Path Puzzles: Discrete Tomography with a Path Constraint is Hard

We prove that path puzzles with complete row and column information--or equivalently, 2D orthogonal discrete tomography with Hamiltonicity constraint--are strongly NP-complete, ASP-complete, and #P-complete. Along the way, we newly establish ASP-completeness and #P-completeness for 3-Dimensional Matching and Numerical 3-Dimensional Matching.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures. Revised proof of Theorem 2.4. 2-page abstract appeared in Abstracts from the 20th Japan Conference on Discrete and Computational Geometry, Graphs, and Games (JCDCGGG 2017

Terrestrial hydrological controls on land surface phenology of African savannas and woodlands

This paper presents a continental-scale phenological analysis of African savannas and woodlands. We apply an array of synergistic vegetation and hydrological data records from satellite remote sensing and model simulations to explore the influence of rainy season timing and duration on regional land surface phenology and ecosystem structure. We find that (i) the rainy season onset precedes and is an effective predictor of the growing season onset in African grasslands. (ii) African woodlands generally have early green-up before rainy season onset and have a variable delayed senescence period after the rainy season, with this delay correlated nonlinearly with tree fraction. These woodland responses suggest their complex water use mechanisms (either from potential groundwater use by relatively deep roots or stem-water reserve) to maintain dry season activity. (iii) We empirically find that the rainy season length has strong nonlinear impacts on tree fractional cover in the annual rainfall range from 600 to 1800 mm/yr, which may lend some support to the previous modeling study that given the same amount of total rainfall to the tree fraction may first increase with the lengthening of rainy season until reaching an “optimal rainy season length,” after which tree fraction decreases with the further lengthening of rainy season. This nonlinear response is resulted from compound mechanisms of hydrological cycle, fire, and other factors. We conclude that African savannas and deciduous woodlands have distinctive responses in their phenology and ecosystem functioning to rainy season. Further research is needed to address interaction between groundwater and tropical woodland as well as to explicitly consider the ecological significance of rainy season length under climate change

Estimating female malaria mosquito age by quantifying Y-linked genes in stored male spermatozoa

Vector control strategies are among the most effective measures to combat mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria. These strategies work by altering the mosquito age structure through increased mortality of the older female mosquitoes that transmit pathogens. However, methods to monitor changes to mosquito age structure are currently inadequate for programmatic implementation. Female mosquitoes generally mate a single time soon after emergence and draw down spermatozoa reserves with each oviposition cycle. Here, we demonstrate that measuring spermatozoa quantity in female Anopheles mosquitoes is an effective approach to assess mosquito age. Using multiplexed qPCR targeted at male spermatozoa, we show that Y-linked genes in female mosquitoes are exclusively found in the spermatheca, the organ that houses spermatozoa, and the quantity of these gene sequences significantly declines with age. The method can accurately identify mosquitoes more than 10 days old and thus old enough to potentially transmit pathogens harbored in the salivary glands during blood feeding. Furthermore, mosquito populations that differ by 10% in daily survivorship have a high likelihood of being distinguished using modest sample sizes, making this approach scalable for assessing the efficacy of vector intervention control programs

Evaluation of 18 satellite- and model-based soil moisture products using in situ measurements from 826 sensors

Information about the spatiotemporal variability of soil moisture is critical for many purposes, including monitoring of hydrologic extremes, irrigation scheduling, and prediction of agricultural yields. We evaluated the temporal dynamics of 18 state-of-the-art (quasi-)global near-surface soil moisture products, including six based on satellite retrievals, six based on models without satellite data assimilation (referred to hereafter as "open-loop" models), and six based on models that assimilate satellite soil moisture or brightness temperature data. Seven of the products are introduced for the first time in this study: one multi-sensor merged satellite product called MeMo (Merged soil Moisture) and six estimates from the HBV (Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavdelning) model with three precipitation inputs (ERA5, IMERG, and MSWEP) with and without assimilation of SMAPL3E satellite retrievals, respectively. As reference, we used in situ soil moisture measurements between 2015 and 2019 at 5 cm depth from 826 sensors, located primarily in the USA and Europe. The 3-hourly Pearson correlation (R) was chosen as the primary performance metric. We found that application of the Soil Wetness Index (SWI) smoothing filter resulted in improved performance for all satellite products. The best-to-worst performance ranking of the four single-sensor satellite products was SMAPL3E(SWI), SMOSSWI, AMSR2(SWI), and ASCAT(SWI), with the L-band-based SMAPL3ESWI (median R of 0.72) outperforming the others at 50% of the sites. Among the two multi-sensor satellite products (MeMo and ESA-CCISWI), MeMo performed better on average (median R of 0.72 versus 0.67), probably due to the inclusion of SMAPL3ESWI. The best-to-worst performance ranking of the six openloop models was HBV-MSWEP, HBV-ERA5, ERA5-Land, HBV-IMERG, VIC-PGF, and GLDAS-Noah. This ranking largely reflects the quality of the precipitation forcing. HBV-MSWEP (median R of 0.78) performed best not just among the open-loop models but among all products. The calibration of HBV improved the median R by C0 :12 on average compared to random parameters, highlighting the importance of model calibration. The best-to-worst performance ranking of the six models with satellite data assimilation was HBV-MSWEP+SMAPL3E, HBV-ERA5+SMAPL3E, GLEAM, SMAPL4, HBV-IMERG+SMAPL3E, and ERA5. The assimilation of SMAPL3E retrievals into HBV-IMERG improved the median R by C0:06, suggesting that data assimilation yields significant benefits at the global scale

AGN life cycles, SMBH Masses, and Galactic Winds: Advancing our Understanding of SMBH-Galaxy Co-evolution with the ngVLA

A key missing element in our understanding of cosmic assembly is the nature of energetic feedback from supermassive black holes (SMHBs) and the impact of active galactic nuclei (AGN) on galaxy evolution. The next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA), which will provide a ten-fold improvement in sensitivity and angular resolution compared to the current VLA, will serve as a transformational new tool in our understanding of AGN feedback as a function of redshift and environment. By combining broadband continuum data with spectral line measurements of the cold gas contents and kinematics of galaxies, the ngVLA will probe the evolution and life cycles of the radio-quiet and radio-loud AGN populations in unprecedented detail, quantify the energetic impact of AGN feedback on the star-forming reservoirs of gas-rich galaxies, and place constraints on SMBH formation and growth. Here, we present an overview of how the current reference design of the ngVLA will facilitate these advancements in our understanding of SMBH-galaxy co-evolution, with an emphasis on prospects for continuum surveys, the detection of molecular outflows out to high redshifts, and precision CO-dynamics-based SMBH mass measurements. We also discuss the importance of the next-generation Low-band Observatory (ngLOBO), a commensal low-frequency enhancement to the main ngVLA design, to maximize the utility of the ngVLA for AGN science

Share - Publish - Store - Preserve. Methodologies, Tools and Challenges for 3D Use in Social Sciences and Humanities

Through this White Paper, which gathers contributions from experts of 3D data as well as professionals concerned with the interoperability and sustainability of 3D research data, the PARTHENOS project aims at highlighting some of the current issues they have to face, with possible specific points according to the discipline, and potential practices and methodologies to deal with these issues. During the workshop, several tools to deal with these issues have been introduced and confronted with the participants experiences, this White Paper now intends to go further by also integrating participants feedbacks and suggestions of potential improvements. Therefore, even if the focus is put on specific tools, the main goal is to contribute to the development of standardized good practices related to the sharing, publication, storage and long-term preservation of 3D data

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Experiment for cryogenic large-aperture intensity mapping: instrument design

The experiment for cryogenic large-aperture intensity mapping (EXCLAIM) is a balloon-borne telescope designed to survey star formation in windows from the present to z  =  3.5. During this time, the rate of star formation dropped dramatically, while dark matter continued to cluster. EXCLAIM maps the redshifted emission of singly ionized carbon lines and carbon monoxide using intensity mapping, which permits a blind and complete survey of emitting gas through statistics of cumulative brightness fluctuations. EXCLAIM achieves high sensitivity using a cryogenic telescope coupled to six integrated spectrometers employing kinetic inductance detectors covering 420 to 540 GHz with spectral resolving power R  =  512 and angular resolution ≈4  arc min. The spectral resolving power and cryogenic telescope allow the survey to access dark windows in the spectrum of emission from the upper atmosphere. EXCLAIM will survey 305  deg2 in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 field from a conventional balloon flight in 2023. EXCLAIM will also map several galactic fields to study carbon monoxide and neutral carbon emission as tracers of molecular gas. We summarize the design phase of the mission

Our city--Dallas; a community civics,

Folded plan mounted on lining-paper.Mode of access: Internet

Visible-Light-Promoted Remote C-H Functionalization of o-Diazoniaphenyl Alkyl Sulfones

Visible-light irradiation of ortho-diazoniaphenyl alkyl sulfones in the presence of Ru(bpy) results in remote Csp-H functionalization. Key mechanistic steps in these processes involve intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer from Csp-H bonds to aryl radicals to generate alkyl/benzyl radicals. Subsequent polar crossover occurs by single-electron oxidation of the alkyl/benzyl radicals to carbenium ions that then intercept nucleophiles. We have developed remote hydroxylations, etherifications, an amidation, and C-C bond formation processes using this strategy