Modification Problems Toward Proper (Helly) Circular-Arc Graphs

We present a $9^k\cdot n^{O(1)}$-time algorithm for the proper circular-arc vertex deletion problem, resolving an open problem of van 't Hof and Villanger [Algorithmica 2013] and Crespelle et al. [arXiv:2001.06867]. Our structural study also implies parameterized algorithms for modification problems toward proper Helly circular-arc graphs

A Concept Knowledge Graph for User Next Intent Prediction at Alipay

This paper illustrates the technologies of user next intent prediction with a concept knowledge graph. The system has been deployed on the Web at Alipay, serving more than 100 million daily active users. To explicitly characterize user intent, we propose AlipayKG, which is an offline concept knowledge graph in the Life-Service domain modeling the historical behaviors of users, the rich content interacted by users and the relations between them. We further introduce a Transformer-based model which integrates expert rules from the knowledge graph to infer the online user's next intent. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system can effectively enhance the performance of the downstream tasks while retaining explainability.Comment: Accepted by WWW 2023 poste

Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of COVID-19

Various mitigation measures have been implemented to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including widely adopted social distancing and mandated face covering. However, assessing the effectiveness of those intervention practices hinges on the understanding of virus transmission, which remains uncertain. Here we show that airborne transmission is highly virulent and represents the dominant route to spread the disease. By analyzing the trend and mitigation measures in Wuhan, China, Italy, and New York City, from January 23 to May 9, 2020, we illustrate that the impacts of mitigation measures are discernable from the trends of the pandemic. Our analysis reveals that the difference with and without mandated face covering represents the determinant in shaping the pandemic trends in the three epicenters. This protective measure alone significantly reduced the number of infections, that is, by over 78,000 in Italy from April 6 to May 9 and over 66,000 in New York City from April 17 to May 9. Other mitigation measures, such as social distancing implemented in the United States, are insufficient by themselves in protecting the public. We conclude that wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission, and this inexpensive practice, in conjunction with simultaneous social distancing, quarantine, and contact tracing, represents the most likely fighting opportunity to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. Our work also highlights the fact that sound science is essential in decision-making for the current and future public health pandemics

Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of COVID-19

Various mitigation measures have been implemented to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including widely adopted social distancing and mandated face covering. However, assessing the effectiveness of those intervention practices hinges on the understanding of virus transmission, which remains uncertain. Here we show that airborne transmission is highly virulent and represents the dominant route to spread the disease. By analyzing the trend and mitigation measures in Wuhan, China, Italy, and New York City, from January 23 to May 9, 2020, we illustrate that the impacts of mitigation measures are discernable from the trends of the pandemic. Our analysis reveals that the difference with and without mandated face covering represents the determinant in shaping the pandemic trends in the three epicenters. This protective measure alone significantly reduced the number of infections, that is, by over 78,000 in Italy from April 6 to May 9 and over 66,000 in New York City from April 17 to May 9. Other mitigation measures, such as social distancing implemented in the United States, are insufficient by themselves in protecting the public. We conclude that wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission, and this inexpensive practice, in conjunction with simultaneous social distancing, quarantine, and contact tracing, represents the most likely fighting opportunity to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. Our work also highlights the fact that sound science is essential in decision-making for the current and future public health pandemics

Experimental Investigation of Forchheimer Coefficients for Non-Darcy Flow in Conglomerate-Confined Aquifer

The research is financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFC0801401 and No. 2016YFC0600708), Major Consulting Project of Chinese Academy of Engineering (No. 2017-ZD-2), Yue Qi Distinguished Scholar Project of China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2009QM01).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Determinant Role of Aerosols From Industrial Sources in Hurricane Harvey's Catastrophe

The destructive power of tropical cyclones is driven by latent heat released from water condensation and is inevitably linked to the abundance of aerosols as cloud condensation nuclei. However, the aerosol effects are unaccounted for in most operational hurricane forecast models. We combined multisource measurements and cloud‐resolving model simulations to show fundamentally altered cloud microphysical and thermodynamic processes by anthropogenic aerosols during Hurricane Harvey. Our observational analyses reveal intense lightning and precipitation in the proximity of Houston industrial areas, and these hot spots exhibit a striking geographic similarity to a climatological maximum of lightning flash density in the south‐central United States. Our ensemble cloud‐resolving simulations of Hurricane Harvey indicate that aerosols increase precipitation and lightning by a factor of 2 in the Houston urban area, unraveling the key anthropogenic factor in regulating flooding during this weather extreme