Pathological Features of Gastric Cancer in Zhuanghe High-risk Area in China during 1992-2005

Objective： To investigate the pathological features and chronological changes of 1003 cases with gastric cancer in Zhuanghe high-risk area during 1992-2005 and the relationship between the changes and etiology factors in order to make a clue for gastric cancer prevention. Methods： A total of 1003 gastric cancer specimens resected surgically between 1992-2005 in Zhuanghe Center Hospital were studied. The specimens were fixed in formalin and diagnosed by routine pathology. Results： The incidence of patients with gastric cancer was highest at age of 60-69, the next high was at age of 50-59 and it was significantly higher in male than in female （P〈0.001）, the ratio was 3.0：1. During the past 14 years, there were 159 （15.9%） EGC, 195 （19.4%） moderate and 649 （64.7%） advanced gastric cancer detected. In macroscopical features, type Ⅲ remained dominant in EGC, the next was mixed type in EGC. In advanced gastric cancer the Borrmann＇s type Ⅲ remained the dominant, the next was type Ⅱ. For nodal metastasis, positive cases were decreasing and negative were increasing in EGC, moreover negative cases were higher than positive ones each year. There was no obvious trend in advanced cancer but positive cases were higher than negative ones each year. In histological features, papillary, moderately and poorly differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma remained downtrend, mucus adenocarcinoma and undifferentiation cancer remained uptrend year after year. The radio of intestinal to diffuse type decreased from 0.78 to 0.62 during the past 14 years. Conclusion： There were significant chorological trends of pathological characteristic of gastric cancer in Zhuanghe high-risk area during the past 14 years.

Checklist of Wadi Hassan flora, Northeastern Badia, Jordan

In this study, we survey the plant diversity of Wadi Hassan, which is located in the Northeastern Badia of Jordan, about 120 km east of Amman. All plant species were collected and herbarium specimens have been prepared, identified and deposited at the University of Jordan herbarium(Department of Biology,Faculty of Science). The final plant checklist includes 206 species belonging to 138 genera and 35 families.The most diverse families are Compositae(20.5%), Cruciferae(10.2%), Leguminosae(8.3%) and Boraginaceae(6.8%), followed by Caryophyllaceae and Gramineae(5.4%). These six families represent 60% of the total families recognized in the study area, while nine families each are represented by only one species. Most plants recorded are annual plants(61%), some plants are hemicryptophtes(18%) and camaephytes(15%), while the least frequent life form class was the phanerophyte shrub and perennial(0.5%). Chorological characteristics of the recorded flora show that Saharo-Arabian Region elements, IranoTuranian elements and Mediterranean elements constitute(58%) of the total flora. This research shows that even small portion of the Jordan Badia such as the Wadi Hassan plant community has high species diversity. Thus, we recommended further of the unexplored Wadi plants communities of the Jordan Badia.

Floristics and soil characteristics of Ohud mountain,AlMadinah Al-Munawarah,Western Saudi Arabia

Ohud mountain is one of the main important historic sites in the Arab Peninsula,and it is distinguishable over the rest of the mountains in the region.No extensive floristic survey has been carried out on Ohud mountain because of the rugged topography of this mountain.The current study investigates the floristic diversity and the correspondence of environmental factors of the phytogeographical distribution of plants,based on the floristic analysis of the present region.The research question is about the relationships between the species diversity and the human impacts of populated area at lowlands around Ohud mountain.A total of 59 species belonging to 56 genera and 28 families were recorded.Asteraceae had the highest contribution,about 12%of the total plant species.The analysis of the life forms demonstrated the prevalence of therophytes(68%)followed by chamaephytes(24%),indicating the adaptation of these life forms to hyperarid conditions.The chorological analysis indicated the predominance of the bi-regional taxa over the other phytochoria.Most of the recorded plant species belong to Saharo-Arabian and Sudano-Zambezian(24%)phytochoria.TWINSPAN analysis was performed to detect the indicator species of different vegetation groups and confirmed by detrended correspondence analysis(DCA or DECORANA).It is concluded that species richness and diversity revealed clear variation along the mountain and among the studied sites.Plant species diversity and richness were more pronounced in the intermediate portion of the elevation gradients across the mountain,with a decrease in the high altitudinal belts.The decrease was also recorded at the lower altitudes,where human impacts clearly affected vegetation;leading to a decrease in alpha diversity.In addition,the beta diversity among moderately highlands and lowlands was considerably high indicating the heterogeneous species composition among the studied sites along mountain elevations.The general pattern of vegetation groups distribution is controlled by a number of environmental factors;such as latitude,longitude,elevation,organic matter and some anions and cations.A Canonical Correspondence Analysis(CCA)ordination revealed that the vegetation structure has a strong association with the latitude of the mountain followed by organic matter and Magnesium.It is recommended that the populated area should be subjected to restoration of mountain ecosystem that might be degraded by human activities.