Matej Bel University (commonly referred as Matej Bel or UMB), (Slovak: Univerzita Mateja Bela) is a public research university in the central Slovak town of Banská Bystrica. The university was established in 1992. It bears the name of Matthias Bel, a Hungarian-Slovak Lutheran scholar of the 18th century. UMB comprises six faculties that differ in character and history, each retaining substantial autonomy on financial and institutional affairs. The university provides undergraduate and graduate instruction in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Academically, Matej Bel University is noted mainly for international relations and finance.As of October 2020, UMB's alumni, faculty, and staff have included: one prime minister of Slovakia; four justices of the Constitutional Court of Slovakia, two of whom currently serve; three Olympic medalists, and multiple senior EU and Slovak officials..
The issue of energy security has reappeared on the global stage after the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle Eastern crisis. Given its significance for national security and economic development, researchers have shown a greater interest in identifying factors that can enhance energy security. This analysis aims to investigate the influence of energy inflation, ICT trade, and mineral resources on energy security risk. To empirically test the nexus between energy inflation, ICT trade, mineral resources, and energy security risk using a novel MMQR approach. The findings suggest that ICT trade increases energy security risk across all quantiles except for the 90th quantile. Similarly, mineral resources also raise energy security risks across all quantiles. Conversely, energy inflation has no correlation with energy security risk. Moreover, political stability reduces energy security risk from medium to higher quantiles, whereas financial development increases energy security risk from the 30th to the 90th quantiles.
In this work, we evaluated the biological and geological contributions to the formation and preservation of the oxidation zones in & Lcaron;ubietov & aacute;-Podlipa, & Lcaron;ubietov & aacute;-Sv & auml;todu & scaron;n & aacute;, Poniky-Farbi & scaron;te and & Scaron;pania Dolina-Piesky. This case study highlights the importance of the biological contribution to weathering processes of ore deposits. It may be extended to other similar sites in order to assess the magnitude of biological input. Using U-Pb dating, secondary minerals from Podlipa were dated to 22 +/- 6 and 19 +/- 4 Ma (Lower Miocene). At this time, this region experienced deep weathering under a humid and warm climate and tectonic quiescence. The isotopic (O, H) composition of the secondary minerals shows that they formed from Lower Miocene meteoric water under surface temperatures. The delta C-13(PDB) values in malachite (-19 to -17 parts per thousand) document a biological source of C, from soil CO2. The delta O-18(VSMOW) values of the PO4 groups in the accessory fluorapatite in the host rocks (1.8 +/- 1.7 parts per thousand, 1 sigma) and pseudomalachite in the oxidation zone (12.1 +/- 2.9 parts per thousand, 1 sigma) show substantial biological P input into the oxidation zone. A biogenic source of both C and P agrees well with the palaeoclimatic constraints based on the radiometric dating. The oxidation zones at Podlipa, Sv & auml;todu & scaron;n & aacute; and Farbi & scaron;te are contemporaneous with kaolin crusts in the same area; they were all preserved only where they were covered by young (14-12 Ma) volcanic rocks and exposed recently by erosion. The other oxidation zones in the Tatric and Veporic units, if they existed, were destroyed by the Pliocene uplift of these units. The oxidation zone at Piesky is younger, dated to 2.5 Ma (Early Pleistocene) when the global temperatures in interglacials were similar to the present, decreasing in glacials by similar to 4 degrees C. The different climate at this time is manifested by scattered delta C-13 values, reflecting surface temperature and vegetation fluctuations at this time.
Objectives : This study compares linear sprint force-velocity (F-v) mechanical variables between elite Under-19 (U19) academy players and senior professional players. Methods : Thirty-eight senior players (SP; mean age 24.5 +/- 4.3 y) and 214 U19 academy players (YP; mean age 17.4 +/- 0.5 y) from 14 first-division club academies were tested during October 2023 using a motorized resistance device (1080 Motion). The following F-v variables were assessed: maximal theoretical force (F-0, N & centerdot;kg(-1)), maximal theoretical velocity (v(0), m & centerdot;s(-1)), maximal ratio of horizontal-to-resultant force (RFmax, %), and decrease in the ratio of forces (DRF, %). Between-group comparisons were performed using the t-test, and Cohen's d effect sizes were reported. Results : Senior players outperformed U19 players across all F-v variables. F-0 exhibited a mean difference = 0.220 N & centerdot;kg(-1), with a 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.056, 0.384], p = 0.0166, and d = 0.46. v(0) exhibited a mean difference = 0.560 m & centerdot;s(-1), with a 95% CI [0.410, 0.710], p < 0.0001, and d = 1.07. RFmax exhibited a mean difference = 1.470%, with 95% CI [0.830, 2.110], p = 0.0003, and d = 0.69. DRF exhibited a mean difference = 0.260%, with a 95% CI [0.103, 0.417], p = 0.0013, and d = 0.53. Conclusions : U19 players demonstrated lower F-0, lower v(0), and reduced mechanical effectiveness compared with senior players. Regular monitoring of F-v profiles and individualized training interventions (force- or velocity-targeted) may be useful for training and monitoring strategies aimed at supporting physical preparation during the transition to senior soccer.
Mental toughness-resilience, is a key factor influencing athletic performance. Its development is an integral part of athletes' mental preparation, contributing to stress management, emotion regulation and more effective overcoming of failure. The aim of this study was to analyze the level of mental resilience of Slovak elite athletes depending on gender and type of sport activity, to find out the preference of specific cognitive-emotional coping strategies and to analyze the predictive influence of cognitive emotion regulation on their mental resilience. The research population consisted of 208 Slovak elite athletes (AM = 24.5; SD = 4.18) aged 18-39 years from different sport industries. Resilience was measured with the standardized CD-RISC questionnaire (Connor, Davidson, 2003), with the overall score reaching average values. Results indicated significant gender differences in favor of males in the overall resilience score as well as in the Hardiness and Self-efficacy factors. Significantly higher levels of resilience were found in individual athletes and the assumption of a positive association between duration of sport activity and resilience was confirmed (rs = .389; p = .032). The highest average scores in cognitive regulation were found in athletes, and the lowest in karate athletes. Gender differences were evident in significantly higher preference for Self-Blame and Acceptance strategies in female athletes. The overall rate of cognitive emotion regulation was significantly higher in athletes engaged in group sports, in contrast to the higher preference for positive restructuring by individual athletes. Regression analysis confirmed that cognitive emotion regulation is a significant predictor of the overall level of mental resilience in elite athletes. The proposed model explained 32.3 % of the variability in resilience, confirming the important role of cognitive strategies in building athletes' mental resilience. The results of this study provide valuable insights into the psychological factors influencing the performance of elite athletes and establish a foundation for further research in this area.
Research background: The link between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and bank financial stability is of high academic and regulatory interest, yet global evidence is mixed. Clarifying this relation is important for resilient banking systems under rising sustainability pressures. Purpose of the article: To examine the association between ESG performance and bank financial stability, assessing both composite scores and the individual pillars, and documenting heterogeneity across bank financial stability, ESG profiles, and economic conditions. Methods: The analysis draws on a global panel of 4,466 bank-year observations from 688 banks across 84 countries over 2013-2024. ESG data come from MSCI ESG Ratings, and bank financial stability is measured using the natural logarithm of the Z-score. Baseline estimates use fixed effects with bank, country, and year effects. To account for persistence and potential endogeneity in bank financial stability, we additionally estimate dynamic panel models using the two-step Arellano-Bond GMM estimator. Findings & value added: The composite ESG score is positively associated with bank financial stability, but the effect is economically and statistically negligible in fixed effects models. Pillars diverge: governance is positive and significant, social is negative, and environmental shows no clear link. Heterogeneity is pronounced, with ESG aligning with higher bank financial stability mainly among already stable banks, while fragile banks face adverse associations. During the COVID-19 period, the social pillar improves toward neutral or mildly beneficial, while the governance effect weakens. Dynamic GMM yields a stronger positive composite association and uniformly positive pillar effects, suggesting static models understate benefits due to endogeneity and persistence. The central contribution of this paper lies in its reconceptualization of the ESG-bank financial stability relationship as fundamentally state-and capacity-contingent. By demonstrating that ESG functions not as a universal remedy but as a conditional strategic asset that benefits financially robust institutions, and by revealing how pillar-specific effects exhibit distinct shifts during systemic crises, this paper provides a novel dynamic framework that advances both theoretical understanding and the practical design of risk management and prudential supervision in an era of escalating global uncertainty.
