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For random proper simple curves from $0$ to infinity in the complex upper half-plane, the probabilities of avoiding every compact H-hull whose closure excludes zero determine the unparameterized trace law. Every point off a simple chordal curve can be connected to a real boundary interval away from zero within one side of its complement. A countable collection of thin rational polygonal tubes attached to that interval therefore recovers the complement from its avoidance indicators. Joint avoidance of finitely many tubes reduces to avoidance of their filled union. If the union blocks every path from zero to infinity the joint event is empty; otherwise filling pockets does not change the avoidance event. The inclusion-exclusion principle gives all finite indicator distributions. These determine the random complement and hence the trace. Simplicity and properness are hypotheses; the assertion is not a general determination theorem for arbitrary random closed sets.

Truncating the inclusion-exclusion principle after an odd number of terms gives an upper bound, and truncating after an even number gives a lower bound. In particular,

To count nonnegative tuples with ${\sum }_{i=0}^r{n}_i=N$ and $n_i<a_i$, mark violations $n_i\ge a_i$. An intersection of violations indexed by $J$ is in bijection with unrestricted tuples of sum $N-{\sum }_{i\in J}{a}_i$, by subtracting the bounds from those coordinates. Stars and bars counts this intersection; the inclusion-exclusion principle then gives the displayed formula. A negative remaining sum contributes zero.

Let $f$ take values in the additive cyclic group $\mathbb{Z}/n\mathbb{Z}$ on a cycle with $n$ vertices. A constraint on edge $j$ prescribes $f(j)-f(j-1)=c_j$. Any proper selection of $k<n$ edges leaves disjoint paths, hence $n-k$ free initial values and $n^{n-k}$ solutions. The full cycle has $n$ solutions if ${\sum }_j{c}_j=0$ and none otherwise. Combining these intersection counts with the inclusion-exclusion principle giveswhere $F$ is $n$ or zero according to the full-cycle consistency condition. This is a useful example in which every proper collection of local constraints is independent, but the full collection has one global obstruction.

A cyclic digit run is a consecutive segment of a digit string whose successive digits all increase by one or all decrease by one modulo the base. For example, $8,9,0,1$ is an increasing decimal run. This refers to cyclic digit values, not to joining the final position of the string back to its first position. Overlapping run constraints can be counted with the inclusion-exclusion principle.

For $a=\pi (\sqrt{x})$, let $p_1,\dots ,p_a$ be the primes at most $\sqrt{x}$. The inclusion-exclusion principle counts unsieved positive integers by $\varphi (x,a)={\sum }_S(-1{)}^{|S|}\lfloor x/{\prod }_{i\in S}{p}_i\rfloor$. These are $1$ and the remaining primes, since every composite number has a prime factor at most its square root. Hence $\pi (x)=\varphi (x,a)+a-1$ for $x\ge 2$. This is a prime-counting identity, distinct from the Legendre formula for factorial valuations.