Use of intumescent flame-retardant systems in epoxy adhesives for debonding purpose.

This work investigates the use of intumescent flame-retardant additives as a new debonding solution to disassemble bonded aluminum substrates. Melamine polyphosphate (MPP) or ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was incorporated into an epoxy adhesive joint as both an acid source and a swelling agent with this stimulus responsive behavior being triggered by heating. The ability of the system containing intumescent additives to swell and foam under heat radiation was efficiently exploited to provide enough local pressure to induce porosities and cracks at the interface, facilitating the disassembling of bonded aluminum substrates.

Plasmid-mediated colistin resistance from fresh meat and slaughtered animals in the Czech Republic: nation-wide surveillance 2020-2021.

The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance in domestic and imported meat and slaughter animals in the Czech Republic during 2020-2021 by using selective cultivation and direct PCR testing. A total of 111 colistin-resistant isolates with gene were obtained from 65 (9.9%, = 659) samples and subjected to whole-genome sequencing.

Probing the reaction mechanism between a laser welded polyamide thin film and titanium with XPS and ToF-SIMS.

The biomedical industry uses more and more polymer/metal hybrid assemblies because of the ability to combine the advantages and lower the inconveniences of both materials. The key is to assemble them. Among the high variety of existing assembling techniques, laser welding appears as an excellent option.

Adhesion Optimization between Incompatible Polymers through Interfacial Engineering.

Additive manufacturing technologies such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) open many possibilities in terms of product functionality, including the possibility to integrate a sensor in FFF parts to perform structural health monitoring. In this context, embedding fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors into 3D-printed polymeric structures for strain or temperature measurements has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Indeed, offering structural health monitoring functionality can optimize the maintenance cost and increase security compared with conventional materials.

Prevalence of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci and Antimicrobial Residues in Wastewater and Surface Water.

Due to the extensive use of antimicrobial agents in human and veterinary medicine, residues of various antimicrobials get into wastewater and, subsequently, surface water. On the one hand, a combination of processes in wastewater treatment plants aims to eliminate chemical and biological pollutants; on the other hand, this environment may create conditions suitable for the horizontal transfer of resistance genes and potential selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Wastewater and surface water samples (Morava River) were analyzed to determine the concentrations of 10 antibiotics and identify those exceeding so-called predicted no-effect environmental concentrations (PNECs).

Binding Mechanisms Between Laser-Welded Polyamide-6.6 and Native Aluminum Oxide.

Nowadays, hybrid polymer/metal assemblies experience a growing demand in the industry, especially for transports and biomedical purposes. Those assemblies offer many advantages, such as lightweight structures and corrosion resistance. The main difficulty to assemble them remains.

In vitro study of factors influencing the duration of antimicrobial protection of antimicrobial-impregnated external ventricular drains.

Background: In vitro and clinical studies assessing the duration of the protective activity of antimicrobial-impregnated external ventricular drains (AI-EVDs) gave conflicting results.

Objectives: To identify factors associated with decreased antimicrobial activity of AI-EVDs that were not taken into account in previous in vitro models.

Methods: We performed in vitro experiments with Bactiseal™ AI-EVDs, under different conditions.

Deep brain stimulation electrode position impact on parkinsonian non-motor symptoms.

Background: In this study we evaluated the impact of location of deep brain stimulation electrode active contact in different parts of the subthalamic nucleus on improvement of non-motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Methods: The subthalamic nucleus was divided into two (dorsolateral/ventromedial) and three (dorsolateral, medial, ventromedial) parts. 37 deep brain stimulation electrodes were divided according to their active contact location.

Fused Filament Fabrication of Polymers and Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites: Advances in Structure Optimization and Health Monitoring.

3D printed neat thermoplastic polymers (TPs) and continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTPCs) by fused filament fabrication (FFF) are becoming attractive materials for numerous applications. However, the structure of these materials exhibits interfaces at different scales, engendering non-optimal mechanical properties. The first part of the review presents a description of these interfaces and highlights the different strategies to improve interfacial bonding.

[Direct identification of bacteria in blood cultures by MALDI-TOF MS].

Background: Early and causal administration of antibiotics in patients with a positive blood culture is an essential prerequisite for successful treatment of infection. However, isolation and subsequent identification of bacteria in a blood culture by classical (culture) methods may last several days. MALDI-TOF MS is a method allowing rapid identification of bacteria, not only cultures from culture media, but also directly in clinical specimens.

Analysis of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci in Hemato-Oncological Patients.

Enterococci are important bacterial pathogens, and their significance is even greater in the case of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). The study analyzed the presence of VRE in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of hemato-oncological patients. Active screening using selective agars yielded VRE for phenotypic and genotypic analyses.

Wild boar as a potential reservoir of zoonotic tick-borne pathogens.

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) population has increased dramatically over the last decades throughout Europe and it has become a serious pest. In addition, the common habitat of wild boar and of the tick, Ixodes ricinus, indicates the potential of wild boar to play a role in epidemiology of epizootic and zoonotic tick-borne pathogens, including Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In Europe, epidemiological cycles and reservoirs of A.

O-Arm Navigated Frameless and Fiducial-Less Deep Brain Stimulation.

Object: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a very useful procedure for the treatment of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor, and dystonia. The authors evaluated the accuracy of the new method used in their center for the placing of DBS electrodes. Electrodes are placed using the intraoperative O-arm™ (Medtronic)-controlled frameless and fiducial-less system, Nexframe™ (Medtronic).

Durability of antimicrobial activity of antibiotic-impregnated external ventricular drains: a prospective study.

Background: Antibiotic-impregnated external ventricular drains (AI-EVDs) have a debated efficacy in clinical studies.

Objectives: Our aim was to assess the durability of antimicrobial activity of AI-EVDs used in clinical settings.

Methods: From April 2017 to January 2018, all consecutive AI-EVDs (Bactiseal™) inserted in adult patients were prospectively included.

Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Ventriculostomy-Related Infection, Treated by a Colistin, Tigecycline, and Intraventricular Fibrinolysis.

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii meningitis and ventriculitis are difficult issues, because of the low diffusion of antibiotics in the cerebrospinal fluid and bacterial multidrug resistance. The presence of an infected intraventricular hematoma, constituting an equivalent of undrained abscess, may promote biofilm formation and failure of medical treatment.

Case Description: In this case of ventriculostomy-related infection after ventricular hemorrhage, Acinetobacter baumannii was sensitive only to colistin and tigecycline.

Identification of novel OXA-134-like β-lactamases in Acinetobacter lwoffii and Acinetobacter schindleri isolated from chicken litter.

Background: Various food-producing animals have been recognized in recent years as a potential reservoir for the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria that may pose a risk to human health and therefore their dissemination in the food production chain needs to be assessed.

Methods: In this study, 450 boot swabs from chicken farms were analyzed for the presence of antimicrobial resistance with a focus on β-lactams resistance in Acinetobacter species.

Results: Two β-lactamase-encoding genes were first time identified in Acinetobacter lwoffii and Acinetobacter schindleri isolates.

Bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation initial impact on nonmotor and motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease: An open prospective single institution study.

Numerous studies document significant improvement in motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) after deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS). However, little is known about the initial effects of STN-DBS on nonmotor domains.Our objective was to elucidate the initial effects of STN-DBS on non-motor and motor symptoms in PD patients in a 4-month follow-up.

Virulence and antibiotic resistance genes in Campylobacter spp. in the Czech Republic.

Objective: Thermotolerant species of the genus Campy-lobacter are the important agents causing human foodborne infections throughout the world. The aims of this study were to evaluate the presence of nine putative virulence genes in Campylobacter spp. isolated from patients and from foods (poultry meat, pork liver), to determine the resistance of Campylobacter isolates to eight antibiotic agents and to detect four resistance genes.