Investigation of human thermal comfort by observating the utilization of open-air terraces in catering places – a case study in Szeged

The observation of the attendance of open-air terraces in restaurants, taverns and cafés provides an indirect way to estimate human reactions on thermal conditions. This paper reports the use of this human biometeorological survey method in two taverns located in Szeged (Hungary) in order to investigate the correlation between the relative attendance of outdoor places and the actual thermal conditions. The latter was quantified by the most popular human comfort index, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), calculated by the bioclimate model RayMan from measured meteorological parameters influencing the thermal comfort sensation. In a 6 week long period, the relative attendance of the beer gardens of two taverns offering different microclimatic environments was observed in the afternoon hours (between 12 and 3 p.m.). The results proved that the attendance of outdoor places increases up to a specified PMV value, then decreases due to the intensified heat stress. This tendency is not only in harmony with the common human attitude, but also confirms the correctness of the applied bioclimate index (PMV)

Objective and subjective aspects of an urban square’s human comfort – case study in Szeged (Hungary)

This paper deals with the first comprehensive thermal comfort study made in the centre of Szeged, a southern Hungarian town. We calculated the Predicted Mean Vote index with the RayMan model from measured meteorological parameters (objective approach). Within the frameworks of a simultaneously conducted social survey people estimated their thermal comfort (Actual Sensation Vote), so we could compare these subjective values with the objective results. We recorded also a number of subjective features on questionnaires in order to determine which factors influence the thermal comfort the most

Lótusz Nagyváradról : a püspökfürdői hévízi tündérrózsa eredetének kérdése

The Egyptian white waterlilly (Nymphaea lotus L.) is a perennial, tropical, subtropical species of waterlily (Nymphaea) genus. There is a conspicuous satellite occurance in Europe, in a thermal lake called Lake Petea near to Oradea city, NW Romania which was found by Pál Kitalibel in 1798. The plant which lives in this thermal lake was described as the variation of Nymphaea lotus (Nymphaea lotus L. var. thermalis) by János Tuzson. Its origin has been part of great debate among scholars during the last 200 years. Some of the scholars’ opinion is that it is a Tertiary relict, others advocate its origin as a result of plantation by human population or recent dispersal by waterbirds. This is one of the several questions we try to answer in our research which treats the environmental history of Lake Petea. The results of the malacological examintations and preliminary radiocarbon analysis suggest that Nymphaea lotus var. thermalis is not a Tertiary relict and these results also show that it is not a result of human activity

mRNA transcription profile of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) exposed to ultrasound during different stages of in vitro plantlet development

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Ionok ütközése atomokkal, molekulákkal és felületekkel: magasabbrendű folyamatok = Collisions of ions with atoms molecules and surfaces: Higher-order processes

Ionok és atomok illetve molekulák ütközéseiben megmutattuk, hogy kis (1-100 keV/nukleon) ionenergiákon a többszörös elektronszórási folyamat (az un. Fermi-shuttle mechanizmus) járuléka elérheti a teljes elektron-emisszió 5-10 százalékát, és a nagyenergiás elektronok ki-bocsátásában ez a folyamat meghatározó lehet. A hidrogénmolekula ionizációjában magasabb rendben fellépő interferenciajelenségek közül pontosan megmértük a másodrendű folyamat járulékának szögeloszlását. Találtunk egy magasabb frekvenciájú komponenst is, melynek értelmezése egyenlőre nyitott kérdés. Ion-molekula ütközésekben megmértük a kilépő molekula-fragmentumok szög és energia-eloszlását, és értelmeztük annak anizotróp jellegét. Az ion-felület kölcsönhatások területén a szigetelő fóliákban kialakított nanokapillárisok un. ionterelő hatását vizsgálatuk. Felépítettük az ehhez szükséges mérőberendezést, majd elsőként kimutattuk és megmértük alumíniumoxid nanokapilláris minták ionterelő képességét. Elemeztük a lítiumszerű lövedékionokon végbemenő kételektronos, un. transzfer-loss folyamatot. Megmutattuk, hogy egy metastabil kvartett állapot keltési hatáskeresztmetszetét a lövedék magasabb héjaira befogódó elektronok teljes hozama szabja meg, amivel megmagyaráztuk egy anomálisan nagynak tekintett hatáskeresztmetszet eredetét. | It has been shown in collisions of ions with atoms and molecules that at low ion energies (1-100 keV/u), the contribution of the multiple electron scattering sequences (the so called Fermi-shuttle mechanism) may amount of 5-10% of the total electron emission. Morover, this process can be dominant in the emission of high energy electrons. Studying the higher order interference effects in the ionization of the hydrogen molecule, we accurately measured the angular distribution of the second order component. A higher frequency contribution has also been found, which has no evident interpretation yet. We measured the angular and energy distribution of molecular fragments in ion-molecule collisions, and provided an interpretation for its anisotropic properties. In the field of ion-surface interaction, we studied the ion-guiding ability of the nanocapillaries formed in foils of isolating materials. We have constructed the measuring apparatus. We determined first time the ion guiding properties of capillary samples formed in anodic alumina. We analyzed the transfer-loss process (a two-electron transition) on lithium like projectile ions. We have shown that the production cross section of a metastable quartet state is deter-mined by the capture yield to all the higher n shells of the projectile. This fact explained the anomaly of a ?too large? measured cross section

Visual imagery vividness declines across the lifespan

The capacity to elicit vivid visual mental images varies within an extensive range across individuals between hyper- and aphantasia. It is not clear, however, whether imagery vividness is constant across the lifespan or changes during development and later in life. Without enforcing the constraints of strict experimental procedures and representativity across the entire population, our purpose was to explore the self-reported level of imagery vividness and determine the relative proportions of aphantasic/hyperphantasic participants in different age groups. Relying on the frequently used Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, we collected data on a random sample of 2252 participants between the ages of 12–60 years. We found a novel developmental pattern that describes a declining ability to elicit vivid visual mental images in the group averages of different age groups from adolescence to middle age. This effect involves both a decreasing proportion of individuals with vivid visual imagery vividness and an increasing proportion of individuals with low imagery vividness as maturation (based on bone age assessments in adolescents) and ageing progress. These findings may shed some light on the developmental mechanisms of our internal, stimulus-independent processes, and might also help to determine genetic, maturational, and age-dependent factors in the cases of hyper- and aphantasia