Matej Bel University

About: Matej Bel University is a education organization based out in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Tourism & Fuzzy set. The organization has 721 authors who have published 1497 publications receiving 11573 citations. The organization is also known as: Matej Bel & Univerzita Mateja Bela.

Facebook for Public Relations in the higher education field: a study from four countries Czechia, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary

Abstract: In recent years, social media has provided higher education institutions with new means of communication with their target groups In this study, research was conducted on top public universities f

Innovation Support and Economic Development at the Regional Level : Panel Data Evidence from Visegrad Countries

Abstract: The paper deals with the problem of innovation support and economic development at the regional level. The innovation potential still differs significantly among the EU regions. Perhaps the key factor determining innovation potential and performance of a region is R&D expenditure. The main aim of the paper is to test the potential relationship between gross domestic expenditure on R&D and economic development of the regions. Our dataset consists of the data on the regions of four Visegrad countries during the period of 2001-2014. We assume the existence of non-linear relationship and expect that R&D expenditures are significantly lower in less developed regions. Using the panel Granger causality and panel regression analysis based on these data, we provide insight into the potential relationship between regional economic development measured in terms of GDP per capita and investments in R&D controlling for the number of R&D employees. Our results strongly suggest that higher regional GDP per capita is associated with higher regional gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) per inhabitant. GERD per capita appears to be exponentially rising with regional GDP per capita. We have also found significant regional disparities in terms of innovation performance. Received: June, 2017 1st Revision: July, 2017 Accepted: October, 2017 DOI: 10.14254/20718330.2017/10-3/11 Journal of International Studies S ci en ti fi c P a pe rs © Foundation of International Studies, 2017 © CSR, 2017 Journal of International Studies Vol.10, No.3, 2017 148

The Bacterial Population of Neutral Mine Drainage Water of Elizabeth’s Shaft (Slovinky, Slovakia)

Abstract: Although neutral mine drainage is the less frequent subject of the interest than acid mine drainage, it can have adverse environmental effects caused mainly by precipitation of dissolved Fe. The aim of the study was to characterize the composition of bacterial population in environment with high concentration of iron and sulfur compounds represented by neutral mine drainage water of Elizabeth's shaft, Slovinky (Slovakia). Direct microscopic observations, cultivation methods, and 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene amplicons were used to examine the bacterial population. Microscopic observations identified iron-oxidizing Proteobacteria of the genera Gallionella and Leptothrix which occurrence was not changed during the years 2008-2014. Using 454 pyrosequencing, there were identified members of 204 bacterial genera that belonged to 25 phyla. Proteobacteria (69.55%), followed by Chloroflexi (10.31%) and Actinobacteria (4.24%) dominated the bacterial community. Genera Azotobacter (24.52%) and Pseudomonas (14.15%), followed by iron-oxidizing Proteobacteria Dechloromonas (11%) and Methyloversatilis (8.53%) were most abundant within bacterial community. Typical sulfur bacteria were detected with lower frequency, e.g., Desulfobacteraceae (0.25%), Desulfovibrionaceae (0.16%), or Desulfobulbaceae (0.11%). Our data indicate that the composition of bacterial community of the Elizabeth's shaft drainage water reflects observed neutral pH, high level of iron and sulfur ions in this aquatic habitat.

Arabidopsis arenosa (L.) Law. On Metalliferous and Non-metalliferous Sites in Central Slovakia

Abstract: This study compared morphological characteristics and seed germinative capabilities of the metallophyte Arabidopsis arenosa grown at a copper mining heap with individuals of the same species grown at a reference site. We observed the height of the plant, the width of rosette leaves at ground level, the width and length of the lowest stem leaf, the number of seeds per silique, the below-ground biomass weight and the above-ground biomass weight. We found that the pH and the Eh of soil taken from the root sphere of A. arenosa were similar on both sites, and the pH ranged from 5.87 on the heap to 7.03 on the reference site. The measured morphological attributes and the number of seeds produced were significantly reduced (p < 0.01) in plants from the metalliferous site. The biggest difference was in leaf length, where plants from the heap were almost 2.5-times smaller. The mean germinative capacity of seeds ranged from 87% to 93%, and was not different between sites. The length of roots of germinated seeds from the heap (9.14 mm) was significantly longer than those from the reference site (8.27 mm). Results support the hypothesis of the influence of site conditions and heavy metals on the habitus of the plant and its development.

Mineralogy, alteration patterns, geochemistry, and fluid properties of the Ag-Au epithermal deposit Nová Baňa, Slovakia

Abstract: In this contribution, we report new data on mineralogy, alteration patterns, geochemistry, fluid properties and source of fluids for the deposit Nova Baňa, one of the smaller epithermal deposits in the Middle Miocene Stiavnica andesite stratovolcano (Western Carpathians, Slovakia). Ore veins and the associated rocks were studied in samples from outcrops and old mines, grab samples, and bore holes from the central part of the deposit (ore structures Althandel, Jozef, Jakub, Vavrinec), northern part (Freischurf), SE part (Gupňa) and SW part (Sibenicný vrch). Pervasive hydrothermal alteration transformed the rock-forming minerals into a mixture of adularia and fine-grained quartz, with lesser amount of pyrite, Ti oxides and Fe oxides. This assemblage was further altered to omnipresent interstratified illite/smectite that was used in this study as a geothermometer, corroborating the results from the fluid inclusion work. Ore minerals comprise predominantly pyrite, sphalerite, galena but all sulfides are relatively sparse in the samples studied. Minerals of precious metals are electrum, Ag-tetrahedrite, acanthite, members of the polybasite-pearceite and pyrargyrite-proustite solid solution, and rare miargyrite, Hg-Ag tetrahedrite, and diaphorite. In the central part, we have found also some stibnite. In the SE part of the deposit, acanthite, uytenbogaardtite, and petrovskaite occur and seem to be related to supergene enrichment of the ores. In bulk ore samples, Zn usually dominates over Pb and Cu. The average Ag:Au ratio for the entire deposit is 64:1. The concentrations of precious metals in the grab samples reach maxima of 50 ppm Au and 570 ppm Ag in the SE part and 116 ppm Au and 1110 ppm Ag in the central part of the deposit. Fluid inclusions show signs of trapping of a heterogeneous fluid. In the central, northern and SE parts of the deposit, homogenization temperatures of 190–260 °C and consistently low salinities of <5 wt% NaCl eq were recorded. In the SW part, primary fluid inclusions gave homogenization temperatures of 160–180 °C and similar low salinities. The secondary inclusions, however, show salinities up to 24 wt% NaCl eq., interpreted as fluid boiling almost to dryness. Isotopic composition of quartz and clay minerals is recalculated to fluid composition of −5.6 to −0.6 ‰ δ18Ofluid and −80 to −36 ‰ δDfluid, indicating mixed character of hydrothermal fluids falling between the compositions of magmatic and meteoric waters, with predominance of meteoric waters. Assuming hydrostatic pressure in the fluids, the measured data suggest paleodepths of ore formation of 50–170 m in the SW part of the ore deposit, 130–420 m in the SE and N parts, and a range of 120–470 m for the central part. These observations, comparison with other epithermal deposits in the Central Slovak volcanic field, and additional data from published literature show that Nova Baňa is a low- to intermediate sulfidation epithermal deposit, genetically associated to late rhyolitic volcanic activity in this area.