Intra-articular osteolipoma of the elbow: A case report and a review of the literature.

Introduction: Lipomas are the most common benign mesenchymal tumors. The intra-articular localization is exceptional.We report the first case of an intra-articular osteolipoma at the elbow. Case report: A 36-year-old patient with no pathological history, presented to the emergency room with a two weeks history of a painless, progressively left elbow swelling in a context of apyrexia.Physical examination revealed a hot, edematous left elbow. The gentle mobilization of the joint was painless. Biologie was normal. Initial radiograph showed a well-defined lobular image. Ultrasound revealed an anechoic intra-articular collection associated to a synovium hyperaemia and the MRI shows an aspect of synovitis. An arthrotomy was done via an internal approach of the elbow. Joint fluid was red. A free ossified intraarticular mass was discovered. Bacteriological samples were sterile. Histological examination concluded to an osteolipoma with no histological signs of malignancy. At the last 3-year follow-up, the patient didn't report any pain or functional discomfort. Elbow mobility was complete, with the absence of recurrences. Discussion: Osteolipoma is defined as a histological variant of lipoma having undergone bone metaplasia. Allen found 06 cases in a series of 635 lipomas over five years. Pain has not been reported in the literature. In our case the pain was explained by the interposition of the tumoral mass between the articular surfaces. Histological examination confirms the diagnosis and recurrences are rare. Conclusion: Osteolipoma is an extremely rare entity of mesenchymal tumors whose intra-articular location, although exceptional, does not worsen the prognosis.

Owned and free-roaming dogs in the North West of Tunisia: estimation, characteristics and application for the control of dog rabies.

Understanding the structure of dog population and the evaluation of the accessibility of dogs to vaccination is essential to succeed in the fight against dog rabies and to adapt the strategy of its control. We studied the characteristics of the unowned and owned dogs using the beck method during a rabies vaccination campaign in randomly selected sectors (urban and rural sites) in the North West of Tunisia. During a door-to-door investigation of households, data on owned dogs were collected to describe the owned population dog. A photographic-recapture method was used to characterize and estimate the size of the unowned dogs. A total of 1432 households accounting for 5403 inhabitants were interviewed during the survey (1298 (90.6%) in the urban site and 134 (9.3%) in the rural site). The dog-owning households were significantly higher in the rural site (76.1% (102/134)) compared to the urban site (17.8% (231/1298)) (P < 0.000000). Of the 17.8% dog-owning households in urban site, 58.4% owned one dog and 9% between 4 and 8 dogs. While, of the 76.1% dog-owning households in rural site, 24.5% owned one dog and 32.3% owned between 4 and 10 dogs. The dog: human ratio was 1:11 in the urban site and 1:1.6 in the rural site. The dog population density was estimated at 16 dogs/km2 and 4 dogs/km2 in the urban and rural sites, respectively. The confinement practices varied significantly among the urban and rural sites (P < 0.000000). The percentage of free-roaming owned dogs was 51.1% in the rural site and 31.4% in the urban site. More than 60.0% of the owned dogs in the urban site were confined. The majority of dogs in the rural site were born in the house, although, a high percentage (56.7%) of owned dogs in the urban site was adopted from neighbours, others sectors, or countries. The vaccination coverage findings indicated that 77.8% and 84.2% of the owned dog were vaccinated in the urban and rural sites, respectively. The estimated size of the free-roaming dogs was 72 dogs in the urban site (Kalaat Senan) and 16 dogs in the rural site (Sod el Khir).

Polymorphisms of transcription factor-7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene in Tunisian women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder that affects women in their child-bearing age, and is often associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Given the overlap between PCOS and T2DM, we investigated the association of transcription factor-7-like 2 (TCF7L2) variants rs4506565, rs7903146, rs12243326, and rs12255372 with the susceptibility to PCOS. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Study subjects comprised 119 Tunisian women with PCOS (mean age 29.8±4.7years), and 150 control women (mean age 30.6±5.9years). TCF7L2 genotyping was done by the allelic discrimination/real-time PCR method. RESULTS: Minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of rs4506565 (P=0.61), rs7903146 (P=0.68), rs12243326 (P=0.56), and rs12255372 (P=0.60) were comparable between PCOS cases and control subjects. As the four tested TCF7L2 variants were in linkage disequilibrium, 4-locus (rs4506565, rs7903146, rs12243326, rs12255372) haplotype analysis demonstrated that haplotype 2111 was initially negatively associated with PCOS [P=0.035; OR (95% CI)=0.13 (0.02-0.85)], which was later lost upon correcting for multiple comparisons [Pc=0.248]. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that there is weak or no contribution of TCF7L2 gene polymorphism to PCOS in Tunisian women. Further studies with larger samples are necessary to confirm this observation.

[The indoor sport: is it a risk factor for allergic rhinitis?]. / La pratique sportive en salle serait-elle un facteur de risque de rhinite allergique ?

INTRODUCTION: The high prevalence of allergic rhinitis that occurs in elite athletes has been extensively investigated. However, data among recreational athletes practicing indoor activities remain contradictory. The aim of the present study was to determine whether taking part in gym based sporting activities constitutes a risk factor for allergic rhinitis in recreational athletes. METHODS: A group of 50 recreational athletes was examined. A specific questionnaire for the screening of allergic rhinitis and a battery of skin prick-tests to aeroallergens were administered to each participant. Measurements of nasal symptoms, peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) and lung function were also obtained before and after a training session. RESULTS: Thirty-two percent of the participants were atopic, 18% suffered from allergic rhinitis. This prevalence is similar to that of the general population (16.9%). After exercise, nasal symptom prevalence did not change significantly. However, an improvement in nasal inspiratory flow was observed in 70% of the participants. No statistically significant change in lung function was noticed. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that the occasional practice of sport in the gyms does not constitute a risk factor for atopy or allergic rhinitis. However, this kind of activity induces an increase in the nasal patency of both the healthy and the rhinitic subjects.

Real time noise and wavelength correlations in octave-spanning supercontinuum generation.

We use dispersive Fourier transformation to measure shot-to-shot spectral instabilities in femtosecond supercontinuum generation. We study both the onset phase of supercontinuum generation with distinct dispersive wave generation, as well as a highly-unstable supercontinuum regime spanning an octave in bandwidth. Wavelength correlation maps allow interactions between separated spectral components to be identified, even when such interactions are not apparent in shot-to-shot or average measurements. Experimental results are interpreted using numerical simulations. Our results show the clear advantages of dispersive Fourier transformation for studying spectral noise during supercontinuum generation.