Climate variation influences host specificity in avian malaria parasites

Parasites with low host specificity (e.g. infecting a large diversity of host species) are of special interest in disease ecology, as they are likely more capable of circumventing ecological or evolutionary barriers to infect new hosts than are specialist parasites. Yet for many parasites, host specificity is not fixed and can vary in response to environmental conditions. Using data on host associations for avian malaria parasites (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida), we develop a hierarchical model that quantifies this environmental dependency by partitioning host specificity variation into region- and parasite-level effects. Parasites were generally phylogenetic host specialists, infecting phylogenetically clustered subsets of available avian hosts. However, the magnitude of this specialization varied biogeographically, with parasites exhibiting higher host specificity in regions with more pronounced rainfall seasonality and wetter dry seasons. Recognizing the environmental dependency of parasite specialization can provide useful leverage for improving predictions of infection risk in response to global climate change

Immature hard ticks infected with Rickettsia amblyommatis on breeding birds from Pantanal

Immature hard ticks from the genus Amblyomma feed on blood from a wide range of Neotropical avian hosts. They serve as vectors for pathogens of medical and veterinary importance, such as Rickettsia agents of the spotted fever group (SFG). Hence, determining ecological factors that increase encounter rates between immature ticks and their avian hosts may contribute to the understanding of tick-borne diseases transmission. Here, we used 720 individual birds from 96 species surveyed in the Brazilian Pantanal to test whether host breeding season influenced tick infestation probabilities. Additionally, collected ticks were screened for Rickettsia agents to describe new avian-tick-bacteria associations. Our models revealed that the probability of an individual bird being infested with immature ticks was similar during the breeding and pre-breeding season, but higher loads of immature tick stages were found during the breeding season. Host sex did not predict infestation probability, but Rickettsia agents recovered from ticks were more prevalent during the pre-breeding season. The new records of host usage by larvae and nymphs of Amblyomma in Pantanal and the growing body of tick surveys in Neotropical avian communities, suggest that immature ticks may benefit from avian blood sources during their annual cycle. The low number of infected ticks with Rickettsia agents on Pantanal birds suggest that this vertebrate group are likely not acting as reservoirs for these microorganisms. However, long-term surveys at the same site are imperative to determine which tick species are acting as reservoirs for Rickettsia agents in Pantanal and determine whether birds are playing a role in dispersing ticks and tick-borne pathogens.Fil: Fecchio, Alan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica; Argentina. Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso (ufmt);Fil: Martins, Thiago Fernandes. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Secretaria de Estado Da Saude de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Dias, Raphael I.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Bell, Jeffrey A.. University Of North Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Pinho, João B.. Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso (ufmt);Fil: Silva, Victoria Luiza de Barros. Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso (ufmt);Fil: Pacheco, Richard de Campos. Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso (ufmt)

FIOFÍO SILBÓN: EMBAJADOR PATAGÓNICO: En primavera y verano el fiofío silbón es común en Patagonia, pero ¿dónde está el resto del año?, ¿por dónde viaja?, ¿qué papel tiene en los ecosistemas que visita?

Estudiamos la biología del fiofío silbón, una pequeña ave migratoria que se reproduce en el bosque patagónico. Utilizando dispositivos de seguimiento (geolocalizadores) descubrimos que pasan parte del invierno en el noreste de Brasil y luego viajan al centro de ese país. Finalmente regresan a Patagonia recorriendo más de 10.000 kilómetros anuales. También, evaluamos su rol funcional como dispersor de semillas de frutos carnosos y encontramos que las diseminan principalmente en zonas abiertas del bosque. Además, estudiamos su rol en la transmisión de parásitos causantes de malaria aviar y, aparentemente, no son importantes en su diseminación. ARK: ark:/s26185385/2y5zltrv

Inclusive heavy-flavour production at central and forward rapidity in Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN=5.44 TeV

The first measurements of the production of muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays in Xe–Xe collisions at sNN=5.44 TeV, using the ALICE detector at the LHC, are reported. The measurement of the nuclear modification factor RAA is performed as a function of transverse momentum pT in several centrality classes at forward rapidity (2.5<4) and midrapidity (|y|<0.8) for muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays, respectively. A suppression by a factor up to about 2.5 compared to the binary-scaled pp reference is observed in central collisions at both central and forward rapidities. The RAA of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays is compared to previous measurements in Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV. When the nuclear modification factors are compared in the centrality classes 0–10% for Xe–Xe collisions and 10–20% for Pb–Pb collisions, which have similar charged-particle multiplicity density, a similar suppression, with RAA∼0.4 in the pT interval 4<8 GeV/c, is observed. The comparison of the measured RAA values in the two collision systems brings new insights on the properties of the quark-gluon plasma by investigating the system-size and geometry dependence of medium-induced parton energy loss. The results of muons and electrons from heavy-flavour hadron decays provide new constraints to model calculations

Jet-associated deuteron production in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV

Deuteron production in high-energy collisions is sensitive to the space–time evolution of the collision system, and is typically described by a coalescence mechanism. For the first time, we present results on jet-associated deuteron production in pp collisions at s=13 TeV, providing an opportunity to test the established picture for deuteron production in events with a hard scattering. Using a trigger particle with high transverse-momentum (pT>5 GeV/c) as a proxy for the presence of a jet at midrapidity, we observe a measurable population of deuterons being produced around the jet proxy. The associated deuteron yield measured in a narrow angular range around the trigger particle differs by 2.4–4.8 standard deviations from the uncorrelated background. The data are described by PYTHIA model calculations featuring baryon coalescence

First measurement of coherent ρ0 photoproduction in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN=5.44 TeV

The first measurement of the coherent photoproduction of ρ0 vector mesons in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at sNN=5.44 TeV is presented. This result, together with previous HERA γp data and γ–Pb measurements from ALICE, describes the atomic number (A) dependence of this process, which is particularly sensitive to nuclear shadowing effects and to the approach to the black-disc limit of QCD at a semi-hard scale. The cross section of the Xe+Xe→ρ0+Xe+Xe process, measured at midrapidity through the decay channel ρ0→π+π−, is found to be dσ/dy=131.5±5.6(stat.)−16.9+17.5(syst.) mb. The ratio of the continuum to resonant contributions for the production of pion pairs is also measured. In addition, the fraction of events accompanied by electromagnetic dissociation of either one or both colliding nuclei is reported. The dependence on A of cross section for the coherent ρ0 photoproduction at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the γA system of WγA,n=65 GeV is found to be consistent with a power-law behaviour σ(γA→ρ0A)∝Aα with a slope α=0.96±0.02(syst.). This slope signals important shadowing effects, but it is still far from the behaviour expected in the black-disc limit

Long- and short-range correlations and their event-scale dependence in high-multiplicity pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations are measured in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV by the ALICE Collaboration. The yields of particle pairs at short-(∆η ∼ 0) and long-range (1.6 < |∆η| < 1.8) in pseudorapidity are extracted on the near-side (∆φ ∼ 0). They are reported as a function of transverse momentum (pT) in the range 1 < pT< 4 GeV/c. Furthermore, the event-scale dependence is studied for the first time by requiring the presence of high-pT leading particles or jets for varying pT thresholds. The results demonstrate that the long-range “ridge” yield, possibly related to the collective behavior of the system, is present in events with high-pT processes as well. The magnitudes of the short- and long-range yields are found to grow with the event scale. The results are compared to EPOS LHC and PYTHIA 8 calculations, with and without string-shoving interactions. It is found that while both models describe the qualitative trends in the data, calculations from EPOS LHC show a better quantitative agreement for the pT dependency, while overestimating the event-scale dependency. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Production of light (anti)nuclei in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Understanding the production mechanism of light (anti)nuclei is one of the key challenges of nuclear physics and has important consequences for astrophysics, since it provides an input for indirect dark-matter searches in space. In this paper, the latest results about the production of light (anti)nuclei in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV are presented, focusing on the comparison with the predictions of coalescence and thermal models. For the first time, the coalescence parameters B2 for deuterons and B3 for helions are compared with parameter-free theoretical predictions that are directly constrained by the femtoscopic measurement of the source radius in the same event class. A fair description of the data with a Gaussian wave function is observed for both deuteron and helion, supporting the coalescence mechanism for the production of light (anti)nuclei in pp collisions. This method paves the way for future investigations of the internal structure of more complex nuclear clusters, including the hypertriton. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Z-boson production in p-Pb collisions at √sNN = 8.16 TeV and Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

Measurement of Z-boson production in p-Pb collisions at sNN = 8.16 TeV and Pb-Pb collisions at sNN = 5.02 TeV is reported. It is performed in the dimuon decay channel, through the detection of muons with pseudorapidity −4 20 GeV/c in the laboratory frame. The invariant yield and nuclear modification factor are measured for opposite-sign dimuons with invariant mass 60 < mμμ< 120 GeV/c2 and rapidity 2.5 < 4. They are presented as a function of rapidity and, for the Pb-Pb collisions, of centrality as well. The results are compared with theoretical calculations, both with and without nuclear modifications to the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs). In p-Pb collisions the center-of-mass frame is boosted with respect to the laboratory frame, and the measurements cover the backward (−4.46 < −2.96) and forward (2.03 < 3.53) rapidity regions. For the p-Pb collisions, the results are consistent within experimental and theoretical uncertainties with calculations that include both free-nucleon and nuclear-modified PDFs. For the Pb-Pb collisions, a 3.4σ deviation is seen in the integrated yield between the data and calculations based on the free-nucleon PDFs, while good agreement is found once nuclear modifications are considered. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Measurement of nuclear effects on ψ(2S) production in p-Pb collisions at √sNN = 8.16 TeV

Inclusive ψ(2S) production is measured in p-Pb collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon pair sNN = 8.16 TeV, using the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. The production of ψ(2S) is studied at forward (2.03 &lt; ycms&lt; 3.53) and backward (−4.46 &lt; ycms&lt; −2.96) centre-of-mass rapidity and for transverse momentum pT&lt; 12 GeV/c via the decay to muon pairs. In this paper, we report the integrated as well as the ycms- and pT-differential inclusive production cross sections. Nuclear effects on ψ(2S) production are studied via the determination of the nuclear modification factor that shows a strong suppression at both forward and backward centre-of-mass rapidities. Comparisons with corresponding results for inclusive J/ψ show a similar suppression for the two states at forward rapidity (p-going direction), but a stronger suppression for ψ(2S) at backward rapidity (Pb-going direction). As a function of pT, no clear dependence of the nuclear modification factor is found. The relative size of nuclear effects on ψ(2S) production compared to J/ψ is also studied via the double ratio of production cross sections [σψ(2S)/σJ/ψ]pPb/[σψ(2S)/σJ/ψ]pp between p-Pb and pp collisions. The results are compared with theoretical models that include various effects related to the initial and final state of the collision system and also with previous measurements at sNN = 5.02 TeV. [Figure not available: see fulltext.