Breast amyloidosis associated with Sjögren syndrome: A diagnostic pitfall in breast pathology.

BACKGROUND: Amyloidosis is an uncommon disorder characterized by the extracellular deposition of amorphous and insoluble proteins in an abnormal fibrillary configuration. Mammary amyloidosis is an unusual and easily overlooked diagnosis with an ambivalent presentation that could mimic breast cancer. CASE REPORT: We here report the case of 60-year-old Caucasian woman who presented to our surgical oncology department for clinically and radiologically suspicious breast mass. A fine needle biopsy was irrelevant, so we performed a lumpectomy. Final histology revealed an amyloid deposit and further workup was consistent with nodular cutaneous and breast AL amyloidosis associated with Sjögren's syndrome. CONCLUSION: Although rare, an awareness of the clinicopathologic characteristics of this easily overlooked entity is of great importance for breast surgeons.

Health-related Quality of Life and Determinants of the Mental Dimension Among Tunisian Nurses in Public Hospitals.

BACKGROUND: The health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) has been in-creasingly investigated in health sciences. The Objectives of this study are to evaluate the HR-QoL among nurses in Tunisian public hospitals and to identify the determinants of its mental dimension. METHODS: A cross-sectional, bi-centric study was conducted within a representative sample of the 1,179 nurses assigned to 28 departments of two Tunisian public hospitals. A structured inquiry (socio-professional characteristics, occupational perceived workload) and validated questionnaires (SF12, Job Content Questionnaire of Karasek, Work Ability Index) have been completed. RESULTS: Response rate was equal to 97.34%. The mean age of nurses was 42.60 ± 21 years. Nearly half of caregivers (49.07%) had a poor mental quality of life. The multivariate analysis concluded that mental HR-QoL was correlated with the female gender (0.010), obesity and the non-practice of regular physical activity (0.027), musculoskeletal diseases (<10-3), the low ability to work (<10-3). This deterioration of the mental HR-QoL dimension was also associated with the job tenure (0.002), the perceived workload (0.015), and conflictual relationships with colleagues (0.006) the feeling of insecurity at work (0.034), and the intention to leave the profession early (0.007) Conclusion: The results of this study showed that a considerable number of nurses had a poor mental quality of life. This study also identified factors associated with this deterioration. Acting on these determining factors may improve the well-being and global health of nurses, as well as their work performance and quality of care provided.

Preservation of poultry meat using Tetraclinis articulata essential oil during refrigerated storage.

Current study aims to evaluate the effect of essential oil on the conservation of chicken fillets. Following a screening, Tetraclinis articulata was selected for its antimicrobial (Enterococcus feacalis ATCC 29212, MIC < 0.031 mg/mL) and antioxidant (IC50 = 1000 µg/mL) potentials with no cytotoxicity effect towards murine macrophage cells. The treatment of chicken fillets, especially with 200 ppm of T. articulata essential oil per 100 g of product reduced significantly (p < 0.05) lipid oxidation during 12 days of refrigerated storage. Microbial flora charges decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with a rate of 50.31% for 200 ppm of essential oil from the 6th day of storage. The acidity of treated fillets was lower than control samples (1.3 g/kg) from the 3rd day of storage. In addition, a clear effect was recorded by reducing water losses during cooking under the tested doses of essential oil. Withall, findings encouraged the use of T. articulata to extend poultry meat product shelf life.

Primary Paratesticular Leiomyosarcoma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Paratesticular soft tissue sarcomas are very rare malignant mesenchymal tumors. With only few cases reported in the literature, data regarding diagnostic and management of these tumors are limited. We reported a case of primary paratesticular leiomyosarcoma in a 72-year-old man complaining of a progressively growing painless right scrotal mass. The patient underwent radical inguinal right orchiectomy and adjuvant 3D conformal radiotherapy to the tumor bed including the surgical scar. The prescription dose was 54 Gy, and no pelvic irradiation was performed. He remained free of recurrence for the last 16 months.

Pure Ductal Carcinoma in Situ in The Male Breast: A Rare Entity.

Pure ductal carcinoma in situ of male breast (DCIS) is extremely rare. Only a few cases have been reported until now. Its treatment is not well established. Prognosis is as good as in women. In this study, we reported 3 cases of pure ductal carcinoma in situ in the male breast. The mean age of DCIS patients was 58.3 years. The main symptom was a breast mass. The median size of the tumor was 25 mm. Two patients had an axillary lymph node. The left side was reached in 2 cases. All of the patients underwent mastectomy. The histopathological assessment showed papillary, cribriform, and comedocarcinoma in situ. There was no evidence of invasive carcinoma. In one case, the DCIS was associated with Paget's disease of the nipple. One patient received hormonotherapy. The time of follow-up ranged between 6 and 117 months. One patient developed an invasive recurrence.

Human miscarriage and infection in Tunisia: Role of Mycoplasma hominis and high Waddlia seroprevalence.

INTRODUCTION: Miscarriage is one of the most common adverse pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between miscarriage in humans and infections caused by zoonotic bacteria and genital pathogens. METHODOLOGY: Cervicovaginal swabs and placenta samples from 132 women with miscarriage (patient group: PG), and cervicovaginal swabs from 54 women with normal pregnancy (control group:CG), were subjected to bacteriological culture and real time PCRs detecting Coxiella burnetii, Brucella spp, Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Chlamydia trachomatis, Waddlia chondrophila and Parachlamydia acanthamoebeae DNA. Serology of C. burnetii, C. trachomatis and W. chondrophila was also performed. RESULTS: Placenta samples were positive for E. coli, S. agalactiae, U. urealyticum, M. hominis and C. trachomatis in 4.7%, 3.1%, 3.1%, 0.7% and 0.7% of cases, respectively. For cervicovaginal swabs, M. hominis was more frequently detected among PG than CG with a significant statistical difference (p = 0.02). C. trachomatis was detected in 3.3% and 5.5% among PG and CG, respectively. U. urealyticum DNA was detected with high percentages in the two groups. Samples from both groups showed negatives results for C. burnetii, Waddlia, and Brucella qPCRs. A high rate of W. chondrophila seroprevalence (42%) was noted with significant difference among women with early miscarriage. CONCLUSIONS: C. trachomatis, S. agalactiae and M. hominis may play a role in miscarriage. However, the full characterization of the vaginal flora using other technologies such as NGS-based metagenomics is needed to clarify their role in miscarriage. Finally, further investigations should be performed to explain high W. chondrophila seroprevalence.

[Semi-quantitative ergonomic analysis of the biomechanical constraints within the cervical spine among screen-operators in the Tunisian universities]. / Analyse ergonomique semi-quantitative des contraintes biomécaniques du rachis cervical parmi les opérateurs sur écran dans les établissements universitaires tunisiens.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to evaluate the biomechanical constraints associated with neck pain among screen-operators. METHODS: We conducted an ergonomic study of 325 screen-operators in 25 Tunisian universities based on an anthropometric evaluation of on-screen work and on a semi-quantitative analysis of video recordings of the activities of employees over a representative period of 30 minutes. RESULTS: The prevalence of neck pain was 72.3% in a working population who had to seat in an unsuitable chair and to use an unsuitable worktop (84.6%) and a screen too low with regard to horizontal gaze (81.2%). A semi-quantitative analysis, using video recording of the workstation, concluded that the nape flexed more than 40 degrees for 69% of overall working time. Lateral flexion was observed for 50.3% of working time and right or left rotation for 57.4% of working time. Thus, the most limiting head posture on a postural and gestural level was observed when screen-operators read on a computer screen, had an incorrect positioning of the keyboard and consulted documents. CONCLUSION: Our results highlight the importance of biomechanical constraints associated with a design of on-screen work which is not in accordance with the ergonomically recommended anthropometric dimensions. These constraints are associated with a high prevalence of neck pain, reflecting the need to ensure an ergonomic design of workstations in order to prevent this problems.

Bilateral atrophic squirrhus of breast in neglected breast cancer: case report.

The atrophic squirrhus carcinoma is an advanced form of breast cancer, which is most often neglected by patients. These days it has become very rare. The bilaterality of this form is even more exceptional. We present a case of atrophic squirrhus breast cancer of a 58 years old woman, rural origin, which is particular for its bilaterality and rapid evolution causing the death after 22 months from the first abnormal functional sign.