Innovation and territoriality : the changes of a district in Budapest nowadays

In our century, we encounter rapidly changing and uniquely functioning societies, each of which carries with it some excitement. The present study is written in this spirit, it essentially presents the territorial-social relations of a capital district. On the one hand, the study provides a brief description of the history and situation of the district, in which the range of the most important data is embedded - such as the number and change of the population, the change of the housing stock, and the age distribution. In the course of the analysis and evaluation, we were interested in what changes the district has undergone in the last decade, with the constant transformation of territorial and social relations. Although the data can only present everything we examined from one side, we nevertheless believe that the lines of successful dynamic development have become visible

Algorithms for the application of Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensors in ophthalmology

The topic of this thesis is the development of procedures and algorithms for applications of Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensors in ophthalmology. Two compact systems were built to do measurements of the entire optical system of the human eye. Automatic pre-correction modules were integrated to compensate a sphere of -11.25 dpt to 3.25 dpt and an astigmatism of up to 4 dpt. In the field of image processing, procedures were developed, which allow to recognize strongly aberrated wavefronts. Numerous algorithms are presented, which are suitable to use the extensive raw data to get some significant coeffcients. In addition to a modal approach with Zernike Polynomials, alternative possibilities of representation of the wavefront with non-modal and heterogeneous procedures are presented. Within the framework of this thesis, extensive measuring software was developed. An additional program that simulates image data was developed, with which a great number of parameters can be varied and aberrations in the form of Zernike Polynomials up to 10th arrangement can be used. In addition to simulations, results of measurements at representative human eyes are presented. Finally, a conclusion and a view on possible future evolution is given

Evidence of nitrification and denitrification in high and low microbial abundance sponges

Aerobic and anaerobic microbial key processes were quantified and compared to microbial numbers and morphological structure in Mediterranean sponges. Direct counts on histological sections stained with DAPI showed that sponges with high microbial abundances (HMA sponges) have a denser morphological structure with a reduced aquiferous system compared to low microbial abundance (LMA) sponges. In Dysidea avara, the LMA sponge, rates of nitrification and denitrification were higher than in the HMA sponge Chondrosia reniformis, while anaerobic ammonium oxidation and sulfate reduction were below detection in both species. This study shows that LMA sponges may host physiologically similar microbes with comparable or even higher metabolic rates than HMA sponges, and that anaerobic processes such as denitrification can be found both in HMA and LMA sponges. A higher concentration of microorganisms in the mesohyl of HMA compared to LMA sponges may indicate a stronger retention of and, hence, a possible benefit from associated microbes

Curriculum for childbirth preparation classes

137 leaves in various pagings ; 22 x 29 cm.This curriculum has been developed to guide and assist health care professionals in the instruction of childbirth preparation classes for expectant parents. This curriculum has been designed with a foundational philosophy of helping families to achieve a safe, dignified and joyful birth experience. Traditionally, pregnancy has been viewed as an illness since most gravid women have a doctor as their birth attendant. Doctors treat illness, and this is where the myth of pregnancy as a disease, began. However; today, there is a growing paradigm shift in childbirth practices as prospective parents are becoming increasingly more educated in the labor and birth process. Childbirth educators need to be knowledgeable and teach from a curriculum that continues to help this consumer movement onward. A dignified, joyful birth is one in which a pregnant couple have choices, and are active participants in the birth of their child. This curriculum has been created to obtain this goal

Urban Forest and the Tree Canopy: A Pathway to Climate Resilience

Background: Urban ecosystems face many environmental, infrastructure, and social systems challenges. Urban forest plays an important role in urban ecology but continue to face many direct and indirect threats. Research indicates that climate change, insects, disease, and urbanization are the major causes of urban forest decline. Tree canopies play a major role in ecosystem services, providing the advantages of a natural, cost-effective system of green infrastructure, removal of air and water pollutants, modulation of energy use, and improvement in water quality. These services increase climate resilience. Purpose: The purpose of this service-learning project was to gain a better understanding of ecosystem service benefits from trees in Washington, DC and whether these benefits facilitated Washington, DC being more climate resilient. Our aim was two-folds, to describe the monetary value of carbon sequestration from trees in DC, and to assist in identifying tree species in local neighborhoods. Methods: We collected tree canopy data using the i-Tree tool designed to provide an estimate of ecosystem service benefits and the TreeSnap tool designed to allow citizen scientists to make observations of trees in local communities and provide pictorial documents to scientists who catalog tree species. Results: Our results showed on average carbon sequestered by trees valued at $10,196,999 million dollars and carbon stored in trees was valued at$256,084,907 million dollars. Our other results showed the variety of tree species such as the Japanese Cherry Tree, have large bases, are plentiful throughout Washington, DC, and capable of storing large amounts of carbon. Conclusion: Washington, DC has increased the number of trees planted annually, which we believe creates a pathway to a climate-resilient city. As urban sustainability majors, this project enlightened our understanding of urban sustainability and climate resilience

Development and integration of xerogel polymeric absorbance micro-filters into lab-on-chip systems

This work reports on the implementation of different absorption micro-filters based on a dye-doped hybrid organic-inorganic xerogel polymeric material synthesized by the sol-gel process. Microstructures containing eight different filter widths were fabricated in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), bonded to glass substrates and filled with the corresponding dye doped polymeric material by a soft lithography approach. The filtering capacity as a function of dye concentration and filter width was studied and revealed a linear dependence with both parameters, as expected according to the Beer-Lambert law. Zero passband transmittance values and relatively sharp stopband regions were achieved with all the filters, also showing rejection levels between −6 dB and −55 dB. Finally, such filters were monolithically integrated into a disposable fluorescence-based photonic lab-on-a-chip (PhLoC) approach. Calibration curves carried out with a model fluorophore target analyte showed an over two-fold increase in sensitivity and a thirty-fold decrease of the limit of detection (LOD) compared with the values recorded using the same PhLoC system but without the polymeric filter structure. The results presented herein clearly indicate the feasibility of these xerogel-based absorbance filtering structures for being applied as low-cost optical components that can be easily incorporated into disposable fluorescence-based photonic lab on a chip systems

Light Perception in Two Strictly Subterranean Rodents: Life in the Dark or Blue?

BACKGROUND: The African mole-rats (Bathyergidae, Rodentia) are strictly subterranean, congenitally microphthalmic rodents that are hardly ever exposed to environmental light. Because of the lack of an overt behavioural reaction to light, they have long been considered to be blind. However, recent anatomical studies have suggested retention of basic visual capabilities. In this study, we employed behavioural tests to find out if two mole-rat species are able to discriminate between light and dark, if they are able to discriminate colours and, finally, if the presence of light in burrows provokes plugging behaviour, which is assumed to have a primarily anti-predatory function. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: We used a binary choice test to show that the silvery mole-rat Heliophobius argenteocinereus and the giant mole-rat Fukomys mechowii exhibit a clear photoavoidance response to full-spectrum ("white"), blue and green-yellow light, but no significant reaction to ultraviolet or red light during nest building. The mole-rats thus retain dark/light discrimination capabilities and a capacity to perceive short to medium-wavelength light in the photopic range of intensities. These findings further suggest that the mole-rat S opsin has its absorption maximum in the violet/blue part of the spectrum. The assay did not yield conclusive evidence regarding colour discrimination. To test the putative role of vision in bathyergid anti-predatory behaviour, we examined the reaction of mole-rats to the incidence of light in an artificial burrow system. The presence of light in the burrow effectively induced plugging of the illuminated tunnel. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that the photopic vision is conserved and that low acuity residual vision plays an important role in predator avoidance and tunnel maintenance in the African mole-rats