Functional Urban Regions in Hungary

The topics discussed in this paper include conceptual dimensions of the framework of functional urban regions and their planning applicability; delineation of those regions for Hungary based on the 1970 Census data; an analytical description of these regions from both the economic and demographic points of view; and a general survey of the trends of recent regional development processes observed in Hungary. The paper also discusses planning policy implications of the analysis and the relevant perspectives of the human settlement network systems in Hungary

Baking quality prediction of spelt wheat based on rheological and mixolab parameters

The aim of this work was to test the potential of Mixolab II in the baking quality prediction of five Triticum spelta L. cultivars grown during growing periods with different climate conditions. Spelt cultivars varied in flour and dough properties examined by indirect baking qualm- indicators (wet gluten content. Falling number. Zelenv sedimentation, farinograph rheological properties, Mixolab parameters) and direct baking test, strong effect of climatic conditions was determined. Results showed significant differences in protein and starch – amylase part of Mixolab II curve, indicating the genotype and climatic effect. Spelt cultivars were characterised by high protein weakening (C2=0.32 Nm), speed of protein network weakening at the level of α= −0.07 Nm min−1, starch gelatinisation (C3=1.61 Nm), amylolytic activity (C4=1.35 Nm), and starch retrogradation (C5=1.98 Nm). Significant correlations between indirect baking properties, farinograph and Mixolab II parameters, and direct baking test were found. Slope a of Mixolab curve was a promising parameter in estimation of direct baking parameter – specific bread volume, together with indirect indicator – Zeleny sedimentation

Grocery Stores Are Not Associated with More Healthful Food for Participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Background: Despite interventions to improve the nutrition of grocery store purchases, also referred to as at-home (AH) foods, by participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP), little is known about what proportion of participants’ intake is from AH foods and how the dietary quality of AH food compares with participants’ away-from-home (AFH) food. Although recent research indicates SNAP participants have dietary quality that is slightly worse than that of income-eligible nonparticipants, it is unknown whether this is attributable to AH or AFH consumption. Objective: The objective of this study is to examine differences in self-reported dietary intake by food source for SNAP participants compared with income-eligible nonparticipants using 2011-2014 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Design: This study included data from the NHANES, a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of the United States population. Study participants: This study included 2,523 adults with low incomes (≤130% of the federal poverty level) in NHANES (2011-2014). Main outcome measures: Self-reported intake of calories, solid fats, added sugars, and servings of nonstarchy vegetables, whole fruits, and whole grains was assessed by food source in SNAP participants and income-eligible nonparticipants. Statistical analysis: Multivariate linear regression was used for each outcome, controlling for relevant sociodemographic characteristics. Data were stratified by food source, including grocery stores, sit-down restaurants, and fast food. Results: SNAP participants had a higher intake of solid fats and added sugar from AH foods than nonparticipants. Added sugar from AH food accounted for 15.3% of total calories consumed by SNAP participants, compared with 11.8% for nonparticipants (P<0.001). SNAP participants consumed fewer calories from sit-down restaurants, but both groups consumed similar amounts of calories from fast food. Consumption of nonstarchy vegetables, whole fruits, and whole grains was low for both groups. Conclusions: SNAP participants had poorer diet quality from consumption of AH food than did nonparticipants. Future research should focus on interventions to improve the healthfulness of grocery store purchases as a mechanism to improve dietary quality of SNAP participants

An integrated system and framework for development of medical applications and products based on medical imaging data

Cranial defects which are caused by bone tumors or traffic accidents are treated by cranioplasty techniques. Cranioplasty implants are required to protect the underlying brain, correct major aesthetic deformities, or both. With the rapid develop-ment of computer graphics, medical image processing (MIP) and manufacturing technologies in recent decades, nowadays, personalised cranioplasty implants can be designed and made to improve the quality of cranial defect treatments. However, software tools for MIP and 3D modelling of implants are ex-pensive; and they normally require high technical skills. Espe-cially, the process of design and development of personalised cranioplasty implants normally requires a multidisciplinary team, including experts in MIP, 3D design and modelling, and Biomedical Engineering; this leads to challenges and difficulties for technology transfers and implementations in hospitals. This research is aimed at developing, in particular, cost-effective solutions and tools for design and modeling of personalised cranioplasty implants, and to simplify the design and modelling of implants, as well as to reduce the design and modeling time. In this way, surgeons and engineers can conveniently and easily design personalised cranioplasty implants, without the need of using complex MIP and CAD tools; and as a result the cost of implants will be minimised

Service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening in low- and middle-income countries: a cross-country qualitative study

The aims of this paper are to: (i) explore the experiences of involvement of mental health service users, their caregivers, mental health centre heads and policy makers in mental health system strengthening in three low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (Ethiopia, Nepal and Nigeria); (ii) analyse the potential benefits and barriers of such involvement; and (iii) identify strategies required to achieve greater service user and caregiver participation. A cross-country qualitative study was conducted, interviewing 83 stakeholders of mental health services. Our analysis showed that service user and caregiver involvement in the health system strengthening process was an alien concept for most participants. They reported very limited access to direct participation. Stigma and poverty were described as the main barriers for involvement. Several strategies were identified by participants to overcome existing hurdles to facilitate service user and caregiver involvement in the mental health system strengthening process, such as support to access treatment, mental health promotion and empowerment of service users. This study suggests that capacity building for service users, and strengthening of user groups would equip them to contribute meaningfully to policy development from informed perspectives. Involvement of service users and their caregivers in mental health decision-making is still in its infancy in LMICs. Effective strategies are required to overcome existing barriers, for example making funding more widely available for Ph.D. studies in participatory research with service users and caregivers to develop, implement and evaluate approaches to involvement that are locally and culturally acceptable in LMICs

Influence of stigma, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics on mental health-related service use and associated costs among young people in the United Kingdom

This study examined the influence of stigma, psychopathology, and sociodemographic characteristics on mental health-related service use and costs related to service use in a cohort of young people in the UK. Using data from a community sample of young people aged 9–17 years and their caregivers, we assessed 407 young people’s use of services due to mental health problems, young people’s psychopathology, demographic characteristics, maternal education and caregivers’ stigma-related beliefs. Unit costs related to services were gathered from national annual compendia and other widely used sources. We assessed predictors of service use through logistic regression analysis and developed generalised linear models to identify factors associated with costs of mental health-related service utilisation. Persistent psychopathology, socioeconomic disadvantage, and low caregiver intended stigma-related behaviour were associated with increased likelihood of service use among young people. Older age and socioeconomic disadvantage were associated with increased costs. Different factors influenced contact with services and the cost associated with their use — persistent psychopathology and socioeconomic disadvantage increased, and caregivers’ intended stigma-related behaviour decreased the likelihood of using services, whereas socioeconomic disadvantage and older age were associated with increased costs. Social determinants of mental health problems play an important role in the use and costs of different types of mental health-related services for young people. Discordance between drivers of service use and costs implies that young people who are more likely to access services due to mental health problems do not necessarily receive care at the intensity they need

Empowering SMEs to make better decisions with Business Intelligence: A Case Study

With the advance of Business Information Systems (BIS), irrespective of the size, companies have adopted an approach to electronic data collection and management for two decades. The advancement in technology means they have in their possessions large volumes of historical data. Large organizations have cached on this and use a range of tools and techniques to leverage the usefulness of this information to make more informed business decisions. For most small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), however, such data typically sits in an archive without being utilized. While SMEs appreciate the need for utilizing historical data to make more informed business decisions, they often lack the technical knowhow and funding to embrace an effective BI solution. In this paper, drawing from our experience in implementing a BI solution for a UK SME we discuss some potential tools and strategies that could help SMEs overcome these challenges so as to reap the benefits of adopting an effective BI solution

The mechanisms and processes of connection: developing a causal chain model capturing impacts of receiving recorded mental health recovery narratives.

BACKGROUND: Mental health recovery narratives are a core component of recovery-oriented interventions such as peer support and anti-stigma campaigns. A substantial number of recorded recovery narratives are now publicly available online in different modalities and in published books. Whilst the benefits of telling one's story have been investigated, much less is known about how recorded narratives of differing modalities impact on recipients. A previous qualitative study identified connection to the narrator and/or to events in the narrative to be a core mechanism of change. The factors that influence how individuals connect with a recorded narrative are unknown. The aim of the current study was to characterise the immediate effects of receiving recovery narratives presented in a range of modalities (text, video and audio), by establishing the mechanisms of connection and the processes by which connection leads to outcomes. METHOD: A study involving 40 mental health service users in England was conducted. Participants were presented with up to 10 randomly-selected recovery narratives and were interviewed on the immediate impact of each narrative. Thematic analysis was used to identify the mechanisms of connection and how connection leads to outcome. RESULTS: Receiving a recovery narrative led participants to reflect upon their own experiences or those of others, which then led to connection through three mechanisms: comparing oneself with the narrative and narrator; learning about other's experiences; and experiencing empathy. These mechanisms led to outcomes through three processes: the identification of change (through attending to narrative structure); the interpretation of change (through attending to narrative content); and the internalisation of interpretations. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to identify mechanisms and processes of connection with recorded recovery narratives. The empirically-based causal chain model developed in this study describes the immediate effects on recipients. This model can inform selection of narratives for use in interventions, and be used to support peer support workers in recounting their own recovery narratives in ways which are maximally beneficial to others

Mediation Analysis of Conspiratorial Thinking and Anti-Expert Sentiments on Vaccine Willingness

Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometimes met with hesitancy that needs to be understood.Methods: In this study, we analysed data from a large, cross-country survey conducted between June and August 2021 in 43 countries (N = 15,740) to investigate the roles of trust in government and science in shaping vaccine attitudes and willingness to be vaccinated. Results: We found that, despite significant variability between countries, both forms of institutional trust were associated with a higher willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Further, we found that conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments predicted reduced trust in government and science, respectively, and that trust mediated the relationship between these beliefs and ultimate vaccine attitudes. Although most countries displayed similar relationships between conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments, trust, and vaccine attitudes, we identified three countries (Brazil, Honduras, and Russia) with significantly differing effects of these variables. Conclusions: We discuss and propose various additional local factors that future research should consider to understand how trust and attitudes towards governmental and scientific institutions may shape individuals’ ultimate vaccine attitudes and decisions

Mediation analysis of conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments on vaccine willingness

Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometimes met with hesitancy that needs to be understood. Method: In this study, we analyzed data from a large, cross-country survey conducted between June and August 2021 in 43 countries (N = 15,740) to investigate the roles of trust in government and science in shaping vaccine attitudes and willingness to be vaccinated. Results: Despite significant variability between countries, we found that both forms of institutional trust were associated with a higher willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, we found that conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments predicted reduced trust in government and science, respectively, and that trust mediated the relationship between these two constructs and ultimate vaccine attitudes. Although most countries displayed similar relationships between conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments, trust in government and science, and vaccine attitudes, we identified three countries (Brazil, Honduras, and Russia) that demonstrated significantly altered associations between the examined variables in terms of significant random slopes. Conclusions: Cross-country differences suggest that local governments’ support for COVID-19 prevention policies can influence populations’ vaccine attitudes. These findings provide insight for policymakers to develop interventions aiming to increase trust in the institutions involved in the vaccination process