NOVEL TRENDS IN CHEMISTRY, RESEARCH AND EDUCATION at the Faculty of Science of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice 2023

E-book

Katarína Kimáková

The textbook is intended for university students who are preparing for the profession of biology teacher. The structure of the book is similar to an encyclopedia, with one page devoted to each content item, but the topics of the chapters and subchapters follow each other.

The explanatory text on the page illustrates the diagram and there are notes and links to other sources of information. For better orientation, the content of the textbook is divided into 8 sections, which cover several chapters. It follows the general didactics, which it connects with the teaching of biological content. The book provides a basic orientation in the approaches to learning this subject, and also explains the relationship between biology as a science and the didactics of biology. It deals with teaching standards and curricula, advises on how to master biological concepts and understanding, how to communicate with students in biology classes, when and why are effective visual and practical methods. It acquaints the reader with the issue of setting goals for biological education in the cognitive, psychomotor and affective areas in relation to formative and summative assessment.

Hopeful as well as experienced teachers will find in this publication not only a look into the history of teaching biology, but also a look into the future. Current trends in biology teaching, the connection of teaching with digital technologies, the virtual learning environment and interactive simulations and models belong to science lessons today.

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Katarína Cechlárová (ed.)

This year, the Student Scientific Conference was held on April 24, 2019, across 17 sections in disciplines such as biology and ecology, chemistry, physics, geography, mathematics, informatics, and their didactics. Bachelor’s and master’s students presented a total of 124 contributions. The most successful participants advanced to national or traditional Czech-Slovak student scientific showcases in fields like physics, chemistry, mathematics, informatics, and mathematics didactics.

In addition to faculty students, 10 high school students participated outside the competition. They were invited based on their achievements in subject-specific Olympiads or because they were already engaged with the faculty under the guidance of dedicated teachers in laboratory work as part of their preparation for future studies. The day also featured a programming competition with 23 participants, an IHRA contest involving 16 teams of high school students and 15 teams from elementary schools, and a new Puzzle section where 72 high school students from the region competed.

The abstracts from the Student Scientific Conference demonstrate that our faculty's students not only absorb theoretical knowledge delivered in lectures but also actively engage in solving partial scientific problems that align with research objectives at the institutes of PF UPJŠ. This collection serves as both a record of scientific activity at the faculty and a dignified presentation for the broader public.

Prof. RNDr. Katarína Cechlárová, DrSc.

Vice-Dean for Education

Doc. RNDr. Gabriel Semanišin, PhD.

Dean of the Faculty

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Janka Vrláková - Stanislav Vokál

Atomic and nuclear physics are relatively young scientific disciplines forming the final part of the general physics course at the Faculty of Physics of the Jagiellonian University. Their aim is to explain the nature of the basic physical properties of atoms, atomic nucleus and elementary particles.

This is also the content of the lectures and exercises ‘General Physics IV’ in the 2nd year of the Bachelor's degree in Physics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences (PF) of the P.J. Šafárik University (UPJŠ) in Košice. They are followed by optional lectures ‘Nuclear Radiation in the Environment’, ‘Introduction to the Physics of the Microworld’ in the 3rd year of the Bachelor's degree of single-discipline study of physics, or teacher study of physics in combination with another subject, and ‘Subnuclear Physics’ in the 1st year of the Master's degree of teacher study of physics in combination with another subject.

In the aforementioned lectures, the latest experimental findings on the structure and behaviour of the microworld are presented by means of physical theories and their subsequent experimental verification in experiments.

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Peter Kollár a kol. 

Skriptá Základné fyzikálne praktikum II. sú určené pre študentov Prírodovedeckej fakulty UPJŠ v Košiciach študujúcich na študijných programoch fyzika a medziodborových programoch v kombinácii s fyzikou. Obsahom skrípt sú úlohy z elektriny, magnetizmu a optiky. Podľa študijných programov sú zaradené do 3.semestra bakalárskeho štúdia, v ktorom by už študenti mali mať absolvovaný predmet všeobecná fyzika II. (elektrina a magnetizmus). Súčasťou každej úlohy sú základné poznatky venované javom, ktoré sú obsahom samotnej úlohy.

Autori

E-book

Tomáš Samuely

Today, scanning probe microscopes are standard tools in materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. Thousands of these microscopes are in operation worldwide and are at least as common and popular as scanning electron microscopes.

Despite the vast number of newer scanning probe microscopy techniques, classical STM remains a significant and irreplaceable method, widely used, for example, in solid-state research. In this text, we will focus on both traditional and innovative STM techniques that are available and utilized in the laboratories of the Center for Low Temperature Physics in Košice.

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Valéria Skřivánková - Martina Hančová

The publication is focused on discrete random processes, primarily on Markov chains, which have wide application in the field of economics and finance.

The textbook is divided into five chapters, the first of which serves as an introduction to random processes and provides definition, properties and classification of random processes in general. The second chapter discusses Markov chains with discrete time, including valuation of transitions between states and their optimal management. The third chapter focuses on special Markov chains with continuous time and emphasizes construction and solution to the system of Kolmogorov differential equations, which describe the dynamics of the process development. The last two chapters illustrate applications of Markov chains using examples of queuing system modeling and renewal theory.

Besides the explanation of basic terms, definitions and theorems with proofs, this textbook also provides number of solved examples to illustrate the discussed theory. Problem assignments are placed at the end of each chapter, so that readers can test their understanding of the content as they progress through the book. Solutions to all the problems and the list of references are provided at the end of the publication.

This textbook is primarily intented for students majoring in Economics and Financial Mathematics at the Faculty of Science of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, and it covers content of the course “Random Proceses 1“ thought there. It might however serve also students from other schools in similar progams or professionals interested in this topic.

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Zuzana Vargová - Miroslav Almáši (eds.)

Proceedings of Abstracts from the 3rd Conference Advances in Inorganic Chemistry (Levoča, June 17–21, 2018)

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Martin Bačkor - Miriam Bačkorová

The proposed text focuses on the history of studying biology, medicine, and pharmacy as scientific disciplines from prehistoric times through antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the modern era. The text chronologically organizes the most significant figures in the history of biological scientific disciplines, outlines key characteristics of major historical discoveries, and reevaluates their significance from the perspective of 21st-century science.

The educational text is chronologically divided into the most significant periods of civilization development. The last two completed centuries—the 19th and 20th—are subdivided into major life science fields due to the unprecedented growth of biological disciplines and the resulting volume of acquired information.

Since it can sometimes be challenging in science to define what constitutes the past versus the present of a particular discipline, we have excluded significant biological discoveries from the early 21st century, which are typically regarded as the “present” of biology.

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Katarína Štrofeková

Cell Biophysics II is the one semester comprehensive course textbook for PhD students. It encompasses basic principles and mechanisms underlying cell physiology and biophysics with aims:

• General knowledge of the principles of cellular function, including membrane, cytoplasmic and nuclear roles in normal and abnormal conditions.
• In-depth understanding of the mechanisms underlying the cell functions at the molecular and subcellular level.
• Awareness of cell pathologies that lead to specific disease symptoms and phenotypes.
• The ability to apply learned principles to solve new problems (analysis & synthesis).

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Martin Bačkor - Silvia Mihaličová (eds.)

Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Doctoral Students in Experimental Plant Biology and the 13th Conference on Experimental Plant Biology, Košice, September 9–13, 2013

13th Conference of Experimental Plant Biology (Sections)

1. Cell Biology and Cytology: Michal Martinka
2. Developmental Biology and Morphogenesis: Alexander Lux
3. “Omics” – Genomics, Transcriptomics, and Proteomics: Boris Vyskot
4. Hormonal Regulation of Plant Growth and Development: Jana Albrechtová
5. Photosynthesis, Assimilate Production, and Transport: Jiří Šantrůček
6. GMOs and Plant Biotechnology: Eva Čellárová
7. Biophysical Signals and Optical Properties of Plants: Jan Nauš Stress
8. Physiology: Ľudmila Slováková
9. Plant Interactions with Organisms: Martin Bačkor
10. Water and Mineral Nutrition of Plants: Miroslav Repčák
11. Productive Biology of Plants and Agriculture: Václav Hejnák
12. Ecological Plant Biology and Global Climate Change: Michal Marek

11th Days of Doctoral Students in Experimental Plant Biology (Sections)

1. Molecular & Cell Genetics: Viktor Žárský
2. Developmental Biology: Alexander Lux
3. Biochemistry & Physiology: Jiří Šantrůček
4. Systematics & Evolution: Jana Albrechtová
5. Ecophysiology: Jana Albrechtová

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Vladislav Kolarčik

Flow cytometry is a diagnostic and research technique that enables rapid analysis of cells, nuclei and organelles of plants and other organisms. In plant biology, it is most often used for DNA content analysis in a wide range of applications. It is the method of first choice and its importance is even increasing compared to competing technologies. It is unrivaled in speed, accuracy, repeatability and low cost. Flow cytometry has become a standard tool in laboratories focused on biological-ecological plant research.

This textbook provides information on the historical development of flow cytometry and its establishment in the analysis of the plant genome. It describes the procedure of sample analysis to determine the nuclear DNA content and presents the basic applications, such as determination of genome size, ploidy level and reproduction modes of plants and determination of endopolyploidy level in plant tissues. These college textbooks are intended for students, teachers and anyone interested in the use of flow cytometry in scientific work with plant cells.

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Vladimír Zeleňák (ed.)

Proceedings of Abstracts of the Student Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice

A characteristic feature of education at high-quality universities — among which the Faculty of Science at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJŠ) in Košice proudly belongs — is the close connection between education and scientific research. Students gain knowledge in their field of study not only through theoretical coursework in individual disciplines, but also through active involvement in solving specific scientific tasks as part of research teams. This can occur during the development of final theses or through participation in the Student Research Assistant Program (ŠPVS), which was revitalized at the faculty in 2015.

The Student Scientific Conference (ŠVK) is one of the faculty’s traditional events, organized during the Faculty’s Science Days as part of Sciencefest. By its very nature, it fits seamlessly into the aforementioned framework of combining education with research, and it has long enjoyed great popularity and student interest. In 2016, the conference featured presentations by 125 students of the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ in Košice, across 16 thematic sections. This collection of abstracts provides an overview of the focus and goals of the student projects. We believe it will serve as inspiration for other potential participants of future conferences and will also be of interest to the broader public, offering additional insight into the faculty's activities.

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Danica Studenovská - Tomáš Madaras 

Táto publikácia je určená pre študentov nematematických odborov na Prírodovedeckej fakulte UPJŠ v Košiciach. Jej obsahom je látka preberaná v prvom semestri v rámci predmetu Matematika I..

Publikácia nadväzuje na učivo stredných škôl a nevyžaduje žiadne predbežné špeciálne znalosti. Môže slúžiť ako základ na ďalšie samostatné štúdium a môže byť užitočná aj pre iných záujemcov o matematiku a jej aplikácie.

Vyriešené príklady v jednotlivých kapitolách majú pomôcť čitateľovi pri zvládnutí štúdia. Tomu napomáhajú aj ilustratívne obrázky.

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Mariana Budovská

The aim of writing the university textbook "Selected Heterocyclic Compounds" was to create a study aid for students of the Organic Chemistry program, which provides essential information in a clear format for the subject of Heterocyclic Compounds. In selecting the content of the textbook, the goal was to present basic information about the chemistry of the most significant heterocycles. Given that the summary of chemical knowledge about heterocycles is vast, it was not possible to include all heterocyclic compounds in the content.

The intention was for readers to orient themselves in the field of heterocyclic compounds. Separate chapters included in the content address the nomenclature of heterocycles, basic chemical properties of individual heterocycles, their synthesis and reactions, the occurrence of heterocycles in nature, and their practical applications (medications, dyes, pesticides, detergents, etc.).

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Miroslava Martinková

This electronic material focuses on the subject of secondary metabolism and its products - secondary metabolites. The material gives an overview of the basic building blocks and construction mechanisms through which molecules can be synthesized in living organisms (plants). The processes of formation of the mentioned metabolites are explained using the basic mechanisms of organic reactions. Several of the secondary metabolites presented have a remarkable biological profile and are used as therapeutics or serve as lead compounds for the development of novel pharmacological agents. This electronic document is primarily intended for students of the Master's degree programme in Organic Chemistry as supporting material for the profile subject Chemistry of Natural Products.

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Jana Špaková Raschmanová - Zuzana Kudličková - Kvetoslava Stanková

Organic chemistry plays a key role in our lives, from the pharmaceutical industry to the production of plastics and food additives. Additionally, it is essential in biochemistry, as it deals with the basic building blocks of living organisms, such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. One of the best ways to teach organic chemistry and increase students' interest in the subject is through conducting school experiments. This study material presents a collection of visually striking practical experiments in organic chemistry that will help students better understand the chemical processes and techniques used in the field. This electronic study material is supplemented with visual material, allowing students to verify the results of experiments and better understand the individual procedures. At the end of each section, there are questions to help assess the acquired knowledge and encourage deeper understanding of the experiments conducted.

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