MO-MFCGA: Multiobjective multifactorial cellular genetic algorithm for evolutionary multitasking

Multiobjetive optimization has gained a considerable momentum in the evolutionary computation scientific community. Methods coming from evolutionary computation have shown a remarkable performance for solving this kind of optimization problems thanks to their implicit parallelism and the simultaneous convergence towards the Pareto front. In any case, the resolution of multiobjective optimization problems (MOPs) from the perspective of multitasking optimization remains almost unexplored. Multitasking is an incipient research stream which explores how multiple optimization problems can be simultaneously addressed by performing a single search process. The main motivation behind this solving paradigm is to exploit the synergies between the different problems (or tasks) being optimized. Going deeper, we resort in this paper to the also recent paradigm Evolutionary Multitasking (EM). We introduce the adaptation of the recently proposed Multifactorial Cellular Genetic Algorithm (MFCGA) for solving MOPs, giving rise to the Multiobjective MFCGA (MO-MFCGA). An extensive performance analysis is conducted using the Multiobjective Multifactorial Evolutionary Algorithm as comparison baseline. The experimentation is conducted over 10 multitasking setups, using the Multiobjective Euclidean Traveling Salesman Problem as benchmarking problem. We also perform a deep analysis on the genetic transferability among the problem instances employed, using the synergies among tasks aroused along the MO-MFCGA search procedure

Exploration of underutilized crop diversity of Capsicum peppers in their primary center of diversity in Bolivia and Peru

The genus Capsicum is a highly diverse complex of domesticated and wild species that displays abundant variation in its main center of domestication and diversity in Bolivia and Peru but that remains under-researched. New collecting expeditions undertaken in 2010 by the Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA) in Peru and the Centro de Investigaciones Fitoecogenéticas de Pairumani (CIFP) in Bolivia have significantly increased the size of the collections. INIA Peru now maintains 712 accessions of the five domesticated species, making it one of the largest and most diverse national collections of native Capsicum pepper varieties in the world. The collection in Bolivia contains 492 accessions, including the five domesticated species, four wild species, and one wild botanical variety of a domesticated species. We report on the identification of promising native Capsicum germplasm for potential use in the development of differentiated products. Identification of promising material representative of native Capsicum diversity in both collections followed several steps: (1) Identification of a core collection of nearly 100 accessions per country representing the different species and their geographic distribution. Dried samples of these accessions were biochemically screened for commercially interesting attributes including capsaicinoid content, polyphenols, antioxidant capacity, carotenoids, lipid content and color; (2) Based on results of the biochemical screening, sub-sets of 44 Bolivian and 39 Peruvian accessions were selected, representing the different species and variation in biochemical attributes; and (3) The selected materials were grown in different environments to identify the agro-ecological conditions were they best express the special properties of commercial interest. The biochemical screening and agromorphological characterization and evaluation revealed that Capsicum accessions from Bolivia and Peru have unique combinations of functional attributes, confirming that a wealth of commercially valuable properties can be found in Capsicum’s primary center of diversity. This study was financed by GIZ

BDNF and NGF signalling in early phases of psychosis: relationship with inflammation and response to antipsychotics after a 1 year

Previous studies have indicated systemic deregulation of the proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory balance in individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) that persists 12 months later. To identify potential risk/protective factors and associations with symptom severity, we assessed possible changes in plasma levels of neurotrophins (brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF] and nerve growth factor [NGF]) and their receptors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Expression of the 2 forms of BDNF receptors (active TrkB-FL and inactiveTrkB-T1) in PBMCs of FEP patients changed over time, TrkB-FL expression increasing by 1 year after diagnosis, while TrkB-T1 expression decreased. The TrkB-FL/TrkB-T1 ratio (hereafter FL/T1 ratio) increased during follow-up in the nonaffective psychosis group only, suggesting different underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in subgroups of FEP patients. Further, the expression of the main NGF receptor, TrkA, generally increased in patients at follow-up. After adjusting for potential confounders, baseline levels of inducible isoforms of nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase, and nuclear transcription factor were significantly associated with the FL/T1 ratio, suggesting that more inflammation is associated with higher values of this ratio. Interestingly, the FL/T1 ratio might have a role as a predictor of functioning, a regression model of functioning at 1 year suggesting that the effect of the FL/T1 ratio at baseline on functioning at 1 year depended on whether patients were treated with antipsychotics. These findings may have translational relevance; specifically, it might be useful to assess the expression of TrkB receptor isoforms before initiating antipsychotic treatment in FEP

BDNF and NGF Signalling in Early Phases of Psychosis: Relationship with Inflammation and Response to Antipsychotics after 1 Year

Previous studies have indicated systemic deregulation of the proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory balance in individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) that persists 12 months later. To identify potential risk/protective factors and associations with symptom severity, we assessed possible changes in plasma levels of neurotrophins (brain-derived neurotrophic factor BDNF] and nerve growth factor NGF]) and their receptors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Expression of the 2 forms of BDNF receptors (active TrkB-FL and inactiveTrkB-T1) in PBMCs of FEP patients changed over time, TrkB-FL expression increasing by 1 year after diagnosis, while TrkB-T1 expression decreased. The TrkB-FL/TrkB-T1 ratio (hereafter FL/T1 ratio) increased during follow-up in the nonaffective psychosis group only, suggesting different underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in subgroups of FEP patients. Further, the expression of the main NGF receptor, TrkA, generally increased in patients at follow-up. After adjusting for potential confounders, baseline levels of inducible isoforms of nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase, and nuclear transcription factor were significantly associated with the FL/T1 ratio, suggesting that more inflammation is associated with higher values of this ratio. Interestingly, the FL/T1 ratio might have a role as a predictor of functioning, a regression model of functioning at 1 year suggesting that the effect of the FL/T1 ratio at baseline on functioning at 1 year depended on whether patients were treated with antipsychotics. These findings may have translational relevance; specifically, it might be useful to assess the expression of TrkB receptor isoforms before initiating antipsychotic treatment in FEPs

Pro-/antiinflammatory dysregulation in early psychosis: Results from a 1-year follow-Up study

Background: Previous studies indicated a systemic deregulation of the pro-/antiinflammatory balance in subjects after 6 months of a first psychotic episode. This disruption was reexamined 12 months after diagnosis to identify potential risk/ protective factors and associations with symptom severity. Methods: Eighty-five subjects were followed during 12 months and the determination of the same pro-/antiinflammatory mediators was carried out in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk/protective factors. Multiple linear regression models were performed to detect the change of each biological marker during follow-up in relation to clinical characteristics and confounding factors. Results: This study suggests a more severe systemic pro-/antiinflammatory deregulation than in earlier pathological stages in first psychotic episode, because not only were intracellular components of the inflammatory response increased but also the majority of soluble elements. Nitrite plasma levels and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells are reliable potential risk factors and 15d-prostaglandin-J2 plasma levels a protection biomarker. An interesting relationship exists between antipsychotic dose and the levels of prostaglandin-E2 (inverse) and 15d-prostaglandin-J2 (direct). An inverse relationship between the Global Assessment of Functioning scale and lipid peroxidation is also present. Conclusions: Summing up, pro-/antiinflammatory mediators can be used as risk/protection biomarkers. The inverse association between oxidative/nitrosative damage and the Global Assessment of Functioning scale, and the possibility that one of the targets of antipsychotics could be the restoration of the pro-/antiinflammatory balance support the use of antiinflammatory drugs as coadjuvant to antipsychotics

Image-Based Assessment of Growth and Signaling Changes in Cancer Cells Mediated by Direct Cell-Cell Contact

Many important biological processes are controlled through cell-cell interactions, including the colonization of metastatic tumor cells and the control of differentiation of stem cells within their niche. Despite the crucial importance of the cellular environment in regulating cellular signaling, in vitro methods for the study of such interactions are difficult and/or indirect.We report on the development of an image-based method for distinguishing two cell types grown in coculture. Furthermore, cells of one type that are in direct contact with cells of a second type (adjacent cells) can be analyzed separately from cells that are not within a single well. Changes are evaluated using population statistics, which are useful in detecting subtle changes across two populations. We have used this system to characterize changes in the LNCaP prostate carcinoma cell line when grown in contact with human vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs). We find that the expression and phosphorylation of WWOX is reduced in LNCaP cells when grown in direct contact with HUVECs. Reduced WWOX signaling has been associated with reduced activation or expression of JNK and p73. We find that p73 levels are also reduced in LNCaP cells grown in contact with HUVECs, but we did not observe such a change in JNK levels.We find that the method described is statistically robust and can be adapted to a wide variety of studies where cell function or signaling are affected by heterotypic cell-cell contact. Ironically, a potential challenge to the method is its high level of sensitivity is capable of classifying events as statistically significant (due to the high number cells evaluated individually), when the biological effect may be less clear. The methodology would be best used in conjunction with additional methods to evaluate the biological role of potentially subtle differences between populations. However, many important events, such as the establishment of a metastatic tumor, occur through rare but important changes, and methods such as we describe here can be used to identify and characterize the contribution of the environment to these changes

A protective personal factor against disability and dependence in the elderly: an ordinal regression analysis with nine geographically-defined samples from Spain

Background Sense of Coherence (SOC) is defined as a tendency to perceive life experiences as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. The construct is split in three major domains: Comprehensibility, Manageability, and Meaningfulness. SOC has been associated with successful coping strategies in the face of illness and traumatic events and is a predictor of self-reported and objective health in a variety of contexts. In the present study we aim to evaluate the association of SOC with disability and dependence in Spanish elders. Methods A total of 377 participants aged 75 years or over from nine locations across Spain participated in the study (Mean age: 80.9 years; 65.3% women). SOC levels were considered independent variables in two ordinal logistic models on disability and dependence, respectively. Disability was established with the World health Organization-Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (36-item version), while dependence was measured with the Extended Katz Index on personal and instrumental activities of daily living. The models included personal (sex, age, social contacts, availability of an intimate confidant), environmental (municipality size, access to social resources) and health-related covariates (morbidity). Results High Meaningfulness was a strong protective factor against both disability (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.50; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.29–0.87) and dependence (OR = 0.33; 95% CI = 0.19–0.58) while moderate and high Comprehensibility was protective for disability (OR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.22–0.70 and OR = 0.39; 95%CI = 0.21–0.74), but not for dependence. Easy access to social and health resources was also highly protective against both disability and dependence. Conclusions Our results are consistent with the view that high levels of SOC are protective against disability and dependence in the elderly. Elderly individuals with limited access to social and health resources and with low SOC may be a group at risk for dependence and disability in Spain.This project was partially funded by a research contract in support of the project “Epidemiological Study of Dementia in Spain” signed by the Pfizer Foundation and Carlos III Institute of HealthS

Taxonomic and Functional Microbial Signatures of the Endemic Marine Sponge Arenosclera brasiliensis

The endemic marine sponge Arenosclera brasiliensis (Porifera, Demospongiae, Haplosclerida) is a known source of secondary metabolites such as arenosclerins A-C. In the present study, we established the composition of the A. brasiliensis microbiome and the metabolic pathways associated with this community. We used 454 shotgun pyrosequencing to generate approximately 640,000 high-quality sponge-derived sequences (∼150 Mb). Clustering analysis including sponge, seawater and twenty-three other metagenomes derived from marine animal microbiomes shows that A. brasiliensis contains a specific microbiome. Fourteen bacterial phyla (including Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Cloroflexi) were consistently found in the A. brasiliensis metagenomes. The A. brasiliensis microbiome is enriched for Betaproteobacteria (e.g., Burkholderia) and Gammaproteobacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas and Alteromonas) compared with the surrounding planktonic microbial communities. Functional analysis based on Rapid Annotation using Subsystem Technology (RAST) indicated that the A. brasiliensis microbiome is enriched for sequences associated with membrane transport and one-carbon metabolism. In addition, there was an overrepresentation of sequences associated with aerobic and anaerobic metabolism as well as the synthesis and degradation of secondary metabolites. This study represents the first analysis of sponge-associated microbial communities via shotgun pyrosequencing, a strategy commonly applied in similar analyses in other marine invertebrate hosts, such as corals and algae. We demonstrate that A. brasiliensis has a unique microbiome that is distinct from that of the surrounding planktonic microbes and from other marine organisms, indicating a species-specific microbiome

Search for the associated production of a b quark and a neutral supersymmetric Higgs boson which decays to tau pairs

We report results from a search for production of a neutral Higgs boson in association with a $b$ quark. We search for Higgs decays to $\tau$ pairs with one $\tau$ subsequently decaying to a muon and the other to hadrons. The data correspond to 2.7fb$^{-1}$ of \ppbar collisions recorded by the D0 detector at $\sqrt{s} = 1.96$TeV. The data are found to be consistent with background predictions. The result allows us to exclude a significant region of parameter space of the minimal supersymmetric model.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter