Elevational richness patterns of sphingid moths support area effects over climatic drivers in a near‐global analysis

Not sure if this is the pre-refereed or final submitted version.Aim We test hypotheses on the environmental control of elevational richness patterns of sphingid moths for their global applicability and generality. Specifically, we compare effects of area with climate‐related drivers, such as primary productivity and temperature, while also considering direct effects of precipitation. Major taxa Sphingid moths (Lepidoptera). Location Eighty‐six mountain ranges of the Old World and the Australia/Pacific region, from Scandinavia and Siberia through the African and Australasian tropics to South Africa and Southern Australia. Methods We used a large compilation of point locality records for 744 species, in addition to fine‐grained range maps derived from species distribution modelling of these records, to characterize the elevational pattern of species richness in 86 custom‐delineated mountain regions. For both types of data, we compared the effects of environmental drivers on richness by comparing standardized coefficients of multivariate models for pooled data after accounting for between‐region variation in richness. Results We observed varying patterns of elevational richness across the research region, with a higher prevalence of midpeaks in arid regions. We found overwhelming support for area as a main determinant of richness, modulated by temperature and productivity, whereas we detected no effect of precipitation. Main conclusions Area, productivity and temperature are the main environmental predictors explaining a large proportion of variability in sphingid richness. This is consistent not only with other elevational studies, but also with empirical and theoretical biodiversity research in a non‐elevational context (with the caveat of some unresolved issues in elevational area effects). However, distinct differences in elevational patterns remain even within the same mountain ranges when comparing with other Lepidoptera, that is, geometrid moths, which highlights the importance of understanding higher clade differentiation in ecological responses, within insects and in other groups.© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Bärtschi, F, McCain, CM, Ballesteros‐Mejia, L, Kitching, IJ, Beerli, N, Beck, J. Elevational richness patterns of sphingid moths support area effects over climatic drivers in a near‐global analysis. Global Ecol Biogeogr. 2019; 28: 917– 927. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12903, which has been published in final form at doi:10.1111/geb.12903. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

Referral rates in Swiss primary care with a special emphasis on reasons for encounter

Questions under study: Referrals from primary to secondary care reflect a crucial role of primary care physicians (PCPs). Most referral rates are based on the number of consultations, rather than on the number of problems addressed during consultations (reasons for encounter = RFE). The aim of the study was to update data on consultations, RFE and referrals in Swiss primary care and calculate a referral rate based on RFE rather than on the number of consultations. Method: Cross-sectional study in Swiss primary care. PCPs collected data on consultations on fifteen different days in three non-consecutive months in 2012/2013. Demographic data of patients and up to six RFE per consultation was collected. For each RFE the PCP had to indicate whether a referral was initiated. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Ninety PCPs (18.9% females) participated and 24’774 consultations with 42’890 RFE (corresponding to 1.73 (SD 1.07) RFE per consultation) were recorded. 2427 RFE (of 2341 consultations) led to a referral, corresponding to a referral rate of 9.44% (95%-CI 9.08-9.81%) based on consultations and 5.65% (95%-CI 5.43-5.87%) based on the number of RFE. Conclusions: An average of 1.7 RFE per consultations and a broad clinical spectrum of problems were presented in primary care; nevertheless 94.3% of all problems were solved in primary care, reflecting the crucial role of PCPs as a coordinator of healthcare

Elevational species richness gradients in a hyperdiverse insect taxon: a global meta-study on geometrid moths

AIMS: We aim to document elevational richness patterns of geometrid moths in a globally replicated, multi-gradient setting, and to test general hypotheses on environmental and spatial effects (i.e. productivity, temperature, precipitation, area, mid-domain effect and human habitat disturbance) on these richness patterns. LOCATION: Twenty-six elevational gradients world-wide (latitudes 28° S to 51° N). METHODS: We compiled field datasets on elevational gradients for geometrid moths, a lepidopteran family, and documented richness patterns across each gradient while accounting for local undersampling of richness. Environmental and spatial predictor variables as well as habitat disturbance were used to test various hypotheses. Our analyses comprised two pathways: univariate correlations within gradients, and multivariate modelling on pooled data after correcting for overall variation in richness among different gradients. RESULTS: The majority of gradients showed midpeak patterns of richness, irrespective of climate and geographical location. The exclusion of human-affected sampling plots did not change these patterns. Support for univariate main drivers of richness was generally low, although there was idiosyncratic support for particular predictors on single gradients. Multivariate models, in agreement with univariate results, provided the strongest support for an effect of area-integrated productivity, or alternatively for an elevational area effect. Temperature and the mid-domain effect received support as weaker, modulating covariates, while precipitation-related variables had no explanatory potential. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Despite the predicted decreasing diversity–temperature relationship in ectotherms, geometrid moths are similar to ants and salamanders as well as small mammals and ferns in having predominantly their highest diversity at mid-elevations. As in those comparative analyses, single or clear sets of drivers are elusive, but both productivity and area appear to be influential. More comparative elevational studies for various insect taxa are necessary for a more comprehensive understanding of elevational diversity and productivity

Test beam performance of a CBC3-based mini-module for the Phase-2 CMS Outer Tracker before and after neutron irradiation

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN will undergo major upgrades to increase the instantaneous luminosity up to 5–7.5×10$^{34}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$. This High Luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) will deliver a total of 3000–4000 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13–14 TeV. To cope with these challenging environmental conditions, the strip tracker of the CMS experiment will be upgraded using modules with two closely-spaced silicon sensors to provide information to include tracking in the Level-1 trigger selection. This paper describes the performance, in a test beam experiment, of the first prototype module based on the final version of the CMS Binary Chip front-end ASIC before and after the module was irradiated with neutrons. Results demonstrate that the prototype module satisfies the requirements, providing efficient tracking information, after being irradiated with a total fluence comparable to the one expected through the lifetime of the experiment

Beam test performance of a prototype module with Short Strip ASICs for the CMS HL-LHC tracker upgrade

The Short Strip ASIC (SSA) is one of the four front-end chips designed for the upgrade of the CMS Outer Tracker for the High Luminosity LHC. Together with the Macro-Pixel ASIC (MPA) it will instrument modules containing a strip and a macro-pixel sensor stacked on top of each other. The SSA provides both full readout of the strip hit information when triggered, and, together with the MPA, correlated clusters called stubs from the two sensors for use by the CMS Level-1 (L1) trigger system. Results from the first prototype module consisting of a sensor and two SSA chips are presented. The prototype module has been characterized at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility using a 120 GeV proton beam

Search for a vector-like quark T′ → tH via the diphoton decay mode of the Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A search for the electroweak production of a vector-like quark T′, decaying to a top quark and a Higgs boson is presented. The search is based on a sample of proton-proton collision events recorded at the LHC at = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. This is the first T′ search that exploits the Higgs boson decay to a pair of photons. For narrow isospin singlet T′ states with masses up to 1.1 TeV, the excellent diphoton invariant mass resolution of 1–2% results in an increased sensitivity compared to previous searches based on the same production mechanism. The electroweak production of a T′ quark with mass up to 960 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming a coupling strength κT = 0.25 and a relative decay width Γ/MT′ < 5%

A search for new physics in central exclusive production using the missing mass technique with the CMS detector and the CMS-TOTEM precision proton spectrometer

A generic search is presented for the associated production of a Z boson or a photon with an additional unspecified massive particle X, pp → pp + Z/γ + X, in proton-tagged events from proton–proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV, recorded in 2017 with the CMS detector and the CMS-TOTEM precision proton spectrometer. The missing mass spectrum is analysed in the 600–1600 GeV range and a fit is performed to search for possible deviations from the background expectation. No significant excess in data with respect to the background predictions has been observed. odelindependent upper limits on the visible production cross section of pp → pp + Z/γ + X are set