Previous findings in rats and in human vegetarians suggest that the plasma carnitine concentration and/or carnitine ingestion may influence the renal reabsorption of carnitine. We tested this hypothesis in rats with secondary carnitine deficiency following treatment with N-trimethyl-hydrazine-3-propionate (THP) for 2 weeks and rats treated with excess L-carnitine for 2 weeks. Compared to untreated control rats, treatment with THP was associated with an approximately 70% decrease in plasma carnitine and with a 74% decrease in the skeletal muscle carnitine content. In contrast, treatment with Lcarnitine increased plasma carnitine levels by 80% and the skeletal muscle carnitine content by 50%. Treatment with L-carnitine affected neither the activity of carnitine transport into isolated renal brush border membrane vesicles, nor renal mRNA expression of the carnitine transporter OCTN2. In contrast, in carnitine deficient rats, carnitine transport into isolated brush border membrane vesicles was increased 1.9-fold compared to untreated control rats. Similarly, renal mRNA expression of OCTN2 increased by a factor of 1.7 in carnitine deficient rats, whereas OCTN2 mRNA expression remained unchanged in gut, liver or skeletal muscle. Our study supports the hypothesis that a decrease in the carnitine plasma and/or glomerular filtrate concentration increases renal expression and activity of OCTN2.

Aim. The presented study aims to briefly present the possibilities of using and implementing elements of traditional culture in the teaching processat primary and secondary schools in Slovakia. It points out all the aspects and factors that enter the educational process when using these elements. Concept. Regional education is beingappliedin the educational environment of schools in order to develop the children with the right stimuli. The aim of including knowledge and partial topics of traditional folk culture in teaching is mainly to motivate students and arouse their interest in the cultural heritage of their ancestorsand country. We use comparative methods to clarify the relationships between ethnology, pedagogy, ethnopedagogy, and their interconnection in the pedagogical process. We define the primary goals of regional education, methods, and forms of teaching regional education, focusing on interactive forms of teaching. Results and conclusion. The values and the importance of traditional culture should be assessed in terms of the functions of education and training ina broader societal perspective.Regional education should make a significant contribution to the transmission of culture in education. The research results indicate the need to implement ethnopedagogy into the current educational process at all levels of education and scientifically verify its success. Research restrictions. The main research problems or limitations are related to the factthat this subdiscipline has not yet received attention in Slovakia. Originality. The paper presents an original view of ethnopedagogy and regional education issues through the lens of ethnology and pedagogy and defines key subjects of interest focusing on Slovak/Central European needs and contexts.

The origins of “open-air museums” date back to the nineteenth century and from the very beginning were closely linked to efforts to capture, preserve and present folk culture. However, during the course of the twentieth century, especially in its later part, the concept of open-air museums began to expand. Open-air museums were founded that focused on urban, industrial and military environments, ecological issues, or on charting the life of prehistoric and ancient cultures. Along with this, the methodological concept for this specific type of institution saw some development, and the interdisciplinary approaches expanded in response, covering a wide range of humanities as well as natural sciences. Besides the academic approach, a social and community overlap is also required from these institutions. This article poses the question of how the concept of open-air museums can continue to develop and what direction the role of presenting cultural heritage in an open landscape could take in the future. The arguments herein are based on the philosophical and spiritual dimension of man’s dwelling in the world and his relationship to the landscape in which he lives. We believe that the future of open-air museums should, wherever possible, focus on the preservation of monuments in their historical context and especially in their natural links in terms of landscape, urbanism and architecture. To ensure this concept remains sustainable, it is necessary that these monuments be involved in the life of villages and communities, ideally also on the basis of cooperation between academia and local entities, which are usually villages or municipalities and citizens’ initiatives. Examples of such a direction can be seen in the founding and running of Rochus Park in the Uherské Hradiště region and in the concept of the association of villages called Mariánská zahrada in the Jičín region, both in the Czech Republic.

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The article discusses the influence of macro-social processes and issues of assimilation, acculturation, ethnic and linguistic revitalization on the example of one particular group of German woodsmen in the social context of Western Slovakia. It attempts to analyse how historical and political changes during the 20th century influenced changes in the structure, system of values and hierarchy of ethnic group and whether that helped or prevented the assimilation of the group’s members. The article also attempts to indicate the possibilities of today’s ethnic and linguistic revitalization.

The article is devoted to the problem of language contacts in the linguistic setting of the Congo, resulting in various changes. The given work stresses the idea of the relationship between hybrid languages and the role of interference on morphological and syntactic levels of two languages: French and Kikongo. The authors analyze the theoretical ground of contact linguistics formation process, reveal the degree of interference influence on the linguistic and cultural state of two languages, examine the most prominent features of noun functioning peculiarities in French and Kikongo due to the interaction of the languages in contact.

Is religion and faith in today’s economically and culturally globalized modern society just a conservative experience, tradition, and sentiment, or an anthropological universal, the primary essence of every individual and collective identity and a practical tool for realizing spiritual, cultural, and social needs? The community’s culture, religion, and ethnicity are most significant in contrast (or on the border) with others. The existence of minorities is determined by their being defined against the majority and characterized by differences. Contemporary Slovak communities living abroad, such as ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities, are a compelling object of research into the relationship between culture, religion, and ethnicity. Our paper examines the role this relationship plays in their identification, cultural, and revitalization processes.

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