Detection of Mycobacterium chimaera in medical device water samples by customised real time PCR using a InGenius platform.

Mycobacterium chimaera, belonging to the Mycobacterium avium complex, is an opportunistic environmental mycobacterium which has been isolated from medical device water samples such as Heater Cooler Units (HCU). Laboratories currently use culture-based diagnostic methods to detect M. chimaera, but these take a long time to obtain results.

"Outcomes of Iontophoresis Cross-Linking in Asymmetric Keratoconus: A Retrospective Analysis of High Visual Acuity Eyes Under 25 Years Old".

Purpose: To assess the long-term outcomes of transepithelial iontophoresis cross-linking (I-CXL) for early keratoconus with high visual acuity under the age of 25.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Humanitas San Pio X, Milan, Italy, on data collected between 2015 and 2020. Patients diagnosed with early keratoconus and under the age of 25 who underwent to I-CXL were retrospectively reviewed and included in the study if they fulfilled the following criteria: high visual acuity (LogMAR ≤ 0.

Thin free-standing liquid films manipulation: device design to turn on/off gravity in flow regimes for thickness map control and for material structuring.

The manipulation and control of free-standing liquid film drainage dynamics is of paramount importance in many technological fields and related products, ranging from liquid lenses to liquid foams and 2D structures. In this context, we theoretically design and introduce a device where we can reversibly drive flow regime switch between viscous-capillary and viscous-gravity in a thin free-standing liquid film by altering its shape, allowing us to manipulate and stabilize the film thickness over time. The device, which mainly consists of a syringe pump, a pressure transducer, and a 3D-printed cylinder, is coupled with a digital holography setup to measure, in real time, the evolution of the local film thickness map, revealing characteristic features of viscous-capillary and viscous-gravity driven drainage regimes.

Sanitary Waters: Is It Worth Looking for Mycobacteria?

The freshwater environment is suitable for nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTMs) growth. Their high adaptability represents a considerable risk for sanitary water systems, which are a potential vector for NTMs transmission. This study investigated the occurrence of NTMs, such as , in hospital water systems to support the surveillance and control of potentially pathogenic NTMs.