2,737 research outputs found
The capacity of soil microbial isolates from non-fumigant nematicide stressed Heterodera schachtii greenhouse culture stocks to inactivate non-fumigant nematicides
Covering Pairs in Directed Acyclic Graphs
The Minimum Path Cover problem on directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) is a
classical problem that provides a clear and simple mathematical formulation for
several applications in different areas and that has an efficient algorithmic
solution. In this paper, we study the computational complexity of two
constrained variants of Minimum Path Cover motivated by the recent introduction
of next-generation sequencing technologies in bioinformatics. The first problem
(MinPCRP), given a DAG and a set of pairs of vertices, asks for a minimum
cardinality set of paths "covering" all the vertices such that both vertices of
each pair belong to the same path. For this problem, we show that, while it is
NP-hard to compute if there exists a solution consisting of at most three
paths, it is possible to decide in polynomial time whether a solution
consisting of at most two paths exists. The second problem (MaxRPSP), given a
DAG and a set of pairs of vertices, asks for a path containing the maximum
number of the given pairs of vertices. We show its NP-hardness and also its
W[1]-hardness when parametrized by the number of covered pairs. On the positive
side, we give a fixed-parameter algorithm when the parameter is the maximum
overlapping degree, a natural parameter in the bioinformatics applications of
the problem
Discontinuity in Equilibrium Wave–Current Ripple Size and Shape and Deep cleaning associated with Cohesive Sand–Clay Beds
Cerulean: A hybrid assembly using high throughput short and long reads
Genome assembly using high throughput data with short reads, arguably,
remains an unresolvable task in repetitive genomes, since when the length of a
repeat exceeds the read length, it becomes difficult to unambiguously connect
the flanking regions. The emergence of third generation sequencing (Pacific
Biosciences) with long reads enables the opportunity to resolve complicated
repeats that could not be resolved by the short read data. However, these long
reads have high error rate and it is an uphill task to assemble the genome
without using additional high quality short reads. Recently, Koren et al. 2012
proposed an approach to use high quality short reads data to correct these long
reads and, thus, make the assembly from long reads possible. However, due to
the large size of both dataset (short and long reads), error-correction of
these long reads requires excessively high computational resources, even on
small bacterial genomes. In this work, instead of error correction of long
reads, we first assemble the short reads and later map these long reads on the
assembly graph to resolve repeats.
Contribution: We present a hybrid assembly approach that is both
computationally effective and produces high quality assemblies. Our algorithm
first operates with a simplified version of the assembly graph consisting only
of long contigs and gradually improves the assembly by adding smaller contigs
in each iteration. In contrast to the state-of-the-art long reads error
correction technique, which requires high computational resources and long
running time on a supercomputer even for bacterial genome datasets, our
software can produce comparable assembly using only a standard desktop in a
short running time.Comment: Peer-reviewed and presented as part of the 13th Workshop on
Algorithms in Bioinformatics (WABI2013
Abnormal phenomena in a one-dimensional periodic structure containing left-handed materials
The explicit dispersion equation for a one-dimensional periodic structure
with alternative layers of left-handed material (LHM) and right-handed material
(RHM) is given and analyzed. Some abnormal phenomena such as spurious modes
with complex frequencies, discrete modes and photon tunnelling modes are
observed in the band structure. The existence of spurious modes with complex
frequencies is a common problem in the calculation of the band structure for
such a photonic crystal. Physical explanation and significance are given for
the discrete modes (with real values of wave number) and photon tunnelling
propagation modes (with imaginary wave numbers in a limited region).Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Quasi-local Energy for Spherically Symmetric Spacetimes
We present two complementary approaches for determining the reference for the
covariant Hamiltonian boundary term quasi-local energy and test them on
spherically symmetric spacetimes. On the one hand, we isometrically match the
2-surface and extremize the energy. This can be done in two ways, which we call
programs I (without constraint) and II (with additional constraints). On the
other hand, we match the orthonormal 4-frames of the dynamic and the reference
spacetimes. Then, if we further specify the observer by requiring the reference
displacement to be the timelike Killing vector of the reference, the result is
the same as program I, and the energy can be positive, zero, or even negative.
If, instead, we require that the Lie derivatives of the two-area along the
displacement vector in both the dynamic and reference spacetimes to be the
same, the result is the same as program II, and it satisfies the usual
criteria: the energies are non-negative and vanish only for Minkowski (or
anti-de Sitter) spacetime.Comment: 16 pages, no figure
Reproductive Tract Disorders among Afghan Refugee Women Attending Health Clinics in Haripur, Pakistan
Afghans comprise one of the largest groups of refugees in the world, with the majority living in Pakistan. The objective of this study was to identify commonly-occurring reproductive tract infections (RTIs), describe knowledge of women about RTIs, and assess physical and behavioural factors contributing to the development of RTIs. Afghan women presenting at Basic Health Units in refugee camps in Haripur, Pakistan, with reproductive health-related complaints, were included in the study (n=634). Data collection included implementation of an interviewer-administered questionnaire, along with a physical examination and laboratory tests. A descriptive analysis was conducted first. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed using predetermined themes. Chi-square test was used for determining the possible relationships between a binary outcome and categorical risk factors. Over three-fourths (76.7%) of those who reported to the health clinics with reproductive complaints had an RTI. Nearly half (49.5%) of these women were diagnosed with some form of vaginitis, and 14.7% were diagnosed with clinical suspicion of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Women with cervical prolapse (p=0.033) or who cleansed after intercourse (p=0.002) were more likely to have vaginitis. There was a significant difference (p=0.017) in the prevalence of suspected PID among women who used mud only (11.1%), any water (18.8%), and an old cloth or toilet paper (9.8%) for cleansing after defaecation. Specific physical and behavioural contributors to the high prevalence of RTIs in this population were identified, and recommendations to ameliorate these factors are offered
A first principles study of sub-monolayer Ge on Si(001)
Experimental observations of heteroepitaxial growth of Ge on Si(001) show a
(2xn) reconstruction for sub-monolayer coverages, with dimer rows crossed by
missing-dimer trenches. We present first-principles density-functional
calculations designed to elucidate the energetics and relaxed geometries
associated with this reconstruction. We also address the problem of how the
formation energies of reconstructions having different stoichiometries should
be compared. The calculations reveal a strong dependence of the formation
energy of the missing-dimer trenches on spacing n, and demonstrate that this
dependence stems almost entirely from elastic relaxation. The results provide a
natural explanation for the experimentally observed spacings in the region of n
\~ 8.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Surface Scienc
Out-of-equilibrium singlet-triplet Kondo effect in a single C_60 quantum dot
We have used an electromigration technique to fabricate a
single-molecule transistor (SMT). Besides describing our electromigration
procedure, we focus and present an experimental study of a single molecule
quantum dot containing an even number of electrons, revealing, for two
different samples, a clear out-of-equilibrium Kondo effect. Low temperature
magneto-transport studies are provided, which demonstrates a Zeeman splitting
of the finite bias anomaly.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Influence of uniaxial tensile stress on the mechanical and piezoelectric properties of short-period ferroelectric superlattice
Tetragonal ferroelectric/ferroelectric BaTiO3/PbTiO3 superlattice under
uniaxial tensile stress along the c axis is investigated from first principles.
We show that the calculated ideal tensile strength is 6.85 GPa and that the
superlattice under the loading of uniaxial tensile stress becomes soft along
the nonpolar axes. We also find that the appropriately applied uniaxial tensile
stress can significantly enhance the piezoelectricity for the superlattice,
with piezoelectric coefficient d33 increasing from the ground state value by a
factor of about 8, reaching 678.42 pC/N. The underlying mechanism for the
enhancement of piezoelectricity is discussed
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