Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from infections in horses in Germany are frequent colonizers of veterinarians but rare among MRSA from infections in humans

AbstractA total of 272 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from equine infections originating from 17 equine hospitals and 39 veterinary practices in Germany as well as 67 isolates from personnel working at equine clinics were subjected to molecular typing. The majority of isolates from horses was attributed to clonal complex (CC) 398 (82.7%). Within CC398, 66% of isolates belonged to a subpopulation (clade) of CC398, which is associated with equine clinics.MRSA attributed to CC8 (ST254, t009, t036, SCCmecIV; ST8, t064, SCCmecIV) were less frequent (16.5%). Single isolates were attributed to ST1, CC22, ST130, and ST1660. The emergence of MRSA CC22 and ST130 in horses was not reported so far. Nasal MRSA colonization was found in 19.5% of veterinary personnel with occupational exposure to horses. The typing characteristics of these isolates corresponded to isolates from equine infections.Comparing typing characteristics of equine isolates with those of a substantial number of isolates from human infections typed at the German Reference Center for Staphylococci and Enterococci (2006–2014; n=10864) yielded that the proportion of isolates exhibiting characteristics of MRSA from equine medicine is very low (<0.5%). As this low proportion was also found among MRSA originating from nasal screenings of human carriers not suffering from a staphylococcal infection (n=5546) transmission of MRSA from equine clinics to the community seems to be rare so far

A Dynamical Model of Color Confinement

A dynamical model of confinement based on a transport theoretical description of the Friedberg-Lee model is extended to explicit color degrees of freedom. The string tension is reproduced by an adiabatic string formation from the nucleon ground state. Color isovector oscillation modes of a $q\bar{q}$-system are investigated for a wide range of relative $q\bar{q}$-momenta and the dynamical impact of color confinement on the quark motion is shown.Comment: 12 pages plus 5 figure

Continuous loading of a magnetic trap

We have realized a scheme for continuous loading of a magnetic trap (MT). ^{52}Cr atoms are continuously captured and cooled in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). Optical pumping to a metastable state decouples atoms from the cooling light. Due to their high magnetic moment (6 Bohr magnetons), low-field seeking metastable atoms are trapped in the magnetic quadrupole field provided by the MOT. Limited by inelastic collisions between atoms in the MOT and in the MT, we load 10^8 metastable atoms at a rate of 10^8 atoms/s below 100 microkelvin into the MT. After loading we can perform optical repumping to realize a MT of ground state chromium atoms.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, version 2, modified references, included additional detailed information, minor changes in figure 3 and in tex

Experimental Entanglement Concentration and Universal Bell-state Synthesizer

We report a novel Bell-state synthesizer in which an interferometric entanglement concentration scheme is used. An initially mixed polarization state from type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion becomes entangled after the interferometric entanglement concentrator. This Bell-state synthesizer is universal in the sense that the output polarization state is not affected by spectral filtering, crystal thickness, and, most importantly, the choice of pump source. It is also robust against environmental disturbance and a more general state, partially mixed$-$partially entangled state, can be readily generated as well.Comment: Minor update (Newer data

Attachment representations and autonomic regulation in maltreating and nonmaltreating mothers

This study assessed attachment representation and attachment-related autonomic regulation in a sample of 38 maltreating and 35 nonmaltreating mothers. Mothers’ state of mind regarding attachment was measured using the Adult Attachment Interview. They further watched an attachment-based comfort paradigm, during which we measured skin conductance and vagal tone. More maltreating mothers (42%) than nonmaltreating mothers (17%) had an unresolved/disoriented attachment classification. Attachment representation was related to physiology during the comfort paradigm: an unresolved state of mind and a nonautonomous classification were associated with a decrease in skin conductance during the comfort paradigm, specifically during the responsive caregiver scenario. However, physiology did not differ between maltreating and nonmaltreating mothers. The decrease in skin conductance of unresolved mothers during the comfort paradigm might be indicative of a deactivating response, which is congruent with the dissociative nature of the unresolved state of mind. The results point to the potential utility of interventions focused on attachment representations for maltreating mothers.Development Psychopathology in context: famil

The Time-Energy Uncertainty Relation

The time energy uncertainty relation has been a controversial issue since the advent of quantum theory, with respect to appropriate formalisation, validity and possible meanings. A comprehensive account of the development of this subject up to the 1980s is provided by a combination of the reviews of Jammer (1974), Bauer and Mello (1978), and Busch (1990). More recent reviews are concerned with different specific aspects of the subject. The purpose of this chapter is to show that different types of time energy uncertainty relation can indeed be deduced in specific contexts, but that there is no unique universal relation that could stand on equal footing with the position-momentum uncertainty relation. To this end, we will survey the various formulations of a time energy uncertainty relation, with a brief assessment of their validity, and along the way we will indicate some new developments that emerged since the 1990s.Comment: 33 pages, Latex. This expanded version (prepared for the 2nd edition of "Time in quantum mechanics") contains minor corrections, new examples and pointers to some additional relevant literatur

Monte Carlo Methods for Estimating Interfacial Free Energies and Line Tensions

Excess contributions to the free energy due to interfaces occur for many problems encountered in the statistical physics of condensed matter when coexistence between different phases is possible (e.g. wetting phenomena, nucleation, crystal growth, etc.). This article reviews two methods to estimate both interfacial free energies and line tensions by Monte Carlo simulations of simple models, (e.g. the Ising model, a symmetrical binary Lennard-Jones fluid exhibiting a miscibility gap, and a simple Lennard-Jones fluid). One method is based on thermodynamic integration. This method is useful to study flat and inclined interfaces for Ising lattices, allowing also the estimation of line tensions of three-phase contact lines, when the interfaces meet walls (where "surface fields" may act). A generalization to off-lattice systems is described as well. The second method is based on the sampling of the order parameter distribution of the system throughout the two-phase coexistence region of the model. Both the interface free energies of flat interfaces and of (spherical or cylindrical) droplets (or bubbles) can be estimated, including also systems with walls, where sphere-cap shaped wall-attached droplets occur. The curvature-dependence of the interfacial free energy is discussed, and estimates for the line tensions are compared to results from the thermodynamic integration method. Basic limitations of all these methods are critically discussed, and an outlook on other approaches is given

Young and Intermediate-age Distance Indicators

Distance measurements beyond geometrical and semi-geometrical methods, rely mainly on standard candles. As the name suggests, these objects have known luminosities by virtue of their intrinsic proprieties and play a major role in our understanding of modern cosmology. The main caveats associated with standard candles are their absolute calibration, contamination of the sample from other sources and systematic uncertainties. The absolute calibration mainly depends on their chemical composition and age. To understand the impact of these effects on the distance scale, it is essential to develop methods based on different sample of standard candles. Here we review the fundamental properties of young and intermediate-age distance indicators such as Cepheids, Mira variables and Red Clump stars and the recent developments in their application as distance indicators.Comment: Review article, 63 pages (28 figures), Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews (Chapter 3 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age

The Unitary Gas and its Symmetry Properties

The physics of atomic quantum gases is currently taking advantage of a powerful tool, the possibility to fully adjust the interaction strength between atoms using a magnetically controlled Feshbach resonance. For fermions with two internal states, formally two opposite spin states, this allows to prepare long lived strongly interacting three-dimensional gases and to study the BEC-BCS crossover. Of particular interest along the BEC-BCS crossover is the so-called unitary gas, where the atomic interaction potential between the opposite spin states has virtually an infinite scattering length and a zero range. This unitary gas is the main subject of the present chapter: It has fascinating symmetry properties, from a simple scaling invariance, to a more subtle dynamical symmetry in an isotropic harmonic trap, which is linked to a separability of the N-body problem in hyperspherical coordinates. Other analytical results, valid over the whole BEC-BCS crossover, are presented, establishing a connection between three recently measured quantities, the tail of the momentum distribution, the short range part of the pair distribution function and the mean number of closed channel molecules.Comment: 63 pages, 8 figures. Contribution to the Springer Lecture Notes in Physics "BEC-BCS Crossover and the Unitary Fermi gas" edited by Wilhelm Zwerger. Revised version correcting a few typo