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

E-book

Ladislav Janovec

An enormous progress in computer technology, closely linked with advances in computational chemistry, has enabled the user to exploit the principles of quantum chemistry to elucidate the chemical phenomena.

Computational chemistry is the branch of science that requires, except an academic knowledge, software skills to fully exploit a potential of theoretical methods. The aim of this textbook is to help the user take the legendary first step in the field of computational chemistry to opening a new horizon of knowledge.

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E-book

Zuzana Vargová - Miroslav Almáši - Juraj Kuchár - Jana Dinajová 

The script „Základné laboratórne praktikum z anorganickej chémie“ builds on previous editions of the script, with some thematic units updated and supplemented with new knowledge, principles, and detailed work procedures.

This script is intended as a teaching aid for first-year students of the chemistry and interdisciplinary study programs at the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. The introductory part of the volume acquaints students with safety regulations that they should follow during work in a chemical laboratory. Subsequently, in five chapters, basic laboratory techniques are described in detail, which students will use in the further part of the practices for preparing inorganic compounds. These chapters are enriched with illustrative images created using the freely distributable ACDFreeLabs 10 program or taken from literature listed at the end of the script. Some images were created by the authors, and others were taken from the catalog of Fisher Slovakia, s.r.o., which provided written permission for their use. The chapters describing the preparation of inorganic compounds are organized according to their composition, from simple elements or molecules, through binary compounds, acids, and salts, to complex compounds.

Within this subject, students should apply their theoretical knowledge gained during lectures on General Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry and thereby acquire basic practical experience and skills that they will use in further studies.

The last two chapters were developed based on cooperation with Duslo a.s., Production Plant Strážske, which participates in the innovation of practical teaching through direct involvement of experts from practice as part of the KEGA project No. 008UPJŠ-4/2018.

Authors

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Karel Saksl

Solving crystal structures is the royal discipline of X-ray crystallography. Its primary task, with the exception of defects, is to describe the atomic structure of the motif that, by its repetition, fills the volume of the entire crystal or crystalline phase. This task is nowadays more or less routine for single-crystal X-ray diffraction, which can locate hundreds to thousands of non-hydrogen atoms in large unit cells. However, in real practice, we often have material available only in powder form instead of single crystals. Solving the atomic structure from its X-ray diffraction data is non-trivial, mainly because the three-dimensional diffraction space of a single crystal is reduced to one dimension by measuring a large number of randomly oriented microcrystals (crystallites). Therefore, the solution itself requires, in addition to proper measurement methodology, the selection of suitable tools, procedures, and strategies that, through optimization, will lead to the solution and refinement of the given crystalline phase. The current limit of this method is approximately 100 non-hydrogen atoms in the asymmetric part of the unit cell, which, however, is sufficient for most inorganic materials.

The goal of these educational texts is to provide students in the second and third levels of university studies with specific guidance on solving crystal structures from powder X-ray diffraction data. These scripts build upon my first monograph and require practical knowledge of its content. Similar to my previous monograph, I offer solved examples without a deep theoretical introduction, demonstrating procedures and strategies leading to the correct solution of crystalline phases using the freely available GSAS-II program. The examples are arranged from simpler to more complex, and the reader will find many useful pieces of information in the literature references as well as in the comments below the line. Part of these scripts are data intended for your individual practice of the described procedures. 

Karel Sakls

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E-book

Mária Kožurková

These university textbooks are intended for first-year master's degree students at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of UPJŠ in Košice. The scope and content of the works included in these scripts are primarily based on time and spatial constraints, taking into account the material demands of the tasks.

The aim of these scripts is to teach students basic microbiological techniques and to show them the importance of microorganisms in everyday life and their crucial role in nature. The exercises are designed to enhance students' technical skills and teach them to work according to safety principles.

The text is divided into 13 parts. Each part begins with an introduction to the theory related to the practice topic. The appendix includes a proposal for the preparation of protocols for individual exercises.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

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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Ján Kleban a kolektív

Predkladaný pracovný zošit na praktické cvičenia z cytológie je určený poslucháčom 1. ročníka bakalárskeho štúdia biológie a 1. ročníka bakalárskeho medziodborového štúdia v kombinácii s biológiou na Prírodovedeckej fakulte Univerzity Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach. Slúži ako návod, ktorý má študentom uľahčiť prácu a umožniť rýchlejšiu orientáciu v zadanej úlohe. Úprava pracovného zošita do formy protokolov umožňuje študentom zakresliť vlastné pozorovanie a tým stimuluje študentov k presnejšiemu a trvalejšiemu zapamätaniu si precvičovanej úlohy a zároveň umožňuje spätnú kontrolu pedagógom. Počas cvičení sa študenti postupne oboznámia so základnými pojmami optiky, s aplikáciami využívajúcimi mikroskopickú techniku, ale aj so základnými rozdielmi medzi štruktúrou rastlinnej a živočíšnej bunky a ich organelami.

E-book

Erik Čižmár

Textbook Automation of Laboratory Experiments in LabVIEW environment is devoted to the basics of graphical programming and shows the way how to communicate with measuring equipment and Arduino development boards in LabVIEW. The basic concepts of creating a virtual instrument and its interactive user environment are introduced. Three physical tasks are presented, the practical implementation of which takes place with the use appropriate instrumentation and LabVIEW. Practical tasks are dedicated to measuring the transmission characteristics of a low-pass RC filter, measuring the natural resonant frequency of a quartz tuning fork using the heterodyne pulse method, and mapping the magnetic field of a permanent magnet using Arduino.

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E-book

Zuzana Jurašeková

Úvod k praktikám k experimentálnym metódam biofyziky

The university textbook titled Laboratory Techniques and Calculations is designed for the first-year students of the bachelor's degree in Biophysics at the Institute of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice. The objective is to equip students with fundamental knowledge and practical skills for the work in a chemical laboratory. It is essential for addressing different biophysical issues and experiments that students will have to solve later. The textbook comprises three principal sections: a theoretical part focused on the calculations, a section dedicated to laboratory work, and the last part offers a brief introduction to spectroscopy. The theoretical part summarizes the basic definitions and equations related to the characterization and preparation of solutions and mixtures. The second, most comprehensive part provides guidance and suggestions for safe and efficient practices in a chemical laboratory. The primary focus is on the manipulation of chemical substances and the use of specific small laboratory instruments and equipment. The fundamental laboratory procedure guides for the selected laboratory works are also provided. As part of a short introduction to spectroscopy, students can become familiar with fundamental spectroscopic concepts and principles. UV-VIS absorption spectrophotometry receives special attention, along with a brief introduction to fluorescence. The textbook is supplemented by various practical and theoretical tasks, as well as numerous web links to further explanatory texts and videos.

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 Ľubomír Panigaj - Peter Ľuptáčik 

(Náčrt systému a fylogenézy)

Učebný text je primárne určený pre študentov jednoodborového štúdia biológie a všeobecnej ekológie, ako aj odborom učiteľského štúdia v rôznych kombináciách s biológiou. Venuje sa v nich opisu jednotlivých skupín živočíchov, ich morfológiu a anatómiu ilustruje na obrazových materiáloch. K jednotlivým morfologickým a anatomickým štruktúram sa v texte nevyjadrujeme podrobnejšie, nakoľko text nadväzuje na predmet Porovnávacia morfológia živočíchov, kde na úrovni organológie boli tieto najvýznamnejšie štruktúry v rámci prednášok a cvičení detailne vysvetlené a opísané. Rozsah učebného textu nie je veľký, podávame v ňom základné minimum poznatkov, čo je podmienené jednak rozsahom predmetu, ktorý je len jednosemestrový, jednak tým, že ďalšie, špecializované predmety rozširujú spektrum poznatkov napr. na úrovni entomológie, hydrobiológie alebo pôdnej biológie. V zavere niektorých kapitol formulujeme niekoľko cvičných otázok, ktoré si študenti môžu na základe predchádzajúceho textu zodpovedať, s podobnými otázkami sa totiž môžu stretnúť na skúške alebo na štátniciach.

Autori

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Michal Hnatič, Tomáš Lučivjanský

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Božena Mihalíková - Ondrej Hutník - Jozef Kiseľák

The textbook is devoted to the mathematical analysis of infinite series of numbers and functions. It is intended for students of mathematics, physics and computer science, as well as interdisciplinary study of combination with mathematics. It contains a theoretical background for investigating the convergence of infinite series, expanding functions into power and Taylor series, as well as the use of these results in various problems of mathematics, physics, and computer science. Using the historical background the textbook clarifies the motivations and the need to introduce some key concepts and their further development. Basic concepts and statements are demonstrated on a large number of solved exercises, but it contains a number of exercises for independent practice. Several results are supplemented by dynamic animations executable in the electronic version of the textbook.

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Igor Hudec - Ľubomír Kováč 

The study course provides the basic knowledge on the fundamental parameters, relationships and processes in ecological sciences. Brief content: ecological factors and relations to environment (air, water, soil); influence of ecological factors upon organisms (morphological adaptations, behavioural responses); populations and communities (external and internal parameters of populations, population dynamics); ecosystems (impact assessment) and biomes (basic features and human impact); cycles (hydrologic, gaseous, sedimentation) of basic elements on Earth.  

Authors

E-book

Zuzana Kudličková(ed.)

Proceedings of Abstracts from the Scientific Conference with International Participation Organized on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, held on June 8–10, 2016 in Košice.

The Department of Organic Chemistry was established on February 1, 1966. From its inception, the department’s development prospects have been linked to high-quality scientific research focused on the synthesis of isothiocyanates and the products of their nucleophilic additions. In addition, studies were conducted on the use of cycloaddition, cyclocondensation, and photocyclization reactions of heterocumulenes in the synthesis of heterocycles.

Currently, research at the Department of Organic Chemistry is concentrated on stereoselective syntheses of iminosugars and γ-lactam-β-lactone antibiotics, total synthesis of natural compounds and their analogues possessing a sphingoid structure, research into the synthesis of indole alkaloids from the phytoalexin group, and the synthesis of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors based on acridine and coumarin derivatives.

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Soňa Király (ed.)

The book of abstracts from International Meeting on Advanced Materials, IMAM 2025, is composed of contributions from participants of this conference. The conference consisted of 16 lectures by mentioned conference participants. The conference is focused on advanced materials and its application in various research areas. All contributions are professionally processed and inspiring.

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E-book

Jozef Bednarčík

Crystallography deals with discerning the arrangement and bonding of atoms in crystalline solids. Almost immediately after their discovery, X-rays began to be used to study the internal structure of substances.

The first chapter of this textbook deals with the basic concepts of crystallography. At the beginning, crystalline solids are characterized. In the next section, the basic types of bonds and their characteristics are briefly presented. The main subject of this chapter is the interpretation of basic concepts such as symmetry operations, translational periodicity, grid, elementary cell. Spatial lattices and crystal systems are presented. At the end of this chapter, attention is paid to the description of individual types of defects in crystal structures. In the second chapter, the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom is presented. Individual quantum numbers and their meaning are given.

Next, energy levels and allowed transitions within an atom with multiple electrons are described. The second chapter concludes with the characterization of the basic absorption and emission processes. The third chapter is devoted to the production of X-ray radiation and its properties. Sources of X-ray radiation and a description of their operation are presented.

Interaction of X-ray radiation with matter, absorption and detection of X-ray radiation are the subject of the last part of this chapter.

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Gabriel Semanišin - Emil Hutňan - Jana Oleničová

The proceedings contain contributions from participants of the UNIFOS 2014 conference, University Information Systems in Košice, which took place from October 27 to 29, 2014.

ICT centers are important element that provide functioning and development hardware and software infrastructure at Slovak Universities. There are more differences between them in real position, management, personal sources and financing. ICT centers provide a wide range of services to large number of university users and they implement the policy of information security recently.

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E-book

Ladislav Janovec

An enormous progress in computer technology, closely linked with advances in computational chemistry, has enabled the user to exploit the principles of quantum chemistry to elucidate the chemical phenomena.

Computational chemistry is the branch of science that requires, except an academic knowledge, software skills to fully exploit a potential of theoretical methods. The aim of this textbook is to help the user take the legendary first step in the field of computational chemistry to opening a new horizon of knowledge.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Zuzana Vargová - Miroslav Almáši - Juraj Kuchár - Jana Dinajová 

The script „Základné laboratórne praktikum z anorganickej chémie“ builds on previous editions of the script, with some thematic units updated and supplemented with new knowledge, principles, and detailed work procedures.

This script is intended as a teaching aid for first-year students of the chemistry and interdisciplinary study programs at the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. The introductory part of the volume acquaints students with safety regulations that they should follow during work in a chemical laboratory. Subsequently, in five chapters, basic laboratory techniques are described in detail, which students will use in the further part of the practices for preparing inorganic compounds. These chapters are enriched with illustrative images created using the freely distributable ACDFreeLabs 10 program or taken from literature listed at the end of the script. Some images were created by the authors, and others were taken from the catalog of Fisher Slovakia, s.r.o., which provided written permission for their use. The chapters describing the preparation of inorganic compounds are organized according to their composition, from simple elements or molecules, through binary compounds, acids, and salts, to complex compounds.

Within this subject, students should apply their theoretical knowledge gained during lectures on General Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry and thereby acquire basic practical experience and skills that they will use in further studies.

The last two chapters were developed based on cooperation with Duslo a.s., Production Plant Strážske, which participates in the innovation of practical teaching through direct involvement of experts from practice as part of the KEGA project No. 008UPJŠ-4/2018.

Authors

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Karel Saksl

Solving crystal structures is the royal discipline of X-ray crystallography. Its primary task, with the exception of defects, is to describe the atomic structure of the motif that, by its repetition, fills the volume of the entire crystal or crystalline phase. This task is nowadays more or less routine for single-crystal X-ray diffraction, which can locate hundreds to thousands of non-hydrogen atoms in large unit cells. However, in real practice, we often have material available only in powder form instead of single crystals. Solving the atomic structure from its X-ray diffraction data is non-trivial, mainly because the three-dimensional diffraction space of a single crystal is reduced to one dimension by measuring a large number of randomly oriented microcrystals (crystallites). Therefore, the solution itself requires, in addition to proper measurement methodology, the selection of suitable tools, procedures, and strategies that, through optimization, will lead to the solution and refinement of the given crystalline phase. The current limit of this method is approximately 100 non-hydrogen atoms in the asymmetric part of the unit cell, which, however, is sufficient for most inorganic materials.

The goal of these educational texts is to provide students in the second and third levels of university studies with specific guidance on solving crystal structures from powder X-ray diffraction data. These scripts build upon my first monograph and require practical knowledge of its content. Similar to my previous monograph, I offer solved examples without a deep theoretical introduction, demonstrating procedures and strategies leading to the correct solution of crystalline phases using the freely available GSAS-II program. The examples are arranged from simpler to more complex, and the reader will find many useful pieces of information in the literature references as well as in the comments below the line. Part of these scripts are data intended for your individual practice of the described procedures. 

Karel Sakls

Download the e-book for free  (pdf)

E-book

Mária Kožurková

These university textbooks are intended for first-year master's degree students at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of UPJŠ in Košice. The scope and content of the works included in these scripts are primarily based on time and spatial constraints, taking into account the material demands of the tasks.

The aim of these scripts is to teach students basic microbiological techniques and to show them the importance of microorganisms in everyday life and their crucial role in nature. The exercises are designed to enhance students' technical skills and teach them to work according to safety principles.

The text is divided into 13 parts. Each part begins with an introduction to the theory related to the practice topic. The appendix includes a proposal for the preparation of protocols for individual exercises.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

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.

Download e-book for free (pdf)