Foundations of nonequilibrium statistical physics

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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Peter Paľove-Balang

The text ‘Uptake and transport of mineral substances in plants’ in Slovak language provides a general overview of the uptake and distribution of substances in an easy-to-understand form.

The individual chapters introduce students to the properties of the soil environment, which have a significant influence on the availability of substances, as well as the transport of substances across membranes and over medium and long distances. The text contains the latest findings from the English literature, supplemented by diagrams and graphs created by the author on the basis of his own research or by compiling several sources.

The text is intended primarily for students of a master's degree in biology or ecology and assumes at least a basic knowledge of plant physiology.

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Renáta Oriňáková (ed.)

Book of abstract

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Ľubomír Antoni-Stanislav Krajči

An important part of theoretical computer science is the problem of Turing machines. This computational model has two basic properties: like any other computational program, the software of a Turing machine is composed of instructions, but in its case they are all of a single type. Every other (so far known) computer program can be transformed into a Turing machine program without loss of information. While the second feature reduces the question of what a calculator cannot do to the question of what a Turing machine cannot do, the first feature allows a much simpler investigation of such a question. Using this computational model, we can thus find concrete problems that no automaton can ever deal with (perhaps the most famous is the problem of the Turing machine stopping). Their existence demonstrates the fundamental limitations of (not only ideal) computational means, and thus encourages both criticality and humility in our thinking.

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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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Soňa Király (ed.) 

The Book of Abstracts of the International Conference on Advanced Materials IMAM 2026 consists of contributions from the participants of this scientific event. The proceedings contain 22 abstracts presenting current research results in the field of advanced materials and their applications across various scientific and technological disciplines. The contributions focus mainly on the development of new materials, electrochemical sensors, energy systems, and biomedical applications. All abstracts are prepared at a professional level and provide an overview of current trends in advanced materials research.

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Jozef Bednarčík (ed.)

Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice under the auspices of Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic and European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility GmbH in Hamburg organizes School of XFEL and Synchrotron Radiation Users 2024 (SFEL 2024). The school is continuation of the Winter Schools of Synchrotron radiation held in 2011, 2013, 2014 and SFEL 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022. The aim of the SFEL2024 school is to facilitate the growth of new Slovak research community of high expertise in high-efficiency RTG laser and synchrotron and neutron sources. The SFEL school is designed for efficient transfer of the rapidly developing know-how in these areas to young generation – researchers and university students. The next aim of the SFEL2024 is strengthening of personal connections between the local Slovak research community and forming scientific teams of XFEL users. Slovak research community thus can take advantage of the fact that Slovakia is a shareholder of European XFEL GmbH Company in Hamburg, but also makes more efficient use of other closely related scientific facilities, including ILL and ESRF in Grenoble and DESY in Hamburg.

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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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Ľubomír Šnajder - Ján Guniš

The publication lists interim results of qualitative educational research focused on the development and evaluation of programming tasks being carried out by authors since 2005 in the frame of programming competition PALMA junior.

The publication consists of three chapters: Computer science competitions in Slovakia, Tasks in computer science education, Selected problems of PALMA junior competition. The first chapter provides an overview of computer science competitions for a primary and secondary schools in Slovakia. The second chapter described the issue of learning tasks - their components, focus, formulation types, and development system of tasks. The third chapter contains the assignments and commented author solutions of selected problems represented focus of PALMA junior competition – programming, algorithms and mathematics.

For each problem is mentioned analysis of pupils’ solutions aimed to ways of thinking, typical misconceptions, sets of preparatory and extended problems. The publication is addressed to computer science teacher trainers, authors of programming competitions problems, and computer science teachers.  

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Michal Jaščur

This is a supporting text for the undergraduate students interested in quan- tum theory of magnetism. The text represents an introduction to various theoretical approaches used in this eld. It is an open material, in the sense that it will be supported by appropriate problems to be solved by student at seminars and also as a homework.

The text consists of four chapters that form closed themes of the in- troductory quantum theory of magnetism. In the rst part we explain the quantum origin of the magnetism illustrating the appearance of the ex- change interaction for the case of hydrogen molecule. The second chapter is devoted to the application of the Bogolyubov inequality to the Heisenberg model and it represents the part which is usually missing in the textbooks of magnetism. The third chapter deals with the standard spin wave-theory including the Bloch and Holstein-Primakoff a approach. Finally, we discuss the application of the Jordan-Wigner transformation to one-dimensional spin-1/2 XY model.

The primary ambition of this supportive text is to explain diverse math- ematical methods and their applications in the quantum theory of mag- netism. The text is written in the form which should be sufficient to de- velop the skills of the students up to the very high level. In fact, it is expected that students following this course will able to make their own original applications of the methods presented in this book.

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Andrea Morovská Turoňová - Renáta Oriňaková - František Kaľavský 

The university textbooks "Practical Exercises in Physical Chemistry" are intended as teaching literature for students of the 2nd year of the Chemistry study program and the 3rd year of the interdisciplinary study program at the Faculty of Science of the Pavel Jozef Šafárik University in Košice.

The three chapters summarize the basic knowledge of thermodynamics, electrochemistry and kinetics, the next chapter deals with the measurement of some other physico-chemical quantities. The tasks developed on the basis of cooperation with the Criminalistics and Expertise Institute of the Police in Košice, which also participates in the innovation of practical teaching, are also very attractive and interesting for students. Thematic units are updated and supplemented by new knowledge, principles as well as detailed working procedures using new instrumentation.

The aim of laboratory exercises in physical chemistry is to illustrate and confirm the physicochemical laws and correlations that apply to the quantitative description of chemical phenomena. Students will learn to use instruments and equipment that occur in physico-chemical laboratories, they will learn the principles of accurate and correct quantitative measurement of physical quantities, important from a chemical point of view. They can also develop professional and scientific communication skills, and we want to support their creative approach to making measurement protocols.

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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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Jozef Bednarčík (ed.)

The European Magnetic Sensors and Actuators Conference (EMSA) is a consolidated European forum that serves to assess the status, recent progress, and development in the field of magnetic sensor technology and magnetic actuators. It was first held in 1996 in Iasi (Romania) and since then has continued every two-three years in different European cities. The aim of the conference is to generate an overview of research in magnetic sensors and actuators, to recognize their relevance in modern industry and to identify potential future collaborations. EMSA 2024 will provide an excellent opportunity to bring together scientists and engineers from universities, research institutes and industry to present and discuss their most recent results covering both fundamental and applied aspects of magnetic sensors and actuators.

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Mária Vilková - Monika Garberová - Michal Goga

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is currently a widely used analytical tool that finds application in many fields of science and technology. The broadening of its practical use brings with it the necessity to create educational texts appropriate to the given scientific discipline.

This university textbook is intended for students of biology and serves as a supplement to the study materials for the advanced master's course "Biology of Lichens." At the same time, it represents a useful resource for master's and doctoral students involved in research, helping them interpret NMR spectra and present basic theoretical concepts.

The textbook briefly describes the important aspects of each NMR spectroscopic technique without delving excessively into the physical principles of individual methods or complex mathematical analyses. In this edition, the structures of lichen metabolites have been included, which students will isolate, purify, and identify using various analytical methods during practical exercises. An entire chapter is dedicated to a detailed description of solving the NMR spectra of isolated metabolites, with each step in elucidating the structures of both known and unknown metabolites explained in detail. The solved tasks are followed by numerous unsolved examples, including high-resolution 1D and 2D NMR spectra of metabolites, intended to further develop the acquired knowledge and skills of students and doctoral candidates in structure elucidation using NMR spectroscopy.

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Marián Kireš  (ed.)

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

The Student Scientific Conference (SSC) represents the culmination of long-term and intensive work on a selected topic, collaboration with a supervisor, or a broader team at the workplace. In practice, however, it often marks the beginning of scientific research, focusing on a chosen subject, field, or close cooperation with a future supervisor of a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral thesis.

This year, the Student Scientific Conference took place on April 19, 2023, featuring 14 sections, a programming competition, and the IHRA contest. Bachelor’s and master’s students presented 101 contributions. Additionally, 8 high school students participated non-competitively, presenting their SOČ projects; 14 students took part in the programming competition, and 3 students competed in the IHRA contest.

We believe that the proceedings of abstracts and related documents serve not only as an archive but also as a dignified presentation of scientific activities at our faculty for the wider public.

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Katarína Cechlárová - Eva Pitoňáková (eds.)

Proceedings of Abstracts from Contributions by Participants of the Student Scientific Conference at the Faculty of Science, UPJŠ in Košice, Held on April 26, 2017

This is the fifth edition of the proceedings from the Student Scientific Conference (ŠVK) at the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. We are pleased that ŠVK has become an integral part of faculty life and a showcase for the quality of education provided. In 2017, ŠVK took place as part of the traditional Science Days on April 26, 2017. 105 students from the Faculty of Science presented their work. Contributions were organized into 15 sections, supplemented by an open programming competition involving 17 students and the final round of the IHRA competition, which included 27 teams from across Slovakia.

The abstracts in this proceedings demonstrate that students at the Faculty of Science, UPJŠ, acquire knowledge and skills in their field not only through theoretical study of disciplines but also through active engagement in solving partial scientific problems aligned with research goals at the faculty’s institutes. These abstracts also provide an overview of the faculty’s scientific activity, which we believe will be of interest to the broader public.

doc. RNDr. Gabriel Semanišin, PhD.

Dean of the Faculty

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