the making of ear mould for hearing aids is generally considered to be a safe process. however, there are a few reported cases of complications caused during mould making. we report the case of a man with 69 years age, where the process of making the mould for a hearing aid led to the perforation of the tympanic membrane and pouring of mould material into the middle ear, necessitating surgical ...

Microbial fuels cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical transducers that generate energy from the metabolism of electro-active microorganisms. The organism Physarum polycephalum is a slime mould, which has demonstrated many novel and interesting properties in the field of unconventional computation, such as route mapping between nutrient sources, maze solving and nutrient balancing. It is a motile...

AIMS The aims were to compare a novel conjunctival mould used to assist the delivery of intravitreal drugs to a conventional technique with respect to patient, surgeon and cost benefit. METHODS A prospective review of 200 intravitreal injections was undertaken, 100 using a 'conventional' freehand technique (group 1) and 100 using a novel conjunctival mould (group 2). Intraoperative visual ana...

The growth of mould in the indoor environment is an important contributor to the development and exacerbation of atopic disease, and potentially poses other health risks. Moreover, the detection and elimination of mould have resulted in massive remedial expenditures, often without clear engineering knowledge of the nature of the moisture events that led to the damage, especially for residential...

Physarum polycephalum is a macroscopic single celled plasmodial slime mould. We employ plasmodial phototactic responses to construct laboratory prototypes of NOT and NAND logical gates with electrical inputs/outputs and optical coupling; the slime mould plays dual roles of computing device and electrical conductor. Slime mould logical gates are fault tolerant and resettable. The results present...

This study demonstrates a mass production method using nanoporous Anodized Aluminum Oxide (AAO) templates as mould insert tools that are used to structure large area polymer surfaces by a micro injection moulding process. SEM and water contact angle measurements served to evaluate the effect of nanostructures on surface properties. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were cultured on nano-st...

BACKGROUND Exposure to mould or dampness at home has been associated with adverse respiratory effects in all age groups. This exposure has also been related to insomnia in adults. We aimed to investigate the association between exposure to visible mould or dampness at home and sleep problems in children. METHODS The study population consisted of 1719 10-year-old children from the German popul...

Ready-to-eat table grapes are a product with severe shelf life problems. Mass loss, colour changes, accelerated softening and mould proliferation can greatly influence quality decay of berries. Hence, the effects of different dipping treatments on the quality of packaged ready-to-eat table grapes have been successfully assessed. Various antimicrobial compounds (trans-2-hexenal, potassium sorbat...

3D sand mould printing using binder jet technology can enable many technical improvements in casting practice, including part consolidation, design of parts to optimise the consumption materials and hazardous chemicals, on-demand flexible size manufacturing near customer. Incorporating artificial intelligence optimising moulds, process parameters, solidification processes may help automate a pr...

Mould mite numbers were successfully monitored in tissue culture laboratories using black tape where numbers of mites were high. Natural diamite and Parafilm “M” were the best barriers for preventing mould mite contamination. Treating surfaces with a miticide-containing paint (Artilin 3A) or bendiocarp prevented mites from entering containers holding food suitable for mould mites. Mites were no...