Flowering and pollination time affect fruit set of foreign almond cultivars in Morocco

The associations ‘Marcona’-‘Fournat de Brézenaud’ and ‘Ferragnès’-‘Ferraduel’ are the cultivar combinations mostly planted in commercial almond orchards in Morocco. The blooming times and effective pollination period (EPP) were determined for these associations to determine the effect of blooming and pollination times on the irregular yields observed in Morocco with these cultivars. ‘Marcona’ bloom was earlier than that of ‘Fournat de Brézenaud’, but ‘Ferragnès and ‘Ferraduel’ coincided. Fruit set and percentage of pistils with pollen grains was maximized when pollination occurred at day 2 after emasculation. Fruit set and stigmatic receptivity decreased drastically by day 4 after emasculation. Fruit set in the open pollination treatment was lower than that obtained after hand pollination at days 0 and 2 after emasculation, especially in ‘Marcona’. These results emphasize the importance of early pollination and the selection of new cultivars with the same flowering period as ‘Marcona’ to improve almond yields in Morocco.Peer ReviewedPrunus amygdalusbloomeffective pollination periodstigmatic receptivityfruit setPublishe

Syringomatous carcinoma: Case report of a rare tumor entity

Syringomatous carcinoma is a rare cutaneous neoplasm, most frequently situated on the face and scalp and histologically characterised by aninfiltrative pattern of basaloid or squamous cells, a desmoplastic stromal reaction and keratin filled cysts. We report the case of a 76-year-oldwoman who presented an ulcerative interscapular lesion measuring 3x4cm. After resection, the histological examinations of the specimens haveidentified a basal cell carcinoma. However, a local recurrence was observed 18 months later; histopathological findings showed a syringomatouspattern and neoplastic epithelial cells arranged in interconnecting cords with microcystic areas. Nests, cords, and tubules of the tumour extendedinto the dermis and into the adjacent muscle. Sclerosis of stroma around the cords was present. Tumour cells were not connected to the epidermis. The immunohistochemical analysis showed positivity for anti-CK7, AE1/AE3 and negativity for anti CEA and anti CK20. These histological and immunohistochemical analyses were consistent with the diagnosis of syringomatous eccrine carcinoma. Syringomatous carcinoma is an extremely invasive tumor, locally destructive and slowly growing adnexal tumour, derived from eccrine sweat glands. It is often mistaken, both clinically and microscopically, for other benign and malignant entities. The tumour recurrence is high due to extensive perineural invasion, butregional or distant metastases are rare. The local aggressive nature of the tumour and the high recurrence rate may necessitate mutilating procedures. Optimal treatment consists of a complete microscopically controlled surgical excision with clear surgical margins. Key words: Syringomatous carcinoma, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, differential diagnosi

Benign chondroid syringoma of the orbit: a rare cause of exophtalmos

Chondroid syringoma (CS) of the orbit is an extremely rare benign neoplasm. To the best of our knowledege, this is the second case reported in the english litérature

Is there any advantage to combined trastuzumab and chemotherapy in perioperative setting her 2neu positive localized gastric adenocarcinoma?

We report here a 44-year-old Moroccan man with resectable gastric adenocarcinoma with overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) by immunohistochemistry who was treated with trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy in perioperative setting. He received 3 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of trastuzumab, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine. Afterwards, he received total gastrectomy with extended D2 lymphadenectomy without spleno-pancreatectomy. A pathologic complete response was obtained with a combination of trastuzumab and oxaliplatin and capecitabine. He received 3 more cycles of trastuzumab containing regimen postoperatively

Physical Fruit Traits in Moroccan Almond Seedlings: Quality Aspects and Post-Harvest Uses

The physical traits of local almond populations from Morocco were studied to characterize their genetic resources and to evaluate the possibility of their commercial valorization. Nut weight ranged between 1.15 and 7.39 g, and kernel weight between 0.54 and 1.85 g, but most accessions were characterized by small kernels, pronounced wrinkles, and double kernels. Although the physical quality of the kernels of these populations was low, they show the possibility of some specialized uses, which could improve their marketable value. The genotypes with favorable values could be incorporated into an almond breeding program as parents to increase the kernel quality.Publishe

Diagnostic challenge for ovarian malignant melanoma in premenopausal women: Primary or metastatic?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the ovary, metastatic malignant melanoma may be confused with primary malignant melanoma and presents a diagnosis challenge. Most cases are associated with disseminated diseases and poor prognosis. We present this case report of a metastatic ovarian malignant melanoma simulating primary ovarian cancer.</p> <p>Case report</p> <p>A 45-year-old premenopausal woman was incidentally found to have an abdominal mass, 3 years after removal of a cutaneous melanoma lesion. Ultrasound and CT scan revealed left two solid masses, which were found to be an ovarian tumor at laparotomy. Left oophorectomy was performed. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry showed melanoma metastasis to the ovary. Nine months later, the patient developed epilepsy and confusion. Magnetic Resonance Imaging showed unique Wright frontal lobe lesion. She underwent stereotactic radio surgery and dacarbazine monotherapy. For months later, the patient is died from disseminate disease progression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ovarian metastasis is an unusual presentation of cutaneous melanoma and the prognosis was dismal. As illustrated by this case report, a differential diagnosis of a metastatic malignant melanoma must be considered.</p

Case Report: Association d’une cytostéatonécrose néonatale, d’une hypertriglycéridemie et d’une hypercalcémie: à propos d’une observation

La cytost&eacute;aton&eacute;crose du nouveau-n&eacute; est une hypodermite aigue qui appara&icirc;t dans les premi&egrave;res semaines de vie. Nous rapportons les caract&eacute;ristiques cliniques et histologiques d&rsquo;une cytost&eacute;aton&eacute;crose chez un nourrisson &acirc;g&eacute; de trois semaines, admis pour des l&eacute;sions cutan&eacute;es &agrave; type de placards sous-cutan&eacute;es dures, localis&eacute;es sur le dos. Le nouveau-n&eacute; a d&eacute;velopp&eacute; une hypercalc&eacute;mie et une hypertriglyc&eacute;ridemie d&rsquo;&eacute;volution favorable sous traitement symptomatique de m&ecirc;me que les l&eacute;sions cutan&eacute;es qui ont disparu en quelques semaines

Large twisted ovarian fibroma in menopausal women: a case report

Ovarian fibroma is the most common benign solid tumors of the ovary,  commonly misdiagnosed as uterine fibromaor as malignant ovarian tumors. It occurs generally in older perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.  Occasionally large fibromas may undergo torsion causing acute abdominal  pain. Doppler Ultrasonographyimaging is the choice study. CT and MRI are  often needed for further characterization and differentiation from other solid ovarian masses. The choice treatment is surgical removal with intraoperative frozensection. Immunohistochemicalanalysis is recommended to rule out the differential diagnosis. Here we present a case of a postmenopausal woman  with a large twisted ovarian fibroma reflecting diagnostic and management  difficulties including potential misdiagnosis of the tumor as a malignant  ovarian neoplasm that may influence the surgical approach