• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.105-130
• /
• 2022

This paper argues that the war in Syria is partly the result of a global Islamist wave that contributed to fuelling conflict across large regions of Asia and Africa. Of course, the war that has consumed Syria since 2011 most certainly has multiple interrelated causes and driving forces, and any attempt to isolate one or even two or three runs the risk of advancing an overly simplistic interpretation of history. This essay, therefore, does not aim to offer an appraisal of the multiple variables that contributed to the war in Syria. Instead, it zeroes in on how political Islam came to impact Syria and its people. In doing so, it demonstrates how competing varieties of political Islam represented leading causes of conflict. Indeed, different Islamist movements contributed to the outbreak of the war in 2011, fuelled the conflict for years on end, and to this day represent major obstacles to the achievement of sustainable peace. Four broad Islamist currents are especially relevant to the case of Syria: the Muslim Brotherhood; the Shia revivalist movement at the nexus of the alliance between Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria; Salafi jihadism and its volatile and fractious underworld of competing armed groups, from Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State; and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's market-friendly Islamism, which induced Turkey to intervene in Syria's civil war.

• 비료회보
• /
• v.14 no.2 s.369
• /
• pp.33-47
• /
• 1989

• Convergence Security Journal
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.129-141
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of preventive attacks through cases of military attacks against nuclear facilities in Iraq and Syria that Israel has conducted. It also suggests a desirable approach to preventive attacks against North Korea. The Operation Opera in Iraq in 1981 and the Operation Orchard in Syria in 2007 are examined with an aim to support the opinion "the preventive attack can not be successful in the long run though it may be effective in the short term". It is also possible to denuclearize if the effective preventive attacks on the Korean peninsula are conducted together with removing both nuclear weapons development means and will. In order to guarantee the successful prevent attacks, it is necessary to secure the legitimacy of preventive attacks as well as international pressure. Also, the reliable military attack should be done on facilities, manpower and monitored continuously to prevent developing the nuclear afterwards.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.53 no.6
• /
• pp.387-391
• /
• 2020

Background: Hydatidosis is a major health problem around the world, especially in the Mediterranean region. Cysts can break open or develop secondary bacterial infections, altering the clinical presentation. Methods: Patients who underwent hydatid cyst surgery at Al-Mouassat University Hospital in Damascus, Syria between January 2006 and December 2017 were evaluated. Cases involving isolated hepatic cysts were excluded. The patients were divided into those with perforated hydatid cysts (group 1) and those with intact hydatid cysts (group 2). Results: This study included 224 cases: 113 in group 1 (50.4%) and 111 in group 2 (49.6%). The median chest tube duration, hospitalization time, and postoperative complication rate were higher in group 1 than in group 2 (p=0.003, p=0.002, and p=0.006, respectively). In both groups, the most common symptom was cough (present in 178 patients in total [79.5%]), while chest pain (121 patients [54%]) and dyspnea (113 patients [50.4%]) were also common. Cough, hemoptysis, fever, and expectoration of cystic contents were significantly more frequent in group 1 than in group 2 (p<0.001). Conclusion: The early discovery and treatment of intact pulmonary hydatid cysts reduced the hospitalization time, chest tube duration, and postoperative complication rate. Relative to intact cysts, perforated cysts are more complex and are associated with more expensive and time-consuming surgical treatment.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.451-453
• /
• 2013

Common root rot caused by Cochliobolus sativus is a serious disease of barley. A simple and reliable method for assessing this disease would enhance our capacity in identifying resistance sources and developing resistant barley cultivars. In searching for such a method, a conidial suspension of C. sativus was dropped onto sterilized elongated subcrown internodes and incubated in sandwich filter paper using polyethylene transparent envelopes. Initial disease symptoms were easily detected after 48h of inoculation. Highly significant correlation coefficients were found in each experiment (A, B and C) between sandwich filter paper and seedling assays, indicating that this testing procedure was reliable. The method presented facilitates a rapid pre-selection under uniform conditions which is of importance from a breeder's point of view.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.116-119
• /
• 2011

Pyrenophora graminea, the causal agent of leaf stripe disease, is an economically important pathogen of barley found worldwide. Forty-four isolates of diverse geographical origin within Syria were grouped into vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) by demonstrating heterokaryosis by complementation tests using nitrate nonutilizing (nit) mutants. All isolates were grouped into three VCGs-1-A, 1-B and 1-C. No self-incompatibility was observed in any of the isolates tested. VCG 1-A was the most common group within growing regions in Syria and proved to be the most virulent of the VCGs identified. These data indicate that the level of virulence in P. graminea is related to VCG.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
• /
• 2005.11a
• /
• pp.299-304
• /
• 2005

A Vigilance control is a device fitted in the driving cab of a railway train to ensure that the driver is alert on the job. A simple vigilance control requires that the driver press a button at intervals not less than a certain amount and not more than another amount of time. If the driver fails to operate the vigilance control within those limits, a hooter sounds, and should the driver still doesn't operate the vigilance control then the brakes are applied. If the driver falls asleep or takes ill, then clearly such a vigilance control will sooner or later apply the brakes. The this vigilance control system which is applied to reduce the drive load at Syria diesel multiple unit train is proposed.

• Acta Via Serica
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.119-140
• /
• 2021

Relations between Ankara and Washington, which have hardly been harmonious, recently became extremely tense, especially when Turkey decided to deal with Kurdish enclaves nearby its border. Russia naturally took advantage of the tension by providing Turkey with advanced S-400 missiles and by trying to play a peacemaking role in contested regions within Syria. Ankara's dealings with Moscow alienated it from NATO and the USA, and complicated relations with Russia and its allies in Syria, where Turkey's interests collided with those of Tehran and Moscow. While these aspects of the Ankara/Moscow relationship are well known, this article explores how the discovery of natural gas in the Mediterranean has increased Ankara's importance to Moscow, as a means of sowing dissension within NATO and helping Moscow hinder the emergence of alternative gas suppliers to Europe.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.14
• /
• pp.5967-5970
• /
• 2015

Background: The prevalence of prostate cancer is considered high in many countries, and screening tests are very important in order to detect prostate cancer in its early stages; however false positivity with these screening tests means that a lot of patients undergo unnecessary biopsy, which is an invasive procedure, for the confirmatory test. The purpose of this study was to estimate the frequency of unnecessary biopsy cases in patients referred for prostate biopsy in one of the most important and overload cancer centers in Syria. Materials and Methods: Retrospective data for a period of four years between January 2009 and December 2012 were collected in Al-Bayrouni University Medical hospital in Damascus, Syria. The patients from whom data were collected were referred to our histopathological department because of elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) serum or an abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE). All patients underwent prostatic TRUS-guided biopsies. Diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) was based on histopathological examination and prostate cancers cases were graded and scored according to the Gleason score system. Results: For the 406 patients referred to biopsy, the $mean{\pm}SD$ age was $58.4{\pm}23.3$ years. The $mean{\pm}SD$ PSA level was $49.2{\pm}21.5ng/ml$. Of the total we found 237 patients diagnosed with PCa (58. 4%), 166 patients with BPH (40.9%) and 3 cases were unable to be diagnosed (0.7%) because of biopsy collection errors. Conclusions: Our study shows that a high percentage of patients are undergoing unnecessary biopsy, which suggests that the performed screening tests had a high level of false positive and may need re-evaluation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.879-883
• /
• 2012

Cervical cancer is caused by HPV infection and can be prevented by early vaccination. Objective: To assess Syrian women's level of knowledge and determinants of good knowledge of cervical cancer, HPV infection and its vaccines. Methods: A cross sectional survey was undertaken among mothers with daughters in sixth grade classes enrolled in primary schools in Aleppo city, Syria. Samples were selected through cluster sampling and data collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Less than a third of the mothers had heard of HPV infection and vaccines against cervical cancer and levels of knowledge were generally low. Good knowledge was associated with high education level, higher family monthly income, having few - less than four children, positive history of cervical cancer screening, and working or having relatives working in the medical field. The main source of information was television and few reported health care providers as a source of knowledge on HPV infection and vaccine. Conclusion: Since knowledge of HPV infection and its connection with cervical cancer and its vaccine are low, more efforts must be made to educate Syrians prior to introduction of any HPV vaccination programme. Public health efforts must focus on educating mothers, the public as well as health care providers.