Tom 26 (2021): Zeszyt 1-2 (December 2021)

In 1800 Alessandro Volta published the results of several years’ work on the phenomenon of electric shocks which he experienced from physical contact with the terminals of his newly developed battery. His work was prompted by Luigi Galvani's explanation of involuntary muscle spasms in frog's legs, which he induced and attributed to animal electricity. Volta's paper opened the floodgates for research in the new field of electrochemistry which has resulted in today's worldwide electric battery industry. This essay explains the sequence of natural events and their explanations which led to the publication of Volta's paper, and gives an overview of the scientific research resulting from Volta's work. This research includes attempts to improve batteries, and the development of ideas which led to a better understanding of matter and the way it interacts with energy. Practical details for the teaching of several important chemical concepts are listed in the appendix. The experiments are related to a reaction which has been known for many centuries - that between iron and copper sulphate solution.

This work is devoted to examining civilisation's environmental consequences and the military confrontation between civilised and barbaric societies. The authors examine antique and ancient Chinese ideas about the phenomenon of barbarism, and also highlight common cultural features inherent in the Germans and Celts and opposed to Rome, and the Far Eastern nomads who were adjacent to imperial China. Moreover, the authors seek to analyse the substantial effects of civilisation on the environment and ecosystem. Having analysed the military potential of civilised societies, the authors come to the conclusion that the victory of barbarism is possible only in the case of civilisation internal collapse. The article outlines other important aspects, including the relationships between civilisation and war and between civilisation and the environment. It concludes with a discussion about rethinking and restructuring some of our perspectives on civilisation.

In recent years the monitoring of air quality using cheap sensors has become an interesting alternative to conventional analytical techniques. Apart from vast price differences conventional techniques need to be performed by the trained personnel of commercial or research laboratories. Sensors capable of measuring dust, ozone, nitrogen and sulphur oxides, or other air pollutants are relatively simple electronic devices, which are comparable in size to a mobile phone. They provide the general public with the possibility to monitor air quality which can contribute to various projects that differ in regional scale, commercial funding or community-base. In connection with the low price of sensors arises the question of the quality of measured data. This issue is addressed by a number of studies focused on comparing the sensor data with the data of reference measurements. Sensory measurement is influenced by the monitored analyte, type and design of the particular sensor, as well as by the measurement conditions. Currently sensor networks serve as an additional source of information to the network of air quality monitoring stations, where the density of the network provides concentration trends in the area that may exceed specific measured values of pollutant concentrations and low uncertainty of reference measurements. The constant development of all types of sensors is leading to improvements and the difference in data quality between sensors and conventional monitoring techniques may be reduced.

The aim of the study was to assess the contamination of selected heavy metals in cultivated soils of the Odra river floodplain. The heavy metals Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd and Pb were determined in soil samples collected in the autumn of 2020 - after the vegetation period of plants from designated measurement points. Concentrations of the analytes were measured using an atomic absorption spectrometer (F-ASA). A comparison was made between concentrations of heavy metals in soil samples collected from areas flooded in 1997 and from areas flooded as a result of rainfall, snowmelt and winter floods. The results of the studies were compared with the data for soils taken from non-flooded areas. The studies confirmed enrichment of soils subjected to precipitation, snowmelt and winter floods in heavy metals. Also samples taken from two measurement points located on floodplains of the Odra river were characterised by high concentrations of Zn, Cd and Pb.

The article demonstrates the results of the research studies related to the air polluted with heavy metals in the area of Swietokrzyski National Park. The two-year-old needles of Abies alba (Mill) were used as the bioindicator with the intention of carrying out the research. The studies were conducted in the autumn of 2012. The results showed the spatial variability of concentrations in the range of the analysed metal deposition patterns in the needles of Abies alba (Mill). The average content of the analysed elements seemed to be the highest in the case of zinc (26.6 mg·kg⁻¹ d.m.), strontium (6.5 mg·kg⁻¹ d.m.) and nickel (1.6 mg·kg⁻¹ d.m.). The research studies revealed that the significant role in determining the content of heavy metals in the two-year-old needles was played by the communication. The highest values were recorded at the research sites situated in the immediate neighbourhood of the voivodeship roads. It was also confirmed that the content of metals was influenced by the so-called low emission from the household and welfare sector together with the remote imission.

The article deals with learning using the project-based method in STEM education. The article describes the use of ICT technologies, specifically Raspberry Pi microcomputers in bending experiment. The bending experiment was designed for students of technically oriented high schools. Pedagogical research was conducted to determine whether the knowledge and skills of students who have been educated by the project-based method in STEM education are more complex, more systematic and more permanent than the knowledge and skills of students taught by standard forms of teaching. The article presents the results of pedagogical research, which lasted for three years. The results confirm that project-based learning and using ICT in STEM education developed complex knowledge and skills in STEM education. Comprehensive knowledge and problem-solving skills are important for the sustainable development of technological education.

One of the main purposes of textbooks is the mediation of educational content to students. The factual accuracy of information, as well as the clarity of the text for students plays a crucial role in this aspect. The inadequate text difficulty can complicate students' learning. Comparing different approaches to the text in textbooks, considering the objectives of education, represents key knowledge for teaching materials innovation. This research was therefore focused on the comparison of the Slovak and Canadian science textbooks for lower secondary education. The methodology for assessing text difficulty according to Nestler, Prucha and Pluskal was used for this purpose. The samples of text from the textbooks for 6th and 8th grade of lower-secondary school were assessed. It was found that the text in Slovak textbooks is significantly more difficult. While from the syntactic difficulty point of view differences were rather partial, the significant differences were found in the semantic difficulty of the text. The Slovak textbooks are burdened with an excessive number of professional terms. Considering the results in measuring scientific literacy, this approach to the text in the Slovak textbooks is not effective. The results obtained are therefore an incentive to revise used educational materials.

The paper follows the first author's continuous work on chemistry textbook analysis. In the previous paper published in CERP, attention was given to the procedure and results for analysing text-difficulty in lower-secondary chemistry textbooks in Czechia. In this paper, attention was given to non-chemical vocational school chemistry textbooks. They are intended for the most numerous group of upper-secondary students. The goal of the study was to assess the to what extent could students read the textbook texts on their own with appropriate understanding. Therefore, only the textual component was evaluated. The same method (Nestler-Prucha-Pluskal) as in the previous paper was used to analyse the textbooks’ text-difficulty (readability). The results show there are two books which are suitable for students’ own learning. However, there are four textbooks which contain text of high difficulty, including too many scientific terms that they are suitable as teacher's guide through terms rather than student's textbooks. The analysis may serve teachers with their textbook choice as well as researchers who operate in the same field who can easily adopt the methodology and compare results.

The role of catch crops in modern agriculture has increased in recent years. In addition to a production of animal feed, they have a positive impact on quality of soil. This study determined the suitability of selected stubble catch crops (white mustard, lacy phacelia, and a mixture of faba bean + spring vetch) to improve production, economic and energy effects of spring wheat grown in 3-year monoculture relative to the control treatment (without catch crops). Two tillage systems were used: conventional tillage and no-tillage (conservation tillage). A field study was conducted over the period 2014-2016 at the Czeslawice Experimental Farm, Lubelskie Voivodeship, Poland. The study proved the high suitability of catch crops to increase the spring wheat yields (under both tillage systems). Regardless of the catch crops, the productivity of wheat was higher under conventional tillage. The catch crops (in particular white mustard) and the conservation tillage system contributed to an improved energy efficiency index of production. The white mustard catch crop also had the most beneficial effect on the economic profitability of spring wheat production. This was due to the low cost of cultivation of this catch crop and its beneficial impact on obtaining high yields of spring wheat.

Epigenetics studies the inherited changes in a phenotype or in expression of genes caused by other mechanisms, without changing the nucleotide sequence of DNA. The most distinguished epigenetic tools are: modifications of histones, enzymatic DNA methylation, and gene silencing mediated by small RNAs (miRNA, siRNA). The resulting m5C residues in DNA substantially affect the cooperation of proteins with DNA. It is organized by hormones and aging-related alterations, one of the mechanisms controlling sex and cellular differentiation. DNA methylation regulates all genetic functions: repair, recombination, DNA replication, as well as transcription. Distortions in DNA methylation and other epigenetic signals lead to diabetes, premature aging, mental dysfunctions, and cancer.