iReporter survives a flesh-eating disease
While hanging a Christmas tree ornament, Percy von Lipinski lost his balance and pricked his left hand on a pine needle. He had no idea that the incident would nearly cost him his entire hand -- and perhaps his life. (Source: CNN.com - Health)

Fast dissolving films made of maltodextrins.
Authors: Cilurzo F, Cupone IE, Minghetti P, Selmin F, Montanari L This work aimed to study maltodextrins (MDX) with a low dextrose equivalent as film forming material and their application in the design of oral fast-dissolving films. The suitable plasticizer and its concentration were selected on the basis of flexibility, tensile strength and stickiness of MDX films, and the MDX/plasticizer interactions were investigated by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Flexible films were obtained by using 16-20% w/w glycerin (GLY). This basic formulation was adapted to the main production technologies, casting and solvent evaporation (Series C) or hot-melt extrusion (Series E), by adding sorbitan monoleate (SO) or cellulose microcrystalline (MCC), respectively. MCC decreased the film ductility and significa...