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Antimicrobial touch surfaces have been introduced in healthcare settings with the aim of supporting existing hygiene procedures, and to help combat the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance. However, concerns have been raised over the potential selection pressure exerted by such surfaces, which may drive the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. This review highlights studies that indicate risks associated with resistance on antimicrobial surfaces by different processes, including evolution by de-novo mutation and horizontal gene transfer, and species sorting of inherently resistant bacteria dispersed on to antimicrobial surfaces. The review focuses on antimicrobial surfaces made of copper, silver and antimicrobial peptides because of the practical application of copper and silver, and the promising characteristics of antimicrobial peptides. The available data point to a potential for resistance selection and a subsequent increase in resistant strains via cross-resistance and co-resistance conferred by metal and antibiotic resistance traits. However, translational studies describing the development of resistance to antimicrobial touch surfaces in healthcare-related environments are rare, and will be needed to assess whether and how antimicrobial surfaces lead to resistance selection in these settings. Such studies will need to consider numerous variables, including the antimicrobial concentrations present in coatings, the occurrence of biofilms on surfaces, and the humidity relevant to dry-surface environments. On-site tests on the efficacy of antimicrobial coatings should routinely evaluate the risk of selection associated with their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel laser material BaYLuF8 (BYLF), doped with 12 at% of Tm3+, has been grown and optically investigated, in order to evaluate its potential performances as a 2 µm laser. The BYLF crystal is interesting mainly because indications are that the mixed crystal would be sturdier than BaY2F8 (BYF). The addition of lutetium would improve the thermo-mechanical properties of the host. Absorption, fluorescence and lifetime measurements have been performed in the temperature range 10–300 K focusing on the 3H4 and 3F4 manifolds, those involved in the laser scheme at 2 µm. The Stark sublevels structure of Tm3+ up to the 1D2 manifold has been figured out. Diode-pumped CW laser emission at 2 µm has been achieved obtaining a slope efficiency of about 28% with respect to the absorbed power, by pumping along the Z-axis. A maximum output power of 240 mW was achieved by pumping along the favourable Y-axis, with an incident power of about 800 mW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the results of phonon relaxation processes obtained from picosecond transient thermoreflectance measurements of single-crystal La2CuO4+y (y∼0.06). Nonequilibrium heating was found to occur on a picosecond time scale. The time scale of the nonequilibrium heating is a sensitive measurement of the modest electron-phonon interaction (λ≤0.1) in the nonsuperconducting La2CuO4+y. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the results of a direct search for the 229Th (Iπ = 3/2+← 5/2+) nuclear isomeric transition, performed by exposing 229Th-doped LiSrAlF6 crystals to tunable vacuum-ultraviolet synchrotron radiation and observing any resulting fluorescence. We also use existing nuclear physics data to establish a range of possible transition strengths for the isomeric transition. We find no evidence for the thorium nuclear transition between 7.3 eV and 8.8 eV with transition lifetime (1-2) s ≲ τ ≲ (2000-5600) s. This measurement excludes roughly half of the favored transition search area and can be used to direct future searches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric domain inversion has been demonstrated in BaMgF(4) . Transparency has been measured to <140nm, and no change in transmission was measured under 157-nm irradiation for >1.1x10(9) shots at 2mJ/cm(2) per pulse. First-order quasi-phase-matched generation of 157 nm is predicted by use of grating periods as long as 1.5mum. This material should permit shorter-wavelength chi((2)) frequency-mixing processes than with any other crystalline material.

Kerr-lens mode-locked Kr-laser-pumped Cr:LiSGaF and Cr:LiSAF lasers containing only two newly developed low-loss chirped mirrors instead of conventional dielectric resonator mirrors and generating pulses of widths as small as 14-fs with as much as 100 mW of average output power are reported. We report what is to our knowledge the first experimental observation of a pulse self-frequency shift in crystalline active media that are characteristic of such short pulses at megawatt intracavity peak powers. We also believe this phenomenon to be one of the significant limiting factors for pulse duration in femtosecond Cr:LiSAF-type lasers.

A Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:LiSrGaF laser containing no intracavity prisms has been demonstrated for the first time to the authors' knowledge. The laser produced stable near-transform-limited 44-fs pulses with an output power of 200 mW, tunable between 833 and 857 nm. Low-loss Gires-Tournois structured dielectric mirrors were used for dispersion control. The measured group-delay dispersion of the active medium as well as of the mirrors permitted to minimize the number of reflections, permitting higher output power.

Efficient high-power (900-mW) TEM(00) cw operation of a Cr:LiSrGaF laser pumped by a Kr(+) laser is demonstrated. The results of laser and spectroscopic analysis, including upconversion and excited-state absorption, are presented and used for the optimization of this laser. Kr(+)-laser-pumped mode-locked femtosecond operation (64 fs) was performed. Use of a modified resonator, which can decrease the threshold pump and intracavity power for Kerr-lens mode locking and increase the mode-locked output power (300 mW), is suggested. The inf luence of crystal axis misalignment on the tuning and mode-locking characteristics of the laser is studied.

Laser operation at 2.8 microm in BaY(2)F(8) with erbium concentrations of 7.5% and 20% is investigated under laser-diode pumping at 967 nm. Output powers as high as 250 mW and slope efficiencies as high as 24% are obtained. Results are comparable with those of Er(3+):LiYF(4) under the same pump conditions. Slope efficiencies above 30% are predicted for optimized erbium concentrations.

We have demonstrated stable and self-sustaining Kerr-lens mode locking of a Cr:LiSGAF laser pumped by AlGaInP laser diodes. A hard aperture near one end of the laser provides the necessary amplitude modulation. This allsolid- state system generates transform-limited 100-fs pulses, tunable from 810 to 860 nm. The average power at 830 nm is 35 mW, with fluctuations of much less than 1%. The thermal properties of Cr:LiSGAF will permit scaling of these results to higher power.

Relatively fast self-pumped phase-conjugate and four-wave-mixing rise times are reported in n-type cobalt-doped barium titanate. With the crystal oriented in a 45 degrees cut as compared with the same crystal in a 0 degrees cut we find a factor of 3 decrease in the 0-90% rise time to 800 ms with 25-mW input power at 514.5 nm. Also, the self-pumped phase-conjugate reflectivity increases from 20% to 40%. We deduce that the phase conjugation is from internally seeded stimulated photorefractive backscattering. The four-wave-mixing rise time of the 45 degrees -cut crystal is 4 ms with a reflectivity of 48% when the pumping beams are derived from self-pumped phase conjugation that has an input power of 25 mW.

Broadly tunable laser operation has been obtained at room temperature from the vibronic bands of single-crystal BeAl(2)O(4):Cr(3+) under Xe-flashlamp excitation. Continuous tuning is obtained from 701 to 794 nm, with maximum power at 750 nm. Long-pulse operation employing 6.3-mm x 76-mm rods easily provides 500 mJ in 200-microsec bursts, whereas 70-mJ, 120-nsec pulses are obtained under Q-switch operation.