Circulating Aflatoxin B1-Related TP53 Mutation Detected by Digital PCR in Tunisian Patients with and Without Hepatocellular Carcinoma

International audienc

Interesting effects of the piezoelectric and internal electric fields on the band gap of InAs/GaAs/AlGaAs:δ-Si HEMTs

The quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) has been investigated in detail in GaAs/AlGaAs and InAs/GaAs/AlGaAs HEMTs structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (1 0 0) oriented GaAs substrates. A power dependent photoluminescence (PL) study allowed to highlight the QCSE caused by the internal electric field in the GaAs channel then a piezoelectric field reinforce the red-shift. Increasing the Si-δ-doping leads to; first a red-shift then a blue shift at high excitation power due to the stabilize quantum well structures tendency and the saturation phenomenon. The HEMT band structures and the theoretical activated electron densities at 10 K have been studied using the finite difference method and the simultaneously solve of the Schrödinger and the Poisson equations written within the Hartree approximation

Les virus de l'hépatite profitent des pratiques traditionnelles pour augmenter la charge du carcinome hépatocellulaire en Tunisie

International audienceHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major public health issue in Africa. In Tunisia, hepatitis B virus (HBV) is known to be an important risk factor for HCC in the south of the country, but the role played by hepatitis C virus (HCV) still remains unclear. The aim of the current case-control study was to identify risk factors for HCC development in the northern part of the country. Clinical and biological data including viral hepatitis status (serological and molecular) and non-infectious risk factors from 73 patients with HCC and 70 control subjects without hepatic diseases were collected. The mean age of the patients was 63 ± 10 years, and the ratio of males to females was 1.1. HCC occurred in cirrhotic liver in 72.0% of the cases. HCV infection was the dominant risk factor (64.3% of cases); the presence of HBV was observed in 53.4% of the cases. Occult hepatitis B and C were implicated, respectively, in 30.1% and 9.6% of the cases. HCV genotype 1b was predominant. Patients originating from western Tunisia formed a homogeneous group, characterized by significantly higher rates of tattoos or scarifications (83%) and HCV infection (80%) than those from other parts of the country. Chronic HCV infection is currently the primary risk factor for HCC in Tunisia; HBV infection remains frequent in its overt or occult infection forms. Traditional esthetic practices apparently contribute to increasing the burden of terminal liver diseases in western Tunisia