Disordered crystalline Fe50Mn25+xSn25?x alloys, with x =-1.25, 0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 (close to the full-Heusler alloys), were arc-melted in a high purity argon atmosphere and the molten pellets were individually sealed in quartz tubes also under argon atmosphere. Subsequently, they were annealed at 1173 K for 4 days, being finally quenched in a bath with cold water. Structural and magnetic properties have systematically been studied using X-ray diffraction,57Fe, and119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopies, and magnetization measurements recorded at room temperature. Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction patterns of the annealed samples with x =-1.25 and 0 has revealed the presence of two hexagonal crystallographic phases: (i) a chemically disordered solid solution identified as ??(Fe/Mn)3Sn (majority fraction) and (ii) the ??Fe5Sn3 intermetallic compound (minority fraction). For samples with ...

The strength of biotic interactions is generally thought to increase toward the equator, but support for this hypothesis is contradictory. We explored whether predator attacks on artificial prey of eight different colors vary among climates and whether this variation affects the detection of latitudinal patterns in predation. Bird attack rates negatively correlated with model luminance in cold and temperate environments, but not in tropical environments. Bird predation on black and on white (extremes in luminance) models demonstrated different latitudinal patterns, presumably due to differences in prey conspicuousness between habitats with different light regimes. When attacks on models of all colors were combined, arthropod predation decreased, whereas bird predation increased with increasing latitude. We conclude that selection for prey coloration may vary geographically and according ...