A nudge intervention to improve hand hygiene compliance in the hospital.

Hand hygiene among professionals plays a crucial role in preventing healthcare-associated infections, yet poor compliance in hospital settings remains a lasting reason for concern. Nudge theory is an innovative approach to behavioral change first developed in economics and cognitive psychology, and recently spread and discussed in clinical medicine. To assess a combined nudge intervention (localized dispensers, visual reminders, and gain-framed posters) to promote hand hygiene compliance among hospital personnel.

DNA sequence and taxonomic gap analyses to quantify the coverage of aquatic cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae in reference databases: Results of a survey in the Alpine region.

The taxonomic identification of organisms based on the amplification of specific genetic markers (metabarcoding) implicitly requires adequate discriminatory information and taxonomic coverage of environmental DNA sequences in taxonomic databases. These requirements were quantitatively examined by comparing the determination of cyanobacteria and microalgae obtained by metabarcoding and light microscopy. We used planktic and biofilm samples collected in 37 lakes and 22 rivers across the Alpine region.

Note: three-dimensional stereolithography for millimeter wave and terahertz applications.

Metal-coated polymers shaped by 3D stereolithography are introduced as a new manufacturing method for passive components for millimeter to terahertz electromagnetic waves. This concept offers increased design capabilities and flexibilities while shortening the manufacturing process of complex shapes, e.g.

Two regimes of self-consistent heating of charged particles.

An experimental illustration of the transition between two basic transport regimes for wave-particle interaction is reported. A striking feature is that chaos, although present in both regimes, does not need to be invoked to explain the observed behavior. This experimental realization for a theoretical paradigm opens the possibility to check the validity of basic models, as is normally required in physics.