397 research outputs found
The challenges of defining the human nasopharyngeal resistome
The nasopharynx is an important microbial reservoir for the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms. The nasopharyngeal resistome is an extensive, adaptable reservoir of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) within this niche. Metagenomic sequencing decodes the genetic material of all organisms within a sample using next-generation technologies, permitting unbiased discovery of novel ARGs and associated mobile genetic elements (MGEs). The challenges of sequencing a low-biomass bacterial sample have limited exploration of the nasopharyngeal resistome. Here, we explore the current understanding of the nasopharyngeal resistome, particularly the role of MGEs in propagating antimicrobial resistance (AMR), explore the advantages and limitations of metagenomic sequencing technologies and bioinformatic pipelines for nasopharyngeal resistome analysis, and highlight the key outstanding questions for future research
Artificial ferroic systems: novel functionality from structure, interactions and dynamics
Lithographic processing and film growth technologies are continuing to advance, so that it is now possible to create patterned ferroic materials consisting of arrays of sub-1 ÎŒm elements with high definition. Some of the most fascinating behaviour of these arrays can be realised by exploiting interactions between the individual elements to create new functionality. The properties of these artificial ferroic systems differ strikingly from those of their constituent components, with novel emergent behaviour arising from the collective dynamics of the interacting elements, which are arranged in specific designs and can be activated by applying magnetic or electric fields. We first focus on artificial spin systems consisting of arrays of dipolar-coupled nanomagnets and, in particular, review the field of artificial spin ice, which demonstrates a wide range of fascinating phenomena arising from the frustration inherent in particular arrangements of nanomagnets, including emergent magnetic monopoles, domains of ordered macrospins, and novel avalanche behaviour. We outline how demagnetisation protocols have been employed as an effective thermal anneal in an attempt to reach the ground state, comment on phenomena that arise in thermally activated systems and discuss strategies for selectively generating specific configurations using applied magnetic fields. We then move on from slow field and temperature driven dynamics to high frequency phenomena, discussing spinwave excitations in the context of magnonic crystals constructed from arrays of patterned magnetic elements. At high frequencies, these arrays are studied in terms of potential applications including magnetic logic, linear and non-linear microwave optics, and fast, efficient switching, and we consider the possibility to create tunable magnonic crystals with artificial spin ice. Finally, we discuss how functional ferroic composites can be incorporated to realise magnetoelectric effects. Specifically, we discuss artificial multiferroics (or multiferroic composites), which hold promise for new applications that involve electric field control of magnetism, or electric and magnetic field responsive devices for high frequency integrated circuit design in microwave and terahertz signal processing. We close with comments on how enhanced functionality can be realised through engineering of nanostructures with interacting ferroic components, creating opportunities for novel spin electronic devices that, for example, make use of the transport of magnetic charges, thermally activated elements, and reprogrammable nanomagnet systems
Spin Ice, Fractionalization and Topological Order
The spin ice compounds {\dys} and {\holm} are highly unusual magnets which
epitomize a set of concepts of great interest in modern condensed matter
physics: their low-energy physics exhibits an emergent gauge field and their
excitations are magnetic monopoles which arise from the fractionalization of
the microscopic magnetic spin degrees of freedom. In this review, we provide an
elementary introduction to these concepts and we survey the thermodynamics,
statics and dynamics---in and out of equilibrium---of spin ice from these
vantage points. Along the way, we touch on topics such as emergent Coulomb
plasmas, observable "Dirac strings", and irrational charges. We close with the
outlook for these unique materials.Comment: (15 pages, 9 figures) see
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-conmatphys-020911-125058
for the published versio
Focus on artificial frustrated systems
Frustration in physics is the inability of a system to simultaneously satisfy all the competing pairwise interactions within it. The past decade has seen an explosion of activity involving engineering frustration in artificial systems built using nanotechnology. The most common are the artificial spin ices that comprise arrays of nanomagnets with competing magnetostatic interactions. As well as being physical embodiments of idealized statistical mechanical models in which properties can be tuned by design, artificial spin ices can be studied using magnetic microscopy, allowing all the details of the microstates of these systems to be interrogated, both in equilibrium and when perturbed away from it. This 'focus on' collection brings together reports on the latest results from leading groups around the globe in this fascinating and fast-moving field
Spin configurations in Co2FeAl0.4Si0.6 Heusler alloy thin film elements
We determine experimentally the spin structure of half-metallic
Co2FeAl0.4Si0.6 Heusler alloy elements using magnetic microscopy. Following
magnetic saturation, the dominant magnetic states consist of quasi-uniform
configurations, where a strong influence from the magnetocrystalline anisotropy
is visible. Heating experiments show the stability of the spin configuration of
domain walls in confined geometries up to 800 K. The switching temperature for
the transition from transverse to vortex walls in ring elements is found to
increase with ring width, an effect attributed to structural changes and
consequent changes in magnetic anisotropy, which start to occur in the narrower
elements at lower temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Domain-wall depinning assisted by pure spin currents
We study the depinning of domain walls by pure diffusive spin currents in a
nonlocal spin valve structure based on two ferromagnetic permalloy elements
with copper as the nonmagnetic spin conduit. The injected spin current is
absorbed by the second permalloy structure with a domain wall and from the
dependence of the wall depinning field on the spin current density we find an
efficiency of 6*10^{-14}T/(A/m^2), which is more than an order of magnitude
larger than for conventional current induced domain wall motion. Theoretically
we reproduce this high efficiency, which arises from the surface torques
exerted by the absorbed spin current that lead to efficient depinning.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Non-adiabatic spin torque investigated using thermally activated magnetic domain wall dynamics
Using transmission electron microscopy, we investigate the thermally
activated motion of domain walls (DWs) between two positions in permalloy
(Ni80Fe20) nanowires at room temperature. We show that this purely thermal
motion is well described by an Arrhenius law, allowing for a description of the
DW as a quasi-particle in a 1D potential landscape. By injecting small
currents, the potential is modified, allowing for the determination of the
non-adiabatic spin torque: the non-adiabatic coefficient is 0.010 +/- 0.004 for
a transverse DW and 0.073 +/- 0.026 for a vortex DW. The larger value is
attributed to the higher magnetization gradients present
Toward Establishing Integrated, Comprehensive, and Sustainable Meningitis Surveillance in Africa to Better Inform Vaccination Strategies
Large populations across sub-Saharan Africa remain at risk of devastating acute bacterial meningitis epidemics and endemic disease. Meningitis surveillance is a cornerstone of disease control, essential for describing temporal changes in disease epidemiology, the rapid detection of outbreaks, guiding vaccine introduction and monitoring vaccine impact. However, meningitis surveillance in most African countries is weak, undermined by parallel surveillance systems with little to no synergy and limited laboratory capacity. African countries need to implement comprehensive meningitis surveillance systems to adapt to the rapidly changing disease trends and vaccine landscapes. The World Health Organization and partners have developed a new investment case to restructure vaccine-preventable disease surveillance. With this new structure, countries will establish comprehensive and sustainable meningitis surveillance systems integrated with greater harmonization between population-based and sentinel surveillance systems. There will also be stronger linkage with existing surveillance systems for vaccine-preventable diseases, such as polio, measles, yellow fever, and rotavirus, as well as with other epidemic-prone diseases to leverage their infrastructure, transport systems, equipment, human resources and funding. The implementation of these concepts is currently being piloted in a few countries in sub-Saharan Africa with support from the World Health Organization and other partners. African countries need to take urgent action to improve synergies and coordination between different surveillance systems to set joint priorities that will inform action to control devastating acute bacterial meningitis effectively
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