Macrocheles species (Acari: Macrochelidae) associated with human corpses in Europe

The biology of macrochelid mites might offer new venues for the interpretation of the environmental conditions surrounding human death and decomposition. Three human corpses, one from Sweden and two from Spain, have been analysed for the occurrence of Macrochelidae species. Macrocheles muscaedomesticae females were associated with a corpse that was found in a popular beach area of southeast Spain. Their arrival coincides with the occurrence of one of their major carrier species, the filth fly Fannia scalaris, the activity of which peaks during mid-summer. M. glaber specimens were collected from a corpse in a shallow grave in a forest in Sweden at the end of summer, concurrent with the arrival of beetles attracted by odours from the corpse. M. perglaber adults were sampled from a corpse found indoors in the rural surroundings of Granada city, Spain. The phoretic behaviour of this species is similar to that of M. glaber, but being more specific to Scarabaeidae and Geotrupidae dung beetles, most of which favour human faeces. M. muscaedomesticae is known from urban and rural areas and poultry farms; M. glaber from outdoors, particularly the countryside; while M. perglaber from outdoor, rural, and remote, potentially mountainous locations. M. muscaedomesticae and M. perglaber are reported for the first time from the Iberian Peninsula. This is the first record of M. perglaber from human remains

Macrocheles species (Acari: Macrochelidae) associated with human corpses in Europe

The biology of macrochelid mites might offer new venues for the interpretation of the environmental conditions surrounding human death and decomposition. Three human corpses, one from Sweden and two from Spain, have been analysed for the occurrence of Macrochelidae species. Macrocheles muscaedomesticae females were associated with a corpse that was found in a popular beach area of southeast Spain. Their arrival coincides with the occurrence of one of their major carrier species, the filth fly Fannia scalaris, the activity of which peaks during mid-summer. M. glaber specimens were collected from a corpse in a shallow grave in a forest in Sweden at the end of summer, concurrent with the arrival of beetles attracted by odours from the corpse. M. perglaber adults were sampled from a corpse found indoors in the rural surroundings of Granada city, Spain. The phoretic behaviour of this species is similar to that of M. glaber, but being more specific to Scarabaeidae and Geotrupidae dung beetles, most of which favour human faeces. M. muscaedomesticae is known from urban and rural areas and poultry farms; M. glaber from outdoors, particularly the countryside; while M. perglaber from outdoor, rural, and remote, potentially mountainous locations. M. muscaedomesticae and M. perglaber are reported for the first time from the Iberian Peninsula. This is the first record of M. perglaber from human remains

Response of Arctic Alpine Biota to Climate Change - Evidence from Polar Urals GLORIA Summits

Polar Urals as one of target regions of Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) comprises a suite of four summits, representing an elevation gradient of alpine vegetation patterns. The sampling areas cover the summits from the tops down to the 10 m contour line and are divided into eight sections. For each section, a complete list of vascular plants and herpetobiotic arthropods was collected and resurveyed. In the period from 2001 untill 2015, the species numbers steadily increased and the total surplus of vascular plants was up to 13 species on separate summit. A general decrease in the total cover of vascular plants and changes in percentage cover of the dominant species was recorded on the permanent plots; certain species of herbs decreased and certain shrub species increased. Among the dominant species of invertebrates, ground beetles and millipedes were replaced by click beetles and spiders. After 14 years the altitudinal index calculated for vascular plants gave an average upward movement of 13.6 m, that is more pronounced than in Northern and Southern Urals. The thermophilization of the alpine plant communities of Polar Urals was found equal to 9.3% of one vegetation belt. The temperature sums obtained from data loggers demonstrate the slight tendency of increase, especially for the lower summits.We are grateful to Dmitry Moiseev and Alexander Ermakov for their valuable help during the fieldwork. Thanks to the funding from Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR grant 15-05-05549 A) the recent resurvey, congress participation and data analysis became possible. The initial species and temperature data recording was supported through the EU FP-5 project GLORIA-Europe

KKRnano: Quantum Description of Skyrmions in Chiral B20 Magnets

We present the latest version of the linear-scaling electronic structure code KKRnano, in which an enhanced Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) scheme is utilized to perform Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. The code allows us to treat system sizes of up to several thousands of atoms per unit cell and to simulate a non-collinear alignment of atomic spins. This capability is used to investigate nanometer-sized magnetic textures in the germanide B20-MnGe, a material that is potentially going to play an important role in future spintronic devices. A performance analysis of KKRnano on Hazel Hen emphasizes the good scaling behaviour with increasing system size and demonstrates the extensive integration of highly optimized libraries

KKRnano: Quantum Description of Skyrmions in Chiral B20 Magnets

We present the latest version of the linear-scaling electronic structure code KKRnano, in which an enhanced Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) scheme is utilized to perform Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. The code allows us to treat system sizes of up to several thousands of atoms per unit cell and to simulate a non-collinear alignment of atomic spins. This capability is used to investigate nanometer-sized magnetic textures in the germanide B20-MnGe, a material that is potentially going to play an important role in future spintronic devices. A performance analysis of KKRnano on Hazel Hen emphasizes the good scaling behaviour with increasing system size and demonstrates the extensive integration of highly optimized libraries