REPOSITORY
THE NICOLAUS COPERNICUS UNIVERSITY
IN TORUŃ
is an institutional repository of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. The task of the Repository is to promote scientific achievements and research conducted at NCU and to support teaching.
Recent Submissions
Teaching Archival Science in Poland: Historical and Contemporary Contexts and Current Challenges
(Litwin Books, 2026-04) Wiśniewska-Drewniak, Magdalena; Rosa, Agnieszka; Jabłońska, Marlena
This chapter examines the historical development and contemporary challenges of teaching archival science in Poland, with a primary focus on Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) in Toruń as the leading center. Archival education traces its roots to the interwar period and post-World War II university programs integrated with history studies, evolving into independent bachelor's and master's degrees in "Archival Science and Records Management" launched at NCU in 2006-2007, following the Bologna Process and a national model of professional competencies developed in 2009. Today, NCU offers the standalone archival program emphasizing modules in archives, records management, history, law, digital systems, and practical training - including mandatory internships, archival tours, and emerging micro-credentials. Despite free public higher education and growing interdisciplinarity, key challenges persist: recruitment hurdles with "ghost students" and high dropout rates, the COVID-19 shift to hybrid teaching, and the lack of formal recognition for archival science as an autonomous discipline, forcing scholars into history frameworks that constrain research on contemporary issues. Drawing on the authors' direct involvement in curriculum design and NCU's programs, the analysis highlights student demands for more practical skills and "future competencies" (e.g., ICT, critical thinking), as revealed in graduate surveys. It advocates modernizing curricula through practitioner involvement, program flexibility, and promotion of archival careers amid labor market shifts, while preserving NCU's long tradition of excellence to ensure relevance in a digital, multifaceted archival landscape.
Contemporary Vestals in the Masterchef’s Kitchen: Doing and Undoing Gender in Domestic Food Practices
(International Sociological Association, 2026-04-10) Maj, Agnieszka; Goszczyński, Wojciech; Wójtewicz, Anna
This article aims to analyse how domestic food practices, along with the associated motivations and behaviour
patterns, either reinforce or challenge binary gender models in households. The theoretical framework
is based on Harold Garfinkel’s (1967) concept of ‘doing gender’ and contemporary studies (Ehlert, 2021;
Pettersson & Heldt, 2014; Szabo, 2014) that highlight tensions between cultural patterns defining gender roles
in the kitchen and phenomena contributing to the blurring of gender inequalities in everyday life. Qualitative
data (individual in-depth interviews) collected in two separate studies conducted in Poland between 2020
and 2022 were used as the research material. The analysis of this material reveals two key figures: the Vestal,
referring to women who assume responsibility for others and are focused on the domestic hearth, and the
Masterchef, who is typically male and engages in cooking only occasionally. Emerging trends, such as men’s
increasing attention to the body and food, the growing importance of declaring shared responsibilities, and
shifting attitudes towards cooking as a leisure activity, do not yet appear to be leading to fundamental changes
in the processes through which gender is constructed or deconstructed in relation to domestic life and food
practices.
Therapeutic oligonucleotide (nusinersen) metabolism in cerebrospinal fluid samples of patients with spinal muscular atrophy based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry data
(Elsevier, 2026-03) Studzińska, Sylwia; Lemska, Anna; Szymarek, Jakub; Mazurkiewicz-Bełdzińska, Maria
Background: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe genetic neuromuscular disorder caused by a deficiency of the survival motor neuron protein. The introduction of antisense oligonucleotide therapy has markedly improved prognosis, particularly following approval of Nusinersen (Spinraza), the first SMA drug. Although modified with 2′-O-methoxyethyl and phosphorothioate groups, nusinersen is metabolized. Comprehensive characterization of these metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid is limited due to analytical challenges associated with antisense oligonucleotides. This study aimed to develop a first liquid-liquid/solid-phase extraction procedure combined with ion-pair ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for the extraction, separation, and identification of nusinersen and its metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid samples from SMA patients treated with Spinraza.
Results: A two-step sample preparation procedure provided high nusinersen recovery (89.2±1.8%), repeatability, eliminated matrix effects, and enabled 50-fold sample concentration. All of these proved essential for the detection and identification of low-abundance metabolites collected four months after dosing. Reliable metabolite identification requires sufficient chromatographic resolution, especially for metabolites differing by a single nucleotide with similar nominal m/z values. Consequently, careful ion-pair reagent selection and MS optimization are crucial for improving separation and sensitivity to detect low-abundance metabolites. Our results showed that propylamine and dimethylbutylamine may be used interchangeably, but the second one provides higher resolution. Accurate mass measurement and characteristic fragment ions derived from methylated nucleobases and phosphorothioate groups ensured reliable identification. Analysis of CSF samples from 17 pediatric SMA (at various dosing stages) patients revealed extensive in vivo metabolism, predominantly via 3′-exonucleolytic cleavage, yielding multiple N-shortmers. For the first time, interpatient variability was observed in nusinersen detectability and metabolite profiles of CSF samples.
Significance: To our knowledge, this is one of the first comprehensive studies demonstrating the applicability of the developed procedure to observe differences in the metabolism of nusinersen and, in the future, linking them to therapeutic effects, therapeutic monitoring, or the patient’s condition. The methodology addresses key bioanalytical challenges (reproducibility, purification, concentration, separation) and enables metabolite profiling in a complex biological matrix. Moreover, it provides a foundation for future investigations linking metabolism, drug exposure, and clinical response in SMA therapy.
Excess work incapacity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland: evidence from population-level social insurance data
(2026-03-23) Łyszczarz, Błażej; Wojtasik, Jakub
Background: COVID-19 disrupted occupational health and social protection systems; but, evidence on its medium- and long-term effects on work incapacity remains limited.
Objective: To quantify excess temporary and permanent work incapacity in Poland during and after the COVID-19 pandemic using population-level social insurance data.
Methods: This observational study used quarterly Social Insurance Institution administrative data (2015–2024) on rehabilitation benefits and disability pensions, by sex and ICD-10 chapter. Expected pre-pandemic trends (2015–2019) were modelled using log-linear regression. Excess incapacity for 2020–2024 was identified by comparing expected to observed incapacity rates.
Results: Temporary work incapacity increased substantially and remained elevated, resulting in 104,392 more rehabilitation benefits than expected, mostly after the acute pandemic phase. The largest increases occurred for mental disorders (over-80% above expected levels by late 2024) and musculoskeletal diseases, particularly among men (over-30% in some periods). In contrast, permanent work incapacity declined below expected levels, with 49,281 fewer disability pensions awarded, predominantly among men. The largest reductions were observed for circulatory diseases (up to 27% below expected levels) and neoplasms (19%), while musculoskeletal conditions were the only group with excess permanent incapacity, primarily affecting women.
Conclusions: Our findings reveal a divergence between excess temporary work incapacity and reduced permanent disability, likely reflecting the combined effects of health system disruption, delays in benefit adjudication, and pandemic-related mortality displacement. These results have implications for social insurance and rehabilitation policies, underscoring the need to strengthen mental health care, return-to-work pathways and monitoring of disability adjudication.
Once Again, Evictionism Is Not a Solution: Response to Professor Walter Block
(2025) Dominiak, Łukasz
The present paper argues that Professor Walter Block’s evictionism is not a solution to the abortion dilemma. Being a response to Professor Block’s recent article published in this journal, my piece submits (in some respects once again) that evictionism should be rejected because contrary to what it claims: (1) the unwanted fetus is not a trespasser; (2) there are insufficient reasons to support the premise that our life and thus our concomitant self-ownership status begins at the moment of conception; (3) evictionism entails positive duties; (4) evictionism conflicts with the homestead principle; (5) instead of being an original solution to the abortion dilemma, evictionism collapses into a well-known doctrine of doing and allowing; and (6) eviction is not the gentlest way possible of securing the woman’s rights.