93 research outputs found
New bounds for the free energy of directed polymers in dimension 1+1 and 1+2
We study the free energy of the directed polymer in random environment in
dimension 1+1 and 1+2. For dimension 1, we improve the statement of Comets and
Vargas concerning very strong disorder by giving sharp estimates on the free
energy at high temperature. In dimension 2, we prove that very strong disorder
holds at all temperatures, thus solving a long standing conjecture in the
field.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures, final version, accepted for publication in
Communications in Mathematical Physic
Specific Missense Alleles of the Arabidopsis Jasmonic Acid Co-Receptor COI1 Regulate Innate Immune Receptor Accumulation and Function
[EN] Plants utilize proteins containing nucleotide binding site (NB) and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains as intracellular innate immune receptors to recognize pathogens and initiate defense responses. Since mis-activation of defense responses can lead to tissue damage and even developmental arrest, proper regulation of NB-LRR protein signaling is critical. RAR1, SGT1, and HSP90 act as regulatory chaperones of pre-activation NB-LRR steady-state proteins. We extended our analysis of mutants derived from a rar1 suppressor screen and present two allelic rar1 suppressor (rsp) mutations of Arabidopsis COI1. Like all other coi1 mutations, coi1(rsp) missense mutations impair Jasmonic Acid (JA) signaling resulting in JA-insensitivity. However, unlike previously identified coi1 alleles, both coi1(rsp) alleles lack a male sterile phenotype. The coi1(rsp) mutants express two sets of disease resistance phenotypes. The first, also observed in coi1-1 null allele, includes enhanced basal defense against the virulent bacterial pathogen Pto DC3000 and enhanced effector-triggered immunity (ETI) mediated by the NB-LRR RPM1 protein in both rar1 and wild-type backgrounds. These enhanced disease resistance phenotypes depend on the JA signaling function of COI1. Additionally, the coi1(rsp) mutants showed a unique inability to properly regulate RPM1 accumulation and HR, exhibited increased RPM1 levels in rar1, and weakened RPM1-mediated HR in RAR1. Importantly, there was no change in the steady-state levels or HR function of RPM1 in coi1-1. These results suggest that the coi1(rsp) proteins regulate NB-LRR protein accumulation independent of JA signaling. Based on the phenotypic similarities and genetic interactions among coi1(rsp), sgt1b, and hsp90.2(rsp) mutants, our data suggest that COI1 affects NB-LRR accumulation via two NB-LRR co-chaperones, SGT1b and HSP90. Together, our data demonstrate a role for COI1 in disease resistance independent of JA signaling and provide a molecular link between the JA and NB-LRR signaling pathways.JLD is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Plant Science Investigator. This work was funded by the HHMI-GBMF and by the National Science Foundation (Arabidopsis 2010 Program Grant IOS-0929410 to JLD). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.He, Y.; Chung, E.; Hubert, D.; Tornero Feliciano, P.; Dangl, J. (2012). Specific Missense Alleles of the Arabidopsis Jasmonic Acid Co-Receptor COI1 Regulate Innate Immune Receptor Accumulation and Function. PLoS Genetics. 8:1003018-1003018. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1003018S10030181003018
Protecting the environment through insect farming as a means to produce protein for use as livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feed
Securing protein for the approximate 10 billion humans expected to inhabit our planet by 2050 is a major priority for the global community. Evidence has accrued over the past 30 years that strongly supports and justifies the sustainable use of insects as a means to produce protein products as feed for pets, livestock, poultry, and aquacultured species. Researchers and entrepreneurs affiliated with universities and industries, respectively, from 18 nations distributed across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia contributed to the development of this article, which is an indication of the global interest on this topic. A brief overview of insects as feed for the aquaculture industry along with a review of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), as a model for such systems is provided
The Superconducting TESLA Cavities
The conceptional design of the proposed linear electron-positron collider
TESLA is based on 9-cell 1.3 GHz superconducting niobium cavities with an
accelerating gradient of Eacc >= 25 MV/m at a quality factor Q0 > 5E+9. The
design goal for the cavities of the TESLA Test Facility (TTF) linac was set to
the more moderate value of Eacc >= 15 MV/m. In a first series of 27
industrially produced TTF cavities the average gradient at Q0 = 5E+9 was
measured to be 20.1 +- 6.2 MV/m, excluding a few cavities suffering from
serious fabrication or material defects. In the second production of 24 TTF
cavities additional quality control measures were introduced, in particular an
eddy-current scan to eliminate niobium sheets with foreign material inclusions
and stringent prescriptions for carrying out the electron-beam welds. The
average gradient of these cavities at Q0 = 5E+9 amounts to 25.0 +- 3.2 MV/m
with the exception of one cavity suffering from a weld defect. Hence only a
moderate improvement in production and preparation techniques will be needed to
meet the ambitious TESLA goal with an adequate safety margin. In this paper we
present a detailed description of the design, fabrication and preparation of
the TESLA Test Facility cavities and their associated components and report on
cavity performance in test cryostats and with electron beam in the TTF linac.
The ongoing R&D towards higher gradients is briefly addressed.Comment: 45 pages (Latex), 39 figures (Encapsulated Postscript), 53 Author
The CPLEAR detector at CERN
The CPLEAR collaboration has constructed a detector at CERN for an extensive programme of CP-, T- and CPT-symmetry studies using and produced by the annihilation of 's in a hydrogen gas target. The and are identified by their companion products of the annihilation which are tracked with multiwire proportional chambers, drift chambers and streamer tubes. Particle identification is carried out with a liquid Cherenkov detector for fast separation of pions and kaons and with scintillators which allow the measurement of time of flight and energy loss. Photons are measured with a lead/gas sampling electromagnetic calorimeter. The required antiproton annihilation modes are selected by fast online processors using the tracking chamber and particle identification information. All the detectors are mounted in a 0.44 T uniform field of an axial solenoid of diameter 2 m and length 3.6 m to form a magnetic spectrometer capable of full on-line reconstruction and selection of events. The design, operating parameters and performance of the sub-detectors are described.
The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance
INTRODUCTION
Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.
RATIONALE
We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs).
RESULTS
Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants.
CONCLUSION
Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century
Temporal relations between defoliation caused by spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) and growth of balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.)
Defoliation by spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) greatly affects balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) by reducing needle mass and ring width and eventually resulting in tree death. We analyzed temporal patterns of radial growth in various stem sections of twenty balsam fir growing in two mature stands, one intermediate-aged, and one immature stand in New Brunswick, Canada. Growth was compared to annual defoliation data from aerial surveys to determine the timing of growth reduction throughout the stem. Results indicated that there was a delay between the first radial growth reduction registered in the crown and reduction in the lower part of the stem. The delay was variable, depending upon stand age. In immature trees, ring width reduction occurred almost simultaneously along the entire stem, whereas in mature fir, the growth reduction occurred one to three years earlier in the crown than at the stem base. In mature trees, the reduction in the crown occurred immediately in the first year following severe defoliation (70-100% of current year foliage), whereas in severely defoliated immature trees, growth reduction occurred 1 to 2 years later
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