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It is well known that exceeded levels of particulate matter in the air and other air pollutants harmfully affect the cardiovascular system. Empirical analyses of the effects of these factors on stroke incidence and mortality are still limited. The main objective of our analyses was to determine the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants and stroke incidence in non-industrial areas, more specifically in north-eastern Poland. To achieve this aim, we used data from the National Health Fund on patients hospitalized for stroke between 2011 and 2020 in the largest city of the region described as the Green Lungs of Poland. The pollution levels and atmospheric conditions data were obtained from the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection and the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Using daily data on hospitalizations, atmospheric conditions, and pollution, as well as ordered logistic regression models the hypotheses on the impact of weather and air pollution conditions on ischemic strokes were tested. The study group included 4838 patients, 45.6% of whom were male; the average patient age was approximately 74 years. The average concentrations of PM2.5 were 19.09 µg/m3, PM10 26.66 µg/m3 and CO 0.35 µg/m3. Analyses showed that an increase in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations by 10 µg/m3 was associated with an increase in the incidence of stroke on the day of exposure (OR = 1.075, 95% CI 0.999–1.157, P = 0.053; OR = 1.056, 95% CI 1.004–1.110, P = 0.035) and the effect was even several times greater on the occurrence of a stroke event in general (PM2.5: OR = 1.120, 95% CI 1.013–1.237, P = 0.026; PM10: OR = 1.103, 95% CI 1.028–1.182, P = 0.006). Furthermore, a short-term (up to 3 days) effect of CO on stroke incidence was observed in the study area. An increase of 1 μg/m3 CO was associated with a lower incidence of stroke 2 days after the exposure (OR = 0.976, 95% CI 0.953–0.998, P = 0.037) and a higher incidence 3 days after the exposure (OR = 1.026, 95% CI 1.004–1.049, P = 0.022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the main determinants of biomass market development from a regional perspective in the context of current EU climate and energy policy. The EU's targeting of climate neutrality implies a new, multifaceted role for agriculture as a producer of energy resources. The challenge is to orient production to support the sustainable development of the circular economy. The possibility of using agricultural waste as a type of energy raw material aligns with a holistic approach to product management. The use of agricultural biomass as an energy raw material can enable increased energy self-sufficiency and reduced dependence on imported fuels among Poland's regions and an increase in the country's energy security. The aim of the study is to identify barriers to and opportunities for the development of the agricultural biomass market. The empirical section presents survey data from interviews with farm owners in the Polish province with the highest agricultural biomass potential, located in a region with one of the largest opencast mines in Europe. The estimated parameters of a logit model indicate that the logistical aspects of raw material collection and organization and a lack of knowledge of biomass are the main barriers to biomass development on the supply side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the theory of banking, prudent risk management is perceived as being necessary to curb the excessive procyclicality evident in many activities of banks. As banks differ in their risk-management approaches, their sensitivity to the business cycle is also far from uniform. This paper aims to identify the sources of such diverse relationships between loan-loss provisions (LLP) and the business cycle. Using the two-step system GMM Blundell and Bond estimator on a panel database of over 3000 banks operating in the European Union (EU) in 1996-2011, this study documents a large cross-bank and cross-country variation in the relationship between loan-loss provisions and the business cycle and explores bank-management specific, bank-activity specific and country-specific features that explain this diversity in the EU. Our results indicate that LLP in large, publicly-traded and commercial banks, as well as in banks reporting consolidated statements, are more procyclical. More restrictive capital standards and better investor protection are linked with weakened procyclicality of LLP. Neither official supervision nor private-market monitoring is effective in reducing the procyclicality of LLP. Thus, our study supports the view that microprudential supervision is not sufficient to combat the procyclicality of the banking sector, and therefore should be supplemented with macroprudential supervision. Moreover, as large banks LLP are definitely more procyclical, we provide empirical support for the post-crisis restrictive regulations (Basel III and macroprudential policy) of systemically-important financial institutions (SIFIs). This study also lends empirical support to the hypothesis that more income smoothing and greater coverage of expected loan losses reduce the procyclicality of LLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]