Successful energy transitions, also referred to as leapfrog development, present enormous prospects for EU nations to become carbon neutral by shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Along with climate change, EU countries must address energy security and dependency issues, exacerbated by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising energy costs, conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, and political instability. Diversifying energy sources, generating renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency, preventing energy waste, and educating the public about environmental issues are proposed as several strategies. The study draws the conclusion that central European countries may transition to a clean energy economy and become carbon neutral on economic and strategic levels by locating alternative clean energy supply sources, reducing energy use, and producing renewable energy. According to the study, the EU energy industry can be decarbonised and attain energy security using three basic strategies, such as supply diversification, energy savings, and quicker adoption of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels. The energy transformation industry still needs to improve energy efficiency, incorporate a circular and sustainable bioeconomy, and support renewable energies, including solar, wind, hydropower, nuclear, and hydrogen.

Risk management is one of the most important internal process, not only in large companies but also in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To identify the source of risk can be crucial in all companies. The primary objective of this study is to analyze and compare the economic and financial risk sources in SMEs of the V4 (Visegrad Group: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and Serbia, in the context of the business environment of the countries analyzed. To achieve this goal, a questionnaire-based survey was carried out involving 2110 SMEs from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Serbia. The questionnaire included questions about the importance of risks and the concept of risk management in the company. To test the formulated hypotheses, the following statistical tools were used: contingency tables, a Z-value, and a general non-hierarchical log-linear model with three categorical variables and a continuous covariate. Finally, the differences among V4 countries and Serbia were identified. Serbia is more vulnerable to the financial risk sources studied than the V4 countries. The result of the research shows that insufficient profit is more hazardous compared to the other risk sources and all countries are more vulnerable in in this issue. The article concludes with a discussion and a comparison with previous international researches.

Changes of mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet count (PC) could be a marker or a predictor of acute stroke (AS). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literature on the reporting of MPV and PC in AS. Studies were included in accordance with Patient Population or Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Setting framework. The PRISMA strategy was used to report findings. Risk of bias was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We included 34 eligible articles retrieved from the literature. PC was significantly lower in AS patients [standardized mean difference (SMD) = − 0.30, (95% CI: − 0.49 to − 0.11), N = 2492, P = .002] compared with controls (N = 3615). The MPV was significantly higher [SMD = 0.52 (95% CI: 0.28–0.76), N = 2739, P < .001] compared with controls (N = 3810). Subgroup analyses showed significantly lower PC in both ischemic stroke (Difference SMD = −0.18, 95% CI: −0.35–0.01) and hemorrhagic stroke (−0.94, −1.62 to −0.25), but only samples by citrate anticoagulant showed significantly lower result for patients compared to controls (−0.36, −0.68 to −0.04). Ischemic stroke patients had higher MPV (0.57, 0.31–0.83), and samples by Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulant showed significantly higher result for patients compared to controls (0.86, 0.55–1.17). PC and MPV appeared to be significantly different between patients with AS and control populations. MPV was significantly higher in ischemic stroke and PC was significantly lower in both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. These characteristics might be related to AS and associated with it. It is advisable to pay attention to elapsed time between phlebotomy and hematology analysis, anticoagulant and hemocytometer types in AS. Systematic review registration: This meta-analysis is registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under registration number CRD42017067864 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=67864).

Since COVID-19 was confirmed in Bangladesh in March 2020, the government have enacted stringent measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has had a significant impact on people’s lives. Food consumption habits of consumers have shifted as a result of declining grocery shopping frequency, negative income shock, and food prices shooting up. This paper aims to explore Bangladeshi consumers’ buying behaviour in association with the stress generated from a food supply shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-outbreak perception of the food industry, using a dataset with 540 online samples collected between July and August 2021. A two-stage cluster sampling method and self-administrated questionnaire techniques were adopted for collecting the data during the third wave of COVID-19. Using partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) and multivariate multiple ordered logit regression (MVORD) to reveal the pertinent structure between all the blocks, this study provides two key findings. First, a higher intensity of COVID-19 impact translates into higher food stress associated with income reduction and higher food prices. Second, food stress directly affects consumer buying and consumption behaviour. We strongly recommend connecting consumers with local producers and collective use of shared warehouses through institutions, policies, and reforms to prevent disruption in the food supply chain and to keep food prices stable. Additionally, food producers, distributors, stakeholders, and policy planners should strengthen the food supply chain to stabilize food security.