Tracing antibiotic resistance genes along the migration pathways

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Large magnetocaloric effect in the frustrated antiferromagnet EuIr2_2P2_2

We present a theoretical analysis of the magnetocaloric effect in the frustrated antiferromagnet \Eu. Monte Carlo simulations indicate a large magnetic entropy change $\Delta S_M^{\text{max}} \sim 5.14$ J kg$^{-1}$K$^{-1}$ at $T=2.45$K for a moderate change in the external magnetic field $\Delta B=1.2$ Tesla. The highest value of $\Delta S_M$ seems to be associated with the presence of a multicritical point in the magnetic field versus temperature phase diagram (at $B_m\sim 1.2$ Tesla and $T_m\sim 2.2$ K) but it persists with similar large values for a broad range of temperatures $T\lesssim T_m$. Single crystal \Eu~magnetization vs magnetic field experiments allowed us to obtain the magnetocaloric effect for $T>2$ K. The results are consistent with the theoretical analysis and show a large magnetocaloric effect for $T\sim 2.5$ K. Finally, we present a phenomenological Landau functional analysis that provides a simplified description of the phase diagram and of the magnetocaloric effect. Although the magnetic frustration in this system leads to a rich phase diagram, we found no clear indication that it plays a significant role enhancing the magneticaloric effect, other than by reducing the transition temperatures and fields.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Rapid increase of resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin in Streptococcus pyogenes in Italy, 1993-1995. The Italian Surveillance Group for Antimicrobial Resistance.

A survey of antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes in Italy showed a sharp increase in erythromycin resistance. In 1993, the incidence of erythromycin-resistant strains was on average 5.1%, with marked variations by geographic area. Two years later, the incidence of these strains had registered a 1.5- to roughly 20-fold increase, with a mean value of 25.9%, exceeding 40% in three centers out of 13 and 30% in another four. For all the strains studied, normal levels of susceptibility to penicillin were reported

Enhanced Kondo Effect in an Electron System Dynamically Coupled with Local Optical Phonon

We discuss Kondo behavior of a conduction electron system coupled with local optical phonon by analyzing the Anderson-Holstein model with the use of a numerical renormalization group (NRG) method. There appear three typical regions due to the balance between Coulomb interaction $U_{\rm ee}$ and phonon-mediated attraction $U_{\rm ph}$. For $U_{\rm ee}>U_{\rm ph}$, we observe the standard Kondo effect concerning spin degree of freedom. Since the Coulomb interaction is effectively reduced as $U_{\rm ee}-U_{\rm ph}$, the Kondo temperature $T_{\rm K}$ is increased when $U_{\rm ph}$ is increased. On the other hand, for $U_{\rm ee}<U_{\rm ph}$, there occurs the Kondo effect concerning charge degree of freedom, since vacant and double occupied states play roles of pseudo-spins. Note that in this case, $T_{\rm K}$ is decreased with the increase of $U_{\rm ph}$. Namely, $T_{\rm K}$ should be maximized for $U_{\rm ee} \approx U_{\rm ph}$. Then, we analyze in detail the Kondo behavior at $U_{\rm ee}=U_{\rm ph}$, which is found to be explained by the polaron Anderson model with reduced hybridization of polaron and residual repulsive interaction among polarons. By comparing the NRG results of the polaron Anderson model with those of the original Anderson-Holstein model, we clarify the Kondo behavior in the competing region of $U_{\rm ee} \approx U_{\rm ph}$.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Lattice specific heat for the RMIn5_5 (R = Gd, La, Y, M = Co, Rh) compounds: non-magnetic contribution subtraction

We analyze theoretically a common experimental process used to obtain the magnetic contribution to the specific heat of a given magnetic material. In the procedure, the specific heat of a non-magnetic analog is measured and used to subtract the non-magnetic contributions, which are generally dominated by the lattice degrees of freedom in a wide range of temperatures. We calculate the lattice contribution to the specific heat for the magnetic compounds GdMIn$_5$ (M = Co, Rh) and for the non-magnetic YMIn$_5$ and LaMIn$_5$ (M = Co, Rh), using density functional theory based methods. We find that the best non-magnetic analog for the subtraction depends on the magnetic material and on the range of temperatures. While the phonon specific heat contribution of YRhIn$_5$ is an excellent approximation to the one of GdCoIn$_5$ in the full temperature range, for GdRhIn$_5$ we find a better agreement with LaCoIn$_5$, in both cases, as a result of an optimum compensation effect between masses and volumes. We present measurements of the specific heat of the compounds GdMIn$_5$ (M = Co, Rh) up to room temperature where it surpasses the value expected from the Dulong-Petit law. We obtain a good agreement between theory and experiment when we include anharmonic effects in the calculations

Effective electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in the Hubbard-Holstein model

We investigate the interplay between the electron-electron and the electron-phonon interaction in the Hubbard-Holstein model. We implement the flow-equation method to investigate within this model the effect of correlation on the electron-phonon effective coupling and, conversely, the effect of phonons in the effective electron-electron interaction. Using this technique we obtain analytical momentum-dependent expressions for the effective couplings and we study their behavior for different physical regimes. In agreement with other works on this subject, we find that the electron-electron attraction mediated by phonons in the presence of Hubbard repulsion is peaked at low transferred momenta. The role of the characteristic energies involved is also analyzed.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figure

Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa with acquired bla(vim) metallo-beta-lactamase determinants, Italy.

6nonenoneROSSOLINI G.M.; RICCIO M.L.; CORNAGLIA G.; PAGANI L.; LAGATOLLA C.; SELAN L. AND FONTANA R.Rossolini, G. M.; Riccio, M. L.; Cornaglia, G.; Pagani, L.; Lagatolla, Cristina; Selan, L. AND FONTANA R

Zero-temperature Phase Diagram For Strongly-Correlated Nanochains

Recently there has been a resurgence of intense experimental and theoretical interest on the Kondo physics of nanoscopic and mesoscopic systems due to the possibility of making experiments in extremely small samples. We have carried out exact diagonalization calculations to study the effect of the energy spacing $\Delta$ of the conduction band on the ground-state properties of a dense Anderson model nanochain. The calculations reveal for the first time that the energy spacing tunes the interplay between the Kondo and RKKY interactions, giving rise to a zero-temperature $\Delta$ versus hybridization phase diagram with regions of prevailing Kondo or RKKY correlations, separated by a {\it free spins} regime. This interplay may be relevant to experimental realizations of small rings or quantum dots with tunable magnetic properties.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. J. Appl. Phys. (in press