Effect of methyl jasmonate and sucrose on endogenous non-structural carbohydrates in petals and leaves of cut ‘First Red’ roses (Rosa hybrida L.)

Effects of exogenously applied methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and sucrose on vase life and non-structural carbohydrate concentration in petals and leaves of cut ‘First Red’ roses were investigated. Roses were placed in sealed plastic containers and received MeJA vapour treatment (0.1 μL MeJA L-1) for 24 h at 20°C. Flowers were then placed in individual bottles containing 0 or 2% (v/v) sucrose solution. Flower petals and the two uppermost five-leaflet leaves were detached on days 0, d 5 and d 10 of vase life. Samples were individually snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and freeze-dried. Non-structural carbohydrates were extracted and quantified using standard HPLC coupled to evaporative light scattering detection. The MeJA vapour treatment enhanced vase life of flower and foliage of ‘First Red’ roses. Significant differences were observed between foliage life of cut ‘First Red’ roses that were treated with MeJA and sucrose, but not for flower life. Rose stems treated with MeJA in the absence of sucrose had an extended vase life compared to roses treated with 2% sucrose alone (14.0 vs. 12.8 days of vase life). Sucrose and myo-inositol, and to a lesser extent glucose concentrations in petals of cut roses decreased during vase life, even when flowers were supplied with 2% sucrose. Concomitant to this, fructose levels in petals increased during vase life. Neither sucrose nor MeJA had a significant effect on any of the sugars measured in petals of cut roses. In contrast, significant differences were apparent for all sugars measured in leaves that were treated with MeJA and sucrose solutions. The combination of MeJA and 2% sucrose solution sharply increased endogenous sucrose concentration in leaves, but the opposite was shown in the absence of 2% sucrose. Sucrose treatment alone did not consistently alter endogenous sucrose concentration. Interactions between MeJA and sucrose on sugar metabolism are discussed

On the uniqueness and global dynamics of AdS spacetimes

We study global aspects of complete, non-singular asymptotically locally AdS spacetimes solving the vacuum Einstein equations whose conformal infinity is an arbitrary globally stationary spacetime. It is proved that any such solution which is asymptotically stationary to the past and future is itself globally stationary. This gives certain rigidity or uniqueness results for exact AdS and related spacetimes.Comment: 18pp, significant revision of v

Gravity duals of half-BPS Wilson loops

We explicitly construct the fully back-reacted half-BPS solutions in Type IIB supergravity which are dual to Wilson loops with 16 supersymmetries in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills. In a first part, we use the methods of a companion paper to derive the exact general solution of the half-BPS equations on the space $AdS_2 \times S^2 \times S^4 \times \Sigma$, with isometry group $SO(2,1)\times SO(3) \times SO(5)$ in terms of two locally harmonic functions on a Riemann surface $\Sigma$ with boundary. These solutions, generally, have varying dilaton and axion, and non-vanishing 3-form fluxes. In a second part, we impose regularity and topology conditions. These non-singular solutions may be parametrized by a genus $g \geq 0$ hyperelliptic surface $\Sigma$, all of whose branch points lie on the real line. Each genus $g$ solution has only a single asymptotic $AdS_5 \times S^5$ region, but exhibits $g$ homology 3-spheres, and an extra $g$ homology 5-spheres, carrying respectively RR 3-form and RR 5-form charges. For genus 0, we recover $AdS_5 \times S^5$ with 3 free parameters, while for genus $g \geq 1$, the solution has $2g+5$ free parameters. The genus 1 case is studied in detail. Numerical analysis is used to show that the solutions are regular throughout the $g=1$ parameter space. Collapse of a branch cut on $\Sigma$ subtending either a homology 3-sphere or a homology 5-sphere is non-singular and yields the genus $g-1$ solution. This behavior is precisely expected of a proper dual to a Wilson loop in gauge theory.Comment: 62 pages, LaTeX, 6 figures, v2: minor change

Exact half-BPS Type IIB interface solutions I: Local solution and supersymmetric Janus

The complete Type IIB supergravity solutions with 16 supersymmetries are obtained on the manifold $AdS_4 \times S^2 \times S^2 \times \Sigma$ with $SO(2,3) \times SO(3) \times SO(3)$ symmetry in terms of two holomorphic functions on a Riemann surface $\Sigma$, which generally has a boundary. This is achieved by reducing the BPS equations using the above symmetry requirements, proving that all solutions of the BPS equations solve the full Type IIB supergravity field equations, mapping the BPS equations onto a new integrable system akin to the Liouville and Sine-Gordon theories, and mapping this integrable system to a linear equation which can be solved exactly. Amongst the infinite class of solutions, a non-singular Janus solution is identified which provides the AdS/CFT dual of the maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills interface theory discovered recently. The construction of general classes of globally non-singular solutions, including fully back-reacted $AdS_5 \times S^5$ and supersymmetric Janus doped with D5 and/or NS5 branes, is deferred to a companion paper.Comment: LaTeX, 69 pages, 3 figures, v2: references adde

Boundary entropy of supersymmetric Janus solutions

In this paper we compute the holographic boundary entropy for half-BPS Janus deformations of the $AdS_3\times S^3\times T^4$ vacuum of type IIB supergravity. Previous work \cite{Chiodaroli:2009yw} has shown that there are two independent deformations of this sort. In one case, the six-dimensional dilaton jumps across the interface, while the other case displays a jump of axion and four-form potential. In case of a jump of the six-dimensional dilaton, it is possible to compare the holographic result with the weak-coupling result for a two-dimensional interface CFT where the radii of the compactified bosons jump across the interface. We find exact agreement between holographic and CFT results. This is to be contrasted with the holographic calculation for the non-supersymmetric Janus solution, which agrees with the CFT result only at the leading order in the jump parameter. We also examine the implications of the holographic calculation in case of a solution with a jump in the axion, which can be associated with a deformation of the CFT by the $Z_2$-orbifold twist operator.Comment: 35 pages, pdf-LaTeX, 5 figures, v2: minor changes, typos corrected, reference adde

Janus solutions in M-theory

We present a one-parameter deformation of the AdS_{4} x S^{7} vacuum, which is a regular solution in M-theory, invariant under SO(2,2) x SO(4) x SO(4), and which preserves 16 supersymmetries. The solution corresponds to a holographic realization of a Janus-like interface/defect theory, despite the absence of a dilaton in M-theory. The 2+1-dimensional CFT dual results from the maximally symmetric CFT through the insertion of a dimension 2 operator which is localized along a 1+1-dimensional linear interface/defect, thereby partially breaking the superconformal symmetry. The solution admits a regular ABJM reduction to a quotient solution which is invariant under SO(2,2) x SO(4) x U(1)^2, preserves 12 supersymmetries, and provides a Janus-like interface/defect solution in ABJM theory.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, pdflate

Antibody and T-cell response to bivalent booster SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in people with compromised immune function (COVERALL-3).

BACKGROUND Bivalent mRNA vaccines, designed to combat emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, incorporate ancestral strains and a new variant. Our study assessed the immune response in previously vaccinated individuals of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) and the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study (STCS) following bivalent mRNA vaccination. METHODS Eligible SHCS and STCS participants received approved bivalent mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (mRNA-1273.214 or BA.1-adapted BNT162b2) within clinical routine. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 6 months post vaccination. We analyzed the proportion of participants with anti-spike protein antibody response ≥1642 units/ml (indicating protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection), and in a subsample T-cell response (including mean concentrations), stratifying results by cohorts and population characteristics. RESULTS In SHCS participants, baseline anti-spike antibody concentrations ≥1642 were observed in 87% (96/112), reaching nearly 100% at follow-ups. Among STCS participants, 58% (35/60) had baseline antibodies ≥1642, increasing to 80% at 6 months. Except for lung transplant recipients, all participants showed a five-fold increase in geometric mean antibody concentrations at 4 weeks and a reduction by half at 6 months. At baseline, T-cell responses were positive in 96% (26/27) of SHCS participants and 36% (16/45) of STCS participants (moderate increase to 53% at 6 months). Few participants reported SARS-CoV-2 infections, side-effects, or serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS Bivalent mRNA vaccination elicited a robust humoral response in individuals with HIV or solid organ transplants, with delayed responses in lung transplant recipients. Despite a waning effect, antibody levels remained high at 6 months and adverse events were rare

Exactness of Belief Propagation for Some Graphical Models with Loops

It is well known that an arbitrary graphical model of statistical inference defined on a tree, i.e. on a graph without loops, is solved exactly and efficiently by an iterative Belief Propagation (BP) algorithm convergent to unique minimum of the so-called Bethe free energy functional. For a general graphical model on a loopy graph the functional may show multiple minima, the iterative BP algorithm may converge to one of the minima or may not converge at all, and the global minimum of the Bethe free energy functional is not guaranteed to correspond to the optimal Maximum-Likelihood (ML) solution in the zero-temperature limit. However, there are exceptions to this general rule, discussed in \cite{05KW} and \cite{08BSS} in two different contexts, where zero-temperature version of the BP algorithm finds ML solution for special models on graphs with loops. These two models share a key feature: their ML solutions can be found by an efficient Linear Programming (LP) algorithm with a Totally-Uni-Modular (TUM) matrix of constraints. Generalizing the two models we consider a class of graphical models reducible in the zero temperature limit to LP with TUM constraints. Assuming that a gedanken algorithm, g-BP, funding the global minimum of the Bethe free energy is available we show that in the limit of zero temperature g-BP outputs the ML solution. Our consideration is based on equivalence established between gapless Linear Programming (LP) relaxation of the graphical model in the $T\to 0$ limit and respective LP version of the Bethe-Free energy minimization.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, submitted to JSTA

Antibody and T-Cell Response to Bivalent Booster SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in People With Compromised Immune Function: COVERALL-3 Study

Background Bivalent messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, designed to combat emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants, incorporate ancestral strains and a new variant. Our study assessed the immune response in previously vaccinated individuals of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) and the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study (STCS) following bivalent mRNA vaccination. Methods Eligible SHCS and STCS participants received approved bivalent mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (mRNA-1273.214 or BA.1-adapted BNT162b2) within clinical routine. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 6 months postvaccination. We analyzed the proportion of participants with anti-spike protein antibody response ≥1642 units/mL (indicating protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection), and in a subsample T-cell response (including mean concentrations), stratifying results by cohorts and population characteristics. Results In SHCS participants, baseline anti-spike antibody concentrations ≥1642 units/mL were observed in 87% (96/112), reaching nearly 100% at follow-ups. Among STCS participants, 58% (35/60) had baseline antibodies ≥1642 units/mL, increasing to 80% at 6 months. Except for lung transplant recipients, all participants showed a 5-fold increase in geometric mean antibody concentrations at 4 weeks and a reduction by half at 6 months. At baseline, T-cell responses were positive in 96% (26/27) of SHCS participants and 36% (16/45) of STCS participants (moderate increase to 53% at 6 months). Few participants reported SARS-CoV-2 infections, side-effects, or serious adverse events. Conclusions Bivalent mRNA vaccination elicited a robust humoral response in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or solid organ transplants, with delayed responses in lung transplant recipients. Despite a waning effect, antibody levels remained high at 6 months and adverse events were rare. Clinical Trials Registration . NCT04805125

A Closed-Loop Control Traffic Engineering System for the Dynamic Load Balancing of Inter-AS Traffic

Inter-AS outbound traffic engineering (TE) is a set of techniques for controlling inter-AS traffic exiting an autonomous system (AS) by assigning the traffic to the best egress points (i.e. routers or links) from which the traffic is forwarded to adjacent ASes towards the destinations. In practice, changing network conditions such as inter-AS traffic demand variation, link failures and inter-AS routing changes occur dynamically. These changes can make fixed outbound TE solutions inadequate and may subsequently cause inter-AS links to become congested. In order to overcome this problem, we propose the deployment of a closed-loop control traffic engineering system that makes outbound traffic robust to inter-AS link failures and adaptive to changing network conditions. The objective is to keep the inter-AS link utilization balanced under unexpected events while reducing service disruptions and reconfiguration overheads. Our evaluation results show that the proposed system can successfully achieve better load balancing with less service disruption and re-configuration overhead in comparison to alternative approaches