11,823 research outputs found
The Changing Geometry of a Fitness Landscape Along an Adaptive Walk
It has recently been noted that the relative prevalence of the various kinds
of epistasis varies along an adaptive walk. This has been explained as a result
of mean regression in NK model fitness landscapes. Here we show that this
phenomenon occurs quite generally in fitness landscapes. We propose a simple
and general explanation for this phenomemon, confirming the role of mean
regression. We provide support for this explanation with simulations, and
discuss the empirical relevance of our findings.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figure
Synergistic effects of zinc borate and aluminiumtrihydroxide on flammability behaviour of aerospaceepoxy system
The flame retardancy of mono-component epoxy resin (RTM6), widely used for aerospace composites, treated with zinc borate (ZB), aluminium trihydroxide (ATH) and their mixtures at different concentrations have been investigated by morphological and thermal characterization. Cone calorimeter data reveal that combustion behaviour, heat release rate peak (PHRR) and heat release rate average (HRR Average) of RTM6 resin decrease substantially when synergistic effects of zinc borate and aluminium trihydroxide intervene. Thermogravimetric (TGA) results and analysis of the residue show that addition higher than 20% w/w of ZB, ATH, and their mixture greatly promotes RTM6 char formation acting as a barrier layer for the fire development. Depending upon the different used flame additives, SEM micrographs indicate that the morphology of residual char could vary from a compact amalgam-like structure, for the RTM6+ZB system, to a granular structure, characterized by very small particles of degraded resin and additive for the AT
A network inference method for large-scale unsupervised identification of novel drug-drug interactions
Characterizing interactions between drugs is important to avoid potentially
harmful combinations, to reduce off-target effects of treatments and to fight
antibiotic resistant pathogens, among others. Here we present a network
inference algorithm to predict uncharacterized drug-drug interactions. Our
algorithm takes, as its only input, sets of previously reported interactions,
and does not require any pharmacological or biochemical information about the
drugs, their targets or their mechanisms of action. Because the models we use
are abstract, our approach can deal with adverse interactions,
synergistic/antagonistic/suppressing interactions, or any other type of drug
interaction. We show that our method is able to accurately predict
interactions, both in exhaustive pairwise interaction data between small sets
of drugs, and in large-scale databases. We also demonstrate that our algorithm
can be used efficiently to discover interactions of new drugs as part of the
drug discovery process
Extended Inclusive Fitness Theory bridges Economics and Biology through a common understanding of Social Synergy
Inclusive Fitness Theory (IFT) was proposed half a century ago by W.D.
Hamilton to explain the emergence and maintenance of cooperation between
individuals that allows the existence of society. Contemporary evolutionary
ecology identified several factors that increase inclusive fitness, in addition
to kin-selection, such as assortation or homophily, and social synergies
triggered by cooperation. Here we propose an Extend Inclusive Fitness Theory
(EIFT) that includes in the fitness calculation all direct and indirect
benefits an agent obtains by its own actions, and through interactions with kin
and with genetically unrelated individuals. This formulation focuses on the
sustainable cost/benefit threshold ratio of cooperation and on the probability
of agents sharing mutually compatible memes or genes. This broader description
of the nature of social dynamics allows to compare the evolution of cooperation
among kin and non-kin, intra- and inter-specific cooperation, co-evolution, the
emergence of symbioses, of social synergies, and the emergence of division of
labor. EIFT promotes interdisciplinary cross fertilization of ideas by allowing
to describe the role for division of labor in the emergence of social
synergies, providing an integrated framework for the study of both, biological
evolution of social behavior and economic market dynamics.Comment: Bioeconomics, Synergy, Complexit
Heirarchical and synergistic self-assembly in composites of model Wormlike micellar-polymers and nanoparticles results in nanostructures with diverse morphologies
Using Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the self-assembly of model
nanoparticles inside a matrix of model equilibrium polymers (or matrix of
Wormlike micelles) as a function of the polymeric matrix density and the
excluded volume parameter between polymers and nanoparticles. In this paper, we
show morphological transitions in the system architecture via synergistic
self-assembly of nanoparticles and the equilibrium polymers. In a synergistic
self-assembly, the resulting morphology of the system is a result of the
interaction between both nanoparticles and the polymers, unlike the polymer
templating method. We report the morphological transition of nanoparticle
aggregates from percolating network-like structures to non-percolating clusters
as a result of the change in the excluded volume parameter between
nanoparticles and polymeric chains. In parallel with the change in the
self-assembled structures of nanoparticles, the matrix of equilibrium polymers
also shows a transition from a dispersed state to a percolating network-like
structure formed by the clusters of polymeric chains. We show that the shape
anisotropy of the nanoparticle clusters formed is governed by the polymeric
density resulting in rod-like, sheet-like or other anisotropic nanoclusters. It
is also shown that the pore shape and the pore size of the porous network of
nanoparticles can be changed by changing the minimum approaching distance
between nanoparticles and polymers. We provide a theoretical understanding of
why various nanostructures with very different morphologies are obtained.Comment: 24 pages, 23 figure
Shape from Shading through Shape Evolution
In this paper, we address the shape-from-shading problem by training deep
networks with synthetic images. Unlike conventional approaches that combine
deep learning and synthetic imagery, we propose an approach that does not need
any external shape dataset to render synthetic images. Our approach consists of
two synergistic processes: the evolution of complex shapes from simple
primitives, and the training of a deep network for shape-from-shading. The
evolution generates better shapes guided by the network training, while the
training improves by using the evolved shapes. We show that our approach
achieves state-of-the-art performance on a shape-from-shading benchmark
Cooperation with both synergistic and local interactions can be worse than each alone
Cooperation is ubiquitous ranging from multicellular organisms to human
societies. Population structures indicating individuals' limited interaction
ranges are crucial to understand this issue. But it is still at large to what
extend multiple interactions involving nonlinearity in payoff play a role on
cooperation in structured populations. Here we show a rule, which determines
the emergence and stabilization of cooperation, under multiple discounted,
linear, and synergistic interactions. The rule is validated by simulations in
homogenous and heterogenous structured populations. We find that the more
neighbors there are the harder for cooperation to evolve for multiple
interactions with linearity and discounting. For synergistic scenario, however,
distinct from its pairwise counterpart, moderate number of neighbors can be the
worst, indicating that synergistic interactions work with strangers but not
with neighbors. Our results suggest that the combination of different factors
which promotes cooperation alone can be worse than that with every single
factor.Comment: 32 pages, 4 figure
Modulation of STAT3 signaling, cell redox defenses and cell cycle checkpoints by β-caryophyllene in cholangiocarcinoma cells: possible mechanisms accounting for doxorubicin chemosensitization and chemoprevention
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive group of biliary tract cancers, characterized by late diagnosis, low effective chemotherapies, multidrug resistance, and poor outcomes. In the attempt to identify new therapeutic strategies for CCA, we studied the antiproliferative activity of a combination between doxorubicin and the natural sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene in cholangiocarcinoma Mz-ChA-1 cells and nonmalignant H69 cholangiocytes, under both long-term and metronomic schedules. The modulation of STAT3 signaling, oxidative stress, DNA damage response, cell cycle progression and apoptosis was investigated as possible mechanisms of action. β-caryophyllene was able to synergize the cytotoxicity of low dose doxorubicin in Mz-ChA-1 cells, while producing cytoprotective effects in H69 cholangiocytes, mainly after a long-term exposure of 24 h. The mechanistic analysis highlighted that the sesquiterpene induced a cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase along with the doxorubicin-induced accumulation in S phase, reduced the γH2AX and GSH levels without affecting GSSG. ROS amount was partly lowered by the combination in Mz-ChA-1 cells, while increased in H69 cells. A lowered expression of doxorubicin-induced STAT3 activation was found in the presence of β-caryophyllene in both cancer and normal cholangiocytes. These networking effects resulted in an increased apoptosis rate in Mz-ChA-1 cells, despite a lowering in H69 cholangiocytes. This evidence highlighted a possible role of STAT3 as a final effector of a complex network regulated by β-caryophyllene, which leads to an enhanced doxorubicin-sensitivity of cholangiocarcinoma cells and a lowered chemotherapy toxicity in nonmalignant cholangiocytes, thus strengthening the interest for this natural sesquiterpene as a dual-acting chemosensitizing and chemopreventive agent
- …