The Wojciech Kętrzyński Northern Institute

Introduction: Whiplash injuries are one of the most prevalent consequences of traffic collisions and are associated with a wide range of conditions referred to as whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). These manifestations are most commonly associated with pain and limited mobility of the cervical spine. A growing number of research indicates that these injuries may also impair the function of the temporomandibular joints (TMJs), thereby contributing to the development of their subsequent disorders. The aim of the study: The objective of the study was to discuss the correlations and dependency between whiplash injury and temporomandibular joint function. Acquiring this knowledge enables specialists to make precise diagnoses and implement appropriate therapeutic procedures, thereby reducing the risk of misdiagnosis or misdiagnosis omissions. Materials and methods: The following literature review provides a comprehensive discussion of the association between whiplash injuries and temporomandibular joint function. In December 2025, an extensive search of prominent electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar) was undertaken in order to identify relevant published studies on this subject. Conclusions: Studies indicate that whiplash injury may impair TMJ function and contribute to the development of TMJ disorders. The mechanisms underlying this relationship may be functional or neurophysiological in nature, but remain under investigation.Symptoms may be transient or persist long-term for several years, underscoring the necessity for a holistic diagnosis and an interdisciplinary therapeutic approach in patients after whiplash injury.

Pleurotus ostreatus is one of the most frequently cultivated mushroom species. It has attracted considerable attention not only because of its short cultivation time, but also because of the wide range of substrates on which it can be cultivated, such as lignocellulosic materials, synthetic polymers and wastewater. The popularity of the oyster mushroom stems not only from its rapid growth and high adaptability, but also from its functional ingredients, which include laccase, proteoglycan and β-glucan. As understanding the molecular biology of Pleurotus ostreatus is crucial for evaluating its commercial and scientific applications, modern molecular tools have been used to search for the genes and proteins involved in the development of this mushroom and production of valuable metabolites. The rapid development of artificial intelligence may make it possible to automate and optimize the entire cultivation process of Pleurotus ostreatus. This report summarizes the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus using waste raw materials, the nutritional and medicinal value for applications, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses and the use of artificial intelligence systems. In addition, future perspectives are discussed to make the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus environmentally friendly and to ensure an increase in its productivity and quality.

Cannabis is one of the most studied psychoactive substances due to its increasing prevalence and evolving legal status. Of particular concern is the rising consumption among young individuals, where excessive use may disrupt reproductive processes and pose long-term health risks to offspring. This narrative review examines the effects of cannabis use on male and female reproductive health, including its impact on male fertility, the female reproductive system, placental function, and prenatal and postnatal outcomes, as well as fetal development. A nonsystematic review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases in November 2024. After screening titles and abstracts and the full-text analysis, 64 studies were included in this narrative review. In men, cannabinoids can interfere with spermatogenesis, reduce sperm motility and quality, and lower testosterone levels, as demonstrated in clinical and experimental studies. In women, cannabinoid-induced disorders include negative effects on ovarian follicle maturation, ovulation, placental function, and prenatal development. Prenatal exposure to cannabis is associated with the risk of reduced birth weight, birth defects, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or lactation problems due to the penetration of cannabis metabolites into breast milk. The findings highlight the potential negative effects of cannabis on reproductive health and fetal development. Given these risks, individuals attempting to conceive, and pregnant women should be advised against cannabis use. Greater awareness is needed among healthcare professionals and the public regarding the reproductive risks associated with cannabis consumption. While the evidence on teratogenic effects is not always conclusive, caution should be exercised, and further research is essential to deepen the understanding of these effects.

The present article concentrates on an innovative analysis that was performed to assess the development of the femur in human fetuses using artificial intelligence. As a prerequisite, linear dimensions, cross-sectional surface areas and volumes of the femoral shaft primary ossification center in 47 human fetuses aged 17–30 weeks, originating from spontaneous miscarriages and preterm deliveries, were evaluated with the use of advanced imaging techniques such as computed tomography and digital image analysis. In order to ensure the data representativeness and to avoid introducing any hidden structures that may exist in the data, the entire dataset was randomized and separated into three subsets: training (50% of cases), testing (25% of cases), and validation (25% of cases). Based on the collected numerical data, an artificial neural network was devised, trained, and subject to testing in order to synchronously estimate five parameters of the femoral shaft primary ossification center, thus leveraging fundamental information such as gestational age and femur length. The findings reveal the formulated multi-layer perceptron model denoted as MLP 2-3-2-5 to exhibit robust predictive efficacy, as evidenced by the linear correlation coefficient between actual values and network outputs: R = 0.955 for the training dataset, R = 0.942 for validation, and R = 0.953 for the testing dataset. The authors have cogently demonstrated that the use of an artificial neural network to assess the growing femur in the human fetus may be a valuable tool in prenatal tests, enabling medical doctors to quickly and precisely assess the development of the fetal femur and detect potential anatomical abnormalities.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Efficient non-invasive blood-based biomarkers for CRC early detection and prognosis are urgently needed. To identify novel potential plasma biomarkers, we applied a proximity extension assay (PEA), an antibody-based proteomics strategy to quantify the abundance of plasma proteins in CRC development and cancer-associated inflammation from few μL of plasma sample. Among the 690 quantified proteins, levels of 202 plasma proteins were significantly changed in CRC patients compared to age-and-sex-matched healthy subjects. We identified novel protein changes involved in Th17 activity, oncogenic pathways, and cancer-related inflammation with potential implications in the CRC diagnosis. Moreover, the interferon γ (IFNG), interleukin (IL) 32, and IL17C were identified as associated with the early stages of CRC, whereas lysophosphatidic acid phosphatase type 6 (ACP6), Fms-related tyrosine kinase 4 (FLT4), and MANSC domain-containing protein 1 (MANSC1) were correlated with the late-stages of CRC. Further study to characterize the newly identified plasma protein changes from larger cohorts will facilitate the identification of potential novel diagnostic, prognostic biomarkers for CRC.

Staphylococcus aureus strains are particularly often isolated from patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of the current research was to determine whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection affects the protein profile of S. aureus. Bacteria were isolated from the forty swabs collected from the patients in the hospitals of the Pomeranian region. MALDI-TOF MS spectra were obtained using a Microflex LT instrument. Twenty-nine peaks were identified. The peak (2,430) is described here for the first time and was unique for the isolates from patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These results support the hypothesis of bacterial adaptation to the conditions caused by viral infection.

W artykule została zaprezentowana sylwetka inżyniera Aleksandra Zubelewicza – pierwszego powojennego naczelnika wydziału komunikacyjnego Urzędu Pełnomocnika Rządu RP na Okręg Mazurski i Urzędu Wojewódzkiego w Olsztynie. Aleksander Zubelewicz był absolwentem Instytutu Technologicznego w Petersburgu. W okresie międzywojennym pracował m.in. jako dyrektor Dyrekcji Robót Publicznych w Nowogródku i w Wilnie oraz w charakterze naczelnika wydziału komunikacyjnego Urzędu Wojewódzkiego w Wilnie. Oprócz pracy zawodowej angażował się społecznie zarówno przed jak i po II wojnie światowej. Działał m.in. na rzecz rozwoju turystyki i krajoznawstwa, a po wielkiej powodzi jaka dotknęła Wilno w 1931 r. w ramach Komisji Technicznej Komitetu Ratowania Bazyliki Wileńskiej nadzorował prace budowlane w Katedrze Wileńskiej. Tekst stanowi przyczynek do dalszych badań nad dziejami elit przybyłych z Wileńszczyzny na Warmię i Mazury po II wojnie światowej.

Setna rocznica traktatu ryskiego to doskonała okazja do przypomnienia opinii, refleksji i wspomnień osób wywodzących się z ziem, które po 18 marca 1921 r. znalazły się w granicach Rosji Sowieckiej. Jedną z nich jest Michał Kryspin Pawlikowski, publicysta, dziennikarz i urzędnik pochodzący z Mińszczyzny. Jego opinie, często formułowane już po II wojnie światowej są pozbawione zbędnego sentymentalizmu i patosu. Spostrzeżenia publicysty nie straciły na aktualności pomimo upływu stu lat. Pawlikowski zawarł je w dwóch powieściach autobiograficznych, licznych artykułach prasowych oraz wydawnictwach publicystycznych. Wypada cieszyć się, że zwłaszcza w ostatnim dziesięcioleciu twórczość Michała Kryspina Pawlikowskiego, uważnego obserwatora wydarzeń dziejowych I połowy XX wieku jest sukcesywnie przypominana.

The Polish Academic Community in the Republic of LithuaniaIn this article the author presents the results of his research conducted during a scholarship at the Lithuanian Institute of History in Vilnius in autumn 2011. The study describes the activity of the Polish academic community in Lithuania, gathered mainly in the Association of Polish Scientists in Lithuania and in several academic centers of Vilnius. The author discusses their initiatives, such as the establishment of the Polish University in Vilnius or the creation of a subsidiary of the University of Białystok. He also focuses on the role of the University of Vilnius and the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences. The article is based on print sources – books, academic journals and the Polish-language press in Lithuania – as well as in-depth interviews with a number of representatives of the Polish academic community in the country.

To determine if occupational exposure to dioxins is associated with an increased frequency of t(14;18) translocations. A cross-sectional analysis of serum dioxin levels and t(14;18) frequencies in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 218 former chemical plant workers and 150 population controls. The workers had significantly higher geometric mean serum levels of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (26.2 vs 2.5 ppt) and TEQ (73.8 vs 17.7 ppt) than controls. There were no significant differences in the prevalence or frequency of t(14;18) translocations in the workers compared to controls. Among former workers with current or past chloracne who were t(14;18) positive, the frequency of translocations significantly increased with quartiles of 2,3,7,8-TCDD and TEQ. Chloracne appears to modulate the association between dioxin exposure and increased frequency of t(14;18) translocations.