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Background/purpose – Musical art has great potential for developing a child’s personality. Research around the world confirms that the inclusion of musical art stimuli has a positive impact on preschool children and brings multiple benefits. However, it needs to be led by a teacher who is competent pedagogically, but who is also equally competent artistically. The aim of the research was to examine the use of works of musical art in preschool education in Slovakia from the perspective of preschool teachers.Materials/methods – Questioning was used to meet the survey aim. The research tool was a questionnaire constructed by the authors. In total, 366 kindergarten teachers responded to the questionnaire. A quantitative research design was employed in the study.Results – From the results of the research, it is possible to state that there is a higher than average level of the current status of musical art used in preschool education. The opportunities for kindergarten teachers to acquire knowledge of musical art in their preservice training or other forms of education were found to be below average. The attitude of kindergarten teachers towards musical art can also be described as below average. Opportunities to gain expertise in musical art were shown to statistically, significantly, and positively predict kindergarten teachers’ attitudes toward musical art. It was also confirmed that the kindergarten teachers’ attitude towards musical art statistically, significantly, and positively predicts the use of works of musical art in preschool education.Conclusion – The research findings point to the need to increase opportunities for kindergarten teachers to acquire professional knowledge in musical art. The results of the research may be a stimulus for further research, such as analysis of preschool teachers’ responses in terms of their age and pedagogical practice in order to estimate the development of the current state of using works of musical art in preschool education.

The research explores the use of literary art in preschools from the perspective of preschool educators. A questionnaire, developed by the authors, served as the research tool, with responses collected from 366 preschool educators. The findings indicate that the current utilisation of literary art in preschools was characterised as better than average. However, the extent to which preschool educators are able to gain knowledge of literary art during their pre-service training or lifelong learning were lower than average. Additionally, the educators' attitude to literary art was assessed as lower than average. The research findings show that the extent to which preschool educators are able to gain knowledge of literary art significantly predict the strength of preschool educators' attitude with it. Furthermore, this attitude significantly predicts the extent to which literary art is employed in preschool education.

Objective The use of antibacterial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) additionally to scaling and root planing (SRP) has been shown to positively influence the clinical outcomes. However, at present, it is unknown to what extent aPDT may represent a potential alternative to the use of systemic antibiotics in nonsurgical periodontal therapy in patients with aggressive periodontitis (AP). The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes following nonsurgical periodontal therapy and additional use of either aPDT or amoxicillin and metronidazole (AB) in patients with AP. Material and methods Thirty-six patients with AP displaying at least three sites with pocket depth (PD) ≥6 mm were treated with SRP and either systemic administration of AB for 7 days or with two episodes of aPDT. The following clinical parameters were evaluated at baseline and at 6 months: plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), PD, gingival recession (GR) and clinical attachment level (CAL). Results Thirty-five patients have completed the 6-month evaluation. At 6 months, mean PD was statistically significantly reduced in both groups (from 5.0 ± 0.8 to 3.0 ± 0.6 mm with AB and from 5.1 ± 0.5 to 3.9 ± 0.8 mm with aPDT ( p  < 0.001)). AB yielded statistically significantly higher improvements in the primary outcome parameter PD ( p  < 0.001) when compared to aPDT. The number of pockets ≥7 mm was reduced from 141 to 3 after AB ( p  < 0.001) and from 137 to 45 after aPDT ( p  = 0.03). Both therapies resulted in statistically significant reductions in all parameters compared to baseline. Conclusion While both treatments resulted in statistically significant clinical improvements, AB showed statistically significantly higher PD reduction and lower number of pockets ≥7 mm compared to aPDT. Clinical relevance In patients with AP, the two times application of aPDT in conjunction with nonsurgical periodontal therapy cannot be considered an alternative to the systemic use of amoxicillin and metronidazole.

У статті проаналізовано місце і роль педагогічного оцінювання в організації освітнього процесу закладів вищої освіти. Зазначено, що об’єктивні результати контролю знань є важливим складником у формуванні компетентнісного підходу до професійної підготовки сучасних фахівців. Висвітлено узагальнені теоретичні доробки вітчизняних та закордонних науковців з означеної проблеми, аналіз яких засвідчив, що педагогічне оцінювання завжди займало важливе місце в організації надання освітніх послуг. Наголошено, що основними формами контролю знань у закладах вищої освіти впродовж тривалого часу були і залишаються дотепер поточний, семестровий контроль та підсумкова атестація. З початком цифровізації освітньої діяльності з’явились об’єктивні умови здійснення педагогічного контролю за допомогою цифрових технологій. Світова пандемія спонукає до розширення можливостей та поліпшення якості педагогічного оцінювання результатів навчання здобувачів вищої освіти за допомогою технологій дистанційного навчання. Проаналізовано стан та потенційні можливості організації освітнього контролю результатів навчання за допомогою технологій дистанційного навчання в державних закладах вищої педагогічної освіти Словаччини, України, Польщі (Католицький університет в Ружомберку, ДЗВО «Університет менеджменту освіти», Державна вища школа технологій та економіки імені Броніслава Маркевича в Ярославі). З’ясовано, що в цих закладах вищої освіти на сучасному етапі існують належні умови для дистанційного навчання студентів з використанням LMS (eFront, Moodle). Водночас опитування суб’єктів освітнього процесу підтвердило гіпотезу про те, що науково-педагогічні працівники і студенти педагогічних спеціальностей не зовсім готові сприймати педагогічних контроль за допомогою технологій дистанційного навчання. Це значно ускладнює організацію об’єктивного контролю результатів навчання в період відсутності можливості спілкування віч-на-віч. З метою адекватної відповіді на запити сьогодення запропоновано комплекс заходів на рівні суб’єктів освітнього процесу щодо підготовки та проведення педагогічного оцінювання результатів навчання за допомогою цифрових технологій.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne neurotropic pathogen that presents a major public health concern. Information on WNV prevalence and circulation in Slovakia is insufficient. Oral and cloacal swabs and bird brain samples were tested for flavivirus RNA by RT-PCR using newly designed generic primers. The species designation was confirmed by sequencing. WNV was detected in swab and brain samples, whereas one brain sample was positive for tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). The WNV sequences clustered with lineages 1 and 2. These results confirm the circulation of WNV in birds in Slovakia and emphasize the risk of infection of humans and horses.

About 5% of patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) develop RT-related side effects. To assess individual radiosensitivity, we collected peripheral blood from breast cancer patients before, during and after the RT, and γH2AX/53BP1 foci, apoptosis, chromosomal aberrations (CAs) and micronuclei (MN) were analyzed and correlated with the healthy tissue side effects assessed by the RTOG/EORTC criteria. The results showed a significantly higher level of γH2AX/53BP1 foci before the RT in radiosensitive (RS) patients in comparison to normal responding patients (NOR). Analysis of apoptosis did not reveal any correlation with side effects. CA and MN assays displayed an increase in genomic instability during and after RT and a higher frequency of MN in the lymphocytes of RS patients. We also studied time kinetics of γH2AX/53BP1 foci and apoptosis after in vitro irradiation of lymphocytes. Higher levels of primary 53BP1 and co-localizing γH2AX/53BP1 foci were detected in cells from RS patients as compared to NOR patients, while no difference in the residual foci or apoptotic response was found. The data suggested impaired DNA damage response in cells from RS patients. We suggest γH2AX/53BP1 foci and MN as potential biomarkers of individual radiosensitivity, but they need to be evaluated with a larger cohort of patients for clinics.

Cerebral abscesses caused by dark-pigmented Fonsecaea fungi are rare, especially in otherwise healthy individuals. In this case report, we present a 61-year-old man from Moldova, living in the Czech Republic, who had worked as a locksmith on oil platforms in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Sudan, and Iraq since 1999, and was admitted to a neurology ward for a sudden motion disorder of the right leg, dysarthria, and hypomimia. Imaging revealed presence of expansive focus around the left lateral ventricle of the brain and a pronounced peripheral edema. The intracranial infectious focus was excised under intraoperative SonoWand guidance. Tissue samples were histologically positive for dark-pigmented hyphae, suggesting dematiaceous fungi. Therefore, liposomal amphotericin B therapy was initiated immediately. Fonsecaea monophora was provisionally identified using ITS rDNA region sequencing directly from brain tissue. The identification was subsequently confirmed by cultivation and DNA sequencing from culture. The strain exhibited in vitro sensitive to voriconazole (MIC = 0.016 μg/mL) and resistance to amphotericin B (MIC = 4 μg/mL); therefore, the amphotericin B was replaced with voriconazole. Postoperatively, a significant clinical improvement was observed and no additional surgery was required. Based on the literature review, this is the third documented case of cerebral infection due to this pathogen in patients without underlying conditions and the first such case in Europe.