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The UK’s exit from the European Union has had seriously negative consequences for the British economy and society. These consequences can be taken as a serious warning to other EU countries that may wish to follow Britain’s chosen path. The warning is particularly important as regards Poland, where the far right has long been openly calling for a so-called “Polexit”. The aim of this article is to analyse and assess both the current and expected effects of Brexit, as well as the conclusions that Poland can draw from them. After presenting the background of Brexit, this analysis focuses primarily on the effects that Great Britain has experienced in the areas of trade with the EU, along with Brexit’s effects on investment, inflation, immigration, and deregulation. Public opinion survey results are also shown, indicating a negative assessment of Brexit by the majority of British society, which is increasingly demanding the restoration of the country’s ties with the EU. Next, the threats to Poland’s further participation in the EU that have arisen since 2015 are shown. Based on Britain’s experience, it can be predicted that a possible Polexit may hit the Polish economy particularly hard, primarily due to the loss of free access to the EU’s single market and a possible collapse with regard to Polish exports, as well as the predicted massive outflow of capital abroad and decline in the inflow of foreign investments. A Polexit would also mean a loss of EU funding. All this would drastically limit Poland’s development possibilities and would trigger a civilisational degradation of the country.

The aim of the article is to analyse the process of harmonizing the value added tax (VAT) in the European Union, and in particular the factors behind the decision to build a common VAT system based on the country of destination principle instead of, as initially assumed, the country of origin principle. Characterizing the conditions in which this change in approach took place, the specifi c features of public fi nances of these countries were presented, in particular the relation of public expenditure as well as the general level of taxation to GDP. Large differences between EU Member States in this area are one of the main factors making these countries not agree to resign from their sovereignty in shaping taxes. This, in turn, affects the direction and possibilities of the tax harmonization process in the Union, including in the fi eld of VAT. The transitional VAT system operating in the EU since 1993 has been pragmatically adapted to the needs arising from the development of intra-EU trade. Its transformation planned in 2022 to become a new defi nitive system based on the country of destination principle requires the support of Member States for major legislative changes necessary for its implementation.

Modern cardiac pacemakers are equipped with a function that allows the heart rate to adapt to the current needs of the patient in situations of increased demand related to exercise and stress ("rate-response" function). This function may be based on a variety of mechanisms, such as a built-in accelerometer responding to increased chest movement or algorithms sensing metabolic demand for oxygen, analysis of intrathoracic impedance, and analysis of the heart rhythm (Q-T interval). The latest technologies in the field of rate-response functionality relate to the use of an accelerometer in leadless endocavitary pacemakers; in these devices, the accelerometer enables mapping of the mechanical wave of the heart’s work cycle, enabling the pacemaker to correctly sense native impulses and stimulate the ventricles in synchrony with the cycles of atria and heart valves. Another modern system for synchronizing pacing rate with the patient’s real-time needs requires a closed-loop system that continuously monitors changes in the dynamics of heart contractions. This article discusses the technical details of various solutions for detecting and responding to situations related to increased oxygen demand (e.g., exercise or stress) in implantable pacemakers, and reviews the results of clinical trials regarding the use of these algorithms.

This article aims to present an analysis of the categorization of foreigners (aliens) seeking international protection in the European Union from the perspective of the European paradigm of the protection of aliens. Firstly, semantic issues related to understanding the concept of 'foreigners' will be presented. This element of the analysis will be crucial for further considerations, as by delineating definitional boundaries, it will determine the picture of identifiable categories of foreigners. Secondly, an outline of European Union legislation forming the legal basis for the main analysis will be presented. Attention will be focused on legal acts from which general and specific categories of foreigners seeking international protection in the European Union can be interpreted. Thirdly, general categories will be presented along with an explanation of their functions in law. Fourthly, specific categories will be presented along with an explanation of their functions in law at the stage of qualification, reception, and procedure. This paper will conclude with a concise summary containing recommendations and other conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK’s exit from the European Union has had seriously negative consequences for the British economy and society. These consequences can be taken as a serious warning to other EU countries that may wish to follow Britain’s chosen path. The warning is particularly important as regards Poland, where the far right has long been openly calling for a so-called “Polexit”. The aim of this article is to analyse and assess both the current and expected effects of Brexit, as well as the conclusions that Poland can draw from them. After presenting the background of Brexit, this analysis focuses primarily on the effects that Great Britain has experienced in the areas of trade with the EU, along with Brexit’s effects on investment, inflation, immigration, and deregulation. Public opinion survey results are also shown, indicating a negative assessment of Brexit by the majority of British society, which is increasingly demanding the restoration of the country’s ties with the EU. Next, the threats to Poland’s further participation in the EU that have arisen since 2015 are shown. Based on Britain’s experience, it can be predicted that a possible Polexit may hit the Polish economy particularly hard, primarily due to the loss of free access to the EU’s single market and a possible collapse with regard to Polish exports, as well as the predicted massive outflow of capital abroad and decline in the inflow of foreign investments. A Polexit would also mean a loss of EU funding. All this would drastically limit Poland’s development possibilities and would trigger a civilisational degradation of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core objective of this paper is to determine the main political and economic conditions and challenges related to the possible evolution of the integration process in the euro area toward fiscal federalism and fiscal union as a way to increase the capacity of the area to cope with future economic and financial crises. The issue of a separate budget for this area is of particular interest in this article. The idea of such a budget has recently become the subject of lively public debate in the European Union and has been a factor in encouraging the European Commission to propose new solutions at the end of 2017 in the field of economic governance of the euro area, including the establishment of a European Monetary Fund. The analysis carried out in this article leads to the conclusion that under the current conditions, there is little chance of introducing such regulatory and institutional changes that would significantly increase the scale of financial transfers between the euro area member states.

Titin truncating variants (TTNtv) are known as the leading cause of inherited dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Nevertheless, it is unclear whether circulating cardiac biomarkers are helpful in detection and risk assessment. We sought to assess 1) early indicators of cardiotitinopathy including the serum biomarkers high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in clinically stable patients, and 2) predictors of outcome among TTNtv carriers. Our single-center cohort consisted of 108 TTNtv carriers (including 70 DCM patients) from 43 families. Clinical, laboratory and follow-up data were analyzed. The earliest abnormality was left ventricular dysfunction, present in 8, 26 and 47% of patients in the second, third and fourth decade of life, respectively. It was followed by symptoms of heart failure, linked to NT-proBNP elevation and severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction, and later by arrhythmias. Hs-cTnT serum levels were increased in the late stage of the disease only. During the median follow-up of 5.2 years, both malignant ventricular arrhythmia (MVA) and end-stage heart failure (esHF) occurred in 12% of TTNtv carriers. In multivariable analysis, NT-proBNP level ≥650 pg/mL was the best predictor of both composite endpoints (MVA and esHF) and of MVA alone. In conclusion, echocardiographic abnormalities are the first detectable anomalies in the course of cardiotitinopathies. The assessment of circulating cardiac biomarkers is not useful in the detection of the disease onset but may be helpful in risk assessment.

Since their establishment in 1999, the Open Pension Funds (OPFs) have comprised a mandatory capital pillar in the pension system of Poland. The paper`s objective is to analyze the principles under which the OPFs function and assess their past and anticipated future impact on the state of the country's public fnances, particularly on the public debt. The analysis also considers the past and potential effects of the OPFs existence from the point of view of future levels of old-age pension. The studies are targeted at determining the threats connected with further maintenance of the OPFs from the point of view of both public fnance stability and pension system security.