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IntroductionHospitals in the Netherlands generate approximately 1.3 million kg of waste from the polypropylene (PP) wrapping paper (WP) used to wrap surgical instruments each year. The aim of this study was to develop a method to recycle WP waste into new medical devices.MethodsWP was recovered from Maasstad Hospital, Netherlands. The WP was melted into bars, granulated, and mixed with virgin material at different ratios and temperatures. Dog bones were injection-molded from volume (v.%) virgin, mixed (%R), and recycled (100%R) granulate, and a tensile testing machine was used to compare the material properties before and after ten disinfection cycles at the sterilization department. Then, 25 instrument openers were made from the 50%R material and circulated for four weeks.ResultsThe data indicated no significant differences in the mechanical properties at different melting temperatures. For dog bones made from the 100%R, 50%R, and virgin granulate, the Young's moduli were 1021 (SD13), 879 (SD13), and 795 (SD14) MPa, and the strains were 8%, 12%, and 14%. Ten disinfection cycles did not significantly change the material properties. After one month, the openers did not show any deterioration or damage other than surface scratches.DiscussionThe results indicated that the initial WP melting temperature did not influence the mechanical properties. Although devices could be produced directly from the recycled WP granulate, increasing the recycled granulate in the mix ratio increased the strength and brittleness.ConclusionsIt is feasible to recycle WP waste into a high-quality raw material for the injection molding of medical devices without using additives. This would allow hospitals to become more compliant with the circular economy enabling economically viable and circular processes that positively contribute to cleaner technical processes, sustainable products, and the reduction of medical waste.

Summary The growth of maize roots decreased fresh soil aggregate stability. Chemical pretreatment with sodium periodate (to assess the importance of polysaccharides) and acetylacetone (to assess the importance of organically bound Fe and Al) before measuring stability suggested that destruction of (organic matter)-(Fe or Al)-(mineral particle) linkages largely accounts for the effect. Removal of the Fe and Al cations by chelating agents released in the rhizosphere is the most likely mechanism. Changes in soil particle size distribution and the concentrations of water-extractable cations around maize roots did not appear to be implicated. Concentrations of water-extractable Mg and K were sometimes greater in fresh soil which had supported maize than in fallow controls, which may reflect both release of bicarbonate or organic anions by the roots and the slaking of aggregates, reducing stability of the fresh maize soils.

The analysis of a data file comprising 776 lung cancer patients from the Tumor Registry at a 705-bed community hospital in New Jersey reveals that women are diagnosed with squamous cell and large cell lung cancer at an earlier age than men.

THE extension of root axes of barley is severely inhibited by concentrations of ethylene considerably lower than those which can occur in anaerobic soil1; the sensitivity of this species has now been compared with that of three other temperate cereals and several varieties of rice from Nigeria, together with two dicotyledonous plants known to be particularly susceptible to injury from anaerobic soil conditions.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” With North Carolina's two legislative chambers at odds over details of a comprehensive plan for health care access, the House gave tentative approval on Wednesday to a linchpin of any agreement with the Senate by voting to expand Medicaid to more low-income adults. With robust bipartisan support, the chamber voted 96-23 to accept more Medicaid coverage available under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. It could cover potentially 600,000 people who usually make too much to qualify for conventional Medicaid but too little to benefit from subsidized private health insurance. The bill still faces one more House vote on Thursday before going to the Senate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein speaks in favor of protecting abortion access during a news conference at the North Carolina Department of Justice in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Stein, an abortion rights supporter, has voluntarily recused himself from his office's appeal in a case that could reinstate a 20-week abortion ban. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum) RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” The campaign committee for North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, facing trouble for a TV ad aired against a rival in 2020, plans to ask a federal court to block enforcement of a state law making it illegal to knowingly circulate false reports to damage a candidate's election chances. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” The North Carolina General Assembly opened its two-year legislative session Wednesday with Republicans on the cusp of veto-proof control that will force Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to thread parliamentary needle s to block abortion restrictions and other culture war issues he™s vowed to fight.The House and Senate gaveled down a one-day organizational meeting required by law to seat all 170 lawmakers and elect leaders, in particular again picking Rep. Tim Moore as speaker and Sen. Phil Berger as Senate leader. The session ” and the legislating ” will begin in earnest in two weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” North Carolina Senate Republicans on Tuesday unveiled a wide-ranging proposal they say would help parents stay informed about what their children are being taught and how they're being treated by doctors. The measure also would tread into contentious LGBTQ matters that have caused divisive debate elsewhere.The œParents' Bill of Rights legislation would bar public school curriculum for kindergarten through third grade from containing instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. Republicans contend the prohibition is more limited than a new Florida law that critics have dubbed the œDon™t Say Gay law, which has received intense scrutiny nationally from critics who argue it marginalizes LGBTQ people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

FILE - U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., speaks to supporters and the media at his primary election night watch party in Hendersonville, N.C., on May 17, 2022. According to a report released Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, Cawthorn, the departing U.S. representative from North Carolina, has been told by the House Ethics Committee to pay over $14,000 to charity after determining he financially benefited while purchasing a cryptocurrency that he was promoting, violating conflict of interest rules. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File) Former first lady Melania Trump, left, and Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., center, listen as former President Donald Trump announces he is running for president for the third time as he speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republicans on Wednesday pitched new maps for the state's congressional districts starting in 2024 that appear to threaten the reelection of at least three current Democratic U.S. House members. Senate redistricting committee leaders introduced two proposals that would rework the boundary lines for the state's 14 U.S. House seats. The state House and Senate want to enact a final plan by the end of the month. Candidate filing for the 2024 election is set to begin in early December. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” North Carolina's legislative ledger gets cleared every two years when the next set of 170 lawmakers are sworn in. The General Assembly starts from scratch filing and advancing bills.But the legislative session that begins in earnest Wednesday should be chock full of familiar issues from 2022 ” whether to approve Medicaid expansion, medical marijuana and sports gambling among them ” for debate and votes during this year™s chief work period, expected to reach into early summer. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” North Carolina œParents' Bill of Rights" legislation that in part would prohibit instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in K-3 public school curriculum was approved Wednesday by the state Senate. The near party-line vote suggests a likely veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper if the bill reaches his desk could doom the Republican measure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” North Carolina's Senate voted Thursday to scrap a requirement that a sheriff formally sign off before a person is able to legally purchase a handgun, as part of a broader firearms bill.The Republican senators approved the legislation 29-19 in a party-line vote. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” North Carolina™s highest court opened the door Friday to nullifying a voter ID mandate approved by citizens in 2018 because the lawmakers who put it on the ballot were elected from districts tainted by illegal racial bias. However, the North Carolina Supreme Court stopped short of striking down the voter ID requirement and another constitutional amendment that limited income tax rates, ruling that a lower court must gather more evidence on the measures before tossing them out. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature advanced its proposed state budget adjustments in bipartisan fashion Thursday, each chamber voting separately by comfortable margins for a plan that would spend or salt away billions more without added tax cuts. The measure, which was agreed to in private negotiations between House and Senate GOP leaders and released earlier in the week, received significant support from House and Senate Democrats during the first of two required affirmative floor votes in the chambers. Final votes on the plan were anticipated Friday, when the General Assembly hopes to wrap up this year™s primary work session that began in mid-May. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” A late-session effort to authorize and regulate sports gambling in North Carolina pressed forward Tuesday in the state House, nearly a year after a measure that would make such betting lawful cleared the Senate. A divided House judiciary committee voted for two bills ” one the exact same legislation that passed the Senate and another that makes edits to that proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” The North Carolina General Assembly returned to Raleigh on Wednesday after its usual two-week January break and turned to the business of legislating ” filing bills on several topics familiar to veteran lawmakers. The House and Senate held midday floor meetings, marking when the two-year legislative session begins in earnest. The legislature held one-day organizational sessions on Jan. 11 to reelect House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger. Committees aren™t expected to begin hearing measures until at least next week. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” A North Carolina prosecutor said Thursday that campaign-related charges won't be pursued further against Attorney General Josh Stein or his aides, one day after an appeals court ruled the political libel law her office was seeking to enforce is most likely unconstitutional.Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said that the ongoing investigation and prosecution of potential misdemeanor violations related to a 2020 ad from Stein's campaign has been closed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” Sensible policies can be approved to reduce gun violence across the country without threatening the rights of responsible firearm owners, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday, recalling last month™s mass shooting in Raleigh that left five people dead.The Democratic governor made the comments in the keynote address at a virtual national gun safety conference, and said he spoke to some family members and friends of the victims of the Oct. 13 shootings that began in an east Raleigh subdivision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” A federal judge opened the door Tuesday for a district attorney to try to prosecute someone for a 2020 campaign ad by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein using a specific criminal count that the Democrat contends is unconstitutional on free-speech grounds. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles refused to issue a preliminary injunction two weeks after she signed an emergency order blocking temporarily enforcement of the state law by Wake County DA Lorrin Freeman because Eagles said Stein's campaign committee would likely win on legal claims that it be struck down. Eagles also canceled that restraining order. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” North Carolina House and Senate budget-writers are close to completing their work on proposed adjustments to the second year of a two-year state spending plan approved last fall, top Republican legislators said Tuesday. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger separately told reporters they anticipate meeting later this week to negotiate differences over adjustments that the appropriations committee leaders could not bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” A federal judge agreed on Monday to block for now any enforcement of a state law in a political ad investigation of North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein™s campaign, saying it™s likely to win on legal claims that the law is unconstitutional.Following a court hearing in Greensboro, U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles ruled for Stein™s campaign and other plaintiffs who filed an unusual lawsuit last week against State Board of Elections members and Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ” A North Carolina law preventing legal settlements between farms and workers from requiring a farm operation to become a union employer doesn't violate the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday while overturning a lower court decision. The decision by a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, restores a provision contained in a 2017 farm law that was challenged by the Farm Labor Organizing Committee ” the state™s only farmworker union with several thousand members. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]