On the Praxis-Oriented Semiotic Aesthetics in Eastern European Marxism

Eastern European Marxism,taking a critical stance towards structuralism,gave rise to a unique paradigm of praxis-oriented semiotic aesthetics.This novel approach posits that signs emerge from humans’social praxis and also function as a means of praxis.It further delves into the principle governing the generation and usage of signs,i.e.,the Economy Principle,the homogenization of signs,the situatedness or contextual constraints,as well as their aesthetic features and transcendental attributes.As a result,the praxis-oriented semiotic aesthetics within Eastern European Marxism exhibits distinct theoretical value.

Cardiovascular diseases in European ethnic minorities: Beyond the traditional cardiovascular risk factors

This editorial is intended to be a reflection on cardiovascular disease(CVD)burden in European ethnic minorities.In some European countries,ethnic minority realities,due to their recent appearance,are still to be studied in depth.The experience of several European countries,where the migration processes started earlier,even more than a century ago,can help by being an example.Many studies have shown that major differences in CVD burden exist not only between countries,but also within the same country when considering different social strata and ethnic groups.The CV risk factors underlying heart disease have been well established.Important epidemiological studies have helped us understand that the underlying causes of heart disease as well as the behaviors that can help prevent them are the same.We are now well aware that CVD should be treated by considering a holistic approach.This is why the social determinants(SDs)of health that may worsen the disease burden or that,vice versa,may improve the treatment,and even more significantly,the prognosis of a patient’s illness should be taken into consideration.For ethnic minority patients,this holistic,hermeneutic approach is of importance.Several SDs of health that influence CVDs have been identified but their relevance for the health of ethnic minorities has not yet been clearly defined.In some European countries,most ethnic minorities are largely also religious minorities.Only a few studies have evaluated the role of religion,which is an important SD that affects the probability of having CV risk factors and diseases.Adolescents,particularly those belonging to the second generation,seem to be the weak link.If we believe that these young people are really citizens of their country of birth,then a way of recognizing their belonging to the community starts from a will to better understand their condition,in order to assist them while they grow physically and mentally.Thinking about safeguarding the health of this population should be more than a health task,rather a goal of social justice.

The launch of European technical committee on carbon capture, utilization and storage

The Dutch Standardization Institute(NEN) has initiated the establishment of a European technical committee(CEN/TC 474) that will develop European Standards across the CCUS(carbon capture, utilization and storage) value chain. With broad participation from CEN Members and European organizations, the committee kicked off in Brussels and finalized its scope and first work programme.

The Impact of Big Five Personality Traits on Older Europeans’ Physical Health

Investigating the role of Big Five personality traits in relation to various health outcomes has been extensively studied. The impact of “Big Five” on physical health is here explored for older Europeans with a focus on examining age groups differences. The study sample included 378,500 respondents derived from the seventh data wave of Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The physical health status of older Europeans was estimated by constructing an index considering the combined effect of well-established health indicators such as the number of chronic diseases, mobility limitations, limitations with basic and instrumental activities of daily living, and self-perceived health. This index was used for an overall physical health assessment, for which the higher the score for an individual, the worst health level. Then, through a dichotomization process applied to the retrieved Principal Component Analysis scores, a two-group discrimination (good or bad health status) of SHARE participants was obtained as regards their physical health condition, allowing for further con-structing logistic regression models to assess the predictive significance of “Big Five” and their protective role for physical health. Results showed that neuroti-cism was the most significant predictor of physical health for all age groups un-der consideration, while extraversion, agreeableness and openness were not found to significantly affect the self-reported physical health levels of midlife adults aged 50 up to 64. Older adults aged 65 up to 79 were more prone to open-ness, whereas the oldest old individuals aged 80 up to 105 were mainly affected by openness and conscientiousness. .

European Radiology科学论著摘要(2024年3月、4月杂志)

摘要目的旨在评估侧支图预测急性前循环缺血性脑卒中后病变进展和缺血半暗带的能力。方法从前瞻性收集的数据库中选定数据进行回顾性分析。基于扩散加权成像(DWI)测算病变进展比,即随访病变体积与基线病变体积的比值。达峰时间(Tmax)/DWI比值为病变在基线Tmax>6 s的体积与DWI基线体积的比值。侧支比在随访期相与基线期相上测量,即侧支图中低灌注区在2个期相上最接近DWI病变的体积比值。

China National Traditional Orchestra Make the European Tour Performance Successfully

During the Chinese New Year in 2024,China National Traditional Orchestra,led by President Zhao Cong and Deputy President Tang Feng,held the Chinese New Year tour concert in Europe,performing 9 concerts in9citiesin6countries including France,Austria,Germany,Poland,Hungary and Serbia.At the same time,Chinese embassies and consulates in many Europeancountriesjointly launched a series of folk music and traditional culturepromotionand communication activities,deeply integrated into the overall national cultural diplomacy,and composed a new chapter of cultural integration and mutual learning betweenChinaand European people.

Seminars on European Harmonized Standards

European standards and technical specifications promote inter-operability,the safety of EU citizens and the protection of the environment,increasing consumer confidence.To contribute to improving the quality of European standards,CEN and CENELEC,with the support of the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association(EFTA),are organizing seminars dedicated to supporting standards drafters.

External validation of the Moroccan Arabic version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer colorectal(CR29)module:Monocentric study

BACKGROUND Quality of life(QoL)outcomes are a focal endpoint of cancer treatment strategies.AIM To externally validate the Moroccan Arabic version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer(EORTC)QoL Questionnaire(QLQ)for colorectal cancer(CRC)patients(CR29).METHODS Both Moroccan Arabic modules of QLQ-CR29 and QLQ-C30 were administered to Moroccan CRC.Psychometric properties were retested by measuring Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for reliability and Intraclass correlation coefficient(ICC)to examine test-retest reproducibility.The multitrait-scaling analysis was performed to demonstrate the validity of the instrument and known-groups comparison was used to test the score’s ability to discriminate between different groups of patients.RESULTS In total,221 patients were included in our study and 34 patients completed the questionnaire twice.The Urinary Frequency scale and Stool Frequency scale had good internal consistency with alpha Cronbach coefficients of 0.79 and 0.83 respectively,while the same coefficients were moderately lower for the Blood and Mucus in Stool scale(0.61)and the Body Image scale(0.67).The ICCs ranged from 0.88 to 1 indicating good to excellent reproducibility.In multitrait scaling analyses,the criterion for item convergent and divergent validity was satisfactory.The known-group comparison showed statistically significant differences between patients according to age,gender,stoma status,tumor location,and radiotherapy.CONCLUSION The Moroccan Arabic version of the EORTC QLQ-CR29 is a valid and reliable tool that can be used safely for research and clinical purposes in Moroccan CRC patients.

Tax avoidance and earnings management:a neural network approach for the largest European economies

In this study,we investigate the relationship between tax avoidance and earnings management in the largest five European Union economies by using artificial neural network regressions.This methodology allows us to deal with nonlinearities detected in the data,which is the principal contribution to the previous literature.We ana-lyzed Compustat data for Germany,the United Kingdom,France,Italy,and Spain for the 2006–2015 period,focusing on discretionary accruals.We considered three tax avoidance measures,two based on the effective tax rate(ETR)and one on book-tax differences(BTD).Our results indicate the presence of nonlinear patterns and a posi-tive,statistically significant relationship between discretionary accruals and both ETR indicators implying that when companies resort to earnings management,a larger tax-able income—and thus higher ETR and lesser tax avoidance–would ensue.Hence,as also highlighted by the fact that discretionary accruals do not appear to affect BTD,our evidence does not suggest that companies are exploiting tax manipulation to reduce their tax payments;thus,the gap between accounting and taxation seems largely unaf-fected by earnings management.

Open banking and inclusive finance in the European Union:perspectives from the Dutch stakeholder ecosystem

In the European Union(EU),the revised Payment Services Directive(PSD2)aims to provide more convenient and customized financial products through open banking(OB)platforms.However,little attention has been paid to the role of OB in improving the financial well-being of the growing number of the EU’s underserved groups,which currently constitute approximately a quarter of its population.This study examines how the PSD2 and OB impact inclusive finance in the EU based on the perspectives of the Netherlands’ecosystem,one of the leaders in the EU’s financial technology(FinTech)landscape.A fundamental distinction can be drawn between the OB users and the ecosystem’s players.Regarding the impact of financial services on the users’inclusivity,while the PSD2 strengthens the infrastructure necessary for financial inclusion,many challenges remain,mainly because it was not designed for this purpose.This study identifies several areas of improvement that include adjustments to the know your customer and anti-money laundering processes for underserved customers,innovative ways to communicate the PSD2’s potential,and the regulation of technology providers’activities to build trust.Meanwhile,from the ecosystem’s position,there is a need to strengthen and improve microfinance regulation according to the opportunities provided by the PSD2 to support microfinance institutions(MFIs)in scaling up and reaching underserved clients across borders with innovative services.OB improvements can also be achieved by organizations formed by MFIs and FinTechs in collaboration with banks.Such hybrid institutions will combine the best features of each of them:knowledge of the needs of local underserved clients from MFIs,technological innovations from FinTechs,and large and trusted customer bases,infrastructures,and access to institutional investments and governments from banks.Finally,an EU inclusive OB sector depends on the centrality of trusted regulators as coordination bodies.The PSD2 requires adjustments for underserved populations’specific needs.OB improvements can be achieved by organizations formed by MFIs and Fin-Techs in collaboration with banks.Regulated technical service providers(TSPs)are crucial to building trust and customer adoption in OB.The European Banking Authority(EBA)may function as coordination body to design inclusive rules by engaging with OB stakeholders.As inclusive finance moves into open-finance and data eras,an increasing regulatory complexity and scope will require networks of innovative and trusted regulators.

Delivering Tram-Based Boulevards: Learning from Opportunities and Challenges in Three European City Case Studies

Increasing calls for zero-carbon cities invite transformative solutions for people and places within our cities around the world. Key to the transformation is cities and regions shifting in mobility away from fossil-fuel based car-oriented solutions. The paper investigates a range of case studies where “tram-based boulevards” have been planned or implemented to provide such opportunities. The case studies share a common broader policy objective: to transform the car-oriented or car-saturated areas to an intensified urban template based on a critical presence of dedicated mid-tier transit infrastructure and active transport. “Trams”, or mid-tier, mid-capacity transit when combined with Transit oriented development (TOD) along whole corridors can provide transformative pathways towards zero-carbon outcomes as well as multiple, strong urban benefits. However, many successful or instructive examples of this practice from non-English speaking countries, particularly in Europe, are underdocumented in the international literature. The paper addresses this gap by investigating opportunities and challenges evident in a range of European case studies. These are explored for insight towards policy learning particularly in New World cities seeking to transform into a zero-carbon and more transit-oriented template: How can decision-makers avoid repeating the identified pitfalls, and instead focus on emulating the successful approaches and outcomes? We conclude the need for recognition of the inherent synergies between transport and land use settings in any endeavour, and their translation into policy priorities in both fields of planning. We also conclude the importance of decision makers proactively identifying and critically appraising specific opportunities for change, concerning funding, technology, public opinion, stakeholder alliances or market dynamics, and capitalising on them at suitable moments in time.

European Energy Crisis and China's Strategy

Energy is an important cornerstone for the development of human society and is crucial for the development of a country’s economy and society.In the past decades,European countries have been dependent on Russian gas imports to meet their energy needs.However,changes in the international energy geopolitical landscape and adjustments in Russia’s energy policy,coupled with U.S.and Western sanctions against Russia and Russian counter-sanctions due to the Ukraine crisis,have further complicated the already severe energy supply and demand situation in Europe,leading to increased energy supply uncertainty and sharp increases in energy prices in several European countries,especially in natural gas energy.Energy uncertainty and risks have turned into a serious energy crisis.The European energy crisis not only has a direct impact on the economic and social development of European countries,but also greatly affects the global energy supply and demand pattern,global economic trade and industrial chain and supply chain security.A deep understanding of the causes of the European energy crisis and the strategies and measures taken by European countries to cope with the energy crisis has important implications for us to avoid energy risks.

Credit Card Fraud Detection on Original European Credit Card Holder Dataset Using Ensemble Machine Learning Technique

The proliferation of digital payment methods facilitated by various online platforms and applications has led to a surge in financial fraud,particularly in credit card transactions.Advanced technologies such as machine learning have been widely employed to enhance the early detection and prevention of losses arising frompotentially fraudulent activities.However,a prevalent approach in existing literature involves the use of extensive data sampling and feature selection algorithms as a precursor to subsequent investigations.While sampling techniques can significantly reduce computational time,the resulting dataset relies on generated data and the accuracy of the pre-processing machine learning models employed.Such datasets often lack true representativeness of realworld data,potentially introducing secondary issues that affect the precision of the results.For instance,undersampling may result in the loss of critical information,while over-sampling can lead to overfitting machine learning models.In this paper,we proposed a classification study of credit card fraud using fundamental machine learning models without the application of any sampling techniques on all the features present in the original dataset.The results indicate that Support Vector Machine(SVM)consistently achieves classification performance exceeding 90%across various evaluation metrics.This discovery serves as a valuable reference for future research,encouraging comparative studies on original dataset without the reliance on sampling techniques.Furthermore,we explore hybrid machine learning techniques,such as ensemble learning constructed based on SVM,K-Nearest Neighbor(KNN)and decision tree,highlighting their potential advancements in the field.The study demonstrates that the proposed machine learning models yield promising results,suggesting that pre-processing the dataset with sampling algorithm or additional machine learning technique may not always be necessary.This research contributes to the field of credit card fraud detection by emphasizing the potential of employing machine learning models directly on original datasets,thereby simplifying the workflow and potentially improving the accuracy and efficiency of fraud detection systems.

Research on the Regulatory Framework of Advanced Therapies in the European Union and the United States

Objective To study the regulatory framework of advanced therapies in the European Union and the United States,and to provide reference for the regulation of cell-and gene-based therapeutic products in China.Methods The legal and regulatory documents,annual reports,work information and related literature published on the websites of the FDA and European Medicines Agency(EMA)were reviewed to analyze the regulatory models of advanced therapies in the European Union and the United States.Results and Conclusion the United States and the European Union have carried out a lot of work in the classification standards of advanced therapies,policy formulation and accelerated listing procedures.Therefore,they have established a relatively mature regulatory system.China can learn from their experience and continuously improve the regulatory system to help the sustainable development of gene and cell therapy industry.

European Urology:局限性前列腺癌行根治性手术或放疗后患者生存和并发症——一项国际合作性综述

根治性手术和放疗对于局限性前列腺癌一直被认为控瘤效应相当，因此，选择前列腺癌的治疗方式在临床上主要是基于对尿失禁、勃起功能障碍及其他放疗特异性并发症风险的考量。近年来，已有大量文献就局限性前列腺癌行两种不同治疗后患者生存和并发症进行对比。

The Security Strategy of the European Union: Origin, Evolution, and Policy Direction

With the deepening development of European integration and the change of international situation, member states of the European Union(EU) have gradually strengthened consultation and coordination in the field of security and established corresponding mechanisms. In this process,the EU has also formed and developed its National Security Strategy and issued four versions of security strategy reports in 2003, 2008, 2016, and 2022. The 2022 version of the EU security strategy(hereafter referred to as the New Security Strategy), for the first time, has identified Russia as a long-term and direct threat. Furthermore, it has paid increased attention to traditional security, especially the upgrading of military capabilities and has become more reliant on the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In the future, the EU will accelerate the militarization process, exert all-out efforts to contain Russia, scrutinize neighborhood security, and increase its swing on China policy.

Cooperative Learning in Mediterranean European Cultural Settings:Taking Classroom Teaching in UMA as an Example

This paper provides an exploration of cooperative learning(CL) in a Mediterranean European cultural setting, taking classroom teaching in the University of Málaga(UMA) as an example. An important part of the paper is on the definitions of CL, second language acquisition(SLA) and relative literature by scholars or educators home and abroad, such as historical and contemporary views of CL, its development and application in a variety of classrooms, esp. in multi-lingual settings, in UMA. It also puts much emphasis on sociocultural aspects of CL. Besides, this paper compares the application of CL with that in SWUST,one public university in Southwest China. In views of current problems and awkward situations in the application of CL, the paper argues that the qualified teachers and quality monitoring systems are the two major decisive factors that affect the achievement of CL in Spanish institutions. This paper also analyzes the main characteristics of the classroom teaching in Mediterranean European Cultural Settings. Thus, the paper suggests that CL may be one of the most efficient approaches to improving the quality of education in UMA. Finally, the paper concludes with recommendations and suggestions that Spanish institutions train more wellqualified teachers to meet the increasing demand of CL approach in multi-contextual or multi-lingual settings.

Colorectal cancer screening in countries of European Council outside of the EU-28

AIM: To provide an update on colorectal cancer(CRC) screening programmes in non-European Union(EU)-28 Council of Europe member states as of December 2015. METHODS: The mission of the Council of Europe is to protect and promote human rights in its 47 member countries. Its 19 non-EU member states are Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, FYR of Macedonia, Turkey, and Ukraine(EU-19). The main data source were GLOBOCAN, IARC, WHO, EUCAN, NORDCAN, ENCR, volume X of the CI5, the ministerial and Public Health Agency websites of the individual countries, Pub Med, EMBASE, registries of some websites and the www.cochranelibrary.com, Scopus, www.clinicaltrials.gov, www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu, Research gate, Google and data extracted from screening programme results. RESULTS: Our results show that epidemiological data quality varies broadly between EU-28 and EU-19 countries. In terms of incidence, only 30% of EU-19 countries rank high in data quality as opposed to 86% of EU-28 states. The same applies to mortality data, since 52% of EU-19 countries as against all EU-28 countries are found in the high ranks. Assessment of the method of collection of incidence data showed that only 32% of EU-19 countries are found in the top three quality classes as against 89% of EU-28 countries. For the mortality data, 63% of EU-19 countries are found in the highest ranks as opposed to all EU-28 member states. Interestingly, comparison of neighbouring countries offering regional screening shows, for instance, that incidence and mortality rates are respectively 38.9 and 13.0 in Norway and 29.2 and10.9 in Sweden, whereas in Finland, where a national organised programme is available, they are respectively 23.5 and 9.3. CONCLUSION: Cancer screening should be viewed as a key health care tool, also because investing in screening protects the weakest in the population, decreases the social burden of cancer, and reduces all types of health care costs, including those for radical surgery, long-term hospitalisation, and chemotherapy.

External validation of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial and the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer risk calculators in a Chinese cohort

Several prediction models have been developed to estimate the outcomes of prostate biopsies. Most of these tools were designed for use with Western populations and have not been validated across different ethnic groups. Therefore, we evaluated the predictive value of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial （PCPT） and the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer （ERSPC） risk calculators in a Chinese cohort. Clinicopathological information was obtained from 495 Chinese men who had undergone extended prostate biopsies between January 2009 and March 2011. The estimated probabilities of prostate cancer and high-grade disease （Gleason 〉6） were calculated using the PCPT and ERSPC risk calculators. Overall measures, discrimination, calibration and clinical usefulness were assessed for the model evaluation. Of these patients, 28.7% were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 19.4% had high-grade disease. Compared to the PCPT model and the prostate-specific antigen （PSA） threshold of 4 ng m1-1, the ERSPC risk calculator exhibited better discriminative ability for predicting positive biopsies and high-grade disease （the area under the curve was 0.831 and 0.852, respectively, P〈O.01 for both）. Decision curve analysis also suggested the favourable clinical utility of the ERSPC calculator in the validation dataset. Both prediction models demonstrated miscalibration： the risk of prostate cancer and high-grade disease was overestimated by approximately 20% for a wide range of predicted probabilities. In conclusion, the ERSPC risk calculator outperformed both the PCPT model and the PSA threshold of 4 ng ml- z in predicting prostate cancer and high-grade disease in Chinese patients. However, the prediction tools derived from Western men significantly overestimated the probability of prostate cancer and high-grade disease compared to the outcomes of biopsies in a Chinese cohort.

Fintech investments in European banks:a hybrid IT2 fuzzy multidimensional decision‑making approach

Financial technology(Fintech)makes a significant contribution to the financial system by reducing costs,providing higher quality services and increasing customer satisfaction.Hence,new studies play an essential role to improve Fintech investments.This study evaluates Fintech-based investments of European banking services with an application of an original methodology that considers interval type-2(IT2)fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory and IT2 fuzzy TOPSIS models.Empirical findings are controlled for consistency by applying the VIKOR method.Moreover,we conduct a sensitivity analysis by considering six distinct cases.This study contributes to the existing literature by identifying the most important Fintech-based investment alternatives to improve the financial performance of European banks.Our empirical findings illustrate that results are coherent,reliable,and identify“competitive advantage”as the most important factor among Fintech-based determinants.Moreover,“payment and money transferring systems”are the most important Fintech-based investment alternatives.It is recommended that,among Fintech-based investments,European banks should mainly focus on payment and money transferring alternatives to attract the attention of customers and satisfy their expectations.This is also believed to have a positive impact on the ease of bank’receivable collection.Another important point is that Fintech-based investments in money transferring systems could help to decrease costs.