The impact of nickel on plant growth and oxidative balance.

This review summarizes the impact of nickel (Ni) in hydroponics on the growth, basic biochemical parameters and oxidative balance in angiosperms using data from 66 papers (and 181 treatments). Generally, changes in biomass, pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids) and proteins were negative when comparing concentration (≤100 and >100 μM) and time (≤14 and >14 days). However, we could deduce a higher tolerance to Ni excess in dicots than in monocots.

New faunistic records of chironomids and phantom midges (Diptera, Chironomidae and Chaoboridae) from Ukraine indicate recent climatic refugia in the Eastern Carpathians.

The aquatic insect fauna of the Eastern Carpathians is poorly known, especially in Ukraine. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted faunistic surveys of Chironomidae and Chaoboridae in 2018 and 2021. The study involved sampling of 11 watercourses and 10 mountain lakes situated in the Ukrainian part of the Eastern Carpathians.

The Volebny Kompas Datasets on Slovak Voter and Party Positions.

Three decades after the fall of socialist regimes in Central Europe, the successes of democratic transition face threats from broader trends toward skepticism, disengagement and distrust across Europe, though perhaps more intensively in the East. This backdrop, especially evident in Slovakia, underscores the need for comprehensive data on voter and political party positions during elections, a key opportunity for democratic renewal. Our article introduces two datasets from the Volebný Kompas project: the first, is a collection of 134,699 voter responses on 39 key issues, obtained through the Volebný Kompas voting advisory application for the 2023 snap Slovak Parliamentary Elections.

Ru-catalyzed activation of free phenols in a one-step Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling under mechanochemical conditions.

Activation of phenols by a Ru-catalyst allows for the resulting η-phenoxo complex to selectively react with a variety of nucleophiles under mechanochemical conditions. Conversion of phenolic hydroxy groups without derivatization is important for late-stage modifications of pharmaceuticals and in the context of lignin-material processing. We present a one-step, Ru-catalyzed cross-coupling of phenols with boronic acids, aryl trialkoxysilanes and potassium benzoyltrifluoroborates under mechano-chemical conditions.

Assessment of gnostic and stereognostic functions in patients with liver cirrhosis: A comparative study with healthy controls.

Background: Individuals diagnosed with liver cirrhosis typically experience a variety of symptoms. Decompensation, a critical stage in the disease's progression, is characterized by the emergence of prominent clinical signs. These signs typically include ascites, bleeding tendencies, hepatic encephalopathy, and jaundice.

Getting a molecular grip on the half-lives of iminothioindoxyl photoswitches.

Visible-light-operated photoswitches are of growing interest in reversibly controlling molecular processes, enabling for example the precise spatiotemporal focusing of drug activity and manipulating the properties of materials. Therefore, many research efforts have been spent on seeking control over the (photo)physical properties of photoswitches, in particular the absorption maxima and the half-life. For photopharmacological applications, photoswitches should ideally be operated by visible light in at least one direction, and feature a metastable isomer with a half-life of 0.

A new insight on the genus Pteridium (Dennstaedtiaceae) in Europe based on a revision in the flora of Slovakia.

Background: The genus Pteridium Gled. ex Scop. was thought to be monotypic with the cosmopolitan species P.

The Relation of On-Ice and Off-Ice Performance at Two Different Performance Levels in Youth Ice-Hockey Players.

Ice hockey requires two levels of specific agility, involving different abilities, where the level of agility and their constraints might vary by the performance level. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the relationship level between on-ice and off-ice change of directional speed (COD) of youth hockey players at two performance levels. The study was conducted during the hockey season, including U16 elite players (n = 40) and U16 sub-elite players (n = 23).

Students' Well-Being and Academic Engagement: A Multivariate Analysis of the Influencing Factors.

This paper aims to identify the factors that are positively or negatively impacting students' well-being and their academic engagement. We used partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using the data collected through a questionnaire from four countries: Romania, Turkey, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. The model includes seven factors that influence the well-being of students and indirectly their academic engagement: stressors in the students' lives; professors' support; social support from family and friends; the students' perceived satisfaction in their lives; engaging in activities during their leisure time; self-exploration regarding their careers; and environmental exploration regarding their careers.

Large shallow lake response to anthropogenic stressors and climate change: Missing macroinvertebrate recovery after oligotrophication (Lake Balaton, East-Central Europe).

East-Central Europe's largest shallow lake, Balaton, experienced strong eutrophication in the 1970-80s, followed by water quality improvement and oligotrophication by 2010 CE. Recently however, repeated cyanobacterial blooms occurred and warned that internal P-recycling can act similarly to external P load, therefore we need a better understanding of past water level (WL) and trophic changes in the lake. In this study we discuss the last 500-yr trophic, WL and habitat changes of the lake using paleoecological (chironomids, pollen) and geochemical (sediment chlorophyll, TOC, TS, TN, C/H ratio, major and trace element) methods.

Environmental heterogeneity structures root-associated fungal communities in Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae), a shrub adapted to extreme rocky habitats.

Rocky habitats, globally distributed ecosystems, harbour diverse biota, including numerous endemic and endangered species. Vascular plants thriving in these environments face challenging abiotic conditions, requiring diverse morphological and physiological adaptations. Their engagement with the surrounding microbiomes is, however, equally vital for their adaptation, fitness, and long-term survival.

Mechanochemical synthesis of aromatic ketones: pyrylium tetrafluoroborate mediated deaminative arylation of amides.

A new method has been introduced that is able to tackle the complexities of N-C(O) activation in amide moieties through utilization of pyrylium tetrafluoroborate in a mechanochemical setting, where amide bonds undergo activation and subsequent conversion to biaryl ketones. Due to the employment of a mechanochemical setting, the reaction conforms to green chemistry principles, offering an environmentally friendly approach to traditional amide derivatization techniques that rely on transition metals to achieve further functionalization.

Cold mountain stream chironomids (Diptera) of the genus Diamesa indicate both historical and recent climate change.

Chironomids of the genus Diamesa (Meigen, 1835, Diptera: Chironomidae) inhabit cold, oxygen-rich running waters. We have investigated the presence of Diamesa and other freshwater macroinvertebrates at 22 stream sampling sites in 3 European high mountain regions (the Central Pyrenees, the Ötztal Alps, and the Tatra Mountains) to establish suitable temperature conditions for Diamesa dominance. It has been generally accepted that their high abundance was linked to the presence of glaciers; however, we have shown that in the Tatra Mountains, where there are no glaciers, the conditions for the dominance of Diamesa species are created due to permanent snowfields, the geographical orientation of the valley and shading by the surrounding high peaks.

Unravelling some factors affecting sexual reproduction in rock-specialist shrub: Insight from an endemic Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae).

The role of endemic species in global biodiversity is pivotal, and understanding their biology and ecology is imperative for their fitness and long-term survival, particularly in the face of ongoing climatic oscillations. Our primary goal was to investigate the sexual reproduction level of the endangered Western Carpathian endemic Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae), which inhabits extreme rocky habitats, and to comprehend the influence of specific factors on its reproductive success. We conducted the research across four populations, varying in size and environmental conditions.

Diversity and distribution of chironomids in Central European ponds.

Ponds are common freshwater habitats in the European landscape that substantially contribute to local and regional biodiversity. Chironomids often dominate invertebrate communities in ponds but are usually disregarded in ecological studies due to relatively complicated taxonomy and identification issues. We present a comprehensive overview of the chironomid diversity in 246 ponds spanning a wide range of conditions extending from the Pannonian Plain to the Carpathians.

Spatial analysis of leachate penetration at Lemna dumpsite, Calabar: Implications for sustainable waste management in Cross River State.

This study rigorously investigated the spatial analysis of leachate penetration at Lemna dumpsite, located in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Purposeful soil sampling, performed at specific intervals (5 m, 25 m, and 50 m) along the Electrical Resistivity profile line within the dumpsite, was augmented by water sample collection from five boreholes near Lemna dumpsite. Utilizing Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Vertical Electric Sounding (VES) survey techniques, resistivity data were systematically gathered to comprehensively analyze the Leachate Penetration in the Lemna dumpsite.

Meta-optimization of resources on quantum computers.

The current state of quantum computing is commonly described as the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum era. Available computers contain a few dozens of qubits and can perform a few dozens of operations before the inevitable noise erases all information encoded in the calculation. Even if the technology advances fast within the next years, any use of quantum computers will be limited to short and simple tasks, serving as subroutines of more complex classical procedures.

Solvent Controlled Generation of Spin Active Polarons in Two-Dimensional Material under UV Light Irradiation.

Polarons belong to a class of extensively studied quasiparticles that have found applications spanning diverse fields, including charge transport, colossal magnetoresistance, thermoelectricity, (multi)ferroism, optoelectronics, and photovoltaics. It is notable, though, that their interaction with the local environment has been overlooked so far. We report an unexpected phenomenon of the solvent-induced generation of polaronic spin active states in a two-dimensional (2D) material fluorographene under UV light.

Removal of cadmium and cobalt from water by Slovak bentonites: efficiency, isotherms, and kinetic study.

Slovak bentonite was used as an effective natural adsorbent for the removal of Cd(II) and Co(II). Characterization of the samples was conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning electron microscopy with an X-ray energy dispersion spectrometer (SEM-EDS), and infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Adsorption experiments were carried out for pure water and artificial seawater, each containing cobalt and cadmium cations within the concentration range of 5-60 mg/L.

Reactivity of Ts and At oxides and oxyhydrides with a gold surface from periodic DFT calculations.

Adsorption energies, , of oxides and oxyhydrides of the superheavy element (SHEs) Ts and of its lighter homologue At on the gold surface are predicted on the basis of relativistic periodic density functional theory calculations AMS BAND software. The following compounds were considered: MO, MO, MOO, and MO(OH) (where M = At and Ts). The aim of this study is to support "one-atom-at-a-time" gas-phase chromatography experiments on reactivity/volatility of SHEs.

Teaching programming using eduScrum methodology.

There are a large number of professions in the world today. Some professions are disappearing, and some new ones are emerging. However, they all have something in common: the need to manage them.

Comparison of the level of physical activity after the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with limited physical activity (PA) of most of the world's population. This cross-sectional prospective study aimed to assess the levels of PA of university students in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia after COVID-19 using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF).

Methods: A total of 2635 students completed questionnaires regarding their PA levels using the IPAQ-SF between September and December 2022.

Molecular and morphological characterisation of larvae of the genus Diamesa Meigen, 1835 (Diptera: Chironomidae) in Alpine streams (Ötztal Alps, Austria).

Diamesa species (Diptera, Chironomidae) are widely distributed in freshwater ecosystems, and their life cycles are closely linked to environmental variables such as temperature, water quality, and sediment composition. Their sensitivity to environmental changes, particularly in response to pollution and habitat alterations, makes them valuable indicators of ecosystem health. The challenges associated with the morphological identification of larvae invoke the use of DNA barcoding for species determination.