Poncet’s disease: A challenging cause of polyarthritis in a Moroccan patient

Background: Poncet’s disease is a reactive polyarthritis associated to active tuberculosis with excluded presence of mycobacterium in the joints and bones affected; it is an infrequent form of tuberculosis and challenging diagnosis condition with unknown pathogenesis. We report a case of Poncet’s disease in Moroccan patient to contribute data which could result in a consensus of clinical criteria. Case report: A 38-year-old female was admitted to the Rheumatology Department, Hassan II University Hospital as she presented with morning stiffness, arthralgias, symmetric arthritis of the wrists, ankles, bilateral sacroiliitis, enthesitis and inflammatory back pain. The patient had cervical lymphadenopathy with fever and erythema nodosum. Laboratory results were as follows: ESR 25 mm/h and C-reactive protein 13 mg/L while anti-nuclear antibodies, rheumatoid factor, human immunodeficiency virus and angiotensin converting enzyme were negative. The intradermal skin test for tuberculosis reading was 20 mm which is considered strongly positive. Histological report of cervical node tissue revealed granulomatous lesions compatible with tuberculosis. No alteration was observed in the radiographies of chest and the affected joints. MRI of sacroiliac joint and spine was normal. Spondyloarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis were ruled out. Therapy with pyrazinamide, isoniazide and rifampicin was started after which the arthritis resolved in a few days. The diagnosis of Poncet’s disease was confirmed. Conclusion: The differential diagnosis between Poncet’s disease and autoimmune inflammatory joint diseases is a clinical challenge. However, Poncet’s disease should be considered as a differential diagnosis for patients with fever and arthritis of unknown cause, particularly if active tuberculosis is suspected

Vitality and in vitro pollen germination of different ‘Oblačinska’ sour cherry clones

Vitality of pollen, in vitro pollen germination and pollen tube growth (pollen tube length and pollen tube growth rate) were investigated in Oblačinska sour cherry in order to determine the differences between clones which have divergent yielding potential. For this purpose two ‘Oblačinska’ sour cherry clones with high fruit set and high yields (II/2, III/9) and two with low fruit set and low-yielding (XI/3 and XIII/1) were used in this study. Pollen germination was done on artificial medium containing 14% sucrose and 0.3% agar-agar at room temperature (23°C). Pollen tube growth was stopped with a drop of 40% formaldehyde, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h after contact with the medium. The maximum percentage of germination ranged from 13.01% (clone II/2, after 1 h) to 54.19% (clone III/9, after 24 h). Pollen tube length varied from 64.84 μm (clone XIII/1, after 1 h) to >1,100 μm (clones II/2 and III/9, after 24 h). Pollen growth rate was quite high (up to 1.71 μm min-1) after 6 h of germination, but rather decreasing until 24 h of germination (0.56-0.83 μm min-1). The dynamics of in vitro pollen tubes growth among the clones were quite different, especially after 12 h and 24 h of germination. Clones that are singled out as fruitful (II/2 and III/9) gave much better results regarding pollen germination and pollen tube growth in comparison to clones which were characterized by low fruit set and yields (XI/3 and XIII/1). [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR 31063

Conflict Transformation : A Multi-Dimensional Task

Den populärvetenskapliga publikationen "Den goda resan" handlar om turistmåltider i Sveriges inland. Skriften syftar till att ge nya idéer och perspektiv till den som vill utveckla sina turistmåltider och turistverksamheter. I boken förs en diskussion om turistmåltiden som fenomen och olika sätt att leverera måltider beroende på önskemål och situation. Ett historiskt och ett nutida perspektiv på hur mat och resande förhållit och förhåller sig till varandra är ett matnyttigt kapitel. Begrepp som lokala råvaror, regional identitet och balansen mellan det bekanta och det obekanta i turistmåltiden ges stort utrymme. Skriften avslutas med två exempel på hur man kan gå till väga när turistmåltider skapas. Det ena exemplet handlar om hur ett restaurangföretag kan utforma verksamheten, och det andra handlar om hur en turistföretagare kan skapa turistmåltider i nära relation till utomhusaktiviteter. Framför allt fokuseras turistföretagarnas syn på sin verksamhet och vilka problem de får brottas med. Författarna har rest från Gällivare till Hällefors vid olika tillfällen och studerat det måltidsutbud som turisterna idag har tillgång till. De har under sina resor också intervjuat producenter av turistmåltider, från dem som har idéer och handlingskraft att utveckla måltider till dem som inte vet vad de kan göra för att konstruera minnesvärda måltider för turister