New Trends in Chemistry, Research and Education 2020

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Andrea Morovská Turoňová

The discovery of radioactivity at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries stimulated the rapid development of nuclear sciences. At the interface between nuclear physics and chemistry, disciplines such as radiochemistry, radiation chemistry and nuclear chemistry were formed.

The aim of the Nuclear Chemistry course which is taught at the PF UPJŠ is to provide basic knowledge, with an emphasis on the general value of the subject. It is important to make available the basics of various methods, techniques and their specifics in the application of nuclear phenomena in chemistry and related fields. Emphasis is also placed on the use of correct terminology, knowledge of the context of relationships and basic principles, supplemented by illustrative concrete cases.

The choice of material is rather difficult, but we count on additional monographs and textbooks to fill in the gaps of these teaching texts.

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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.

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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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Miroslav Repčák - Martin Bačkor - Peter Paľove-Balang - Silvia Gajdošová

The establishment of the Plant Physiology Laboratory at the Department of Botany, Faculty of Arts, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice in 1969 was associated with the name of Ing. Štefan Kocúrik, CSc. (1923–2006), who also prepared the first "Instructions for Exercises in Plant Physiology" (Košice 1972, 1976).

Since 1980, the manual by Associate Professor RNDr. Karol Erdelský, CSc., and Ing. Fridrich Frič, DrSc., titled "Practicum and Analytical Methods in Plant Physiology" (Bratislava 1980) has been used. With the increase in the number of students, it became relevant in 1991 to publish the "Instructions for Exercises in Plant Physiology" again to improve preparation and the efficient organization of practical work. Associate Professor RNDr. A. Košturiak, CSc., contributed significantly to the expansion of the introductory part of the instructions with his valuable advice, for which the authors are grateful. For the fourth edition, some tasks were updated and modernized, taking into account the possibilities of the renovated laboratory. The selection of tasks was adapted to the current scope of exercises for individual plant physiology subjects within the bachelor's and master's study programs in biology and ecology. These subjects include: Plant Physiology, Plant Metabolism, Mineral Nutrition of Plants, Plant Growth and Development, and Plant Ecology. Some tasks are also suitable for high school experiments.

The choice of topics was influenced by the research focus of our workplace on secondary metabolism, ecophysiology, and medicinal plants. The instructions generally adhere to the SI unit system, occasionally including other commonly used units.

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Ivana Sotáková-Martin Vavra-Mária Ganajová

This textbook has been designed for the master students of chemistry teaching (combined) at the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice as a source of model school experiments in general and inorganic chemistry. It will be used for teaching the Special Practice of School Experiments I compulsory course. It consists of instructions for experiments related to the selected topics in general and inorganic chemistry as well as the didactic and technical aspects of their performance. Each experiment includes an explanation of the principle, specification of the tools and chemicals needed, working procedure, and the respective apparatus assembly scheme. At the end of each experiment, the observation and explanation necessary for the correct interpretation of the results of the chemical experiment performed are provided. To follow the requirements for the digital transformation of education, selected computer-aided experiments and visualiser projections have been included as well. The next part is focused on the work with the monitoring suitcase, which can be used for making simple field experiments related to environmental topics. The final part is dedicated to attractive experiments that complement the topics in inorganic chemistry and can be used to motivate students. All experiment instructions are in line with the requirements specified by the state educational programmes for primary and grammar schools. This book allows teachers to select appropriate demonstrative experiments or experiments for laboratory classes performed by students themselves. The videos of selected experiments are also available as part of the interactive periodical table of elements operated by the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice.

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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

Michal Hnatič - Tomáš Lučivjanský

This textbook is primarily intended for first-year master's degree students at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, especially those in the nuclear physics, subnuclear physics, and theoretical physics programs. For many years, these lectures were taught by one of the authors at this university, and naturally, over time, there arose an effort to provide these lectures to students in printed form.

In this textbook, we will focus mainly on classical field theory, its quantization based on the operator approach, and the introduction of interactions. Descriptions based on functional integration, Feynman diagram techniques, and more advanced parts will be covered in a subsequent volume of the textbook. In this context, we want to emphasize that in many modern quantum field theory textbooks, the operator approach is used to a lesser extent and is replaced by the approach using (functional) path integrals.

This is probably due to time considerations, as the functional approach leads much faster to practical calculations. On the other hand, we believe that the operator approach is better from a pedagogical point of view. It is much closer to the traditional quantum mechanics course, which is often based on the Schrödinger or Heisenberg formalism. Therefore, students can much more easily follow the flow of ideas that led to the construction of quantum field theory and its fundamental concepts.

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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.

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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.

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E-book

Vladimír Zeleňák (ed.)

The proceedings contain contributions from participants of the Student Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ in Košice, which took place on April 24, 2014.

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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.

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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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 Matúš Harminc 

Tento učebný text je určený poslucháčom medziodborového štúdia v kombináciách s matematikou, jednoodborového štúdia matematiky ako aj rozširujúceho štúdia matematiky. Je za-meraný na kvadratické kongruencie a niektoré diofantovské rovnice.

Autor

E-book

Jana Shepa (ed.)

The book of abstracts from the first year of the international conference Autumn electrochemical meeting is composed of contributions from the participants of this student conference.

The conference consisted of one invited lecture and six student lectures. The message of this meeting is to create a dialogue between students of electrochemistry and the mutual exchange of knowledge. All contributions are professionally processed and inspiring.

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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.

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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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