The Complexity of Repairing, Adjusting, and Aggregating of Extensions in Abstract Argumentation

We study the computational complexity of problems that arise in abstract argumentation in the context of dynamic argumentation, minimal change, and aggregation. In particular, we consider the following problems where always an argumentation framework F and a small positive integer k are given. - The Repair problem asks whether a given set of arguments can be modified into an extension by at most k elementary changes (i.e., the extension is of distance k from the given set). - The Adjust problem asks whether a given extension can be modified by at most k elementary changes into an extension that contains a specified argument. - The Center problem asks whether, given two extensions of distance k, whether there is a "center" extension that is a distance at most (k-1) from both given extensions. We study these problems in the framework of parameterized complexity, and take the distance k as the parameter. Our results covers several different semantics, including admissible, complete, preferred, semi-stable and stable semantics

On Comparable Box Dimension

Two boxes in ℝ^d are comparable if one of them is a subset of a translation of the other one. The comparable box dimension of a graph G is the minimum integer d such that G can be represented as a touching graph of comparable axis-aligned boxes in ℝ^d. We show that proper minor-closed classes have bounded comparable box dimension and explore further properties of this notion

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Springback Behavior of Aluminum Alloys

Presented work deals with springback behavior of two different aluminum alloys, one falling into 5th series (AW-5754 H22) with a thickness of 0.8 mm and other from 6th series (AW-6082 T6) with 1.0 mm thickness. These materials are used for their various applications and hardening process. The springback behavior was investigated by U-bending test. Bending tool was graduated jig with rollers and experiment was performed on R11 and R17 radii. The first series of specimens were oriented in a parallel direction and the other in a direction perpendicular to the rolling direction. Experimental results were measured with MATLAB measuring method and compared with finite element calculation carried out in PAM-STAMP. Influence of different yield functions was also examined.Рассматривается характеристика упругой отдачи двух различных алюминиевых сплавов: AW-5754 H22 толщиной 0,8 мм, принадлежащего к 5-й серии, и AW-6082 T6 толщиной 1,0 мм, принадлежащего к 6-й серии. Эти материалы используются для разнообразного применения, включая процесс упрочнения. Характеристика упругой отдачи исследовалась при испытаниях на U-образный изгиб. В качестве гибочного инструмента использовалось приспособление с роликами, и эксперимент проводился на радиусах R11 и R17. Одна группа образцов была ориентирована в направлении, параллельном направлению прокатки, другая в перпендикулярном. Экспериментальные результаты, полученные с использованием программного комплекса MAТLAB, сравнивались с расчетом методом конечных элементов с помощью программы PAM-STAMP. Исследовалось также влияние различных функций текучести

Using Sequence Similarity Networks for Visualization of Relationships Across Diverse Protein Superfamilies

The dramatic increase in heterogeneous types of biological data—in particular, the abundance of new protein sequences—requires fast and user-friendly methods for organizing this information in a way that enables functional inference. The most widely used strategy to link sequence or structure to function, homology-based function prediction, relies on the fundamental assumption that sequence or structural similarity implies functional similarity. New tools that extend this approach are still urgently needed to associate sequence data with biological information in ways that accommodate the real complexity of the problem, while being accessible to experimental as well as computational biologists. To address this, we have examined the application of sequence similarity networks for visualizing functional trends across protein superfamilies from the context of sequence similarity. Using three large groups of homologous proteins of varying types of structural and functional diversity—GPCRs and kinases from humans, and the crotonase superfamily of enzymes—we show that overlaying networks with orthogonal information is a powerful approach for observing functional themes and revealing outliers. In comparison to other primary methods, networks provide both a good representation of group-wise sequence similarity relationships and a strong visual and quantitative correlation with phylogenetic trees, while enabling analysis and visualization of much larger sets of sequences than trees or multiple sequence alignments can easily accommodate. We also define important limitations and caveats in the application of these networks. As a broadly accessible and effective tool for the exploration of protein superfamilies, sequence similarity networks show great potential for generating testable hypotheses about protein structure-function relationships

Pathways to cellular supremacy in biocomputing

Synthetic biology uses living cells as the substrate for performing human-defined computations. Many current implementations of cellular computing are based on the “genetic circuit” metaphor, an approximation of the operation of silicon-based computers. Although this conceptual mapping has been relatively successful, we argue that it fundamentally limits the types of computation that may be engineered inside the cell, and fails to exploit the rich and diverse functionality available in natural living systems. We propose the notion of “cellular supremacy” to focus attention on domains in which biocomputing might offer superior performance over traditional computers. We consider potential pathways toward cellular supremacy, and suggest application areas in which it may be found.A.G.-M. was supported by the SynBio3D project of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/R019002/1) and the European CSA on biological standardization BIOROBOOST (EU grant number 820699). T.E.G. was supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (grant UF160357) and BrisSynBio, a BBSRC/ EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (grant BB/L01386X/1). P.Z. was supported by the EPSRC Portabolomics project (grant EP/N031962/1). P.C. was supported by SynBioChem, a BBSRC/EPSRC Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Specialty Chemicals (grant BB/M017702/1) and the ShikiFactory100 project of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement 814408