<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Dear Chimera User List Members,</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">EMDataBank/Unified Data Resource for 3DEM is pleased to announce the </span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">2015 Map Challenge</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">All members of the Scientific Community--at all levels of experience--are invited to participate as </span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Challengers</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">, and/or as </span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Assessors</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Seven benchmark raw image datasets have been selected for the challenge. Six are selected from recently described single 3D electron microscopy single particle structure determinations with image data collected as multi-frame movies; one is based on simulated (</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">in silico</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">) images.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Challengers</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> are sought to create single particle reconstructions from the targets, and then to upload their results with associated details.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Assessors</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> are sought to participate in evaluating submitted reconstructions.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Registration is now open for all interested participants.</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Challengers may submit maps between August and December. Before submissions open, all are encouraged to provide feedback on submission requirements. An open assessment period will commence in early 2016.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">To learn more about this challenge and to register, please visit</span><a href="http://challenges.emdatabank.org/" style="text-decoration: none; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">http://challenges.emdatabank.org</span></a><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> and click on "MAP CHALLENGE" in the menu bar.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The map challenge is the first of two community-wide challenges being sponsored by EMDataBank this year to critically evaluate 3DEM methods that are coming into use, with the ultimate goal of developing validation criteria associated with every 3DEM map and map-derived model. The second challenge, focused on creating coordinate models from 3DEM maps, will be announced later this year.</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sincerely,</span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Cathy Lawson on behalf of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 1.38; ">EMDataBank Team and the Map Challenge Committee</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; "><font face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><a href="http://emdatabank.org/">emdatabank.org</a> </span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; "><a href="http://www.facebook.com/emdatabank3dem">www.facebook.com/emdatabank3dem</a></div></body></html>