THE IMPACT OF THE COST OF UNUSED CAPACITY ON PRODUCTION PLANNING OF FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

Capacity is one of the most important measures of resources used in production. The conventional capacity measures do not include the value of the equipment in the production system and so their application can lead to erroneous operations management decisions. A new measure, the `cost of unused capacity´, is more frequently used to characterize resource usage. Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), where the machining methods, machine tools, handling equipment, control systems and computer systems are used in an integrated way, become rather complex. Under these circumstances the process of production planning turns into a more complicated one, and as a consequence of the high value of the resources the drive for decreased cost of unused capacity is significant. A linear programming model was formulated with the aim of taking into consideration the cost of unused capacity. The model makes it possible to take into account the unused capacities of various machines in different degrees, while increasing the contribution at the same time. If the cost of unused capacity is considered in capacity planning, the idle time of valuable resources can be exploited more efficiently

Enhanced Pollution Removal with Heat Reclamation in a Small Hungarian Wastewater Treatment Plant

The aim of the research is to outline the possibilities of utilizing waste heat in small municipal wastewater treatment plants. The facility, which was chosen as case-study, accepts about 2,300 m3 of raw sewage daily. In wintertime the wastewater temperature decreases to 10-14 °C which results in lower nitrification capacity based on measurement and validated model results. The excess heat of the wastewater would serve to increase the temperature of the aeration tank in order to enhance the microbiological activity and thus the efficiency of pollutant removal. The amount of reusable waste heat is calculated and with the help of dynamic simulation the effluent quality was determined to compare it with the original results. Increasing the temperature by 6 °C in the aerated tank, ammonium removal could be improved by 61%. This way not only the heat, but the nutrient pollution could be mitigated, too

A repetitív transcranialis mágneses stimuláció szerepe a mentális zavarok, elsősorban a terápiarezisztens major depresszív zavar kezelésében = The role of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of mental disorders, especially in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder

Absztrakt: A repetitív transcranialis mágneses stimulációs eljárás egy olyan neuromodulációs technika, melynek gyorsan fejlődő területe jelentheti az egyik biztonságos, alternatív megközelítési módot bizonyos mentális zavarok, elsősorban a terápiarezisztens major depresszív zavar kezelésében. Célunk a transcranialis mágneses stimulációs kezelés jelenlegi kutatási és klinikai alkalmazási lehetőségeinek bemutatása a szakirodalmi adatok és a klinikai gyakorlat áttekintése alapján. Mióta ismertté vált, hogy külső mágneses forrással neuronok depolarizálhatók, mind a neurológia, mind a pszichiátria az eljárás lehetséges klinikai használatát kutatja. Napjainkig a módszer a pszichiátria területén belül a major depresszív zavar és a kényszeres zavar kezelésében engedélyezett, de egyéb betegségek (például szkizofrénia, bipoláris zavar) kezelésében is kutatják lehetséges alkalmazását. A transcranialis mágneses stimulációs rendszerek fejlesztésének következő lépcsőjét jelenti a mágnesesrezonancia-felvétel alapján, helymeghatározó algoritmusok segítségével, valós időben navigált mágneses stimulációs készülékek kidolgozása. Az úgynevezett neuronavigációs rendszerek lehetővé teszik a depresszió kialakulásáért felelős idegi hálózatok pontos célzását, így a dorsolateralis praefrontalis kéreg excitabilitásának fokozását a bal féltekén és csökkentését a jobb féltekén. Az eljárás kevés kontraindikációval bír, és a megfelelő körültekintéssel választott indikáció és betegpopuláció esetén mellékhatások is alacsony számban jelentkeznek. A transcranialis mágneses stimulációs kezelés mára bizonyítottan hatékony módszerré vált bizonyos mentális zavarok, elsősorban a terápiarezisztens major depresszív zavar kezelésében. A jövőben a neuronavigációs neuromodulációs kezelések, azon belül is a repetitív transcranialis mágneses stimulációs kezelés térhódítása várható a pszichiátria és a neurológia területén. Jelenleg Magyarországon több centrumban is végeznek különböző indikációkban mágneses stimulációs kezeléseket, ám az eljárás mentális zavarokban történő alkalmazásának finanszírozási befogadása és beépítése a mindennapi klinikai gyakorlatba még várat magára. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(1): 3–10. | Abstract: The rapidly evolving field of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as a neuromodulational technique may mean a safe, alternative approach to the management of several mental disorders, especially treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. Our aim is to describe the current role of transcranial magnetic stimulation in research and routine clinical practice, based on the literature and clinical protocols. Since the discovery, that an outer magnetic source can depolarize neurons, both neurology and psychiatry seek the method’s possible clinical utility. To date, in the field of psychiatry, the method is only approved in the treatment of major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but research continues to find application in other mental disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder), too. The next step in the evolution of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is based on magnetic resonance guided, real-time navigation with the help of positioning algorithms. The so-called neuronavigational systems make precise aiming of neuronal circuits responsible for the development of depression, thus increasing the excitability of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and decreasing it on the right hemisphere. The method has few contraindications, and the occurrence of side effects can be minimized by carefully selected patient population. For today, transcranial magnetic stimulation became an evidence-based, effective treatment for some mental disorders, especially treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. It is to be assumed that in the future neuronavigational neuromodulation techniques, including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, will be widely used in the field of psychiatry and neurology. Magnetic stimulation is currently available in a number of centres in Hungary, but the financial approval and the implementation of this neuromodulation method for treating mental disorders in the everyday clinical practice are still in progress. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(1): 3–10

Evaluating the Interconnectedness of the Sustainable Development Goals Based on the Causality Analysis of Sustainability Indicators

Policymaking requires an in-depth understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships between the sustainable development goals. However, due to the complex nature of socio-economic and environmental systems, this is still a challenging task. In the present article, the interconnectedness of the United Nations (UN) sustainability goals is measured using the Granger causality analysis of their indicators. The applicability of the causality analysis is validated through the predictions of the World3 model. The causal relationships are represented as a network of sustainability indicators providing the opportunity for the application of network analysis techniques. Based on the analysis of 801 UN indicator types in 283 geographical regions, approximately 4000 causal relationships were identified and the most important global connections were represented in a causal loop network. The results highlight the drastic deficiency of the analysed datasets, the strong interconnectedness of the sustainability targets and the applicability of the extracted causal loop network. The analysis of the causal loop networks emphasised the problems of poverty, proper sanitation and economic support in sustainable development

The Role of Raising Awareness in Ensuring the Resilience of Cities

This paper explores the significant role of raising awareness in ensuring the resilience of cities towards climate change. Climate change is an imminent threat to urban development and its adverse effects can only be mitigated with the collective efforts of city dwellers. By evaluating the level of awareness and relating it to the greenhouse gas emissions emitted by three selected countries - namely Germany, Brazil and Kenya - this study highlights the need for awareness-raising campaigns and community-engagement initiatives centered around the risks of climate change and its potential impact on cities. The findings suggest that raising awareness, through several social action campaigns, can enhance the public understanding of climate change and facilitate the adoption of sustainable behaviors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, raising the awareness of a population will make their participation in the decision-making processes of the different adaptation plans more effective. The paper concludes that raising awareness by enhancing public understanding and ensuring their participation in combating climate change is a crucial step in building resilience to climate change

Data describing the relationship between world news and sustainable development goals

The data article presents a dataset and a tool for news-based monitoring of sustainable development goals defined by the United Nations. The presented dataset was created by structured queries of the GDELT database based on the categories of the World Bank taxonomy matched to sustainable development goals. The Google BigQuery SQL scripts and the results of the related network analysis are attached to the data to provide a toolset for the strategic management of sustainability issues. The article demonstrates the dataset on the 6th sustainable development goal (Clean Water and Sanitation). The network formed based on how countries appear in the same news can be used to explore the potential international cooperation. The network formed based on how topics of World Bank taxonomy appear in the same news can be used to explore how the problems and solutions of sustainability issues are interlinked