Civil liability for artificial intelligence products versus the sustainable development of CEECs: which institutions matter?

The aim of this paper is to conduct a meta-analysis of the EU and CEECs civil liability institutions in order to find out if they are ready for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race. Particular focus is placed on ascertaining whether civil liability institutions such as the Product Liability Directive (EU) or civil codes (CEECs) will protect consumers and entrepreneurs, as well as ensure undistorted competition. In line with the aforementioned, the authors investigate whether the civil liability institutions of the EU and CEECs are based on regulations that can be adapted to the new generation of robots that will be equipped with learning abilities and have a certain degree of unpredictability in their behaviour. The conclusion presented in the paper was drawn on the basis of a review of the current literature and research on national and European regulations. The primary contribution that this article makes is to advance the current of the research concerning the concepts of AI liability for damage and personal injury. A second contribution is to show that the current civil liability institutions of the EU as well as the CEECs are not sufficiently prepared to address the legal issues that will  start to arise when self-driving vehicles or autonomous drones begin operating in fully autonomous modes and possibly cause property damage or personal injury

Development of local and regional entrepreneurship– which institutions matter? Evidence from Poland

This paper presents the results of a survey carried out in 2017. The research was focused on the behaviour of Polish local and regional formal institutions (L.G.U.s) in support of the development of local and regional entrepreneurship. The main aim was to determine which institutions are crucial for the support of the development of entrepreneurship, but, more importantly, to find why some L.G.U.s obeyed the rules of the entrepreneurship game even if the state monitoring and enforcement mechanisms were lacking. Statistical tools of correlation analysis and factor analysis were used in the research. The factor analysis added empirical evidence on the discussion on how L.G.U.s may affect development of entrepreneurship. Based on the statistically processed data obtained from research, the authors came to the conclusion that geographic location, political power, level of unemployment, size of the territory or level of debt had no impact on the behaviour of L.G.U.s in their support of the development of entrepreneurship. What mattered for the support of entrepreneurship by L.G.U.s was the model of management, type of L.G.U., and the number of enterprises within the territory governed by L.G.U.s. Moreover, only provinces fully succeeded in supporting the development of entrepreneurship, while rural municipalities failed

Model prodłużniczy i model prowierzycielski – porównanie skuteczności prawa upadłościowego

Research background: Bankruptcy in court proceedings has been of interest to researchers for many years. Researchers look for internal and external factors which influence the effectiveness and efficiency of bankruptcy proceedings; for example, the impact of the country’s level of development on the efficiency of bankruptcy proceedings, a system of incentives for the active participation of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings to increase their recovery rate, and mechanisms which encourage the early filing of an application for bankruptcy. Against the background of the research to date, a research gap was identified in the scope of the impact of the bankruptcy (pro-debtor/pro-creditor) law model on the effectiveness of the calculated recovery rate for creditors. The research fills a cognitive gap in New Institutional Economics by examining formal institutions in action, i.e. whether bankruptcy law meets its objectives in practice.Purpose of the article: The aim of the article is to answer the question of which model answers the expectations of stakeholders – creditors who expect the highest possible rate of return. Poland is an example of a country where since 2016 there has been a change in the model of bankruptcy law from pro-creditor to pro-debtor.Methods: The authors of the article conducted constant monitoring of the effectiveness of bankruptcy law in Poland through the examination of bankruptcy proceedings filed in bankruptcy and restructuring courts. The research on the efficiency of bankruptcyproceedings was based on the analysis of files from bankruptcy proceedings conducted at the District Court in Warsaw. The analysis covered the period i) from 01.01.2004 to 31.12.2015 n=150 files of the pro-creditor model of bankruptcy proceedings and ii) from 01.01.2016 to 31.12.2019 n=66 files of the pro-debtor model of bankruptcy proceedings. The statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics Program Version 26. The Kruskal–Wallis H non-parametric test was employed.Findings & Value added: The results of the research show that the new pro-debtor model of bankruptcy proceedings implemented in Poland after 31 December 2015 is less effective than the previous pro-creditor model of bankruptcy proceedings. In the pro-creditor model, creditors’ interests are managed more effectively. Practice shows that frequent changes in the law and model of bankruptcy law do not contribute to its effectiveness and efficiency. It seems that the stabilization of legal solutions is an important factor. The legal activity should be aimed at improving the solutions in force and their consolidation in the case law. Unfortunately, in Poland, entrepreneurs as well as citizens, due to its communist past, do not trust the legal system, formal institutions or other people (ESS 2020). For this reason, the pro-debtor model of bankruptcy proceedings may also have a negative impact on the development of Polish entrepreneurship in the future. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have made a comparison of the effectiveness of the pro-creditor and pro-debtor models of bankruptcy proceedings in a transition country such as Poland. Research data encompassing 16 years over the period of 2004–2019 used in the analysis is unprecedented in bankruptcy procedure studies in the post‑transition economies. Also, a set of indicators showing the effectiveness of bankruptcy proceedings employed in the research is unique.Tło badawcze: Upadłość w postępowaniu sądowym od wielu lat interesuje badaczy. Poszukują oni czynników wewnętrznych i zewnętrznych, które wpływają na skuteczność i efektywność postępowań upadłościowych, np. wpływ poziomu rozwoju kraju na efektywność postępowań upadłościowych, system zachęt do aktywnego udziału wierzycieli w postępowaniu upadłościowym w celu zwiększenia ich odzysku czy mechanizmy zachęcające do wcześniejszego składania wniosków o bankructwo. Na tle dotychczasowych badań zidentyfikowano lukę badawczą w zakresie wpływu modelu prawa upadłościowego (prodłużniczy / prowierzycielski) na efektywność wyliczanej stopy odzysku dla wierzycieli. Badania uzupełniają lukę poznawczą w Nowej Ekonomii Instytucjonalnej, biorąc na warsztat instytucje formalne w działaniu, tj. czy prawo upadłościowe spełnia w praktyce swoje cele.Cel artykułu: Celem artykułu jest odpowiedź na pytanie, który model odpowiada na oczekiwania interesariuszy – wierzycieli, którzy oczekują najwyższej możliwej stopy zwrotu. Polska jest przykładem kraju, w którym od 2016 r. nastąpiła zmiana modelu prawa upadłościowego z prowierzycielskiego na prodłużniczy.Metody badawcze: Autorzy artykułu prowadzili stały monitoring skuteczności prawa upadłościowego w Polsce poprzez badanie postępowań upadłościowych prowadzonych w sądach upadłościowych i restrukturyzacyjnych. Badanie efektywności postępowań upadłościowych oparto na analizie akt postępowań upadłościowych prowadzonych w Sądzie Okręgowym w Warszawie. Analizą objęto okres i) od 1 stycznia 2004 r. do31 grudnia 2015 r., n = 150, akt w prowierzycielskim modelu postępowania upadłościowego oraz ii) od 1 stycznia 2016 r. do 31 grudnia 2019 r., n = 66 akt, w prodłużniczym modelu postępowania upadłościowego. Analizy statystyczne przeprowadzono przy użyciu programu IBM SPSS Statistics, wersja 26. Zastosowano nieparametryczny test Kruskala–Wallisa H. Rezultaty badania: Wyniki badania wskazują, że nowy prodłużniczy model postępowania upadłościowego, wprowadzony w Polsce po 31 grudnia 2015 r., jest mniej efektywny niż dotychczasowy prowierzycielski model. W modelu pro-wierzycielskim skuteczniej zarządza się interesami wierzycieli. Praktyka pokazuje, że częste zmiany prawa i modelu prawa upadłościowego nie sprzyjają jego skuteczności i efektywności. Wydaje się, że ważnym czynnikiem jest stabilizacja rozwiązań prawnych. Działania prawne powinny mieć na celu doskonalenie obowiązujących rozwiązań oraz ich utrwalenie w orzecznictwie. Niestety, w Polsce zarówno przedsiębiorcy, jak i obywatele, ze względu na komunistyczną przeszłość, nie ufają systemowi prawnemu, instytucjom formalnym ani innym ludziom [ESS, 2020]. Z tego powodu prodłużniczy model postępowania upadłościowego może mieć również negatywny wpływ na rozwój polskiej przedsiębiorczości w przyszłości. Zgodnie z naszą najlepszą wiedzą, żadne wcześniejsze badania nie porównywały skuteczności prowierzycielskiego i prodłużniczego modelu postępowania upadłościowego w kraju postkomunistycznym, będącym w procesie transformacji, jakim jest Polska. Wykorzystane w analizie dane badawcze obejmujące 16 lat z lat 2004–2019 są unikalne w badaniach postępowań upadłościowych w gospodarkach posttransformacyjnych. Unikalny jest również zastosowany w badaniu zestaw wskaźników pokazujących skuteczność postępowań upadłościowych

Coexistence of Parry-Romberg syndrome with homolateral segmental vitiligo

Parry-Romberg syndrome or progressive facial hemiatrophy was first described by Caleb Parry in 1825 and Moritz Romberg in 1846. This disorder is characterized by slowly progressing acquired unilateral hemifacial atrophy, which affects subcutaneous tissue together with the muscles and underlying bones. The pathogenesis and precise incidence of the syndrome remain unclear. Immune-mediated processes and disturbed central regulation, leading to the hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, are primarily considered in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Parry-Romberg syndrome and localized scleroderma are considered to be interrelated as both of them have a similar clinicopathological appearance. We report the case of a 46-year-old man affected by both progressive atrophy of the left side of the face and homolateral, segmental vitiligo in the left side of the trunk and face

Civil liability for artificial intelligence products versus the sustainable development of CEECs: which institutions matter?

The aim of this paper is to conduct a meta-analysis of the EU and CEECs civil liability institutions in order to find out if they are ready for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race. Particular focus is placed on ascertaining whether civil liability institutions such as the Product Liability Directive (EU) or civil codes (CEECs) will protect consumers and entrepreneurs, as well as ensure undistorted competition. In line with the aforementioned, the authors investigate whether the civil liability institutions of the EU and CEECs are based on regulations that can be adapted to the new generation of robots that will be equipped with learning abilities and have a certain degree of unpredictability in their behaviour. The conclusion presented in the paper was drawn on the basis of a review of the current literature and research on national and European regulations. The primary contribution that this article makes is to advance the current of the research concerning the concepts of AI liability for damage and personal injury. A second contribution is to show that the current civil liability institutions of the EU as well as the CEECs are not sufficiently prepared to address the legal issues that will  start to arise when self-driving vehicles or autonomous drones begin operating in fully autonomous modes and possibly cause property damage or personal injury

Palisaded neutrophilic and granulomatous dermatitis : cutaneous manifestation of Lyme disease or connected with CTD? Case report

Introduction. Palisaded neutrophilic and granulomatous dermatitis (PNGD) are terms which include such diseases as rheumatoid nodules, Churg-Strauss granuloma, and interstitial granulomatous dermatitis with arthritis. This heterogeneous group was first described in 1965. It is associated with immunological diseases. There are reported cases of coexistence with systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Wegener‘s granuloma, inflammatory bowel disease, generalized vascular inflammation, and lymphoproliferative disorders. The etiology of the disease is unknown. It is probable that the deposition of immune complexes in blood vessels leads to cutaneus leukocytoclastic vasculitis, degeneration of collagen fibres and palisaded granulomatous inflammation. Ultimately, this leads to fibrosis of the skin. Objective. The aim of the study is to present a patient with skin lesions and histopathological features of palisaded neutrophilic and granulomatous dermatitis during the course of infection Borrelia burgdorferi. Several cases of this disease have been reported worldwide (30 entries in the PubMed database). To-date, there have been no reports of PNGD in Polish literature. Materials and method. The patient, aged 72, was admitted to hospital because of erythematous, indurated lesion of the skin on the side surface of the left thigh. Diagnosis of PNGD was made on the basis of typical histopathologic features due to clinical symptoms. Conclusions. Clinical diagnosis of PNGD is difficult, and is based mainly on the histopathological picture. Systemic therapy is incorporated mainly due to the systemic disease. The patient requires further observation in the direction of associated systemic disorders

Bromidotetra­kis­(1H-2-ethyl-5-methyl­imidazole-κN 3)copper(II) bromide

The CuII ion in the title compound, [CuBr(C6H10N2)4]Br, is coordinated in a square-based-pyramidal geometry by the N atoms of four imidazole ligands and a bromide anion in the apical site. Both the CuII and Br− atoms lie on a crystallographic fourfold axis. In the crystal, the [CuBr(C6H10N2)4]+ complex cations are linked to the uncoordinated Br− anions (site symmetry ) by N—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds, generating a three-dimensional network. The ethyl group of the imidazole ligand was modelled as disordered over two orientations with occupancies of 0.620 (8) and 0.380 (8)

The level of proinflammatory cytokines : interleukins 12, 23, 17 and tumor necrosis factor \alpha in patients with metabolic syndrome accompanying severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis

Introduction: The incidence of metabolic syndrome is estimated at 15-24% in the general population and at 30-50% in patients with psoriasis. A probable cause of the described correlation is a constant release in chronic dermatosis of proinflammatory cytokines and their influence on individual systems and organs. Aim: Assessment of the concentration of the proinflammatory cytokines (IL-12, IL-23, IL-17 and $TNF-\alpha$) in blood serum and their correlation with the intensity of skin lesions, the presence of psoriatic arthritis and the risk of development of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Material and methods: The concentrations of subunit p70 IL-12, IL-17 and IL-23, and $TNF-\alpha$ in subjects with psoriasis and metabolic syndrome were determined. Results: The level of the studied cytokines, IL-17, IL-23 and $TNF-\alpha$ was higher in patients diagnosed with psoriasis. Higher levels of IL-17, IL-23 and $TNF-\alpha$ were observed in patients with metabolic syndrome accompanying psoriasis. A higher level of IL-17 and IL-23 was found in sera of patients with psoriatic arthritis in comparison to normal psoriasis. Conclusions: In the study, a higher level of IL-17 and IL-23 was also shown in patients with psoriatic arthritis in comparison to patients with normal psoriasis. The effectiveness of anti-IL12/23 drugs in psoriatic arthritis is a confirmation of the obtained results of the studies. Additionally, the increased level of IL-17, both in patients with metabolic syndrome and with psoriasis, could indirectly indicate an increased cardiovascular risk in patients with affected joints in comparison to psoriasis affecting only the skin