The 8th International Conference on Novel Materials Fundamentals and Applications

E-book

Katarína Cechlárová (ed.)

In 2018, the Student Scientific Conference was held on April 18, 2018, in 16 sections covering biology and ecology, chemistry, physics, geography, mathematics, computer science, and their subject didactics. There were 110 registered contributions from bachelor's and master's students. Additionally, eight high school students participated outside of the competition; these students already visit our alma mater at a young age, work in our laboratories, and prepare for further studies under the guidance of our enthusiastic teachers. The day also included a programming competition and the IHRA competition in three categories, where students from PF UPJŠ competed alongside pupils from elementary and secondary schools.

The abstracts of the Student Scientific Conference contributions convincingly demonstrate that PF UPJŠ students study their field not only theoretically but also actively engage in solving partial scientific problems that are part of the research goals at PF UPJŠ institutes. This collection provides an overview of scientific activity at the faculty, which we believe will be interesting for the broader public as well.

Download the e-book for free  (pdf)

E-publication

Beáta Valkay ed.
Ivana Slepáková-Monika Balogová a kol.

EFFUSE - Scientific Education for Advanced is an educational material designed for university students interested in ecological sciences, biology and environmental protection. The publication was developed as part of the EFFUSE project and focuses on the scientific investigation of living organisms in the river ecosystem, with an emphasis on their ecological role and importance as bioindicators. The river ecosystem is a dynamic environment where a wide range of organisms can be studied, from algae and phytoplankton to aquatic invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles. This publication presents a detailed study of their adaptations, life cycles, reproductive strategies and their importance for ecological balance. Particular attention is paid to fish and amphibians, whose environmental demands and sensitivity to pollution make them important indicators of water quality and environmental status. The publication also provides guidance on how to integrate their study into university education in the form of practical research. It also includes a chapter on science education in the context of sustainable development, which is often absent from university curricula in Slovakia and Ukraine. This material promotes the link between theory and practice and develops students' scientific thinking in order to prepare them to meet the environmental challenges of the future.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

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.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

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.

Autori

E-book

Vladimír Zeleňák (ed.)

The publication contains abstracts of contributions presented at the Student Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at UPJŠ in Košice, held on April 25, 2013. The event was marked by the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at UPJŠ and was part of a series of events called ScienceFest.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Dušan Barabas - Alena Labunová

These study materials aim to provide basic information about biogeographical issues from a geographical perspective, i.e., a perspective focused primarily on the aspect of spatial differentiation of the biosphere. The basis for the division of the biosphere is its historical development, during which individual taxa and communities were formed.

The historical development of the biosphere did not occur under stable, constant conditions, but rather in ever-changing conditions caused by the position of our planet within the solar system, the position of the Earth's axis relative to the ecliptic, and also the position of the solar system within the galaxy. All changes in the Earth's position, together with the movement of continents (drift) and climate changes, created the prerequisites for the spatial expansion of the biosphere. The historical development of the biosphere, various perspectives, the hierarchical level of differentiation, and the causes of differentiation are incorporated in this study material, whose aim is to outline the basic principles of this division.

The goal is also to highlight certain differences in the understanding of terminology, as well as to point out some fundamental relationships operating within the landscape system in the broadest sense of the word. The section devoted to the ecological principles of the functioning and formation of the landscape system, according to MIČIAN and ZATKALÍK (1984), outlines the issues of understanding the terms ecosystem and geosystem. For this reason, the presented text includes chapters that attempt to explain the understanding and approach to some basic concepts.

These study materials are intended for students of single-subject, interdisciplinary, and supplementary studies as basic teaching material. By expanding the knowledge from this study material with further information, which is elaborated in more detail in the literature listed in the bibliography of this text, graduates will gain a comprehensive view of biogeographical issues.

Authors

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Gregor Bánó

Photonics is an application-oriented discipline at the interface of optics, opto-electronics and quantum optics. It includes classical optics extended by the description of physical phenomena and optical devices that rely on quantum (photon) nature of light.
The main objective of the Photonics course is to provide a comprehensive overview of essential optical and photonic phenomena routinely applied in experimental scientific research while working with various light sources (e.g. in the field of biophotonics). The first chapters are devoted to the description of light at different levels. The logical order of subsections in this part corresponds to the structure of the textbook: B. E. A. Saleh, M. C. Teich, Fundamentals of Photonics. The following chapters contain a description of laser operation and an overview of selected optical instruments and their applications.
The body text is complemented by practical notes on the use of theoretical knowledge during daily work in the laboratory. The course of Photonics requires a basic knowledge of mathematics, electromagnetism and optics, and thus it is recommended to students who previously passed through the courses of the Bachelor's program in Physics.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-publication

Beáta Valkayed.
Ivana Slepáková-Lenka Maliničová a kol.

The EFFUSE Teacher's Guide is a practical educational material for primary and secondary school teachers who want to develop environmental awareness with their pupils through field-based learning. It is based on the concept of the EFFUSE project (‘Environment for the future by science education’), which aims to link science, research and education with environmental protection. The manual provides teachers with methodological support for planning and implementing outdoor activities aimed at observing and documenting organisms around the Laborec River and the Uh River. It contains instructions for working with real samples, basic biomonitoring procedures and offers the opportunity to participate in the creation of a virtual laboratory that mirrors the state of the local aquatic ecosystem. Through these activities, pupils will learn to understand the links between human activity and the state of the environment, while learning the basics of how scientists work in the fields of biology and ecology. The guide also motivates teachers to become agents of positive change, inspire the younger generation to be active and engage the community in conservation. It is a challenge and an opportunity to create a space for meaningful learning in line with current trends in environmental and digital education.

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)

Danica Studenovská a kol. 

Táto zbierka úloh je určená poslucháčom Prírodovedeckej fakulty UPJŠ, ktorí sa v rámci predmetu Matematika I. zoznamujú s pojmami funkcie, limity, derivácie, integrálu a ich aplikáciami. Ide najmä o študentov nematematických odborov a učiteľských kombinácií, avšak táto zbierka je vhodná aj pre iných študentov a záujemcov o základy matematickej analýzy.

Autori

E-book

Rudolf Gális

The presented work provides basic knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics in a completely new multimedia format. The scope of the knowledge presented is mainly focused on stellar astrophysics and supplemented by cosmology beyond the title of the work.

A new approach in this work is the large proportion of visual materials, graphs, and video clips, contrasted with the brevity of the accompanying text. Such a form of presenting knowledge in this field is unprecedented in Slovakia, and therefore this work can be considered a completely innovative piece. It should be emphasized that the engaging form of the presented knowledge does not come at the expense of its content. The work contains all the necessary information that a physics student, especially one with a pedagogical focus, should master. The work can also be an invaluable aid to teachers in secondary and even primary schools, as well as professional astronomers in popularizing astronomical knowledge.

This suggests that the work covers a relatively wide range of needs at various institutions dealing with astronomy, from universities, through faculties of education and grammar schools, to observatories, planetariums, and astronomy clubs.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

Alena Gessert

Caves have always been very specific places throughout history. In some cultures, they served as sites for sacrifices or remembrance, while in others, they were seen as places where one could cross to the "other side of life." People used caves for shelter, as places to leave messages, to wait out bad weather, and in some cases, even lived in them. During wars in our region, entire families or villages would hide from enemies in caves, or they would use them to conceal weapons.

Today, in most countries, caves are destinations for tourists who want to experience something new and unknown: darkness, high humidity, and the fascinating beauty of underground formations. They are also sought after by cavers who long to explore caves, enter worlds where no human has set foot before, find evidence of previous habitation, or conduct research that continually advances our knowledge.

In the publication you are holding, we present both traditional and less conventional topics about the formation of karst and caves, selected ecological aspects, maps and their creation, significant caves of the world, and the life of people in such areas. We also offer an overview of important karst locations that are definitely worth learning more about or visiting in person. This publication is intended for readers among pupils, students, teachers, and the general public, and we believe it will draw you into this mysterious world.

Download e-book for free (pdf)

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.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

Marcel Uhrin - Petr Benda -  Peter Kaňuch

Bats represent a unique group of mammals, characterised by different life strategies. They are the only mammals capable of active flight, which, combined with their almost exclusively nocturnal activity, has led to the evolution of specific adaptations. One of the most striking is echolocation, which enables them to orientate themselves perfectly in their surroundings in the dark. Bats are mainly native to the tropics, but have also colonised areas outside the tropics, which, has led to a complex phenological cycle with active phases and interruptions during hibernation, especially in temperate zones. In this diverse and species-rich group (almost 1,500 known species), there is a wide range of social organisation as well as feeding and roosting strategies. The textbook "Fundamentals of Chiropterology" brings the current state of knowledge about these extraordinary animals in eleven chapters and two appendices for the first time in the Slovak language.

E-book

Božena Mihalíková - Ján Ohriska

This text is intended for first-year students in 76-12-8 ‘General Education Teaching’ in combinations with mathematics. It is based on the authors' lectures and their more than ten years of experience in teaching this subject at the Faculty of Education of the University of Applied Sciences. When writing it, the authors tried to take into account the specificity of mathematics teaching studies.

The present teaching text was not written due to the lack of textbooks on mathematical analysis. The reason for writing it was the authors' findings that the students do not have sufficient experience in working with specialized literature from secondary school, the difficulties for many of them (especially in the first semesters) are caused by even a slightly different interpretation, not rarely also by a change in labeling, which makes them miss the essence of the studied problem. The authors of the text did not set out to be original. Their aim was to make such a selection of topics as is necessary for a future teacher of mathematics and to choose such a method of interpretation which, in their opinion, is suitable for first-year students.

A good mastery of the curriculum (expansion of the mathematical apparatus and the related possibilities of applying other methods of proof as well as the acquisition of the necessary numerical skills) presupposes the use of other literary sources (textbooks, collections of problems) according to the teacher's recommendation.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)

E-book

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.

Download the e-book for free (pdf)