The Volga River Is Russia’s Lifeline and in Need of Maintenance, Mitigation and Restoration

The Volga River flows entirely through Russia and the watershed includes three of the country’s ten largest cities. The river is the longest in Europe and western Russia’s principal waterway. The Volga River basin is home to approximately half of Russia’s population and occupies almost two-fifth of European Russia. It covers much of the Volga region and stretches 3530 kilometers from its source in the Valdai Hills to the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland water body. Its economic, cultural, and historic importance makes it one of the world’s greatest rivers. The Volga basin makes up 8 percent of the Russian territory. Stalingrad, located on the banks of the Volga River, has been described as the site of the greatest de-feat in the history of the German Army. It is often identified as the turning point on the Eastern Front of WWII, in the war against Germany, and in the entire WWII. The meeting point of the Eurasian Civilization was historically the Volga River. The river has some of the world’s largest reservoirs and is a major source of livelihood for millions of people. Many factories and cities empty their waste including sewage, industrial waste, fertilizers, and pesticides into the Volga River. Pollutants tend to settle in the reservoirs and contain several meters of heavily contaminated muck. The primary objectives are to assess lessons learned, manage, and restore the Volga River system lifeline in Russia.

Russian Music of the Soviet Era: For Archive or Forever

The purpose of the article is to present several topics in Russian music of the Soviet era(roughly 1920-1990).The time that has passed since the fall of the Iron Curtain allows us to rethink and revise the cultural treasures of seven decades and reassess new research of the last decade,carried out both by people who previously gained a reputation as an authority in Soviet culture,and by scientists who came from this environment and began sharing their vision of the subject after acquiring the skills of a Western scholar.The article is based mainly on the latter research and tries to see its subject as a complete picture,albeit with missing details,so to speak,a postmodern picture that requires the reader to participate in its refinement.The methodological basis of this study is working with published sources through the critical lens of cultural anthropology as it has developed and presently looks.

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells and Their Uses in Bio-Regenerative Therapies for Bone and Cartilage: A Review

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a top candidate for new clinical treatments in the repair of bone and cartilage. In several clinical trials, they have shown reliable, effective, and safe management of inflammation, pain, and the regenerative capabilities of resident tissues. MSCs are likely derived from pericytes. They modulate the environment they are placed in by secreting immunomodulatory and signaling molecules to reduce inflammation and direct resident cells to create new tissues. They are easily isolated from several different adult tissues, and inexpensive to grow in a lab. However, a mistake made in the initial classification of MSCs as stem cells has created deeply engrained misconceptions that are still evident today. MSCs are not stem cells, despite a large fraction of research and therapies using the name “mesenchymal stem cells”. This mistake creates false narratives attributing the observed positive outcomes of MSC treatments to stem cell characteristics, which has led to distrust in MSC research. Despite inconsistencies in their classification, MSCs demonstrate consistent positive effects in numerous animal studies and human clinical trials for non-unions and osteoarthritis. With an aging population, regenerative techniques are very promising for novel therapies. To produce trusted and safe new treatments using MSCs, it is essential for the International Society for Cellular Therapies to re-establish common ground in the identity, mechanism of action, and isolation techniques of these cells.

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.

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.

Air Quality Legislation and Standards in the European Union: Background, Status and Public Participation

In order to improve air quality, the European Union introduced the New Air Quality Directive in 2008 and set its Member States strict targets on air pollution concentrations for the most harmful and challenging substances, such as fine particles. The law enforcement relies on a monitoring and reporting system to inform the European Commission and the public, for it is the citizens' right to be informed about harmful air quality. With sectoral measures, air quality could be improved in the past 20 years, but some emissions concentrations have stagnated in recent years and emissions temporarily exceed thresholds in nearly half of the Member States. The European Emission Inventory allows the commission to identify the substances, areas, and times of exceedances, and to implement sectoral measures leading to air quality improvements, all of which have to be made available publicly. This manuscript introduces the air quality legislation and reviews the quality of European air for recent years.

Briefing of the Research on the Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons in Soviet Russia in the 20th Century

The study of Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind in Russia began around 1918.The Chapter“Tracing the origin of the Dao”translated by B.M.Alexeyev,the founder of modern Russian Sinology,is the earliest Russian translation of this book.He proposed a lot of problems inspiring future generations to think about,standardizing the direction for the future researchers of“Dragon Study”in Soviet Russia.L.D.Bozdneeva’s textbook Medieval Eastern Literature(1970),K.I.Grekina’s Monograph Chinese Literary Theory in the Early19-20th century(1971),V.A.K'ri'vzo'v’s paper Discussion on Liu Xie’s Aesthetic Views(1978),I.S.Lisevich’s Monograph Ideology of Chinese Literature at the Turn of the Ancient and the Middle Ages(1979),and Li Fuqing’s paper published after the dissolution of the Soviet Union,Genre of Chinese Medieval Literature(1994),have made a useful discussion of the concept and terminology,literary theory and aesthetic ideology of the Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind.In the monograph Tai Chi:the Global Model in Chinese Literature and Culture in the 1-13th Century,published by K.I.Gorekina in 1995,Dragon-Carving and Literary Mind was interpreted by universe ontology,which reflects the rising of new academic trend in the research of“Dragon Study”in Russia.In recent years,young talents begin to join in Russian Dragon-Carving and Literary Mind research,and doctoral thesis focused on it have been published,showing a good situation that this research has qualified successors.

Regional analysis and sustainable development： Application of a synthetic sustainability indicator to Galicia and the European Union

In general, investigations carried out to date regarding/measuring systems/systems of measurement of sustainable development present two peculiarities： Either they are of a limited practical nature or they do not allow for comparisons between different areas or economies. Global synthetic indicators are an exception to the above; however they have been scarcely developed. This article designs an index of said characteristics, which is subsequently applied to all the countries within the European Union and to the region of Galicia.

Landscape Design of Parks Based on Red Tourism——With the Memorial Park of Soviet Republic of China in Ruijin,Jiangxi Province as a Study Case

Red tourism is a derivative product of organized patriotic education and revolutionary education activities.Memorial Park of Soviet Republic of China in Ruijin City,Jiangxi Province,as a representative of red tourism destination,is designed with red and patriotic education as the principal line to carry forward revolutionary traditions and spirits of Red Army,as well as create "red" garden landscapes with strong patriotism,time spirits and leisure elements.

Implications of a Crisis on Small Businesses in the European Union and Republic of Croatia

Until the early 1990s Croatia has been neglecting, and even underestimating the significance, the role, the needs, and the results of small businesses （small and medium entrepreneurship）. Complete attention was focused on big companies. Relatively late, in 2002, small businesses, within the statutory legislation, have gotten its appropriate legal status and economic relevance. Today it is treated as a ＂basic necessity＂ of every society and a generator of economic development. But, economic crisis that has been present since 2008 has manifested all of its negativities, which has reflected on the present state of the economy, the whole society, and it is also shown from the results and some relevant indicators.

The Union of the East and West via Music Culture

It is universally acknowledged that cultural diversity can be showed in various aspects, and it take the music culture for example here. As the UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki Moon said:"there are no languages required in the musical world, That is the power of music.That is the power of heart."Through this promotion of arts we can better understand the culture and civilization of other people.

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.

The Management and Use of Trade Union Funds in Public Institutions

Trade union funds are the basis and guarantee for various activities in public institutions.It is of great significance to constantly enhance the vitality of trade unions and the competitiveness of public institutions to continuously improve the management and use of trade union funds,thus giving full play to the role of trade union funds to better serve workers.This paper analyzes the management and use of trade union funds in the present situation and proposes several measures for improvement.

The Diffusion of Bilateral Tendencies in the Common Trade Policy of the European Union During the Global Financial and Economic Crisis

In this research work, the author focuses on the analysis of the diffusion of bilateral tendencies in the common trade policy of the European Union （EU） during the global financial and economic crisis. Realistic point is important trends in the trade regime during the economic crisis. The decisions taken by the representatives of the governments participating in the World Trade Organisation （WTO） are, to a significant degree, influenced by various lobbies, such as organisations and unions of food producers or other non-governmental organisations, including trade unions, The main objective of the research task is to give a comprehensive analysis of the international trade policy during the world financial and economic crisis 2008-2010. The particular mains concern the political economy models of foreign trade policy, protectionistic pressures in different political system, the level of protectionistic pressures, food producer pressures, international trade liberalization, and environmental protection bilateral tendencies in the common trade policy of the EU and the respond of the EU to the economic crisis, it must be emphasized that on a theoretical level, understanding the choice of trade policies between liberalizm and protectionisme is very important. Despite the undeniable benefits of the multilateral WTO forum for trade liberalisation, the rapid increase of North-South bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Areas （FTAs） begs a systematic explanation for why some forums are prioritized relative to others.

Research on the Existing Challenges and Countermeasures in E-business Education among Universities'Upgraded Talents from Colleges:A Case Study of Beijing Union University

At present,there are indeed many problems in the training of upgraded talents among e-business students such as unclear training objectives and characteristics,as well as the lack of classified guidance and its corresponding mechanism.Therefore,there is a need for optimization and upgrading of faculties in which active research should be conducted on these issues.Through various measures to counter the challenges faced in the training of upgraded talents in e-business education based on the student-oriented ideology and advantages of universities,the environment needs to be constantly optimized while improving their levels,designing effective countermeasures,and having finn ideological beliefs.This article strives to educate senior e-business innovative talents in line with the needs of enterprises,continuously promote the integration of industry and education,as well as commit to contributing toward a comprehensive and healthy development of the e-business industry as well as social progress.

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.

Early Treatment Outcome of Humeral Shaft Fracture Non-Union in Adults: Comparative Study of Plating versus Interlocking Nailing

Background: Fractures of humeral shaft in adults are common injuries. Humeral shafts non-union either from late presentation after initial treatment by traditional bone setters or failed non-operative orthodox care is a major problem in this part of the world. This non-union is a major treatment challenge with increased cost of care and morbidity in this part of the world. Humeral shaft non-union can be treated with locked intra-medullary nailing (LIMN) or dynamic compression plating (DCP). Study on comparison of these methods of fixation in this part of the world is scarce in literature search, hence the reason for this study. Objective: The objectives of this study are: (1) to compare early clinical outcome following fixation of humeral shaft fracture nonunion with DCP versus LIMN;(2) to compare the time of radiologic fracture union of DCP with LIMN;(3) to compare complications following fixation of humeral shaft fracture nonunion with DCP versus LIMN. Patients and Methods: This was a randomized control study done for 2 years in which fifty adult patients with humeral shaft non-union were recruited. The patients were grouped into 2 (P = DCP & N = LIMN). Forty five of the patients completed the follow up periods of the study and then analyzed. The P group had ORIF with DCP while the N group had ORIF with LIMN. Both groups had grafting with cancellous bones. Each patient was followed up for a period of 6 months at the time which radiographic union is expected. Any patient without clinical and/or radiographic evidence of union after six months of surgery was diagnosed as having recurrent non-union. The data generated was analyzed using SPSS Version 23. The results were presented in charts and tables. The paired t-test was used while considering p value Result: Forty five patients completed follow up. There was a male preponderance (4:1), right humerus predominated (3:2). Motor vehicular accidents were the commonest cause of the fractures (62%). Most non-union fractures occurred at the level of the middle 3rd of the humeral shaft (60%). Failed TBS treatment was the commonest indication for the osteosynthesis (71%). More patients had plating (53%) compared to 47% who had LIMN. Most patients (93.4%) had union between 3 to 6 months irrespective of fixation type with no significant statistical difference between the union rate of DCP and LIMN (p value 0.06) with similar functional outcome and complication rates irrespective of the type of fixation. Conclusion: This study showed that the success rates in term of fracture union, outcome functional grades and complication rates were not directly dependent on the types of the fixation: plating or locked intra-medullary nailing.

Research on the Interior Decoration Characteristics of Peking Union Medical College Phase I Project

Peking Union Medical College was founded in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.Since then,society and politics have been rapidly changing,and its architectural aesthetics reflect the idea of advocating the West and inheriting tradition.Through research and actual investigation,this paper summarizes the current status of its building from two aspects,interior decoration art and interior decoration technology,analyzes the interior decoration characteristics of Peking Union Medical College Phase I Project,and records the archives of Peking Union Medical College’s decoration technology.

The Cordiality on the Union of 3-regular Connected Graph and Cycle

Diab proved the following graphs are Cordial;Pm K1,n if and only if(m,n) =(1,2);Cm K1,n;Pm Kn;Cm Kn for all m and n except m ≡ 2(mod 4).In this paper,we proved the Cordiality on the union of 3-regular connected graph K3 and cycle Cm.First we have the Lemma 2,if uv ∈ E(G),G is Cordial,we add 4 vertices x,y,z,w in sequence to the edge uv,obtain a new graph denoted by G*,then G* is still Cordial,by this lemma,we consider four cases on the union of 3-regular connected graph R3,and for every case we distinguish four subcases on the cycle Cm.

Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy for midshaft clavicular delayed union: A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND One of the most common complications following surgery for midshaft clavicle fracture is nonunion/delayed union.Extracorporeal shock wave therapy(ESWT)is an alternative to promote new bone formation without surgical complications.To date,no literature has reported low-intensity ESWT(LI-ESWT)in delayed union of midshaft clavicle fracture.CASE SUMMARY We reported a 66-year-old Chinese amateur cyclist with clavicle delayed union treated with 10 sessions of LI-ESWT(radial,0.057 mJ/mm^(2),3 Hz,3000 shocks).No anesthetics were applied,and no side effects occurred.At the 4 mo and 7 mo follow-ups,the patient achieved clinical and radiographical recovery,respectively.CONCLUSION In conclusion,our findings indicated that LI-ESWT could be a good option for treating midshaft clavicular delayed union.