Laboratory automation in clinical bacteriology: what system to choose?

Automation was introduced many years ago in several diagnostic disciplines such as chemistry, haematology and molecular biology. The first laboratory automation system for clinical bacteriology was released in 2006, and it rapidly proved its value by increasing productivity, allowing a continuous increase in sample volumes despite limited budgets and personnel shortages. Today, two major manufacturers, BD Kiestra and Copan, are commercializing partial or complete laboratory automation systems for bacteriology. The laboratory automation systems are rapidly evolving to provide improved hardware and software solutions to optimize laboratory efficiency. However, the complex parameters of the laboratory and automation systems must be considered to determine the best system for each given laboratory. We address several topics on laboratory automation that may help clinical bacteriologists to understand the particularities and operative modalities of the different systems. We present (a) a comparison of the engineering and technical features of the various elements composing the two different automated systems currently available, (b) the system workflows of partial and complete laboratory automation, which define the basis for laboratory reorganization required to optimize system efficiency, (c) the concept of digital imaging and telebacteriology, (d) the connectivity of laboratory automation to the laboratory information system, (e) the general advantages and disadvantages as well as the expected impacts provided by laboratory automation and (f) the laboratory data required to conduct a workflow assessment to determine the best configuration of an automated system for the laboratory activities and specificities

Application of diamond-like carbon coatings to elastomers frictional surfaces

Nitrile-butyl rubber-like materials were coated with amorphous hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings in order to modify their surface and tribological properties. Measurements of water contact angle were performed by the sessile drop method and showed that the coated samples are more hydrophobic with water contact angles up to 116°. The surface free energy of the elastomers was calculated by the acid-base regression method considering polar and dispersive contributions and the results were correlated with changes in the surface chemistry measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been found that the lower presence of oxygen functional groups on the elastomer surfaces led to lower surface free energies, even though the polar contribution was not predominant. We also found that the DLC coatings led to a significant decrease of the surface free energy (up to 16%) and that there is a good correlation between the surface free energy values and the corresponding water contact angle values. The coefficient of friction was also measured and presented a significant decrease after coating with DLC. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the EU from the Sixth framework programme in the KRISTAL Project no. 515837-2. L. Martínez and Y. Huttel acknowledge the Spanish “Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia” for the “Juan de la Cierva” and “Ramón y Cajal” programmes, respectively. R. Nevshupa acknowledges the “Marie Curie” programme (MIF1-CT-2006-22067)

Overview of cattle diseases listed under category C, D or E in the animal health law for wich control programmes are in place within Europe

13 páginas, 5 figuras, 3 tablas.The COST action “Standardising output-based surveillance to control non-regulated diseases of cattle in the European Union (SOUND control),” aims to harmonise the results of surveillance and control programmes (CPs) for non-EU regulated cattle diseases to facilitate safe trade and improve overall control of cattle infectious diseases. In this paper we aimed to provide an overview on the diversity of control for these diseases in Europe. A non-EU regulated cattle disease was defined as an infectious disease of cattle with no or limited control at EU level, which is not included in the European Union Animal health law Categories A or B under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2002. A CP was defined as surveillance and/or intervention strategies designed to lower the incidence, prevalence, mortality or prove freedom from a specific disease in a region or country. Passive surveillance, and active surveillance of breeding bulls under Council Directive 88/407/EEC were not considered as CPs. A questionnaire was designed to obtain country-specific information about CPs for each disease. Animal health experts from 33 European countries completed the questionnaire. Overall, there are 23 diseases for which a CP exists in one or more of the countries studied. The diseases for which CPs exist in the highest number of countries are enzootic bovine leukosis, bluetongue, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine viral diarrhoea and anthrax (CPs reported by between 16 and 31 countries). Every participating country has on average, 6 CPs (min–max: 1–13) in place. Most programmes are implemented at a national level (86%) and are applied to both dairy and non-dairy cattle (75%). Approximately one-third of the CPs are voluntary, and the funding structure is divided between government and private resources. Countries that have eradicated diseases like enzootic bovine leukosis, bluetongue, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine viral diarrhoea have implemented CPs for other diseases to further improve the health status of cattle in their country. The control of non-EU regulated cattle diseases is very heterogenous in Europe. Therefore, the standardising of the outputs of these programmes to enable comparison represents a challenge.Peer reviewe

Analytical model of a wall acoustic impedance and experimental comparisons

International audienceSoundproofing schemes constituted of multilayer systems are used for acoustic insulation in many area. In the context of the prediction of noise levels in vibroacoustic systems, numerical models are developed for the low and medium frequency ranges. This paper deals with a multilayer system constituted of a porous medium inserted between two thin plates. An experimental data basis was carried out from a vibroacoustic experiment performed by ONERA. In this paper, we present the boundary value problem consisting of 12 coupled partial differential equations with boundary conditions. We present the analytical method allowing the local acoustic impedance equivalent to this multilayer system to be constructed. The method which is proposed is not usual. Finally, a comparison of the experimental results with theoretical calculations is presented. These experimental results have also been used to construct an algebraic model of this acoustic impedance

An Updating Method for Structural Dynamics Models with Uncertainties

One challenge in the numerical simulation of industrial structures is model validation based on experimental data. Among the indirect or parametric methods available, one is based on the “mechanical” concept of constitutive relation error estimator introduced in order to quantify the quality of finite element analyses. In the case of uncertain measurements obtained from a family of quasi-identical structures, parameters need to be modeled randomly. In this paper, we consider the case of a damped structure modeled with stochastic variables. Polynomial chaos expansion and reduced bases are used to solve the stochastic problems involved in the calculation of the error

Optimization of a Multi-Drilling Sequence with MQL Supply to Minimize Thermal Distortion of Aluminum Parts

The drilling process with solid carbide tools with minimum quantity lubrication is under development in the automotive industry due to its high productivity and its environmental benefit. Because of the poor cooling performance when using MQL, a high amount of heat remains in the workpiece, which induces macroscopic thermal distortions and inaccurate parts. This paper presents a methodology to model the thermal distortion of a complex part having a large number of holes. The heat flux entering into the workpiece during each drilling operation is calibrated based on embedded thermocouples and on geometrical observations of the drill surface. Finally, it is shown how the model enables the optimization of a drilling sequence so as to minimize the thermal distortion and the accuracy of the machined part

Early detection of West Nile virus in France: quantitative assessment of syndromic surveillance system using nervous signs in horses

West Nile virus (WNV) is a growing public health concern in Europe and there is a need todevelop more efficient early detection systems. Nervous signs in horses are considered to be anearly indicator of WNV and, using them in a syndromic surveillance system, might be relevant.In our study, we assessed whether or not data collected by the passive French surveillance systemfor the surveillance of equine diseases can be used routinely for the detection of WNV. We testedseveral pre-processing methods and detection algorithms based on regression. We evaluatedsystem performances using simulated and authentic data and compared them to those of thesurveillance system currently in place. Our results show that the current detection algorithmprovided similar performances to those tested using simulated and real data. However, regressionmodels can be easily and better adapted to surveillance objectives. The detection performancesobtained were compatible with the early detection of WNV outbreaks in France (i.e. sensitivity98%, specificity >94%, timeliness 2·5 weeks and around four false alarms per year) but furtherwork is needed to determine the most suitable alarm threshold for WNV surveillance in Franceusing cost-efficiency analysis