diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f59a81ad..9c2802c4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 [![DOI](https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.5637096.svg)](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5637096)
 [![Test and update contexts](https://github.com/XENONnT/base_environment/actions/workflows/test_and_update.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/XENONnT/base_environment/actions/workflows/test_and_update.yml)
 
-Base software environment for XENONnT, including Python 3.6 and data management tools.
+Base software environment for XENONnT, including Python 3.8 and data management tools.
 
 Please see [this page on the XENON wiki](https://xe1t-wiki.lngs.infn.it/doku.php?id=xenon%3Axenonnt%3Acomputing%3Abaseenvironment) for more details.
 
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ The resulting environment is available as:
   use the environment for example on your laptop. The location is `opensciencegrid/osgvo-xenon:{version}`
 * **Singularity images available on https**. This version is experimental. The
   location is `https://xenon.isi.edu/images/`
+  
+## master and stable branches
+Currently, the master branch is used for the "development" container, which always points to the master branch of cutax (note this only matters on hardcoded sites: Midway and the OSG login node for now). The stable branch has a tagged version of cutax.
 
 ## Deployment
 
@@ -35,3 +38,4 @@ taking place twice: once to build the Docker container with a deployment under
 
 
 
+
diff --git a/create-env b/create-env
index b3fb1eb1..5b3c0d85 100755
--- a/create-env
+++ b/create-env
@@ -255,6 +255,12 @@ if [ \$INSTALL_CUTAX -eq 1 ]; then
   fi
 fi
 
+# set env variable for matplotlib styles on Midway
+MPL_DIR='/dali/lgrandi/xenonnt/software/nton/mplconfigs/'
+if [ -e \$MPL_DIR ]; then
+   export MPLCONFIGDIR=\$MPL_DIR
+fi
+
 EOF
 
 announce "Adding zzz-50-xenon.sh"
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 52c3fb23..bab4b5c4 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 astropy==5.0
 blosc==1.10.6       # Strax dependency
-bokeh==2.3.3
+bokeh==2.4.2
 boltons==21.0.0
 codenamize==1.2.3  # for human-readable hashing
 commentjson==0.9.0 # Straxen dependency
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ jedi==0.17.2    # upgrading to 0.18.0 breaks autocomplete in ipython
 jupyter==1.0.0
 jupyter-resource-usage==0.6.0   # Memory viewer for notebooks
 jupyterlab==3.2.4
-keras==2.6.0
+keras==2.7.0
 line_profiler==3.3.1
 llvmlite==0.37.0    # numba depencency
 lz4==3.1.10        # Strax dependency
@@ -36,31 +36,32 @@ nestpy==1.5.0     # WFsim dependency
 npshmex==0.2.1    # Strax dependency
 numba==0.54.1     # Strax dependency
 numpy==1.19.5
-packaging==20.8
+packaging==21.3
 pandas==1.3.4
 pandoc==1.1.0
-panel==0.12.1
+panel==0.12.5
 parso==0.7.1     # upgrading to 0.8.0 breaks autocomplete in ipython
 pdmongo==0.1.0     # Strax dependency
+pema==0.3.5
 pika==1.2.0       # Pegasus
 psutil==5.8.0     # Strax dependency
 pyarrow==6.0.1   # Necessary for pandas feather i/o
-pymongo==3.12.1
+pymongo==3.12.0
 pytest==6.2.5
 pytest-runner==5.3.1
 scikit-learn==1.0.1
 scipy==1.7.3
 seaborn==0.11.2
 statsmodels==0.13.1
-strax==1.1.2
-straxen==1.1.3
+strax==1.1.4
+straxen==1.2.1
 snakeviz==2.1.1
 sphinx==4.3.1
 tables==3.6.1     # pytables, necessary for pandas hdf5 i/o
-tensorflow==2.6.1 # TF2.4.1 should not bring in additional AVX2 requirements (https://github.com/XENONnT/base_environment/issues/433)
+tensorflow==2.7.0
 tensorflow_probability==0.15.0
-torch==1.10.0     # Strax dependency
-typing_extensions==3.7.4.3  # Tensorflow and bokeh dependency
+torch==1.10.0
+typing_extensions==3.10.0  # Tensorflow and bokeh dependency
 tqdm==4.62.3
 utilix==0.6.5      # dependency for straxen, admix
 wfsim==0.5.12