Classification of mesic grasslands and their transitions of South Transdanubia (Hungary)

Relevés from meadows and pastures of South Transdanubia (Hungary) are evaluated by clustering and ordination methods. The relevé selection focused on the Arrhenatheretalia order but its transitions towards other types were also included. The groups of relevés are delimited and described according to differential, dominant and constant species. Ecological conditions of the groups were compared using indicator values. Nine groups were distinguished, four of them belonging strictly to the order Arrhenatheretalia. Each alliance of Arrhenatheretalia presented in the study area (Cynosurion, Arrhenatherion) was represented by two groups. Groups from these two alliances are separated along a light gradient, while groups of the same alliance differ in nutrient values. Within Cynosurion, the nutrient-poor group cannot be identified unambiguously as any syntaxa previously known from Hungary. The nutrient-rich Cynosurion meadows are similar to Lolio–Cynosuretum, however, they show a stronger relationship with wet meadows. Within Arrhenatherion, Pastinaco–Arrhenatheretum is recognised as a hay meadow of nutrient-rich soils. The other meadow type is similar to Filipendulo–Arrhenatheretum, thus raising syntaxonomical problems. There are transitional groups towards semi-dry and wet meadows, one dynamic phase and one outlier group among the other five clusters

Link-Prediction to Tackle the Boundary Specification Problem in Social Network Surveys

Diffusion processes in social networks often cause the emergence of global phenomena from individual behavior within a society. The study of those global phenomena and the simulation of those diffusion processes frequently require a good model of the global network. However, survey data and data from online sources are often restricted to single social groups or features, such as age groups, single schools, companies, or interest groups. Hence, a modeling approach is required that extrapolates the locally restricted data to a global network model. We tackle this Missing Data Problem using Link-Prediction techniques from social network research, network generation techniques from the area of Social Simulation, as well as a combination of both. We found that techniques employing less information may be more adequate to solve this problem, especially when data granularity is an issue. We validated the network models created with our techniques on a number of real-world networks, investigating degree distributions as well as the likelihood of links given the geographical distance between two nodes

Measurement of abdominal retractor loading and its effects on the surgeons arm

A load measuring apparatus integrated into an abdominal retractors and its methodology are presented. The measured forces offer new knowledge in the fields of surgery and may be useful in the design of new retractors and fixing frames as well as the investigation of tissue loading during surgical intervention. Effort required to hold the retractor is quantified for the surgeons forearm and the approximation of muscle fatigue can be evaluated with respect to the duration of surgical intervention

History of the media in Central and Eastern Europe

This chapter discusses the recent history of the media in four former communist countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland) in Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on the transfer of media institutions and culture from “old” to “young” democracies. In line with theories of “multiple post-communisms,” it reveals major differences among these countries while also disclosing a number of similarities, including the political instrumentalization of media, party capture of public service broadcasters, partisan journalism, and excessive commercializationViešosios komunikacijos katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta