concrete slab tracks is clearly described as the broadening of the track gauge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia botanica hungarica is the property of Hungarian Natural History Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the present study, we analysed the laser-scanned point cloud of the stellar vault of the Inner City Parish Church of Budapest's Matthias oratorio. Our analysis concerned the global geometry of the rib network, as well as the webbing. During the study of the rib system, we reconstructed a probable construction method of the late 15th -- early 16th-century vault, which seems to be a self-contained construction system in regard to the rib system's plan, the height of the junction points and the curvature of the individual ribs. We found, that to the latter the widely known "Prinzipalbogen" theory applies, however, the "theory of the longest route", which is often mentioned together with the former, most likely was not used. Mapping the webbing and the ribs allowed us to examine the building technique of the webs too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Olympic bids were for a long time diplomatic and strategic decisions taken in a very narrow circle of sport, political and economic stakeholders recently, new forms of grassroots participation and citizens' efforts have arisen, striving to influence the orientation of the projects. This article examines the socio-political construction of protest fronts against the 2024 Olympic bids in Europe through a qualitative study of four cities: Paris (France), Rome (Italy), Hamburg (Germany) and Budapest (Hungary). Findings show that the bids (supported or challenged) essentially serve local political strategies. Mainly, opponents seem to be able to achieve their goals only if they rely on advocacy coalitions based on multiple actors and organizations which give them an access to strategic resources such as political networks or traditional media. Although the repertoire of action is similar -and in some ways standardized -across all the bids, it seems that the determinants of contestation are profoundly contextual, according to local political spaces and conjunctures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of the family Inocybaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota), one of the most diverse ectomycorrhiza-forming macrofungi of urban landscapes were studied. We performed phylogenetic analysis of 28 specimens (23 Inocybe spp., 3 Mallocybe spp., 2 Pseudosperma spp.) collected in anthropogenically influenced habitats of Budapest, Hungary. The internal transcribed spacer region of the nuclear ribosomal RNA cistron (nrDNA ITS) was sequenced for barcoding purposes of our Inocybaceae specimens. Identification to a presumptive species level was successful in the case of 24 species although one interesting Inocybe sp. and three Mallocybe spp. could not be determined. Five species, Inocybe ghibliana, I. pararubens, I. psammobrunnea (syn. I. griseotarda), I. obscuroides (syn. I. cincinnata var. major) and Pseudosperma permelliolens were collected for the first time in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study details a looted hoard seized near the village of Vaja by the Mátészalka Police during a night of police control. According to the person who smuggled the finds, the findings were discovered in the 'attic of a house in Budapest, during garbage disposal'. This obvious lie can be easily refuted by the results of the typo-chronological analysis of the objects. The seized finds comprise sword blades, spearheads, a knife, socketed axes and chisels, sickles, bracelets, metal vessel parts, metal lumps, and some unidentifiable fragments. Except for a few supra-regional types (a Vadena-type knife and some Kelčice-type bracelets), the style of these artefacts matches the bronze products often deposited in Hajdùbôszôrmény-type (Ha B1) hoards in the east Carpathian Basin. The concentration of stylistically close analogies in the territory of Hungary and the presence of typologically identical finds in the assemblage support the previous hypothesis that they were indeed looted somewhere in 'Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County'. A plausible findspot can be located in the northern and central areas of the county, such as the zone between Nyírmada, Mátészalka, Kántorjánosi, and Vaja, the area where the police action took place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on theories of Corporate Sustainability, Triple Bottom Line, and Natural Resource-Based View, this study aims to predict the positive relationship between green transformational leadership, green human resource management practices, and employees' green behavior. It applies a quantitative approach to analyze 252 data collected from the customers who are prospective employees of small and medium enterprises in Budapest. An online questionnaire was sent to 252 samples with the Snowball sampling method for about a month in Hungary. Based on a structural equation modeling analysis, green transformational leadership and green human resource management practices positively influence employees' green behavior. Green human resource management practices mediate the relationship between green transformational leadership and employees' green behavior. Small and medium enterprises should consider solving the green behavioral problems of their employees by promoting the green concept in leadership and human resource management practices. Such initiatives contribute to sustainability in small and medium enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maskelli maskello spell was mostly used to increase the effectiveness of curses on curse tablets and in recipes of magic papyri. Curiously, the incantation appears in the texts of three amulets, one of them on a magic gem preserved in Leiden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]