Probabilistic cellular automata with conserved quantities

We demonstrate that the concept of a conservation law can be naturally extended from deterministic to probabilistic cellular automata (PCA) rules. The local function for conservative PCA must satisfy conditions analogous to conservation conditions for deterministic cellular automata. Conservation condition for PCA can also be written in the form of a current conservation law. For deterministic nearest-neighbour CA the current can be computed exactly. Local structure approximation can partially predict the equilibrium current for non-deterministic cases. For linear segments of the fundamental diagram it actually produces exact results.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

Long and short paths in uniform random recursive dags

In a uniform random recursive k-dag, there is a root, 0, and each node in turn, from 1 to n, chooses k uniform random parents from among the nodes of smaller index. If S_n is the shortest path distance from node n to the root, then we determine the constant \sigma such that S_n/log(n) tends to \sigma in probability as n tends to infinity. We also show that max_{1 \le i \le n} S_i/log(n) tends to \sigma in probability.Comment: 16 page

The evolution operator of the Hartree-type equation with a quadratic potential

Based on the ideology of the Maslov's complex germ theory, a method has been developed for finding an exact solution of the Cauchy problem for a Hartree-type equation with a quadratic potential in the class of semiclassically concentrated functions. The nonlinear evolution operator has been obtained in explicit form in the class of semiclassically concentrated functions. Parametric families of symmetry operators have been found for the Hartree-type equation. With the help of symmetry operators, families of exact solutions of the equation have been constructed. Exact expressions are obtained for the quasi-energies and their respective states. The Aharonov-Anandan geometric phases are found in explicit form for the quasi-energy states.Comment: 23 pege

Polarimetric measurements of sea surface brightness temperatures using an aircraft K-band radiometer

This paper presents the first experimental evidence that the polarimetric brightness temperatures of sea surfaces are sensitive to ocean wind direction in the incidence angle range of 30 to 50 degrees. Our experimental data were collected by a K-band (19.35 GHz) polarimetric wind radiometer (WINDRAD) mounted on the NASA DC-8 aircraft. A set of aircraft radiometer flights was successfully completed in November 1993. We performed circle flights over National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) moored buoys deployed off the northern California coast, which provided ocean wind measurements. The first WINDRAD flight was made on November 4, 1993. There was clear weather with a wind speed of 12 m/s at 330 degrees around the Pt. Arena buoy. We circled the buoy at three incidence angles, and all data when plotted as functions of azimuth angles show clear modulations of several Kelvin. At 40 degrees incidence angle, there is a 5 Kelvin peak-to-peak signal in the second Stokes parameter Q and the third Stokes parameter U. The Q data maximum is in the upwind direction and U has a 45 degrees phase shift in azimuth as predicted by theory. There is also an up/downwind asymmetry of 2 Kelvin in the Q data, and 1 Kelvin in the U data. At 50 degrees incidence angle, the collected data show very similar wind direction signatures to the SSM/I model function. Additional flights were made on other days under cloudy conditions. Data taken at a wind speed of 8 m/s show that at 40 degrees incidence Q and U have a smaller azimuthal modulation of 3 Kelvin, probably due to the lower wind speed. Additionally, the simultaneously recorded video images of sea surfaces suggested that Q and U data were less sensitive to unpolarized geophysical variations, such as clouds and whitecaps, while the T(v) and T(h) increased by a few Kelvin when the radiometer beam crossed over clouds, or there was a sudden increase of whitecaps in the radiometer footprint. The results of our aircraft flights indicate that passive polarimetric radiometry has a strong potential for global ocean wind speed and direction measurements from space

Coexistence of Chiari 2 malformation and moyamoya syndrome in a 17-year-old girl.

A 17-year-old female with Chiari 2 malformation developed cerebral infarction with angiographically typical bilateral moyamoya vessels manifesting as sudden onset of moderate left hemiparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple infarcts in the right frontal lobe, agenesis of the corpus callosum, upward herniation of the dorsal cerebellum, tectal beak of the midbrain, and downward herniation of the cerebellar vermis. Cerebral angiography demonstrated occlusion of the bilateral internal carotid arteries and basal moyamoya vessels. Single photon emission computed tomography showed significantly reduced regional cerebral blood flow in the right frontoparietal cortex. The cerebral vascular reactivity to acetazolamide was diminished in both cerebral hemispheres. She underwent superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery anastomosis combined with encephalo-myo-synangiosis on the right, and on the left 6 months later. Cerebral angiography performed 4 months after the second operation showed good patency of the bypasses and substantial collateral vessels in both cerebral hemispheres. This association may have happened by chance, and a common etiology is uncertain, but a currently undetermined genomic component might have contributed to the disease progression

Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production

The United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (grain legumes) under the banner 'nutritious seeds for a sustainable future'. A second green revolution is required to ensure food and nutritional security in the face of global climate change. Grain legumes provide an unparalleled solution to this problem because of their inherent capacity for symbiotic atmospheric nitrogen fixation, which provides economically sustainable advantages for farming. In addition, a legume-rich diet has health benefits for humans and livestock alike. However, grain legumes form only a minor part of most current human diets, and legume crops are greatly under-used. Food security and soil fertility could be significantly improved by greater grain legume usage and increased improvement of a range of grain legumes. The current lack of coordinated focus on grain legumes has compromised human health, nutritional security and sustainable food production.We thank World University Network (WUN) and research collaboration awards (UWA and the University of Leeds) for financial support. CHF thanks the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC UK (BB/M009130/1) and the European Union (KBBE-2012-6-311840; ECOSEED) for financial support. JWC thanks BBSRC (UK) and Wherry and Sons, (UK) for an industrial CASE studentship (BB/K501839/1). H-ML was supported by the Hong Kong RGC Collaborative Research Fund (CUHK3/CRF/11G), the Lo Kwee-Seong Biomedical Research Fund and Lee Hysan Foundation. Ka-Ming Fung, Qianwen Wang, Lydia Kit-Wah Siu, and Yihan Jiang of The Chinese University of Hong Kong assisted in the production of Fig. 2, Table 1 and the associated webpage, highlight and cover design. We thank Hari Upadhyaya for the images shown in Fig. 4. TAM and JMH thank the Western Australian Government, Department of Industry and Resources for financial support. The authors thank Bodhi‟s Bakery, Fremantle, Western Australia, for baking the bread and biscuits and Belmar Foods, Balcatta, Western Australia, for manufacturing and providing the pasta. BNK and HB are supported by Australian Research Council (ARC), ITRH – Legumes for Sustainable Agriculture (IH140100013). MJC and CHF thank the ARC (DP150103211) for financial support. AJM is supported by grant funding (BB/JJ004553/1 and BB/L010305/1) from the BBSRC and the John Innes Foundation.http://www.nature.com/nplantshb2017Plant Production and Soil Scienc

A reference-grade wild soybean genome

Efficient crop improvement depends on the application of accurate genetic information contained in diverse germplasm resources. Here we report a reference-grade genome of wild soybean accession W05, with a final assembled genome size of 1013.2 Mb and a contig N50 of 3.3 Mb. The analytical power of the W05 genome is demonstrated by several examples. First, we identify an inversion at the locus determining seed coat color during domestication. Second, a translocation event between chromosomes 11 and 13 of some genotypes is shown to interfere with the assignment of QTLs. Third, we find a region containing copy number variations of the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTI) genes. Such findings illustrate the power of this assembly in the analysis of large structural variations in soybean germplasm collections. The wild soybean genome assembly has wide applications in comparative genomic and evolutionary studies, as well as in crop breeding and improvement programs

A reference-grade wild soybean genome

Wild relatives of crop plants are invaluable germplasm for genetic improvement. Here, Xie et al. report a reference-grade wild soybean genome and show that it can be used to identify structural variation and refine quantitative trait loci

Development of Plasma Vitellogenin Assay for Estrogenic Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Using Ovariectomized Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Plasma vitellogenin (VTG) assay was developed using ovariectomized goldfish (Carassius auratus) for determining the estrogenic effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. In a laboratory study, we assessed the estrogenic activity of commercial fish diets by using a diet for ornamental carp (CD) and a casein-based formulated fish diet (FD), which was shown to not contain soybean or fish meal in a previous study. In ovariectomized fish, plasma VTG concentrations were significantly higher in the CD-fed group than in the FD-fed group. These results indicate that the estrogen activity of CD may be high enough to cause induction of plasma VTG in ovariectomized goldfish as previously observed in male goldfish. Moreover, the effect of estrogen on plasma VTG induction was confirmed by significant plasma VTG production following the exposure of FD-fed ovariectomized goldfish to a nominal estradiol-17β concentration of 100 μg/l for 31 days. Our data suggest that induction of plasma VTG using ovariectomized goldfish is a good tool for evaluating the estrogenic effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals