Parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium Tyzzer, 1910 are one of the most common protistan parasites of vertebrates. Faecal samples from 179 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes [Linnaeus]), 100 grey wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus), 11 golden jackals (Canis aureus Linnaeus), and 63 brown bears (Ursus arctos Linnaeus) were collected in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Samples were examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. using microscopy and PCR/sequence analysis. Phylogenetic analysis based on the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU), actin and 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) genes using the maximum likelihood method revealed the presence of Cryptosporidium tyzzeri Ren, Zhao, Zhang, Ning, Jian et al., 2012 (n = 1) and C. andersoni Lindsay, Upton, Owens, Morgan, Mead et Blackburn, 2000 (n = 2) in red foxes, C. canis Fayer, Trout, Xiao, Morgan, Lai et Dubey, 2001 (n = 2) and C. ubiquitum Fayer, Santín et Macarisin, 2010 (n = 2) in grey wolves, and C. galli Pavlásek, 1999 in brown bears (n = 1) and red foxes (n = 1). Subtyping of isolates of C. ubiquitum and C. tyzzeri based on sequence analysis of gp60 showed that they belong to the XIId and IXa families, respectively. The presence of specific DNA of C. tyzzeri, C. andersoni and C. galli, which primarily infect the prey of carnivores, is probably the result of their passage through the gastrointestinal tract of the carnivores. Finding C. ubiquitum XIId in wolves may mean broadening the host spectrum of this subtype, but it remains possible this is the result of infected prey passing through the wolf - in this case deer, which is a common host of this parasite. The dog genotype of C. canis was reported for the first time in wolves.
Objectives. Research on populism has pro-gressed over the last decade and several scales have been proposed to measure populist at-titudes. None of these has been validated in the context of Slovakia, where populists are a long-term part of both coalition and opposition. This study aimed to verify the psychometric properties of four populist attitudes scales that are frequently used and verified in international research, on a Slovak sample. Participants and setting. Data of 832 respond-ents collected using an online panel in Novem-ber 2021 were analyzed using the R software. The research sample was representative accord-ing to the distribution of gender, age, education, and regions in Slovakia. Statistical analysis. The original scales were tested using an exploratory dataset (N = 416). The modified scales were verified using a con-firmatory dataset (N = 416). Results.The results showed that the original scales did not fit the data. However, after several modifications, the two scales were validated on the Slovak sample. The scales were invariant across the gender, age, and educational groups. Limits. A possible shortcoming of the validated populist attitudes scales is the instability in pre-dicting electoral behavior, which is discussed in connection with the results of other studies, and the Slovak political and cultural context. and Ciele. Výskum populizmu posledné desaťročie napreduje, čoho znakom je navrhnutie niekoľ-kých škál na meranie populistických postojov. Žiadna z nich nebola overená v podmienkach Slovenska, kde sú populisti dlhodobo súčasťou koalície aj opozície. Cieľom tejto štúdie bolo overiť psychometrické vlastnosti štyroch škál populistických postojov, ktoré sa často používa-jú a overujú v medzinárodných výskumoch, na slovenskej vzorke. Participanti a postup výskumu. Dáta 832 res-pondentov, získané pomocou online panelu v novembri 2021, boli analyzované pomocou softvéru R. Výskumná vzorka bola reprezen-tatívna z hľadiska distribúcie pohlavia, veku, úrovne vzdelania a príslušnosti k regiónom Slo-venska. Štatistická analýza. Pôvodné škály boli testova-né pomocou exploračného súboru dát (N = 416). Modifikované škály boli overené pomocou kon-firmačného súboru dát (N = 416). Výsledky. Výsledky ukázali, že pôvodné škály nezodpovedajú dátam. Po niekoľkých úpravách však boli dve škály validované na slovenskej vzorke. Škály boli invariantné pre pohlavie, vek a dosiahnuté vzdelanie. Limity. Možným nedostatkom validovaných škál populistických postojov je nestabilita pri predikcii volebného správania, ktorá je disku-tovaná v kontexte výsledkov iných štúdií a tiež v politickom a kultúrnom kontexte Slovenska.