Association of the Polish academic youth in Lithuania in 1926-1938

Upon the institution of the Lithuanian University in Kowno (Kaunas), graduates of three Polish gymnasiums (in Kowno, Poniewież, Wiłkomierz) faced an opportunity to undertake higher education. At the same time, many young Poles who were born in Lithuania studied abroad, mostly in Austria, Belgium and France. For obvious reasons, they made attempts to establish their own organizations and associations. This trend was highly diverse in structural terms, which made it difficult to cooperate. In Kowno alone, three such establishments were created: Union of Polish Students of the Lithuanian University (now Vytautas Magnus University), the Students' Corporation "Lauda", and the Union of Polish Girl Students of the Lithuanian University "Znicz". Nonetheless, there were various establishments for Polish students from Lithuania, and this situation not only led to a fragmentation of Polish academia, but it even faced disintegration and internal disputes. This happened when the World Union of Poles Abroad (Warsaw) recommended that fellow Poles living abroad consolidate as much as possible and cooperate in one uniform system of organization. This idea, despite enmity between Poland and Lithuania, would reach as far as Kowno. Such an attempt was made despite some resistance from some youth activists in the latter half of the 1920s. It followed from the fear that other new organizations might appear and make it even more difficult to collaborate, whereas existing ones were not keen on relinquishing the autonomy they already had. In order to avoid this kind of controversy, the idea emerged to establish a federation that would not abolish existing student institutions, but would unite them in one principal organization. To this end, on 27-28 August 1927, a congress of Polish youth from Lithuania was organized. The event proved very successful because a new organization was established: the Union of Polish Academic Youth in Lithuania (ZPMAL). The basis of its functioning was defined by the statute, which consolidated all Polish university students living in Lithuania. As the central body, the Union was to coordinate common activities and safeguard the ideological profile of its members and take care of the Polish minority. While leaving the structure of existing units intact, the statute obliged their members to be members of the ZPMAL at the same time. Although the ZPMAL met all required changes stipulated in the statute, it was dissolved on 10 January 1938. Attempts at reversing this decision were ultimately rejected on 6 April 1938, and this date is regarded as the day of the final closure. Keywords: Poland; Lithuania; Kowno; Polish students; consolidation attempts

Association of the Polish Academic Youth in Lithuania in 1926–1938

Wraz z powstaniem Litewskiego Uniwersytety w Kownie (1922) wśród absolwentów polskich trzech gimnazjów (Kowno, Poniewież, Wiłkomierz) pojawiła się okazja podjęcia studiów wyższych. Jednocześnie wielu młodych Polaków z terenów Litwy studiowało w uczelniach zagranicznych, szczególnie w Austrii, Belgi i Francji. Z oczywistych względów młodzież ta podejmowała próby zakładania własnych organizacji i stowarzyszeń. Ruch ten charakteryzował się dużą różnorodnością organizacyjną, co utrudniało wspólne działanie. W samym Kownie powstały 3 tego rodzaju placówki: Zjednoczenie Studentów Polaków Uniwersytetu Litewskiego (Witolda Wielkiego), Korporacja ,,Lauda” oraz Związek Studentek Polek Uniwersytetu Witolda Wielkiego ,,Znicz”. Niezależnie od tego w uczelniach zagranicznych działały odrębne placówki skupiające polskich studentów z Litwy. Sytuacja ta powodowała nie tylko rozproszenie polskiego ruchu akademickiego, ale groziła nawet jego rozbiciem, a także wewnętrznymi sporami. Działo się to w czasie, gdy Światowy Związek Polaków Zagranicą w Warszawie zalecał rodakom żyjącym na obczyźnie jak największą konsolidacje i wspólne działanie w jednym, zwartym systemie organizacyjnym. Idea ta mimo wrogości w stosunkach litewsko-polskich docierała także do Kowna. Mimo pewnych oporów wśród niektórych działaczy młodzieżowych w drugiej połowie lat 20. pojawiła się taka próba. Wynikała ona z obawy, że nadal mogły powstawać nowe organizacje i jeszcze bardziej utrudniać wspólne działanie, ale i te, które już istniały, nie zawsze chciały rezygnować z posiadanej już samodzielności. Żeby uniknąć tego rodzaju kontrowersji, pojawiła się myśl założenia federacyjnego związku, który nie likwidowałby istniejących placówek studenckich, a tylko jednoczył je w jednej naczelnej organizacji. W tym celu 27 i 28 sierpnia 1927 r. w Kownie zwołano zjazd polskiej młodzieży z Litwy. Zjazd okazał się wielkim osiągnięciem, gdyż udało się powołać do życia nową organizację o nazwie Związek Polskiej Młodzieży Akademickiej Litwy (ZPMAL). Podstawy działalności nowego Związku określał statut, który jednoczył we wspólnym działaniu całą polską młodzież akademicką z Litwy. Związek jako placówka centralna miał koordynować wspólne działania oraz dbać o oblicze ideowe członków i udział w życiu mniejszości polskiej na Litwie. Statut nie naruszał jednak struktury istniejących już placówek, zobowiązując jedynie ich członków do jednoczesnego należenia do ZPMAL. Organizacja mimo spełnienia wszelkich wymagań dotyczących zmian w statucie 10 stycznia 1938 r. została zlikwidowana. Próby dotyczące cofnięcia tej decyzji spotkały się z odmową, którą wydano 6 kwietnia 1938 r., dzień ten uznany jest jako ostateczna data zamknięcia Związku.Upon the institution of the Lithuanian University in Kowno (Kaunas), graduates of three Polish gymnasiums (in Kowno, Poniewież, Wiłkomierz) faced an opportunity to undertake higher education. At the same time, many young Poles who were born in Lithuania studied abroad, mostly in Austria, Belgium and France. For obvious reasons, they made attempts to establish their own organizations and associations. This trend was highly diverse in structural terms, which made it difficult to cooperate. In Kowno alone, three such establishments were created: Union of Polish Students of the Lithuanian University (now Vytautas Magnus University), the Students’ Corporation “Lauda”, and the Union of Polish Girl Students of the Lithuanian University “Znicz”. Nonetheless, there were various establishments for Polish students from Lithuania, and this situation not only led to a fragmentation of Polish academia, but it even faced disintegration and internal disputes. This happened when the World Union of Poles Abroad (Warsaw) recommended that fellow Poles living abroad consolidate as much as possible and cooperate in one uniform system of organization. This idea, despite enmity between Poland and Lithuania, would reach as far as Kowno. Such an attempt was made despite some resistance from some youth activists in the latter half of the 1920s. It followed from the fear that other new organizations might appear and make it even more difficult to collaborate, whereas existing ones were not keen on relinquishing the autonomy they already had. In order to avoid this kind of controversy, the idea emerged to establish a federation that would not abolish existing student institutions, but would unite them in one principal organization. To this end, on 27–28 August 1927, a congress of Polish youth from Lithuania was organized. The event proved very successful because a new organization was established: the Union of Polish Academic Youth in Lithuania (ZPMAL). The basis of its functioning was defined by the statute, which consolidated all Polish university students living in Lithuania. As the central body, the Union was to coordinate common activities and safeguard the ideological profile of its members and take care of the Polish minority. While leaving the structure of existing units intact, the statute obliged their members to be members of the ZPMAL at the same time. Although the ZPMAL met all required changes stipulated in the statute, it was dissolved on 10 January 1938. Attempts at reversing this decision were ultimately rejected on 6 April 1938, and this date is regarded as the day of the final closure

PARP inhibitors: review of mechanisms of action and BRCA1/2 mutation targeting

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases have shown true promise in early clinical studies due to reported activity in BRCA-associated cancers. PARP inhibitors may represent a potentially important new class of chemotherapeutic agents directed at targeting cancers with defective DNA-damage repair. In order to widen the prospective patient population that would benefit from PARP inhibitors, predictive biomarkers based on a clear understanding of the mechanism of action are required. In addition, a more sophisticated understanding of the toxicity profile is required if PARP inhibitors are to be employed in the curative, rather than the palliative, setting. PARP inhibitors have successfully moved into clinical practice in the past few years, with approval granted from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) within the past two years. The United States FDA approval of olaparib applies to fourth-line treatment in germline BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer, and European EMA approval of olaparib for maintenance therapy in both germline and somatic BRCA-mutant platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. This review covers the current understanding of PARP, its inhibition, and the basis of the excitement surrounding these new agents. It also evaluates future approaches and directions required to achieve full understanding of the intricate interplay of these agents at the cellular level