Milk and dairy products are an important part of the human diet for numerous reasons. Goat milk is higher in the content of elements such as K and Ca. Nowadays, consumption of goat milk and goat ...dairy products increases because of better digestion and therapeutic value. However, goat milk can contain heavy metals and trace elements as well which can harm human health. The content of 22 elements in sixty-nine samples of goat milk, whey, three types of cheese, and yogurt from the ecological farm in region Orava and conventional farm in region Stredné Považie in Slovakia was measured in this study. The highest concentration of four elements Ca, K, Mg, and Na in samples of goat products was found. In our study, significant statistical differences (P < 0.05) were found only in levels of K, Ca, Li and Na when comparing milk samples from organic and conventional farm. Concentrations of K (1260.50 mg/kg), Li (0.02 mg/kg) and Na (293.46 mg/kg) were higher in samples from ecological farm, while concentration of Ca (1344.65 mg/kg) was higher in samples from conventional farm. Toxic elements were present in trace amounts or under the limit of detection. The consumption of goat milk and goat dairy products from monitored farms can be considered as safe and beneficial for human health regardless of the way of farming. According to the highest level of strontium in hard ripening cheese, frequent regular consumption should be considered for children as a preventive measure for development of bone health.
The newly discovered unusual epithermal manganese mineralization was found at the 18th level of the Rozalia mine in the Stiavnica stratovolcano and it is hosted by a NE-SW oriented fault dipping 55° ...to SE. Based on its structural setting and cross-cut relationship to a pre-caldera vein it belongs to a large system of post-caldera veins related to horst uplift in the central zone of the stratovolcano. The vein occurs in andesite and consists of two contrasting parts, including a part dominated by white coarse-grained calcite and Mn-rich part represented by abundant johannsenite, younger rhodonite and Mn-carbonates (rhodochrosite, Mn-calcite), in association with minor quartz, calcite, adularia, chlorite, and clinozoisite. Ore minerals are represented by sphalerite, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite and rare inclusions of acanthite and can be found exclusively in the Mn-rich part of the vein. Johannsenite forms greenish-blue, greenish-brown or brown radial aggregates reaching up to 7 cm in size. Its average empirical formula is Ca096(Mn097Mg0 07Fe003)1 07(Si198Al002)200O6. Rhodonite shows a significant compositional variation of Ca and Mn contents, ranging from Ca04gMn4 56(Si5O15) to Ca 5gMn341 (Si5O15) as well as minor amounts of Fe (up to 0.32 apfu), Mg (up to 0.14 apfu) and Al (0.06 apfu). Microthermometry of fluid inclusions hosted by johannsenite, rhodonite, sphalerite, calcite and Mn-calcite determined that the mineralization precipitated from fluids of low salinity (1.4 to 5.3 wt. % NaCl eq.) and moderate homogenization temperatures (187-318 °C), with a trend of simultaneous decrease in salinity and temperature, interpreted as mixing of fluids. Boiling offluids was recorded in early calcite at temperatures from 275 to 279°C, corresponding to pressure from 58 to 62 bars and paleodepth from 704 to 752 m. These values are similar to data from other post-caldera veins in the vicinity of the mine, as well as from other johannsenite -bearing epithermal deposits in the world.
The transformation of vineyard landscapes is evaluated in this article by assessing the changes in land cover and landscape diversity in selected study areas in two time periods – from 1867 to 1949, ...and from then to 2016. The study areas are characterised by a long history of viticulture and with important occurrences of old and new agrarian relief forms. Fine-scale land cover and landscape diversity analysis, as well as the study of historical and strategic documents, enabled an accurate interpretation of the viticultural landscape trajectories and their drivers. Landscape diversity was computed using the Shannon diversity index for each 625 square metre grid unit, and applying other metrics for the entire study area. Our research established that the study areas oscillated during this period between extensification and agricultural intensification, and the general trend confirmed the disappearance of traditional vineyards and a decline in modernised vineyard areas after socialism. Although extensification and intensification are seemingly contradictory processes, it is established that these both increase landscape diversity. In addition, landscape diversity changes in the second period are influenced more by changes in quantitative landscape pattern characteristics via edge density than qualitative patterns, e.g. patch richness, which reflect land use diversity.
Provider: - Institution: - Data provided by Europeana Collections- All metadata published by Europeana are available free of restriction under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain ...Dedication. However, Europeana requests that you actively acknowledge and give attribution to all metadata sources including Europeana
Climate change is generally agreed to have a profound impact on forest structure and its dynamics (Aber et al. 2001; Ayres and Lombardero 2000; Dale et al. 2000, 2001). As trees can live from decades ...to centuries, rapid changes of climate are also expressed through alterations of the disturbance regime (Franklin et al. 2002; He et al. 1999).
Ticks are important vectors of pathogens affecting humans and animals worldwide. They do not only carry pathogens but diverse commensal and symbiotic microorganisms are also present in ticks. A ...molecular screening for tick-borne pathogens and endosymbionts was carried out in Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor reticulatus and Haemaphysalis inermis questing ticks collected in Slovakia. The presence of Rickettsia spp., Coxiella burnetii, Coxiella-like and Francisella-like microorganisms was evaluated by PCR in 605 individuals and by randomly sequencing 66 samples. Four species of rickettsiae (R. raoultii, R. slovaca, R. helvetica and R. monacensis) were identified and reported with an overall prevalence range between 0.4 and 50.3% (±8.0) depending on tick species, sex and locality. Partial sequencing of the gltA gene of 5 chosen samples in H. inermis showed 99% identity with Candidatus Rickettsia hungarica. The total prevalence of C. burnetii in ticks was 2.2 ± 1.7%; bacteria were confirmed in I. ricinus and D. reticulatus ticks. The sequences from 2 D. reticulatus males and 1 I. ricinus female ticks were compared to GenBank submissions and a 99.8% match was obtained with the pathogenic C. burnetii. Coxiella–like endosymbionts were registered in all three species of ticks from all studied sites with an average prevalence of 32.7 ± 3.7%. A phylogenetic analysis of this Coxiella sp. showed that it does not group with the pathogenic C. burnetii. The prevalence of Francisella-like microorganisms in questing ticks was 47.9 ± 3.9%, however H. inermis (n = 108) were not infested. Obtained sequences were 98% identical with previously identified Francisella-like endosymbionts in D. reticulatus and I. ricinus. Coxiella-like and Francisella-like microorganisms were identified for the first time in Slovakia, they might be considered as a non-pathogenic endosymbiont of I. ricinus, D. reticulatus and H. inermis, and future investigations could aim to assess their role in these ticks. However, this work provided further data and broadened our knowledge on bacterial pathogens and endosymbionts present in ticks in Slovakia to help understanding co-infestations, combined treatments and public health issues linked to tick bites.
Like many elements, fluorine (which generally occurs in nature as fluoride) is beneficial to human health in trace amounts, but can be toxic in excess. The links between low intakes of fluoride and ...dental protection are well known; however, fluoride is a powerful calcium-seeking element and can interfere with the calcified structure of bones and teeth in the human body at higher concentrations causing dental or skeletal fluorosis. One of the main exposure routes is via drinking water and the World Health Organisation currently sets water quality guidelines for the element. In Central Europe, groundwater resources that exceed the guideline value of 1.5 mg l-¹ are widespread and effects on health of high fluoride in water have been reported. The aim of the current project was to develop a geographic information system (GIS) to aid the identification of areas where high-fluoride waters and fluorosis may be a problem; hence, where water treatment technologies should be targeted. The development of the GIS was based upon the collation and digitisation of existing information relevant to fluoride risk in Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia assembled for the first time in a readily accessible form. In addition, geochemistry and health studies to examine in more detail the relationships between high-fluoride drinking waters and health effects in the population were carried out in Moldova and Ukraine demonstrating dental fluorosis prevalence rates of 60-90% in adolescents consuming water containing 2-7 mg l-¹ fluoride.
The ORFÉO platform (Tools and Research on Written and Oral French) has been making available to users since 2018 a Study Corpus for sampled Contemporary French as well as operating tools. Although ...this resource is intended for an audience of researchers and students in the fields of linguistics and automatic language processing, we endeavor in this article to report on the didactic potential that it offers within the framework of a Licensing Syntax course treating “subordination” and intended for Czech and Slovak students at levels B1 to C1 in French. We propose a didactic sequence composed of four activities and pursuing three objectives: consolidation of the mastery of the basic functions of dont («which») from a corpus of friendly conversations; the use of simple query interface tools and the introduction of certain principles of corpus sociolinguistics. The corpus-based approach, by confronting learners with authentic contextualized data, helps to redefine the teaching-learning priorities of a language by giving primacy not to respect for grammatical norms but to genre norms.
Some experimental and human data suggest that exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may induce ototoxicity, though results of previous epidemiologic studies are mixed and generally focus on ...either prenatal or postnatal PCB concentrations exclusively.
Our aim was to evaluate the association between pre- and postnatal PCB concentrations in relation to cochlear status, assessed by distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), and to further clarify the critical periods in development where cochlear status may be most susceptible to PCBs.
A total of 351 children from a birth cohort in eastern Slovakia underwent otoacoustic testing at 45 months of age. Maternal pregnancy, cord, and child 6-, 16-, and 45-month blood samples were collected and analyzed for PCB concentrations. At 45 months of age, DPOAEs were assessed at 11 frequencies in both ears. Multivariate, generalized linear models were used to estimate the associations between PCB concentrations at different ages and DPOAEs, adjusting for potential confounders.
Maternal and cord PCB-153 concentrations were not associated with DPOAEs at 45 months. Higher postnatal PCB concentrations at 6-, 16-, and 45-months of age were associated with lower (poorer) DPOAE amplitudes. When all postnatal PCB exposures were considered as an area-under-the-curve metric, an increase in PCB-153 concentration from the 25th to the 75th percentile was associated with a 1.6-dB SPL (sound pressure level) decrease in DPOAE amplitude (95% CI: -2.6, -0.5; p = 0.003).
In this study, postnatal rather than maternal or cord PCB concentrations were associated with poorer performance on otoacoustic tests at age 45 months.
PDF
