156 research outputs found
Multitasking Evolutionary Algorithm Based on Adaptive Seed Transfer for Combinatorial Problem
Evolutionary computing (EC) is widely used in dealing with combinatorial
optimization problems (COP). Traditional EC methods can only solve a single
task in a single run, while real-life scenarios often need to solve multiple
COPs simultaneously. In recent years, evolutionary multitasking optimization
(EMTO) has become an emerging topic in the EC community. And many methods have
been designed to deal with multiple COPs concurrently through exchanging
knowledge. However, many-task optimization, cross-domain knowledge transfer,
and negative transfer are still significant challenges in this field. A new
evolutionary multitasking algorithm based on adaptive seed transfer (MTEA-AST)
is developed for multitasking COPs in this work. First, a dimension unification
strategy is proposed to unify the dimensions of different tasks. And then, an
adaptive task selection strategy is designed to capture the similarity between
the target task and other online optimization tasks. The calculated similarity
is exploited to select suitable source tasks for the target one and determine
the transfer strength. Next, a task transfer strategy is established to select
seeds from source tasks and correct unsuitable knowledge in seeds to suppress
negative transfer. Finally, the experimental results indicate that MTEA-AST can
adaptively transfer knowledge in both same-domain and cross-domain many-task
environments. And the proposed method shows competitive performance compared to
other state-of-the-art EMTOs in experiments consisting of four COPs
Multifactorial Evolutionary Algorithm For Clustered Minimum Routing Cost Problem
Minimum Routing Cost Clustered Tree Problem (CluMRCT) is applied in various
fields in both theory and application. Because the CluMRCT is NP-Hard, the
approximate approaches are suitable to find the solution for this problem.
Recently, Multifactorial Evolutionary Algorithm (MFEA) has emerged as one of
the most efficient approximation algorithms to deal with many different kinds
of problems. Therefore, this paper studies to apply MFEA for solving CluMRCT
problems. In the proposed MFEA, we focus on crossover and mutation operators
which create a valid solution of CluMRCT problem in two levels: first level
constructs spanning trees for graphs in clusters while the second level builds
a spanning tree for connecting among clusters. To reduce the consuming
resources, we will also introduce a new method of calculating the cost of
CluMRCT solution. The proposed algorithm is experimented on numerous types of
datasets. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the
proposed algorithm, partially on large instance
Evolutionary Computation 2020
Intelligent optimization is based on the mechanism of computational intelligence to refine a suitable feature model, design an effective optimization algorithm, and then to obtain an optimal or satisfactory solution to a complex problem. Intelligent algorithms are key tools to ensure global optimization quality, fast optimization efficiency and robust optimization performance. Intelligent optimization algorithms have been studied by many researchers, leading to improvements in the performance of algorithms such as the evolutionary algorithm, whale optimization algorithm, differential evolution algorithm, and particle swarm optimization. Studies in this arena have also resulted in breakthroughs in solving complex problems including the green shop scheduling problem, the severe nonlinear problem in one-dimensional geodesic electromagnetic inversion, error and bug finding problem in software, the 0-1 backpack problem, traveler problem, and logistics distribution center siting problem. The editors are confident that this book can open a new avenue for further improvement and discoveries in the area of intelligent algorithms. The book is a valuable resource for researchers interested in understanding the principles and design of intelligent algorithms
Predicting Health Impacts of the World Trade Center Disaster: 1. Halogenated hydrocarbons, symptom syndromes, secondary victimization, and the burdens of history
The recent attack on the World Trade Center, in addition to direct injury and psychological trauma, has exposed a vast population to dioxins, dibenzofurans, related endocrine disruptors, and a multitude of other physiologically active chemicals arising from the decomposition of the massive quantities of halogenated hydrocarbons and other plastics within the affected buildings. The impacts of these chemical species have been compounded by exposure to asbestos, fiberglass, crushed glass, concrete, plastic, and other irritating dusts. To address the manifold complexities of this incident we combine recent theoretical perspectives on immune, CNS, and sociocultural cognition with empirical studies on survivors of past large toxic fires, other community-scale chemical exposure incidents, and the aftereffects of war. Our analysis suggests the appearance of complex, but distinct and characteristic, spectra of synergistically linked social, psychosocial, psychological and physical symptoms among the 100,000 or so persons most directly affected by the WTC attack. The different 'eigenpatterns' should become increasingly comorbid as a function of exposure. The expected outcome greatly transcends a simple 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder' model, and may resemble a particularly acute form of Gulf War Syndrome. We explore the role of external social factors in subsequent exacerbation of the syndrome -- secondary victimization -- and study the path-dependent influence of individual and community-level historical patterns of stress. We suggest that workplace and other organizations can act as ameliorating intermediaries. Those without acess to such buffering structures appear to face a particularly bleak future
Complex Recombination Patterns Arising during Geminivirus Coinfections Preserve and Demarcate Biologically Important Intra-Genome Interaction Networks
Genetic recombination is an important process during the evolution of many virus species and occurs particularly frequently amongst begomoviruses in the single stranded DNA virus family, Geminiviridae. As in many other recombining viruses it is apparent that non-random recombination breakpoint distributions observable within begomovirus genomes sampled from nature are the product of variations both in basal recombination rates across genomes and in the over-all viability of different recombinant genomes. Whereas factors influencing basal recombination rates might include local degrees of sequence similarity between recombining genomes, nucleic acid secondary structures and genomic sensitivity to nuclease attack or breakage, the viability of recombinant genomes could be influenced by the degree to which their co-evolved protein-protein and protein-nucleotide and nucleotide-nucleotide interactions are disreputable by recombination. Here we investigate patterns of recombination that occur over 120 day long experimental infections of tomato plants with the begomoviruses Tomato yellow leaf curl virus and Tomato leaf curl Comoros virus. We show that patterns of sequence exchange between these viruses can be extraordinarily complex and present clear evidence that factors such as local degrees of sequence similarity but not genomic secondary structure strongly influence where recombination breakpoints occur. It is also apparent from our experiment that over-all patterns of recombination are strongly influenced by selection against individual recombinants displaying disrupted intra-genomic interactions such as those required for proper protein and nucleic acid folding. Crucially, we find that selection favoring the preservation of co-evolved longer-range protein-protein and protein DNA interactions is so strong that its imprint can even be used to identify the exact sequence tracts involved in these interactions
Enzyme promiscuity and the origins of cellular innovations : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
Biochemistry textbooks define enzymes as being efficient and highly specific. However,
these characteristics are usually associated with a lack of versatility, and therefore, an
inability to evolve new functions. In spite of this, it is known that new enzymes can arise
rapidly (such as when bacteria evolve antibiotic resistance). One hypothesis proposes that
enzymes are actually promiscuous (Jensen, 1976); that is, they are able to carry out
secondary reactions, in addition to the one they evolved to catalyze. The goal of this
research was to explore the role that promiscuity plays in the origins and evolution of
enzyme functions, using Escherichia coli as a model organism.
In the first part of this thesis, I report the discovery of two enzymes (alanine racemase
and cystathionine ß-lyase) that are reciprocally promiscuous, and are dependent on the
cofactor pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP) for activity. In vivo, the cofactor-mediated
promiscuous activities of alanine racemase and cystathionine ß-lyase were each successfully
improved to near wildtype levels using directed evolution experiments. These results
extend Jensen’s hypothesis, and led me to propose that PLP played a significant role in the
evolution of new enzymes, in the primordial world.
In the second part of the thesis, I developed a comprehensive library-on-library screen
to search for E. coli proteins that could mediate improved growth in environments
containing either a foreign nutrient or a toxin. Proteins were over-expressed in an attempt
to increase their weak, promiscuous activities, and to mimic the common genetic
phenomenon of gene amplification. Over-expression of individual proteins conferred
improved growth to the host cell in 35% of ~2,000 environments. The findings have
important implications for understanding bacterial adaptation to new environments, such
as when antibiotic resistance emerges. The ability of promiscuous proteins to drive the
emergence of new phenotypes, when their expression is increased, validates the feasibility
of the Innovation, Amplification and Divergence (IAD) model for the evolution of new
genes (Bergthorsson et al., 2007).
Overall, the work described in this thesis demonstrates that protein promiscuity is
common, though difficult to predict a priori. My experimental results are consistent with the
work of others, in suggesting that promiscuous activities are evolvable. Together, the high
frequency and evolvability of promiscuous proteins appear to underpin many different
cellular innovations
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