NOVEL TRENDS IN CHEMISTRY, RESEARCH AND EDUCATION at the Faculty of Science of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice 2024

E-book

Andrej Mock

The structure of the animal body is extremely varied. Each species has its distinctive morphological features, which bears as a testimony to long-term development and belonging to the developmental lineage. At the same time, the body has been tested for a long time by natural conditions, resulting in unique adaptations to the environment and life strategy. Despite this admirable variety - which includes both recent and fossil animals and which we have far from mapped – a comparison of body parts brings knowledge we can generalize: the main building principles, and boundaries within which phenotypic diversity is realized.

Comparative animal morphology today uses the latest methodological material and knowledge from other disciplines, from genetics, molecular biology and experimental embryology, through progressive imaging methods (e.g. electron microscopy, computer micro-tomography) and the possibilities of subsequent software processing of image material (measurement, staining, etc.) to the view of physics, chemistry, statics and geometry on the structures (to nanostructures) of the living body. Detailed knowledge of historical and contemporary conditions on Earth is an important interpretative context in the study of animal morphology. Surprisingly, the knowledge accumulated after centuries of research is now rapidly supplemented by new knowledge, and often the traditional knowledge is subsequently reinterpreted. Finally, and no less important, in studying animal (and human) morphology, we learn surprising knowledge about ourselves.

The author of the presented textbook had the ambition in a simplified form to introduce the reader, especially the student of biological studies, into a dynamic and fascinating scientific discipline, as the current comparative animal morphology is.

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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

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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.

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E-publication

Mária Ganajová-Ivana Sotáková-Petra Letošníková

The conference proceedings FORMATIVE 2025 – Implementing Formative Assessment in Schools Together constitute the output of an online conference organised by the Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, in cooperation with the National Institute of Education and Youth in Bratislava, within the framework of the KEGA project No. 001UPJŠ-4/2023. These proceedings present current knowledge, experience, and examples of good practice in implementing formative assessment in primary, secondary, and university teaching, with an emphasis on the use of digital tools. The papers address the foundations of formative assessment in the context of curricular changes and the ongoing educational reform, as well as specific didactic procedures for its implementation in the teaching of science and social science subjects, including mathematics, Slovak language, and foreign languages. Particular attention is paid to the development of professional teaching competences, formative assessment strategies, providing targeted feedback, and promoting students’ active participation in the assessment process. These proceedings also present the Digilib digital library, a tool developed to support the creation and management of formative assessment processes within the school environment. This publication is intended for experts in pedagogy and didactics, teachers at all levels of education, student teachers, digital coordinators, and all those interested in educational innovation and in improving the quality of teaching through formative assessment.

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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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Erik Bruoth - Juraj Šebej - Ľubomír Antoni

In these university-level textbooks, we present the fundamental concepts of networks and graph theory. We explore breadth-first and depth-first graph searching. We present static and dynamic network models. We describe the issue of detecting overlapping and non-overlapping communities in directed and undirected networks. Various approaches to anomaly detection in networks also form an important part of this textbook. The final chapter is dedicated to spectral clustering, which plays a significant role in data mining in network graphs for various application domains.

These textbooks are suitable for first and second-year university students in computer science programs. The study materials are also suitable for students in non-computer science fields, with the aim of improving their knowledge and practical experience in computer science-related areas, and provide an opportunity for students to find employment in IT companies to solve practical tasks.

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Daniela Kladeková

Working with this study text requires adequate knowledge of physical chemistry, physics, and biology, as navigating the presented material becomes challenging without this foundation. A solid grasp of mathematics is essential and aids in understanding colloidal chemistry problems. The textbook, structured into individual chapters, first addresses optical and molecular-kinetic properties after classifying and characterizing disperse systems.

This university-level textbook is primarily intended for students in chemical and ecological disciplines at the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. It does not aim to exhaustively cover every detail of the subject, as comprehensive treatments are already available in specialized monographs on colloid and macromolecular chemistry, as well as in foundational physical chemistry textbooks.

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E-book

Jozef Kováčik

These "Exercise Manuals" present a concise overview of commonly used methodologies as well as progressive techniques, such as the use of liquid chromatography and fluorescence microscopy. Individual tasks were selected based on the research focus of the Department of Botany at the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, particularly in the context of "stress physiology."

Some tasks can also be utilized within the subject "Plant Ecology." Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) is typically used as a model plant for individual tasks due to its long-standing history of research at the Department of Botany and its ease of cultivation under laboratory conditions. The chapters also briefly discuss the significance of monitored parameters, principles of their determination, and metabolism (formation or degradation), aiming to indicate their mutual context.

This approach highlights that determining an individual parameter cannot provide a general explanation for the overall causes and impacts of observed changes; however, it can serve as a basis for testing hypotheses at the level of other parameters.

For deeper study of specific issues, there is an abundance of high-quality international monographs and review articles available.

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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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E-book

Juraj Ševc - Anna Alexovič Matiašová

Among students of single-discipline and interdisciplinary biology studies at faculties with a natural science focus, there often arises a problem in defining the scope of the curriculum when studying the subject of Human Anatomy. The presented study material aims to help students of non-medical scientific fields navigate the extensive anatomical terminology and to limit the amount of required anatomical terms to an optimum, so that alongside mastering Latin nomenclature, students still have sufficient capacity to memorize additional knowledge in the areas of systemic, comparative, developmental, and functional anatomy.

Emphasis on organizing individual anatomical terms into logical units simultaneously supports a hierarchical view of the architecture of the human body. Despite its seemingly self-serving nature, anatomical terminology thus becomes the framework upon which students build knowledge from more or less related scientific disciplines studying the human body and the processes occurring within it throughout their further studies. At the same time, alongside this ambition that goes beyond the scope of the anatomy discipline, the Anatomical Terms follow a long tradition of anatomical handbooks while respecting the valid Latin and Slovak anatomical nomenclature.

This script represents a practical supplement to university textbooks of Anatomy or Neuroanatomy and especially to anatomical atlases, but it certainly does not aim to replace them. Here you will find all the necessary terms gathered in one place, which you can always have at hand on your phone, e-reader, or laptop. The emphasis on organizing individual anatomical terms into logical units supports a hierarchical view of the architecture of the human body, and the inclusion of a brief introduction to each system is intended to encourage you to seek further, more detailed information about the structure and function of the given organ system.

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Terézia Kisková - Stanislav Matéffy - Františka Horváthová

The laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) is one of the most commonly used experimental animals. It serves as a model organism for analyzing numerous biological processes and pathological mechanisms, such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders (e.g., lipid metabolism, diabetes mellitus), neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions (e.g., stroke, epilepsy, or Alzheimer's disease), neurobehavioral research, autoimmune diseases (e.g., arthritis), cancer, and renal diseases. It offers many unique advantages for modeling human diseases, testing drugs and natural substances, and studying responses to environmental factors. The size of the laboratory rat, compared to the mouse, creates ideal conditions for physiological manipulations. Additionally, rats are used in clinical toxicology to test chemical substances (Hedrich, 2000).

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E-book

Ján Füzer

Auxiliary teaching material for the course General Physics III – Oscillations, Waves, and Optics is intended for students of single-subject and interdisciplinary studies of physics.

The content provides a basic outline of the material covered, without detailed explanations, with an emphasis on the physical method of thinking using the simplest elements of higher mathematics. The presented text does not aim to replace the recommended textbooks, but rather to help students navigate the subject matter. Recommended literature can be found at the end of the text.

The teaching material contains the basic framework of the lectures and is supplemented and revised each year, with lectures enriched by supporting demonstration experiments.

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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

E-book

Mária Kožurková (ed.)

Book of Abstracts

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Adriana Zeleňáková

Magnetic nanoparticles are extremely interesting magnetic objects that still hide much that is undiscovered, both because of their physical properties and because of their diverse applications. Iron nanoparticles, or iron oxides, are used in medical diagnostics for magnetic resonance imaging, in the treatment of hyperthermia, and an important application is the use of magnetic particles for targeted drug delivery.

The textbook "Magnetic Nanoparticles: Nanomagnetism, Preparation and Advanced Applications" is intended primarily for students of the Master's programme in Physics and students of related disciplines at universities and faculties with a physical, chemical, metallurgical and biophysical focus. The motivation for writing this textbook was to develop study material that would contribute to improving the quality of teaching in the profile subject Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology at the Institute of Physical, Faculty of Sciences, UPJŠ, in the Master's programme Condensed Matter Physics, as well as in the profile subject in the PhD programme Advanced Materials.

The university textbook is divided into eight chapters. The first and second chapters are devoted to basic information about magnetism, the origin of nanomagnetism in nanoparticles and surface phenomena. The third and fourth chapters are devoted to nanomagnetism in nanoparticle systems. The fifth chapter describes in detail individual protocols for investigating the phenomenon of superparamagnetism and the phenomenon of superspin glass using the SQUID device. The sixth chapter describes individual procedures for the preparation of magnetic nanoparticles and the seventh chapter describes individual experimental techniques for the study of magnetic nanoparticles. The final eighth chapter describes the applications of nanoparticles in biomedicine.

During the writing of this textbook, the chapters were prepared using the foreign-language specialist literature listed in the recommended reading list.

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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.