Foundations of the Social Futuring Index

This paper presents a new, multidisciplinary concept called “Social Futuring” and introduces an index based on this concept, entitled the “Social Futuring Index”. Settled into the intersection of philosophy, psychology, sociology, political theory and geopolitics among many other fields of social sciences social futuring and its application as an index addresses both academia and policymakers. In the present article the concept is explained and then placed in the broader context of social sciences. We highlight that the most unique characteristic of social futuring is its fixed normative, analytical and discursive framework, the center of which is “a good life in a unity of order”. Finally, we present the key elements of the index that are currently under construction

Social Futuring Index. Concept, Methodology and Full Report 2020

This study aims to summarize in its Part I the concept of Social Futuring (SF) and the applied methodology of the compilation of the Social Futuring Index (SFI). In Part II the 2020 SFI rankings of OECD countries are presented. In the first part of this volume we outline the foundations and the basic logic of the SFI focusing on its main elements: the normative standards, the pillars, the dimensions and the indicators. We also summarize the methodology used to compile the SFI. In the second part, the detailed SFI Report 2020 is presented starting with OECD countries’ overall SFI rankings, followed by country rankings for each SFI normative standard as well as various country groupings. Thereafter, every OECD country’s SFI profiles are detailed and the OECD countries’ SFI clusters are outlined

Social Futuring Index. Concept, Methodology and Report 2020

This study aims to summarize in its Part I the concept of Social Futuring (SF) and the applied methodology of the compilation of the Social Futuring Index (SFI). In Part II the 2020 SFI rankings of OECD countries are presented

Activity of 50 Long-Period Comets Beyond 5.2 AU

Remote investigations of the ancient solar system matter has been traditionally carried out through the observations of long-period (LP) comets that are less affected by solar irradiation than the short-period counterparts orbiting much closer to the Sun. Here we summarize the results of our decade-long survey of the distant activity of LP comets. We found that the most important separation in the dataset is based on the dynamical nature of the objects. Dynamically new comets are characterized by a higher level of activity on average: the most active new comets in our sample can be characterized by afrho values >3--4 higher than that of our most active returning comets. New comets develop more symmetric comae, suggesting a generally isotropic outflow. Contrary to this, the coma of recurrent comets can be less symmetrical, ocassionally exhibiting negative slope parameters, suggesting sudden variations in matter production. The morphological appearance of the observed comets is rather diverse. A surprisingly large fraction of the comets have long, teniouos tails, but the presence of impressive tails does not show a clear correlation with the brightness of the comets

GRBAlpha: the smallest astrophysical space observatory -- Part 1: Detector design, system description and satellite operations

Aims. Since launched on 2021 March 22, the 1U-sized CubeSat GRBAlpha operates and collects scientific data on high-energy transients, making it the smallest astrophysical space observatory to date. GRBAlpha is an in-obit demonstration of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) detector concept suitably small to fit into a standard 1U volume. As it was demonstrated in a companion paper, GRBAlpha adds significant value to the scientific community with accurate characterization of bright GRBs, including the recent outstanding event of GRB 221009A. Methods. The GRB detector is a 75x75x5 mm CsI(Tl) scintillator wrapped in a reflective foil (ESR) read out by an array of SiPM detectors, multi-pixel photon counters by Hamamatsu, driven by two separate, redundant units. To further protect the scintillator block from sunlight and protect the SiPM detectors from particle radiation, we apply a multi-layer structure of Tedlar wrapping, anodized aluminium casing and a lead-alloy shielding on one edge of the assembly. The setup allows observations of gamma radiation within the energy range of 70-890 keV with an energy resolution of ~30%. Results. Here, we summarize the system design of the GRBAlpha mission, including the electronics and software components of the detector, some aspects of the platform as well as the current way of semi-autonomous operations. In addition, details are given about the raw data products and telemetry in order to encourage the community for expansion of the receiver network for our initiatives with GRBAlpha and related experiments.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 9 pages, 10 figure

A föcstejitatási módok vizsgálata borjaknál

Dolgozatomban a Körös-Maros Biofarm Kft gyulavári szarvasmarha telepén végzett kolosztrum menedzsment programján belül a kolosztrum itatás módjának hatásait emelném ki. A hosszú távú, sikeres, jövedelmező tejtermelés alapja a borjúnevelés. Általában a tej önköltségének második legnagyobb tétele a tehén amortizációjának költsége. A hibák kiküszöbölése nagyon fontos, ugyanis kb. 2 év múlva mutatkozik meg ennek a munkának az eredménye. A kísérlet során alkalmazott technikát és menedzsmentet beillesztettük a telep életébe, mert a megfelelő minőségű-, mennyiségű-, tisztaságú és megfelelő időben megitatott föcstej kulcsa a sikeres borjúnevelésnek. A tehenészetek nyereségességét növeli az utánpótlás nevelés veszteségeinek csökkentése. Ennek érdekében fontos a felnövekvő állomány állategészségügyi státuszának javítása. Az alkalmazott „kolosztrum-menedzsment „ nagymértékben befolyásolja az újszülött és szopós borjak egészségi állapotát. A telepen jelenleg alkalmazott módszer kiválasztásánál a legfontosabb szempont, hogy megtaláljuk azt, amelyik a dolgozók számára a legkönnyebben és legbiztonságosabban használható. Fontos megjegyezni, hogy az eszköz megvásárlása önmagában még nem javít a borjak egészségi állapotán. Minden frissen ellett tehén föcstejének ellenanyag-tartalmát mérjük meg és csak 50 g/l immunglobulin tartalom felett itassuk meg. Amennyiben nem áll a telepen rendelkezésre elegendő mennyiségben jó minőségű kolosztrum, a szükséges immunglobulin-mennyiséget takarmány-kiegészítők segítségével is pótolhatjuk. Ebben az esetben javasolt olyan készítményt választani, amely tartalmaz szarvasmarha-kolosztrumot, és a technikát kielégítőnek és célravezetőnek találtam az ott eltöltött idő alatt. Változtatásra javaslatot nem áll szándékomban tenni, mert úgy gondolom, hogy a megfelelő módszerrel történik a borjak itatása. Dolgozatom célja elsősorban a kíváncsiságom kielégítése volt. A végeredmény, amire jutottam, hogy a különböző itatási módok hatása nem mutat akkora eltérést, mint az elsőre reméltem, így azt mondhatom, hogy az általam elvégzett kutatások alapján nem éri meg a telepen alkalmazott itatási módszert lecserélni.BSc/BAMezőgazdasági mérnö

Novel mutations of the ATP7B gene among 109 Hungarian patients with Wilson's disease

Background/aims Diagnosis of Wilson's disease may be difficult in patients presenting with liver disease and in asymptomatic siblings. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of genetic testing for diagnosis of the disease in a large cohort (n = 109) from Hungary. Patients/methods One hundred and nine patients with Wilson's disease were studied (65 men and 44 women; mean age at onset of symptoms: 20 9 years). Diagnosis of the disease was based on typical clinical and laboratory features (all had a Wilson's disease score of >=, 4). H1 069Q was assessed by the semi-nested polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. H1 069Q heterozygotes and H1 069Q negative samples were then screened for mutations (on exons 6 to 20) by denaturating high-performance liquid chromatography and than sequenced on a genetic analyser. Results Twenty-three different mutations were found. H1 069Q was the most frequent mutation in Hungary, detected in 77 patients (71%). Fourteen further known mutations were found by sequencing. We identified eight new mis-sense mutations not described before: N6761, S693Y, Y715H, M769L, W939C, P1 273S, G1 281 D and G1 341 V. In 36/109 patients (33%) the diagnosis of Wilson's disease was established by adding mutational analysis. The Kayser-Fleischer ring was more frequent in H1 069Q homozygous patients and their mean age at the time of diagnosis was higher than in patients heterozygous or negative for H1069Q. Conclusion Eight novel mutations in addition to the 15 that are already known were found in Hungarian patients with Wilson's disease. Our results underline the importance and usefulness of genetic testing for patients presenting with liver disease and for family screening

Chronic hepatitis C virus infection associated with autonomic dysfunction

Background: Impaired autonomic function has been described in patients with chronic liver diseases from different aetiologies, and has proven to be a poor prognostic indicator. To date, it is not known how chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects the autonomic nervous system. Aims: In the present study, we compared cardiovagal autonomic function in patients with chronic HCV infection and healthy controls and examined the relation between autonomic function and serum levels of aminotransferases, HCV RNA, cryoglobulins, albumin and glucose. Methods: Autonomic function was assessed in 45 treatment-naı¨ve patients with chronic HCV infection and in 40 healthy controls by determining spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and heart rate variability (HRV) indices. The R–R interval was determined by electrocardiogramrecording; continuous radial artery pressure was monitored simultaneously by applanation tonometry. Laboratory analyses and quantitative polymerase chain reaction for serum HCV RNA level were performed by standard procedures. Results: BRS and HRV time and frequency domain indices were lower in patients with HCV infection compared with healthy controls [7.1+/-3.4 vs. 11.5+/-6.5 ms/mmHg for BRS, 168.5+/-160.9 vs. 370.7+/-349.4 ms2 for low-frequency HRV (mean+/-SD); Po0.01]. Multivariate analysis showed that autonomic dysfunction in HCV-infected patients correlated with elevated alanine aminotransferase levels, but was not associated with serum HCV RNA levels and cryoglobulins. Conclusion: Our results suggest that impaired autonomic function is caused by chronic HCV infection. Further studies are needed, however, to identify the underlying mechanisms