Involvement of SNP marker located on the Calcium binding protein gene in adaptive traits and organoleptic performances of the olive tree

Olive trees importance is mainly due to the economic and health benefits, especially in the Mediterranean basin. Unfortunately, to enhance productivity and quality of olive oil, the study of both molecular and phenotypic characterizations of olive cultivars is crucial. We consider the analysis of 14 Tunisian olive cultivars of known origin sampled from different areas of the country based on SNP marker (CALC) located in calcium binding protein gene. Accordingly, we assessed the potential genotype-phenotypes links between the SNP, on the one hand, and the quantitative and qualitative parameters, on the other. The statistical analysis based on bivariate analysis for the CALC marker suggests that Chemlali varieties with CG genotypes have better capacity to produce fruit, fruit oil, oil content in carotene, cholesterol and linoleic acid than homozygote GG genotypes varieties. These results are confirmed by a multivariate logistic regression.Keywords: Olea europaea L; CALC; calcium binding protein; bivariate analysis; multivariate logistic regression

Leiomyosarcome du Rein: A Propos D’un Cas

Le léiomyosarcome du rein est une tumeur rare. Les auteurs ont rapporté l’observation d’un homme âgé de 45 ans, chez lequel le diagnostic d’une tumeur rétropéritoénale gauche a été posé lors de l’exploration de douleurs du flanc gauche associées à une altération de l’état général et ce par l’imagerie (Echographie et scanner abdominal). La laparotomie exploratrice avait conclu à une tumeur rénale gauche localement évoluée, une néphrectomie élargie a été réalisée et l’histologie était en faveur d’un léiomyosarcome rénal. Une récidive locale a été diagnostiquée après un recul de 6 mois. Après une nouvelle laparotomie, l’abstention était de mise devant le caractère évolué de la récidive. Le but de cette observation est double. Le premier, est la nécessité de faire un diagnostic précoce, afin d’intervenir sur une tumeur de petite taille, plus accessible à la chirurgie. Le second, est de discuter la place du traitement adjuvant, qui pourrait réduire le risque de récidive précoce.Mots clés : Léiomyosarcome, rei

Paratesticular Liposarcoma: What is the Best Therapeutic Strategy?

Introduction: Liposarcomas are neoplasms of mesodermal origin derived from adipose tissue and correspond to 10–14% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Paratesticular liposarcoma is very rare.Case report: We report a 60-year old man who presented with a left testicular tumor 20 cm in diameter. Initial incisional biopsy was reported as fibromatosis. Chest and abdominal CT scan did not show distant metastases. Through an inguinal incision orchidectomy with homolateral inguinal node dissection was performed. Histopathological examination showed a paratesticular myxoid liposarcoma. Adjuvant radiotherapy without chemotherapy was administered. The patient remains well at 11 months followup, with no evidence of recurrence.Conclusion: Complete surgical extirpation reduces the risk of local recurrence. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy may reduce the tumor size, thus facilitating complete excision

Case report: Acute peritonitis from non-traumatic rupture of the bladder

Spontaneous bladder rupture (SBR) is rare. This entity occurs outside of any traumatic context. A 70 years-old man was admitted for acute peritonitis, acute urinary retention and hematuria. Laparotomy and exploration showed acute generalized peritonitis related to a centimeter hole in the bladder dome. Peritoneal lavage was done with biopsy of the perforation edges, a cystostomy and suturing of the bladder. The immediate postoperative course was uneventful. The etiological investigation revealed a locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancer. The evolution was rapidly fatal and the patient’s death occurred two months later due to metastatic disease. The causes, diagnosis and treatment of SBR are reviewed by the authors

A Novel Approach to the Common Due-Date Problem on Single and Parallel Machines

This paper presents a novel idea for the general case of the Common Due-Date (CDD) scheduling problem. The problem is about scheduling a certain number of jobs on a single or parallel machines where all the jobs possess different processing times but a common due-date. The objective of the problem is to minimize the total penalty incurred due to earliness or tardiness of the job completions. This work presents exact polynomial algorithms for optimizing a given job sequence for single and identical parallel machines with the run-time complexities of $O(n \log n)$ for both cases, where $n$ is the number of jobs. Besides, we show that our approach for the parallel machine case is also suitable for non-identical parallel machines. We prove the optimality for the single machine case and the runtime complexities of both. Henceforth, we extend our approach to one particular dynamic case of the CDD and conclude the chapter with our results for the benchmark instances provided in the OR-library.Comment: Book Chapter 22 page

Diamond detector for high rate monitors of fast neutrons beams

A fast neutron detection system suitable for high rate measurements is presented. The detector is based on a commercial high purity single crystal diamond (SDD) coupled to a fast digital data acquisition system. The detector was tested at the ISIS pulsed spallation neutron source. The SDD event signal was digitized at 1 GHz to reconstruct the deposited energy (pulse amplitude) and neutron arrival time; the event time of flight (ToF) was obtained relative to the recorded proton beam signal t0. Fast acquisition is needed since the peak count rate is very high (~800 kHz) due to the pulsed structure of the neutron beam. Measurements at ISIS indicate that three characteristics regions exist in the biparametric spectrum: i) background gamma events of low pulse amplitudes; ii) low pulse amplitude neutron events in the energy range Edep = 1.5-7 MeV ascribed to neutron elastic scattering on 12C; iii) large pulse amplitude neutron events with En < 7 MeV ascribed to 12C(n,α)9Be and 12C(n,n')3α

Time-stability of a Single-crystal Diamond Detector for fast neutron beam diagnostic under alpha and neutron irradiation

Single-crystal Diamond Detectors (SDDs), due to their good charge carrier transport properties, low leakage and therefore good energy resolution, are good candidates for fast neutron measurement on pulsed spallation sources and fusion plasma experiments. Moreover, diamonds are known to be resistant to neutron irradiation. Nevertheless, measurements show transient effects during irradiation with ionizing particles, as the alpha particle calibration sources. The decrease of the detector counting rate of a counting chain and the pulse height are interpreted as due to a charge trapping inside the detector, which modifies the drift electric field. These instabilities are strongly dependent on the specific type of the interaction. Measurements have been carried out with both alpha particles in the laboratory and neutrons at the ISIS neutron spallation source. We show that these polarization effects are not permanent: the detector performances can be restored by simply inverting the detector bias high voltage. Prime Novelty Statement The measurements described in the paper were performed in order to study the polarization effect in Single-crystal Diamond Detector. This effect was observed under alpha particle and neutron irradiation. With the Transient Current Technique an interpretation of the effect is given

Appendagite épiploïque primitive: à propos de cinq cas

La torsion de frange épiploïque (ou appendagite) est une pathologie rare qui survient principalement chez les adultes entre 20 et 50 ans.L'incidence de cette pathologie n'est pas réellement connue et elle varie de 2 à 7% chez les patients hospitalisés pour suspicion d'appendicite oude sigmoïdite. Nous rapportons cinq cas d'appendagites dont nous précisons les particularités cliniques, radiologiques et thérapeutiques. Il s'agit de 5 patients dont l'âge moyen est de 34.6 ans (24-55). Le sexe ratio est de 1.5. Le principal motif de consultation était un syndrome douloureux de l'abdomen principalement au niveau de la fosse iliaque droite. L'examen abdominal montrait toujours une sensibilité localisée. La fièvre était présente chez 3 patients. Le bilan biologique révèle un syndrome inflammatoire biologique chez trois patients. Les examens complémentaires radiologiques en particulier échographie abdominale et TDM abdominale ont éliminé formellement une urgence chirurgicale et ont évoqué le diagnostic d'appendagite dans trois cas. Trois patients ont bénéficié d'une coelioscopie diagnostique confirmant le diagnostic  d'appendagite. L'évolution était favorable chez tous les patients. Les appendagites épiploïques primitives sont des étiologies rares et  sous-estimées de syndrome abdominal aigu. Le diagnostic peut être affirmé par imagerie notamment avec le scanner hélicoïdal injecté,  permettant d'instaurer ainsi un traitement médical premier et d'éviter un traitement chirurgical et des hospitalisations excessives

Analysis of skewed X-chromosome inactivation in females with rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune thyroid diseases

Introduction: The majority of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) are characterized by a striking female predominance superimposed on a predisposing genetic background. The role of extremely skewed X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) has been questioned in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases. Methods: We examined XCI profiles of females affected with RA (n = 106), AITDs (n = 145) and age-matched healthy women (n = 257). XCI analysis was performed by enzymatic digestion of DNA with a methylation sensitive enzyme (HpaII) followed by PCR of a polymorphic CAG repeat in the androgen receptor (AR) gene. The XCI pattern was classified as skewed when 80% or more of the cells preferentially inactivated the same X-chromosome. Results: Skewed XCI was observed in 26 of the 76 informative RA patients (34.2%), 26 of the 100 informative AITDs patients (26%), and 19 of the 170 informative controls (11.2%) (P 90% inactivation of one allele, was present in 17 RA patients (22.4%), 14 AITDs patients (14.0%), and in only seven controls (4.1%, P 0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest a possible role for XCI mosaicism in the pathogenesis of RA and AITDs and may in part explain the female preponderance of these diseases. © 2009 Chabchoub et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Inhibition of Fungi and Gram-Negative Bacteria by Bacteriocin BacTN635 Produced by Lactobacillus plantarum sp. TN635

The aim of this study was to evaluate 54 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from meat, fermented vegetables and dairy products for their capacity to produce antimicrobial activities against several bacteria and fungi. The strain designed TN635 has been selected for advanced studies. The supernatant culture of this strain inhibits the growth of all tested pathogenic including the four Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella enterica ATCC43972, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 49189, Hafnia sp. and Serratia sp.) and the pathogenic fungus Candida tropicalis R2 CIP203. Based on the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of the strain TN635 (1,540 pb accession no FN252881) and the phylogenetic analysis, we propose the assignment of our new isolate bacterium as Lactobacillus plantarum sp. TN635 strain. Its antimicrobial compound was determined as a proteinaceous substance, stable to heat and to treatment with surfactants and organic solvents. Highest antimicrobial activity was found between pH 3 and 11 with an optimum at pH = 7. The BacTN635 was purified to homogeneity by a four-step protocol involving ammonium sulfate precipitation, centrifugal microconcentrators with a 10-kDa membrane cutoff, gel filtration Sephadex G-25, and C18 reverse-phase HPLC. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified BacTN635, revealed a single band with an estimated molecular mass of approximately 4 kDa. The maximum bacteriocin production (5,000 AU/ml) was recorded after a 16-h incubation in Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) medium at 30 °C. The mode of action of the partial purified BacTN635 was identified as bactericidal against Listeria ivanovii BUG 496 and as fungistatic against C. tropicalis R2 CIP203