Ophthalmoplegia, Dysphonia and Tetraparesis Due to Guillain-Barre's Syndrome in Pregnant at 14 Weeks of Gestation: Case Report

Guillain-Barre’s syndrome (GBS) or inflammatory/post-infectious acute polyradiculoneuropathy is due to  demyelination of nerves, causing a progressive paresis or paralysis. It usually begins in the legs and  sometimes goes up to the respiratory muscles and cranial nerves. The exact mechanism of GBS occurrance is still unclear. An autoimmune disease is the assumption with the largest consensus to date. Autoantibodies  related to a viral or bacterial infection in the days or weeks before the onset of symptoms damage the myelin sheaths of nerve fibers. These infections can range from a simple cold with sore throat to gastrointestinal disorders. In very rare cases, it is also recognised that the use of some drugs (streptokinase, Captopril ...) can cause GBS. The gestation is a relative immunological rest period in which autoimmune pathologies have, in their majority, a true clinical lull related to the acceptance of the embryo and the foetus by the woman's body. The onset of the GBS in the period is exceptional. We report a case of paralysis of the nerve VI  accompanied by dysphonia and tetraparesis due to GBS in a pregnant of 24 year old with 14 weeks of gestation

Conjunctival cancers in HIV patients at the university hospital of Brazzaville

Background: Conjunctival cancers are masses raised or flat, located in or directly under the conjunctival mucous membrane covering the anterior sclera, tarsus and conjunctival dead-end. These tumours usually occur in the elderly or in cases of HIV/AIDS.Objective: To list the different types of conjunctival cancer in cases of HIV/AIDS at the University Hospital of Brazzaville.Design: It was a descriptive and transversal study, conducted between January 2008 and December 2012.Setting: The University Hospital of Brazzaville.Subjects: HIV patients under anti-retroviral treatment or not seen for conjunctival cancer histologically proven were selected.Results: Twenty-eight patients (28) were selected including a woman at 30 weeks of gestation. Two types of cancers were diagnosed, Carcinoma in situ (28.57%) and Squamous Cell Carcinoma (71.43%), no secondary tumour. There were anti-retroviral treatment failure in 89.29% of the cases.Conclusion: Squamous Cell Carcinoma was the most common conjunctival cancer. Better compliance of anti-retroviral treatment can reduce the prevalence of these tumours

Thick calcification from a GIST of the stomach penetrating into pericolic soft tissue - report of a case

Thick calcification is a rare presentation of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Penetration into gastric mucosa and pericolic soft tissue has never been reported. We report a case of gastric GIST with cystic degeneration and thick calcification in an 81-year old female, who presented with hematemesis and severe abdominal pain. Thick calcification of this tumor penetrating into pericolic soft tissue was noted and successfully treated by distal gastrectomy and partial colectomy. For gastrointestinal tumors with thick calcification, even with benign behavior, surgical intervention should be considered for both oncological considerations and prevention of catastrophes like perforation or penetration into surrounding soft tissue

Fabrication of 30 nm inter-electrode gap co-planar tunnel junctions with buried electrodes

Co-planar tunnel junctions with a gap length in the 30 nm range have been fabricated using a 20 keV scanning electron microscope and a Au-Pd lift-off. The junction electrodes are less than 200 nm in width and are buried in the SiO$_2$ substrate. This makes the gap surface accessible for atomic force microscope characterization and for local modification.Des jonctions tunnels co-planaires avec une largeur de coupure inférieure à 30 nm ont été fabriquées en utilisant un masqueur électronique à 20 keV et un procédé de lift-off d'un alliage Au-Pd. Les électrodes de la jonction ont moins de 200 nm de largeur et sont enterrées à la surface de SiO$_2$. La mesure de la topographie de la surface de la coupure avec un microscope à force atomique montre une rugosité de moins de 1 nm

Fabrication of Buried Co-Planar Metal-Insulator-Metal Nanojunctions with a Gap Lower than 10 nm

An improvement of a process to fabricate co-planar metal-insulator-metal nanojunctions is presented to reach a gap length much lower than 10 nm using a 20 keV e-beam and an AuPd lift-off. The electrodes of the nanojunction are less than 100 nm in width and are buried in the SiO$_2$ substrate. For the 8 nm nanojunctions, the gap is still filled with SiO$_2$ if care is taken about the SiO$_2$ etching step of the process.Un procédé de fabrication est proposé pour obtenir des nanojonctions métal-isolant-métal co-planaires d'une largeur d'isolant bien inférieure à 10 nm en utilisant un masqueur électronique à 20 keV et un “lift-off” à l'or-palladium. Les électrodes de la nanojonction enterrées dans la silice ont une largeur de moins de 100 nm et sont distantes de 8 nm. En optimisant l'étape de sous gravure, il est possible de conserver de la silice comme isolant entre les électrodes

Pregnancy Outcomes among Patients with Sickle Cell Disease in Brazzaville

Introduction. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic diseases in the world. It combines, in its homozygous form, chronic hemolytic anemia, vasoocclusive complications, and susceptibility to infections. It is well known that the combination of pregnancy and sickle cell disease promotes the occurrence of complications that are sometimes fatal for the mother and/or the fetus. Objective. The objective of the current study was to compare pregnancy outcomes among women with SCD with those of women without the diagnosis of SCD. Materials and methods. It was a case-control study carried out in four maternity hospitals in Brazzaville in 2 years (July 2017–June 2019). It concerned 65 parturients with SS homozygous SCD. The mode of childbirth and maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality were compared with those of 130 non-sickle cell pregnant women. Results. The average age was 27 years for SCD women and 31 years for non-SCD women. The average gestational age at delivery was 35 weeks for SCD women and 38 weeks for non-SCD women. From the logistic regression analysis using the comparison group as the reference group, there was excessive risk in SCD compared to non-SCD of infection (29.3% vs. 4.6%, OR = 21.7, 95% CI [7.6–62.7]; p=0.001), cesarean (63% vs. 35.4%, OR = 3.1, 95% CI [1.6–5.7]; p=0.001), prematurity (75.4% vs. 30.8%, OR = 8, 95% CI [3.0–23.2]; p=0.001), low birth weight (52.3% vs. 16.1%, OR = 4.7, 95% CI [2.4–9.4]; p=0.001), neonatal requiring admission to the intensive care unit (40.3% vs. 17.5%, OR = 3.2, 95% CI [1.6–6.3]; p=0.01), and neonatal death (21.5% vs. 4.8%, OR = 4.3, 95% CI [1.5–12.2]; p=0.01). Conclusion. The risk of pregnancy in patients with homozygous sickle cell anemia remains high, on both the maternal and fetal sides