Estimating price gradient in Bratislava with different distance measurements

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the price gradient of apartments in the city of Bratislava with different measurements of travel time and distance to the city centre. Design/methodology/approach: The price gradient is analysed by means of a hedonic price model. To overcome the problem with spatial autocorrelation in the data, the authors apply a spatial error model. Findings: The paper provides empirical insights into the size of the price gradient in the city of Bratislava. In addition, it suggests that even in the case of a city with complicated urban structure, Euclidean distance is the best proxy for distance to the city centre and it is not necessary to use a more demanding distance calculation in hedonic price models. Originality/value: Price gradients are usually analysed in western European or American cities whose urban structure differ from the cities in central and eastern Europe. This paper is the first in which the price gradient is estimated with different measurements of time and distance to the city centre using a spatial econometric model

Determinants of choice of the place of university study in Slovakia (Determinanty výberu miesta vysokoškolského štúdia na Slovensku)

Determinants of choice of the place of university study in Slovakia – Growth of human capital is one of the main drivers of regional development. Regions that are able to attract students from other regions, and retain university graduates, derive the greatest benefit from human capital accumulation. 6is paper aims to explore the determinants for regional migration of Slovak students when pursuing higher education. Individual micro-data from the 2011census in Slovakia were used, along with the socio-economic characteristics of home regions and higher education locations. 6e results of a spatial discrete choice model, based on logistic regression, indicate that the main factors pushing to study outside the domestic region are unfavorable socio-economic characteristics in their domestic region, coupled with students’ attraction towards better socio-economic conditions, amenities of other regions, and higher quality of education. Women and individuals from more peripheral parts of a region are also more likely to study outside their home region

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Thyme Essential Oil in Mice

Plant essential oils are plant secondary metabolites possessing various pharmacological properties, primarily anti-oxidative, antimicrobial or immunomodulatory ones. The aim of this work was to study the effects of thyme essential oil dietary administration in murine DTH/ CHS reaction, carrageenan paw oedema and TNBS colitis. Thyme essential oil was added to the murine diet at three concentrations (5000, 2500 and 1250 ppm) and fed to Balb/c mice. The extent of ear swelling in DTH/CHS reaction and paw oedema induced by carrageenan application was measured using the Mitutoyo thickness gauge. In the model of TNBS colitis we evaluated the changes in body weight, the colon weight : body weight ratio, bacterial translocation to mesenteric lymph nodes, and macroscopical and histological scores. IL-1β and IL-6 messenger RNA expression in colonic samples of one experimental group were assessed using quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR. Dietary supplementation with 5000 ppm of thyme essential oil significantly decreased paw oedema and ear swelling. This thyme essential oil concentration caused a significant inhibition of total mRNA IL-1β expression in the mouse colon, and markedly decreased the macroscopic and microscopic scores of colitis. On the other hand, the 1250 ppm of thyme essential oil in diet increased ear oedema induced by oxazolone application in mice. Our study indicates that thyme essential oil is able to affect murine experimental inflammatory models depending on the concentration used. It is concluded that the anti-inflammatory effects of thyme essential oil should be interpreted with a caution due to its contradictory, dose-related effects

Landau-Zener-Stückelberg-Majorana lasing in circuit quantum electrodynamics

We demonstrate amplification (and attenuation) of a probe signal by a driven two-level quantum system in the Landau-Zener-St\"{u}ckelberg-Majorana regime by means of an experiment, in which a superconducting qubit was strongly coupled to a microwave cavity, in a conventional arrangement of circuit quantum electrodynamics. Two different types of flux qubit, specifically a conventional Josephson junctions qubit and a phase-slip qubit, show similar results, namely, lasing at the working points where amplification takes place. The experimental data are explained by the interaction of the probe signal with Rabi-like oscillations. The latter are created by constructive interference of Landau-Zener-St\"{u}ckelberg-Majorana (LZSM) transitions during the driving period of the qubit. A detailed description of the occurrence of these oscillations and a comparison of obtained data with both analytic and numerical calculations are given