The paper describes the structure and the aims of a new modular educational programme in Production Engineering (PE) which will be developed in the scope of a European project and implemented in the Tunis University of Sciences and Techniques (ESSTT). Today, Tunisia looks forward to a high technology transfer. One of the national projects, that have a great effect on the Tunisian national econo...

BACKGROUND The Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) is a candidate gene in the aetiology of several common diseases. The study of the haplotype structure of this gene is of interest in diagnosis and in pharmacogenomics. AIM The study investigated the haplotype profile of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the ACE gene in the Tunisian population and compared it with other populations...

OBJECTIVE To perform a clinical and genetic study of Tunisian families with autosomal recessive (AR) hereditary spastic paraplegia with thin corpus callosum (HSP-TCC). DESIGN Linkage studies and mutation screening. SETTING Reference Center for Neurogenetics in South and Center Tunisia. PARTICIPANTS Seventy-three subjects from 33 "apparently" unrelated Tunisian families with AR HSP. MAIN...

The deeply branching Deinococcus-Thermus lineage is recognized as one of the most extremophilic phylum of bacteria. In previous studies, the presence of Deinococcus-related bacteria in the hot arid Tunisian desert of Tataouine was demonstrated through combined molecular and culture-based approaches. Similarly, Thermus-related bacteria have been detected in Tunisian geothermal springs. The prese...

We aimed to characterize the different subgroups of ketosis-prone diabetes (KPD) in a sample of Tunisian patients using the Aβ scheme based on the presence or absence of β-cell autoantibodies (A+ or A-) and β-cell functional reserve (β+ or β-) and we investigated whether HLA class II alleles could contribute to distinct KPD phenotypes. We enrolled 43 adult patients with a first episode of ketos...

BACKGROUND Osteoporosis is a highly heritable trait. Among the genes associated with bone mineral density (BMD), the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 gene (LRP5) has been consistently identified in Caucasians. However LRP5 contribution to osteoporosis in populations of other ethnicities remains poorly known. METHODS To determine whether LRP5 polymorphisms Ala1330Val and Val6...

Genetic diversity of 50 Tunisian almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) genotypes and their relationships to European and American cultivars were studied. In total 82 genotypes were analyzed using ten genomic SSRs. A total of 159 alleles were scored and their sizes ranged from 116 to 227 bp. The number of alleles per locus varied from 12 to 23 with an average of 15.9 alleles per locus. Mean expected and ...

PURPOSE To map the locus and identify the gene causing autosomal recessive congenital cataracts in a large consanguineous Tunisian family. METHODS DNA was extracted from blood samples from a large Tunisian family with an autosomal recessive, congenital, total white cataract. A genome-wide scan was performed with microsatellite markers. All exons and the splice sites of the HSF4 gene were sequ...

AIMS To establish FeNO norms for healthy Tunisian adults aged 18-60 years and to prospectively assess their reliability. METHODS This was a cross-sectional analytical study. A convenience sample of healthy Tunisian adults was recruited. Subjects responded to a medical questionnaire, and then FeNO levels were measured by an online method (Medisoft, Sorinnes (Dinant), Belgium). Clinical, anthro...

BACKGROUND Many experimental studies have suggested an important role for barley Rihane(BR)in the prevention of colon cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physico-chemical properties and nutritional characterizations of BR compared to other varieties grown in Tunisia (Manel, Roho and Tej). MATERIAL AND METHODS Total, insoluble and soluble dietary...