“葡萄牙黑豹”——欧塞比奥

一九六六年世界杯足杯大赛在英国伦敦举行。谁是此次大赛中的最风云人物呢?不是球王贝利,而是来自葡萄牙的“黑豹”欧塞比奥。他在这次比赛中,共射进九个球而列射手榜首,其声誉与贝利并驾齐驱。

Relationship between the cytotoxin-associated gene-A status of H pylori strains and cerebral infarction in European Caucasians and Chinese Han: A meta-analysis

AIM： To study the relationship between the cytotoxinassociated gene-A （CagA） status of H pylori strains and cerebral infarction among European Caucasians and Chinese Han by conducting a meta-analysis.METHODS： Ten case-control studies, with data on a total of 907 cases and 966 controls, were retrieved and considered; disqualified studies were excluded. The included studies were then tested for heterogeneity, and a meta-analysis was performed.RESULTS： The combined data revealed CagA-bearing strains of Hpylori which cause chronic infection are associated with an increased risk of cerebral infarction （OR = 2.66, 950 CI： 2.17-3.26）, but no such relationship was found with CagA-negative strains （OR = 0.74, 95% CI： 0.49-1.10） in the overall population. We performed subgroup analyses, dividing the overall population into European Caucasians and Chinese Han subgroups, and analyzed the studies according to their subgroup classification. Through the subgroup analysis, an association between cerebral infarction and CagAbearing strains was found in both subgroups （OR = 2.60, 95% CI： 1.93-3.49 in Chinese Han; OR = 2.71, 95% CI： 2.05-3.59 in European Caucasians）, but no significant association was found between cerebral infarction and CagA-negative strains （OR = 0.81, 95% CI： 0.45-1.48 in Chinese Han; OR = 0.64, 95% CI： 0.37-1.09 in European Caucasians）.CONCLUSION： These results suggest CagA-bearing strains of H pylori are significantly associated with susceptibility to cerebral infarction in Chinese Han and European Caucasians, but that CagA-negative strains are not a definite predisposing factor in either subgroup. The magnitude of this association with cerebral infarction needs to be confirmed by prospective studies and combined studies of Hpylori eradication.

Cyprus, the European Union and the Recent Crisis： Inspiration for New Processes of Convergence or Incentive for Regional Disparities？

In the EU （European Union）, Cyprus＇s problems aren＇t new. Ten years later, the same debate is being held all over again, just from a different point of view. It is emblematic of this current financial crisis because the banking system is much bigger than GDP （Gross Domestic Product）. Setting aside the sluggish economic performance, as well as the usual gap between northern and southern regions, people are uncomfortable with the EU. Getting the EU to finance a deficit is very tempting because it seems to be a politically and socially painless option, but can we count on the EU to devise such a smoothly running system？ Cyprus is interesting on many levels, from the debate concerning the limits of cohesion policy to the need of finding new solutions for the European periphery. It raises the question of whether a real fiscal and political union is possible, in light of the actual geoeconomic and geopolitical dynamics among the EU, Turkey, and Russia. The aim of this paper is to explore the possible mechanisms for an integration of Cyprus in order to go beyond fiscal burden sharing. It is an important starting point to paving the way to new policies and strategies for changing the objectives of economic convergence.

Third China-EU Financial Dialogue Held in Brussels

China and the European Union （EU） held the Third China- EU Financial Dialogue, aimingat beefing up exchanges in financial policies.

European Economic Integration and The Future of Southeastern European Countries

Over the last few years major changes have happened in the region of South-Eastern Europe. They have been significantly determined by the changes in international political relations, and that mirrors economic and political interests of some countries. With its 27 member countries and the population of almost halfa billion people, the EU is a significant factor on the world scene. The aim of this paper is to point out that the future of Southeast European countries is, undoubtedly, within the flame of European integration. Moreover, it shows that the EU accomplishes a dominant role in the global economic area. That is also indicated by economic relations of the EU with the South-East European countries, with special regard to Serbia, as it is elaborated in this paper. This paper also examined and compared relations in terms of GDP in South-East European countries, as well as the highest import and export by sectors in relation Serbia--the EU. For the purpose of this research, the information from the world economic data base was used as the parameter of the research, and the information from the relevant financial institutions in Serbia. The main findings showed which countries in the South-Eastern Europe have the highest economic potential, which countries had positive GDP growth rate, the fact that Serbia had export growth of goods and services towards the EU and all the difficulties which followed that export. Finally, taking into consideration all the parameters, it can be concluded that the goal and future of South-East European countries is within the EU integration.

Regional Atmospheric Blocking in the Drought Periods in Ukraine

The conditions for regional circulation of the atmosphere in the periods of severe droughts in Ukraine are described by two circulation indexes. In analogy with experimental index EBI （European Blocking Index） for the Eastern Atlantic and Western Europe is proposed a new index ECBI （European Continental Blocking Index）, which describes the blocking of zonal flow over the European continent. The obtained time series of the ECBI for the spring-summer seasons with the severe droughts in Ukraine were analyzed. Katz circulation index was used for the estimating of intensity of the meridional atmospheric processes during the same droughts. It is shown that there registered a high frequency of blocking processes which was accompanied by positive phases of ECBI and an increase in the meridional component of an atmospheric flow over the region of Europe. In years with droughts in average 60% consecutive pentads were with a positive value of ECBI, mostly in April to May. The absolute maximum duration of blocking was the 10 consecutive pentads and observed in 1963. The high positive values of the ECBI and Katz index were connected with strong anomalies in seasonal and monthly fields of wind over territory of Eastern Europe. A close relationship between the ECBI and the Katz index was obtained, which allowed to determine the critical value of the Katz index for the beginning of blocking situation,

Tourism in the Valleys of European Rivers, Comparing the Loire Valley and the Danube Valley in Serbia

The analysis of forms of tourism trends in the Loire Valley aims to initiate similar ideas in the Danube Valley in Serbia. The field research identified similar relief qualities, fertile alluvial soil, and similar economic activities, such as farming, animal husbandry, horticulture and viticulture, which are reminiscent of the Danube valley. In addition to these similarities, similarities were observed in the sphere of social life. in terms of methodology, results are obtained from： field observation, using literature sources and maps, interviewing local people in both valleys, and the application of analytical methods and comparisons. The importance of this work is the enrichment of the knowledge of two important European valleys. Research results can be included in the regional geography courses at all educational levels, and can be used at the local level. Communities in the valley of the Danube can be modeled on the experience from the Loire Valley, organize their activities, and thus improve the quality of life.

The Study of Supply and Demand of Organic Products in the European Union and Serbia

One of the phenomena that marked 20th century is rapid technology progress. This process did not avoid food production and processing. Thanks to rapid development of technology, there has been a development of conventional food production, as well as appearance of genetically modified food. As a consequence of this trend, as well as the concern among some part of human population for their health, we had the return to natural food production in the form of the development of organic food production. One of the characteristics of organic food market in the European Union is the constant growth of demand for this product group, and insufficient quantities of organic products available in this market. These information led to the conclusion that organic food represents an opportunity for less developed countries, i.e., that countries like Serbia can manufacture and sale these products on the market with the highest purchasing power in the world--the European Union market. In this paper, the characteristics of demand for organic foods in the European Union were presented, then it was explained in detail why are these products export chance of Serbia, as well as reasons why is the export of organic food from Serbia to the EU very low at the time being. At the end, some recommendations that could help Serbia to increase export of organic product to EU countries were proposed.