Tuberculous Duodenal Stenosis: Report of Two Cases

Duodenal tuberculosis is a rare clinical entity. The authors report and emphasize the lack of special clinical, radiological and endoscopic signs of duodenal tuberculosis. The diagnosis is affirmed, at laparotomy, out of the findings of peritoneal granulations or histology of lymphatic nodes. We report our experience of two cases of duodenal tuberculosis presenting with proximal intestinal obstruction and review the available literature

Invagination intestinale aiguë consécutive à un lipome grèlique: à propos d’un cas et revue de la littérature

L’invagination intestinale aiguë est une pathologie du nourrisson et du petit enfant. Sa survenue chez l’adulte est très inhabituelle. Elle estd’étiologie diverse. Dans l’immense majorité des cas, elle est secondaire à une tumeur qui peut être bénigne ou maligne. L’invagination intestinalesur lipome est exceptionnelle. Nous rapportons un cas d’invagination intestinale grêlo-grêlique sur lipome.Key words: Invagination, grele, lipom

Mean field theory and Monte Carlo simulation of Phase transitions and Magnetic Properties of a tridimensional Fe7S8 Compound

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Fe7S8 material have been studied within the framework of the ab-initio calculations, the mean field approximation (MFA) and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). Our study shows that two forms of the iron atoms, Fe2+ with spin S=2, and Fe3+ with spin {\sigma}=5/2 are the most probable configurations. A mixed Ising model with ferromagnetic spin coupling between Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions and between Fe3+ and Fe3+ ions, and with antiferromagnetic spin coupling between Fe2+ ions of adjacent layers has been used to study the magnetic properties of this compound. We demonstrated that the magnetic phase transition can be either of the first or of the second order, depending on the value of the exchange interaction and crystal field. The presence of vacancies in every second iron layer leads to incomplete cancellation of magnetic moments, hence to the emergence of the ferrimagnetism. Anomalies in the magnetization behavior have been found and compared with the experimental results.Comment: 18 pages, 14 Figures, 4 Table

Elaboration and characterization by XRD and SEM of the glass-ceramics in BaTiO3 – NaPO3 system

There is a strong need for low cost glass-ceramic materials whose high chemical stability and dielectric properties can be engineered flexibly in bulk and fiber forms. Therefore we have manufactured transparent ferroelectric glass-ceramics consisting of barium titanate (BT) crystallites in a chain metaphosphate glass matrix. Several glass compositions, in the series (1-x) NaPO3 – x BaTiO3 have been prepared by a conventional melt quenching method. The compositions have been selected on the basis of chemical stability. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicate the formation of small particle size of BaTiO3 in the glass network when its amount is above 4 mol%.There is a strong need for low cost glass-ceramic materials whose high chemical stability and dielectric properties can be engineered flexibly in bulk and fiber forms. Therefore we have manufactured transparent ferroelectric glass-ceramics consisting of barium titanate (BT) crystallites in a chain metaphosphate glass matrix. Several glass compositions, in the series (1-x) NaPO3 – x BaTiO3 have been prepared by a conventional melt quenching method. The compositions have been selected on the basis of chemical stability. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicate the formation of small particle size of BaTiO3 in the glass network when its amount is above 4 mol%

The branched-chain aminotransferase proteins: Novel redox chaperones for protein disulfide isomerase-implications in Alzheimer's disease

Aims: The human branched-chain aminotransferase proteins (hBCATm and hBCATc) are regulated through oxidation and S-nitrosation. However, it remains unknown whether they share common redox characteristics to enzymes such as protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) in terms of regulating cellular repair and protein misfolding. Results: Here, similar to PDI, the hBCAT proteins showed dithiol-disulfide isomerase activity that was mediated through an S-glutathionylated mechanism. Site-directed mutagenesis of the active thiols of the CXXC motif demonstrates that they are fundamental to optimal protein folding. Far Western analysis indicated that both hBCAT proteins can associate with PDI. Co-immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that hBCATm directly binds to PDI in IMR-32 cells and the human brain. Electron and confocal microscopy validated the expression of PDI in mitochondria (using Mia40 as a mitochondrial control), where both PDI and Mia40 were found to be co-localized with hBCATm. Under conditions of oxidative stress, this interaction is decreased, suggesting that the proposed chaperone role for hBCATm may be perturbed. Moreover, immunohistochemistry studies show that PDI and hBCAT are expressed in the same neuronal and endothelial cells of the vasculature of the human brain, supporting a physiological role for this binding. Innovation: This study identifies a novel redox role for hBCAT and confirms that hBCATm differentially binds to PDI under cellular stress. Conclusion: These studies indicate that hBCAT may play a role in the stress response of the cell as a novel redox chaperone, which, if compromised, may result in protein misfolding, creating aggregates as a key feature in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. © 2014 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

A linear CO chemistry parameterization in a chemistry-transport model: evaluation and application to data assimilation

This paper presents an evaluation of a new linear parameterization valid for the troposphere and the stratosphere, based on a first order approximation of the carbon monoxide (CO) continuity equation. This linear scheme (hereinafter noted LINCO) has been implemented in the 3-D Chemical Transport Model (CTM) MOCAGE (MOdèle de Chimie Atmospherique Grande Echelle). First, a one and a half years of LINCO simulation has been compared to output obtained from a detailed chemical scheme output. The mean differences between both schemes are about ±25 ppbv (part per billion by volume) or 15% in the troposphere and ±10 ppbv or 100% in the stratosphere. Second, LINCO has been compared to diverse observations from satellite instruments covering the troposphere (Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere: MOPITT) and the stratosphere (Microwave Limb Sounder: MLS) and also from aircraft (Measurements of ozone and water vapour by Airbus in-service aircraft: MOZAIC programme) mostly flying in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). In the troposphere, the LINCO seasonal variations as well as the vertical and horizontal distributions are quite close to MOPITT CO observations. However, a bias of ~−40 ppbv is observed at 700 Pa between LINCO and MOPITT. In the stratosphere, MLS and LINCO present similar large-scale patterns, except over the poles where the CO concentration is underestimated by the model. In the UTLS, LINCO presents small biases less than 2% compared to independent MOZAIC profiles. Third, we assimilated MOPITT CO using a variational 3D-FGAT (First Guess at Appropriate Time) method in conjunction with MOCAGE for a long run of one and a half years. The data assimilation greatly improves the vertical CO distribution in the troposphere from 700 to 350 hPa compared to independent MOZAIC profiles. At 146 hPa, the assimilated CO distribution is also improved compared to MLS observations by reducing the bias up to a factor of 2 in the tropics. This study confirms that the linear scheme is able to simulate reasonably well the CO distribution in the troposphere and in the lower stratosphere. Therefore, the low computing cost of the linear scheme opens new perspectives to make free runs and CO data assimilation runs at high resolution and over periods of several years

Decreased expression of the mitochondrial bcat protein correlates with improved patient survival in idh-wt gliomas

Background and research question: Gliomas represent 43% of all solid intracranial tumours, of which glioblastomas have the poorest prognosis. Recently, the human cytosolic branched-chain aminotransferase protein (hBCATc), which metabolises the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), was identified as a biomarker and therapeutic target for glioblastomas carrying wild-type isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH-WT) genes. However, the clinical utility of the mitochondrial isoform, hBCATm, which also metabolises BCAAs, was not determined nor its potential role in predicting patient survival.Methods: Glioblastomas, of grades II-IV, from 53 patients were graded by a neuropathologist, where the IDH and MGMT status were assessed. Tumours positive for hBCATm, hBCATc and BCKDC were characterised using immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis using antibodies specific to these proteins.Results: Here, we report that in IDH-WT tumours, the expression of hBCATm is significantly increased (p=0.034) relative to IDH mutation gliomas, and significantly correlates with patient survival, on Kaplan-Meier analysis, where low hBCATm expression is a positive prognostic factor (p=0.003). Moreover, increased hBCATm expression in these glioblastomas correlated with tumour grade indicating their role as a predictive biomarker of glioma progression. Multiple banding was observed for the branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex, which catalyses the committed step in BCAA metabolism, but a significant change in expression was absent (p=0.690). Conclusion: Until now, IDH-WT glioblastomas have a uniformly poor prognosis, however we demonstrate for the first time that relatively low hBCATm may select for a better performing subset within this group and may represent a therapeutic target in these hard to treat patients