The Model of the Virtual Air Carrier as a Concept for the Revival of Air Transport in the Slovak Republic

The air transport market has been exposed to the biggest crisis in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years. Many airlines have tried to stay in the market, but the impact of various factors was so strong that some airlines were forced to stop of the operation. In this way, the pandemic verified the fundamental pillars of airline business models and at the same time pointed out weaknesses in the entire air transport system. Flexibility has become one of the most important features for sustaining any business. The article is focused on the complex processing of the issue of the virtual airline and proposes the concept of a virtual air carrier, considering the current starting points of the market, on which it will have sufficient potential to establish itself, at the level of EU. At the same time, it proposes possibilities for the development of air transport in the Slovak Republic through the introduction of a virtual air carrier as a tool for revitalizing the air transport market in the Slovak Republic. Based on the results of the research, the article defines how and under what conditions a potential virtual carrier could operate, from ticket sales to possible cooperation with other airlines. The aim of the article is to demonstrate that the model of virtual air carrier is a solution for maintaining a stable level of air traffic in several countries in the EU that have lost their air carriers during the pandemic

Comparison of the economic results and ownership structures of regional airports in central European countries (V4)

Airports were originally built as publicly owned organizations, and their main role was to provide services in the public interest. Over the years, the traditional ownership structure began to change and new models of ownership began to emerge. The main aim of the present work is to compare the relationship between the economic results of the regional airports in selected central European countries focused on the Visegrad Group (V4) and their ownership structure to determine whether changes in ownership structures have significantly benefited some airports. The issue of changes in ownership structures has also affected regional airports in recent years because their economic situation is complex due to ineffectiveness. Recently state governments have begun changing their state politics; development strategies and the results of this research can help them to prepare a new approach for this purpose

Position of central European regional airports

This article focuses on the position of regional airports in the countries of Central Europe, with a focus on the airports of the Visegrád Group, especially the airports in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The authors explain the financing of the airports and provision of state aid to these entities according to European legislation. This article reports differences in the national implementation processes of the same Europeans rules in the V4 Member State and compares the regime of financing of the regional airports. Subsequently, we analyse the economic situation of regional airports and their state based on financial indicators. In general, the current COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated their situation. Many countries still adhere to strict regulations or international travel bans so as not to spread the virus. The sharp decline in the number of passengers and flights has begun to have an impact on the financial viability of regional airports; therefore, financial assistance for regional airports will be more than necessary in the coming years

Phase Changes in the Surface Layer of Stainless Steel Annealed at a Temperature of 550 °C

Stainless steels have the advantage of forming a protective surface layer to prevent corrosion. This layer results from phase and structural changes on the steel surface. Stainless steel samples (1.4404, 316L), whose alloying elements include Cr, Ni, Mo, and Mn, were subjected to the study of the surface layer. Prism-shaped samples (25 × 25 × 3) mm3 were made from CL20ES stainless steel powder, using selective laser melting. After sandblasting with corundum powder and annealing at 550 °C for different periods of time (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 h), samples were studied by conversion X-ray Mössbauer spectroscopy (CXMS), conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The main topics of the research were surface morphology and elemental and phase composition. The annealing of stainless steel samples resulted in a new surface layer comprising leaf-shaped crystals made of chromium oxide. The crystals grew, and their number increased as annealing time was extended. The amount of chromium increased in the surface layer at the expense of iron and nickel, and the longer the annealing time was set, the more chromium was observed in the surface layer. Iron compounds (BCC iron, mixed Fe–Cr oxide) were found in the surface layer, in addition to chromium oxide. BCC iron appeared only after annealing for at least 4 h, which is the initial time of austenitic–ferritic transformation. Mixed Fe–Cr oxide was observed in all annealed samples. All phase changes were observed in the surface layer at approximately 0.6 µm depth

Microbiome composition and dynamics while grapes turn to wine

Microbial composition and activity were recorded during preparation of Pinot blanc (“Rulandské biele”) from one vineyard during the years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Both fungi and bacteria are important for primary fermentation and malto-lactic fermentation, therefore total DNA and total RNA were isolated, and genes for 16S and 28S rRNA were amplified to determine both bacterial and yeast profiles. Four phases of wine production were selected for testing. We tested the initial grape juice right after crushing the grapes, must ~2-3 days post inoculation, actively fermenting must and finally – young wine before filtration. We experimented on 3 batches with addition of selected strains of Lachancea thermotolerans, Metschnikowia pulcherrima and commercial strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The most apparent was seasonality and the effect of weather at given year. Naturally occurring yeast Hanseniaspora was detected alongside major players like S. cerevisiae. The most dominant bacterial genera were Gluconobacter, Komagataeibacter and Acetobacter. We were able to detect contaminating coliform bacteria as a result of unexpectedly warm and humid conditions during the harvest in 2018. This method even detected plant pathogens Penicillium, Botrytis, and Alternaria in some samples, and might be indicative of the health of a vineyard

Systematic Genomic Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Virus on Illumina Sequencing Platforms in the Slovak Republic—One Year Experience

To explore a genomic pool of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the pandemic, the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic formed a genomics surveillance workgroup, and the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic launched a systematic national epidemiological surveillance using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Six out of seven genomic centers implementing Illumina sequencing technology were involved in the national SARS-CoV-2 virus sequencing program. Here we analyze a total of 33,024 SARS-CoV-2 isolates collected from the Slovak population from 1 March 2021, to 31 March 2022, that were sequenced and analyzed in a consistent manner. Overall, 28,005 out of 30,793 successfully sequenced samples met the criteria to be deposited in the global GISAID database. During this period, we identified four variants of concern (VOC)—Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (B.1.1.529). In detail, we observed 165 lineages in our dataset, with dominating Alpha, Delta and Omicron in three major consecutive incidence waves. This study aims to describe the results of a routine but high-level SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance program. Our study of SARS-CoV-2 genomes in collaboration with the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic also helped to inform the public about the epidemiological situation during the pandemic