Degenerative joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis, represent an increasingly serious problem for society, not only in elderly patients. Damage to tissue and its progressive degradation are a natural result of the ageing process, but other risk factors for the disease include lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet and obesity. Because of its special structure, cartilage can regenerate only to a small extent. Despite significant advances in medicine, still the gold standard in severe osteoarthritis remains the total joint replacement with implant.

Prof. Dr hab. Aleksandra Czyrska-Filemonowicz and mgr inż. Joanna Karbowniczek with Titan Cubed G2 60-300 microscope (photo by Michał Łepecki) The primary objective of the research project was to develop innovative biomaterials (such as bioactive composite coatings and polymer nanofibre scaffolds) designed to significantly improve the treatment of bone loss and degenerative bone and cartilage lesions. This was achieved through interdisciplinary research in cutting-edge materials science and stem cell-based tissue engineering. Detailed project objectives included producing of novel biomaterials followed by detailed qualitative and quantitative characterization of their micro- and nanostructure as well as their micromechanical properties. Additionally coatings adhesion strength and surface topography were examined; finally their biocompatibility was studied. The project postulated that a microporous composite coating, like PEEK/Bioglass (fabricated through electrophoretic deposition), or TiO2/Ca-P and TiO2/HAp (produced by plasma electrolytic oxidation), would improve the quality of the interface between titanium alloys and bone tissue. To test this hypothesis, basic research was conducted to determine the impact of the micro- and nanostructure, phase composition and porosity of surface-modified biomaterials on their bioactivity and biocompatibility.

Titanium alloys are the most frequently used materials in implant elements that come into direct contact with bone tissue, because of their high corrosion resistance, excellent mechanical properties, as well as low density. In addition, titanium alloys often undergo surface modification in order to facilitate post-surgery implant stabilization. The very first results of our research on surface-modified titanium implants showed a pressing need to expand the scope of the project, which found its reflection in a PhD dissertation prepared by Joanna Karbowniczek, MSc. Its goal was to design, produce and comprehensively characterize coatings used to improve the bioactivity and biocompatibility of titanium alloys. The coatings were produced through micro-arc oxidation (MAO) and electrophoretic deposition; different parameters of these two processes were tested. Optimization of the MAO process parameters allowed to obtain coatings with high surface roughness, porosity, good adhesion strength and outer layer composed of crystalline hydroxyapatite. During in vitro tests good bioactivity and biocompatibility of the coatings was confirmed. Their properties were studied using advanced techniques of microscopy, spectroscopy, and electron tomography. The use of the latest-generation analytical electron microscope (S)TEM FEI Titan Cubed 60-300 and its unique equipment, available at the International Centre of Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (IC-EM), allowed the cutting-edge methods of electron microscopy to be harnessed for the study of the micro- and nanostructure of biomaterials down to the hitherto inaccessible atomic scale. In addition, the project conducted a pioneering 3D visualisation study of the interface between the cells and the coating with the use of a focused-ion beam (FIB) scanning electron microscope.

Interdisciplinary research, combined with the latest achievements in various disciplines (such as materials science, biotechnology, tissue engineering), cutting-edge technologies (fabrication of coatings and cell scaffolds) and advanced research methods allowed objectives and the tasks of the project to be successfully completed. Its results were presented at international scientific congresses and conferences, and published in JCR-listed journals. Another tangible outcome of the project is the doctoral dissertation by Dr inż. Joanna Karbowniczek entitled "Microstructure, cellular response and selected properties of titanium based biomaterials applied in regenerative medicine of bone tissue and joints” (currently in its final elaboration).

Funded within the framework of the HARMONIA 3 programme, the project served as an excellent platform to establish new or deepen already existing international research co-operation. It was conducted in co-operation with Professor F. Rustichelli from Università Politecnica delle Marche (Ancona, Italy), Professor Aldo R. Boccaccini from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Erlangen, Germany), and Professor E. Amler from the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Prague, Czech Republic), as well as Professor H. Cimenoglu from the Istanbul Technical University (Istanbul, Turkey). An important factor that contributed to the successful accomplishment of project objectives was the vast research experience of project partners and the opportunity to use equipment available at foreign research institutions. The international experience gained by our research team made it possible to finally open a new Biomaterials Laboratory, which expanded the research and teaching offer of the Microscopy Centre and the Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science of the AGH University of Science and Technology.

Team of International Centre of Electron Microscopy for Materials Science during the project OPTYMED realisation (photo by Stanisław Malik, 2015)

The research project investigated structural fire safety in building. The investigation based on an originally-developed integrated computing system that employs fire simulation results to analyse the thermo-mechanical response of the structure. The computing system has been designed to support structural designers in important design decisions.

fot. Michał Łepecki The cognitive value of the research project resides in its comprehensive view of fire phenomena. Fire safety was assessed based on simulations that relied on three coupled physical models: hydrodynamic, heat flow and structural mechanics. It is contrary to the traditional approach, in which fire safety assessments do not consider the actual impact of the fire, but instead relies on standardized relationship between fire gas temperature and time.

A main part of an integrated computing system is the heat flow model that coupled fire simulations and thermo-mechanical response analyses. The validity of the model was verified experimentally. Both numerical and experimental tests adopted an innovative approach to describing thermal impacts, which relied on the concept of adiabatic surface temperature. An analytical solution to the adiabatic surface thermal equilibrium equation allowed to determine the boundary conditions in thermal analysis and facilitated the correlation of experimental data with the theoretical model.

Applying the newly-developed computing system to the analysis of the mechanical response of an actual building allows to consider a number of physical phenomena that directly affect its condition and cause structural deformations, but which are not taken into account in the traditional approach. This helped boost the cognitive potential of the project and allowed for a more complete analysis, which in turn makes it possible to carry out more accurate safety level assessments.

­­­­­­­­­­­Against the masculinist landscape of the first decades of the 20th century, Polish military masculinity stands out not only for its special historical image, but also its political status. In the period leading up to the First World War, Polish culture did not employ the tripartite reference system state – nation – politics that had shaped western conceptions of "classical" militarism and masculinism. Polish military masculinity had to constitute itself in isolation from its own state structures, in the shadow of strong partitioning powers and their hegemonic masculinities, but continued a national heroic tradition and thus reflected the mental structures of long duration.

The objective of the research project carried out in 2014-2017 was to describe how Polish masculinity was constructed in the period leading up to the Great War, in the conditions of dependence from partitioning powers with their own consolidated military traditions and institutions, and to analyse the war experience of Polish soldiers from the perspective of the history of masculinity (taking into account, on the one hand, the "elitist" character of the Polish Legions, and on the other, the mass recruitment of soldiers to fight for the partitioning powers). The research project also investigated the role of military masculinity in the new state, both in the 1920s and during the remilitarization of Europe (in the following decade), which culminated in the outbreak of the Second World War. Cultural and political processes were discussed to contextualize a reflection on masculinity in the wartime constellation of power – body – emotions and an interpretation of literary works and selected pieces of visual art that manifested, and at the same time deconstructed, military masculinity. The methodology behind the interpretation treated cultural texts as sources of knowledge about gender constructions, archives attesting to the continuity of cultural myths, media "agents" participating in the discursive processes of the "formation" of military masculinity, but also as a platform where its patterns, norms and staging forms are critically analysed and deconstructed.

Photo by Michał Łepecki The project provided a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of soldiership in the context of the First World War, presented in a monograph entitled Habitus żołnierski w literaturze i kulturze polskiej w kontekście Wielkiej Wojny [The Soldier's Habitus in Polish Literature and Culture in the Context of the Great War] (Kraków: Universitas 2017) and ten articles in collective volumes and journals, mainly on the international forum. The imperatives of the national liberation struggle, which implied the need for military action and problematized pacifism, caused Polish literature to get "implicated in soldiership". However, it featured not only images of incontrovertible heroes, "mad patriots", but also images of active participation in the "craft" of killing, anti-heroism and oppression. A critical interpretation of the heroic paradigm and the inclusion of a broad spectrum of material allowed cultural texts to be probed for the aporias, conflicts and contradictions inherent in the construction of military masculinity, made up of actions and interactions, bodies and discourses, and constituted by media texts and images. The military habitus is strictly linked to the national habitus, creating an intersectional construction built from historical, geographical, mental, social, local and situational elements, a combination of factors supplied by culture, history, ideology and geography. A characteristic feature of Polish military masculinity, which resurges and regenerates over and over again due to anachronistic memorial discourses still preserved in the national imaginary and continues to influence the gender system, is  a specific meaning attributed todeath and sacrifice. The analysis of war and postwar culture leads to  the conclusion that patterns of military masculinity may be renegotiated in different historical situations. Narrations in which masculinity is functionalized, dehumanized or humiliated in a war or peace context cannot compete against the appeal of the figure of the soldier, the uniform and the military parade. Masculinist cultural norms display immense generative power, which is why knowing the history of Polish masculinity and its cultural representations allows us to better appreciate the importance of masculine patterns for Polish culture and mentality and to understand their contemporary emanations.

The purpose of the project was to study specific pathways along which viruses can quickly spread between cells. Viruses may infect susceptible cells from the outside, binding to their surface receptors and gradually penetrating into their interior. Inside the cell, these viral molecules fall apart and release genetic material (DNA or RNA), which is then replicated, followed by the synthesis of viral proteins; new viral molecules are then formed, which can travel out and infect more cells. However, some viruses are also able to penetrate neighbouring cells without being released into the extracellular environment. To do so, they use sites of direct contact between adjacent cells or various intercellular connections. This direct transmission pathway allows them to spread faster and avoid contact with antibodies and immune cells. For some enveloped viruses (e.g. HIV, measles, human leukaemia virus), cell-to-cell spread has been shown to account for perhaps more than 60% of all infections. Targeting the cell-to-cell transmission mechanism is thus being hailed as a promise of important new treatments, especially for neurological disorders.

Our project focuses primarily on herpesviruses, which persist in the host in latent form for a lifetime after primary infection and may reactivate multiple times, which means they must particularly good at evading the host’s immune response (at primary infection). Around 80% of the human population is chronically infected with at least two viruses from the family, such as the herpes virus (HSV-1) or the cytomegalovirus (CMV), although in most people the infection is latent and asymptomatic. Herpesvirus strains with an impaired ability to spread via the cell-to-cell pathway are not pathogenic and can be used as vaccines against animal herpesviruses. However, no similar strains have been obtained for human herpesviruses. Another research model we used was the hepatitis C virus (HCV), one of the most dangerous human pathogens, which is very difficult to cultivate in a lab and mutates quickly, which has stalled any efforts to create an effective vaccine thus far. Our knowledge of the process by which the HCV enters host cells has increased, but it is still far from fully understood. It is only recently that it was discovered that the virus is also able to spread directly from cell to cell without being released into the extracellular environment.

Our methodology involves producing virus mutants, modifying genes involved in cell-to-cell transmission, studying their purified products, and analysing their mutual interactions and important functional domains. In an important experiment, we were able to directly track the movements of viruses in live cells, using fluorescent-labelled, “glowing” specimens constructed in our labs. This allowed us to show, for instance, that herpesviruses can travel between distant cells via long and thin projections, known as tunnelling nanotubes, which serve as specialised bridges and were only identified in recent years. What is more, we managed to demonstrate that the presence of the virus stimulates the formation of such intercellular connections and one of the viral kinases is involved in the process. This was an important discovery because, until then, this pathway had only been observed for HIV and some RNA viruses. The findings of our study were published in the Journal of Virology (DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00090-18). 

We also identified a number of cell proteins that interact directly with glycoprotein gE, an envelope protein of an animal herpesvirus (BHV-1), which is essential for its rapid transmission, and developed new methods for measuring the speed of cell-to-cell spread. Our findings indicate that this pathway is frequently used in the course of natural infection.

Intercellular transport of fluorescent labelled particles of BHV-1 virus through tunnelling nanotubes. Green marker: GFP, fused to the capsid; red marker: mitochondria We are particularly interested in the still poorly-studied issue of how viruses are transported between cells of various lineages (e.g. epithelial cells that line the infected organs) and blood cells. Studying the molecular mechanisms that allow viruses to quickly spread between cells may be crucial for developing new methods to control viral infections. As a follow-up to this study, we are now planning to look into the cell-to-cell spread mechanisms of coronaviruses. To date, very few preliminary reports exist on this transmission pathway for viruses from this family. Considering how effective the SARS-CoV2 virus is at infecting a variety of organs (not only the lungs, but also the intestines, kidneys and heart), it may be assumed to rely on the same transmission mechanism. This is the subject of our next NCN project, which will be carried out under PRELUDIUM BIS. The project aims to identify the transport pathways of coronaviruses between nearby and distant cells, initially based on a murine model of MHV, with a focus on the transmission of the virus between different types of infected and non-infected cells via intercellular connections. Until now, we have managed to adapt our lab to meet the security standards for working with SARS-CoV2, which will allow us to experiment with human coronaviruses. Our research experience, as well as the methodology we developed in our MAESTRO project, are now being put to use in our research on the SARS-CoV2 virus.

The last three decades around the world have brought a number of new monographs devoted to the cultural dimension of early cinema, the high-circulation illustrated press published at the turn of the 19th and the 20th centuries, the phenomenon of department stores, suspense novels, the urban iconosphere and entertainment parks. Not only do they allow us to study the history of mass media, but they also show the cultural dimension of modernization. In Poland, however, new approaches to pre-1989 Polish popular culture have been few and far between, which means that researchers tend to rely on the history of popular culture in Western Europe and the US. However, it is difficult to describe its development in our country without the use of local materials and a theoretical reflection that would take into account the local context.

Fot. Michał Łepecki. Wnętrza do sesji udostępnił Fotoplastikon Warszawski, oddział Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego. The purpose of the research project entitled "History of popular culture in Poland in the first half of the 20th century from the perspective of transmediality" was to collect and make available a variety of materials pertinent to the popular culture of the first half of the 20th century, to develop an approach based on contemporary research methodology, but also to revive the Polish tradition of cultural studies and their reflection on popular culture. The project adopted a transmedial perspective, which allowed light to be shed on the relationships between content circulated in different media and placed the pop culture of the period in the context of broader civilizational changes. This entailed a shift away from traditional, trite conceptualizations based on a dichotomy between the high- and the low-brow, which are focused on a narrow section of popular culture that could be subsumed under the scope of traditional disciplines (such as literature or film studies) and study culture in isolation from other areas of social reality. The new perspective also allowed for comparative studies analysing the well-described cultures of other regions of Europe.

The project was conducted by the SWPS University in partnership with researchers from the University of Łódź and the University of Warsaw, and in cooperation with Centrum Cyfrowe [Digital Centre]. The research team consisted of Dr Hab. Mirosław Filiciak (principal investigator) and Dr Łukasz Biskupski from the SWPS University, Dr Justyna Jaworska and Dr Piotr Morawski from the University of Warsaw, and Dr Piotr Olkusz, Dr Michał Pabiś-Orzeszyna, Dr Monika Wąsik, and Mgr Monika Rawska from the University of Łódź.

Photo by Michał Łepecki. The photo shoot was organized at Fotoplastikon Warszawski, branch of the Warsaw Uprising Museum The project included an international workshop entitled "Transmediality in Modern Popular Culture”, organized during the NECS – European Network for Cinema and Media Studies 2015 conference. A symposium has also been held dedicated to the "POP-PL Popular Culture in Poland before 1939". Presentations delivered at these events by Polish and foreign experts were published in two issues of "Kultura popularna", an open-access quarterly devoted to cultural studies. Alongside the official project website, the SWPS University launched a number of open online archives hosted on its servers: a "Paper bandits" database, containing a bibliography of Polish pulp fiction published before WWII, a database with scans of all the issues of the "Organ" (an art bimonthly published in the Polish territory between 1910 and 1915), as well as a "Silver Screen" database of sources devoted to the film culture of the interwar period in Poland. Three books were published: a monograph by Łukasz Biskupski, entitled Kinofilia zaangażowana. Stowarzyszenie miłośników filmu artystycznego „Start” i upowszechnianie kultury filmowej w latach 30 XX w. [Engaged Cinephilia. The "Start" Association of Art Film Lovers and the Dissemination of Film Culture in the 1930s], a collection Papierowi bandyci. Wypisy z polskojęzycznych powieści obiegu brukowego do 1939 r. [Paper Bandits. Selections from pre-1939 Polish-Language Pulp Fiction Novels], edited by Łukasz Biskupski and Monika Rawska, and an anthology of primary sources, Teatry dla masowej publiczności [Mass-Audience Theatres], edited by Piotr Olkusz and Monika Wąsik. We also handed out awards for the best MA and BA theses devoted to Polish popular culture in the interwar period.

Photo-based facial recognition systems currently attract the attention of researchers all around the world. Their wide appeal no doubt has to do with their multiple applications, as they can be used, e.g. in security systems (for access control), the search for missing or wanted persons, as well as border control. Their development has intensified over the past two decades thanks to the ever wider availability of IT technologies, the ubiquity of surveillance cameras, increased computing power and improvements in data analysis methods, which allow the amount of information processed in digital images to be reduced.

Photo by Michał Łepecki The purpose of the project was to study and develop innovative and original applications of granular computing methods to the biometric classification of people based on digital face images, with a special emphasis on linguistic modelling and linguistic descriptors, as well as local descriptors (Chain Code-Based Local Descriptors). Facial recognition requires highly complex computer techniques, as it needs to take into account a variety of factors that considerably affect the appearance of the human face, such as, to name but a few, the aging process, various natural and unnatural changes in the facial skeleton, face positioning, facial expressions, lighting, covered up parts, and even something as trivial as photo quality. Available recognition methods usually prove quite effective, but, unfortunately, only under nearly ideal test conditions, i.e. when tested with the use of photos gleaned from publicly available databases, in which all faces are lit in a similar way and successive shots of a given person are taken within a short time span. In this context, the research team proposed a theoretical study and implementation of new and original face classification algorithms, based on innovative granular computing methods and enriched with expert knowledge and psychological research on the importance of specific face parts in facial recognition in humans. This additional reliance on human cognitive processes in automatic face recognition was a crucial aspect of the project.

Photo by Michał Łepecki The main outcomes of the project include:

• an effective local descriptor: Chain Code-Based Local Descriptor,
• methods for weighting the importance of individual face parts in the recognition process and describing traits used in classification process with linguistic descriptors and the tools of decision theory, such as AHP,
• a method for setting the optimal function parameters to aggregate the results of classifiers built for different face parts and based on different classification methods,
• an analysis of the effectiveness of different aggregation functions, including the Choquet integral and its generalizations, in the classification process,
• a proposal of graphical interfaces for selected decision theory tools.