Automated Design of Metaheuristic Algorithms: A Survey

Metaheuristics have gained great success in academia and practice because their search logic can be applied to any problem with available solution representation, solution quality evaluation, and certain notions of locality. Manually designing metaheuristic algorithms for solving a target problem is criticized for being laborious, error-prone, and requiring intensive specialized knowledge. This gives rise to increasing interest in automated design of metaheuristic algorithms. With computing power to fully explore potential design choices, the automated design could reach and even surpass human-level design and could make high-performance algorithms accessible to a much wider range of researchers and practitioners. This paper presents a broad picture of automated design of metaheuristic algorithms, by conducting a survey on the common grounds and representative techniques in terms of design space, design strategies, performance evaluation strategies, and target problems in this field

Cooperative Coevolution for Non-Separable Large-Scale Black-Box Optimization: Convergence Analyses and Distributed Accelerations

Given the ubiquity of non-separable optimization problems in real worlds, in this paper we analyze and extend the large-scale version of the well-known cooperative coevolution (CC), a divide-and-conquer optimization framework, on non-separable functions. First, we reveal empirical reasons of why decomposition-based methods are preferred or not in practice on some non-separable large-scale problems, which have not been clearly pointed out in many previous CC papers. Then, we formalize CC to a continuous game model via simplification, but without losing its essential property. Different from previous evolutionary game theory for CC, our new model provides a much simpler but useful viewpoint to analyze its convergence, since only the pure Nash equilibrium concept is needed and more general fitness landscapes can be explicitly considered. Based on convergence analyses, we propose a hierarchical decomposition strategy for better generalization, as for any decomposition there is a risk of getting trapped into a suboptimal Nash equilibrium. Finally, we use powerful distributed computing to accelerate it under the multi-level learning framework, which combines the fine-tuning ability from decomposition with the invariance property of CMA-ES. Experiments on a set of high-dimensional functions validate both its search performance and scalability (w.r.t. CPU cores) on a clustering computing platform with 400 CPU cores

AutoOptLib: Tailoring Metaheuristic Optimizers via Automated Algorithm Design

Metaheuristics are prominent gradient-free optimizers for solving hard problems that do not meet the rigorous mathematical assumptions of analytical solvers. The canonical manual optimizer design could be laborious, untraceable and error-prone, let alone human experts are not always available. This arises increasing interest and demand in automating the optimizer design process. In response, this paper proposes AutoOptLib, the first platform for accessible automated design of metaheuristic optimizers. AutoOptLib leverages computing resources to conceive, build up, and verify the design choices of the optimizers. It requires much less labor resources and expertise than manual design, democratizing satisfactory metaheuristic optimizers to a much broader range of researchers and practitioners. Furthermore, by fully exploring the design choices with computing resources, AutoOptLib has the potential to surpass human experience, subsequently gaining enhanced performance compared with human problem-solving. To realize the automated design, AutoOptLib provides 1) a rich library of metaheuristic components for continuous, discrete, and permutation problems; 2) a flexible algorithm representation for evolving diverse algorithm structures; 3) different design objectives and techniques for different optimization scenarios; and 4) a graphic user interface for accessibility and practicability. AutoOptLib is fully written in Matlab/Octave; its source code and documentation are available at https://github.com/qz89/AutoOpt and https://AutoOpt.readthedocs.io/, respectively

Effect of Gradually Decreasing Photoperiod on Immune Function in Siberian Hamsters

Animals usually use photoperiod as an important environmental cue to time the year. In terms of the winter immunocompetence enhancement hypothesis, animals in the non-tropical zone would actively enhance their immune function to decrease the negative influence of stressors such as low temperature and food shortage in winter. In the present study, we mimicked the transition from summer to winter by decreasing photoperiod gradually and examined the variations of immune repsonses in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus)  to test this hypothesis. Twenty two female adult hamsters were randomly divided into the control (12h light: 12h dark, Control, n=11) and the gradually decreasing photoperiod group (Experiment, n=11). In the experiment group, day length was decreased from 12 h: 12 h light-dark cycle to 8 h: 16 h light-dark cycle at the pace of half an hour per week. We found that gradually decreasing photoperiod had no effect on body composition (wet carcass mass, subcutaneous, retroperitoneal, mesenteric and total body fat mass) and the masses of the organs detected such as brain, heart, liver and so on in hamsters. Similarly, immunological parameters including immune organs (thymus and spleen), white blood cells and serum bacteria killing capacity indicative of innate immunity were also not influenced by gradually decreasing photoperiod, which did not support the winter immunocompetence enhancement hypothesis. However, gradually decreasing photoperiod increased phytohaemagglutinin response post-24h of PHA challenge, which supported this hypothesis. There was no correlation between cellular, innate immunity and body fat mass, suggesting that body fat was not the reasons of the changes of cellular immunity. In summary, distinct components of immune system respond to gradually decreasing photoperiod differently in Siberian hamsters

PyPop7: A Pure-Python Library for Population-Based Black-Box Optimization

In this paper, we present a pure-Python open-source library, called PyPop7, for black-box optimization (BBO). It provides a unified and modular interface for more than 60 versions and variants of different black-box optimization algorithms, particularly population-based optimizers, which can be classified into 12 popular families: Evolution Strategies (ES), Natural Evolution Strategies (NES), Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDA), Cross-Entropy Method (CEM), Differential Evolution (DE), Particle Swarm Optimizer (PSO), Cooperative Coevolution (CC), Simulated Annealing (SA), Genetic Algorithms (GA), Evolutionary Programming (EP), Pattern Search (PS), and Random Search (RS). It also provides many examples, interesting tutorials, and full-fledged API documentations. Through this new library, we expect to provide a well-designed platform for benchmarking of optimizers and promote their real-world applications, especially for large-scale BBO. Its source code and documentations are available at https://github.com/Evolutionary-Intelligence/pypop and https://pypop.readthedocs.io/en/latest, respectively.Comment: 5 page

Study of bone metabolism in second and third trimesters of pregnancy and puerperal period in re-pregnant women

Objective To investigate the changes of bone metabolism in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and puerperal period in re-pregnant women， aiming to provide reference for calcium supplementation during pregnancy and lactation in re-pregnant women. Methods Pregnant women who underwent regular obstetric examination were enrolled and divided into the re-pregnant group （n=100） and first pregnant group （n=100） according to their self-reported birth frequency. Patients in each group were divided into three subgroups according to age （25-30 years old， 31-35 years old and 36-40 years old）. Bone metabolism indexes in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and puerperal period were compared between two groups. Bone metabolism in pregnant women of different ages was also compared. Bone mineral density （BMD） was measured in the puerperal period， and the pregnancy complications of pregnant women with different bone metabolism were compared. Results The β-collagen degradation product （β-CTX） level in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and puerperal period in the re-pregnant group was higher， whereas the level of carboxy-terminal propeptide （PICP） of type I procollagen was lower than those in the first pregnant group （both P < 0.05）. There were no significant differences in the serum parathyroid hormone （PTH）， N-terminal fragment of osteocalcin （N-MID）， β-CTX and PICP levels in pregnant women of different ages during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and puerperal period （all P >0.05）. The levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3（25（OH）D3） in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and puerperal period were the highest in re-pregnant women aged 25-30 years （all P < 0.05）. The incidence of hypothyroidism and gestational diabetes mellitus in patients with abnormal bone mass during pregnancy was higher than that in those with normal bone mass （both P < 0.05）. Conclusions The β-CTX levels in the second and third trimesters and puerperal period of re-pregnant women are higher， whereas the PICP levels are lower compared with those in first pregnant women. Age and parity can affect partial bone metabolism indexes， and women with abnormal bone mass have a higher incidence of pregnancy complications

High CD8+tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes indicate severe exhaustion and poor prognosis in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma

BackgroundExhaustion of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), characterized by the overexpression of immune checkpoints (IC), is a major impediment to anti-tumor immunity. However, the exhaustion status of CD8+TILs in angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL) remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the exhaustion status of CD8+TILs in AITL and its influence on prognosis.MethodsThe correlation between CD8+TILs and IC expression in AITL was analyzed using single-cell RNA sequencing (n = 2), flow cytometry (n = 20), and RNA sequencing (n = 20). Biological changes related to CD8+TILs exhaustion at different cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) levels (mean expression levels of CD8A, CD8B, GZMA, GZMB, and PRF1) in AITL were evaluated using RNA sequencing (n = 20) and further validated using the GEO dataset (n = 51). The impact of CD8 protein expression and CTL levels on patient prognosis was analyzed using flow cytometry and RNA sequencing, respectively.ResultsOur findings demonstrated that the higher the infiltration of CD8+TILs, the higher was the proportion of exhausted CD8+TILs characterized by the overexpression of multiple IC. This was accompanied by extensive exhaustion-related biological changes, which suggested severe exhaustion in CD8+TILs and may be one of the main reasons for the poor prognosis of patients with high CD8+TILs and CTL.ConclusionOur study comprehensively reveals the exhaustion status of CD8+TILs and their potential negative impact on AITL prognosis, which facilitates further mechanistic studies and is valuable for guiding immunotherapy strategies

Anatexis of former arc magmatic rocks during oceanic subduction: A case study from the North Wulan gneiss complex

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2018.04.016 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Migmatites are widespread in the North Wulan gneiss complex from the South Qilian–North Qaidam orogenic belt, but their petrogenesis and ages are poorly constrained. Here, an integrated study of petrography, whole-rock geochemistry, geochronology, zircon trace element and Hf isotope analysis deciphers the nature and timing of partial melting in migmatitic amphibole-biotite gneiss. Zircon U–Pb geochronology reveals that the protoliths crystallized at 506–494 Ma followed by metamorphism and anatexis at ca. 465 to 450 Ma. Hafnium isotope compositions of inherited cores and anatectic rims are very similar, suggesting that partial melting occurred in a relatively closed isotopic system and new zircon rims grew via dissolution–reprecipitation of pre-existing zircon cores. Anatexis occurred by water-fluxed melting of mafic-intermediate rocks through the breakdown of biotite and growth of peritectic amphibole. The protolith of the migmatites records Cambrian arc magmatism in an active continental margin, which was induced by northward subduction of the South Qilian ocean slab. Contemporary arc-like magmatism and high-temperature/low-pressure metamorphism in the region suggest that anatexis in the North Wulan gneiss complex likely took place in a continental arc setting, which reflects the reworking of former arc magmatic rocks in a late stage of oceanic subduction.National Natural Science Foundation of China [41372207, 41772228, 41272221]China Scholarship Council [201606690007]Key Program of the Ministry of Land and Resources of China [DD20160022, 12120115069401, 1212011120159

Peripheral Lung Squamous Carcinoma With ROS1 Rearrangement Sensitive to Crizotinib: A Case Report

ROS1 rearrangements have been identified as driver mutations, accounting for 1–2% of lung adenocarcinoma, but are extremely rare in case of lung squamous cell carcinoma. In this work, we report a lung squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with peripheral lung cancer radiological manifestation, harboring ROS1 rearrangement, with high sensitivity to crizotinib. Our findings suggest that clinicians should pay more attention toward the occurrence of ROS1 rearrangements and the application of crizotinib for lung squamous cell carcinoma treatment