Sneaking into a Hotspot of Biodiversity: Coverage and Integrity of a Rhodolith Bed in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)

Habitat mapping, physical characteristics and benthic community of a rhodolith bed in the Pelagie Islands (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea) were studied through Multi–Beam Echo–Sounder (MBES), Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and grab samples. The geomorphological analysis revealed an articulated and wide rhodolith bed; video inspections highlighted a bed with high coverage, few sandy patches and with a prevalence of the boxwork morphotype. A total of 207 taxa with 876 specimens were identified, and Polychaeta was the dominant taxon. Linguimaera caesaris, a Lessepsian benthic amphipod, was recorded in all sampling sites, and its presence represents an input to deepen the benthic assemblage research on the rhodolith bed. In terms of morphotype composition, dead/live ratio and species variability, the bed variability indicated a good status of health, although trawling signs were detected through ROV videos. The present study broadens the knowledge on Mediterranean rhodolith beds and supports the importance of survey and monitoring activities for the conservation and management of this important habitat

Demodicosis in a captive African straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum).

Demodicosis is most frequently observed in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), but it has rarely been reported in bats (Chiroptera). The overpopulation of Demodex spp. that causes dermatological changes is generally associated with a compromised immune system. We describe the gross and histological features of generalized demodicosis in an adult female African straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) drawn from a captive research colony. The histology of the lesions revealed comedones and follicular infundubular cysts harbouring numerous Demodex spp. mites, eliciting a minimal inflammatory response in the adjacent dermis. The histological examination of a full set of tissues did not reveal clear evidence of immunosuppression, although a clinical history of recent abortion and possible stressors due to captivity could be considered risk factors for the demodicosis. Attempts to determine the Demodex species using PCR on DNA extracted from the formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue failed. This is the first clinical and histological description of demodicosis in Eidolon helvum

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO