In vitro vegetative growth and flowering of olive tree in response to GA3 treatment

The phytohormone gibberellin is involved in the regulation of many physiological process including flower induction and shoot growth. In this study, gibberellic acid (GA3) was used in order to induce thereversion of olive tree vegetative buds towards a floral ones in vitro. For this, six varieties (Marsaline, Chemchali, Picholine, Chemlali, Zalmati and Oueslati ) was tested and explants, consisting of a singlenode segments, were grown in media containing three concentrations of GA3 (1, 2 and 10 mg/l). Results show that Marsaline seems to be the most able variety in regenerating floral structures. For this variety,5 cases of reversion were observed mainly on the medium containing 10 mg/l GA3. This same medium was also favorable for this transformation for the other varieties (3 cases on Picholine, one each on Chemchali , Zalmati and Oueslati). The examination of the histological sections confirmed this transformation. In addition, this experiment showed that GA3 can be at the origin of an interestinggrowth rate of vegetative buds, which elongation depend on variety as well as GA3 concentration

Correlation anatomo-scannographique dans le cancer du larynx

Introduction : Le but de la chirurgie du larynx est de conserver dans la mesure du possible un larynx fonctionnel tout en répondant aux impératifs carcinologiques. Les limites d'extension tumorale doivent être finement analysées en pré-opératoire pour adopter la technique opératoire appropriée. dans ce domaine, l'apport de la TdM est incontestable pour l'étude de cette extension en profondeur.Patients et méthodes : il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective des dossiers de 43 patients explorés et traités respectivement aux services d'imagerie médicale et d'ORL de l'hôpital Tahar Sfar de Mahdia sur une période de 14 ans entre Janvier 1995 et décembre 2008.Résultats : La classification pré-opératoire des tumeurs pharyngo-laryngées est plus fiable en se basant à la fois sur l’endoscopie et la TdM que sur l’endoscopie seule. La fiabilité de cette association était de 76%. L'étude de certaines zones dites d'intérêt a montré une efficacité de 72% pour l'atteinte de la commissure antérieure, de 79% pour les bandes ventriculaires, de 81% pour la sous glotte, de 88% pour la loge HTE, de 83% pour les espaces para-glottiques et de 79% pour les cartilages. Nos résultats étaient concordants à ceux de la littérature.Discussion et conclusion : la TdM constitue une partie intégrante du bilan préopératoire des cancers du pharyngolarynx. Elle précise l'extension tumorale en profondeur aux espaces graisseux, aux cartilages et aux tissus extralaryngés. L’analyse fine des images tomodensitométriques permet donc d’orienter la décision thérapeutique.Mots clés : cancer, larynx, anatomopathologie, chirurgie

Fibrosarcome du larynx - A propos d'un cas

Le fibrosarcome du larynx est une entité histologique rare, qui représente moins de 10% de tous les sarcomes des tissus mous, moins de 2 % des cancers laryngés. Cette localisation pose des problèmes diagnostique, thérapeutique et pronostique. Nous présentons un cas de fibrosarcome laryngé chez un patient de 54 ans. La confirmation histologique etimmunohistologique a été faite sur la pièce d’exérèse chirurgicale et surtout sur une confrontation anatomoclinique. La prise en charge thérapeutique est multidisciplinaire, associant la chirurgie qui doit être la plus complète sans curage ganglionnaire et la radiothérapie. Le pronostic est généralement sévère, dépend essentiellement de degré de différenciation histologique.Mots clés : fibrosarcome ; larynx ; chirurgie ; radiothérapie

Efficient temperature sensing using photoluminescence of Er/Ybimplanted GaN thin films

tThe luminescence characteristics of GaN films implanted with Er at low doses were evaluated. The defect-related yellow luminescence (YL) and green luminescence (GL) bands observed under direct excitationwith 488 nm were attributed to the transitions via different charge levels of the same defect. The quench-ing behavior of the luminescence intensity either with the temperature or concentration variation can beattributed to nonradiative energy transfer (ET) and/or charge transfer by trapping impurities. The tem-perature dependence of the YL band allowed us to identify the defect responsible for this emission. Thebest candidate for this defect was found to be a nitrogen-vacancy. A GaN sample co-doped with Er3+andYb3+ions was prepared, and its optical properties were analyzed. The incorporation of Yb3+improved thePL emission intensity in the visible region. This feature results from the efficient ET processes betweenthese two doping ions. The color coordinate analysis indicates that Er3+/Yb3+co-doped GaN semiconduc-tor emits light with color in the white-light region. To investigate the temperature sensing applicationof the synthesized co-doped semiconductor, the temperature-sensing performance was evaluated usingthe fluorescence intensity ratio technique in the temperature range 200–300K. The significant temper-ature sensitivity indicates its potential as a temperature sensing probe. The maximum sensitivity was15 × 10−4K−1at 200 K

Prise en charge de l’atresie choanale

Introduction: L’atrésie choanale est une malformation congénitale rare mais non exceptionnelle. Le but de notre travail est d’étudier les caractéristiques épidémiologiques, cliniques et radiologiques de cette pathologie, et de discuter les différentes modalités thérapeutiques et leurs résultats respectifs.Matériel et méthodes: Notre étude rétrospective porte sur une série de 12 cas d’atrésie choanale opérés dans notre service entre 2002 et 2010. Tous les patients ont bénéficié d’un examen ORL et d’une tomodensitométrie du massif facial. Tous les patients ont été opérés sous anesthésie générale.Résultats: L’âge moyen était de 10,7 ans (3 jours - 31 ans) et le sex-ratio était de 2. L’atteinte était unilatérale dans 66,6% et bilatérale dans 33,3% des cas. Dans 16% des cas, l’atrésie rentrait dans le cadre d’un syndrome polymalformatif. La technique opératoire utilisée était la voie  endoscopique dans 10 cas et la voie transpalatine dans 2 cas. Le taux de succès global était de 75%. Trois cas de récidive ont été notés. Ils ont été réopérés par voie endonasale.Conclusion: L’endoscopie nasale et la TDM permettent le diagnostic positif de l’atrésie choanale. Le traitement de référence actuellement est la chirurgie par voie endonasale.Mots-clés: atrésie choanale, malformation, obstruction nasale, endoscopie, tomodensitométrie, chirurgie endonasal

The study of metaphor as part of Critical Discourse Analysis

This article discusses how the study of metaphoric and more generally, figurative language use contributes to critical discourse analysis (CDA). It shows how cognitive linguists’ recognition of metaphor as a fundamental means of concept- and argument-building can add to CDA's account of meaning constitution in the social context. It then discusses discrepancies between the early model of conceptual metaphor theory and empirical data and argues that discursive-pragmatic factors as well as sociolinguistic variation have to be taken into account in order to make cognitive analyses more empirically and socially relevant. In conclusion, we sketch a modified cognitive approach informed by Relevance Theory within CDA

Site selection spectroscopy in Eu3+-doped lanthanum fluorozirconate glass and glass-ceramic

The optical properties of Eu3+-doped glass and transparent glass-ceramic with composition (in mol%) 70.2ZrF4–23.4LaF3–0.6AlF3–5.8GaF3 were investigated by site selective spectroscopy in order to study the effect of ceramization on the symmetry of Eu3 + sites. The glass-ceramic obtained after thermal treatment of the glass ZLAG contains a unique crystalline phase of unknown structure. The analysis and comparison of FLN spectra in these materials are presented and different classes of sites are discussed. We found the presence of two main site distributions for Eu3+ ions of equivalent symmetry (C2v or lower) in the glass and two sites of different symmetry (C2v or lower and C4v or lower) in tthe glass-ceramic (GC). The estimated average crystal field strength for glass and GC decreases with the 5D0 → 7F0 energy. The results suggest that the two kinds of sites identified in the glass correspond to Eu3+ ions in and out of the former network. Decay-time measurements of 5D0 level of Eu3 + evidenced energy transfer between high and low energy sites and showed an increase of lifetime from the glass to the glass-ceramic

Hereditary breast cancer in Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) populations: identification of novel, recurrent and founder BRCA1 mutations in the Tunisian population

Germ-line mutations in BRCA1 breast cancer susceptibility gene account for a large proportion of hereditary breast cancer families and show considerable ethnic and geographical variations. The contribution of BRCA1 mutations to hereditary breast cancer has not yet been thoroughly investigated in Middle Eastern and North African populations. In this study, 16 Tunisian high-risk breast cancer families were screened for germline mutations in the entire BRCA1 coding region and exon–intron boundaries using direct sequencing. Six families were found to carry BRCA1 mutations with a prevalence of 37.5%. Four different deleterious mutations were detected. Three truncating mutations were previously described: c.798_799delTT (916 delTT), c.3331_3334delCAAG (3450 delCAAG), c.5266dupC (5382 insC) and one splice site mutation which seems to be specific to the Tunisian population: c.212 + 2insG (IVS5 + 2insG). We also identified 15 variants of unknown clinical significance. The c.798_799delTT mutation occurred at an 18% frequency and was shared by three apparently unrelated families. Analyzing five microsatellite markers in and flanking the BRCA1 locus showed a common haplotype associated with this mutation. This suggests that the c.798_799delTT mutation is a Tunisian founder mutation. Our findings indicate that the Tunisian population has a spectrum of prevalent BRCA1 mutations, some of which appear as recurrent and founding mutations

The Aminopeptidase CD13 Induces Homotypic Aggregation in Neutrophils and Impairs Collagen Invasion.

Aminopeptidase N (CD13) is a widely expressed cell surface metallopeptidase involved in the migration of cancer and endothelial cells. Apart from our demonstration that CD13 modulates the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis in neutrophils, no other function for CD13 has been ascribed in this cell. We hypothesized that CD13 may be involved in neutrophil migration and/or homotypic aggregation. Using purified human blood neutrophils we confirmed the expression of CD13 on neutrophils and its up-regulation by pro-inflammatory agonists. However, using the anti-CD13 monoclonal antibody WM-15 and the aminopeptidase enzymatic inhibitor bestatin we were unable to demonstrate any direct involvement of CD13 in neutrophil polarisation or chemotaxis. In contrast, IL-8-mediated neutrophil migration in type I collagen gels was significantly impaired by the anti-CD13 monoclonal antibodies WM-15 and MY7. Notably, these antibodies also induced significant homotypic aggregation of neutrophils, which was dependent on CD13 cross-linking and was attenuated by phosphoinositide 3-kinase and extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2 inhibition. Live imaging demonstrated that in WM-15-treated neutrophils, where homotypic aggregation was evident, the number of cells entering IL-8 impregnated collagen I gels was significantly reduced. These data reveal a novel role for CD13 in inducing homotypic aggregation in neutrophils, which results in a transmigration deficiency; this mechanism may be relevant to neutrophil micro-aggregation in vivo.This work was funded by a Medical Research Council Research Training Fellowship to CAF (G0900329), Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), CUHNHSFT, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. CAF received a Raymond and Beverly Sackler Studentship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Public Library of Science via http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.016010