Holographic Correlators and Effective Actions for Quantum Gravity

In this thesis we study holographic correlators in three different examples of the AdS/CFT correspondence. In particular, we consider the low-energy effective actions of quantum gravity, where the leading term describes supergravity and the corrections correspond to higher-derivative interactions. Firstly, we consider the duality between string theory in AdS_5xS^5 and 4d maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (N=4 SYM). We propose a systematic procedure for obtaining all single-trace half-BPS correlators in N=4 SYM corresponding to the four-point tree-level amplitude for type IIB string theory in AdS_5xS^5. The underlying idea is to compute generalised ten-dimensional contact Witten diagrams, treating AdS and S on equal footing, which are obtained from a 10d scalar effective field theory in AdS_5xS^5. Next, we study holographic correlators in AdS_7xS^4. M-theory in this background is dual to the 6d (2,0) theory. In particular, we derive recursion relations for the anomalous dimensions of double-trace operators occurring in the conformal block expansion of four-point stress tensor correlators in the 6d (2,0) theory. These anomalous dimensions encode higher-derivative corrections to supergravity in AdS_7xS^4 arising from M-theory. Finally, we consider quantum gravity in AdS_2xS^2 whose dual CFT has superconformal group SU(1,1|2). Firstly, we propose an AdS_2xS^2 effective action which describes both supergravity and higher-derivative corrections and compute the four-point half-BPS correlators using generalised 4d Witten diagrams, analogous to AdS_5xS^5 above. Moreover, it was recently shown that IIB supergravity in AdS_5xS^5 enjoys 10d conformal symmetry. We adapt this approach, which is complementary to the effective action approach, to quantum gravity in AdS_2xS^2. We show that the 1d supergravity and free theory correlators exhibit 4d conformal symmetry and discuss implications for higher-derivative corrections where the symmetry is generically broken, except for specific cases

Non-Genetic and Genetic Effects on Growth Traits from Birth to 120 days of Age of G2 Sapera Goat

Information on non-genetic and genetic factors is required in the selection program. Indonesian Research Institute for Animal Production (IRIAP) has been conducting a selection of the growth traits of Sapera goat (50% Saanen, 50% PE).  This research was aimed to study non-genetic and genetic effects on growth traits from birth to the age of 120 days old of the 2nd generation (G2) of Sapera goat.  Data on body weight and measurement were collected from kids at birth (105 head.) to the age of 120 days old (51 head).  The 30 days interval growth data were calculated by linear interpolation. Non-genetic effects were analyzed by General Linear Model for unbalanced data by considering sex, type of birth, the month of kidding, and year of kidding as fixed variables.  The genetic component was analyzed by a mixed linear model by considering sire as a random variable.  Heritability was estimated by the paternal half-sib method. Non-genetic factors mostly had no significant effect (P 0.05) on body weight and measurement.  The 90 days old and 120 days old males had higher weights than females (P0.05). Birth type and year of kidding had significant effects (P0.05) on body weight and some measurements at certain ages. No significant months of kidding effect on the growth traits (P0.05).  Heritability values of body weight (h2 = 0.11-0.19) and body sizes (h2 = 0.03-0.24) were relatively low. Except high heritability values for birth weight and for body weight at 30 days old (h2 = 0.59 and 0.29), and for hip girth at 30 days old and at 60 days old (h2 = 0.13-0.54).  The growth traits of G2 Sapera kids were affected by sex and year of kidding and slightly influenced by genetic (sires) factors

Kinerja Reproduksi Sapi Betina dan Performa Pedet pada Usaha Budi Daya Sapi Potong di Kabupaten Sigi

Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui kinerja reproduksi sapi betina dan performa pedet pada usaha perbibitan sapi potong di salah satu wilayah kawasan pengembangan peternakan sapi potong Sulawesi Tengah. Penelitian dilaksanakan selama tahun 2015-2016 di Desa Pandere, Kecamatan Gumbasa, Kabupaten Sigi, Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah. Pengumpulan data dengan cara wawancara 30 peternak responden menggunakan daftar pertanyaan terstruktur (kuesioner), pencatatan, pengukuran dan pengamatan. Data yang dikumpulkan meliputi data karakteristik responden, kinerja reproduksi dan ukuran linier tubuh sapi betina serta performa pedet. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan sebagian besar responden bekerja sebagai petani, berumur rata-rata 41,3 tahun, tingkat pendidikan SLTA, pengalaman beternak 16,2 tahun dan rata-rata kepemilikan ternak 2-4 ekor per orang. Kinerja reproduksi sapi betina menunjukkan skor kondisi tubuh 3,5, birahi setelah beranak 2,9 bulan, kawin setelah beranak 3,3 bulan, service per conception 2,5 kali, masa kosong 7,2 bulan dan jarak beranak 16,5 bulan. Sapi betina berumur rata-rata 3,52 tahun memiliki bobot badan 234,3 kg, lingkar dada 146,2 cm, tinggi badan 121,4 cm, lebar panggul 55,9 cm dan  panjang badan 100,7 cm. Performa pedet memiliki kisaran bobot badan 22,29-25,07 kg, panjang badan 54,15-54,53 cm dan tinggi badan 59,46-62,43 cm. Disimpulkan kinerja reproduksi sapi betina pada perbibitan sapi potong yang dikelola peternak rakyat relatif masih rendah. Ukuran linier tubuh sapi betina sesuai nilai standar SNI, performa pedet yang lahir selama tahun 2015-2016 cukup baik

Perubahan Perilaku Peternak pada Kegiatan Sekolah Lapang Pendampingan Pengembangan Kawasan Peternakan Sapi Potong di Sulawesi Tengah

Evaluasi terhadap Sekolah Lapang (SL) pada akhir kegiatan pendampingan diperlukan untuk menilai efektivitas suatu program. Pengkajian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perubahan perilaku peternak setelah mengikuti SL pada kegiatan pendampingan pengembangan kawasan peternakan sapi potong di Sulawesi Tengah. Pengkajian dilaksanakan pada bulan Januari sampai Desember 2016 di Kabupaten Sigi dan Kabupaten Donggala. Sebanyak 41 orang peternak dipilih sebagai responden yang merupakan peserta kegiatan sekolah lapang. Pelaksanaan sekolah lapang dengan metode ceramah, demonstrasi cara dan praktek aplikasi. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan wawancara menggunakan kuesioner meliputi karakteristik responden, pengetahuan, keterampilan dan sikap terhadap materi yang disampaikan selama sekolah lapang berlangsung. Data dianalisis secara deskriptif, pengukuran data  pengetahuan dengan kuisioner pre test dan post test dengan nilai skor tertinggi 5 (lima) dan terendah 1 (satu), dengan kategori skala (sangat kurang, kurang, sedang, tinggi dan sangat tinggi). Sikap menggunakan skala Likert dengan kategori interpretasi (sangat tidak setuju, tidak setuju, ragu-ragu, setuju, sangat setuju). Sedangkan keterampilan menggunakan skala Likert dengan kategori skala (rendah, sedang dan tinggi), kemudian dihitung persentase pada setiap kategori skala yang mengalami perubahan sikap dan keterampilan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tingkat pengetahuan peternak terhadap materi SL berada pada kategori tinggi, sikap peternak menunjukkan respon setuju dan keterampilan peternak berada pada kategori sedang. Peningkatan pengetahuan peternak dipengaruhi oleh berbagai hal seperti materi, tingkat pendidikan serta lama berusaha tani. Perubahan sikap terjadi karena materi yang disampaikan dapat memberikan nilai tambah dan memberikan keuntungan relatif serta dapat dicoba dalam skala luasan kecil. Selain itu, kinerja pemanfaatan SL sebagai media pembelajaran masih perlu ditingkatkan untuk meningkatkan keterampilan peternak

Kajian Pemberian Pakan Murah pada Ternak Kerbau yang Dipelihara dengan Sistem Soma di Tana Toraja, Sulawesi Selatan

Kerbau (Bubalus bubalis) di Tana Toraja dipelihara dengan baik dan ada satu pemeliharaan yang sudah turun temurun dilakukan oleh masyarakat, yang disebut dengan nama soma dimana kerbau jantan dipelihara secara intensif tidak diberi kesempatan untuk kawin sehingga nafsu makannya tinggi dan sangat menguntungkan untuk usaha penggemukan. Kajian dilaksanakan di Kecamatan Makale Selatan, Kabupaten Tana Toraja. Tujuan kajian adalah untuk meningkatkan pertambahan bobot badan kerbau Toraja dengan teknologi pakan murah bersumber dari limbah pertanian dan industri yang dipelihara dengan sistem soma. Metode penelitian adalah menggunakan kerbau jantan umur 3-4 tahun yang dipelihara dengan sistem soma sebanyak 15 ekor yang dibagi dalam tiga perlakuan yaitu (A) Pakan murah 40% + hijauan 60%, (B) Pakan murah 60% + hijauan 40% dan (C) Kontrol/sesuai kebiasaan petani (hijauan). Hijauan yang diberikan berupa limbah jerami padi dan rumput. Pakan murah berasal dari bahan pakan lokal, yaitu dedak, bungkil kelapa, tepung ikan, ampas tahu, tepung keong mas, mineral dan molases. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pemberian pakan murah dengan pemeliharaan sistem soma pada perlakuan B memberikan PBBH paling tinggi yaitu 0,9 kg/ekor/hari, selanjutnya perlakuan A (0,7 kg/ekor/hari) sedangkan perlakuan C (0,2 kg/ekor/hari) nyata lebih rendah. Kesimpulan yang dapat ditarik adalah pemeliharaan ternak kerbau secara sistem soma disertai pemberian pakan murah mampu meningkatkan pertambahan bobot badan ternak kerba

Strong CD4 T cell responses to Zika virus antigens in a cohort of Dengue virus immune mothers of congenital Zika virus syndrome infants

Background: There is an urgent need to understand the complex relationship between cross-reactive anti-viral immunity, disease susceptibility, and severity in the face of differential exposure to related, circulating Flaviviruses. Co-exposure to Dengue virus and Zika virus in Brazil is a case in point. A devastating aspect of the 2015-2016 South American Zika outbreak was the dramatic increase in numbers of infants born with microcephaly to mothers exposed to Zika virus during pregnancy. It has been proposed that this is more likely to ensue from Zika infection in women lacking cross-protective Dengue immunity. In this case series we measure the prevalence of Dengue immunity in a cohort of mothers exposed to Zika virus during pregnancy in the 2015-2016 Zika outbreak that gave birth to an infant affected by microcephaly and explore their adaptive immunity to Zika virus. Results: Fifty women from Sergipe, Brazil who gave birth to infants with microcephaly following Zika virus exposure during the 2015-16 outbreak were tested for serological evidence of Dengue exposure and IFNγ ELISpot spot forming cell (SFC) response to Zika virus. The majority (46/50) demonstrated Dengue immunity. IFNγ ELISpot responses to Zika virus antigens showed the following hierarchy: Env>NS1>NS3>C protein. Twenty T cell epitopes from Zika virus Env were identified. Responses to Zika virus antigens Env and NS1 were polyfunctional with cells making IFNγ, TNFα, IL-4, IL-13, and IL-10. In contrast, responses to NS5 only produced the immune regulatory TGFβ1 cytokine. There were SFC responses against Zika virus Env (1-20) and variant peptide sequences from West Nile virus, Dengue virus 1-4 and Yellow Fever virus. Conclusion: Almost all the women in our study showed serological evidence of Dengue immunity, suggesting that microcephaly can occur in DENV immune mothers. T cell immunity to Zika virus showed a multifunctional response to the antigens Env and NS1 and immune regulatory responses to NS5 and C protein. Our data support an argument that different viral products may skew the antiviral response to a more pro or anti-inflammatory outcome, with an associated impact on immunopathogenesis

A computational study on altered theta-gamma coupling during learning and phase coding

There is considerable interest in the role of coupling between theta and gamma oscillations in the brain in the context of learning and memory. Here we have used a neural network model which is capable of producing coupling of theta phase to gamma amplitude firstly to explore its ability to reproduce reported learning changes and secondly to memory-span and phase coding effects. The spiking neural network incorporates two kinetically different GABAA receptor-mediated currents to generate both theta and gamma rhythms and we have found that by selective alteration of both NMDA receptors and GABAA,slow receptors it can reproduce learning-related changes in the strength of coupling between theta and gamma either with or without coincident changes in theta amplitude. When the model was used to explore the relationship between theta and gamma oscillations, working memory capacity and phase coding it showed that the potential storage capacity of short term memories, in terms of nested gamma-subcycles, coincides with the maximal theta power. Increasing theta power is also related to the precision of theta phase which functions as a potential timing clock for neuronal firing in the cortex or hippocampus

Coupled variability in primary sensory areas and the hippocampus during spontaneous activity

The cerebral cortex is an anatomically divided and functionally specialized structure. It includes distinct areas, which work on different states over time. The structural features of spiking activity in sensory cortices have been characterized during spontaneous and evoked activity. However, the coordination among cortical and sub-cortical neurons during spontaneous activity across different states remains poorly characterized. We addressed this issue by studying the temporal coupling of spiking variability recorded from primary sensory cortices and hippocampus of anesthetized or freely behaving rats. During spontaneous activity, spiking variability was highly correlated across primary cortical sensory areas at both small and large spatial scales, whereas the cortico-hippocampal correlation was modest. This general pattern of spiking variability was observed under urethane anesthesia, as well as during waking, slow-wave sleep and rapid-eye-movement sleep, and was unchanged by novel stimulation. These results support the notion that primary sensory areas are strongly coupled during spontaneous activity.project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). NAPV was supported by Centro Universitario do Rio Grande do Norte, Champalimaud Foundation, and Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Grant 249991/2013-6), CC-S (SFRH/BD/51992/2012). AJR (IF/00883/2013). SR by UFRN, CNPq (Research Productivity Grant 308775/2015-5), and S. Paulo Research Foundation FAPESP - Center for Neuromathematics (Grant 2013/07699-0)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio