Mental health trajectories among the general population and higher-risk groups following the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, 2021-2023.

Mental health deteriorated in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, but improved relatively quickly as restrictions were eased, suggesting overall resilience. However, longer-term follow-up of mental health in the general population is scarce. We examined mental health trajectories in 5624 adults (58 % women; aged 18-97 years) from the Specchio-COVID19 cohort, using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale-2 and the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, administered each month from February to June 2021, and in Spring 2022 and 2023. Depressive and anxiety symptoms declined during a pandemic wave from February to May 2021 (β = -0.06 [-0.07, -0.06]; -0.06 [-0.07, -0.05]), and remained lower at longer-term follow-up than at the start of the wave. Loneliness also declined over time, with the greatest decline during the pandemic wave (β = -0.25 [-0.26, -0.24]). Many higher-risk groups, including socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, those with a chronic condition, and those living alone had poorer mental health levels throughout the study period. Women and younger individuals had a faster improvement in mental health during the pandemic wave. Loneliness trajectories were associated with mental health trajectories throughout the study period. We cannot definitively conclude that the observed changes in mental health were due to experiences of the pandemic. While there was a need for additional mental health support during stricter policy responses to COVID-19, overall, mental health improved relatively soon after measures were eased. Nevertheless, the persistence of mental health disparities highlights the need for further efforts from the government and healthcare practitioners to support vulnerable groups beyond the pandemic

Measurement of the electric dipole moments for transitions to rubidium Rydberg states via Autler-Townes splitting

We present the direct measurements of electric-dipole moments for $5P_{3/2}\to nD_{5/2}$ transitions with $20<n<48$ for Rubidium atoms. The measurements were performed in an ultracold sample via observation of the Autler-Townes splitting in a three-level ladder scheme, commonly used for 2-photon excitation of Rydberg states. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic measurement of the electric dipole moments for transitions from low excited states of rubidium to Rydberg states. Due to its simplicity and versatility, this method can be easily extended to other transitions and other atomic species with little constraints. Good agreement of the experimental results with theory proves the reliability of the measurement method.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures; figure 6 replaced with correct versio

Electronic temperatures, densities and plasma X-ray emission of a 14.5 GHz Electron-Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source

We have performed a systematic study of the Bremsstrahlung emission from the electrons in the plasma of a commercial 14.5 GHz Electron-Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source. The electronic spectral temperature and the product of ionic and electronic densities of the plasma are measured by analyzing the Bremsstrahlung spectra recorded for several rare gases (Ar, Kr, Xe) as a function of the injected power. Within our uncertainty, we find an average temperature of ? 48 keV above 100W, with a weak dependency on the injected power and gas composition. Charge state distributions of extracted ion beams have been determined as well, providing a way to disentangle the ionic density from the electronic density. Moreover X-ray emission from highly charged argon ions in the plasma has been observed with a high-resolution mosaic crystal spectrometer, demonstrating the feasibility for high-precision measurements of transition energies of highly charged ions, in particular of the magnetic dipole (M1) transition of He-like of argon ions

A planar multipole ion trap

We report on the realisation of a chip-based multipole ion trap manufactured using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. It provides ion confinement in an almost field-free volume between two planes of radiofrequency electrodes, deposited on glass substrates, which allows for optical access to the trap. An analytical model of the effective trapping potential is presented and compared with numerical calculations. Stable trapping of argon ions is achieved and a lifetime of 16s is measured. Electrostatic charging of the chip surfaces is studied and found to agree with a numerical estimate

Exonuclease VII repairs quinolone-induced damage by resolving DNA gyrase cleavage complexes

The widely used quinolone antibiotics act by trapping prokaryotic type IIA topoisomerases, resulting in irreversible topoisomerase cleavage complexes (TOPcc). Whereas the excision repair pathways of TOPcc in eukaryotes have been extensively studied, it is not known whether equivalent repair pathways for prokaryotic TOPcc exist. By combining genetic, biochemical, and molecular biology approaches, we demonstrate that exonuclease VII (ExoVII) excises quinolone-induced trapped DNA gyrase, an essential prokaryotic type IIA topoisomerase. We show that ExoVII repairs trapped type IIA TOPcc and that ExoVII displays tyrosyl nuclease activity for the tyrosyl-DNA linkage on the 5′-DNA overhangs corresponding to trapped type IIA TOPcc. ExoVII-deficient bacteria fail to remove trapped DNA gyrase, consistent with their hypersensitivity to quinolones. We also identify an ExoVII inhibitor that synergizes with the antimicrobial activity of quinolones, including in quinolone-resistant bacterial strains, further demonstrating the functional importance of ExoVII for the repair of type IIA TOPcc

Exonuclease VII repairs quinolone-induced damage by resolving DNA gyrase cleavage complexes

The widely used quinolone antibiotics act by trapping prokaryotic type IIA topoisomerases, resulting in irreversible topoisomerase cleavage complexes (TOPcc). Whereas the excision repair pathways of TOPcc in eukaryotes have been extensively studied, it is not known whether equivalent repair pathways for prokaryotic TOPcc exist. By combining genetic, biochemical, and molecular biology approaches, we demonstrate that exonuclease VII (ExoVII) excises quinolone-induced trapped DNA gyrase, an essential prokaryotic type IIA topoisomerase. We show that ExoVII repairs trapped type IIA TOPcc and that ExoVII displays tyrosyl nuclease activity for the tyrosyl-DNA linkage on the 5\u27-DNA overhangs corresponding to trapped type IIA TOPcc. ExoVII-deficient bacteria fail to remove trapped DNA gyrase, consistent with their hypersensitivity to quinolones. We also identify an ExoVII inhibitor that synergizes with the antimicrobial activity of quinolones, including in quinolone-resistant bacterial strains, further demonstrating the functional importance of ExoVII for the repair of type IIA TOPcc

Observation of coherent many-body Rabi oscillations

A two-level quantum system coherently driven by a resonant electromagnetic field oscillates sinusoidally between the two levels at frequency $\Omega$ which is proportional to the field amplitude [1]. This phenomenon, known as the Rabi oscillation, has been at the heart of atomic, molecular and optical physics since the seminal work of its namesake and coauthors [2]. Notably, Rabi oscillations in isolated single atoms or dilute gases form the basis for metrological applications such as atomic clocks and precision measurements of physical constants [3]. Both inhomogeneous distribution of coupling strength to the field and interactions between individual atoms reduce the visibility of the oscillation and may even suppress it completely. A remarkable transformation takes place in the limit where only a single excitation can be present in the sample due to either initial conditions or atomic interactions: there arises a collective, many-body Rabi oscillation at a frequency $N^0.5\Omega$ involving all N >> 1 atoms in the sample [4]. This is true even for inhomogeneous atom-field coupling distributions, where single-atom Rabi oscillations may be invisible. When one of the two levels is a strongly interacting Rydberg level, many-body Rabi oscillations emerge as a consequence of the Rydberg excitation blockade. Lukin and coauthors outlined an approach to quantum information processing based on this effect [5]. Here we report initial observations of coherent many-body Rabi oscillations between the ground level and a Rydberg level using several hundred cold rubidium atoms. The strongly pronounced oscillations indicate a nearly complete excitation blockade of the entire mesoscopic ensemble by a single excited atom. The results pave the way towards quantum computation and simulation using ensembles of atoms