Regions Of Slovakia Research Articles

Expression of Specific Class I Chitinase mRNA Levels in Different Grape Varieties and Their Antimicrobial Activity

The aim of this study was to compare the natural variability of the expression of class I chitinase gene in grapes of Vitis vinifera L. varieties as well as investigate their antimicrobial activity. Further, the effect of antimicrobial activity in chitinase expression was analyzed. Matured berries of thirteen grape varieties were used in the study—Alibernet, Dornfelder, Cabernet Sauvignon, Blaufränkisch, Sauvignon Blanc, Welschriesling, Weisser Riesling, Irsai Oliver, Pinot Blanc, Pálava, Müller-Thurgau, Grűner Veltliner, and Feteasca Regala, grown in the Small Carpathians wine region of Slovakia, Vrbové. Chitinase I gene expression was found to be similar in most of the analyzed varieties with the except of two varieties, where the expression of chitinase I was significantly higher—Pinot Blanc and Savignon Blanc. By comparing the varieties between the lowest and highest expression fold change, they were statistically different in the level of its chitinase I gene expression. Grape pomace extracts of analyzed Vitis vinifera L. were effective against Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts, but a weak correlation tendency was found between chitinase I gene expression and antimicrobial activity, only against Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus, Candida albicans, and Candida glabrata.

Analysis of Municipal Waste Development and Management in Self-Governing Regions of Slovakia

In the European Union, basic strategy results from the need to provide intelligent, sustainable, and inclusive growth, along with respect to social and economic impacts of waste treatment. The paper focuses on municipal waste and its separation. Generally, within global waste management initiatives, the main goal is to minimize the negative effects of waste on the environment, as well as to increase and optimize the sources’ efficiency in the waste economy. Research on municipal waste development and its separation was done in individual regions of Slovakia to find if socially weaker regions have worse waste treatment. The results were compared according to the waste development per inhabitant and per household, as well as through rate indexes, which are connected to relationships between waste, social, and economic indexes. The results confirmed research results from other countries that show that the volume of municipal waste is increasing due to increased living standards of inhabitants. However, on the other hand, waste separation rates also increased—mainly based on the legislative support.

Marketing Communication of Selected Conservative and Liberal Parties in Slovak Region before Elections

Through a democratically set system of state functioning, political parties are given space for their establishment and subsequent functioning. Nowadays, registering new parties is not an issue in Slovakia, but another issue arises - most political parties cannot attract voters, and as a result they lose general sympathy and also necessary votes in elections. For a political party to become known to its voters, it needs to address and subsequently implement techniques of political marketing. Reaching and gaining voters is essential for a political party to continue to exist. By using marketing communication in its election campaign, a political party can succeed more than the one that has not used them. Therefore to adequately address its voters, a political party has to know their social, cultural, economic as well as religious background. The political party must also pay attention to the creation of an election program that appeals to voters. However, a political party should choose such proper communication channels through which it will be able to attract its supporters. The presented paper deals with the issue of using / not using marketing communication before the parliamentary elections in 2020 in selected Slovak conservatively and liberally oriented political parties in the Trenčín region. The authors present their findings on the basis of the analysis of marketing communication tools, as well as formuate research questions that helped them meet the research goal, in particular, whether selected political parties used/did not use specific marketing communication tools in their election campaign in 2020.

INCOME INEQUALITY AS A RESULT OF THE DIFFERENT SECTORAL STRUCTURE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

Long-term income differences between regions are undesirable from an economic and social point of view. Nevertheless, they are a long-term phenomenon in many countries. Although comparing the countries with each other, the situation appears to be similar. The assumption of reducing the differences in the size of household income is to identify objectively the determinants of wages. According to published opinions, the difference in labor income is due to the different value of the marginal product of labor and thus the resulting wage. Alternative views associate wage size with market factors - the labor market situation, the overall wealth of households, the location of the region, the increase or dampening of the economic activity of the system. The aim of this paper is to analyze and quantify the influence of different branch structure on the regional nominal wage. The model change estimates the possible change in the regional wage caused by the change in the representation of individual sectors in the regions of Slovakia. The factors considered for regional disparities are the representation of the manufacturing sector, sectoral labor productivity and labor market participation.

Consumer Behavior towards Regional Eco-Labels in Slovakia

Slovakia, as part of the European Union, participates in all forms of regional development and sustainability. A transparent form of regional development and sustainability is regional labeling, which has a 10-year tradition. Our regions represent excellent potential for the development of domestic products. Acceptance of essential requirements for regional products (domestic raw materials, manual work share, respect for the environment) opens up opportunities for the labor market, promotes tourism, and increases citizens’ purchase ability, none of which are clearly demonstrable in Slovak regions. Residents of individual regions have specific approaches in relation to regional brands depending on the region studied. For the purpose of the survey, four regions of southern Slovakia (with common environmental morphology and different industrial development) were selected. Indicators of age, gender, education, monthly income, and location relative to regional product preferences were studied. The results obtained were processed by cluster analysis (as a way of segmenting consumers). An average conscious purchaser of regional products is a local productive middle-aged person with a secondary or tertiary education, either male or female, and from a more economically advanced region. The results show regional branding as a mobilizing function for connecting inhabitants and the subsequent joint presentation of regional activities.

Characteristics of Soil Parameters of Agricultural Land Use Types, Their Location and Development Forecast

In this paper we point out the basic soil parameters characterizing current arable land, permanent grassland, vineyards, and orchards in Slovakia. While the area of permanent land use types is more or less stable, there is a noticeable decrease in the area of arable land. In Slovakia, arable land is located mainly on the plain. The value of its production potential is 67 points (the highest quality soil has 100 points). Permanent grassland is found at higher altitudes on slopes, with a higher gravel content, and the value of their production potential is 35 points. Vineyards are predominantly located in the warm regions of southern Slovakia on the middle slopes. These soils are generally loamy, without significant gravel content, and the value of their production potential is 59 points. Most orchards are located on the plains. The soils are predominantly loamy and deep, without significant gravel content, and the value of their production potential is 63 points. Characteristics of agricultural land use types were determined using vector databases of soil parameters obtained from Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute information systems and a current vector layer for identification of agriculturally used soils, the Land Parcel Identification System, using geographic information systems. Moreover, our analysis tries to determine what developments can be expected in the use of four agricultural land use types. The modeling assumptions concern the future performance of these variables using exponential smoothing and Box–Jenkins methodology.

Sequential determination of 90Sr and 210Pb in bone samples using molecular recognition technology product AnaLig® Sr-01

Both radioactive isotopes, 210Pb and 90Sr, accumulate in bones and procedures for their determination usually include radiochemical methods prior their detection. This work describes a novel method for simultaneous determination of 210Pb and 90Sr in bone samples by using molecular recognition technology product AnaLig®Sr-01 gel, commercially available from IBC’s Technologies Inc. This material is initially used for strontium isolation. Important drawback is that it also binds lead ions. This fact is used to develop a simple and rapid method for their simultaneous determination. The use and effectiveness of AnaLig®Sr-01 gel was validated by analysis of certified reference animal bone material, supplied by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA A-12) and 210Pb reference sample. The developed single column method was used to determine the activity concentrations of 90Sr and 210Pb in bones of wild boars, deers and goats from different regions of Slovakia and Croatia. The proposed simple and effective method can easily be implemented in any radiochemical laboratory and the obtained results could be used for monitoring environmental areas of interest. The recoveries of both isotopes were high in all tested samples, 100% for Pb and around 80% for Sr, which is very important in sense of low activity concentration of radionuclides in environmental samples. The activity concentration of 210Pb correlated good with age of the animal (R2 = 0.94), whereas of 90Sr no correlation was found (R2 = 0.05).

CLM climate scenario and its impact on seasonality changes in short-term rainfall intensities in mountainous regions of Slovakia

CLM climate scenario and its impact on seasonality changes in short-term rainfall intensities in mountainous regions of Slovakia

The Fatal Case of an Autochthonous Heartworm Disease in a Dog from a Non-endemic Region of South-eastern Slovakia.

SummaryDuring the past few years, several localities with increasing Dirofilaria immitis occurrences have been identified in Slovakia; particularly in areas regarded as endemic for Dirofilaria repens up until now. In terms of that, dogs with clinically manifested heartworm disease have been referred to the veterinary ambulances more frequently. We report in this study, two autochthonous cases of D. immitisinfections diagnosed in two seven-year-old siblings of Tibetan Mastiff dogs from the Košice region of south-eastern Slovakia. The course of the disease in both dogs were very different. The female dog did not manifest any unusual findings, however the male dog exhibited severe clinical signs of heartworm disease that lead to his death. The subsequent autopsy revealed adult D. immitis worms in the right heart ventricle and pulmonary arteries.

Quality of Life Regional Differences: Case of Self-Governing Regions of Slovakia

Quality of life is one of the most important areas of human well-being explored worldwide. The issue of quality of life, namely its quantification, is a current topic evidenced by a number of literary sources in the literature. We solved this issue in the conditions of the Slovak Republic and within this problem, we analyzed the development of the quality of life parameters for each self-governing region of Slovakia. We calculated a Quality of Life Index for the regions of Slovakia using selected indicators. We compared the quality of life in the regions of Slovakia and selected parameters suitable for calculating the overall index together with the methodology of the index’s creation. We found that there are statistically significant differences between regions, in terms of economic, social and environmental factors. The assessment of the quality of life in the regions of Slovakia, as well as the assessment of the quality of life also on the level of Slovakia, even internationally, is an important aspect affecting the further development of society and the existence of humanity itself.

Comparison of Different Fertilization Variants on Camelina Sativa Yield, Plant Height and Oil Content

Oilseed plant Camelina sativa, the member of mustard (Brassicaceae) family, represents re-emerging low input oilseed energy crop with sustainable agronomic characteristics and environmental attractiveness. Camelina is a short-season crop adapted to the cool temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Although no original Slovak varieties are known to be preserved, Camelina recently attracts interest of Slovak agronomists and biofuel producers as it possesses many traits that make it an ideal candidate for the crop rotation schemes even on marginal lands and subsequent utilization for oil production. As a potential feedstock for the production of bio-components to fuels Camelina can contribute to achieve the increase of GHG savings. Main focus of this study was aimed to examine the effect of different fertilization conditions on Camelina sativa yield, plant height and oil content in Slovak region. Additionally, comparison study of two available varieties Zuzana (Czech variety) and Smilowska (Polish variety) was performed. Field trials evaluating 12 fertilization variants were conducted on spring 2018 and 2019 (as part of a long-term stationary experiment, founded in 1957), at the Research and Breeding Station Vígľaš-Pstruša, Slovakia. Nitrogen doses varied from 0, 40, 80, 120 to 150 kg.ha-1 and were split into one to four dosages with or without P and K fertilizers. If fertilized with P and K, these were applied once prior to the seeding. The evaluated factors were: (A) – fertilization (12 fertilization variants), (B) – Camelina varieties (Zuzana, Smilowska) and (C) – year of study (2018, 2019). The influence of all factors on the yield, the height of plant and the oil content were assessed through multi-factor ANOVA. The study showed that fertilization with nitrogen and phosphorous has positive impact on seed yield, which is in accordance to the literature. Fertilization with nitrogen has positive effect on plant height. The growing conditions of individual year/season have largely influenced the seed yield as well as the height of the plants. It has been observed that oil yield is strongly related to temperature and precipitation conditions in individual year as well as the presence of fertilizers and type of Camelina variety.

Energy and Emission Efficiency of the Slovak Regions

This paper examines changing regional patterns of energy and emission efficiency in the Slovak regions in the period of 2008–18. Firstly; we review literature on key approaches to evaluating energy and emission efficiency; followed by discussing the pros and cons of specific methods. A slacks-based model of data envelopment analysis is applied in order to investigate changing patterns of energy and emission efficiency in 79 Slovak regions (LAU 1). Thereafter; changes in energy and emission efficiency are associated with policy interventions supported by the European Structural and Cohesion Funds (ESCF) in the period of 2011–15. The evaluation found no support for the hypothesis with regard to the positive impact of the ESCF on the increase in energy and emission efficiency. Combined support from three ESCF policy measures (€606.44m) was substantial; but accounted for a mere 6.3% of the total firm expenditure on product and process innovations in the period of 2007–15 (€9,573m). Productivity-boosting technological innovations and structural changes in the Slovak economy (a shift towards industries with a lower consumption of energy but a higher production of gross value added GVA) were major drivers of trends in energy and emission efficiency. If an increase in energy (emission) efficiency; rather than energy savings (a decrease in pollution), is a major objective of sustainable development policies; then innovation-oriented policies and changes in the structure of economic activities should be preferred to schemes supporting simple energy-saving (emission-cutting) projects

Mapping Cultural Ecosystem Services Enables Better Informed Nature Protection and Landscape Management

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) have specific richness and diversity provision patterns related to particular landscape features and land cover forms. Studies of their spatial distribution, however, are quite rare in the Slovak Republic and surrounding countries. This paper links land cover information based on an ecosystem services (ES) matrix, field survey data and GIS method to assess CES supply in two selected Slovak regions. Our main focus is on the ecologically more valuable ‘hot-spots’ where socio-cultural values accumulate. We determined their spatial distribution, and our comparison with lower cultural value areas confirmed that mountainous landscapes have the highest capacity to provide CES. This especially applies to the landscapes under National Park protection. While Slovak forests, rocks and water areas also form essential ecosystems for overall CES provision, the lowest overall capacity is in areas with residential buildings, construction, industrial and other artificial habitats. Finally, a comparison of our results with the National Ecosystem Assessment indicates that our detailed CES assessment will be more effective in supporting future participatory planning and management processes.

The characteristic of sheep cheese “Bryndza” from different regions of Slovakia based on microbiological quality

The aim of our study was to describe microorganisms which occur in the traditional Slovak cheese „Bryndza“. There were a total of 60 cheese samples collected from ten different farms during May 2019. The microbiota studies included the total bacterial count, coliforms, enterococci, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and microscopic fungi. The total bacterial counts were cultivated on plate count agar at 30 °C in aerobic conditions, lactic acid bacteria on MRS at 37 °C in anaerobic conditions, coliform on VRBL and VRBG at 37 °C in aerobic condition, yeasts and microscopic fungi on MEA at 25 °C under aerobic condition. Gram-positive, Gram-negative and yeasts isolates were identified with MALDI-TOF MS Biotyper. Totally, a number of 1175 isolates of G-, G+ and yeast were identified with score higher than 2 and moulds. Escherichia coli and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were the most frequently identified species of Gram-negative and Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp. mesenteroides and Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis from Gram-positive bacteria. Yarrowia lipolitica and Kluyveromyces lactis were the most distributed yeasts. Lactic acid bacteria group was represented by Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc and Pediococcus. The most abundant genera of lactic acid bacteria were Lactobacillus with 11 species. This study describes the indigenous microbiota of the traditional ewe's milk cheeses from Slovakia.

Exploration of Disparities in Regions and Specialized Fields of Day Surgery System.

The main objective of this paper was to find similarities among eight Slovak regions from the viewpoint of five specialized day surgery fields and among specialized day surgery fields from the viewpoint of Slovak regions on the basis of day surgery operated and hospitalized patient counts. Day surgery data of paediatric patients and of adult patients from the National Health Information Centre during the years 2009–2017 were used. Correspondence analysis in two dimensions of the Slovak regions and of specialized day surgery fields was applied in order to achieve the paper’s objective. The Košice Region differs most from the overall national average in both groups of paediatric day surgery. This is caused by its largest proportions in the fields of Gynaecology (29.7%) and Urology (48.0%) (operated patients), and in the fields of Gynaecology (60.5%) and Surgery (21.6%) (hospitalized patients). The most different specialized day surgery fields from overall average are: Urology (operated paediatric patients), Gynaecology (hospitalized paediatric patients), Otorhinolaryngology (operated adult patients) and Ophthalmology (hospitalized adult patients). Urogenital system day surgery procedures (Gynaecology, Urology) are separated from other three fields (i.e., Surgery, Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology) either in the first or in the second dimension of the singular value matrix decomposition.

Training teachers for multilingual primary schools in Europe: key components of teacher education curricula

ABSTRACT The article examines the content of teacher education curricula provided by universities located in European multilingual border regions of Austria, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia with the aim to reveal the key components of primary teacher education curricula for multilingual schools and compare them against the EU guidelines to teacher training for multilingual schools. The curricula under comparative analysis are offered by universities or teacher training centres located in European border regions, which have extensive trilingual working experience with state languages, languages of ethnic minorities and the English language. The findings highlight common areas of pre-service teacher training for multilingual schools in European multilingual areas, thus providing an evidence-based insight into curriculum design for teacher training for multilingual schools. Designing such curricula is topical in view of growing multilingualism and multiculturalism in European education.

Heterogeneity and continuity of geographical space: an example of functional regions in Slovakia

Heterogeneity and continuity are two basic traits of geographic space that are also responsible for the problem of spatial uncertainty. In the existing research, heterogeneity and continuity have predominantly been discussed in relation to an analysis of scalar spatial information, i.e. information linked to a single place or a single region. This paper presents a possibility to express the heterogeneity and continuity of geographical space by vector information using methods of functional regional taxonomy. The first objective is to define functional regions in Slovakia based on daily travel-to-work flows (i.e. “crisp” expressions of heterogeneity of spacesensufuzzy set theory). Added value rests in the analyses and cartographic expressions of relative self-containments for resulting functional regions and an orientation of interregional commuting flows. The second objective is to express continuity of space symbolically through an analysis of uncertainty in the resulting system of functional regions.

Management of Innovation Development in the Slovak Republic: Critical Evaluation of the Investment Aid System

Since 2002, the Slovak government have been using the system of investment aid for enterprises. However, the economy of the Slovak Republic characterized by differences among regions. Therefore, in March 2018, the Slovak government modified the system of investment aid to mitigate the differences among the regions. The main aim of the paper is to examine whether investment aid in Slovakia has served its purpose and was channelled to disadvantaged Slovak areas. The objects of the research are particular investment projects supported by the state investment aid in the observed period. The subjects of study are the selected forms of investment aid provided in the Slovak republic. The paper analyses the amount and structure of the provided investment aid in the Slovak Republic during the period 2002–2018. The secondary data on business entities, which received investment aid was obtained from the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic. An additional source of information is data from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic about the rate of unemployment and GDP per capita in the Slovak regions. Descriptive statistics and comparison analyse the obtained data to evaluate the total provided investment aid.The authors work with three research questions. The first concerned the uniformity of investment aid provision during the years 2002-2018. The second focused on verifying the proportionality of the covered costs to the newly created jobs. Finally, the authors test the primary mission of investment aid, reducing regional disparities (based on the allocation of investment aid to regions of the Slovak Republic). There were identified evident differences in the total amount of provided investment aid in particular years. The analysis confirms that the costs for one newly created job in particular Slovak regions were quite different. There were regions where the subsidies for one new job were three times higher than in others. During the analysed period, the majority (56%) of investments were realised in regions with a lower rate of unemployment compared to the average price in Slovakia. The aid in these regions was achieved, with 75 % of the total amount of investment aid. The results of the analysis confirm that investment aid in Slovakia is still not focused on the support of less developed regions. Keywords: investment aid, Slovak Republic, state support, regions, unemployment rate.

Impact of the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic on Tourism in the Regions of Slovakia

Impact of the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic on Tourism in the Regions of Slovakia

Príjmová nerovnosť v regiónoch Slovenskej republiky

The problem of inequality has become increasingly important in recent years, increasing its weight in addressing the problems of economic and regional development lagging behind. Although income inequality in Slovakia is among the lowest in Europe, there are regions in Slovakia where income inequality is high. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the expansion of knowledge in the area of income inequality in self-governing regions in the Slovak Republic. In the paper we examine the causes of inequalities, measure the levels of inequality over the selected time period based on the development of indicators of net money income and household expenditures, average disposable equivalent household income of indicators S80 / S20, Gini coefficient and poverty risk ratio for 2014-2018.