Satellite versus ground-based estimates of burned area: a comparison between MODIS based burned area and fire agency reports over North America in 2007

North American wildfire management teams routinely assess burned area on site during firefighting campaigns; meanwhile, satellite observations provide systematic and global burned-area data. Here we compare satellite and ground-based daily burned area for wildfire events for selected large fires across North America in 2007 on daily timescales. In a sample of 26 fires across North America, we found the Global Fire Emissions Database Version 4 (GFED4) estimated about 80% of the burned area logged in ground-based Incident Status Summary (ICS-209) over 8-day analysis windows. Linear regression analysis found a slope between GFED and ICS-209 of 0.67 (with R = 0.96). The agreement between these data sets was found to degrade at short timescales (from R = 0.81 for 4-day to R = 0.55 for 2-day). Furthermore, during large burning days (> 3000 ha) GFED4 typically estimates half of the burned area logged in the ICS-209 estimates

Functional Asynchronous Networks: Factorization of Dynamics and Function

In this note we describe the theory of functional asynchronous networks and one of the main results, the Modularization of Dynamics Theorem, which for a large class of functional asynchronous networks gives a factorization of dynamics in terms of constituent subnetworks. For these networks we can give a complete description of the network function in terms of the function of the events comprising the network and thereby answer a question originally raised by Alon in the context of biological networks

Simulation of a non-invasive charge detector for quantum cellular automata

Information in a Quantum Cellular Automata architecture is encoded in the polarizazion state of a cell, i.e., in the occupation numbers of the quantum dots of which the cell is made up. Non-invasive charge detectors of single electrons in a quantum dot are therefore needed, and recent experiments have shown that a quantum constriction electrostatically coupled to the quantum dot may be a viable solution. We have performed a numerical simulation of a system made of a quantum dot and a nearby quantum point contact defined, by means of depleting metal gates, in a two-dimensional electron gas at a GaAs/AlGaAs heterointerface. We have computed the occupancy of each dot and the resistance of the quantum wire as a function of the voltage applied to the plunger gate, and have derived design criteria for achieving optimal sensitivity.Comment: 8 pages, RevTeX, epsf, 5 figure

The Indirect Limit on the Standard Model Higgs Boson Mass from the Precision FERMILAB, LEP and SLD Data

Standard Model fits are performed on the most recent leptonic and b quark Z decay data from LEP and SLD, and FERMILAB data on top quark production, to obtain $m_t$ and $m_H$. Poor fits are obtained, with confidence levels $\simeq$ 2%. Removing the b quark data improves markedly the quality of the fits and reduces the 95% CL upper limit on $m_H$ by $\simeq$ 50 GeV.Comment: 6 pages 3 tables i figur

VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) Induces NRP1 (Neuropilin-1) Cleavage via ADAMs (a Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase) 9 and 10 to Generate Novel Carboxy- Terminal NRP1 Fragments That Regulate Angiogenic Signaling

OBJECTIVE: NRP1(neuropilin-1) acts as a coreceptor for VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) with an essential role in angiogenesis. Recent findings suggest that posttranslational proteolytic cleavage of VEGF receptors may be an important mechanism for regulating angiogenesis, but the role of NRP1 proteolysis and the NRP1 species generated by cleavage in endothelial cells is not known. To characterize NRP1 proteolytic cleavage in endothelial cells, determine the mechanism, and investigate the role of NRP1 cleavage in regulation of endothelial cell function. APPROACH AND RESULTS: NRP1 species comprising the carboxy (C)-terminal and transmembrane NRP1 domains but lacking the ligand-binding A and B regions are constitutively expressed in endothelial cells. Generation of these C-terminal domain NRP1 proteins is upregulated by phorbol ester and Ca2+ ionophore, and reduced by pharmacological inhibition of metalloproteinases, by small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of 2 members of ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase) family, ADAMs 9 and 10, and by a specific ADAM10 inhibitor. Furthermore, VEGF upregulates expression of these NRP1 species in an ADAM9/10-dependent manner. Transduction of endothelial cells with adenoviral constructs expressing NRP1 C-terminal domain fragments inhibited VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR2 (VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase)/KDR and decreased VEGF-stimulated endothelial cell motility and angiogenesis in coculture and aortic ring sprouting assays. CONCLUSIONS: These findings identify novel NRP1 species in endothelial cells and demonstrate that regulation of NRP1 proteolysis via ADAMs 9 and 10 is a new regulatory pathway able to modulate VEGF angiogenic signaling

Tuning Monte Carlo Generators: The Perugia Tunes

We present 9 new tunes of the pT-ordered shower and underlying-event model in PYTHIA 6.4. These "Perugia" tunes update and supersede the older "S0" family. The data sets used to constrain the models include hadronic Z0 decays at LEP, Tevatron minimum-bias data at 630, 1800, and 1960 GeV, Tevatron Drell-Yan data at 1800 and 1960 GeV, and SPS min-bias data at 200, 546, and 900 GeV. In addition to the central parameter set, called "Perugia 0", we introduce a set of 8 related "Perugia Variations" that attempt to systematically explore soft, hard, parton density, and colour structure variations in the theoretical parameters. Based on these variations, a best-guess prediction of the charged track multiplicity in inelastic, nondiffractive minimum-bias events at the LHC is made. Note that these tunes can only be used with PYTHIA 6, not with PYTHIA 8. Note: this report was updated in March 2011 with a new set of variations, collectively labeled "Perugia 2011", that are optimized for matching applications and which also take into account some lessons from the early LHC data. In order not to break the original text, these are described separately in Appendix B. Note 2: a subsequent "Perugia 2012" update is described in Appendix C.Comment: 46 page

Jets associated with Z^0 boson production in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC

The heavy ion program at the LHC will present unprecedented opportunities to probe hot QCD matter, that is, the quark gluon plasma (QGP). Among these exciting new probes are high energy partons associated with the production of a Z^0 boson, or Z^0 tagged jets. Once produced, Z^0 bosons are essentially unaffected by the strongly interacting medium produced in heavy-ion collisions, and therefore provide a powerful signal of the initial partonic energy and subsequent medium induced partonic energy loss. When compared with theory, experimental measurements of Z^0 tagged jets will help quantify the jet quenching properties of the QGP and discriminate between different partonic energy loss formalisms. In what follows, I discuss the advantages of tagged jets over leading particles, and present preliminary results of the production and suppression of Z^0 tagged jets in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at LHC energies using the Guylassy-Levai-Vitev (GLV) partonic energy loss formalism.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the 2010 Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, which was held in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, mon