Probabilistic Guarded P Systems, A New Formal Modelling Framework

Multienvironment P systems constitute a general, formal framework for modelling the dynamics of population biology, which consists of two main approaches: stochastic and probabilistic. The framework has been successfully used to model biologic systems at both micro (e.g. bacteria colony) and macro (e.g. real ecosystems) levels, respectively. In this paper, we extend the general framework in order to include a new case study related to P. Oleracea species. The extension is made by a new variant within the probabilistic approach, called Probabilistic Guarded P systems (in short, PGP systems). We provide a formal definition, a simulation algorithm to capture the dynamics, and a survey of the associated software.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2012- 37434Junta de Andalucía P08-TIC-0420

Cordycepin enhances cisplatin apoptotic effect through caspase/MAPK pathways in human head and neck tumor cells

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Mobile Communication Signatures of Unemployment

The mapping of populations socio-economic well-being is highly constrained by the logistics of censuses and surveys. Consequently, spatially detailed changes across scales of days, weeks, or months, or even year to year, are difficult to assess; thus the speed of which policies can be designed and evaluated is limited. However, recent studies have shown the value of mobile phone data as an enabling methodology for demographic modeling and measurement. In this work, we investigate whether indicators extracted from mobile phone usage can reveal information about the socio-economical status of microregions such as districts (i.e., average spatial resolution < 2.7km). For this we examine anonymized mobile phone metadata combined with beneficiaries records from unemployment benefit program. We find that aggregated activity, social, and mobility patterns strongly correlate with unemployment. Furthermore, we construct a simple model to produce accurate reconstruction of district level unemployment from their mobile communication patterns alone. Our results suggest that reliable and cost-effective economical indicators could be built based on passively collected and anonymized mobile phone data. With similar data being collected every day by telecommunication services across the world, survey-based methods of measuring community socioeconomic status could potentially be augmented or replaced by such passive sensing methods in the future

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS ON THE RANDOM CHOPPED FIBER COMPOSITES

ABSTRACT A micro-mechanics based finite element analysis method for random chopped fiber composites is applied. A modified random sequential adsorption technique is developed to generate representative volume elements of the composites so to overcome the &quot;jamming limit&quot; in the existing techniques. A homogenization scheme is applied to acquire the effective elastic constants of the composite. Two damage mechanisms are considered, matrix cracking and interfacial debonding, which occur prior to fiber breakage and consequentially leading to catastrophic failure. The incremental plastic model and the cohesive zone model are adopted to account for matrix plasticity and interfacial debonding, respectively. The finite element analysis results are validated by experimental data

Diversifying search in bee algorithms for numerical optimisation

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018. Swarm intelligence offers useful instruments for developing collective behaviours to solve complex, ill-structured and large-scale problems. Efficiency in collective behaviours depends on how to harmonise the individual contributions so that a complementary collective effort can be achieved to offer a useful solution. The harmonisation helps blend diversification and intensification suitably towards efficient collective behaviours. In this study, two renown honeybees-inspired algorithms were analysed with respect to the balance of diversification and intensification and a hybrid algorithm is proposed to improve the efficiency accordingly. The proposed hybrid algorithm was tested with solving well-known highly dimensional numerical optimisation (benchmark) problems. Consequently, the proposed hybrid algorithm has demonstrated outperforming the two original bee algorithms in solving hard numerical optimisation benchmarks

Rings in the Solar System: a short review

Rings are ubiquitous around giant planets in our Solar System. They evolve jointly with the nearby satellite system. They could form either during the giant planet formation process or much later, as a result of large scale dynamical instabilities either in the local satellite system, or at the planetary scale. We review here the main characteristics of rings in our solar system, and discuss their main evolution processes and possible origin. We also discuss the recent discovery of rings around small bodies.Comment: Accepted for the Handbook of Exoplanet

Predicting performance in the first-year of pharmacy school

Objectives. To determine the predictive validity of the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) scores and other variables for students&apos; success in the first year of doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) programs. Methods. PCAT scores, entering grade-point averages (GPAs), demographic characteristics, and GPAs for the first year of pharmacy curriculum were collected from the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) and from 22 pharmacy programs. Results. PCAT scores and entering GPAs were positively correlated with subsequent GPAs after the first year. Regression analyses showed the contribution of PCAT scores and entering GPAs in predicting first-year pharmacy GPAs. Conclusions. PCAT scores and prepharmacy GPAs both showed moderate predictive validity in indicating candidates likely to succeed in the first year of the pharmacy program. These findings are consistent with those of previous similar studies

On supersymmetric quantum mechanics

This paper constitutes a review on N=2 fractional supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics of order k. The presentation is based on the introduction of a generalized Weyl-Heisenberg algebra W_k. It is shown how a general Hamiltonian can be associated with the algebra W_k. This general Hamiltonian covers various supersymmetrical versions of dynamical systems (Morse system, Poschl-Teller system, fractional supersymmetric oscillator of order k, etc.). The case of ordinary supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics corresponds to k=2. A connection between fractional supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics and ordinary supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics is briefly described. A realization of the algebra W_k, of the N=2 supercharges and of the corresponding Hamiltonian is given in terms of deformed-bosons and k-fermions as well as in terms of differential operators.Comment: Review paper (31 pages) to be published in: Fundamental World of Quantum Chemistry, A Tribute to the Memory of Per-Olov Lowdin, Volume 3, E. Brandas and E.S. Kryachko (Eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 200