Performance of prototypes for the ALICE electromagnetic calorimeter

The performance of prototypes for the ALICE electromagnetic sampling calorimeter has been studied in test beam measurements at FNAL and CERN. A $4\times4$ array of final design modules showed an energy resolution of about 11% /$\sqrt{E(\mathrm{GeV})}$ $\oplus$ 1.7 % with a uniformity of the response to electrons of 1% and a good linearity in the energy range from 10 to 100 GeV. The electromagnetic shower position resolution was found to be described by 1.5 mm $\oplus$ 5.3 mm /$\sqrt{E \mathrm{(GeV)}}$. For an electron identification efficiency of 90% a hadron rejection factor of $>600$ was obtained.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Discovery of new companions to high proper motion stars from the VVV Survey

Accepted for publication in A&A; 14 pages, 3 figures, 6 tablesWe acknowledge support by the FONDAP Center for Astrophysics 15010003; BASAL CATA Center for Astrophysics and Associated Technologies PFB-06; the Ministry for the Economy, Development, and Tourism’s Programa Iniciativa Científica Milenio through grant P07-021- F, awarded to The Milky Way Millennium Nucleus; FONDECYT grants No. 1090213 and 1110326 from CONICYT, and the European Southern Observatory. J.C.B. acknowledge support from a Ph.D. Fellowship from CONICYT. M.G. is financed by the GEMINI-CONICYT Fund, allocated to the project 32110014. R.K. acknowledges partial support from FONDECYT through grant 1130140. E.L.M. acknowledges support from grant AyA2011- 30147-C03-03; J.B. acknowledge support from FONDECYT No. 1120601; A.N.C. acknowledges support from GEMINI-CONICYT No. 32110005 and from Comitee Mixto ESO-GOBIERNO DE CHILE. J.A.G. acknowledges support from Proyecto Fondecyt Postdoctoral 3130552, Fondecyt Regular 1110326, and Anillos ACT-86

Evolutionary quantitative genetics of behavioral responses to handling in a wild passerine

Behavioral differences between individuals that are consistent over time characterize animal personality. The existence of such consistency contrasts to the expectation based on classical behavioral theory that facultative behavior maximizes individual fitness. Here, we study two personality traits (aggression and breath rate during handling) in a wild population of blue tits during 2007– 2012. Handling aggression and breath rate were moderately heritable (h2 = 0.35 and 0.20, respectively) and not genetically correlated (rA = 0.06) in adult blue tits, which permits them to evolve independently. Reciprocal cross-fostering (2007–2010) showed that offspring reared by more aggressive males have a higher probability to recruit. In addition, offspring reared by pairs mated assortatively for handling aggression had a higher recruitment probability, which is the first evidence that both parents’ personalities influence their reproductive success in the wild in a manner independent of their genetic effects. Handling aggression was not subjected to survival selection in either sex, but slow-breathing females had a higher annual probability of survival as revealed by capture–mark–recapture analysis. We find no evidence for temporal fluctuations in selection, and thus conclude that directional selection (via different fitness components) acts on these two heritable personality traits. Our findings show that blue tit personality has predictable fitness consequences, but that facultative adjustment of an individual’s personality to match the fitness maximum is likely constrained by the genetic architecture of personality. In the face of directional selection, the presence of heritable variation in personality suggests the existence of a trade-off that we have not identified yet.Peer reviewe

Stridulations Reveal Cryptic Speciation in Neotropical Sympatric Ants

The taxonomic challenge posed by cryptic species underlines the importance of using multiple criteria in species delimitation. In the current paper we tested the use of acoustic analysis as a tool to assess the real diversity in a cryptic species complex of Neotropical ants. In order to understand the potential of acoustics and to improve consistency in the conclusions by comparing different approaches, phylogenetic relationships of all the morphs considered were assessed by the analysis of a fragment of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b. We observed that each of the cryptic morph studied presents a morphologically distinct stridulatory organ and that all sympatric morphs produce distinctive stridulations. This is the first evidence of such a degree of specialization in the acoustic organ and signals in ants, which suggests that stridulations may be among the cues used by these ants during inter-specific interactions. Mitochondrial DNA variation corroborated the acoustic differences observed, confirming acoustics as a helpful tool to determine cryptic species in this group of ants, and possibly in stridulating ants in general. Congruent morphological, acoustic and genetic results constitute sufficient evidence to propose each morph studied here as a valid new species, suggesting that P. apicalis is a complex of at least 6 to 9 species, even if they present different levels of divergence. Finally, our results highlight that ant stridulations may be much more informative than hitherto thought, as much for ant communication as for integrative taxonomists

Legume nitrogen utilization under drought stress

Legumes account for around 27% of the world’s primary crop production and can be classified based on their use and traits into grain and forage legumes. Legumes can establish symbiosis with N-fixing soil bacteria. As a result, a new organ is formed, the nodule, where the reduction of atmospheric N2 into ammonia is carried out catalyzed by the bacterial exclusive enzyme nitrogenase. The process, highly energy demanding, is known as symbiotic nitrogen fixation and provides all the N needs of the plant, thus avoiding the use of N fertilizers in the context of sustainable agriculture. However, legume crops are often grown under non-fixing conditions since legume nodulation is suppressed by high levels of soil nitrogen occurring in chemically fertilized agro-environment. In addition, legumes are very sensitive to environmental stresses, being drought one of the significant constraints affecting crop production. Due to their agricultural and economic importance, scientists have carried out basic and applied research on legumes to better understand responses to abiotic stresses and to further comprehend plant–microbe interactions. An integrated view of nitrogen utilization under drought stress will be presented with particular focus on legume crops

Reproductive allocation in multi-nest colonies of the ponerine ant Pachycondyla goeldii

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How an ant manages to display individual and colonial signals using the same channel

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