CC9 Livestock-Associated Staphylococcus aureus Emerges in Bloodstream Infections in French Patients Unconnected With Animal Farming

We report 4 bloodstream infections associated with CC9 agr type II Staphylococcus aureus in individuals without animal exposure. We demonstrate, by microarray analysis, the presence of egc cluster, fnbA, cap operon, lukS, set2, set12, splE, splD, sak, epiD, and can, genomic features associated with a high virulence potential in human

Evolution of microstructure and crystallographic texture during dissimilar friction stir welding of duplex stainless steel to low carbon-manganese structural steel

Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) was used to analyze the evolution of microstructure and crystallographic texture during friction stir welding of dissimilar type 2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) to type S275 low carbon-manganese structural steel. The results of microstructural analyses show that the temperature in the center of stirred zone reached temperatures between Ac 1 and Ac 3 during welding, resulting in a minor ferrite-to-austenite phase transformation in the S275 steel, and no changes in the fractions of ferrite and austenite in the DSS. Temperatures in the thermomechanically affected and shoulder-affected zones of both materials, in particular toward the root of the weld, did not exceed the Ac 1 of S275 steel. The shear generated by the friction between the material and the rotating probe occurred in austenitic/ferritic phase field of the S275 and DSS. In the former, the transformed austenite regions of the microstructure were transformed to acicular ferrite, on cooling, while the dual-phase austenitic/ferritic structure of the latter was retained. Studying the development of crystallographic textures with regard to shear flow lines generated by the probe tool showed the dominance of simple shear components across the whole weld in both materials. The ferrite texture in S275 steel was dominated by D 1, D 2, E, E¯ , and F, where the fraction of acicular ferrite formed on cooling showed a negligible deviation from the texture for the ideal shear texture components of bcc metals. The ferrite texture in DSS was dominated by D 1, D 2, I, I¯ , and F, and that of austenite was dominated by the A, A¯ , B, and B¯ of the ideal shear texture components for bcc and fcc metals, respectively. While D 1, D 2, and F components of the ideal shear texture are common between the ferrite in S275 steel and that of dual-phase DSS, the preferential partitioning of strain into the ferrite phase of DSS led to the development of I and I¯ components in DSS, as opposed to E and E¯ in the S275 steel. The formations of fine and ultrafine equiaxed grains were observed in different regions of both materials that are believed to be due to strain-induced continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) in ferrite of both DSS and S275 steel, and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) in austenite phase of DSS

Identification de la sensibilité des paramètres opératoires en vue de l'optimisation des procédés et du bilan environnemental d'une filière de traitement des boues. Analyse de Cycle de Vie (ACV), Analyse de Sensibilité (AS)

La majorité des études portant sur les impacts environnementaux des stations d’épuration (STEU) concernent leurs filières de traitement des eaux. Cependant, les filières de traitement des boues sont également responsables d’une part importante des impacts des STEU sur l’environnement. L’ONEMA (Office National de l’Eau et des Milieux Aquatiques) et Irstea (Institut national de Recherche en Sciences et Technologies pour l’Environnement et l’Agriculture) ont donc lancé un projet d’évaluation des impacts environnementaux des STEU, dans lequel les filières boues sont prises en compte. Dans le cadre de ce projet, plusieurs études ont déjà été réalisées sur la quantification des impacts liés aux procédés de traitement et de valorisation des boues indépendamment les uns des autres. La présente étude se démarque des précédentes car elle considère une filière boue dans sa globalité, c’est-à-dire, en considérant un ensemble de procédés de traitement et de valorisation dépendants les uns des autres. La filière considérée ici comprend, entre autres, une digestion anaérobie et une déshydratation mécanique des boues. La valorisation sera effectuée par épandage. L’objectif de cette étude est à terme, d’identifier les paramètres de la filière boue dits « sensibles », c’est-à-dire, ayant un impact important sur le bilan environnemental de la filière. Ainsi, dans un premier temps, l’évaluation des impacts environnementaux sera effectuée grâce à la méthode de l’Analyse du Cycle de Vie et, dans un second temps, une Analyse de Sensibilité sera réalisée à partir des résultats précédemment obtenus afin d’identifier les paramètres sensibles. L’ensemble de cette étude sera effectuée grâce au logiciel GaBi

A la quête des points sensibles du bilan environnemental du traitement des boues combinant digestion anaérobie et déshydratation mécanique : une approche par l'ACV

International audienceDuring the last decades, European institution establishes regulations which aim at protecting the environment from the adverse effects of the collection, treatment and discharge of waste water imposing wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) to release a good water quality in the environment. The constant diminution of the organic pollution of wastewater due to higher performance of water treatment through biological treatments leads to an increase in sludge production. The treatment processes used to concentrate and stabilize the sludge are of great importance as the sewage sludge treatment line can constitute 25 % to 72 % of total emissions of the WWTP [1]. Our study aims to present the sensitivity of Life Cycle Assessment environmental impacts results of a sewage sludge treatment line combining primary and secondary sludge thickening, anaerobic digestion, press filter dewatering, sludge storage and land spreading as final disposal (reference scenario) according to several types of parameters. Life Cycle Assessment of the reference scenario was conducting using GaBi software and environmental impacts results with the Recipe method. A sensitivity analysis was then conducted by changing reference value with a range of value for four types of parameters relevant of the treatment process performances. The studied parameters are: (a) Primary and secondary sludge composition (N, Volatile matter, P, K, Mg, Ca), (b) Anaerobic digestion performances (Volatile matter abatement, N mineralization rate, P solubilization rate, biogas composition, Hydraulic Retention Time) (c) Dewatering performances (dewatered sludge dry content based on literature value, dewatered sludge dry content based on pressure, cake thickness, filtration duration, N, P and K capture rate, polymer and FeCl3 dosage) (d) Primary and secondary thickening performances (thickened sludge dry content, N, P and K capture rate) By analyzing the sensitivity of each environmental impact (global warming, acidification, eutrophication, human toxicity…) according to each studied parameter, we identified several hotspots that research should be focused on to improve the efficiency of treatment performances and so the environmental impact of the whole sewage sludge treatment line

Medical Decision-Making Processes and Online Behaviors Among Cannabis Dispensary Staff

Background: Most cannabis patients engage with dispensary staff, like budtenders, for medical advice on cannabis. Yet, little is known about these interactions and how the characteristics of budtenders affect these interactions. This study investigated demographics, workplace characteristics, medical decision-making, and online behaviors among a sample of budtenders. Methods: Between June and September 2016, a cross-sectional Internet survey was administered to budtenders in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles. A total of 158 budtenders fully responded to the survey. A series of comparisons were conducted to determine differences between trained and untrained budtenders. Results: Among the 158 budtenders, 56% had received formal training to become a budtender. Several demographic differences were found between trained and untrained budtenders. For workplace characteristics, trained budtenders were more likely to report budtender as their primary job (74% vs 53%), practice more than 5 years (34% vs 11%), and receive sales commission (57% vs 16%). Trained budtenders were significantly less likely to perceive medical decision-making as very important (47% vs 68%) and have a patient-centered philosophy (77% vs 89%). Although trained budtenders had significantly lower Internet usage, they were significantly more likely to exchange information with patients through e-mail (58% vs 39%), text message (46% vs 30%), mobile app (33% vs 11%), video call (26% vs 3%), and social media (51% vs 23%). Conclusions: Budtenders who are formally trained exhibit significantly different patterns of interaction with medical cannabis patients. Future studies will use multivariate methods to better determine which factors independently influence interactions and how budtenders operate after the introduction of regulations under the newly passed Proposition 64 that permits recreational cannabis use in California

Efficient detection of EGFR alterations in lung adenocarcinomas

International audienc