The environmental causes of cancer distribution in Syria

In the last decade Syria witnessed a boost in cancer incidences, as well as high mortality ratios. This research aims to illustrate the geographical distribution of cancer over Syria in details and to trace the expansion of incidence through time according to risk factors like age, gender, human behaviour. The paper consists of four parts: 1- Introduction to the topic (cancer and the environmental influence of its distribution) and explanation of the used terms. 2- The relationship between cartogeographical sciences and the topic of the paper. 3- Building a Geographical Information System according to the major district in Syria. 4- Building a Geographical Information System for the southern part of Syria (the most infected place). 5- Results and discussion. The study employed the geographical tools to investigate the geographical distribution of cancer disease and the environmental factor that controls this distribution. The used methods are the statistical, systematic, analytical descriptive, comparative and the cartographical which were employed differently according to the data characteristics. Personal and spatial data were collected from treatment points in a questionnaire that allowed adjusting each of them on the electronic interactive map. Data was analysed statistically and cartographically depicted. Accordingly parallel descriptive and comparative data were added for reaching the final conclusions. Thematic maps were the final product of using GIS. The cartographical product helped to analyse the epidemiological cluster and the accumulated risk factors. The resulted maps were an analytical tool revealing the concepts of spatial data. Natural risk factors were the main focus in addition to people nutrition habits. The studied factors were depicted in three map scales. The recorded incidences for 2002 till 2008 were depicted as well. The output is an atlas of: 1- 1/2000,000 Syria maps showing the big clusters of the disease and the risk factor. 2- 1/2000,000 Choropleth maps showing the ratio of incidence to the census of each Syrian district, 3- 1/200,000 for the southern part of Syria which showed the highest incidence ratios (Al-Souida county). The study showed many clusters based on the kind of cancer and the kind of risk factor and drew the attention to some risk factors that people disregard (the frequent relative marriage in the region of Al-Souida) and some uncommon ones like rock type (Al-Souida). Tracing pollution in time line helped to link the earlier influences and the accumulated factor to the recent incidence. the geographical risk factors were the minor reasons for the cancer clusters (elevation height, solar radiation, rock type, polluted gases in the atmosphere and water wells), meanwhile people habitual activities were the major reason (kind of job, smoking and nutrition system). Considerably some urgent risk factor caused the small clusters up on different groups of people (eating food exported to the city of Dier al-zor which was polluted by radiation)

Users characteristic influence on the efficiency of typographic design

This paper investigates the efficiency of typographic design using Bertin’s variables, both individually and combined. A user study was con-ducted in which two types of map users had to perform a search task. The first group consists out of participants who have been trained in cartog-raphy and who use maps on a daily basis. The second group of users are novices who have not got any previous education in cartography. Users’ efficiency was calculated by measuring the consumed time to find the target label. The obtained data was analyzed statistically to compare the efficiency of users’ performance regarding the applicability of visual variables on la-bels. Using ANOVA showed some significant differences between users’ group and within users’ groups (P<0.05)

Point-of-care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Emphysematous Cholecystitis

A 49-year-old male presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and generalized weakness. The physical examination was positive for right upper quadrant tenderness and positive Murphy’s sign. Point-of-care biliary ultrasound revealed signs of emphysematous cholecystitis. Emphysematous cholecystitis is a rare biliary pathology with a high mortality rate. It differs from acute cholecystitis is many ways. It has unique ultrasound characteristics. This case highlights the use of point-of-care ultrasound to diagnose a rare biliary condition

Diet-dependent immunohistochemical evaluation of connexin 43 in the sheep rumen

The objective of this study was to characterize the immunohistochemical localization of plasma membrane connexin 43 in the rumen of sheep after changing the diet from hay (ad libitum) to a mixed hay/concentrate diet. A total of 24 sheep were fed mixed hay/concentrate for different periods ranging from 0 weeks (control; hay ad libitum) to 12 weeks (1-1.5 kg hay plus 780 g concentrate per day in two equal portions). Using immunohistochemical technique the present study confirmed the existence of plasma membrane connexin 43 in the sheep rumen epithelium. Plasma membrane connexin 43 immunostaining was most intense at the stratum basale and stratum spinosum (suprabasal layer) and decreased iron intensity through stratum spinosum (superficial layers) to stratum granulosum. Meanwhile, stratum corneum was negative. The reaction around the cells gave a syncitial appearance with more apical-immunostaining concentration. Moreover, the present study confirmed a significant effect of concentrate diet on the immunoreactivity of plasma membrane connexin 43 in the rumen of sheep. A very strong degree of antibody reaction was seen in 4 to 12 weeks concentrate-fed groups

Hadronic Lorentz Violation in Chiral Perturbation Theory Including the Coupling to External Fields

If any violation of Lorentz symmetry exists in the hadron sector, its ultimate origins must lie at the quark level. We continue the analysis of how the theories at these two levels are connected, using chiral perturbation theory. Considering a two-flavor quark theory, with dimension-4 operators that break Lorentz symmetry, we derive a low-energy theory of pions and nucleons that is invariant under local chiral transformations and includes the coupling to external fields. The pure meson and baryon sectors, as well as the couplings between them and the couplings to external electromagnetic and weak gauge fields, contain forms of Lorentz violation which depend on linear combinations of quark-level coefficients. In particular, at leading order the electromagnetic couplings depend on the very same combinations as appear in the free particle propagators. This means that observations of electromagnetic processes involving hadrons--such as vacuum Cerenkov radiation, which may be allowed in Lorentz-violating theories--can only reliably constrain certain particular combinations of quark coefficients.Comment: 21 page

Label size design : aesthetics and effeciency

Considering label as one of the important map component, this paper is an attempt to provide empirical evidence of label size design rules and frames which is based on the design aesthetics and efficiency. Determining the ‘best’ legible label size is critical concern involves testing design aspect and needs. Both aesthetics and efficiency can set the design frames for better perception and legibility. Aesthetics was calculated by determining users´ preference of different use of label sizes, whereas efficiency was calculated by measuring time to locate targets of different. Both areal and point data were involved in the study to determine the combination of the two measurements of label size design. Digital maps were designed and presented to users as they were firstly asked about their preference of different use of label size, and secondly they were asked to locate different label size. The intersection between the first test and the second one attributes the frames for label size design. The correlation between the preferable sizes and the efficient sizes is being traced and the relation between label size aesthetics and efficiency is being identified. This study indicates the need to test other visual variable in order to serve many labelling functions