Reproductive biology of the Golden grey mullet Liza aurata, in the Gulf of Gabes (central Mediterranean, Tunisia) in the Gulf of Gabes (central Mediterranean, Tunisia)

In spite of its high commercial value, very few information are available on the biological feature of the Golden grey mullet in Tunisian waters (central Mediterranean). These data would be of great help in identifying the current stock state. In this study, Gonado Somatic Index (GSI), Hepato Somatic Index (HSI), condition factor (K), Length at first sexual maturity TL50 was calculated and the fecundity was estimated using the volumetric method. The Gonado Somatic Index (GSI) indicated that the spawning season of the Golden grey mullet extends from October to December. The monthly variation of Hepato-Somatic Index (HSI) indicates that L. aurata saves lipid reserves in liver. The species is sexually mature at 23.73, 23.84 and 23.79 cm TL respectively for female, male and combined sexes. In the present study the sex-ratio was unbalanced, with females dominating among large size individuals (TL > 24 cm). Absolute fecundity with a mean value of 286564 varied from a minimum of 210400 eggs for age 4 and a maximum of 533600 for age 7+

Synovialosarcome cervical: a propos d’un cas

Introduction : Le synovialosarcome est une tumeur maligne agressive. Les localisations cervico-faciales sont très rares. Nous rapportons un nouveau cas de synovialosarcome dans la région antéro-latérale du cou.Observation : Il s’agit d’un patient âgé de 37 ans, qui a consulté pour une volumineuse tuméfaction latéro-cervicale évoluant depuis 8 mois. La TDM a montré une masse tissulaire bien limitée de la région antérolatérale gauche du cou qui se rehausse faiblement après injection de produit de contraste. Le patient a eu une exérèse tumorale complète. L’examen anatomopathologique a conclu à un synovialosarcome. L’évolution était marquée par la récidive locale rapide, après 15 jours, pour laquelle il a été réopéré avec une radio-chimiothérapie post opératoire. Cependant le patient a présenté une métastase pulmonaire avec une poursuite évolutive.Conclusion : Le synovialosarcome cervical ne présente pas de spécificité clinique et radiologique. Le traitement de choix est la chirurgie.La valeur du traitement adjuvant n’est pas encore bien définie. Le pronostic est mauvais.Mots clés : synovialosarcome, région cervicale, chirurgie, radiothérapie, récidiveIntroduction : The synovial sarcoma is a malignant and aggressive tumor. The cervicofacial locations are rares. We report a new case of synovial sarcoma in the anterolateral region of the neck.Observation : He is a 37 years old patient, with a large latero-cervical tumefaction evolving for 8 months. CT showed well circumscribed tissue mass of the left anterolateral area neck which enhances low after contrast injection. The patient had a complete tumor resection. Histological examination concluded a synovial sarcoma. The evolution was marked by rapid local recurrence, after 15 days, for which he was reoperated with postoperative chemoradiotherapy. However, the patient had a pulmonary metastasis with continued progression.Conclusion : The cervical synovial sarcoma has no specific clinical and radiological character. The treatment of choice is surgery. The value of adjuvant therapy is not well defined. The prognosis is poor.Keywords : synovial sarcoma, neck, surgery, radiotherapy, recurrenc

Genome wide analysis of human genes transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally regulated by the HTLV-I protein p30

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I) is a human retrovirus that is etiologically linked to adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), an aggressive and fatal lymphoproliferative disease. The viral transactivator, Tax, is thought to play an important role during the initial stages of CD4⁺T-cell immortalization by HTLV-1. Tax has been shown to activate transcription through CREB/ATF and NF-KB, and to alter numerous signaling pathways. These pleiotropic effects of Tax modify the expression of a wide array of cellular genes. Another viral protein encoded by HTLV-I, p30, has been shown to affect virus replication at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Little is currently known regarding the effect of p30 on the expression and nuclear export of cellular host mRNA transcripts. Identification of these RNA may reveal new targets and increase our understanding of HTLV-I pathogenesis. In this study, using primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we report a genome wide analysis of human genes transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally regulated by the HTLV-I protein p30.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using microarray analysis, we analyzed total and cytoplasmic cellular mRNA transcript levels isolated from PBMCs to assess the effect of p30 on cellular RNA transcript expression and their nuclear export. We report p30-dependent transcription resulting in the 2.5 fold up-regulation of 15 genes and the down-regulation of 65 human genes. We further tested nuclear export of cellular mRNA and found that p30 expression also resulted in a 2.5 fold post-transcriptional down-regulation of 90 genes and the up-regulation of 33 genes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, our study describes that expression of the HTLV-I protein p30 both positively and negatively alters the expression of cellular transcripts. Our study identifies for the first time the cellular genes for which nuclear export is affected by p30. These results suggest that p30 may possess a more global function with respect to mRNA transcription and the nuclear shuttling of cellular mRNA transcripts. In addition, these alterations in gene expression may play a role in cell transformation and the onset of leukemia.</p

Chronic hypoxia down-regulates tight junction protein ZO-2 expression in children with cyanotic congenital heart defect

AIMS: Tight junction protein zonula occludens protein 2 (ZO-2) is a member of the membrane-associated guanylate kinases protein family known to be expressed at tight junctions of epithelial and endothelial cells and at adherens junctions (AJs) in cardiomyocytes. Little is known about ZO-2 expression and function in the human heart. Here, we examined the hypothesis that chronic hypoxia down-regulates ZO-2 expression in human myocardium and cultured rat cardiomyocytes. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with a diagnosis of cyanotic (n = 10) or acyanotic (n = 10) Tetralogy of Fallot undergoing surgical repair were used to examine ZO-2 messenger RNA and protein expression by real time-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting. A model of cultured rat cardiomyocytes was used to measure ZO-2 and AJ proteins levels in response to hypoxia and to investigate ZO-2 cellular localization. We showed that ZO-2 is expressed in myocardial tissue in acyanotic and cyanotic children with congenital heart defects. ZO-2 was specifically down-regulated in cyanotic myocardium at both the messenger RNA and protein levels when compared with acyanotic patients. This specific down-regulation can be mimicked in cultured rat cardiomyocytes by treating them with hypoxic conditions confirming that ZO-2 gene down-regulation is specifically due to cyanosis. Furthermore, in addition to its cytoplasmic expression, ZO-2 showed nuclear expression in cultured rat cardiomyocytes suggesting potential role in transcription regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoxia down-regulates ZO-2 expression in both cyanotic patient's myocardium and cultured rat cardiomyocytes. This down-regulation suggest an involvement of ZO-2 in cardiac remodelling of AJs in cyanotic children and may explain the greater susceptibility of cyanotic patients to corrective heart surgery

Population genetic structure analysis in endangered Hordeum vulgare landraces from Tunisia: Conservation strategies

Genetic markers have been employed in combination with morphological characters to identify patterns of population structure in 13 barley landrace populations from Tunisia. These endangered barley populations are grown by few local farmers in low-input farming systems. Based on 117 random amplified polymorphic DNA markers and 34 morphological traits, variance analyses indicated that most of the variation is partitioned within rather than between populations. Inbreeding index, gene flow values and cluster analysis revealed also significant differentiation between all populations. Gene flow decreased rapidly as the geographic distance increased. This may imply that seed exchange between farmers was limited to a regional scale. The lower correlation between the Euclidean distance matrices based on morphological and molecular data suggests that both data are comparably important to generate an unbiased picture of differentiation trends. Our findings support the required setting up of conservation strategies for Hordeum vulgare L. landraces from Tunisia.Key words: Barley landrace germplasm, RAPD, morphology, population differentiation analysis, conservation

Les tumeurs myofibroblastiques inflammatoires cervico-faciales

Objectifs : Confronter les signes cliniques et paracliniques de cette entité à celle des cancers et étudier ses modalités thérapeutiques.Matériel et méthodes : Etude rétrospective portant sur huit cas de tumeurs myofibroblastiques inflammatoires cervico-faciales.Résultats : L’âge moyen était de 37 ans sans prédominance de sexe. Le siège de la pseudotumeur était thyroïdien dans un cas, ganglionnaire dans deux cas, les parties molles cervicales dans un cas, laryngé dans un cas, nasosinusien dans un cas, orbito-sinusienne dans 1 cas et du cavum dans un cas. Le traitement était chirurgical dans 6 cas. Une corticothérapie a été instaurée dans 4 cas dont 2 en post opératoire. L’évolution, après un recul moyen de 21 mois, était marquée par la survenue de récidive dans 2 cas, une poursuite évolutive dans 1 cas et l’apparition d’autres localisations rénales et rétro péritonéale chez une patiente.Discussion : Les tumeurs myofibroblastiques inflammatoires sont rares. De caractère bénin, ces tumeurs présentent généralement des caractéristiques cliniques d’agressivité avec un pouvoir lytique mimant une tumeur maligne. L’atteinte des voies aérodigestives supérieures se voit dans 11 % des tumeurs extrapulmonaires. Le diagnostic préopératoire est difficile. L’exérèse aussi large que possible de la tumeur est généralement préconisée. L’association d’une corticothérapie est indiquée chez des patients demeurant symptomatiques.Mots clés : tumeur myofibroblastique inflammatoire, cervico-facial, chirurgie, corticoïdesObjectives: Compare clinical, radiological and histological features of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours with cancers and describe this entity therapeutic management.Material and methods: Retrospective study on eight cases of head and neck inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours.Results: The median age was 37 years without sex predominance. The tumor location was the thyroid (1 case), cervical lymph nodes (2 cases), neck (1 case), larynx (1 case), sinonasal tract (1case), orbit and sinosal tract (1 case) and nasopharynx (1 case). Surgical procedure was performed in 7 case. Corticosteroid therapy was established in 4 cases. The median follow-up was 21 months. Local recurrence was noted in 2 cases. A disease evolution was noted in 1 case. Occurrence of renal and retroperitoneal locations was noted in 1 case.Discussion : Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours are uncommon. Although they are histological benign, they often show aggressive clinical behavior, with locally destructive features that mimic a neoplastic process. Head and neck involvement is seen in 11% of extrapulmonary locations. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult. A wide surgical excision of the tumor is recommended. The combination of a corticosteroid is indicated in patients who remain symptomatic.Key words: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour, Head and neck, surgery, corticosteroid

The use of phosphinothricin resistance as selectable marker for genetic transformation of grapevine

A transformation procedure with the bar gene as a selectable marker was established via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using strain LBA4404 harbouring the vector pPZP200-bar-gus-intron. Recreation of embryogenic cells from transformation stress in PPT free medium for four weeks improved viability and number of GUS expressing cells. Concentration of 2.5 mg·l-1 PPT yielded highest selection efficiency. Transgenicity of the regenerated grapevine plants was confirmed by histochemical GUS assay and bar specific PCR and RT/PCR. With the described procedure, 20 % of regenerated embryos could be converted into transgenic grapevines.

Les Surdites Brusques Idiopathiques Facteurs Pronostiques

Introduction : Les surdités brusques idiopathiques (SBI) constituent l\'un des sujets les plus débattus en otologie. Plusieurs problèmes d\'ordre physiopathologiques, thérapeutiques et pronostiques restent non résolus. But : Identifier les facteurs pronostiques, cliniques et audiométriques de récupération auditive après traitement d\'une SBI. Malades : Etude rétrospective portée sur 27 malades (29 cas de SBI) traités dans le service d\'ORL et chirurgie cervicofaciale du CHU Habib Bourguiba Sfax durant la période comprise entre les années 1990 et 2005. Méthodes : C\'est une étude statistique recherchant une corrélation significative entre certains facteurs cliniques et audiométriques et la récupération auditive. Les facteurs étudiés étaient : l\'âge, l\'aspect de la courbe audiométrique, la perte auditive initiale et le délai de prise en charge thérapeutique. Résultats : L\'âge inférieur à 50 ans, la courbe ascendante et la perte auditive inférieure à 70 dB étaient les facteurs de meilleur pronostic. Le délai de prise en charge thérapeutique semble avoir peu de rôle dans la récupération auditive. Discussion : La majorité des auteurs ont signalé que l\'âge jeune, les surdités légères ou moyennes, la courbe ascendante et la précocité de la prise en charge sont associés à un meilleur pronostic. Nos résultats rejoignent ceux de Tran Ba Huy qui ne trouve pas de corrélation entre le délai de prise en charge thérapeutique et le pronostic de récupération auditive.Introduction : Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (ISSHL) remains one of the major otologic debates. Many etiopathogenic, therapeutic and prognostic problems are still unsolved. Purpose : Identify some clinical and audiometric factors influencing the recovery prognostic after treatment of ISSHL. Patients : Retrospective study of 27 patients (29 cases of ISSHL) treated in the department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Head and Neck Surgery of Habib Bourguiba Hospital during the period from 1990 to 2005. Method: We underwent a statistical data to search a significant correlation between some clinical, audiometric factors and hearing recovery. The factors studied are: age of patient, the type of the tonal audiogram shape, the degree of the initial hearing loss and the therapeutic delay. Results: The age under 50 years, the ascending audiogram shape and initial hearing loss under 70dB involve a better prognostic. The therapeutic delay seems have a little role in the hearing recovery. Discussion: The majority of authors concluded that the young age, the mild and moderate hearing loss, the ascending audiogram shape and the precocity of treatment are correlated to a better prognostic. We, as Tran Ba Huy, don\'t find a significant correlation between the therapeutic delay and the quality of hearing recovery. Journal Tunisien d\'ORL et de chirurgie cervico-faciale Vol. 18 2007: pp. 7-1

L’aspergillome sphenoïdal : a propos d’un cas sphenoidalaspergilloma : a case report

Introduction : L’aspergillose sphénoïdale isolée est une pathologie rare potentiellement grave vu le risque d’extension neuro-méningée et orbitaire. malgré qu’elle est plus fréquente chez les immuno-déprimés, l’atteinte de l’immunocompétent a été décrite. a travers une observation, nous rapportons les caractéristiques clinico-radiologiques, thérapeutiques et évolutives de l’aspergillome sphénoïdal.Observutin : Homme de 35 ans a consulté pour des céphalées rétro-orbitaires évoluant depuis 3 mois. L’examen était normal à part une rhinorrhée purulente postérieure. Le scanner a montré un processus hétérogène comblant le sinus sphénoïdal associé à une lyse osseuse. Une sphénoïdotomiepar voie endonasale a permis de confirmer le diagnostic et de nettoyer les lésions aspergillaires. Un traitement par voriconazol a été associé avec évolution favorable après un recul de 18 mois.Conclusion : L’aspergillome sphénoïdale est l’un des diagnostics différentiel des tumeurs sphénoïdales chez l’immunocompétent. Le traitement est essentiellement chirurgical avec de très bons résultats. L’adjonction d’un antifongique systémique est controversée chez l’immunocompétent.Mots- clefs : aspergillome, sphénoïde, imagerie, Tumeur, chirurgieObjective : Isolated sphenoidalaspergillosis is rare but potentially grave because of the risk of neuro-meningeal and orbitalextension. althoughitis more common in immuno-compromised, the achievement of immunocompetent has been described. Through an observation, we report the clinic-radiological, therapeutic and evolutionary featuresof sphenoidalaspergilloma.Case-report : male 35 years consulted for retro-orbital headache lasting for 3 months. The exam was normal except a purulent rhinorrhea. The CT scan showed a heterogeneous process filling the sphenoid sinus associated with bone loss. Sphenoidotomy by an endonasal approach confirmed the diagnosis of aspergillosis lesions. Treatment with voriconazole was associated with favorable outcome after 18 months.Conclusion : Sphenoidal as pergilloma is a differential diagnosis of tumors in the immuno-competent. Treatment is mainly surgical with good results. The addition of a systemic antifungal agent is controversial in the immunocompetent.Keywords : aspergilloma, sphenoïd, imagery, tumor, surger