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Excessive heat accumulation is one of the main challenges in office buildings with curtain wall systems. This challenge requires a staggering amount of cooling energy, especially in desert and temperate climate zones. Hence, an effective and practical shading device is necessary to address this issue using a bio-inspired strategy to reduce cooling energy consumption and enhance sustainability. This study uses a Bio-Curvilinear Shading Device (Bio-CSD) to improve cooling energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and CO2 reduction in the desert and temperate climate zones in Iraq. To alleviate overheating issues, we designed a Bio-CSD and a modified Bio-Curvilinear Shading Device (mBio-CSD) from a cactus, namely the Ogonchu plant (Pilosocereus chrysostele). Fifty-one scenarios were investigated to examine the prevalence of three distinct office building typologies: linear [T1], concentric [T2], and courtyard [T3]. The Bio-CSD and the mBio-CSD were simulated using a novel energy simulation framework for curvilinear shading devices using IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (ICE) software v4.8. Our findings revealed that the Bio-CSD outperforms a Rectilinear Shading Device (RSD) under identical conditions with the same surface area. The Bio-CSD allows maximum cooling energy savings of 31 %, 24 %, and 22 % and 23 %, 19 %, and 16 % for the three office building typologies (T1, T2 and T3) in temperate and desert climate zones, respectively. Our Bio-CSD can be a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution to mitigate overheating issues while ensuring more natural light penetration during winter, with reduced material use and lower costs.

Cél: A jogalkotó a jogsértő magatartások szankcionálását jogpolitikai, célszerűségi, hatékonysági elvek alapján, de saját belátása szerint helyezi el az egyes jogterületeken. A bűncselekményi szintet el nem érő, csekélyebb társadalomra veszélyességgel bíró magatartások hagyományosan a szabálysértési jog territóriumába tartoznak. Az egyes jogterületek között azonban vannak mozgások. Egyes magatartások átkerülnek a szabálysértési jog területéről a közigazgatási bírságolás hatálya alá. Nem ritkán a szabálysértési tényállások egyes elkövetési magatartásai megmaradnak a szabálysértési jogon belül, míg ugyanazon tényállás másik elkövetési magatartása átkerül a közigazgatási jog hatálya alá. Kapcsolatba hozható-e ez a jelenség a két jogterület szankciórendszerével? Milyen szankciók találhatók az egyes jogterületeken és ezek mennyiben hatékonyak adott jogsértő magatartások szankcionálásában? Ezen kérdések megválaszolása a szabálysértési jog továbbfejlődésének az irányát adhatja meg, illetve beigazolhatja azt a tézist, amit a szakirodalom már megfogalmazott, hogy a szabálysértési jog fokozatosan leépülő közigazgatásvédelmi funkcióját az ágazati szabályozás veszi át, és a szabálysértési jog egyre inkább a büntetőjog árnyékképévé válik. Módszertan: A kérdések megválaszolása érdekében a szabálysértési törvény és a közigazgatási szabályszegések szankcióiról szóló törvény rendelkezéseit, illetve a hozzájuk kapcsolódó szakirodalmat vetette össze, elemezte a szerző. Megállapítások: A szerző az elemzés során arra a megállapításra jutott, hogy a két jogterület szankciói a vizsgálat fókuszát képező közlekedési szabályszegések szankcionálásában erős hasonlóságot mutatnak, ezek önmagukban nem eredményezhetik a két jogterület közötti mozgásokat. A jelenség megértéséhez szükséges a jogpolitikai indokok, a gazdaságossági, hatékonysági kérdések figyelembevétele. Érték: Az elemzés megmutatta az egyes szankciók közötti hasonlóságokat, eltéréseket, és rámutatott arra, hogy adott magatartások esetén melyek jelenthetnek adekvát megoldást a szankcionálásra. A tanulmány megállapításai beépítésre kerülnek A közigazgatás büntetőhatalma című doktori értekezésbe.

The safety of high-potential risk facilities concerned with fault displacement hazards is a complex technical issue, especially if the fault is revealed beneath the facility during the operation. Applying simple conservative engineering hazard evaluation methods is rational if an urgent decision should be made to continue operation or implement protective measures. Engineering methods are being published for strike-slip on-fault sites and structures. Their crucial point is to estimate the probability of the rupture at the site intersection and consider the displacement distribution over the rupture length relative to the site’s on-fault location. It is shown in the paper that strict geometrical relations between the site location, length and initial point of the rupture determine whether the principal fault displacement intersects the site. The paper considers these geometrical parameters as independent random variables and applies a screening of ruptures contributing to the hazard. Magnitude- and on-fault coordinate-dependent empirical relations have been analysed and selected to evaluate the site displacements. The procedure resulted in realistic but conservative hazard curves for different on-fault site locations using data from the Paks site in Hungary. The results were compared to those obtained by the conservative engineering method for the same site and some published analyses.

The safety regulations require periodic reviews of the site hazards when operating nuclear power plants. If any indications of Quaternary fault activity are revealed, the fault displacement hazard should be evaluated. Signs of paleo-liquefaction were recently found at the nuclear site of Paks, Hungary, indicating the late-Pleistocene activity of the fault crossing the site. Except for this, there are no historical or instrumental records of earthquakes at the fault, and the micro-seismic and GPS monitoring results do not indicate activity either. Despite a thorough site investigation of over 40 years, the indications are uncertain and insufficient for defining the fault activity, as required for a probabilistic fault displacement hazard analysis. This paper develops and applies a simplified conservative hazard evaluation method of average fault displacement that allows an in-time decision regarding the safety relevance of the hazard. Geometrical simplification is possible since the fault crosses the site. The fault’s activity is evaluated using magnitude–frequency relations of the area sources developed for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. The total probability theorem is applied, and different strike-slip fault scaling relations are considered while calculating the probability of non-zero surface displacement, fault rupture length, and average displacement. The fault displacement hazard curve is defined and compared with earlier studies for the same site. Since the late recognition of active faults cannot be excluded at several operating plant sites, the methodology can be applied in the future beyond a single application for the Paks site in Hungary.

The storage and application of huge amounts of deep litter manure could be a serious issue generated by livestock systems. As broiler litter has high N and fiber content, pre-treatment is strongly recommended. Composting is one of the key method of pre-treatment. Due to Georgakakis and Krintas, 2000, Hosoya composting system is suitable for composting by-products with unfavourable properties such as poultry litter. The end-product (composted and pelletized poultry litter (CPPL)) is appropriate alternative to the substitute for chemical fertilizers, due to its pathogen-free, safe-to-use features and high organic content while it meets the requirements of the European Green Deal's goals. In the frame of research maize (ZEA MAYS L.) plant test was carried out to get information about the effects of CPPL and ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilizer in pot experiment conditions. Measurements cover the following analyses: the length of the roots, stems, and seedlings, the dry matter content, germination percent, Vigour-index, and chlorophyll and carotenoid content. On the whole, it can be stated that CPPL had higher stimulating impacts on measured parameters (root length, dry matter content, Vigour index) in comparison to AN with higher N content.

The environmental impacts of broiler chicken production are becoming increasingly relevant as the industry grows in importance. A suitable method for assessing the environmental impact of a process is life cycle assessment (ISO 14040:2006). A life cycle assessment of a broiler chicken farm in Hungary was conducted in this study, which compared the emissions of summer and winter rotations. The environmental burden was represented by five impact categories: acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion potential (ODP) and human toxicity potential (HTP). The study's aim was to compare emissions between summer and winter rotations, as well as to identify and assess the most critical points in broiler chicken production. The results demonstrated that there is no substantial difference in emissions between winter and summer rotations for AP, EP, and HTP, however values for GWP and ODP impact categories are 10-10% higher in winter months. The higher value is attributable to the increased use of natural gas in the winter. When the critical points were examined, the feed-related processes were the ones that contribute the most to the impact categories.

Effects of fermented chicken manure on soil nutrient availability, leaf nutrient status and fruit quality parameters were studied in an apple plantation from Eastern Hungary. Beside control, three fermented chicken manure products (BIO-FER Natur Extra, Nitro vit and 7-9-7) were used in a field experiment trial at the Horticultural Experimental Farm of University of Debrecen in 2020. In this trial, soil and leaf analysis were made to check the effects of applied treatments on the nutrient supply of the soil and the nutrient status of the leaves. Beside soil and leaf analysis, yield and some fruit quality parameters were investigated. The products were applied at the beginning of April in 2020. Each treatment consisted of 5 trees. Soil pH has slightly decreased during the trial. The organic carbon content of the soil has not significantly changed during the experiment. Chicken manure treatments could not affect considerably the soil P, K, Mg, Mn, Cu and Zn content compared to the control. All applied treatments increased the N content of leaves compared to the control, but the effect was not significant. Leaf P content was the same in all treatments, while the leaf K content was slightly higher where chicken products were used. Leaf Ca and Mg were not affected significantly by the treatments compared to the control. The usage of chicken manure increased yield, fruit weight and fruit flesh hardness compared to the control, but significant effect was observed only in certain treatments. Moreover, all applied treatments decreased the Brix value of apples compared to the control.

Most WWER-440 reactors are operated over the planned operational lifetime of 30 years. Now, the owners/operators are preparing for the second phase of extending the operation. The paper presents an overview of the most important aspects of ageing of the main components of the WWER-440-type reactors based on the operational and ageing management experiences and primary research efforts supporting the operation. The paper aims to demonstrate that the expectations for the operability of these reactors for up to 60–70 years are realistic. The scope of the review is limited to the ageing of the reactor pressure vessel, vessel internals, and steam generator, which are the lifetime-limiting components besides the containment structure. Some of the corrective actions, improvements of in-service inspections, maintenance, and ageing management are also considered in the paper. It is shown that the selection of materials and unavoidable material degradation processes do not limit the operation of the WWER-440 reactors for up to 60–70 years under the established operational environment and ageing management practice.

Understanding the habitat is essential for economic production. As a result of rapidly changing processes, features of habitats may be modified, it may be affected by a wide variety of factors. Inundation caused by inland-excess water (IEW) is one of the most significant natural disasters but spatial and temporal targeting of it is also a problem in practice. Over half of Hungary’s territory is endangered by IEW. For the development of inland-excess waters a combination of several adverse natural and human activity is highly important. The formation of IEW is primarily determined by meteorological, soil and terrain conditions. During the research, the causes of the development of IEW were analysed based on the terrain conditions of the area in a grassland. Soil connections have been well explored according to the other studies, but not as terrain causes. Therefore the applicability of digital elevation models based on remote sensing (high density LiDAR) data and Sentinel 1 data in inland areas is a priority area of our research. To examine the relief, elevation data of conventional analog topographic maps with 1:10000 scale and an aerial LiDAR data were compared. Sentinel 1 data were used to validate the results based on the LiDAR data. Based on digital elevation model (DEM) derived from topographical map shows that there is no risk of IEW on the grassland. It is, however, contradicted by the reality, the inland marshes presents on grassland land during on-site visits and which can be identified by the LiDAR and Sentinel 1 images.

The objective of this study was to investigate the viability of microalgae biomass (Chlorella vulgaris) as a substrate for anaerobic digestion using synthetic wastewater as well as evaluate the biogas production improvement and the microalgae cultivation rate. The experimental procedure lasted for 700 hours, where a mixture of synthetic wastewater and microalgae were used in the BE4 anaerobic tank reactor. Based on the process parameters (pH and temperature), the degradation phases (hydrolysis, acidogenesis (fermentation acidification), acetogenesis, methanogenesis) were successfully separated from each other. A drop in pH was detected from 7 to 4.5 in the acidogenesis phase, which resulted in a delayed decrease in the total chlorophyll concentration and the microalgae activity rate. In the methanogenesis phase, the pH slightly returned to neutral and caused a relatively low biogas yield (0.15 L in total), which can be explained by the unbalanced carbon/nitrogen rate (C : N) in relation to the substrate. The increase in total chlorophyll concentration was observed by the end of the process as a result of the increasing pH. It was found, that the concentration of major chemical constituents and the COD can be described well by logarithmical curves according to the nutrient consumption of microalgae. The COD decreased from the initial value of 5077 mg·L-1 O2 to 1592 mg·L-1 O2, which refers to anintensive anaerobic degradation process.

Composting is one of the most popular recycling processes for organic waste. Compost is an inherently variable product produced from a wide variety of organic source materials known as feedstocks. The aim of our research was to examine the process of composting with maturity and stability parameters. The windrow composting experiments were set up in the composting area of the University of Debrecen, Institute for Water and Environmental Management and a mixture of broiler and hen manure was composted by adding zeolite (0, 1, 2, 5, 7 w/w %). The time for composting experiments was 62 days. We continuously measured the main parameters describing the composting processes: moisture content (w/w %), temperature (°C), pH, electrical conductivity (mS/cm), organic matter content (w/ w%). Based on our results, it can be concluded that the 50 w/w % moisture content is sufficient for composting in the case of the mixtures of substances tested by us. The four stages of composting can be separated by temperature, and the thermophilic phase is longer with increasing zeolite mixing. The value of pH ranged from pH 6.63 to 8.0, with lower pH values at the beginning and neutral at the end of the composting process. Electrical conductivity values decreased at the end of the composting process. Adding a higher percentage of zeolite reduced the content of organic matter, thereby increasing the mineral content. Overall, the parameters studied by us are suitable for determining the maturity of compost and for describing the composting process.

Large amount of waste and by-products generated during livestock processes requires urgent treatment and disposal. The energy recovery of wastes and by-products can be a solution for the problem, since the biogas production is an obvious way of recovery. As a by-product of biogas production biogas slurry is produced and it is to be suitable for nutrient supply. The samples of the biogas slurry originate from the Nyírbátor Regional Biogas Plant. The plant is used for the disposal and recovery of plant residues, manure of cattle and poultry, poultry slaughterhouses and other animal wastes. The organic matter from the fermenter is separated. After separation, the dilute phase is transferred to the manure storage and the solid phase is transferred to a drying plant or composting plant. Aims of the study were the analysis of filtering efficiency of the separator, comparison of properties of the pre-separator and the separated fermentation residue, since the company wants to spread the biogas slurry to arable land and pasture in a frame of complex precision irrigation system. For this reason, the sampling points were planned to set both before and after separator processes. Samples were taken twelve times between February and June 2018. Among other properties, the dry matter content of the biogas slurry, C and N content, element content, pH, conductivity, biological and chemical oxygen demand were measured. Based on the element content and the N content, the biogas slurry is suitable for nutrient supply. The average dry matter content values of the samples show that the result of the separation process the dry matter content is significantly reduced (P

The environmental impacts of climate change have been identified as a central issue in of the agriculture because the emergence of drought risk is a growing barrier to crop production and resulting in a decline in the quality and yield of cereals in recent years. In recent years there was a great development made in cereal processing in Hungary. In general, food processing plants requires steady crop supply, therefore it is essential to monitor the possible yield or yield loss of the potential supply area of the new cereal processing plant in Gyöngyösvisonta. The aerial and satellite images can be used to monitor the response time of areas to biotic and abiotic stress effects, in this study the application of water stress and drought monitoring. We analyzed on the basis of the remote-sensed time series data. In the context of recordings, a number of stress indexes can be calculated to determine the productivity of biomass during a drought period. The study site covers four counties around Gyöngyösvisonta. The source of remote sensed time series data was the 16-day images of MODIS NDVI. The 250 m ground resolution images were downloaded and processed in ArcGIS software using various GIS methods from 2003 to 2018 that area. The sample area was selected that used for the production of wheat from the CORINE database, NDVI, and crop phenology. We applied time series NDVI images using different masking techniques and created the models for wheat yield prediction. During modeling calibration of NDVI data sets was performed by correlation and regression calculations with yield and NDVI data sets. Based on the results moderate correlations (r~0.8), areas with different drought risk levels can be delineated to estimate yield loss with MODIS data in May and June which is the most suitable period for yield loss monitoring before harvest. Calculating these data will allow farmers to determine the appropriate intervention time to avoid territorial degradation.

Precision farming technologies increasingly appear in the livestock sector. The most precision animal husbandry innovations are in the precision breeding and nutrition, but nowadays, different robots (e.g. robotic milking systems, robotic barn cleaners, etc.) can help for effective animal production, mainly in barn. The number of such innovative solutions in field is less. In order to collect spatial information about the ethology of animals, grazing dairy cattle are survey by LiDAR sensor. The focus area is a pasture near Nyírbátor (BÁTORTRADE Trade and Services Ltd., North Trans Tisza Region, Hungary). Application of LiDAR terrain characteristic, topography, vegetation status (e.g. the qualitative and quantitative characteristic of vegetation) and grazing cattle in the pasture can be detected. The main goal of our study was to detect grazing cattle on field by ALS system. LiDAR data was useful for animal detection, and based on the spatial data lying and standing animals were identified distinguishing from each other. In order to examine the statically position of cattle, digital elevation model was created based on the high precision spatial data. Based on the distribution and behaviour of the animals, different problems (e.g. environmental stress) in animal husbandry could be concluded. Multispectral image pattern and monitoring the spatial distribution of cattle’s movement, wet locations can be identified on the pasture. Using LiDAR data seems a promising opportunity to optimize land use and livestock size.

In order to reach the goal determined by the 2009/28/EU directive sorghum production for energy purposes can be an adequate method. Efficient sorghum production is based on the consideration of the climatic aspects. An advantage of sorghum is appearing in the field of drought tolerance. The foundation of sorghum’s great drought tolerance is the high heat demand which must be fulfilled. The heat demand varies from 8 °C to 15 °C, so that based on the meteorological data recorded in the period of 1997-2016 the Effective Heat Unit varied between 627 °C and 2097 °C. Base temperature has a remarkable impact on the length of the vegetation period as well. Depending on this value the potential length of the vegetation period can vary from 123 days to 153 days. The sugar accumulation curve of a sorghum hybrid is also an important aspect of efficient bioethanol production where length of the vegetation period is an essential factor.

In my research I observed the effects of different poultry manure pellets on germination and pigment changes in maize and wheat with breeding test. At the end of the experiments I measured the pigment and spectral data. The effect of the pellets on the pigment content was also studied by Tukey's variance analysis and I evaluated the connection between pigment content and reflectance. Then based on the spectral data, principal component analysis was performed to select the appropriate wavelength ranges. In the case of maize, the Natur extra and Nitro-plusz poultry manure pellets produced outstanding results on sandy soil and we can raise. In the case of wheat, the P+K manure pellets produced outstanding results. The absorption of chlorophyll can be measured at 678 nm and chlorophyll b at 650 nm. When we carried out the principal componenet analysis, we could select the 520-650 nm wavelength range and 700 nm wavelength for maize. For wheat the wavelengths were 540-650 nm and 702 nm. The priority ranges and their proximity ranges may be suitable for spectral monitoring of the pigment content.

The reserves and exploitation of conventional, so-called fossil energy resources are limited, therefore the utilisation of renewable energy resources has been becoming more and more important. Present study focuses on the thermal water utilisation possibilities i.e. energy content utilisation, balneological utilisation, irrigation, and the related environmental aspects in North East part of Hungary. Among the environmental effects the total dissolved solid concentration and the methane and carbon dioxide content are examined through the examples of 66 thermal water wells screened into pannonian sensu lato (s.l). succession. Thermal water utilisation may have many various environmental aspects: chemical impacts, gas emission, thermal effects, water quality effects noise effects, landscape change, from which methane and solids dissolved in thermal water emitted by its extraction are highlighted. Considering that the annual thermal water extraction from reservoirs located in the Northern part of the Great Hungarian Plain the annual Total dissolved solid concentration (TDS) and methane production can be estimated as 28,207 tones and 1,671,482 m3, respectively. It must be highlighted that by applying cascade systems, the efficiency of thermal water utilisation can be improved while environmental aspects do not increase considerably.

Forest site quality evaluation is an important part of forest planning and forest management. A forest site is characterized by forest biomass, which is determined by elevation characteristics, soil type and climate. Height of tree is widely used parameter for terroir typifying, but measuring of tree height is sometimes time- and labour-consuming and could affected by errors. Airborne LiDAR technology is an effective tool for determine fast and accurate the tree height on relative larger area. GIS software environment provides to prepare the high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) and digital surface model (DSM) for pixel-based canopy height. Traditionally, the operational tree height estimation can significant differ from the actual tree heights. In our investigation, between the LiDAR-based elevation parcel map and operational tree height estimation, a close correlation (r=0.7935) was detected. The aim of our research was creating a site qualification map, based on airborne LiDAR data. Tree height map was completed with soil type data. Trees are different age on the plot area, so age-based standardization was carried out by modified Chapman-Richards growth function to examine the increments of trees. In order to evaluate the forest site quality, created increment map was categorized. Based on the results, surface hydrology features are mainly influenced the tree increment, so the dendromass. Nevertheless, significant differences were observed between the tree increments in different soil types; higher salt content resulted smaller (62.49%) trees in Solonetz soil.

Liquefaction hazard safety is essential for operating nuclear power plants where the elimination of hazards via engineering measures is not practicable. For this, the core damage frequency should be evaluated via integration of the liquefaction hazard into the seismic probabilistic safety analysis. In the seismic probabilistic safety analysis, the maximum horizontal acceleration is used as the intensity measure and as the engineering demand parameter for a simple calculation of failure rates. According to the studies performed for the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, loss of emergency service water supply due to relative settlement of adjacent structures and structural and functional failures due to tilting are the dominating failure modes. To integrate these failure modes into a seismic probabilistic safety analysis, hazard and fragility should be evaluated as functions of properly identified intensity measures and engineering demand parameters, preferable the maximum horizontal acceleration. Since a generic procedure does not exist in nuclear practice, based on the analyses for the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, two practical options are proposed for integration of the liquefaction hazard into a seismic probabilistic safety analysis, and for the calculation of annual probability of failure of critical structures.

In many regions of Europe (among others in Hungary) agricultural production has been affected by droughts over the past decades. Global Water Partnership (GWP) Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) wanted to supported European countries in developing of an early warning system, which consists of monitoring, prediction and combine national drought policies. In order to use risk assessment – in which prevention of drought is emphasized - available water content calculation of watershed should be prepared for drought impacted areas. The aim of our study was to create a high-resolution, trans - border database, which takes into account the most important water regime properties of soils and it can be uniformly used in other countries of Tisza River Basin. Based on traditional soil maps, a soil database was created, where soil water content - in 2m layer depth of soil - can be estimated for different horizons and for different soil types. First of all, digital soil maps of different countries were adjusted to WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources), and calculation mapping was worked out for the total area of the Tisza River Basin. After allocations of the soil layers, physical limit values of soils were estimated by using pedo-transfer functions. Water storage capacity and available water content were determined by the depth of the impermeable layer. Finally, spatial queries were carried out in the Tisza River Basin and in units of administration. These data were integrated into a geographic information system, in which the data clearly showed that the impact of drought was more severe in extreme water management soils. In case of large-scale long-term droughts, local differences decreased the reliability of the calculations to a lesser degree. However, with further methodological development, the effect of these local differences can be reduced.

Permanent ground displacements/deformations caused by earthquakes can seriously challenge the safety of the nuclear power plants. The state-of-the-art hazard analysis methods provide a fault displacement hazard curve, i.e., the annual probability of given measure of displacement will be exceeded. The evaluation of ground displacement hazard requires great effort, empirical evidence, and sufficient data for the characterization of the fault activity and capability to cause permanent surface displacement. There are practical cases when the fault at the site area revealed to be active, and, despite this, there are no sufficient data for the evaluation of permanent ground displacements hazard and for judging on the safety significance of permanent ground displacement. For these cases, a methodology is proposed that is based on the seismotectonic modelling and results of the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. The method provides conservative assessment of the annual probability of fault displacement that allows the decision whether permanent displacement hazard is relevant to nuclear power plant safety. The feasibility and applicability of the method is demonstrated for the Paks site, Hungary.

For the new nuclear power plants, the hazard of liquefaction due to earthquakes should be excluded by appropriate site selection or eliminated by engineering measures. An important question is how to define a quantitative criterion for negligibility of the liquefaction hazard. In the case of operating plants, liquefaction can be revealed as a beyond-design-basis event. It is important to learn whether the liquefaction hazard has a safety relevance and whether there is a sufficient margin to the onset of liquefaction. The use of pseudoprobabilistic method would be practicable for the definition of probability of liquefaction, but it could result in overconservative results. In this paper, the applicability of the pseudoprobabilistic procedure is demonstrated for the sites in diffuse seismicity environment and for low hazard levels that are typical for nuclear safety considerations. Use of the procedure is demonstrated in a case study with realistic site-plant parameters.

The hazard of permanent ground displacements/deformations can challenge the safety of the nuclear power plants. Increasing knowledge of the hazard and development of methods for structure–fault–displacement interaction motivates the designing of nuclear power plants for permanent ground displacement instead of abandoning the sites that could be affected by this kind of hazard. For the design basis, permanent ground displacement should be defined at the hazard level that complies with the probabilistic criteria for accounting for the natural hazards in the design that also ensure compliance with probabilistic safety criteria. In this paper, a procedure is proposed for the definition of the design basis permanent ground displacement that is based on the deaggregation of seismic design basis hazard. The definition of the displacement for the margin evaluation is also proposed. The feasibility of safe design is also demonstrated for the proposed definition of design basis hazard via qualitative judgement on the sensitivity of the structures, systems and components ensuring the fundamental safety functions with respect to the permanent ground displacement that is supported by existing case studies.

Design of nuclear power plant shall provide an adequate margin to protect items ultimately necessary to prevent an early large radioactive release in the case of earthquakes exceeding those considered in the design. An essential question is how large the margin should be to be accepted as adequate. In the practice, depending on the country regulation, a plant margin of at least 1.4 or 1.67 times the design basis peak ground acceleration is required to be demonstrated. The catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant revealed the fundamental experience that the plants designed in compliance with nuclear standards can survive the effects of the vibratory ground motion due to disastrous earthquake but may fail due to effects of phenomena accompanying or generated by the earthquakes. Liquefaction is one of those secondary effects of beyond-design basis earthquakes that should be investigated for NPPs at soil sites. However, the question has not been investigated up to now, whether a “margin earthquake”, vibratory effects of which the plant can withstand thanks to design margin, will not induce liquefaction at soil sites and will not result in loss of safety functions. In the paper, a procedure is proposed for calculation of the probability and margin to liquefaction. Use of the procedure is demonstrated on a case study with realistic site-plant parameters. Criteria for probability for screening and acceptable probabilistic margin to liquefaction are proposed. The possible building settlement due to margin earthquake is also assessed.

Understanding the background mechanisms affecting the emergence and maintenance of consistent between-individual variation within population in single (animal personality) or across multiple (behavioural syndrome) behaviours has key importance. State-dependence theory suggests that behaviour is 'anchored' to individual state (e.g. body condition, gender, age) and behavioural consistency emerges through behavioural-state feedbacks. A number of relevant state variables are labile (e.g. body condition, physiological performance) and expected to be affected by short-term environmental change. Yet, whether short-term environmental shifts affect behavioural consistency during adulthood remains questionable. Here, by employing a full-factorial laboratory experiment, we explored if quantity of food (low vs. high) and time available for thermoregulation (3h vs. 10h per day) had an effect on activity and risk-taking of reproductive adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis). We focussed on different components of behavioural variation: (i) strength of behavioural consistency (repeatability for animal personality; between-individual correlation for behavioural syndrome), (ii) behavioural type (individual mean behaviour) and (iii) behavioural predictability (within-individual behavioural variation). Activity was repeatable in all treatments. Risk-taking was repeatable only in the low basking treatments. We found significant between-individual correlation only in the low food × long basking time group. The treatments did not affect behavioural type, but affected behavioural predictability. Activity predictability was higher in the short basking treatment, where it also decreased with size (≈ age). Risk-taking predictability in the short basking treatment increased with size under food limitation, but decreased when food supply was high. We conclude that short-term environmental change can alter various components of behavioural consistency. The effect could be detected in the presence/absence patterns of animal personality and behavioural syndrome and the level of individual behavioural predictability, but not in behavioural type.

Options for the development of electric power generation industry in Hungary are considered. The Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. is a stable element of the energy system of the country. Its significance in power supply is demonstrated and preparatory works for new nuclear projects are presented. The feasibility of construction of a new plant is outlined. Basic aspects of preparatory work and its results are presented in the paper.

In case of some nuclear power plants constructed at the soft soil sites, liquefaction should be analysed as beyond design basis hazard. The aim of the analysis is to define the postevent condition of the plant, definition of plant vulnerabilities, and identification of the necessary measures for accident management. In the paper, the methodology of the analysis of liquefaction effects for nuclear power plants is outlined. The procedure includes identification of the scope of the safety analysis and the acceptable limit cases for plant structures having different role from accident management point of view. Considerations are made for identification of dominating effects of liquefaction. The possibility of the decoupling of the analysis of liquefaction effects from the analysis of vibratory ground motion is discussed. It is shown in the paper that the practicable empirical methods for definition of liquefaction susceptibility provide rather controversial results. Selection of method for assessment of soil behaviour that affects the integrity of structures requires specific considerations. The case of nuclear power plant at Paks, Hungary, is used as an example for demonstration of practical importance of the presented results and considerations.

Accurate estimation of chlorophyll is essential for monitoring maize health and growth, for which hyperspectral imaging provides rich data. In this context, this paper presents an innovative method to estimate maize chlorophyll by combining hyperspectral indices and advanced machine learning models. The methodology of this study focuses on the development of machine learning models using proprietary hyperspectral indices to estimate corn chlorophyll content. Six advanced machine learning models were used, including robust linear stepwise regression, support vector machines (SVM), fine Gaussian SVM, Matern 5/2 Gaussian stepwise regression, and three-layer neural network. The MRMR algorithm was integrated into the process to improve feature selection by identifying the most informative spectral bands, thereby reducing data redundancy and improving model performance. The results showed significant differences in the performance of the six machine learning models applied to chlorophyll estimation. Among the models, the Matern 5/2 Gaussian process regression model showed the highest prediction accuracy. The model achieved R2 = 0.71 for the training set, RMSE = 338.46 µg/g and MAE = 264.30 µg/g. In the case of the validation set, the Matern 5/2 Gaussian process regression model further improved its performance, reaching R2 =0.79, RMSE=296.37 µg/g, MAE=237.12 µg/g. These metrics show that Matern’s 5/2 Gaussian process regression model combined with the MRMR algorithm to select optimal traits is highly effective in predicting corn chlorophyll content. This research has important implications for precision agriculture, particularly for real-time monitoring and management of crop health. Accurate estimation of chlorophyll allows farmers to take timely and targeted action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety of high-potential risk facilities concerned with fault displacement hazards is a complex technical issue, especially if the fault is revealed beneath the facility during the operation. Applying simple conservative engineering hazard evaluation methods is rational if an urgent decision should be made to continue operation or implement protective measures. Engineering methods are being published for strike-slip on-fault sites and structures. Their crucial point is to estimate the probability of the rupture at the site intersection and consider the displacement distribution over the rupture length relative to the site's on-fault location. It is shown in the paper that strict geometrical relations between the site location, length and initial point of the rupture determine whether the principal fault displacement intersects the site. The paper considers these geometrical parameters as independent random variables and applies a screening of ruptures contributing to the hazard. Magnitude- and on-fault coordinate-dependent empirical relations have been analysed and selected to evaluate the site displacements. The procedure resulted in realistic but conservative hazard curves for different on-fault site locations using data from the Paks site in Hungary. The results were compared to those obtained by the conservative engineering method for the same site and some published analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of climate change and limited water resources, optimizing water usage in agriculture is crucial. This study models water productivity to help regional planners address these challenges. We integrate CROPWAT-based reference evapotranspiration (ETo) with Sentinel 2 data to calculate daily evapotranspiration and water needs for maize using soil and climate data from 2021 to 2023. The HYDRUS model predicted volumetric soil moisture content, validated against observed data. A 2D hydrodynamic model within HYDRUS simulated temporal and spatial variations in soil water distribution for maize at a non-irrigated site in Hungary. The model used soil physical properties and crop evapotranspiration rates as inputs, covering crop development stages from planting to harvest. The model showed good performance, with R² values of 0.65 (10 cm) and 0.81 (60 cm) in 2021, 0.51 (10 cm) and 0.50 (60 cm) in 2022, and 0.38 (10 cm) and 0.72 (60 cm) in 2023. RMSE and NRMSE values indicated reliability. The model revealed water deficits and proposed optimal irrigation schedules to maintain soil moisture between 32.2 and 17.51 V/V%. This integrated approach offers a reliable tool for monitoring soil moisture and developing efficient irrigation systems, aiding maize production's adaptation to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) is crucial for irrigation water management, especially in arid regions. This can be particularly relevant in the Po Valley (Italy), where arable lands suffer from drought damages on an annual basis, causing drastic crop yield losses. This study presents a novel approach for vegetation-based estimation of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) for maize. Three years of high-resolution multispectral satellite (Sentinel-2)-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Normalized Difference Red Edge Index (NDRE), and Leaf Area Index (LAI) time series data were used to derive crop coefficients of maize in nine plots at the Acqua Campus experimental farm of Irrigation Consortium for the Emilia Romagna Canal (CER), Italy. Since certain vegetation indices (VIs) (such as NDVI) have an exponential nature compared to the other indices, both linear and power regression models were evaluated to estimate the crop coefficient (Kc). In the context of linear regression, the correlations between Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-based Kc and NDWI, NDRE, NDVI, and LAI-based Kc were 0.833, 0.870, 0.886, and 0.771, respectively. Strong correlation values in the case of power regression (NDWI: 0.876, NDRE: 0.872, NDVI: 0.888, LAI: 0.746) indicated an alternative approach to provide crop coefficients for the vegetation period. The VI-based ETc values were calculated using reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and VI-based Kc. The weather station data of CER were used to calculate ET0 based on Penman-Monteith estimation. Out of the Vis, NDWI and NDVI-based ETc performed the best both in the cases of linear (NDWI RMSE: 0.43 ± 0.12; NDVI RMSE: 0.43 ± 0.095) and power (NDWI RMSE: 0.44 ± 0.116; NDVI RMSE: 0.44 ± 0.103) approaches. The findings affirm the efficacy of the developed methodology in accurately assessing the evapotranspiration rate. Consequently, it offers a more refined temporal estimation of water requirements for maize cultivation in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-developed soil conditioner composites containing fermented chicken manure as a raw material alongside bentonite and super-absorbent polymer in different doses and combinations were tested in a 112 day long soil incubation experiment. This study aimed to determine their effects on soil N mineralization, and the changes in the amount of soil mineralized nitrogen forms, cumulative mineralized nitrogen (Nmin), and C/N ratio in a sandy soil (Lamellic Arenosol) at two different soil water holding capacity (SWHC) levels and soil layers. Potentially mineralized nitrogen (PMN), net mineralization rates (NMR), and nitrifi cation rates (NNR) were also calculated to study the effectiveness of treatments. Soil NH4-N decreased by 50-70% while NO3-N increased by 150-200% in the treated soil, so the NO3-N and NH4-N ratio changed from 1/3 to 2/1 during the incubation. Nmin gradually increased and was described by a linear tendency (R≥0.99) for both soil layers and SWHC levels. Composite treatments increased signifi cantly the PMN, and NMR values by 2-4 times and NNR values by 40-240% compared to the control. Applied composites enhanced the mineralized proportion of total nitrogen content by 2-6%. It was found that the composites were more effective at lower SWHC level and in their application layer than chicken manure alone. Overall, the developed organic-based composites are able to cope with changing soil conditions, which can help mitigate the negative effects of climatic anomalies, especially in arid areas with limited water resources by improving soil nutrient supply, thus contributing to sustainable nutrient management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript presents a detailed comparative analysis of three advanced classification techniques that were used between 2018 and 2020 to classify land cover using Landsat8 imagery, namely Support Vector Machine (SVM), Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLSC), and Random Forests (RF). The study focuses on evaluating the accuracy of these methods by comparing the classified maps with a higher-resolution ground truth map, utilising 500 randomly selected points for assessment. The obtained results show that, compared to MLSC and RT, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) approach performs better. The SVM model demonstrates enhanced precision in land cover classification, showcasing its effectiveness in discerning subtle differences in landscape features. Furthermore, using the precise classification results produced by the SVM method, this study examines the temporal variations in land cover between 2018 and 2020. The results provide insight into dynamic land cover changes and highlight the significance of applying reliable classification techniques for thorough temporal analysis with Landsat8 images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]