Characterization of Streptomyces strain SLO-105 isolated from Lake Oubeira sediments in North-East of Algeria

A microbial strain, SLO-105, isolated from Lake Oubeira sediment was screened for its antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The strain showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus MRSA, Bacillus subtilus, Micrococcus leutus,Streptococcus fecalis and fungi Aspergillus niger and Rodotorulla mucilaginosa. However, no activity of the strain was observed against Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as on fungi Candida albicans. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequence and themorphological and physiological characteristics of the strain suggested that the isolate belonged to Streptomyces genus

Prédiction de la production laitière par lactation de référence des vaches à partir des lactations partielles

L'étude a porté sur différentes méthodes de prédiction de la production laitière par lactation de référence à partir des lactations partielles en se basant sur 4847 lactations des vaches de races Holstein et Frisonne soumises au contrôle laitier officiel au Maroc. La comparaison de l'efficacité des différentes méthodes utilisées a permis de retenir l'équation de régression suivante: Y = 731,7 + 4,85 X3 - 3,56 X4 + 6,72 Xs où Y est la production laitière en 305 jours (Kg), et X3, X4 , Xs sont les productions laitières mensuelles simples (Kg) des 3'm., 4'm. et 5'm. mois de lactation. Le coefficient de détermination (R2) de ce modèle est de 86,9%. Il a été conclu que cette équation pourrait être utilisée pour prédire précocement la production laitière par lactation de référence, et par conséquent de permettre une évaluation génétique précoce des bovins laitiers

‘Pole Test’ Measurements in Critical Leg Ischaemia

AbstractBackgroundFor the quantification of critical limb ischaemia (CLI) most vascular surgery units use sphygmo-manometric and transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2) measurements. However, measurements obtained by cuff-manometry can be overestimated especially in diabetic patients because of medial calcification that makes leg arteries less compressible. TcPO2 measurements present a considerable overlap in the values obtained for patients with different degrees of ischaemia and its reproducibility has been questioned. Arterial wall stiffness has less influence on the pole test, based on hydrostatic pressure derived by leg elevation, and this test seems to provide a reliable index of CLI.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the pole pressure test for detection of critical lower limb ischaemia, correlating results with cuff-manometry and transcutaneous oxygen pressure.DesignUniversity hospital-prospective study.Materials and methodsSeventy-four patients (83 legs) with rest pain or gangrene were evaluated by four methods: pole test, cuff-manometry, TcPO2 and arteriography. CLI was present if the following criteria were met: (a) important arteriographic lesions+rest pain with an ankle systolic pressure (ASP) ≤40mmHg and/or a TcPO2 ≤30mmHg, or (b) important arteriographic lesions+tissue loss with an ASP ≤60mmHg and/or a TcPO2 ≤40mmHg. Fifty-seven lower limbs met the criteria for CLI.ResultsMeasurements obtained by cuff-manometry were significantly higher to those obtained by pole test (mean pressure difference: 40mmHg, p<0.001). The difference between the two methods remained statistically significant for both diabetics (50.73, p<0.001) and non-diabetics (31.46, p<0.001). Mean TcPO2 value was 15.51mmHg and there was no important difference between patients with and without diabetes. Overall, there was a correlation between sphygmomanometry and pole test (r=0.481). The correlation persisted for patients without diabetes (r=0.581), but was not evident in patients with diabetes. Correlation between pole test and TcPO2 was observed only for patients with diabetes (r=0.444). There was no correlation between cuff-manometry and TcPO2. The pole test offered an accuracy of 88% for the detection of CLI. The sensitivity of this test was 95% and the specificity 73%

BURN-OUT DU SOIGNANT AUX URGENCES

Burnout has been defined as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. Emergency services are the busiest and the most stressful units of hospitals. Aim: To assess the prevalence of burnout among Tunisian public hospital doctors and nurses and to determine its causes and perceived repercussions. Methods: in a first step, we assessed the work conditions, the perceived burn out and its possible consequences in 100 health care providers from two department of emergency of two hospitals: Tabarka and Jendouba from the North of Tunisia. In a second step, we used the Maslach Burn Inventory to assess the burnout symptoms in ours ample. Results: more than the half (56%) of ours ample had a burnout. 47% of the affected professionals had a high level of emotional distress, 36,6% had a high level of depersonalization and 33% had a low level of professional fulfillment . Burnout had a high level in nurse which affects three dimensions relative to physicians. A high level of burnout had found in health care provider which had sick leave with emotional distress (32%) (p=0,02), depersonalization(21%) and a low level of professional fulfillment (11%) . Conclusion: Our results corroborate partially with those of the literature and illustrate some parameters that can be the cause of burnout, such as working conditions, role ambiguity, and lack of experience among the young nurse. Therefore, it is important to take into consideration this various factors had their impact on quality of life of caregivers

The Nature of Electronic States in Atomically Thin MoS2 Field-Effect Transistors

We present low temperature electrical transport experiments in five field effect transistor devices consisting of monolayer, bilayer and trilayer MoS2 films, mechanically exfoliated onto Si/SiO2 substrate. Our experiments reveal that the electronic states in all films are localized well up to the room temperature over the experimentally accessible range of gate voltage. This manifests in two dimensional (2D) variable range hopping (VRH) at high temperatures, while below \sim 30 K the conductivity displays oscillatory structures in gate voltage arising from resonant tunneling at the localized sites. From the correlation energy (T0) of VRH and gate voltage dependence of conductivity, we suggest that Coulomb potential from trapped charges in the substrate are the dominant source of disorder in MoS2 field effect devices, which leads to carrier localization as well.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; ACS Nano (2011

Role of the dimerized gap due to anion ordering in spin-density wave phase of (TMTSF)2_2ClO4_4 at high magnetic fields

Magnetoresistance measurements have been carried out along the highly conducting a axis in the FISDW phase of hydrogened and deuterated (TMTSF)$_2$ClO$_4$ for various cooling rates through the anion ordering temperature. With increasing the cooling rate, a) the high field phase boundary $\beta_{\rm {HI}}$, observed at 27 T in hydrogened samples for slowly cooled, is shifted towards a lower field, b) the last semimetallic SDW phase below $\beta_{\rm {HI}}$ is suppressed, and c) the FISDW insulating phase above $\beta_{\rm {HI}}$ is enhanced in both salts. The cooling rate dependence of the FISDW transition and of $\beta_{\rm {HI}}$ in both salts can be explained by taking into account the peculiar SDW nesting vector stabilized by the dimerized gap due to anion ordering.Comment: 6pages,6figures(EPS), accepted for publication in PR

Excitonic optical transitions characterized by Raman excitation profiles in single-walled carbon nanotubes

We examine the excitonic nature of the E33 optical transition of the individual free-standing index-identified (23, 7) single-walled carbon nanotube by means of the measurements of its radial-breathing-mode and G-mode Raman excitation profiles. We confirm that it is impossible to determine unambiguously the nature of its E33 optical transition (excitonic vs band to band) based only on the excitation profiles. Nevertheless, by combining Raman scattering, Rayleigh scattering, and optical absorption measurements on strictly the same individual (23, 7) single-walled carbon nanotube, we show that the absorption, Rayleigh spectra, and Raman excitation profiles of the longitudinal and transverse G modes are best fitted by considering the nature of the E33 transition as excitonic. The fit of the three sets of data gives close values of the transition energy E33 and damping parameter G33. This comparison shows that the fit of the Raman excitation profiles provides with good accuracy the energy and damping parameter of the excitonic optical transitions in single-walled carbon nanotubes

Insulating behavior in ultra-thin bismuth selenide field effect transistors

Ultrathin (~3 quintuple layer) field-effect transistors (FETs) of topological insulator Bi2Se3 are prepared by mechanical exfoliation on 300nm SiO2/Si susbtrates. Temperature- and gate-voltage dependent conductance measurements show that ultrathin Bi2Se3 FETs are n-type, and have a clear OFF state at negative gate voltage, with activated temperature-dependent conductance and energy barriers up to 250 meV

Acute myocardial infarction in a patient with hypofibrinogenemia: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Congenital fibrinogen deficiency is a rare coagulation disorder usually responsible for hemorrhagic diathesis. However, it can be associated with thrombosis and there have been limited reports of arterial thrombotic complications in these patients.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 42-year-old Tunisian man with congenital hypofibrinogenemia and no cardiovascular risk factors presented with new onset prolonged angina pectoris. An electrocardiogram showed features of inferior acute myocardial infarction. His troponin levels had reached 17 ng/L. Laboratory findings confirmed hypofibrinogenemia and ruled out thrombophilia. Echocardiography was not useful in providing diagnostic elements but did show preserved left ventricular function. Coronary angiography was not performed and our patient did not receive any anticoagulant treatment due to the major risk of bleeding. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed myocardial necrosis. Our patient was managed with aspirin, a beta-blocker, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and statin medication. The treatment was well tolerated and no ischemic recurrence was detected.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although coronary thrombosis is a rare event in patients with fibrinogen deficiency, this condition is of major interest in view of the difficulties observed in managing these patients.</p

Random Convex Hulls and Extreme Value Statistics

In this paper we study the statistical properties of convex hulls of $N$ random points in a plane chosen according to a given distribution. The points may be chosen independently or they may be correlated. After a non-exhaustive survey of the somewhat sporadic literature and diverse methods used in the random convex hull problem, we present a unifying approach, based on the notion of support function of a closed curve and the associated Cauchy's formulae, that allows us to compute exactly the mean perimeter and the mean area enclosed by the convex polygon both in case of independent as well as correlated points. Our method demonstrates a beautiful link between the random convex hull problem and the subject of extreme value statistics. As an example of correlated points, we study here in detail the case when the points represent the vertices of $n$ independent random walks. In the continuum time limit this reduces to $n$ independent planar Brownian trajectories for which we compute exactly, for all $n$, the mean perimeter and the mean area of their global convex hull. Our results have relevant applications in ecology in estimating the home range of a herd of animals. Some of these results were announced recently in a short communication [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 103}, 140602 (2009)].Comment: 61 pages (pedagogical review); invited contribution to the special issue of J. Stat. Phys. celebrating the 50 years of Yeshiba/Rutgers meeting