An improved immune algorithm with parallel mutation and its application

The objective of this paper is to design a fast and efficient immune algorithm for solving various optimization problems. The immune algorithm (IA), which simulates the principle of the biological immune system, is one of the nature-inspired algorithms and its many advantages have been revealed. Although IA has shown its superiority over the traditional algorithms in many fields, it still suffers from the drawbacks of slow convergence and local minima trapping problems due to its inherent stochastic search property. Many efforts have been done to improve the search performance of immune algorithms, such as adaptive parameter setting and population diversity maintenance. In this paper, an improved immune algorithm (IIA) which utilizes a parallel mutation mechanism (PM) is proposed to solve the Lennard-Jones potential problem (LJPP). In IIA, three distinct mutation operators involving cauchy mutation (CM), gaussian mutation (GM) and lateral mutation (LM) are conditionally selected to be implemented. It is expected that IIA can effectively balance the exploration and exploitation of the search and thus speed up the convergence. To illustrate its validity, IIA is tested on a two-dimension function and some benchmark functions. Then IIA is applied to solve the LJPP to exhibit its applicability to the real-world problems. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of IIA in terms of the convergence speed and the solution quality

Ab Initio Protein Structure Prediction Using Evolutionary Approach: A Survey

Protein Structure Prediction (PSP) problem is to determine the three-dimensional structure of a protein only from its primary structure. Misfolding of a protein causes human diseases. Thus, the knowledge of the structure and functionality of proteins, combined with the prediction of their structure is a complex problem and a challenge for the area of computational biology. The metaheuristic optimization algorithms are naturally applicable to support in solving NP-hard problems.These algorithms are bio-inspired, since they were designed based on procedures found in nature, such as the successful evolutionary behavior of natural systems. In this paper, we present a survey on methods to approach the \textit{ab initio} protein structure prediction based on evolutionary computing algorithms, considering both single and multi-objective optimization. An overview of the works is presented, with some details about which characteristics of the problem are considered, as well as specific points of the algorithms used. A comparison between the approaches is presented and some directions of the research field are pointed out

Algorithmic Superactivation of Asymptotic Quantum Capacity of Zero-Capacity Quantum Channels

The superactivation of zero-capacity quantum channels makes it possible to use two zero-capacity quantum channels with a positive joint capacity for their output. Currently, we have no theoretical background to describe all possible combinations of superactive zero-capacity channels; hence, there may be many other possible combinations. In practice, to discover such superactive zero-capacity channel-pairs, we must analyze an extremely large set of possible quantum states, channel models, and channel probabilities. There is still no extremely efficient algorithmic tool for this purpose. This paper shows an efficient algorithmical method of finding such combinations. Our method can be a very valuable tool for improving the results of fault-tolerant quantum computation and possible communication techniques over very noisy quantum channels.Comment: 35 pages, 17 figures, Journal-ref: Information Sciences (Elsevier, 2012), presented in part at Quantum Information Processing 2012 (QIP2012), v2: minor changes, v3: published version; Information Sciences, Elsevier, ISSN: 0020-0255; 201

The germinal centre artificial immune system

This thesis deals with the development and evaluation of the Germinal centre artificial immune system (GC-AIS) which is a novel artificial immune system based on advancements in the understanding of the germinal centre reaction of the immune system. The key research questions addressed in this thesis are: can an artificial immune system (AIS) be designed by taking inspiration from recent developments in immunology to tackle multi-objective optimisation problems? How can we incorporate desirable features of the immune system like diversity, parallelism and memory into this proposed AIS? How does the proposed AIS compare with other state of the art techniques in the field of multi-objective optimisation problems? How can we incorporate the learning component of the immune system into the algorithm and investigate the usefulness of memory in dynamic scenarios? The main contributions of the thesis are: • Understanding the behaviour and performance of the proposed GC-AIS on multiobjective optimisation problems and explaining its benefits and drawbacks, by comparing it with simple baseline and state of the art algorithms. • Improving the performance of GC-AIS by incorporating a popular technique from multi-objective optimisation. By overcoming its weaknesses the capability of the improved variant to compete with the state of the art algorithms is evaluated. • Answering key questions on the usefulness of incorporating memory in GC-AIS in a dynamic scenario

Optimization on industrial problems focussing on multi-player strategies

Algorithms (EA) are useful optimization methods for exploration of the search space, but they usually have slowness problems to exploit and converge to the minimum with accuracy. On the other hand, gradient based methods converge faster to local minimums, although are not so robust (e.g., flat areas and discontinuities can cause problems) and they lack exploration capabilities. This thesis presents and analyze four versions of a hybrid optimization method trying to combine the virtues of Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) and gradient based algorithms, and to overcome their corresponding drawbacks. The proposed Hybrid Methods enables working with N optimization algorithms (called players), multiple objective functions and design variables, and define them differently for each player. The performance of the Hybrid Methods are compared against a gradient based method, two Genetic Algorithms (GA) and a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Tests have been conducted with mathematical benchmark problems (synthetic tests designed to specifically test optimization methods) and an engineering application with high demanding computational resources, a Synthetic Jet actuator for Active Flow Control (AFC) over a 2D Selig-Donovan 7003 (SD7003) airfoil at Reynolds number 6 x 10^4 and a 14 degree angle of attack. The Active Flow control problem has been used in a single optimization problem and in a two objective optimization problemEls Algoritmes Evolutius (EA) són mètodes d'optimització útils per a l'exploració de l'espai de cerca, però solen tenir problemes de lentitud per explotar-ne el mínim i convergir amb precisió. D'altra banda, els mètodes basats en gradients convergeixen més ràpidament als mínims locals, encara que no són tan robusts (per exemple, les àrees planes i les discontinuïtats poden causar problemes) i no tenen capacitats d'exploració. Aquesta tesi presenta i analitza quatre versions d'un mètode d'optimització híbrid que intenta combinar les virtuts dels Algoritmes Evolutius (EA) i els algoritmes basats en gradients, i superar-ne els inconvenients corresponents. Els Mètodes Híbrids proposats permeten treballar amb N algoritmes d'optimització (anomenats jugadors), múltiples funcions objectiu i variables de disseny, i definir-les de manera diferent per a cada jugador. El rendiment dels mètodes híbrids es compara amb un mètode basat en gradient, dos Algoritmes Genètics (GA) i un mètode d'optimització d'eixam de partícules (PSO). S'han fet proves amb problemes matemàtics de referència (proves sintètiques dissenyades per provar específicament mètodes d'optimització) i una aplicació d'enginyeria amb recursos computacionals molt exigents, un actuador de jet sintètic per a control de flux actiu (AFC) sobre un perfil aerodinàmic 2D Selig -Donovan 7003 (SD7003) al número de Reynolds 6 x 104 i un angle d'atac de 14 graus. El problema de control de flux actiu s'ha utilitzat en un problema d'optimització monoobjectiu i en un problema d'optimització de dos objectius.Postprint (published version

Using MapReduce Streaming for Distributed Life Simulation on the Cloud

Distributed software simulations are indispensable in the study of large-scale life models but often require the use of technically complex lower-level distributed computing frameworks, such as MPI. We propose to overcome the complexity challenge by applying the emerging MapReduce (MR) model to distributed life simulations and by running such simulations on the cloud. Technically, we design optimized MR streaming algorithms for discrete and continuous versions of Conway’s life according to a general MR streaming pattern. We chose life because it is simple enough as a testbed for MR’s applicability to a-life simulations and general enough to make our results applicable to various lattice-based a-life models. We implement and empirically evaluate our algorithms’ performance on Amazon’s Elastic MR cloud. Our experiments demonstrate that a single MR optimization technique called strip partitioning can reduce the execution time of continuous life simulations by 64%. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose and evaluate MR streaming algorithms for lattice-based simulations. Our algorithms can serve as prototypes in the development of novel MR simulation algorithms for large-scale lattice-based a-life models.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/scs_books/1014/thumbnail.jp

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music by Steven Jan is a comprehensive account of the relationships between evolutionary theory and music. Examining the ‘evolutionary algorithm’ that drives biological and musical-cultural evolution, the book provides a distinctive commentary on how musicality and music can shed light on our understanding of Darwin’s famous theory, and vice-versa. Comprised of seven chapters, with several musical examples, figures and definitions of terms, this original and accessible book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the relationships between music and evolutionary thought. Jan guides the reader through key evolutionary ideas and the development of human musicality, before exploring cultural evolution, evolutionary ideas in musical scholarship, animal vocalisations, music generated through technology, and the nature of consciousness as an evolutionary phenomenon. A unique examination of how evolutionary thought intersects with music, Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music is essential to our understanding of how and why music arose in our species and why it is such a significant presence in our lives

A complex systems approach to education in Switzerland

The insights gained from the study of complex systems in biological, social, and engineered systems enables us not only to observe and understand, but also to actively design systems which will be capable of successfully coping with complex and dynamically changing situations. The methods and mindset required for this approach have been applied to educational systems with their diverse levels of scale and complexity. Based on the general case made by Yaneer Bar-Yam, this paper applies the complex systems approach to the educational system in Switzerland. It confirms that the complex systems approach is valid. Indeed, many recommendations made for the general case have already been implemented in the Swiss education system. To address existing problems and difficulties, further steps are recommended. This paper contributes to the further establishment complex systems approach by shedding light on an area which concerns us all, which is a frequent topic of discussion and dispute among politicians and the public, where billions of dollars have been spent without achieving the desired results, and where it is difficult to directly derive consequences from actions taken. The analysis of the education system's different levels, their complexity and scale will clarify how such a dynamic system should be approached, and how it can be guided towards the desired performance