Although disinfection is key to infection control, the colonization patterns and resistomes of hospital-environment microbes remain underexplored. We report the first extensive genomic characterization of microbiomes, pathogens and antibiotic resistance cassettes in a tertiary-care hospital, from repeated sampling (up to 1.5 years apart) of 179 sites associated with 45 beds. Deep shotgun metagenom

The last few decades have witnessed a fundamental change in the administrative law structures of many states. Through the phenomena labelled globalisation, internationalisation and Europeanisation, the national public bodies have seen partially new legal frameworks for administrative activities, judicial review of decisions and accountability regimes. This is very clear in regard to administrative

Pure hydrocarbons with shape and conjugation properties that can be switched by external stimuli is an intriguing prospect in the design of new responsive materials and single-molecule electronics. Here, we develop an oligomeric [8]annulene-based material that combines a remarkably efficient topological switching upon redox changes with structural simplicity, stability, and straightforward synthes

We have measured the 3d→2p transition x rays of kaonic 3He and 4He atoms using superconducting transition-edge-sensor microcalorimeters with an energy resolution better than 6 eV (FWHM). We determined the energies to be 6224.5±0.4(stat)±0.2(syst) eV and 6463.7±0.3(stat)±0.1(syst) eV, and widths to be 2.5±1.0(stat)±0.4(syst) eV and 1.0±0.6(stat)±0.3(stat) eV, for kaonic 3He and 4He, respectively.

We conduct the first 3D hydrodynamic simulations of oxygen-neon white dwarf-neutron star/black hole mergers (ONe WD-NS/BH mergers). Such mergers constitute a significant fraction, and may even dominate, the inspiral rates of all WD-NS binaries. We post-process our simulations to obtain the nuclear evolution of these systems and couple the results to a supernova spectral synthesis code to obtain th

We model the effects of collisions and close encounters on the stellar populations observed in the Milky Way nuclearstellar cluster (NSC). Our analysis is based on N -body simulations in which the NSC forms by accretion of massivestellar clusters around a supermassive black hole. We attach stellar populations to our N -body particles and follow theevolution of their stars, and the rate of collisio

We investigate the possibility that the Sun could have been born in M67 by carrying out N-body simulations of M67-like clusters in a time-varying Galactic environment, and following the Galactic orbits of stars that escape from them. We find that model clusters that occupy similar orbits to M67 today can be divided up into three groups, which we call hot, depleted, and scattered clusters. Hot clus

We present positivity bounds, derived from the principles of analyticity, unitarity and crossing symmetry, that constrain the low-energy constants of chiral perturbation theory. Bounds are produced for 2, 3 or more flavours in meson-meson scattering with equal meson masses, up to and including next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO), using the second and higher derivatives of the amplitude. We enhanc

Inspired by the flow description of su(N) colour calculations, we recently showed how to simplify the spinor-helicity formalism (at the algebra level two copies of complexified su(2)) by treating each Weyl spinor as part of a flow line with definite chirality and momentum. This formalism, dubbed the chirality-flow formalism, eliminates all non-trivial algebra from tree-level spinor-helicity calcul

Encapsulating reacting biological or chemical samples in microfluidic droplets has the great advantage over single-phase flows of providing separate reaction compartments. These compartments can be filled in a combinatoric way and prevent the sample from adsorbing to the channel walls. In recent years, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in combination with microfluidics has evolved as a nanoscale

Charge transfer states in blends of organic semiconductors have significant importance for the functioning of organic optoelectronic devices, but are also interesting from the perspective of fundamental research as many of their properties as well as their influence on the photophysics of the material are not yet completely understood. We report on a time-resolved photoluminescence study of the ph

NRAS and its effector BRAF are frequently mutated in melanoma. Paradoxically, CRAF but not BRAF was shown to be critical for various RAS-driven cancers, raising the question of the role of RAF proteins in NRAS-induced melanoma. Here, using conditional ablation of Raf genes in NRAS-induced mouse melanoma models, we investigate their contribution in tumour progression, from the onset of benign tumou

The trend for the design of the magnet system for modern synchrotron light sources is moving towards smaller magnet apertures with a reduction of the magnet dimensions as a consequence. There are several reasons for this: to increase the number of focusing cells in a given ring circumpherence to increase the multipole field strengths to reduce the total cost of the magnet and vacuum-systems. This

X-ray parametric amplification is a high order parametric process with the capability to amplify ultrashort laser pulses with broad spectrum ranging from the extreme ultraviolet to the soft x-ray. In this contribution, the dynamics of this broadband amplification schema is studied with sub-20-as temporal resolution by seeding the amplifier with a train of 200-as-long pulses at 11 nm central wavele

The MITF transcription factor and the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway are two interconnected main players in melanoma. Understanding how MITF activity is regulated represents a key question since its dynamic modulation is involved in the phenotypic plasticity of melanoma cells and their resistance to therapy. By investigating the role of ARAF in NRAS-driven mouse melanoma through mass spectrometry experim

Because global sea level during the last interglacial (LIG; 130–115 ka) was higher than today, the LIG is a useful analogue for improving predictions of future sea level rise. Here, we synthesize sea level proxies for the LIG in the glaciated Northern Hemisphere for inclusion in the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS) database. We describe 82 sites from Russia, northern Europe, Gre

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are widespread synthetic substances with various adverse health effects. A potential mechanism of toxicity for PFASs is via epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation. Previous studies have evaluated associations between PFAS exposure and DNA methylation among newborns and adults. However, no study has evaluated how PFASs influence DNA methylation among children