Effect of the Implicit Combinatorial Model on Combinatorial Reasoning in Secondary School Pupils.

Science.gov (United States)

Batanero, Carmen; And Others

1997-01-01

Elementary combinatorial problems may be classified into three different combinatorial models: (1) selection; (2) partition; and (3) distribution. The main goal of this research was to determine the effect of the implicit combinatorial model on pupils' combinatorial reasoning before and after instruction. Gives an analysis of variance of the…

Estimating meme fitness in adaptive memetic algorithms for combinatorial problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, J E

2012-01-01

Among the most promising and active research areas in heuristic optimisation is the field of adaptive memetic algorithms (AMAs). These gain much of their reported robustness by adapting the probability with which each of a set of local improvement operators is applied, according to an estimate of their current value to the search process. This paper addresses the issue of how the current value should be estimated. Assuming the estimate occurs over several applications of a meme, we consider whether the extreme or mean improvements should be used, and whether this aggregation should be global, or local to some part of the solution space. To investigate these issues, we use the well-established COMA framework that coevolves the specification of a population of memes (representing different local search algorithms) alongside a population of candidate solutions to the problem at hand. Two very different memetic algorithms are considered: the first using adaptive operator pursuit to adjust the probabilities of applying a fixed set of memes, and a second which applies genetic operators to dynamically adapt and create memes and their functional definitions. For the latter, especially on combinatorial problems, credit assignment mechanisms based on historical records, or on notions of landscape locality, will have limited application, and it is necessary to estimate the value of a meme via some form of sampling. The results on a set of binary encoded combinatorial problems show that both methods are very effective, and that for some problems it is necessary to use thousands of variables in order to tease apart the differences between different reward schemes. However, for both memetic algorithms, a significant pattern emerges that reward based on mean improvement is better than that based on extreme improvement. This contradicts recent findings from adapting the parameters of operators involved in global evolutionary search. The results also show that local reward schemes

Concepts of combinatorial optimization

CERN Document Server

Paschos, Vangelis Th

2014-01-01

Combinatorial optimization is a multidisciplinary scientific area, lying in the interface of three major scientific domains: mathematics, theoretical computer science and management.  The three volumes of the Combinatorial Optimization series aim to cover a wide range  of topics in this area. These topics also deal with fundamental notions and approaches as with several classical applications of combinatorial optimization.Concepts of Combinatorial Optimization, is divided into three parts:- On the complexity of combinatorial optimization problems, presenting basics about worst-case and randomi

Integer and combinatorial optimization

CERN Document Server

Nemhauser, George L

1999-01-01

Rave reviews for INTEGER AND COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION ""This book provides an excellent introduction and survey of traditional fields of combinatorial optimization . . . It is indeed one of the best and most complete texts on combinatorial optimization . . . available. [And] with more than 700 entries, [it] has quite an exhaustive reference list.""-Optima ""A unifying approach to optimization problems is to formulate them like linear programming problems, while restricting some or all of the variables to the integers. This book is an encyclopedic resource for such f

A review of simheuristics: Extending metaheuristics to deal with stochastic combinatorial optimization problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angel A. Juan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Many combinatorial optimization problems (COPs encountered in real-world logistics, transportation, production, healthcare, financial, telecommunication, and computing applications are NP-hard in nature. These real-life COPs are frequently characterized by their large-scale sizes and the need for obtaining high-quality solutions in short computing times, thus requiring the use of metaheuristic algorithms. Metaheuristics benefit from different random-search and parallelization paradigms, but they frequently assume that the problem inputs, the underlying objective function, and the set of optimization constraints are deterministic. However, uncertainty is all around us, which often makes deterministic models oversimplified versions of real-life systems. After completing an extensive review of related work, this paper describes a general methodology that allows for extending metaheuristics through simulation to solve stochastic COPs. ‘Simheuristics’ allow modelers for dealing with real-life uncertainty in a natural way by integrating simulation (in any of its variants into a metaheuristic-driven framework. These optimization-driven algorithms rely on the fact that efficient metaheuristics already exist for the deterministic version of the corresponding COP. Simheuristics also facilitate the introduction of risk and/or reliability analysis criteria during the assessment of alternative high-quality solutions to stochastic COPs. Several examples of applications in different fields illustrate the potential of the proposed methodology.

Combinatorial optimization on a Boltzmann machine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korst, J.H.M.; Aarts, E.H.L.

1989-01-01

We discuss the problem of solving (approximately) combinatorial optimization problems on a Boltzmann machine. It is shown for a number of combinatorial optimization problems how they can be mapped directly onto a Boltzmann machine by choosing appropriate connection patterns and connection strengths.

The World of Combinatorial Fuzzy Problems and the Efficiency of Fuzzy Approximation Algorithms

OpenAIRE

Yamakami, Tomoyuki

2015-01-01

We re-examine a practical aspect of combinatorial fuzzy problems of various types, including search, counting, optimization, and decision problems. We are focused only on those fuzzy problems that take series of fuzzy input objects and produce fuzzy values. To solve such problems efficiently, we design fast fuzzy algorithms, which are modeled by polynomial-time deterministic fuzzy Turing machines equipped with read-only auxiliary tapes and write-only output tapes and also modeled by polynomia...

Neural Meta-Memes Framework for Combinatorial Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Li Qin; Lim, Meng Hiot; Ong, Yew Soon

In this paper, we present a Neural Meta-Memes Framework (NMMF) for combinatorial optimization. NMMF is a framework which models basic optimization algorithms as memes and manages them dynamically when solving combinatorial problems. NMMF encompasses neural networks which serve as the overall planner/coordinator to balance the workload between memes. We show the efficacy of the proposed NMMF through empirical study on a class of combinatorial problem, the quadratic assignment problem (QAP).

A Combinatorial Benders’ Cuts Algorithm for the Local Container Drayage Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaojie Xue

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the local container drayage problem under a special operation mode in which tractors and trailers can be separated; that is, tractors can be assigned to a new task at another location while trailers with containers are waiting for packing or unpacking. Meanwhile, the strategy of sharing empty containers between different customers is also considered to improve the efficiency and lower the operation cost. The problem is formulated as a vehicle routing and scheduling problem with temporal constraints. We adopt combinatorial benders’ cuts algorithm to solve this problem. Numerical experiments are performed on a group of randomly generated instances to test the performance of the proposed algorithm.

Handelman's hierarchy for the maximum stable set problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Laurent, M.; Sun, Z.

2014-01-01

The maximum stable set problem is a well-known NP-hard problem in combinatorial optimization, which can be formulated as the maximization of a quadratic square-free polynomial over the (Boolean) hypercube. We investigate a hierarchy of linear programming relaxations for this problem, based on a

Constraint satisfaction problems with isolated solutions are hard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zdeborová, Lenka; Mézard, Marc

2008-01-01

We study the phase diagram and the algorithmic hardness of the random 'locked' constraint satisfaction problems, and compare them to the commonly studied 'non-locked' problems like satisfiability of Boolean formulae or graph coloring. The special property of the locked problems is that clusters of solutions are isolated points. This simplifies significantly the determination of the phase diagram, which makes the locked problems particularly appealing from the mathematical point of view. On the other hand, we show empirically that the clustered phase of these problems is extremely hard from the algorithmic point of view: the best known algorithms all fail to find solutions. Our results suggest that the easy/hard transition (for currently known algorithms) in the locked problems coincides with the clustering transition. These should thus be regarded as new benchmarks of really hard constraint satisfaction problems

Quantum particle swarm approaches applied to combinatorial problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nicolau, Andressa dos S.; Schirru, Roberto; Lima, Alan M.M. de, E-mail: andressa@lmp.ufrj.br [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear

2017-07-01

Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO) is a global convergence algorithm that combines the classical PSO philosophy and quantum mechanics to improve performance of PSO. Different from PSO it only has the 'measurement' of the position equation for all particles. The process of 'measurement' in quantum mechanics, obey classic laws while the particle itself follows the quantum rules. QPSO works like PSO in search ability but has fewer parameters control. In order to improve the QPSO performance, some strategies have been proposed in the literature. Weighted QPSO (WQPSO) is a version of QPSO, where weight parameter is insert in the calculation of the balance between the global and local searching of the algorithm. It has been shown to perform well in finding the optimal solutions for many optimization problems. In this article random confinement was introduced in WQPSO. The WQPSO with random confinement was tested in two combinatorial problems. First, we execute the model on Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) to find the parameters' values resulting in good solutions in general. Finally, the model was tested on Nuclear Reactor Reload Problem, and the performance was compared with QPSO standard. (author)

Quantum particle swarm approaches applied to combinatorial problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicolau, Andressa dos S.; Schirru, Roberto; Lima, Alan M.M. de

2017-01-01

Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO) is a global convergence algorithm that combines the classical PSO philosophy and quantum mechanics to improve performance of PSO. Different from PSO it only has the 'measurement' of the position equation for all particles. The process of 'measurement' in quantum mechanics, obey classic laws while the particle itself follows the quantum rules. QPSO works like PSO in search ability but has fewer parameters control. In order to improve the QPSO performance, some strategies have been proposed in the literature. Weighted QPSO (WQPSO) is a version of QPSO, where weight parameter is insert in the calculation of the balance between the global and local searching of the algorithm. It has been shown to perform well in finding the optimal solutions for many optimization problems. In this article random confinement was introduced in WQPSO. The WQPSO with random confinement was tested in two combinatorial problems. First, we execute the model on Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) to find the parameters' values resulting in good solutions in general. Finally, the model was tested on Nuclear Reactor Reload Problem, and the performance was compared with QPSO standard. (author)

Matrix interdiction problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pan, Feng [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kasiviswanathan, Shiva [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-01-01

In the matrix interdiction problem, a real-valued matrix and an integer k is given. The objective is to remove k columns such that the sum over all rows of the maximum entry in each row is minimized. This combinatorial problem is closely related to bipartite network interdiction problem which can be applied to prioritize the border checkpoints in order to minimize the probability that an adversary can successfully cross the border. After introducing the matrix interdiction problem, we will prove the problem is NP-hard, and even NP-hard to approximate with an additive n{gamma} factor for a fixed constant {gamma}. We also present an algorithm for this problem that achieves a factor of (n-k) mUltiplicative approximation ratio.

ALE-PSO: An Adaptive Swarm Algorithm to Solve Design Problems of Laminates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paolo Vannucci

2009-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an adaptive PSO algorithm whose numerical parameters can be updated following a scheduled protocol respecting some known criteria of convergence in order to enhance the chances to reach the global optimum of a hard combinatorial optimization problem, such those encountered in global optimization problems of composite laminates. Some examples concerning hard design problems are provided, showing the effectiveness of the approach.

Fourier analysis in combinatorial number theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shkredov, Il'ya D

2010-01-01

In this survey applications of harmonic analysis to combinatorial number theory are considered. Discussion topics include classical problems of additive combinatorics, colouring problems, higher-order Fourier analysis, theorems about sets of large trigonometric sums, results on estimates for trigonometric sums over subgroups, and the connection between combinatorial and analytic number theory. Bibliography: 162 titles.

Fourier analysis in combinatorial number theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shkredov, Il' ya D [M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2010-09-16

In this survey applications of harmonic analysis to combinatorial number theory are considered. Discussion topics include classical problems of additive combinatorics, colouring problems, higher-order Fourier analysis, theorems about sets of large trigonometric sums, results on estimates for trigonometric sums over subgroups, and the connection between combinatorial and analytic number theory. Bibliography: 162 titles.

Crossover versus Mutation: A Comparative Analysis of the Evolutionary Strategy of Genetic Algorithms Applied to Combinatorial Optimization Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Osaba

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Since their first formulation, genetic algorithms (GAs have been one of the most widely used techniques to solve combinatorial optimization problems. The basic structure of the GAs is known by the scientific community, and thanks to their easy application and good performance, GAs are the focus of a lot of research works annually. Although throughout history there have been many studies analyzing various concepts of GAs, in the literature there are few studies that analyze objectively the influence of using blind crossover operators for combinatorial optimization problems. For this reason, in this paper a deep study on the influence of using them is conducted. The study is based on a comparison of nine techniques applied to four well-known combinatorial optimization problems. Six of the techniques are GAs with different configurations, and the remaining three are evolutionary algorithms that focus exclusively on the mutation process. Finally, to perform a reliable comparison of these results, a statistical study of them is made, performing the normal distribution z-test.

Crossover versus Mutation: A Comparative Analysis of the Evolutionary Strategy of Genetic Algorithms Applied to Combinatorial Optimization Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Osaba, E.; Carballedo, R.; Diaz, F.; Onieva, E.; de la Iglesia, I.; Perallos, A.

2014-01-01

Since their first formulation, genetic algorithms (GAs) have been one of the most widely used techniques to solve combinatorial optimization problems. The basic structure of the GAs is known by the scientific community, and thanks to their easy application and good performance, GAs are the focus of a lot of research works annually. Although throughout history there have been many studies analyzing various concepts of GAs, in the literature there are few studies that analyze objectively the influence of using blind crossover operators for combinatorial optimization problems. For this reason, in this paper a deep study on the influence of using them is conducted. The study is based on a comparison of nine techniques applied to four well-known combinatorial optimization problems. Six of the techniques are GAs with different configurations, and the remaining three are evolutionary algorithms that focus exclusively on the mutation process. Finally, to perform a reliable comparison of these results, a statistical study of them is made, performing the normal distribution z-test. PMID:25165731

Solving the 0/1 Knapsack Problem by a Biomolecular DNA Computer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan Taghipour

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Solving some mathematical problems such as NP-complete problems by conventional silicon-based computers is problematic and takes so long time. DNA computing is an alternative method of computing which uses DNA molecules for computing purposes. DNA computers have massive degrees of parallel processing capability. The massive parallel processing characteristic of DNA computers is of particular interest in solving NP-complete and hard combinatorial problems. NP-complete problems such as knapsack problem and other hard combinatorial problems can be easily solved by DNA computers in a very short period of time comparing to conventional silicon-based computers. Sticker-based DNA computing is one of the methods of DNA computing. In this paper, the sticker based DNA computing was used for solving the 0/1 knapsack problem. At first, a biomolecular solution space was constructed by using appropriate DNA memory complexes. Then, by the application of a sticker-based parallel algorithm using biological operations, knapsack problem was resolved in polynomial time.

Well-solvable special cases of the Traveling Salesman Problem : a survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burkard, R.E.; Deineko, V.G.; Dal, van R.; Veen, van der J.A.A.; Woeginger, G.J.

1998-01-01

The traveling salesman problem (TSP) belongs to the most basic, most important, and most investigated problems in combinatorial optimization. Although it is an ${\\cal NP}$-hard problem, many of its special cases can be solved efficiently in polynomial time. We survey these special cases with

A further problem of the hard problem of consciousness | Gbenga ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Justifying this assertion is identified as the further problem of the hard problem of consciousness. This shows that assertions about phenomenal properties of mental experiences are wholly epistemological. Hence, the problem of explaining phenomenal properties of a mental state is not a metaphysical problem, and what is ...

Combinatorial methods for advanced materials research and development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cremer, R.; Dondorf, S.; Hauck, M.; Horbach, D.; Kaiser, M.; Krysta, S.; Kyrylov, O.; Muenstermann, E.; Philipps, M.; Reichert, K.; Strauch, G. [Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Theoretische Huettenkunde

2001-10-01

The applicability of combinatorial methods in developing advanced materials is illustrated presenting four examples for the deposition and characterization of one- and two-dimensionally laterally graded coatings, which were deposited by means of (reactive) magnetron sputtering and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. To emphasize the advantages of combinatorial approaches, metastable hard coatings like (Ti,Al)N and (Ti,Al,Hf)N respectively, as well as Ge-Sb-Te based films for rewritable optical data storage were investigated with respect to the relations between structure, composition, and the desired materials properties. (orig.)

Introduction to combinatorial geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabriel, T.A.; Emmett, M.B.

1985-01-01

The combinatorial geometry package as used in many three-dimensional multimedia Monte Carlo radiation transport codes, such as HETC, MORSE, and EGS, is becoming the preferred way to describe simple and complicated systems. Just about any system can be modeled using the package with relatively few input statements. This can be contrasted against the older style geometry packages in which the required input statements could be large even for relatively simple systems. However, with advancements come some difficulties. The users of combinatorial geometry must be able to visualize more, and, in some instances, all of the system at a time. Errors can be introduced into the modeling which, though slight, and at times hard to detect, can have devastating effects on the calculated results. As with all modeling packages, the best way to learn the combinatorial geometry is to use it, first on a simple system then on more complicated systems. The basic technique for the description of the geometry consists of defining the location and shape of the various zones in terms of the intersections and unions of geometric bodies. The geometric bodies which are generally included in most combinatorial geometry packages are: (1) box, (2) right parallelepiped, (3) sphere, (4) right circular cylinder, (5) right elliptic cylinder, (6) ellipsoid, (7) truncated right cone, (8) right angle wedge, and (9) arbitrary polyhedron. The data necessary to describe each of these bodies are given. As can be easily noted, there are some subsets included for simplicity

An overview on polynomial approximation of NP-hard problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paschos Vangelis Th.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The fact that polynomial time algorithm is very unlikely to be devised for an optimal solving of the NP-hard problems strongly motivates both the researchers and the practitioners to try to solve such problems heuristically, by making a trade-off between computational time and solution's quality. In other words, heuristic computation consists of trying to find not the best solution but one solution which is 'close to' the optimal one in reasonable time. Among the classes of heuristic methods for NP-hard problems, the polynomial approximation algorithms aim at solving a given NP-hard problem in poly-nomial time by computing feasible solutions that are, under some predefined criterion, as near to the optimal ones as possible. The polynomial approximation theory deals with the study of such algorithms. This survey first presents and analyzes time approximation algorithms for some classical examples of NP-hard problems. Secondly, it shows how classical notions and tools of complexity theory, such as polynomial reductions, can be matched with polynomial approximation in order to devise structural results for NP-hard optimization problems. Finally, it presents a quick description of what is commonly called inapproximability results. Such results provide limits on the approximability of the problems tackled.

On quasistability of a vector combinatorial problem with \\Sigma-MINMAX and \\Sigma-MINMIN partial criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir A. Emelichev

2004-06-01

Full Text Available We consider one type of stability (quasistability of a vector combinatorial problem of finding the Pareto set. Under quasistability we understand a discrete analogue of lower semicontinuity by Hausdorff of the many-valued mapping, which defines the Pareto choice function. A vector problem on a system of subsets of a finite set (trajectorial problem with non-linear partial criteria is in focus. Two necessary and sufficient conditions for stability of this problem are proved. Mathematics Subject Classification: 2000, 90C10, 90C05, 90C29, 90C31

Expected Fitness Gains of Randomized Search Heuristics for the Traveling Salesperson Problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Nallaperuma, Samadhi; Neumann, Frank; Sudholt, Dirk

2017-01-01

Randomized search heuristics are frequently applied to NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. The runtime analysis of randomized search heuristics has contributed tremendously to our theoretical understanding. Recently, randomized search heuristics have been examined regarding their achievable progress within a fixed-time budget. We follow this approach and present a fixed-budget analysis for an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem. We consider the well-known Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP) and analyze the fitness increase that randomized search heuristics are able to achieve within a given fixed-time budget. In particular, we analyze Manhattan and Euclidean TSP instances and Randomized Local Search (RLS), (1+1) EA and (1+[Formula: see text]) EA algorithms for the TSP in a smoothed complexity setting, and derive the lower bounds of the expected fitness gain for a specified number of generations.

Hybrid IP/CP Methods for Solving Sports Scheduling Problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Rasmus Vinther

2006-01-01

The field of sports scheduling comprises a challenging research areawith a great variety of hard combinatorial optimization problems andchallenging practical applications. This dissertation gives acomprehensive survey of the area and a number of new contributionsare presented. First a general sol...

The Classicist and the Frequentist Approach to Probability within a "TinkerPlots2" Combinatorial Problem

Science.gov (United States)

Prodromou, Theodosia

2012-01-01

This article seeks to address a pedagogical theory of introducing the classicist and the frequentist approach to probability, by investigating important elements in 9th grade students' learning process while working with a "TinkerPlots2" combinatorial problem. Results from this research study indicate that, after the students had seen…

Torus actions, combinatorial topology, and homological algebra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bukhshtaber, V M; Panov, T E

2000-01-01

This paper is a survey of new results and open problems connected with fundamental combinatorial concepts, including polytopes, simplicial complexes, cubical complexes, and arrangements of subspaces. Attention is concentrated on simplicial and cubical subdivisions of manifolds, and especially on spheres. Important constructions are described that enable one to study these combinatorial objects by using commutative and homological algebra. The proposed approach to combinatorial problems is based on the theory of moment-angle complexes recently developed by the authors. The crucial construction assigns to each simplicial complex K with m vertices a T m -space Z K with special bigraded cellular decomposition. In the framework of this theory, well-known non-singular toric varieties arise as orbit spaces of maximally free actions of subtori on moment-angle complexes corresponding to simplicial spheres. It is shown that diverse invariants of simplicial complexes and related combinatorial-geometric objects can be expressed in terms of bigraded cohomology rings of the corresponding moment-angle complexes. Finally, it is shown that the new relationships between combinatorics, geometry, and topology lead to solutions of some well-known topological problems

Phase Transitions in Planning Problems: Design and Analysis of Parameterized Families of Hard Planning Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Hen, Itay; Rieffel, Eleanor G.; Do, Minh; Venturelli, Davide

2014-01-01

There are two common ways to evaluate algorithms: performance on benchmark problems derived from real applications and analysis of performance on parametrized families of problems. The two approaches complement each other, each having its advantages and disadvantages. The planning community has concentrated on the first approach, with few ways of generating parametrized families of hard problems known prior to this work. Our group's main interest is in comparing approaches to solving planning problems using a novel type of computational device - a quantum annealer - to existing state-of-the-art planning algorithms. Because only small-scale quantum annealers are available, we must compare on small problem sizes. Small problems are primarily useful for comparison only if they are instances of parametrized families of problems for which scaling analysis can be done. In this technical report, we discuss our approach to the generation of hard planning problems from classes of well-studied NP-complete problems that map naturally to planning problems or to aspects of planning problems that many practical planning problems share. These problem classes exhibit a phase transition between easy-to-solve and easy-to-show-unsolvable planning problems. The parametrized families of hard planning problems lie at the phase transition. The exponential scaling of hardness with problem size is apparent in these families even at very small problem sizes, thus enabling us to characterize even very small problems as hard. The families we developed will prove generally useful to the planning community in analyzing the performance of planning algorithms, providing a complementary approach to existing evaluation methods. We illustrate the hardness of these problems and their scaling with results on four state-of-the-art planners, observing significant differences between these planners on these problem families. Finally, we describe two general, and quite different, mappings of planning

Solution of combinatorial optimization problems by an accelerated hopfield neural network. Kobai kasokugata poppu firudo nyuraru netto ni yoru kumiawase saitekika mondai no kaiho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohori, T.; Yamamoto, H.; Setsu, Nenso; Watanabe, K. (Hokkaido Inst. of Technology, Hokkaido (Japan))

1994-04-20

The accelerated approximate solution of combinatorial optimization problems by symmetry integrating hopfield neural network (NN) has been applied to many combinatorial problems such as the traveling salesman problem, the network planning problem, etc. However, the hopfield NN converges to local minimum solutions very slowly. In this paper, a general inclination model composed by introducing an accelerated parameter to the hopfield model is proposed, and it has been shown that the acceleration parameter can make the model converge to the local minima more quickly. Moreover, simulation experiments for random quadratic combinatorial problems with two and twenty-five variables were carried out. The results show that the acceleration of convergence makes the attraction region of the local minimum change and the accuracy of solution worse. If an initial point is selected around the center of unit hyper cube, solutions with high accuracy not affected by the acceleration parameter can be obtained. 9 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs.

Optimal recombination in genetic algorithms for combinatorial optimization problems: Part I

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eremeev Anton V.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper surveys results on complexity of the optimal recombination problem (ORP, which consists in finding the best possible offspring as a result of a recombination operator in a genetic algorithm, given two parent solutions. We consider efficient reductions of the ORPs, allowing to establish polynomial solvability or NP-hardness of the ORPs, as well as direct proofs of hardness results. Part I presents the basic principles of optimal recombination with a survey of results on Boolean Linear Programming Problems. Part II (to appear in a subsequent issue is devoted to the ORPs for problems which are naturally formulated in terms of search for an optimal permutation.

Some experience of shielding calculations by combinatorial method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korobejnikov, V.V.; Oussanov, V.I.

1996-01-01

Some aspects of the compound systems shielding calculations by a combinatorial approach are discussed. The effectiveness of such an approach is based on the fundamental characteristic of a compound system: if some element of the system have in itself mathematical or physical properties favorable for calculation, these properties may be used in a combinatorial approach and are lost when the system is being calculated in the whole by a direct approach. The combinatorial technique applied is well known. A compound system are being splitting for two or more auxiliary subsystems (so that calculation each of them is a more simple problem than calculation of the original problem (or at last is a soluble problem if original one is not). Calculation of every subsystem are carried out by suitable method and code, the coupling being made through boundary conditions or boundary source. The special consideration in the paper is given to a fast reactor shielding combinatorial analysis and to the testing of the results received. (author)

Combinatorial algebra syntax and semantics

CERN Document Server

Sapir, Mark V

2014-01-01

Combinatorial Algebra: Syntax and Semantics provides a comprehensive account of many areas of combinatorial algebra. It contains self-contained proofs of  more than 20 fundamental results, both classical and modern. This includes Golod–Shafarevich and Olshanskii's solutions of Burnside problems, Shirshov's solution of Kurosh's problem for PI rings, Belov's solution of Specht's problem for varieties of rings, Grigorchuk's solution of Milnor's problem, Bass–Guivarc'h theorem about the growth of nilpotent groups, Kleiman's solution of Hanna Neumann's problem for varieties of groups, Adian's solution of von Neumann-Day's problem, Trahtman's solution of the road coloring problem of Adler, Goodwyn and Weiss. The book emphasize several ``universal" tools, such as trees, subshifts, uniformly recurrent words, diagrams and automata.   With over 350 exercises at various levels of difficulty and with hints for the more difficult problems, this book can be used as a textbook, and aims to reach a wide and diversified...

Polyhedral and semidefinite programming methods in combinatorial optimization

CERN Document Server

Tunçel, Levent

2010-01-01

Since the early 1960s, polyhedral methods have played a central role in both the theory and practice of combinatorial optimization. Since the early 1990s, a new technique, semidefinite programming, has been increasingly applied to some combinatorial optimization problems. The semidefinite programming problem is the problem of optimizing a linear function of matrix variables, subject to finitely many linear inequalities and the positive semidefiniteness condition on some of the matrix variables. On certain problems, such as maximum cut, maximum satisfiability, maximum stable set and geometric r

The hard problem of cooperation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimmo Eriksson

Full Text Available Based on individual variation in cooperative inclinations, we define the "hard problem of cooperation" as that of achieving high levels of cooperation in a group of non-cooperative types. Can the hard problem be solved by institutions with monitoring and sanctions? In a laboratory experiment we find that the answer is affirmative if the institution is imposed on the group but negative if development of the institution is left to the group to vote on. In the experiment, participants were divided into groups of either cooperative types or non-cooperative types depending on their behavior in a public goods game. In these homogeneous groups they repeatedly played a public goods game regulated by an institution that incorporated several of the key properties identified by Ostrom: operational rules, monitoring, rewards, punishments, and (in one condition change of rules. When change of rules was not possible and punishments were set to be high, groups of both types generally abided by operational rules demanding high contributions to the common good, and thereby achieved high levels of payoffs. Under less severe rules, both types of groups did worse but non-cooperative types did worst. Thus, non-cooperative groups profited the most from being governed by an institution demanding high contributions and employing high punishments. Nevertheless, in a condition where change of rules through voting was made possible, development of the institution in this direction was more often voted down in groups of non-cooperative types. We discuss the relevance of the hard problem and fit our results into a bigger picture of institutional and individual determinants of cooperative behavior.

The hard problem of cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, Kimmo; Strimling, Pontus

2012-01-01

Based on individual variation in cooperative inclinations, we define the "hard problem of cooperation" as that of achieving high levels of cooperation in a group of non-cooperative types. Can the hard problem be solved by institutions with monitoring and sanctions? In a laboratory experiment we find that the answer is affirmative if the institution is imposed on the group but negative if development of the institution is left to the group to vote on. In the experiment, participants were divided into groups of either cooperative types or non-cooperative types depending on their behavior in a public goods game. In these homogeneous groups they repeatedly played a public goods game regulated by an institution that incorporated several of the key properties identified by Ostrom: operational rules, monitoring, rewards, punishments, and (in one condition) change of rules. When change of rules was not possible and punishments were set to be high, groups of both types generally abided by operational rules demanding high contributions to the common good, and thereby achieved high levels of payoffs. Under less severe rules, both types of groups did worse but non-cooperative types did worst. Thus, non-cooperative groups profited the most from being governed by an institution demanding high contributions and employing high punishments. Nevertheless, in a condition where change of rules through voting was made possible, development of the institution in this direction was more often voted down in groups of non-cooperative types. We discuss the relevance of the hard problem and fit our results into a bigger picture of institutional and individual determinants of cooperative behavior.

A new evolutionary algorithm with LVQ learning for the optimization of combinatory problems as a reload of nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machado, Marcelo Dornellas

1999-04-01

Genetic algorithms are biologically motivated adaptive systems which have been used, with good results, for function optimization. In this work, a new learning mode, to be used by the Population-Based Incremental Learning (PBIL) algorithm, who combines mechanisms of standard genetic algorithm with simple competitive learning, has the aim to build a new evolutionary algorithm to be used in optimization of numerical problems and combinatorial problems. This new learning mode uses a variable learning rate during the optimization process, constituting a process know as proportional reward. The development of this new algorithm aims its application in the optimization of reload problem of PWR nuclear reactors. This problem can be interpreted as search of a load pattern to be used in the nucleus of the reactor in order to increase the useful life of the nuclear fuel. For the test, two classes of problems are used: numerical problems and combinatorial problem, the major interest relies on the last class. The results achieved with the tests indicate the applicability of the new learning mode, showing its potential as a developing tool in the solution of reload problem. (author)

An improved superconducting neural circuit and its application for a neural network solving a combinatorial optimization problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onomi, T; Nakajima, K

2014-01-01

We have proposed a superconducting Hopfield-type neural network for solving the N-Queens problem which is one of combinatorial optimization problems. The sigmoid-shape function of a neuron output is represented by the output of coupled SQUIDs gate consisting of a single-junction and a double-junction SQUIDs. One of the important factors for an improvement of the network performance is an improvement of a threshold characteristic of a neuron circuit. In this paper, we report an improved design of coupled SQUID gates for a superconducting neural network. A step-like function with a steep threshold at a rising edge is desirable for a neuron circuit to solve a combinatorial optimization problem. A neuron circuit is composed of two coupled SQUIDs gates with a cascade connection in order to obtain such characteristics. The designed neuron circuit is fabricated by a 2.5 kA/cm 2 Nb/AlOx/Nb process. The operation of a fabricated neuron circuit is experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, we discuss about the performance of the neural network using the improved neuron circuits and delayed negative self-connections.

Enabling high performance computational science through combinatorial algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boman, Erik G; Bozdag, Doruk; Catalyurek, Umit V; Devine, Karen D; Gebremedhin, Assefaw H; Hovland, Paul D; Pothen, Alex; Strout, Michelle Mills

2007-01-01

The Combinatorial Scientific Computing and Petascale Simulations (CSCAPES) Institute is developing algorithms and software for combinatorial problems that play an enabling role in scientific and engineering computations. Discrete algorithms will be increasingly critical for achieving high performance for irregular problems on petascale architectures. This paper describes recent contributions by researchers at the CSCAPES Institute in the areas of load balancing, parallel graph coloring, performance improvement, and parallel automatic differentiation

Enabling high performance computational science through combinatorial algorithms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boman, Erik G [Discrete Algorithms and Math Department, Sandia National Laboratories (United States); Bozdag, Doruk [Biomedical Informatics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ohio State University (United States); Catalyurek, Umit V [Biomedical Informatics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ohio State University (United States); Devine, Karen D [Discrete Algorithms and Math Department, Sandia National Laboratories (United States); Gebremedhin, Assefaw H [Computer Science and Center for Computational Science, Old Dominion University (United States); Hovland, Paul D [Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory (United States); Pothen, Alex [Computer Science and Center for Computational Science, Old Dominion University (United States); Strout, Michelle Mills [Computer Science, Colorado State University (United States)

2007-07-15

The Combinatorial Scientific Computing and Petascale Simulations (CSCAPES) Institute is developing algorithms and software for combinatorial problems that play an enabling role in scientific and engineering computations. Discrete algorithms will be increasingly critical for achieving high performance for irregular problems on petascale architectures. This paper describes recent contributions by researchers at the CSCAPES Institute in the areas of load balancing, parallel graph coloring, performance improvement, and parallel automatic differentiation.

A multilevel search algorithm for the maximization of submodular functions applied to the quadratic cost partition problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goldengorin, B.; Ghosh, D.

Maximization of submodular functions on a ground set is a NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem. Data correcting algorithms are among the several algorithms suggested for solving this problem exactly and approximately. From the point of view of Hasse diagrams data correcting algorithms use

The linear ordering problem: an algorithm for the optimal solution ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this paper we describe and implement an algorithm for the exact solution of the Linear Ordering problem. Linear Ordering is the problem of finding a linear order of the nodes of a graph such that the sum of the weights which are consistent with this order is as large as possible. It is an NP - Hard combinatorial optimisation ...

Combinatorial matrix theory

CERN Document Server

Mitjana, Margarida

2018-01-01

This book contains the notes of the lectures delivered at an Advanced Course on Combinatorial Matrix Theory held at Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM) in Barcelona. These notes correspond to five series of lectures. The first series is dedicated to the study of several matrix classes defined combinatorially, and was delivered by Richard A. Brualdi. The second one, given by Pauline van den Driessche, is concerned with the study of spectral properties of matrices with a given sign pattern. Dragan Stevanović delivered the third one, devoted to describing the spectral radius of a graph as a tool to provide bounds of parameters related with properties of a graph. The fourth lecture was delivered by Stephen Kirkland and is dedicated to the applications of the Group Inverse of the Laplacian matrix. The last one, given by Ángeles Carmona, focuses on boundary value problems on finite networks with special in-depth on the M-matrix inverse problem.

A combinatorial enumeration problem of RNA secondary structures

African Journals Online (AJOL)

use

2011-12-21

Dec 21, 2011 ... interesting combinatorial questions (Chen et al., 2005;. Liu, 2006; Schmitt and Waterman 1994; Stein and. Waterman 1978). The research on the enumeration of. RNA secondary structures becomes one of the hot topics in Computational Molecular Biology. An RNA molecule is described by its sequences of.

Statistical physics of hard optimization problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zdeborova, L.

2009-01-01

Optimization is fundamental in many areas of science, from computer science and information theory to engineering and statistical physics, as well as to biology or social sciences. It typically involves a large number of variables and a cost function depending on these variables. Optimization problems in the non-deterministic polynomial (NP)-complete class are particularly difficult, it is believed that the number of operations required to minimize the cost function is in the most difficult cases exponential in the system size. However, even in an NP-complete problem the practically arising instances might, in fact, be easy to solve. The principal question we address in this article is: How to recognize if an NP-complete constraint satisfaction problem is typically hard and what are the main reasons for this? We adopt approaches from the statistical physics of disordered systems, in particular the cavity method developed originally to describe glassy systems. We describe new properties of the space of solutions in two of the most studied constraint satisfaction problems - random satisfy ability and random graph coloring. We suggest a relation between the existence of the so-called frozen variables and the algorithmic hardness of a problem. Based on these insights, we introduce a new class of problems which we named ”locked” constraint satisfaction, where the statistical description is easily solvable, but from the algorithmic point of view they are even more challenging than the canonical satisfy ability.

Statistical physics of hard optimization problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zdeborova, L.

2009-01-01

Optimization is fundamental in many areas of science, from computer science and information theory to engineering and statistical physics, as well as to biology or social sciences. It typically involves a large number of variables and a cost function depending on these variables. Optimization problems in the non-deterministic polynomial-complete class are particularly difficult, it is believed that the number of operations required to minimize the cost function is in the most difficult cases exponential in the system size. However, even in an non-deterministic polynomial-complete problem the practically arising instances might, in fact, be easy to solve. The principal the question we address in the article is: How to recognize if an non-deterministic polynomial-complete constraint satisfaction problem is typically hard and what are the main reasons for this? We adopt approaches from the statistical physics of disordered systems, in particular the cavity method developed originally to describe glassy systems. We describe new properties of the space of solutions in two of the most studied constraint satisfaction problems - random satisfiability and random graph coloring. We suggest a relation between the existence of the so-called frozen variables and the algorithmic hardness of a problem. Based on these insights, we introduce a new class of problems which we named 'locked' constraint satisfaction, where the statistical description is easily solvable, but from the algorithmic point of view they are even more challenging than the canonical satisfiability (Authors)

Statistical physics of hard optimization problems

Science.gov (United States)

Zdeborová, Lenka

2009-06-01

Optimization is fundamental in many areas of science, from computer science and information theory to engineering and statistical physics, as well as to biology or social sciences. It typically involves a large number of variables and a cost function depending on these variables. Optimization problems in the non-deterministic polynomial (NP)-complete class are particularly difficult, it is believed that the number of operations required to minimize the cost function is in the most difficult cases exponential in the system size. However, even in an NP-complete problem the practically arising instances might, in fact, be easy to solve. The principal question we address in this article is: How to recognize if an NP-complete constraint satisfaction problem is typically hard and what are the main reasons for this? We adopt approaches from the statistical physics of disordered systems, in particular the cavity method developed originally to describe glassy systems. We describe new properties of the space of solutions in two of the most studied constraint satisfaction problems - random satisfiability and random graph coloring. We suggest a relation between the existence of the so-called frozen variables and the algorithmic hardness of a problem. Based on these insights, we introduce a new class of problems which we named "locked" constraint satisfaction, where the statistical description is easily solvable, but from the algorithmic point of view they are even more challenging than the canonical satisfiability.

An Investigation into Post-Secondary Students' Understanding of Combinatorial Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Bulone, Vincent William

2017-01-01

The purpose of this dissertation was to study aspects of how post-secondary students understand combinatorial problems. Within this dissertation, I considered understanding through two different lenses: i) student connections to previous problems; and ii) common combinatorial distinctions such as ordered versus unordered and repetitive versus…

Combinatorial chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, John

1994-01-01

An overview of combinatorial chemistry is presented. Combinatorial chemistry, sometimes referred to as `irrational drug design,' involves the generation of molecular diversity. The resulting chemical library is then screened for biologically active compounds.......An overview of combinatorial chemistry is presented. Combinatorial chemistry, sometimes referred to as `irrational drug design,' involves the generation of molecular diversity. The resulting chemical library is then screened for biologically active compounds....

Jack superpolynomials: physical and combinatorial definitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desrosiers, P.; Mathieu, P.; Lapointe, L.

2004-01-01

Jack superpolynomials are eigenfunctions of the supersymmetric extension of the quantum trigonometric Calogero-Moser-Sutherland Hamiltonian. They are orthogonal with respect to the scalar product, dubbed physical, that is naturally induced by this quantum-mechanical problem. But Jack superpolynomials can also be defined more combinatorially, starting from the multiplicative bases of symmetric superpolynomials, enforcing orthogonality with respect to a one-parameter deformation of the combinatorial scalar product. Both constructions turn out to be equivalent. (author)

Integer linear models with a polynomial number of variables and constraints for some classical combinatorial optimization problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson Maculan

2003-01-01

Full Text Available We present integer linear models with a polynomial number of variables and constraints for combinatorial optimization problems in graphs: optimum elementary cycles, optimum elementary paths and optimum tree problems.Apresentamos modelos lineares inteiros com um número polinomial de variáveis e restrições para problemas de otimização combinatória em grafos: ciclos elementares ótimos, caminhos elementares ótimos e problemas em árvores ótimas.

The Combinatorial Multi-Mode Resource Constrained Multi-Project Scheduling Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denis Pinha

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the formulation and solution of the Combinatorial Multi-Mode Resource Constrained Multi-Project Scheduling Problem. The focus of the proposed method is not on finding a single optimal solution, instead on presenting multiple feasible solutions, with cost and duration information to the project manager. The motivation for developing such an approach is due in part to practical situations where the definition of optimal changes on a regular basis. The proposed approach empowers the project manager to determine what is optimal, on a given day, under the current constraints, such as, change of priorities, lack of skilled worker. The proposed method utilizes a simulation approach to determine feasible solutions, under the current constraints. Resources can be non-consumable, consumable, or doubly constrained. The paper also presents a real-life case study dealing with scheduling of ship repair activities.

Causal gene identification using combinatorial V-structure search.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Ruichu; Zhang, Zhenjie; Hao, Zhifeng

2013-07-01

With the advances of biomedical techniques in the last decade, the costs of human genomic sequencing and genomic activity monitoring are coming down rapidly. To support the huge genome-based business in the near future, researchers are eager to find killer applications based on human genome information. Causal gene identification is one of the most promising applications, which may help the potential patients to estimate the risk of certain genetic diseases and locate the target gene for further genetic therapy. Unfortunately, existing pattern recognition techniques, such as Bayesian networks, cannot be directly applied to find the accurate causal relationship between genes and diseases. This is mainly due to the insufficient number of samples and the extremely high dimensionality of the gene space. In this paper, we present the first practical solution to causal gene identification, utilizing a new combinatorial formulation over V-Structures commonly used in conventional Bayesian networks, by exploring the combinations of significant V-Structures. We prove the NP-hardness of the combinatorial search problem under a general settings on the significance measure on the V-Structures, and present a greedy algorithm to find sub-optimal results. Extensive experiments show that our proposal is both scalable and effective, particularly with interesting findings on the causal genes over real human genome data. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimal recombination in genetic algorithms for combinatorial optimization problems: Part II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eremeev Anton V.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper surveys results on complexity of the optimal recombination problem (ORP, which consists in finding the best possible offspring as a result of a recombination operator in a genetic algorithm, given two parent solutions. In Part II, we consider the computational complexity of ORPs arising in genetic algorithms for problems on permutations: the Travelling Salesman Problem, the Shortest Hamilton Path Problem and the Makespan Minimization on Single Machine and some other related problems. The analysis indicates that the corresponding ORPs are NP-hard, but solvable by faster algorithms, compared to the problems they are derived from.

Particle Swarm Optimization applied to combinatorial problem aiming the fuel recharge problem solution in a nuclear reactor; Particle swarm optimization aplicado ao problema combinatorio com vistas a solucao do problema de recarga em um reator nuclear

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meneses, Anderson Alvarenga de Moura; Schirru, Roberto [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia. Programa de Engenharia Nuclear]. E-mail: ameneses@con.ufrj.br; schirru@lmp.ufrj.br

2005-07-01

This work focuses on the usage the Artificial Intelligence technique Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to optimize the fuel recharge at a nuclear reactor. This is a combinatorial problem, in which the search of the best feasible solution is done by minimizing a specific objective function. However, in this first moment it is possible to compare the fuel recharge problem with the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), since both of them are combinatorial, with one advantage: the evaluation of the TSP objective function is much more simple. Thus, the proposed methods have been applied to two TSPs: Oliver 30 and Rykel 48. In 1995, KENNEDY and EBERHART presented the PSO technique to optimize non-linear continued functions. Recently some PSO models for discrete search spaces have been developed for combinatorial optimization. Although all of them having different formulation from the ones presented here. In this paper, we use the PSO theory associated with to the Random Keys (RK)model, used in some optimizations with Genetic Algorithms. The Particle Swarm Optimization with Random Keys (PSORK) results from this association, which combines PSO and RK. The adaptations and changings in the PSO aim to allow the usage of the PSO at the nuclear fuel recharge. This work shows the PSORK being applied to the proposed combinatorial problem and the obtained results. (author)

Quantum Resonance Approach to Combinatorial Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Zak, Michail

1997-01-01

It is shown that quantum resonance can be used for combinatorial optimization. The advantage of the approach is in independence of the computing time upon the dimensionality of the problem. As an example, the solution to a constraint satisfaction problem of exponential complexity is demonstrated.

Counting in Lattices: Combinatorial Problems from Statistical Mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Randall, Dana Jill

In this thesis we consider two classical combinatorial problems arising in statistical mechanics: counting matchings and self-avoiding walks in lattice graphs. The first problem arises in the study of the thermodynamical properties of monomers and dimers (diatomic molecules) in crystals. Fisher, Kasteleyn and Temperley discovered an elegant technique to exactly count the number of perfect matchings in two dimensional lattices, but it is not applicable for matchings of arbitrary size, or in higher dimensional lattices. We present the first efficient approximation algorithm for computing the number of matchings of any size in any periodic lattice in arbitrary dimension. The algorithm is based on Monte Carlo simulation of a suitable Markov chain and has rigorously derived performance guarantees that do not rely on any assumptions. In addition, we show that these results generalize to counting matchings in any graph which is the Cayley graph of a finite group. The second problem is counting self-avoiding walks in lattices. This problem arises in the study of the thermodynamics of long polymer chains in dilute solution. While there are a number of Monte Carlo algorithms used to count self -avoiding walks in practice, these are heuristic and their correctness relies on unproven conjectures. In contrast, we present an efficient algorithm which relies on a single, widely-believed conjecture that is simpler than preceding assumptions and, more importantly, is one which the algorithm itself can test. Thus our algorithm is reliable, in the sense that it either outputs answers that are guaranteed, with high probability, to be correct, or finds a counterexample to the conjecture. In either case we know we can trust our results and the algorithm is guaranteed to run in polynomial time. This is the first algorithm for counting self-avoiding walks in which the error bounds are rigorously controlled. This work was supported in part by an AT&T graduate fellowship, a University of

Theoretical analysis of two ACO approaches for the traveling salesman problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kötzing, Timo; Neumann, Frank; Röglin, Heiko

2012-01-01

Bioinspired algorithms, such as evolutionary algorithms and ant colony optimization, are widely used for different combinatorial optimization problems. These algorithms rely heavily on the use of randomness and are hard to understand from a theoretical point of view. This paper contributes...... to the theoretical analysis of ant colony optimization and studies this type of algorithm on one of the most prominent combinatorial optimization problems, namely the traveling salesperson problem (TSP). We present a new construction graph and show that it has a stronger local property than one commonly used...... for constructing solutions of the TSP. The rigorous runtime analysis for two ant colony optimization algorithms, based on these two construction procedures, shows that they lead to good approximation in expected polynomial time on random instances. Furthermore, we point out in which situations our algorithms get...

Combinatorial optimization theory and algorithms

CERN Document Server

Korte, Bernhard

2018-01-01

This comprehensive textbook on combinatorial optimization places special emphasis on theoretical results and algorithms with provably good performance, in contrast to heuristics. It is based on numerous courses on combinatorial optimization and specialized topics, mostly at graduate level. This book reviews the fundamentals, covers the classical topics (paths, flows, matching, matroids, NP-completeness, approximation algorithms) in detail, and proceeds to advanced and recent topics, some of which have not appeared in a textbook before. Throughout, it contains complete but concise proofs, and also provides numerous exercises and references. This sixth edition has again been updated, revised, and significantly extended. Among other additions, there are new sections on shallow-light trees, submodular function maximization, smoothed analysis of the knapsack problem, the (ln 4+ɛ)-approximation for Steiner trees, and the VPN theorem. Thus, this book continues to represent the state of the art of combinatorial opti...

Methods of using the quadratic assignment problem solution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Izabela Kudelska

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Quadratic assignment problem (QAP is one of the most interesting of combinatorial optimization. Was presented by Koopman and Beckamanna in 1957, as a mathematical model of the location of indivisible tasks. This problem belongs to the class NP-hard issues. This forces the application to the solution already approximate methods for tasks with a small size (over 30. Even though it is much harder than other combinatorial optimization problems, it enjoys wide interest because it models the important class of decision problems. Material and methods: The discussion was an artificial intelligence tool that allowed to solve the problem QAP, among others are: genetic algorithms, Tabu Search, Branch and Bound. Results and conclusions: QAP did not arise directly as a model for certain actions, but he found its application in many areas. Examples of applications of the problem is: arrangement of buildings on the campus of the university, layout design of electronic components in systems with large scale integration (VLSI, design a hospital, arrangement of keys on the keyboard.

Integrating packing and distribution problems and optimization through mathematical programming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Miguel

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the integration of two combinatorial problems that frequently arise in production and distribution systems. One is the Bin Packing Problem (BPP problem, which involves finding an ordering of some objects of different volumes to be packed into the minimal number of containers of the same or different size. An optimal solution to this NP-Hard problem can be approximated by means of meta-heuristic methods. On the other hand, we consider the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (CVRPTW, which is a variant of the Travelling Salesman Problem (again a NP-Hard problem with extra constraints. Here we model those two problems in a single framework and use an evolutionary meta-heuristics to solve them jointly. Furthermore, we use data from a real world company as a test-bed for the method introduced here.

Combinatorial Algorithms for Portfolio Optimization Problems - Case of Risk Moderate Investor

Science.gov (United States)

Juarna, A.

2017-03-01

Portfolio optimization problem is a problem of finding optimal combination of n stocks from N ≥ n available stocks that gives maximal aggregate return and minimal aggregate risk. In this paper given N = 43 from the IDX (Indonesia Stock Exchange) group of the 45 most-traded stocks, known as the LQ45, with p = 24 data of monthly returns for each stock, spanned over interval 2013-2014. This problem actually is a combinatorial one where its algorithm is constructed based on two considerations: risk moderate type of investor and maximum allowed correlation coefficient between every two eligible stocks. The main outputs resulted from implementation of the algorithms is a multiple curve of three portfolio’s attributes, e.g. the size, the ratio of return to risk, and the percentage of negative correlation coefficient for every two chosen stocks, as function of maximum allowed correlation coefficient between each two stocks. The output curve shows that the portfolio contains three stocks with ratio of return to risk at 14.57 if the maximum allowed correlation coefficient between every two eligible stocks is negative and contains 19 stocks with maximum allowed correlation coefficient 0.17 to get maximum ratio of return to risk at 25.48.

Combinatorial optimization networks and matroids

CERN Document Server

Lawler, Eugene

2011-01-01

Perceptively written text examines optimization problems that can be formulated in terms of networks and algebraic structures called matroids. Chapters cover shortest paths, network flows, bipartite matching, nonbipartite matching, matroids and the greedy algorithm, matroid intersections, and the matroid parity problems. A suitable text or reference for courses in combinatorial computing and concrete computational complexity in departments of computer science and mathematics.

Deaf and hard of hearing students' problem-solving strategies with signed arithmetic story problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagliaro, Claudia M; Ansell, Ellen

2012-01-01

The use of problem-solving strategies by 59 deaf and hard of hearing children, grades K-3, was investigated. The children were asked to solve 9 arithmetic story problems presented to them in American Sign Language. The researchers found that while the children used the same general types of strategies that are used by hearing children (i.e., modeling, counting, and fact-based strategies), they showed an overwhelming use of counting strategies for all types of problems and at all ages. This difference may have its roots in language or instruction (or in both), and calls attention to the need for conceptual rather than procedural mathematics instruction for deaf and hard of hearing students.

Conferences on Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory

CERN Document Server

2014-01-01

This proceedings volume is based on papers presented at the Workshops on Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory (CANT), which were held at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2011 and 2012. The goal of the workshops is to survey recent progress in combinatorial number theory and related parts of mathematics. The workshop attracts researchers and students who discuss the state-of-the-art, open problems, and future challenges in number theory.

SOLVING FLOWSHOP SCHEDULING PROBLEMS USING A DISCRETE AFRICAN WILD DOG ALGORITHM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. K. Marichelvam

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The problem of m-machine permutation flowshop scheduling is considered in this paper. The objective is to minimize the makespan. The flowshop scheduling problem is a typical combinatorial optimization problem and has been proved to be strongly NP-hard. Hence, several heuristics and meta-heuristics were addressed by the researchers. In this paper, a discrete African wild dog algorithm is applied for solving the flowshop scheduling problems. Computational results using benchmark problems show that the proposed algorithm outperforms many other algorithms addressed in the literature.

The construction of combinatorial manifolds with prescribed sets of links of vertices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaifullin, A A

2008-01-01

To every oriented closed combinatorial manifold we assign the set (with repetitions) of isomorphism classes of links of its vertices. The resulting transformation L is the main object of study in this paper. We pose an inversion problem for L and show that this problem is closely related to Steenrod's problem on the realization of cycles and to the Rokhlin-Schwartz-Thom construction of combinatorial Pontryagin classes. We obtain a necessary condition for a set of isomorphism classes of combinatorial spheres to belong to the image of L. (Sets satisfying this condition are said to be balanced.) We give an explicit construction showing that every balanced set of isomorphism classes of combinatorial spheres falls into the image of L after passing to a multiple set and adding several pairs of the form (Z,-Z), where -Z is the sphere Z with the orientation reversed. Given any singular simplicial cycle ξ of a space X, this construction enables us to find explicitly a combinatorial manifold M and a map φ:M→X such that φ * [M]=r[ξ] for some positive integer r. The construction is based on resolving singularities of ξ. We give applications of the main construction to cobordisms of manifolds with singularities and cobordisms of simple cells. In particular, we prove that every rational additive invariant of cobordisms of manifolds with singularities admits a local formula. Another application is the construction of explicit (though inefficient) local combinatorial formulae for polynomials in the rational Pontryagin classes of combinatorial manifolds

Computational Complexity of Combinatorial Surfaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vegter, Gert; Yap, Chee K.

1990-01-01

We investigate the computational problems associated with combinatorial surfaces. Specifically, we present an algorithm (based on the Brahana-Dehn-Heegaard approach) for transforming the polygonal schema of a closed triangulated surface into its canonical form in O(n log n) time, where n is the

Combinatorial reasoning an introduction to the art of counting

CERN Document Server

DeTemple, Duane

2014-01-01

Written by well-known scholars in the field, this book introduces combinatorics alongside modern techniques, showcases the interdisciplinary aspects of the topic, and illustrates how to problem solve with a multitude of exercises throughout. The authors' approach is very reader-friendly and avoids the ""scholarly tone"" found in many books on this topic. Combinatorial Reasoning: An Introduction to the Art of Counting: Focuses on enumeration and combinatorial thinking as a way to develop a variety of effective approaches to solving counting problemsIncludes brief summaries of basic concepts f

Problems in education, employment and social integration of hard of hearing artists

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radić-Šestić Marina

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research was to determine the problems in education (primary, secondary and undergraduate academic studies, employment and social integration of hard of hearing artists based on a multiple case study. The sample consisted of 4 examinees of both genders, aged between 29 and 54, from the field of visual arts (a painter, a sculptor, a graphic designer, and an interior designer. The structured interview consisted of 30 questions testing three areas: the first area involved family, primary and secondary education; the second area was about the length of studying and socio-emotional problems of the examinees; the third area dealt with problems in employment and job satisfaction of our examinees. Research results indicate the existence of several problems which more or less reflect the success in education, employment and social integration of hard of hearing artists. One of the problems which can influence the development of language abilities, socioemotional maturity, and better educational achievement of hard of hearing artists in general, is prolongation in diagnosing hearing impairments, amplification and auditory rehabilitation. Furthermore, parents of hard of hearing artists have difficulties in adjusting to their children's hearing impairments and ignore the language and culture of the Deaf, i.e. they tend to identify their children with typically developing population. Another problem are negative attitudes of teachers/professors/employers and typically developing peers/ colleagues towards the inclusion of hard of hearing people into the regular education/employment system. Apart from that, unmodified instruction, course books, information, school and working area further complicate the acquisition of knowledge, information, and the progress of hard of hearing people in education and profession.

Applications of combinatorial optimization

CERN Document Server

Paschos, Vangelis Th

2013-01-01

Combinatorial optimization is a multidisciplinary scientific area, lying in the interface of three major scientific domains: mathematics, theoretical computer science and management. The three volumes of the Combinatorial Optimization series aims to cover a wide range of topics in this area. These topics also deal with fundamental notions and approaches as with several classical applications of combinatorial optimization. "Applications of Combinatorial Optimization" is presenting a certain number among the most common and well-known applications of Combinatorial Optimization.

Incorporating a modified uniform crossover and 2-exchange neighborhood mechanism in a discrete bat algorithm to solve the quadratic assignment problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Essaid Riffi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The bat algorithm is one of the recent nature-inspired algorithms, which has been emerged as a powerful search method for solving continuous as well as discrete problems. The quadratic assignment problem is a well-known NP-hard problem in combinatorial optimization. The goal of this problem is to assign n facilities to n locations in such a way as to minimize the assignment cost. For that purpose, this paper introduces a novel discrete variant of bat algorithm to deal with this combinatorial optimization problem. The proposed algorithm was evaluated on a set of benchmark instances from the QAPLIB library and the performance was compared to other algorithms. The empirical results of exhaustive experiments were promising and illustrated the efficacy of the suggested approach.

Combinatorial expressions of the solutions to initial value problems of the discrete and ultradiscrete Toda molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamioka, Shuhei; Takagaki, Tomoaki

2013-01-01

Combinatorial expressions are presented of the solutions to initial value problems of the discrete and ultradiscrete Toda molecules. For the discrete Toda molecule, a subtraction-free expression of the solution is derived in terms of non-intersecting paths, for which two results in combinatorics, Flajolet’s interpretation of continued fractions and Gessel–Viennot’s lemma on determinants, are applied. By ultradiscretizing the subtraction-free expression, the solution to the ultradiscrete Toda molecule is obtained. It is finally shown that the initial value problem of the ultradiscrete Toda molecule is exactly solved in terms of shortest paths on a specific graph. The behavior of the solution is also investigated in comparison with the box–ball system. (paper)

Bioinspired computation in combinatorial optimization: algorithms and their computational complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Neumann, Frank; Witt, Carsten

2012-01-01

Bioinspired computation methods, such as evolutionary algorithms and ant colony optimization, are being applied successfully to complex engineering and combinatorial optimization problems, and it is very important that we understand the computational complexity of these algorithms. This tutorials...... problems. Classical single objective optimization is examined first. They then investigate the computational complexity of bioinspired computation applied to multiobjective variants of the considered combinatorial optimization problems, and in particular they show how multiobjective optimization can help...... to speed up bioinspired computation for single-objective optimization problems. The tutorial is based on a book written by the authors with the same title. Further information about the book can be found at www.bioinspiredcomputation.com....

Evolutionary Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Solving NP-Hard No-Wait Flow Shop Scheduling Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laxmi A. Bewoor

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The no-wait flow shop is a flowshop in which the scheduling of jobs is continuous and simultaneous through all machines without waiting for any consecutive machines. The scheduling of a no-wait flow shop requires finding an appropriate sequence of jobs for scheduling, which in turn reduces total processing time. The classical brute force method for finding the probabilities of scheduling for improving the utilization of resources may become trapped in local optima, and this problem can hence be observed as a typical NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem that requires finding a near optimal solution with heuristic and metaheuristic techniques. This paper proposes an effective hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO metaheuristic algorithm for solving no-wait flow shop scheduling problems with the objective of minimizing the total flow time of jobs. This Proposed Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization (PHPSO algorithm presents a solution by the random key representation rule for converting the continuous position information values of particles to a discrete job permutation. The proposed algorithm initializes population efficiently with the Nawaz-Enscore-Ham (NEH heuristic technique and uses an evolutionary search guided by the mechanism of PSO, as well as simulated annealing based on a local neighborhood search to avoid getting stuck in local optima and to provide the appropriate balance of global exploration and local exploitation. Extensive computational experiments are carried out based on Taillard’s benchmark suite. Computational results and comparisons with existing metaheuristics show that the PHPSO algorithm outperforms the existing methods in terms of quality search and robustness for the problem considered. The improvement in solution quality is confirmed by statistical tests of significance.

Combinatorial designs a tribute to Haim Hanani

CERN Document Server

Hartman, A

1989-01-01

Haim Hanani pioneered the techniques for constructing designs and the theory of pairwise balanced designs, leading directly to Wilson''s Existence Theorem. He also led the way in the study of resolvable designs, covering and packing problems, latin squares, 3-designs and other combinatorial configurations.The Hanani volume is a collection of research and survey papers at the forefront of research in combinatorial design theory, including Professor Hanani''s own latest work on Balanced Incomplete Block Designs. Other areas covered include Steiner systems, finite geometries, quasigroups, and t-designs.

The Role of the Goal in Solving Hard Computational Problems: Do People Really Optimize?

Science.gov (United States)

Carruthers, Sarah; Stege, Ulrike; Masson, Michael E. J.

2018-01-01

The role that the mental, or internal, representation plays when people are solving hard computational problems has largely been overlooked to date, despite the reality that this internal representation drives problem solving. In this work we investigate how performance on versions of two hard computational problems differs based on what internal…

Exact model reduction of combinatorial reaction networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fey Dirk

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Receptors and scaffold proteins usually possess a high number of distinct binding domains inducing the formation of large multiprotein signaling complexes. Due to combinatorial reasons the number of distinguishable species grows exponentially with the number of binding domains and can easily reach several millions. Even by including only a limited number of components and binding domains the resulting models are very large and hardly manageable. A novel model reduction technique allows the significant reduction and modularization of these models. Results We introduce methods that extend and complete the already introduced approach. For instance, we provide techniques to handle the formation of multi-scaffold complexes as well as receptor dimerization. Furthermore, we discuss a new modeling approach that allows the direct generation of exactly reduced model structures. The developed methods are used to reduce a model of EGF and insulin receptor crosstalk comprising 5,182 ordinary differential equations (ODEs to a model with 87 ODEs. Conclusion The methods, presented in this contribution, significantly enhance the available methods to exactly reduce models of combinatorial reaction networks.

A Model of Students' Combinatorial Thinking

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Elise

2013-01-01

Combinatorial topics have become increasingly prevalent in K-12 and undergraduate curricula, yet research on combinatorics education indicates that students face difficulties when solving counting problems. The research community has not yet addressed students' ways of thinking at a level that facilitates deeper understanding of how students…

Exponential-Time Algorithms and Complexity of NP-Hard Graph Problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taslaman, Nina Sofia

of algorithms, as well as investigations into how far such improvements can get under reasonable assumptions.      The first part is concerned with detection of cycles in graphs, especially parameterized generalizations of Hamiltonian cycles. A remarkably simple Monte Carlo algorithm is presented......NP-hard problems are deemed highly unlikely to be solvable in polynomial time. Still, one can often find algorithms that are substantially faster than brute force solutions. This thesis concerns such algorithms for problems from graph theory; techniques for constructing and improving this type......, and with high probability any found solution is shortest possible. Moreover, the algorithm can be used to find a cycle of given parity through the specified elements.      The second part concerns the hardness of problems encoded as evaluations of the Tutte polynomial at some fixed point in the rational plane...

Markov's theorem and algorithmically non-recognizable combinatorial manifolds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shtan'ko, M A

2004-01-01

We prove the theorem of Markov on the existence of an algorithmically non-recognizable combinatorial n-dimensional manifold for every n≥4. We construct for the first time a concrete manifold which is algorithmically non-recognizable. A strengthened form of Markov's theorem is proved using the combinatorial methods of regular neighbourhoods and handle theory. The proofs coincide for all n≥4. We use Borisov's group with insoluble word problem. It has two generators and twelve relations. The use of this group forms the base for proving the strengthened form of Markov's theorem

NP-hardness of the cluster minimization problem revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Adib, Artur B.

2005-10-01

The computational complexity of the 'cluster minimization problem' is revisited (Wille and Vennik 1985 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 18 L419). It is argued that the original NP-hardness proof does not apply to pairwise potentials of physical interest, such as those that depend on the geometric distance between the particles. A geometric analogue of the original problem is formulated, and a new proof for such potentials is provided by polynomial time transformation from the independent set problem for unit disk graphs. Limitations of this formulation are pointed out, and new subproblems that bear more direct consequences to the numerical study of clusters are suggested.

NP-hardness of the cluster minimization problem revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adib, Artur B

2005-01-01

The computational complexity of the 'cluster minimization problem' is revisited (Wille and Vennik 1985 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 18 L419). It is argued that the original NP-hardness proof does not apply to pairwise potentials of physical interest, such as those that depend on the geometric distance between the particles. A geometric analogue of the original problem is formulated, and a new proof for such potentials is provided by polynomial time transformation from the independent set problem for unit disk graphs. Limitations of this formulation are pointed out, and new subproblems that bear more direct consequences to the numerical study of clusters are suggested

NP-hardness of the cluster minimization problem revisited

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adib, Artur B [Physics Department, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 (United States)

2005-10-07

The computational complexity of the 'cluster minimization problem' is revisited (Wille and Vennik 1985 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 18 L419). It is argued that the original NP-hardness proof does not apply to pairwise potentials of physical interest, such as those that depend on the geometric distance between the particles. A geometric analogue of the original problem is formulated, and a new proof for such potentials is provided by polynomial time transformation from the independent set problem for unit disk graphs. Limitations of this formulation are pointed out, and new subproblems that bear more direct consequences to the numerical study of clusters are suggested.

Ranked solutions to a class of combinatorial optimizations - with applications in mass spectrometry based peptide sequencing

Science.gov (United States)

Doerr, Timothy; Alves, Gelio; Yu, Yi-Kuo

2006-03-01

Typical combinatorial optimizations are NP-hard; however, for a particular class of cost functions the corresponding combinatorial optimizations can be solved in polynomial time. This suggests a way to efficiently find approximate solutions - - find a transformation that makes the cost function as similar as possible to that of the solvable class. After keeping many high-ranking solutions using the approximate cost function, one may then re-assess these solutions with the full cost function to find the best approximate solution. Under this approach, it is important to be able to assess the quality of the solutions obtained, e.g., by finding the true ranking of kth best approximate solution when all possible solutions are considered exhaustively. To tackle this statistical issue, we provide a systematic method starting with a scaling function generated from the fininte number of high- ranking solutions followed by a convergent iterative mapping. This method, useful in a variant of the directed paths in random media problem proposed here, can also provide a statistical significance assessment for one of the most important proteomic tasks - - peptide sequencing using tandem mass spectrometry data.

Distributing the computation in combinatorial optimization experiments over the cloud

OpenAIRE

Mario Brcic; Nikica Hlupic; Nenad Katanic

2017-01-01

Combinatorial optimization is an area of great importance since many of the real-world problems have discrete parameters which are part of the objective function to be optimized. Development of combinatorial optimization algorithms is guided by the empirical study of the candidate ideas and their performance over a wide range of settings or scenarios to infer general conclusions. Number of scenarios can be overwhelming, especially when modeling uncertainty in some of the problem’s parameters....

Directed Bee Colony Optimization Algorithm to Solve the Nurse Rostering Problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajeswari, M; Amudhavel, J; Pothula, Sujatha; Dhavachelvan, P

2017-01-01

The Nurse Rostering Problem is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization, scheduling problem for assigning a set of nurses to shifts per day by considering both hard and soft constraints. A novel metaheuristic technique is required for solving Nurse Rostering Problem (NRP). This work proposes a metaheuristic technique called Directed Bee Colony Optimization Algorithm using the Modified Nelder-Mead Method for solving the NRP. To solve the NRP, the authors used a multiobjective mathematical programming model and proposed a methodology for the adaptation of a Multiobjective Directed Bee Colony Optimization (MODBCO). MODBCO is used successfully for solving the multiobjective problem of optimizing the scheduling problems. This MODBCO is an integration of deterministic local search, multiagent particle system environment, and honey bee decision-making process. The performance of the algorithm is assessed using the standard dataset INRC2010, and it reflects many real-world cases which vary in size and complexity. The experimental analysis uses statistical tools to show the uniqueness of the algorithm on assessment criteria.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students' Problem-Solving Strategies with Signed Arithmetic Story Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Pagliaro, Claudia M.; Ansell, Ellen

2011-01-01

The use of problem-solving strategies by 59 deaf and hard of hearing children, grades K-3, was investigated. The children were asked to solve 9 arithmetic story problems presented to them in American Sign Language. The researchers found that while the children used the same general types of strategies that are used by hearing children (i.e.,…

A NEW HEURISTIC ALGORITHM FOR MULTIPLE TRAVELING SALESMAN PROBLEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. NURIYEVA

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem (mTSP is a combinatorial optimization problem in NP-hard class. The mTSP aims to acquire the minimum cost for traveling a given set of cities by assigning each of them to a different salesman in order to create m number of tours. This paper presents a new heuristic algorithm based on the shortest path algorithm to find a solution for the mTSP. The proposed method has been programmed in C language and its performance analysis has been carried out on the library instances. The computational results show the efficiency of this method.

Application of Viral Systems for Single-Machine Total Weighted Tardiness Problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santosa, Budi; Affandi, Umar

2013-01-01

In this paper, a relatively new algorithm inspired by the viral replication system called Viral Systems is used to solve the Single-Machine Total Weighted Tardiness (SMTWTP). SMTWTP is a job scheduling problem which is one of classical combinatorial problems known as np-hard problems. This algorithm makes the process of finding solutions through neighborhood and mutation mechanism. The experiment was conducted to evaluate its performance. There are seven parameters which are required to tune in to find best solution. The experiment was implemented on data sets of 40 jobs, 50 jobs, and 100 jobs. The results show that the algorithm can solve 235 optimally out of 275 problems.

A combinatorial approach to the design of vaccines.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, Luis; Milanič, Martin; Legarreta, Leire; Medvedev, Paul; Malaina, Iker; de la Fuente, Ildefonso M

2015-05-01

We present two new problems of combinatorial optimization and discuss their applications to the computational design of vaccines. In the shortest λ-superstring problem, given a family S1,...,S(k) of strings over a finite alphabet, a set Τ of "target" strings over that alphabet, and an integer λ, the task is to find a string of minimum length containing, for each i, at least λ target strings as substrings of S(i). In the shortest λ-cover superstring problem, given a collection X1,...,X(n) of finite sets of strings over a finite alphabet and an integer λ, the task is to find a string of minimum length containing, for each i, at least λ elements of X(i) as substrings. The two problems are polynomially equivalent, and the shortest λ-cover superstring problem is a common generalization of two well known combinatorial optimization problems, the shortest common superstring problem and the set cover problem. We present two approaches to obtain exact or approximate solutions to the shortest λ-superstring and λ-cover superstring problems: one based on integer programming, and a hill-climbing algorithm. An application is given to the computational design of vaccines and the algorithms are applied to experimental data taken from patients infected by H5N1 and HIV-1.

Geometric Generalisation of Surrogate Model-Based Optimisation to Combinatorial and Program Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Hyuk Kim

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Surrogate models (SMs can profitably be employed, often in conjunction with evolutionary algorithms, in optimisation in which it is expensive to test candidate solutions. The spatial intuition behind SMs makes them naturally suited to continuous problems, and the only combinatorial problems that have been previously addressed are those with solutions that can be encoded as integer vectors. We show how radial basis functions can provide a generalised SM for combinatorial problems which have a geometric solution representation, through the conversion of that representation to a different metric space. This approach allows an SM to be cast in a natural way for the problem at hand, without ad hoc adaptation to a specific representation. We test this adaptation process on problems involving binary strings, permutations, and tree-based genetic programs.

Combinatorial commutative algebra

CERN Document Server

Miller, Ezra

2005-01-01

Offers an introduction to combinatorial commutative algebra, focusing on combinatorial techniques for multigraded polynomial rings, semigroup algebras, and determined rings. The chapters in this work cover topics ranging from homological invariants of monomial ideals and their polyhedral resolutions, to tools for studying algebraic varieties.

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Otto, Sijbren; Furlan, Ricardo L.E.; Sanders, Jeremy K.M.

2002-01-01

A combinatorial library that responds to its target by increasing the concentration of strong binders at the expense of weak binders sounds ideal. Dynamic combinatorial chemistry has the potential to achieve exactly this. In this review, we will highlight the unique features that distinguish dynamic

Development of Combinatorial Methods for Alloy Design and Optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pharr, George M.; George, Easo P.; Santella, Michael L

2005-01-01

rapid structural and chemical characterization of alloy libraries was developed based on high intensity x-radiation available at synchrotron sources such as the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). With the technique, structural and chemical characterization of up to 2500 discrete positions on a library can made in a period of less than 4 hours. Among the parameters that can be measured are the chemical composition, crystal structure, lattice parameters, texture, and grain size. From these, one can also deduce isothermal sections of ternary phase diagrams. The equipment and techniques needed to do this are now in place for use in future combinatorial studies at the ORNL beam line at the APS. In conjunction with the chemical and structural investigations, nanoindentation techniques were developed to investigate the mechanical properties of the combinatorial libraries. The two primary mechanical properties of interest were the elastic modulus, E, and hardness, H, both of which were measured on alloy library surfaces with spatial resolutions of better than 1 m. A nanoindentation testing system at ORNL was programmed to make a series of indentations at specified locations on the library surface and automatically collect and store all the data needed to obtain hardness and modulus as a function of position. Approximately 200 indentations can be made during an overnight run, which allows for mechanical property measurement over a wide range of chemical composition in a relatively short time. Since the materials based on the Fe-Ni-Cr system often find application in highly carburizing and harsh chemical environments, simple techniques were developed to assess the resistance of Fe-Ni-Cr alloy libraries to carburization and corrosion. Alloy libraries were carburized by standard techniques, and the effectiveness of the carburization at various points along the sample surface was assessed by nanoindentation hardness measurement. Corrosion tests were

Confluence of an extension of combinatory logic by Boolean constants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Czajka, Łukasz

2017-01-01

We show confluence of a conditional term rewriting system CL-pc1, which is an extension of Combinatory Logic by Boolean constants. This solves problem 15 from the RTA list of open problems. The proof has been fully formalized in the Coq proof assistant....

Solving the Container Stowage Problem (CSP) using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)

Science.gov (United States)

Matsaini; Santosa, Budi

2018-04-01

Container Stowage Problem (CSP) is a problem of containers arrangement into ships by considering rules such as: total weight, weight of one stack, destination, equilibrium, and placement of containers on vessel. Container stowage problem is combinatorial problem and hard to solve with enumeration technique. It is an NP-Hard Problem. Therefore, to find a solution, metaheuristics is preferred. The objective of solving the problem is to minimize the amount of shifting such that the unloading time is minimized. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is proposed to solve the problem. The implementation of PSO is combined with some steps which are stack position change rules, stack changes based on destination, and stack changes based on the weight type of the stacks (light, medium, and heavy). The proposed method was applied on five different cases. The results were compared to Bee Swarm Optimization (BSO) and heuristics method. PSO provided mean of 0.87% gap and time gap of 60 second. While BSO provided mean of 2,98% gap and 459,6 second to the heuristcs.

Relativity in Combinatorial Gravitational Fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mao Linfan

2010-04-01

Full Text Available A combinatorial spacetime $(mathscr{C}_G| uboverline{t}$ is a smoothly combinatorial manifold $mathscr{C}$ underlying a graph $G$ evolving on a time vector $overline{t}$. As we known, Einstein's general relativity is suitable for use only in one spacetime. What is its disguise in a combinatorial spacetime? Applying combinatorial Riemannian geometry enables us to present a combinatorial spacetime model for the Universe and suggest a generalized Einstein gravitational equation in such model. Forfinding its solutions, a generalized relativity principle, called projective principle is proposed, i.e., a physics law ina combinatorial spacetime is invariant under a projection on its a subspace and then a spherically symmetric multi-solutions ofgeneralized Einstein gravitational equations in vacuum or charged body are found. We also consider the geometrical structure in such solutions with physical formations, and conclude that an ultimate theory for the Universe maybe established if all such spacetimes in ${f R}^3$. Otherwise, our theory is only an approximate theory and endless forever.

Some unsolved problems in discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics

Science.gov (United States)

Korshunov, Aleksei D.

2009-10-01

There are many unsolved problems in discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics. Writing a comprehensive survey of such problems involves great difficulties. First, such problems are rather numerous and varied. Second, they greatly differ from each other in degree of completeness of their solution. Therefore, even a comprehensive survey should not attempt to cover the whole variety of such problems; only the most important and significant problems should be reviewed. An impersonal choice of problems to include is quite hard. This paper includes 13 unsolved problems related to combinatorial mathematics and computational complexity theory. The problems selected give an indication of the author's studies for 50 years; for this reason, the choice of the problems reviewed here is, to some extent, subjective. At the same time, these problems are very difficult and quite important for discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics. Bibliography: 74 items.

Some unsolved problems in discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korshunov, Aleksei D

2009-01-01

There are many unsolved problems in discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics. Writing a comprehensive survey of such problems involves great difficulties. First, such problems are rather numerous and varied. Second, they greatly differ from each other in degree of completeness of their solution. Therefore, even a comprehensive survey should not attempt to cover the whole variety of such problems; only the most important and significant problems should be reviewed. An impersonal choice of problems to include is quite hard. This paper includes 13 unsolved problems related to combinatorial mathematics and computational complexity theory. The problems selected give an indication of the author's studies for 50 years; for this reason, the choice of the problems reviewed here is, to some extent, subjective. At the same time, these problems are very difficult and quite important for discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics. Bibliography: 74 items.

Combinatorial Nano-Bio Interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Pingqiang; Zhang, Xiaoqian; Wang, Ming; Wu, Yun-Long; Chen, Xiaodong

2018-06-08

Nano-bio interfaces are emerging from the convergence of engineered nanomaterials and biological entities. Despite rapid growth, clinical translation of biomedical nanomaterials is heavily compromised by the lack of comprehensive understanding of biophysicochemical interactions at nano-bio interfaces. In the past decade, a few investigations have adopted a combinatorial approach toward decoding nano-bio interfaces. Combinatorial nano-bio interfaces comprise the design of nanocombinatorial libraries and high-throughput bioevaluation. In this Perspective, we address challenges in combinatorial nano-bio interfaces and call for multiparametric nanocombinatorics (composition, morphology, mechanics, surface chemistry), multiscale bioevaluation (biomolecules, organelles, cells, tissues/organs), and the recruitment of computational modeling and artificial intelligence. Leveraging combinatorial nano-bio interfaces will shed light on precision nanomedicine and its potential applications.

Nuclear many-body problem with repulsive hard core interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haddad, L M

1965-07-01

The nuclear many-body problem is considered using the perturbation-theoretic approach of Brueckner and collaborators. This approach is outlined with particular attention paid to the graphical representation of the terms in the perturbation expansion. The problem is transformed to centre-of-mass coordinates in configuration space and difficulties involved in ordinary methods of solution of the resulting equation are discussed. A new technique, the 'reference spectrum method', devised by Bethe, Brandow and Petschek in an attempt to simplify the numerical work in presented. The basic equations are derived in this approximation and considering the repulsive hard core part of the interaction only, the effective mass is calculated at high momentum (using the same energy spectrum for both 'particle' and 'hole' states). The result of 0.87m is in agreement with that of Bethe et al. A more complete treatment using the reference spectrum method in introduced and a self-consistent set of equations is established for the reference spectrum parameters again for the case of hard core repulsions. (author)

On some interconnections between combinatorial optimization and extremal graph theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cvetković Dragoš M.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The uniting feature of combinatorial optimization and extremal graph theory is that in both areas one should find extrema of a function defined in most cases on a finite set. While in combinatorial optimization the point is in developing efficient algorithms and heuristics for solving specified types of problems, the extremal graph theory deals with finding bounds for various graph invariants under some constraints and with constructing extremal graphs. We analyze by examples some interconnections and interactions of the two theories and propose some conclusions.

Combinatorial problems and exercises

CERN Document Server

Lovász, László

2007-01-01

The main purpose of this book is to provide help in learning existing techniques in combinatorics. The most effective way of learning such techniques is to solve exercises and problems. This book presents all the material in the form of problems and series of problems (apart from some general comments at the beginning of each chapter). In the second part, a hint is given for each exercise, which contains the main idea necessary for the solution, but allows the reader to practice the techniques by completing the proof. In the third part, a full solution is provided for each problem. This book w

Set-Based Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization Based on Decomposition for Permutation-Based Multiobjective Combinatorial Optimization Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xue; Chen, Wei-Neng; Gu, Tianlong; Zhang, Huaxiang; Yuan, Huaqiang; Kwong, Sam; Zhang, Jun

2017-08-07

This paper studies a specific class of multiobjective combinatorial optimization problems (MOCOPs), namely the permutation-based MOCOPs. Many commonly seen MOCOPs, e.g., multiobjective traveling salesman problem (MOTSP), multiobjective project scheduling problem (MOPSP), belong to this problem class and they can be very different. However, as the permutation-based MOCOPs share the inherent similarity that the structure of their search space is usually in the shape of a permutation tree, this paper proposes a generic multiobjective set-based particle swarm optimization methodology based on decomposition, termed MS-PSO/D. In order to coordinate with the property of permutation-based MOCOPs, MS-PSO/D utilizes an element-based representation and a constructive approach. Through this, feasible solutions under constraints can be generated step by step following the permutation-tree-shaped structure. And problem-related heuristic information is introduced in the constructive approach for efficiency. In order to address the multiobjective optimization issues, the decomposition strategy is employed, in which the problem is converted into multiple single-objective subproblems according to a set of weight vectors. Besides, a flexible mechanism for diversity control is provided in MS-PSO/D. Extensive experiments have been conducted to study MS-PSO/D on two permutation-based MOCOPs, namely the MOTSP and the MOPSP. Experimental results validate that the proposed methodology is promising.

A Hybrid Method for Modeling and Solving Supply Chain Optimization Problems with Soft and Logical Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł Sitek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a hybrid method for modeling and solving supply chain optimization problems with soft, hard, and logical constraints. Ability to implement soft and logical constraints is a very important functionality for supply chain optimization models. Such constraints are particularly useful for modeling problems resulting from commercial agreements, contracts, competition, technology, safety, and environmental conditions. Two programming and solving environments, mathematical programming (MP and constraint logic programming (CLP, were combined in the hybrid method. This integration, hybridization, and the adequate multidimensional transformation of the problem (as a presolving method helped to substantially reduce the search space of combinatorial models for supply chain optimization problems. The operation research MP and declarative CLP, where constraints are modeled in different ways and different solving procedures are implemented, were linked together to use the strengths of both. This approach is particularly important for the decision and combinatorial optimization models with the objective function and constraints, there are many decision variables, and these are summed (common in manufacturing, supply chain management, project management, and logistic problems. The ECLiPSe system with Eplex library was proposed to implement a hybrid method. Additionally, the proposed hybrid transformed model is compared with the MILP-Mixed Integer Linear Programming model on the same data instances. For illustrative models, its use allowed finding optimal solutions eight to one hundred times faster and reducing the size of the combinatorial problem to a significant extent.

Some unsolved problems in discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Korshunov, Aleksei D [S.L. Sobolev Institute for Mathematics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

2009-10-31

There are many unsolved problems in discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics. Writing a comprehensive survey of such problems involves great difficulties. First, such problems are rather numerous and varied. Second, they greatly differ from each other in degree of completeness of their solution. Therefore, even a comprehensive survey should not attempt to cover the whole variety of such problems; only the most important and significant problems should be reviewed. An impersonal choice of problems to include is quite hard. This paper includes 13 unsolved problems related to combinatorial mathematics and computational complexity theory. The problems selected give an indication of the author's studies for 50 years; for this reason, the choice of the problems reviewed here is, to some extent, subjective. At the same time, these problems are very difficult and quite important for discrete mathematics and mathematical cybernetics. Bibliography: 74 items.

From combinatorial optimization to real algebraic geometry and back

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janez Povh

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we explain the relations between combinatorial optimization and real algebraic geometry with a special focus to the quadratic assignment problem. We demonstrate how to write a quadratic optimization problem over discrete feasible set as a linear optimization problem over the cone of completely positive matrices. The latter formulation enables a hierarchy of approximations which rely on results from polynomial optimization, a sub-eld of real algebraic geometry.

Structural qualia: a solution to the hard problem of consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Loorits, Kristjan

2014-01-01

The hard problem of consciousness has been often claimed to be unsolvable by the methods of traditional empirical sciences. It has been argued that all the objects of empirical sciences can be fully analyzed in structural terms but that consciousness is (or has) something over and above its structure. However, modern neuroscience has introduced a theoretical framework in which also the apparently non-structural aspects of consciousness, namely the so called qualia or qualitative properties, can be analyzed in structural terms. That framework allows us to see qualia as something compositional with internal structures that fully determine their qualitative nature. Moreover, those internal structures can be identified which certain neural patterns. Thus consciousness as a whole can be seen as a complex neural pattern that misperceives some of its own highly complex structural properties as monadic and qualitative. Such neural pattern is analyzable in fully structural terms and thereby the hard problem is solved.

Structural qualia: a solution to the hard problem of consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristjan eLoorits

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The hard problem of consciousness has been often claimed to be unsolvable by the methods of traditional empirical sciences. It has been argued that all the objects of empirical sciences can be fully analyzed in structural terms but that consciousness is (or has something over and above its structure. However, modern neuroscience has introduced a theoretical framework in which also the apparently non-structural aspects of consciousness, namely the so called qualia or qualitative properties, can be analyzed in structural terms. That framework allows us to see qualia as something compositional with internal structures that fully determine their qualitative nature. Moreover, those internal structures can be identified which certain neural patterns. Thus consciousness as a whole can be seen as a complex neural pattern that misperceives some of its own highly complex structural properties as monadic and qualitative. Such neural pattern is analyzable in fully structural terms and thereby the hard problem is solved.

On an extension of a combinatorial identity

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

to an infinite family of 4-way combinatorial identities. In some particular cases we get even 5-way combinatorial identities which give us four new combinatorial versions of. Göllnitz–Gordon identities. Keywords. n-Color partitions; lattice paths; Frobenius partitions; Göllnitz–Gordon identities; combinatorial interpretations. 1.

Mitigation of Control Channel Jamming via Combinatorial Key Distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Falahati, Abolfazl; Azarafrooz, Mahdi

The problem of countering control channel jamming against internal adversaries in wireless ad hoc networks is addressed. Using combinatorial key distribution, a new method to secure the control channel access is introduced. This method, utilizes the established keys in the key establishment phase to hide the location of control channels without the need for a secure BS. This is in obtained by combination of a collision free one-way function and a combinatorial key establishment method. The proposed scheme can be considered as a special case of the ALOHA random access schemes which uses the common established keys as its seeds to generate the pattern of transmission.

Nonparametric combinatorial sequence models.

Science.gov (United States)

Wauthier, Fabian L; Jordan, Michael I; Jojic, Nebojsa

2011-11-01

This work considers biological sequences that exhibit combinatorial structures in their composition: groups of positions of the aligned sequences are "linked" and covary as one unit across sequences. If multiple such groups exist, complex interactions can emerge between them. Sequences of this kind arise frequently in biology but methodologies for analyzing them are still being developed. This article presents a nonparametric prior on sequences which allows combinatorial structures to emerge and which induces a posterior distribution over factorized sequence representations. We carry out experiments on three biological sequence families which indicate that combinatorial structures are indeed present and that combinatorial sequence models can more succinctly describe them than simpler mixture models. We conclude with an application to MHC binding prediction which highlights the utility of the posterior distribution over sequence representations induced by the prior. By integrating out the posterior, our method compares favorably to leading binding predictors.

Computational Study on a PTAS for Planar Dominating Set Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qian-Ping Gu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The dominating set problem is a core NP-hard problem in combinatorial optimization and graph theory, and has many important applications. Baker [JACM 41,1994] introduces a k-outer planar graph decomposition-based framework for designing polynomial time approximation scheme (PTAS for a class of NP-hard problems in planar graphs. It is mentioned that the framework can be applied to obtain an O(2ckn time, c is a constant, (1+1/k-approximation algorithm for the planar dominating set problem. We show that the approximation ratio achieved by the mentioned application of the framework is not bounded by any constant for the planar dominating set problem. We modify the application of the framework to give a PTAS for the planar dominating set problem. With k-outer planar graph decompositions, the modified PTAS has an approximation ratio (1 + 2/k. Using 2k-outer planar graph decompositions, the modified PTAS achieves the approximation ratio (1+1/k in O(22ckn time. We report a computational study on the modified PTAS. Our results show that the modified PTAS is practical.

Complexity of hierarchically and 1-dimensional periodically specified problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marathe, M.V.; Hunt, H.B. III; Stearns, R.E.; Radhakrishnan, V.

1995-08-23

We study the complexity of various combinatorial and satisfiability problems when instances are specified using one of the following specifications: (1) the 1-dimensional finite periodic narrow specifications of Wanke and Ford et al. (2) the 1-dimensional finite periodic narrow specifications with explicit boundary conditions of Gale (3) the 2-way infinite1-dimensional narrow periodic specifications of Orlin et al. and (4) the hierarchical specifications of Lengauer et al. we obtain three general types of results. First, we prove that there is a polynomial time algorithm that given a 1-FPN- or 1-FPN(BC)specification of a graph (or a C N F formula) constructs a level-restricted L-specification of an isomorphic graph (or formula). This theorem along with the hardness results proved here provides alternative and unified proofs of many hardness results proved in the past either by Lengauer and Wagner or by Orlin. Second, we study the complexity of generalized CNF satisfiability problems of Schaefer. Assuming P {ne} PSPACE, we characterize completely the polynomial time solvability of these problems, when instances are specified as in (1), (2),(3) or (4). As applications of our first two types of results, we obtain a number of new PSPACE-hardness and polynomial time algorithms for problems specified as in (1), (2), (3) or(4). Many of our results also hold for O(log N) bandwidth bounded planar instances.

Solutions manual to accompany Combinatorial reasoning an introduction to the art of counting

CERN Document Server

DeTemple, Duane

2014-01-01

This is a solutions manual to accompany Combinatorial Reasoning: An Introduction to the Art of CountingWritten by well-known scholars in the field, Combinatorial Reasoning: An Introduction to the Art of Counting introduces combinatorics alongside modern techniques, showcases the interdisciplinary aspects of the topic, and illustrates how to problem solve with a multitude of exercises throughout. The authors'' approach is very reader-friendly and avoids the ""scholarly tone"" found in many books on this topic.  

KENO-IV/CG, the combinatorial geometry version of the KENO Monte Carlo criticality safety program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

West, J.T.; Petrie, L.M.; Fraley, S.K.

1979-09-01

KENO-IV/CG was developed to merge the simple geometry input description utilized by combinatorial geometry with the repeating lattice feature of the original KENO geometry package. The result is a criticality code with the ability to model a complex system of repeating rectangular lattices inside a complicated three-dimensional geometry system. Furthermore, combinatorial geometry was modified to differentiate between combinatorial zones describing a particular KENO BOX to be repeated in a KENO array and those combinatorial zones describing geometry external to an array. This allows the user to maintain a simple coordinate system without any geometric conflict due to spatial overlap. Several difficult criticality design problems have been solved with the new geometry package in KENO-IV/CG, thus illustrating the power of the code to model difficult geometries with a minimum of effort

Gems of combinatorial optimization and graph algorithms

CERN Document Server

Skutella, Martin; Stiller, Sebastian; Wagner, Dorothea

2015-01-01

Are you looking for new lectures for your course on algorithms, combinatorial optimization, or algorithmic game theory?  Maybe you need a convenient source of relevant, current topics for a graduate student or advanced undergraduate student seminar?  Or perhaps you just want an enjoyable look at some beautiful mathematical and algorithmic results, ideas, proofs, concepts, and techniques in discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science?   Gems of Combinatorial Optimization and Graph Algorithms is a handpicked collection of up-to-date articles, carefully prepared by a select group of international experts, who have contributed some of their most mathematically or algorithmically elegant ideas.  Topics include longest tours and Steiner trees in geometric spaces, cartograms, resource buying games, congestion games, selfish routing, revenue equivalence and shortest paths, scheduling, linear structures in graphs, contraction hierarchies, budgeted matching problems, and motifs in networks.   This ...

Heuristics for NP-hard optimization problems - simpler is better!?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Žerovnik Janez

2015-11-01

Full Text Available We provide several examples showing that local search, the most basic metaheuristics, may be a very competitive choice for solving computationally hard optimization problems. In addition, generation of starting solutions by greedy heuristics should be at least considered as one of very natural possibilities. In this critical survey, selected examples discussed include the traveling salesman, the resource-constrained project scheduling, the channel assignment, and computation of bounds for the Shannon capacity.

Dynamical System Approaches to Combinatorial Optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Starke, Jens

2013-01-01

of large times as an asymptotically stable point of the dynamics. The obtained solutions are often not globally optimal but good approximations of it. Dynamical system and neural network approaches are appropriate methods for distributed and parallel processing. Because of the parallelization......Several dynamical system approaches to combinatorial optimization problems are described and compared. These include dynamical systems derived from penalty methods; the approach of Hopfield and Tank; self-organizing maps, that is, Kohonen networks; coupled selection equations; and hybrid methods...... thereof can be used as models for many industrial problems like manufacturing planning and optimization of flexible manufacturing systems. This is illustrated for an example in distributed robotic systems....

Probabilistic methods in combinatorial analysis

CERN Document Server

Sachkov, Vladimir N

2014-01-01

This 1997 work explores the role of probabilistic methods for solving combinatorial problems. These methods not only provide the means of efficiently using such notions as characteristic and generating functions, the moment method and so on but also let us use the powerful technique of limit theorems. The basic objects under investigation are nonnegative matrices, partitions and mappings of finite sets, with special emphasis on permutations and graphs, and equivalence classes specified on sequences of finite length consisting of elements of partially ordered sets; these specify the probabilist

Combinatorial Hybrid Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Jesper Abildgaard; Wisniewski, Rafal; Grunnet, Jacob Deleuran

2008-01-01

indicates for a given face the future simplex. In the suggested definition we allow nondeterminacy in form of splitting and merging of solution trajectories. The combinatorial vector field gives rise to combinatorial counterparts of most concepts from dynamical systems, such as duals to vector fields, flow......, flow lines, fixed points and Lyapunov functions. Finally it will be shown how this theory extends to switched dynamical systems and an algorithmic overview of how to do supervisory control will be shown towards the end....

Solving optimization problems by the public goods game

Science.gov (United States)

Javarone, Marco Alberto

2017-09-01

We introduce a method based on the Public Goods Game for solving optimization tasks. In particular, we focus on the Traveling Salesman Problem, i.e. a NP-hard problem whose search space exponentially grows increasing the number of cities. The proposed method considers a population whose agents are provided with a random solution to the given problem. In doing so, agents interact by playing the Public Goods Game using the fitness of their solution as currency of the game. Notably, agents with better solutions provide higher contributions, while those with lower ones tend to imitate the solution of richer agents for increasing their fitness. Numerical simulations show that the proposed method allows to compute exact solutions, and suboptimal ones, in the considered search spaces. As result, beyond to propose a new heuristic for combinatorial optimization problems, our work aims to highlight the potentiality of evolutionary game theory beyond its current horizons.

Combinatorial effects of arginine and fluoride on oral bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, X; Cheng, X; Wang, L; Qiu, W; Wang, S; Zhou, Y; Li, M; Li, Y; Cheng, L; Li, J; Zhou, X; Xu, X

2015-02-01

Dental caries is closely associated with the microbial disequilibrium between acidogenic/aciduric pathogens and alkali-generating commensal residents within the dental plaque. Fluoride is a widely used anticaries agent, which promotes tooth hard-tissue remineralization and suppresses bacterial activities. Recent clinical trials have shown that oral hygiene products containing both fluoride and arginine possess a greater anticaries effect compared with those containing fluoride alone, indicating synergy between fluoride and arginine in caries management. Here, we hypothesize that arginine may augment the ecological benefit of fluoride by enriching alkali-generating bacteria in the plaque biofilm and thus synergizes with fluoride in controlling dental caries. Specifically, we assessed the combinatory effects of NaF/arginine on planktonic and biofilm cultures of Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Porphyromonas gingivalis with checkerboard microdilution assays. The optimal NaF/arginine combinations were selected, and their combinatory effects on microbial composition were further examined in single-, dual-, and 3-species biofilm using bacterial species-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We found that arginine synergized with fluoride in suppressing acidogenic S. mutans in both planktonic and biofilm cultures. In addition, the NaF/arginine combination synergistically reduced S. mutans but enriched S. sanguinis within the multispecies biofilms. More importantly, the optimal combination of NaF/arginine maintained a "streptococcal pressure" against the potential growth of oral anaerobe P. gingivalis within the alkalized biofilm. Taken together, we conclude that the combinatory application of fluoride and arginine has a potential synergistic effect in maintaining a healthy oral microbial equilibrium and thus represents a promising ecological approach to caries management. © International & American

Distributing the computation in combinatorial optimization experiments over the cloud

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Brcic

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Combinatorial optimization is an area of great importance since many of the real-world problems have discrete parameters which are part of the objective function to be optimized. Development of combinatorial optimization algorithms is guided by the empirical study of the candidate ideas and their performance over a wide range of settings or scenarios to infer general conclusions. Number of scenarios can be overwhelming, especially when modeling uncertainty in some of the problem’s parameters. Since the process is also iterative and many ideas and hypotheses may be tested, execution time of each experiment has an important role in the efficiency and successfulness. Structure of such experiments allows for significant execution time improvement by distributing the computation. We focus on the cloud computing as a cost-efficient solution in these circumstances. In this paper we present a system for validating and comparing stochastic combinatorial optimization algorithms. The system also deals with selection of the optimal settings for computational nodes and number of nodes in terms of performance-cost tradeoff. We present applications of the system on a new class of project scheduling problem. We show that we can optimize the selection over cloud service providers as one of the settings and, according to the model, it resulted in a substantial cost-savings while meeting the deadline.

cDREM: inferring dynamic combinatorial gene regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wise, Aaron; Bar-Joseph, Ziv

2015-04-01

Genes are often combinatorially regulated by multiple transcription factors (TFs). Such combinatorial regulation plays an important role in development and facilitates the ability of cells to respond to different stresses. While a number of approaches have utilized sequence and ChIP-based datasets to study combinational regulation, these have often ignored the combinational logic and the dynamics associated with such regulation. Here we present cDREM, a new method for reconstructing dynamic models of combinatorial regulation. cDREM integrates time series gene expression data with (static) protein interaction data. The method is based on a hidden Markov model and utilizes the sparse group Lasso to identify small subsets of combinatorially active TFs, their time of activation, and the logical function they implement. We tested cDREM on yeast and human data sets. Using yeast we show that the predicted combinatorial sets agree with other high throughput genomic datasets and improve upon prior methods developed to infer combinatorial regulation. Applying cDREM to study human response to flu, we were able to identify several combinatorial TF sets, some of which were known to regulate immune response while others represent novel combinations of important TFs.

Combinatorial designs constructions and analysis

CERN Document Server

Stinson, Douglas R

2004-01-01

Created to teach students many of the most important techniques used for constructing combinatorial designs, this is an ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in combinatorial design theory. The text features clear explanations of basic designs, such as Steiner and Kirkman triple systems, mutual orthogonal Latin squares, finite projective and affine planes, and Steiner quadruple systems. In these settings, the student will master various construction techniques, both classic and modern, and will be well-prepared to construct a vast array of combinatorial designs. Design theory offers a progressive approach to the subject, with carefully ordered results. It begins with simple constructions that gradually increase in complexity. Each design has a construction that contains new ideas or that reinforces and builds upon similar ideas previously introduced. A new text/reference covering all apsects of modern combinatorial design theory. Graduates and professionals in computer science, applie...

Combinatorial Clustering Algorithm of Quantum-Behaved Particle Swarm Optimization and Cloud Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mi-Yuan Shan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a combinatorial clustering algorithm of cloud model and quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (COCQPSO to solve the stochastic problem. The algorithm employs a novel probability model as well as a permutation-based local search method. We are setting the parameters of COCQPSO based on the design of experiment. In the comprehensive computational study, we scrutinize the performance of COCQPSO on a set of widely used benchmark instances. By benchmarking combinatorial clustering algorithm with state-of-the-art algorithms, we can show that its performance compares very favorably. The fuzzy combinatorial optimization algorithm of cloud model and quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (FCOCQPSO in vague sets (IVSs is more expressive than the other fuzzy sets. Finally, numerical examples show the clustering effectiveness of COCQPSO and FCOCQPSO clustering algorithms which are extremely remarkable.

Combinatorial Optimization in Project Selection Using Genetic Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Dewi, Sari; Sawaluddin

2018-01-01

This paper discusses the problem of project selection in the presence of two objective functions that maximize profit and minimize cost and the existence of some limitations is limited resources availability and time available so that there is need allocation of resources in each project. These resources are human resources, machine resources, raw material resources. This is treated as a consideration to not exceed the budget that has been determined. So that can be formulated mathematics for objective function (multi-objective) with boundaries that fulfilled. To assist the project selection process, a multi-objective combinatorial optimization approach is used to obtain an optimal solution for the selection of the right project. It then described a multi-objective method of genetic algorithm as one method of multi-objective combinatorial optimization approach to simplify the project selection process in a large scope.

ON range searching in the group model and combinatorial discrepancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Kasper Green

2014-01-01

In this paper we establish an intimate connection between dynamic range searching in the group model and combinatorial discrepancy. Our result states that, for a broad class of range searching data structures (including all known upper bounds), it must hold that $t_u t_q=\\Omega(\\mbox{disc}^2......)$, where $t_u$ is the worst case update time, $t_q$ is the worst case query time, and disc is the combinatorial discrepancy of the range searching problem in question. This relation immediately implies a whole range of exceptionally high and near-tight lower bounds for all of the basic range searching...... problems. We list a few of them in the following: (1) For $d$-dimensional halfspace range searching, we get a lower bound of $t_u t_q=\\Omega(n^{1-1/d})$. This comes within an lg lg $n$ factor of the best known upper bound. (2) For orthogonal range searching, we get a lower bound of $t_u t...

An Optimization Framework for Combining the Petroleum Replenishment Problem with the Optimal Bidding in Combinatorial Auctions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chefi Triki

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We address in this paper a periodic petroleum station replenishment problem (PPSRP that aims to plan the delivery of petroleum products to a set of geographically dispatched stations. It is assumed that each station is characterized by its weekly demand and by its frequency of service. The main objective of the delivery process is to minimize the total travelled distance by the vailable trucks over an extended planning horizon. The problem configuration is described through a set of trucks with several compartments each and a set of stations with demands and prefixed delivery frequencies. Given such input data, the minimization of the total distance is subject to assignment and routing constraints that express the capacity limitations of each truck's compartment in terms of the frequency and the pathways' restrictions. In this paper, we develop and solve the full space mathematical formulation for the PPSRP with application to the Omani context. Our ultimate aim is to include such a model into an integrated framework having the objective of advising petroleum distribution companies on how to prepare bids in case of participation in combinatorial auctions of the transportation procurement.

Combinatorial structures to modeling simple games and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Molinero, Xavier

2017-09-01

We connect three different topics: combinatorial structures, game theory and chemistry. In particular, we establish the bases to represent some simple games, defined as influence games, and molecules, defined from atoms, by using combinatorial structures. First, we characterize simple games as influence games using influence graphs. It let us to modeling simple games as combinatorial structures (from the viewpoint of structures or graphs). Second, we formally define molecules as combinations of atoms. It let us to modeling molecules as combinatorial structures (from the viewpoint of combinations). It is open to generate such combinatorial structures using some specific techniques as genetic algorithms, (meta-)heuristics algorithms and parallel programming, among others.

Dynamic combinatorial libraries : new opportunities in systems chemistry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hunt, Rosemary A. R.; Otto, Sijbren; Hunt, Rosemary A.R.

2011-01-01

Combinatorial chemistry is a tool for selecting molecules with special properties. Dynamic combinatorial chemistry started off aiming to be just that. However, unlike ordinary combinatorial chemistry, the interconnectedness of dynamic libraries gives them an extra dimension. An understanding of

CUNY Graduate Center Workshops on Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory

CERN Document Server

2017-01-01

Based on talks from the 2015 and 2016 Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory (CANT) workshops at the City University of New York, these proceedings offer 19 peer-reviewed and edited papers on current topics in number theory. Held every year since 2003, the workshop series surveys state-of-the-art open problems in combinatorial and additive number theory and related parts of mathematics. Sumsets, partitions, convex polytopes and discrete geometry, Ramsey theory, primality testing, and cryptography are among the topics featured in this volume. Each contribution is dedicated to a specific topic that reflects the latest results by experts in the field. Researchers and graduate students interested in the current progress in number theory will find this selection of articles relevant and compelling. .

Boltzmann Oracle for Combinatorial Systems

OpenAIRE

Pivoteau , Carine; Salvy , Bruno; Soria , Michèle

2008-01-01

International audience; Boltzmann random generation applies to well-defined systems of recursive combinatorial equations. It relies on oracles giving values of the enumeration generating series inside their disk of convergence. We show that the combinatorial systems translate into numerical iteration schemes that provide such oracles. In particular, we give a fast oracle based on Newton iteration.

High-efficiency combinatorial approach as an effective tool for accelerating metallic biomaterials research and discovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, X.D. [School of Material Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410083 (China); Liu, L.B., E-mail: lbliu.csu@gmail.com [School of Material Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410083 (China); State Key Laboratory for Powder Metallurgy, Changsha, Hunan, 410083 (China); Zhao, J.-C. [State Key Laboratory for Powder Metallurgy, Changsha, Hunan, 410083 (China); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2041 College Road, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Wang, J.L.; Zheng, F.; Jin, Z.P. [School of Material Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410083 (China)

2014-06-01

A high-efficiency combinatorial approach has been applied to rapidly build the database of composition-dependent elastic modulus and hardness of the Ti–Ta and Ti–Zr–Ta systems. A diffusion multiple of the Ti–Zr–Ta system was manufactured, then annealed at 1173 K for 1800 h, and water quenched to room temperature. Extensive interdiffusion among Ti, Zr and Ta has taken place. Combining nanoindentation and electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA), the elastic modulus, hardness as well as composition across the diffusion multiple were determined. The composition/elastic modulus/hardness relationship of the Ti–Ta and Ti–Zr–Ta alloys has been obtained. It was found that the elastic modulus and hardness depend strongly on the Ta and Zr content. The result can be used to accelerate the discovery/development of bio-titanium alloys for different components in implant prosthesis. - Highlights: • High-efficiency diffusion multiple of Ti–Zr–Ta was manufactured. • Composition-dependent elastic modulus and hardness of the Ti–Ta and Ti–Zr–Ta systems have been obtained effectively, • The methodology and the information can be used to accelerate the discovery/development of bio-titanium alloys.

Combinatorial Interpretation of General Eulerian Numbers

OpenAIRE

Tingyao Xiong; Jonathan I. Hall; Hung-Ping Tsao

2014-01-01

Since 1950s, mathematicians have successfully interpreted the traditional Eulerian numbers and $q-$Eulerian numbers combinatorially. In this paper, the authors give a combinatorial interpretation to the general Eulerian numbers defined on general arithmetic progressions { a, a+d, a+2d,...}.

Combinatorial geometry domain decomposition strategies for Monte Carlo simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, G.; Zhang, B.; Deng, L.; Mo, Z.; Liu, Z.; Shangguan, D.; Ma, Y.; Li, S.; Hu, Z. [Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing, 100094 (China)

2013-07-01

Analysis and modeling of nuclear reactors can lead to memory overload for a single core processor when it comes to refined modeling. A method to solve this problem is called 'domain decomposition'. In the current work, domain decomposition algorithms for a combinatorial geometry Monte Carlo transport code are developed on the JCOGIN (J Combinatorial Geometry Monte Carlo transport INfrastructure). Tree-based decomposition and asynchronous communication of particle information between domains are described in the paper. Combination of domain decomposition and domain replication (particle parallelism) is demonstrated and compared with that of MERCURY code. A full-core reactor model is simulated to verify the domain decomposition algorithms using the Monte Carlo particle transport code JMCT (J Monte Carlo Transport Code), which has being developed on the JCOGIN infrastructure. Besides, influences of the domain decomposition algorithms to tally variances are discussed. (authors)

Combinatorial geometry domain decomposition strategies for Monte Carlo simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, G.; Zhang, B.; Deng, L.; Mo, Z.; Liu, Z.; Shangguan, D.; Ma, Y.; Li, S.; Hu, Z.

2013-01-01

Analysis and modeling of nuclear reactors can lead to memory overload for a single core processor when it comes to refined modeling. A method to solve this problem is called 'domain decomposition'. In the current work, domain decomposition algorithms for a combinatorial geometry Monte Carlo transport code are developed on the JCOGIN (J Combinatorial Geometry Monte Carlo transport INfrastructure). Tree-based decomposition and asynchronous communication of particle information between domains are described in the paper. Combination of domain decomposition and domain replication (particle parallelism) is demonstrated and compared with that of MERCURY code. A full-core reactor model is simulated to verify the domain decomposition algorithms using the Monte Carlo particle transport code JMCT (J Monte Carlo Transport Code), which has being developed on the JCOGIN infrastructure. Besides, influences of the domain decomposition algorithms to tally variances are discussed. (authors)

Cryptographic Combinatorial Securities Exchanges

Science.gov (United States)

Thorpe, Christopher; Parkes, David C.

We present a useful new mechanism that facilitates the atomic exchange of many large baskets of securities in a combinatorial exchange. Cryptography prevents information about the securities in the baskets from being exploited, enhancing trust. Our exchange offers institutions who wish to trade large positions a new alternative to existing methods of block trading: they can reduce transaction costs by taking advantage of other institutions’ available liquidity, while third party liquidity providers guarantee execution—preserving their desired portfolio composition at all times. In our exchange, institutions submit encrypted orders which are crossed, leaving a “remainder”. The exchange proves facts about the portfolio risk of this remainder to third party liquidity providers without revealing the securities in the remainder, the knowledge of which could also be exploited. The third parties learn either (depending on the setting) the portfolio risk parameters of the remainder itself, or how their own portfolio risk would change if they were to incorporate the remainder into a portfolio they submit. In one setting, these third parties submit bids on the commission, and the winner supplies necessary liquidity for the entire exchange to clear. This guaranteed clearing, coupled with external price discovery from the primary markets for the securities, sidesteps difficult combinatorial optimization problems. This latter method of proving how taking on the remainder would change risk parameters of one’s own portfolio, without revealing the remainder’s contents or its own risk parameters, is a useful protocol of independent interest.

Combinatorial synthesis of natural products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, John

2002-01-01

Combinatorial syntheses allow production of compound libraries in an expeditious and organized manner immediately applicable for high-throughput screening. Natural products possess a pedigree to justify quality and appreciation in drug discovery and development. Currently, we are seeing a rapid...... increase in application of natural products in combinatorial chemistry and vice versa. The therapeutic areas of infectious disease and oncology still dominate but many new areas are emerging. Several complex natural products have now been synthesised by solid-phase methods and have created the foundation...... for preparation of combinatorial libraries. In other examples, natural products or intermediates have served as building blocks or scaffolds in the synthesis of complex natural products, bioactive analogues or designed hybrid molecules. Finally, structural motifs from the biologically active parent molecule have...

Tumor-targeting peptides from combinatorial libraries*

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ruiwu; Li, Xiaocen; Xiao, Wenwu; Lam, Kit S.

2018-01-01

Cancer is one of the major and leading causes of death worldwide. Two of the greatest challenges infighting cancer are early detection and effective treatments with no or minimum side effects. Widespread use of targeted therapies and molecular imaging in clinics requires high affinity, tumor-specific agents as effective targeting vehicles to deliver therapeutics and imaging probes to the primary or metastatic tumor sites. Combinatorial libraries such as phage-display and one-bead one-compound (OBOC) peptide libraries are powerful approaches in discovering tumor-targeting peptides. This review gives an overview of different combinatorial library technologies that have been used for the discovery of tumor-targeting peptides. Examples of tumor-targeting peptides identified from each combinatorial library method will be discussed. Published tumor-targeting peptide ligands and their applications will also be summarized by the combinatorial library methods and their corresponding binding receptors. PMID:27210583

Complexity and Tractability Islands for Combinatorial Auctions on Discrete Intervals with Gaps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Döcker, J.; Dorn, B.; Endriss, U.; Krüger, D.; Kaminka, G.A.; Fox, M.; Bouquet, P.; Hüllermeyer, E.; Dignum, V.; Dignum, F.; van Harmelen, F.

2016-01-01

Combinatorial auctions are mechanisms for allocating bundles of goods to agents who each have preferences over these goods. Finding an economically efficient allocation, the so-called winner determination problem, is computationally intractable in the general case, which is why it is important to

Branch and peg algorithms for the simple plant location problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goldengorin, B.; Ghosh, D.; Sierksma, G.

The simple plant location problem is a well-studied problem in combinatorial optimization. It is one of deciding where to locate a set of plants so that a set of clients can be supplied by them at the minimum cost. This problem often appears as a subproblem in other combinatorial problems. Several

Branch and peg algorithms for the simple plant location problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goldengorin, Boris; Ghosh, Diptesh; Sierksma, Gerard

2001-01-01

The simple plant location problem is a well-studied problem in combinatorial optimization. It is one of deciding where to locate a set of plants so that a set of clients can be supplied by them at the minimum cost. This problem of ten appears as a subproblem in other combinatorial problems. Several

Discrete Optimization Model for Vehicle Routing Problem with Scheduling Side Cosntraints

Science.gov (United States)

Juliandri, Dedy; Mawengkang, Herman; Bu'ulolo, F.

2018-01-01

Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is an important element of many logistic systems which involve routing and scheduling of vehicles from a depot to a set of customers node. This is a hard combinatorial optimization problem with the objective to find an optimal set of routes used by a fleet of vehicles to serve the demands a set of customers It is required that these vehicles return to the depot after serving customers’ demand. The problem incorporates time windows, fleet and driver scheduling, pick-up and delivery in the planning horizon. The goal is to determine the scheduling of fleet and driver and routing policies of the vehicles. The objective is to minimize the overall costs of all routes over the planning horizon. We model the problem as a linear mixed integer program. We develop a combination of heuristics and exact method for solving the model.

Introduction to combinatorial designs

CERN Document Server

Wallis, WD

2007-01-01

Combinatorial theory is one of the fastest growing areas of modern mathematics. Focusing on a major part of this subject, Introduction to Combinatorial Designs, Second Edition provides a solid foundation in the classical areas of design theory as well as in more contemporary designs based on applications in a variety of fields. After an overview of basic concepts, the text introduces balanced designs and finite geometries. The author then delves into balanced incomplete block designs, covering difference methods, residual and derived designs, and resolvability. Following a chapter on the e

Use of combinatorial chemistry to speed drug discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Rádl, S

1998-10-01

IBC's International Conference on Integrating Combinatorial Chemistry into the Discovery Pipeline was held September 14-15, 1998. The program started with a pre-conference workshop on High-Throughput Compound Characterization and Purification. The agenda of the main conference was divided into sessions of Synthesis, Automation and Unique Chemistries; Integrating Combinatorial Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry and Screening; Combinatorial Chemistry Applications for Drug Discovery; and Information and Data Management. This meeting was an excellent opportunity to see how big pharma, biotech and service companies are addressing the current bottlenecks in combinatorial chemistry to speed drug discovery. (c) 1998 Prous Science. All rights reserved.

A complete characterization of the (m,n-cubes and combinatorial applications in imaging, vision and discrete geometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Khoshnoudirad

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to provide a complete characterization of a (m,n-cube. The latter are the pieces of discrete planes appearing in Theoretical Computer Science, Discrete Geometry and Combinatorics. This characterization in three dimensions is the exact equivalent of the preimage for a discrete segment as it has been introduced by McIlroy. Further this characterization, which avoids the redundancies, reduces the combinatorial problem of determining the cardinality of the (m,n-cubes to a new combinatorial problem consisting of determining the volumic regions formed by the crossing of planes. This work can find applications in Imaging, Vision, and pattern recognition for instance.

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry with diselenides and disulfides in water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Brian; Sørensen, Anne; Gotfredsen, Henrik

2014-01-01

Diselenide exchange is introduced as a reversible reaction in dynamic combinatorial chemistry in water. At neutral pH, diselenides are found to mix with disulfides and form dynamic combinatorial libraries of diselenides, disulfides, and selenenylsulfides. This journal is......Diselenide exchange is introduced as a reversible reaction in dynamic combinatorial chemistry in water. At neutral pH, diselenides are found to mix with disulfides and form dynamic combinatorial libraries of diselenides, disulfides, and selenenylsulfides. This journal is...

Solid-Phase Synthesis of Small Molecule Libraries using Double Combinatorial Chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, John; Jensen, Flemming R.

1997-01-01

The first synthesis of a combinatorial library using double combinatorial chemistry is presented. Coupling of unprotected Fmoc-tyrosine to the solid support was followed by Mitsunobu O-alkylation. Introduction of a diacid linker yields a system in which the double combinatorial step can be demons......The first synthesis of a combinatorial library using double combinatorial chemistry is presented. Coupling of unprotected Fmoc-tyrosine to the solid support was followed by Mitsunobu O-alkylation. Introduction of a diacid linker yields a system in which the double combinatorial step can...

Local formulae for combinatorial Pontryagin classes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaifullin, Alexander A

2004-01-01

Let p(|K|) be the characteristic class of a combinatorial manifold K given by a polynomial p in the rational Pontryagin classes of K. We prove that for any polynomial p there is a function taking each combinatorial manifold K to a cycle z p (K) in its rational simplicial chains such that: 1) the Poincare dual of z p (K) represents the cohomology class p(|K|); 2) the coefficient of each simplex Δ in the cycle z p (K) is determined solely by the combinatorial type of linkΔ. We explicitly describe all such functions for the first Pontryagin class. We obtain estimates for the denominators of the coefficients of the simplices in the cycles z p (K)

Heterogenous phase as a mean in combinatorial chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdel-Hamid, S.G.

2007-01-01

Combinatorial chemistry is a rapid and inexpensive technique for the synthesis of hundreds of thousands of organic compounds of potential medicinal activity. In the past few decades a large number of combinatorial libraries have been constructed, and significantly supplement the chemical diversity of the traditional collections of the potentially active medicinal compounds. Solid phase synthesis was used to enrich the combinatorial chemistry libraries, through the use of solid supports (resins) and their modified forms. Most of the new libraries of compounds appeared recently, were synthesized by the use of solid-phase. Solid-phase combinatorial chemistry (SPCC) is now considered as an outstanding branch in pharmaceutical chemistry research and used extensively as a tool for drug discovery within the context of high-throughput chemical synthesis. The best pure libraries synthesized by the use of solid phase combinatorial chemistry (SPCC) may well be those of intermediate complexity that are free of artifact-causing nuisance compounds. (author)

MIFT: GIFT Combinatorial Geometry Input to VCS Code

Science.gov (United States)

1977-03-01

r-w w-^ H ^ß0318is CQ BRL °RCUMr REPORT NO. 1967 —-S: ... MIFT: GIFT COMBINATORIAL GEOMETRY INPUT TO VCS CODE Albert E...TITLE (and Subtitle) MIFT: GIFT Combinatorial Geometry Input to VCS Code S. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED FINAL 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER...Vehicle Code System (VCS) called MORSE was modified to accept the GIFT combinatorial geometry package. GIFT , as opposed to the geometry package

Combinatorial stresses kill pathogenic Candida species

Science.gov (United States)

Kaloriti, Despoina; Tillmann, Anna; Cook, Emily; Jacobsen, Mette; You, Tao; Lenardon, Megan; Ames, Lauren; Barahona, Mauricio; Chandrasekaran, Komelapriya; Coghill, George; Goodman, Daniel; Gow, Neil A. R.; Grebogi, Celso; Ho, Hsueh-Lui; Ingram, Piers; McDonagh, Andrew; De Moura, Alessandro P. S.; Pang, Wei; Puttnam, Melanie; Radmaneshfar, Elahe; Romano, Maria Carmen; Silk, Daniel; Stark, Jaroslav; Stumpf, Michael; Thiel, Marco; Thorne, Thomas; Usher, Jane; Yin, Zhikang; Haynes, Ken; Brown, Alistair J. P.

2012-01-01

Pathogenic microbes exist in dynamic niches and have evolved robust adaptive responses to promote survival in their hosts. The major fungal pathogens of humans, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata, are exposed to a range of environmental stresses in their hosts including osmotic, oxidative and nitrosative stresses. Significant efforts have been devoted to the characterization of the adaptive responses to each of these stresses. In the wild, cells are frequently exposed simultaneously to combinations of these stresses and yet the effects of such combinatorial stresses have not been explored. We have developed a common experimental platform to facilitate the comparison of combinatorial stress responses in C. glabrata and C. albicans. This platform is based on the growth of cells in buffered rich medium at 30°C, and was used to define relatively low, medium and high doses of osmotic (NaCl), oxidative (H 2O2) and nitrosative stresses (e.g., dipropylenetriamine (DPTA)-NONOate). The effects of combinatorial stresses were compared with the corresponding individual stresses under these growth conditions. We show for the first time that certain combinations of combinatorial stress are especially potent in terms of their ability to kill C. albicans and C. glabrata and/or inhibit their growth. This was the case for combinations of osmotic plus oxidative stress and for oxidative plus nitrosative stress. We predict that combinatorial stresses may be highly signif cant in host defences against these pathogenic yeasts. PMID:22463109

An Efficient Combined Meta-Heuristic Algorithm for Solving the Traveling Salesman Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Majid Yousefikhoshbakht

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The traveling salesman problem (TSP is one of the most important NP-hard Problems and probably the most famous and extensively studied problem in the field of combinatorial optimization. In this problem, a salesman is required to visit each of n given nodes once and only once, starting from any node and returning to the original place of departure. This paper presents an efficient evolutionary optimization algorithm developed through combining imperialist competitive algorithm and lin-kernighan algorithm called (MICALK in order to solve the TSP. The MICALK is tested on 44 TSP instances involving from 24 to 1655 nodes from the literature so that 26 best known solutions of the benchmark problem are also found by our algorithm. Furthermore, the performance of MICALK is compared with several metaheuristic algorithms, including GA, BA, IBA, ICA, GSAP, ABO, PSO and BCO on 32 instances from TSPLIB. The results indicate that the MICALK performs well and is quite competitive with the above algorithms.

Human Performance on the Traveling Salesman and Related Problems: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

MacGregor, James N.; Chu, Yun

2011-01-01

The article provides a review of recent research on human performance on the traveling salesman problem (TSP) and related combinatorial optimization problems. We discuss what combinatorial optimization problems are, why they are important, and why they may be of interest to cognitive scientists. We next describe the main characteristics of human…

Toward Chemical Implementation of Encoded Combinatorial Libraries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, John; Janda, Kim D.

1994-01-01

The recent application of "combinatorial libraries" to supplement existing drug screening processes might simplify and accelerate the search for new lead compounds or drugs. Recently, a scheme for encoded combinatorial chemistry was put forward to surmount a number of the limitations possessed...

A modified genetic algorithm with fuzzy roulette wheel selection for job-shop scheduling problems

Science.gov (United States)

Thammano, Arit; Teekeng, Wannaporn

2015-05-01

The job-shop scheduling problem is one of the most difficult production planning problems. Since it is in the NP-hard class, a recent trend in solving the job-shop scheduling problem is shifting towards the use of heuristic and metaheuristic algorithms. This paper proposes a novel metaheuristic algorithm, which is a modification of the genetic algorithm. This proposed algorithm introduces two new concepts to the standard genetic algorithm: (1) fuzzy roulette wheel selection and (2) the mutation operation with tabu list. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated and compared with several state-of-the-art algorithms in the literature. The experimental results on 53 JSSPs show that the proposed algorithm is very effective in solving the combinatorial optimization problems. It outperforms all state-of-the-art algorithms on all benchmark problems in terms of the ability to achieve the optimal solution and the computational time.

Problems in accounting for the soft and hard components in transverse energy triggers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anjos, J.C.; Santoro, A.F.S.; Souza, M.H.G.; Escobar, C.O.

1983-01-01

It is argued that for a transverse energy trigger, the cancellation theorem of DeTar, Ellis and Landshoff is not valid. As a consequence, the problem of accounting for soft and hard components in this kind of trigger becomes complicated and no simple separation between them is expected. (Author) [pt

A New Approach for Proving or Generating Combinatorial Identities

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Luis

2010-01-01

A new method for proving, in an immediate way, many combinatorial identities is presented. The method is based on a simple recursive combinatorial formula involving n + 1 arbitrary real parameters. Moreover, this formula enables one not only to prove, but also generate many different combinatorial identities (not being required to know them "a…

Combinatorial optimization games

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deng, X. [York Univ., North York, Ontario (Canada); Ibaraki, Toshihide; Nagamochi, Hiroshi [Kyoto Univ. (Japan)

1997-06-01

We introduce a general integer programming formulation for a class of combinatorial optimization games, which immediately allows us to improve the algorithmic result for finding amputations in the core (an important solution concept in cooperative game theory) of the network flow game on simple networks by Kalai and Zemel. An interesting result is a general theorem that the core for this class of games is nonempty if and only if a related linear program has an integer optimal solution. We study the properties for this mathematical condition to hold for several interesting problems, and apply them to resolve algorithmic and complexity issues for their cores along the line as put forward in: decide whether the core is empty; if the core is empty, find an imputation in the core; given an imputation x, test whether x is in the core. We also explore the properties of totally balanced games in this succinct formulation of cooperative games.

Combinatorial methods with computer applications

CERN Document Server

Gross, Jonathan L

2007-01-01

Combinatorial Methods with Computer Applications provides in-depth coverage of recurrences, generating functions, partitions, and permutations, along with some of the most interesting graph and network topics, design constructions, and finite geometries. Requiring only a foundation in discrete mathematics, it can serve as the textbook in a combinatorial methods course or in a combined graph theory and combinatorics course.After an introduction to combinatorics, the book explores six systematic approaches within a comprehensive framework: sequences, solving recurrences, evaluating summation exp

Non-commutative cryptography and complexity of group-theoretic problems

CERN Document Server

Myasnikov, Alexei; Ushakov, Alexander

2011-01-01

This book is about relations between three different areas of mathematics and theoretical computer science: combinatorial group theory, cryptography, and complexity theory. It explores how non-commutative (infinite) groups, which are typically studied in combinatorial group theory, can be used in public-key cryptography. It also shows that there is remarkable feedback from cryptography to combinatorial group theory because some of the problems motivated by cryptography appear to be new to group theory, and they open many interesting research avenues within group theory. In particular, a lot of emphasis in the book is put on studying search problems, as compared to decision problems traditionally studied in combinatorial group theory. Then, complexity theory, notably generic-case complexity of algorithms, is employed for cryptanalysis of various cryptographic protocols based on infinite groups, and the ideas and machinery from the theory of generic-case complexity are used to study asymptotically dominant prop...

The priming of basic combinatory responses in MEG.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanco-Elorrieta, Esti; Ferreira, Victor S; Del Prato, Paul; Pylkkänen, Liina

2018-01-01

Priming has been a powerful tool for the study of human memory and especially the memory representations relevant for language. However, although it is well established that lexical access can be primed, we do not know exactly what types of computations can be primed above the word level. This work took a neurobiological approach and assessed the ways in which the complex representation of a minimal combinatory phrase, such as red boat, can be primed, as evidenced by the spatiotemporal profiles of magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals. Specifically, we built upon recent progress on the neural signatures of phrasal composition and tested whether the brain activities implicated for the basic combination of two words could be primed. In two experiments, MEG was recorded during a picture naming task where the prime trials were designed to replicate previously reported combinatory effects and the target trials to test whether those combinatory effects could be primed. The manipulation of the primes was successful in eliciting larger activity for adjective-noun combinations than single nouns in left anterior temporal and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, replicating prior MEG studies on parallel contrasts. Priming of similarly timed activity was observed during target trials in anterior temporal cortex, but only when the prime and target shared an adjective. No priming in temporal cortex was observed for single word repetition and two control tasks showed that the priming effect was not elicited if the prime pictures were simply viewed but not named. In sum, this work provides evidence that very basic combinatory operations can be primed, with the necessity for some lexical overlap between prime and target suggesting combinatory conceptual, as opposed to syntactic processing. Both our combinatory and priming effects were early, onsetting between 100 and 150ms after picture onset and thus are likely to reflect the very earliest planning stages of a combinatory message

Parameterized Algorithms for Survivable Network Design with Uniform Demands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bang-Jensen, Jørgen; Klinkby Knudsen, Kristine Vitting; Saurabh, Saket

2018-01-01

problem in combinatorial optimization that captures numerous well-studied problems in graph theory and graph algorithms. Consequently, there is a long line of research into exact-polynomial time algorithms as well as approximation algorithms for various restrictions of this problem. An important...... that SNDP is W[1]-hard for both arc and vertex connectivity versions on digraphs. The core of our algorithms is composed of new combinatorial results on connectivity in digraphs and undirected graphs....

A GPU Implementation of Local Search Operators for Symmetric Travelling Salesman Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juraj Fosin

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP is one of the most studied combinatorial optimization problem which is significant in many practical applications in transportation problems. The TSP problem is NP-hard problem and requires large computation power to be solved by the exact algorithms. In the past few years, fast development of general-purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPUs has brought huge improvement in decreasing the applications’ execution time. In this paper, we implement 2-opt and 3-opt local search operators for solving the TSP on the GPU using CUDA. The novelty presented in this paper is a new parallel iterated local search approach with 2-opt and 3-opt operators for symmetric TSP, optimized for the execution on GPUs. With our implementation large TSP problems (up to 85,900 cities can be solved using the GPU. We will show that our GPU implementation can be up to 20x faster without losing quality for all TSPlib problems as well as for our CRO TSP problem.

Excavation Technology for Hard Rock - Problems and Prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillani, S.T.A.; Butt, N.

2009-01-01

Civil engineering projects have greatly benefited from the mechanical excavation of hard rock technology. Mining industry, on the other hand, is still searching for major breakthroughs to mechanize and then automate the winning of ore and drivage of access tunnels in its metalliferous sector. The aim of this study is to extend the scope of drag bits for road headers in hard rock cutting. Various factors that can impose limitations on the potential applications of drag bits in hard rock mining are investigated and discussed along with alternative technology options. (author)

Ant colony optimization and constraint programming

CERN Document Server

Solnon, Christine

2013-01-01

Ant colony optimization is a metaheuristic which has been successfully applied to a wide range of combinatorial optimization problems. The author describes this metaheuristic and studies its efficiency for solving some hard combinatorial problems, with a specific focus on constraint programming. The text is organized into three parts. The first part introduces constraint programming, which provides high level features to declaratively model problems by means of constraints. It describes the main existing approaches for solving constraint satisfaction problems, including complete tree search

Bifurcation-based approach reveals synergism and optimal combinatorial perturbation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yanwei; Li, Shanshan; Liu, Zengrong; Wang, Ruiqi

2016-06-01

Cells accomplish the process of fate decisions and form terminal lineages through a series of binary choices in which cells switch stable states from one branch to another as the interacting strengths of regulatory factors continuously vary. Various combinatorial effects may occur because almost all regulatory processes are managed in a combinatorial fashion. Combinatorial regulation is crucial for cell fate decisions because it may effectively integrate many different signaling pathways to meet the higher regulation demand during cell development. However, whether the contribution of combinatorial regulation to the state transition is better than that of a single one and if so, what the optimal combination strategy is, seem to be significant issue from the point of view of both biology and mathematics. Using the approaches of combinatorial perturbations and bifurcation analysis, we provide a general framework for the quantitative analysis of synergism in molecular networks. Different from the known methods, the bifurcation-based approach depends only on stable state responses to stimuli because the state transition induced by combinatorial perturbations occurs between stable states. More importantly, an optimal combinatorial perturbation strategy can be determined by investigating the relationship between the bifurcation curve of a synergistic perturbation pair and the level set of a specific objective function. The approach is applied to two models, i.e., a theoretical multistable decision model and a biologically realistic CREB model, to show its validity, although the approach holds for a general class of biological systems.

Morphological Constraints on Cerebellar Granule Cell Combinatorial Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmer, Jesse I; Person, Abigail L

2017-12-13

Combinatorial expansion by the cerebellar granule cell layer (GCL) is fundamental to theories of cerebellar contributions to motor control and learning. Granule cells (GrCs) sample approximately four mossy fiber inputs and are thought to form a combinatorial code useful for pattern separation and learning. We constructed a spatially realistic model of the cerebellar GCL and examined how GCL architecture contributes to GrC combinatorial diversity. We found that GrC combinatorial diversity saturates quickly as mossy fiber input diversity increases, and that this saturation is in part a consequence of short dendrites, which limit access to diverse inputs and favor dense sampling of local inputs. This local sampling also produced GrCs that were combinatorially redundant, even when input diversity was extremely high. In addition, we found that mossy fiber clustering, which is a common anatomical pattern, also led to increased redundancy of GrC input combinations. We related this redundancy to hypothesized roles of temporal expansion of GrC information encoding in service of learned timing, and we show that GCL architecture produces GrC populations that support both temporal and combinatorial expansion. Finally, we used novel anatomical measurements from mice of either sex to inform modeling of sparse and filopodia-bearing mossy fibers, finding that these circuit features uniquely contribute to enhancing GrC diversification and redundancy. Our results complement information theoretic studies of granule layer structure and provide insight into the contributions of granule layer anatomical features to afferent mixing. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Cerebellar granule cells are among the simplest neurons, with tiny somata and, on average, just four dendrites. These characteristics, along with their dense organization, inspired influential theoretical work on the granule cell layer as a combinatorial expander, where each granule cell represents a unique combination of inputs

Reply to "Comment on 'Calculations for the one-dimensional soft Coulomb problem and the hard Coulomb limit' ".

Science.gov (United States)

Gebremedhin, Daniel H; Weatherford, Charles A

2015-02-01

This is a response to the comment we received on our recent paper "Calculations for the one-dimensional soft Coulomb problem and the hard Coulomb limit." In that paper, we introduced a computational algorithm that is appropriate for solving stiff initial value problems, and which we applied to the one-dimensional time-independent Schrödinger equation with a soft Coulomb potential. We solved for the eigenpairs using a shooting method and hence turned it into an initial value problem. In particular, we examined the behavior of the eigenpairs as the softening parameter approached zero (hard Coulomb limit). The commenters question the existence of the ground state of the hard Coulomb potential, which we inferred by extrapolation of the softening parameter to zero. A key distinction between the commenters' approach and ours is that they consider only the half-line while we considered the entire x axis. Based on mathematical considerations, the commenters consider only a vanishing solution function at the origin, and they question our conclusion that the ground state of the hard Coulomb potential exists. The ground state we inferred resembles a δ(x), and hence it cannot even be addressed based on their argument. For the excited states, there is agreement with the fact that the particle is always excluded from the origin. Our discussion with regard to the symmetry of the excited states is an extrapolation of the soft Coulomb case and is further explained herein.

Maximization of Tsallis entropy in the combinatorial formulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyari, Hiroki

2010-01-01

This paper presents the mathematical reformulation for maximization of Tsallis entropy S q in the combinatorial sense. More concretely, we generalize the original derivation of Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law to Tsallis statistics by means of the corresponding generalized multinomial coefficient. Our results reveal that maximization of S 2-q under the usual expectation or S q under q-average using the escort expectation are naturally derived from the combinatorial formulations for Tsallis statistics with respective combinatorial dualities, that is, one for additive duality and the other for multiplicative duality.

Music algorithm for imaging of a sound-hard arc in limited-view inverse scattering problem

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Won-Kwang

2017-07-01

MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm for a non-iterative imaging of sound-hard arc in limited-view inverse scattering problem is considered. In order to discover mathematical structure of MUSIC, we derive a relationship between MUSIC and an infinite series of Bessel functions of integer order. This structure enables us to examine some properties of MUSIC in limited-view problem. Numerical simulations are performed to support the identified structure of MUSIC.

Combinatorial identities for tenth order mock theta functions

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

44

which lead us to one 4-way and one 3-way combinatorial identity. ... mock theta functions, partition identities and different combinatorial parameters, see for ... 3. Example 1.1. There are twelve (n + 1)–color partitions of 2: 21, 21 + 01, 11 + 11, ...

On the combinatorial foundations of Regge-calculus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budach, L.

1989-01-01

Lipschitz-Killing curvatures of piecewise flat spaces are combinatorial analogues of Lipschitz-Killing curvatures of Riemannian manifolds. In the following paper rigorous combinatorial representations and proofs of all basic results for Lipschitz-Killing curvatures not using analytic arguments are given. The principal tools for an elementary representation of Regge calculus can be developed by means of basic properties of dihedral angles. (author)

Combinatorial Speculations and the Combinatorial Conjecture for Mathematics

OpenAIRE

Mao, Linfan

2006-01-01

Combinatorics is a powerful tool for dealing with relations among objectives mushroomed in the past century. However, an more important work for mathematician is to apply combinatorics to other mathematics and other sciences not merely to find combinatorial behavior for objectives. Recently, such research works appeared on journals for mathematics and theoretical physics on cosmos. The main purpose of this paper is to survey these thinking and ideas for mathematics and cosmological physics, s...

Manipulating Combinatorial Structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Labelle, Gilbert

This set of transparencies shows how the manipulation of combinatorial structures in the context of modern combinatorics can easily lead to interesting teaching and learning activities at every level of education from elementary school to university. The transparencies describe: (1) the importance and relations of combinatorics to science and…

Cubical version of combinatorial differential forms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kock, Anders

2010-01-01

The theory of combinatorial differential forms is usually presented in simplicial terms. We present here a cubical version; it depends on the possibility of forming affine combinations of mutual neighbour points in a manifold, in the context of synthetic differential geometry.......The theory of combinatorial differential forms is usually presented in simplicial terms. We present here a cubical version; it depends on the possibility of forming affine combinations of mutual neighbour points in a manifold, in the context of synthetic differential geometry....

Solid-Phase Synthesis of Small Molecule Libraries using Double Combinatorial Chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, John; Jensen, Flemming R.

1997-01-01

The first synthesis of a combinatorial library using double combinatorial chemistry is presented. Coupling of unprotected Fmoc-tyrosine to the solid support was followed by Mitsunobu O-alkylation. Introduction of a diacid linker yields a system in which the double combinatorial step can be demons...

Nonlinear Multidimensional Assignment Problems Efficient Conic Optimization Methods and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-24

WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Arizona State University School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences 901 S...SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT The major goals of this project were completed: the exact solution of previously unsolved challenging combinatorial optimization... combinatorial optimization problem, the Directional Sensor Problem, was solved in two ways. First, heuristically in an engineering fashion and second, exactly

Ranked solutions to a class of combinatorial optimizations—with applications in mass spectrometry based peptide sequencing and a variant of directed paths in random media

Science.gov (United States)

Doerr, Timothy P.; Alves, Gelio; Yu, Yi-Kuo

2005-08-01

Typical combinatorial optimizations are NP-hard; however, for a particular class of cost functions the corresponding combinatorial optimizations can be solved in polynomial time using the transfer matrix technique or, equivalently, the dynamic programming approach. This suggests a way to efficiently find approximate solutions-find a transformation that makes the cost function as similar as possible to that of the solvable class. After keeping many high-ranking solutions using the approximate cost function, one may then re-assess these solutions with the full cost function to find the best approximate solution. Under this approach, it is important to be able to assess the quality of the solutions obtained, e.g., by finding the true ranking of the kth best approximate solution when all possible solutions are considered exhaustively. To tackle this statistical issue, we provide a systematic method starting with a scaling function generated from the finite number of high-ranking solutions followed by a convergent iterative mapping. This method, useful in a variant of the directed paths in random media problem proposed here, can also provide a statistical significance assessment for one of the most important proteomic tasks-peptide sequencing using tandem mass spectrometry data. For directed paths in random media, the scaling function depends on the particular realization of randomness; in the mass spectrometry case, the scaling function is spectrum-specific.

Genetic algorithm parameters tuning for resource-constrained project scheduling problem

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Xingke; Yuan, Shengrui

2018-04-01

Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) is a kind of important scheduling problem. To achieve a certain optimal goal such as the shortest duration, the smallest cost, the resource balance and so on, it is required to arrange the start and finish of all tasks under the condition of satisfying project timing constraints and resource constraints. In theory, the problem belongs to the NP-hard problem, and the model is abundant. Many combinatorial optimization problems are special cases of RCPSP, such as job shop scheduling, flow shop scheduling and so on. At present, the genetic algorithm (GA) has been used to deal with the classical RCPSP problem and achieved remarkable results. Vast scholars have also studied the improved genetic algorithm for the RCPSP problem, which makes it to solve the RCPSP problem more efficiently and accurately. However, for the selection of the main parameters of the genetic algorithm, there is no parameter optimization in these studies. Generally, we used the empirical method, but it cannot ensure to meet the optimal parameters. In this paper, the problem was carried out, which is the blind selection of parameters in the process of solving the RCPSP problem. We made sampling analysis, the establishment of proxy model and ultimately solved the optimal parameters.

Accessing Specific Peptide Recognition by Combinatorial Chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Ming

Molecular recognition is at the basis of all processes for life, and plays a central role in many biological processes, such as protein folding, the structural organization of cells and organelles, signal transduction, and the immune response. Hence, my PhD project is entitled “Accessing Specific...... Peptide Recognition by Combinatorial Chemistry”. Molecular recognition is a specific interaction between two or more molecules through noncovalent bonding, such as hydrogen bonding, metal coordination, van der Waals forces, π−π, hydrophobic, or electrostatic interactions. The association involves kinetic....... Combinatorial chemistry was invented in 1980s based on observation of functional aspects of the adaptive immune system. It was employed for drug development and optimization in conjunction with high-throughput synthesis and screening. (chapter 2) Combinatorial chemistry is able to rapidly produce many thousands...

Mixture-based combinatorial libraries from small individual peptide libraries: a case study on α1-antitrypsin deficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yi-Pin; Chu, Yen-Ho

2014-05-16

The design, synthesis and screening of diversity-oriented peptide libraries using a "libraries from libraries" strategy for the development of inhibitors of α1-antitrypsin deficiency are described. The major buttress of the biochemical approach presented here is the use of well-established solid-phase split-and-mix method for the generation of mixture-based libraries. The combinatorial technique iterative deconvolution was employed for library screening. While molecular diversity is the general consideration of combinatorial libraries, exquisite design through systematic screening of small individual libraries is a prerequisite for effective library screening and can avoid potential problems in some cases. This review will also illustrate how large peptide libraries were designed, as well as how a conformation-sensitive assay was developed based on the mechanism of the conformational disease. Finally, the combinatorially selected peptide inhibitor capable of blocking abnormal protein aggregation will be characterized by biophysical, cellular and computational methods.

ANALYSIS AND PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT OF EXISTING SOLUTION METHODS OF QUADRATIC ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morteza KARAMI

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP is known as one of the most difficult combinatorial optimization problems that is classified in the category of NP-hard problems. Quadratic Assignment Problem Library (QAPLIB is a full database of QAPs which contains several problems from different authors and different sizes. Many exact and meta-heuristic solution methods have been introduced to solve QAP. In this study we focus on previously introduced solution methods of QAP e.g. Branch and Bound (B&B, Simulated Annealing (SA Algorithm, Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP for dense and sparse QAPs. The codes of FORTRAN for these methods were downloaded from QAPLIB. All problems of QAPLIB were solved by the abovementioned methods. Several results were obtained from the computational experiments part. The Results show that the Branch and Bound method is able to introduce a feasible solution for all problems while Simulated Annealing Algorithm and GRASP methods are not able to find any solution for some problems. On the other hand, Simulated Annealing and GRASP methods have shorter run time comparing to the Branch and Bound method. In addition, the performance of the methods on the objective function value is discussed.

Immune-Stimulating Combinatorial Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

2016-10-01

Overlap: None 20 90061946 (Drake) Title: Epigenetic Drugs and Immuno Therapy for Prostate Cancer (EDIT-PC) Effort: 1.2 calendar months (10% effort...AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-15-1-0667 TITLE: Immune-Stimulating Combinatorial Therapy for Prostate Cancer PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Ivkov...Stimulating Combinatorial Therapy for Prostate Cancer 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-15-1-0667 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S

QUANTUM INSPIRED PARTICLE SWARM COMBINED WITH LIN-KERNIGHAN-HELSGAUN METHOD TO THE TRAVELING SALESMAN PROBLEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Avila Leal de Meirelles Herrera

2015-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP is one of the most well-known and studied problems of Operations Research field, more specifically, in the Combinatorial Optimization field. As the TSP is a NP (Non-Deterministic Polynomial time-hard problem, there are several heuristic methods which have been proposed for the past decades in the attempt to solve it the best possible way. The aim of this work is to introduce and to evaluate the performance of some approaches for achieving optimal solution considering some symmetrical and asymmetrical TSP instances, which were taken from the Traveling Salesman Problem Library (TSPLIB. The analyzed approaches were divided into three methods: (i Lin-Kernighan-Helsgaun (LKH algorithm; (ii LKH with initial tour based on uniform distribution; and (iii an hybrid proposal combining Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO with quantum inspired behavior and LKH for local search procedure. The tested algorithms presented promising results in terms of computational cost and solution quality.

On the Cut-off Point for Combinatorial Group Testing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Paul; Klasner, N.; Wegener, I.

1999-01-01

is answered by 1 if Q contains at least one essential object and by 0 otherwise. In the statistical setting the objects are essential, independently of each other, with a given probability p combinatorial setting the number k ... group testing is equal to p* = 12(3 - 5), i.e., the strategy of testing each object individually minimizes the average number of queries iff p >= p* or n = 1. In the combinatorial setting the worst case number of queries is of interest. It has been conjectured that the cut-off point of combinatorial...

Infinitary Combinatory Reduction Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ketema, Jeroen; Simonsen, Jakob Grue

2011-01-01

We define infinitary Combinatory Reduction Systems (iCRSs), thus providing the first notion of infinitary higher-order rewriting. The systems defined are sufficiently general that ordinary infinitary term rewriting and infinitary ¿-calculus are special cases. Furthermore,we generalise a number...

Combinatorial Libraries of Bis-Heterocyclic Compounds with Skeletal Diversity

OpenAIRE

Soural, Miroslav; Bouillon, Isabelle; Krchňák, Viktor

2008-01-01

Combinatorial solid-phase synthesis of bis-heterocyclic compounds, characterized by the presence of two heterocyclic cores connected by a spacer of variable length/structure, provided structurally heterogeneous libraries with skeletal diversity. Both heterocyclic rings were assembled on resin in a combinatorial fashion.

Combinatorial Quantum Field Theory and Gluing Formula for Determinants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reshetikhin, N.; Vertman, B.

2015-01-01

We define the combinatorial Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator and establish a gluing formula for determinants of discrete Laplacians using a combinatorial Gaussian quantum field theory. In case of a diagonal inner product on cochains we provide an explicit local expression for the discrete

On a hierarchy of Booleanfunctions hard to compute in constant depth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Bernasconi

2001-12-01

Full Text Available Any attempt to find connections between mathematical properties and complexity has a strong relevance to the field of Complexity Theory. This is due to the lack of mathematical techniques to prove lower bounds for general models of computation. This work represents a step in this direction: we define a combinatorial property that makes Boolean functions `` hard '' to compute in constant depth and show how the harmonic analysis on the hypercube can be applied to derive new lower bounds on the size complexity of previously unclassified Boolean functions.

Combinatorial Libraries of Bis-Heterocyclic Compounds with Skeletal Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Soural, Miroslav; Bouillon, Isabelle; Krchňák, Viktor

2009-01-01

Combinatorial solid-phase synthesis of bis-heterocyclic compounds, characterized by the presence of two heterocyclic cores connected by a spacer of variable length/structure, provided structurally heterogeneous libraries with skeletal diversity. Both heterocyclic rings were assembled on resin in a combinatorial fashion. PMID:18811208

Combinatorial Cis-regulation in Saccharomyces Species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron T. Spivak

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Transcriptional control of gene expression requires interactions between the cis-regulatory elements (CREs controlling gene promoters. We developed a sensitive computational method to identify CRE combinations with conserved spacing that does not require genome alignments. When applied to seven sensu stricto and sensu lato Saccharomyces species, 80% of the predicted interactions displayed some evidence of combinatorial transcriptional behavior in several existing datasets including: (1 chromatin immunoprecipitation data for colocalization of transcription factors, (2 gene expression data for coexpression of predicted regulatory targets, and (3 gene ontology databases for common pathway membership of predicted regulatory targets. We tested several predicted CRE interactions with chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments in a wild-type strain and strains in which a predicted cofactor was deleted. Our experiments confirmed that transcription factor (TF occupancy at the promoters of the CRE combination target genes depends on the predicted cofactor while occupancy of other promoters is independent of the predicted cofactor. Our method has the additional advantage of identifying regulatory differences between species. By analyzing the S. cerevisiae and S. bayanus genomes, we identified differences in combinatorial cis-regulation between the species and showed that the predicted changes in gene regulation explain several of the species-specific differences seen in gene expression datasets. In some instances, the same CRE combinations appear to regulate genes involved in distinct biological processes in the two different species. The results of this research demonstrate that (1 combinatorial cis-regulation can be inferred by multi-genome analysis and (2 combinatorial cis-regulation can explain differences in gene expression between species.

A Biogeography-Based Optimization Algorithm Hybridized with Tabu Search for the Quadratic Assignment Problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Wee Loon; Wibowo, Antoni; Desa, Mohammad Ishak; Haron, Habibollah

2016-01-01

The quadratic assignment problem (QAP) is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem with a wide variety of applications. Biogeography-based optimization (BBO), a relatively new optimization technique based on the biogeography concept, uses the idea of migration strategy of species to derive algorithm for solving optimization problems. It has been shown that BBO provides performance on a par with other optimization methods. A classical BBO algorithm employs the mutation operator as its diversification strategy. However, this process will often ruin the quality of solutions in QAP. In this paper, we propose a hybrid technique to overcome the weakness of classical BBO algorithm to solve QAP, by replacing the mutation operator with a tabu search procedure. Our experiments using the benchmark instances from QAPLIB show that the proposed hybrid method is able to find good solutions for them within reasonable computational times. Out of 61 benchmark instances tested, the proposed method is able to obtain the best known solutions for 57 of them.

A Biogeography-Based Optimization Algorithm Hybridized with Tabu Search for the Quadratic Assignment Problem

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Wee Loon; Wibowo, Antoni; Desa, Mohammad Ishak; Haron, Habibollah

2016-01-01

The quadratic assignment problem (QAP) is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem with a wide variety of applications. Biogeography-based optimization (BBO), a relatively new optimization technique based on the biogeography concept, uses the idea of migration strategy of species to derive algorithm for solving optimization problems. It has been shown that BBO provides performance on a par with other optimization methods. A classical BBO algorithm employs the mutation operator as its diversification strategy. However, this process will often ruin the quality of solutions in QAP. In this paper, we propose a hybrid technique to overcome the weakness of classical BBO algorithm to solve QAP, by replacing the mutation operator with a tabu search procedure. Our experiments using the benchmark instances from QAPLIB show that the proposed hybrid method is able to find good solutions for them within reasonable computational times. Out of 61 benchmark instances tested, the proposed method is able to obtain the best known solutions for 57 of them. PMID:26819585

Simultaneous Disulfide and Boronic Acid Ester Exchange in Dynamic Combinatorial Libraries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanna L. Diemer

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Dynamic combinatorial chemistry has emerged as a promising tool for the discovery of complex receptors in supramolecular chemistry. At the heart of dynamic combinatorial chemistry are the reversible reactions that enable the exchange of building blocks between library members in dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs ensuring thermodynamic control over the system. If more than one reversible reaction operates in a single dynamic combinatorial library, the complexity of the system increases dramatically, and so does its possible applications. One can imagine two reversible reactions that operate simultaneously or two reversible reactions that operate independently. Both these scenarios have advantages and disadvantages. In this contribution, we show how disulfide exchange and boronic ester transesterification can function simultaneous in dynamic combinatorial libraries under appropriate conditions. We describe the detailed studies necessary to establish suitable reaction conditions and highlight the analytical techniques appropriate to study this type of system.

Dynamic combinatorial libraries: from exploring molecular recognition to systems chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jianwei; Nowak, Piotr; Otto, Sijbren

2013-06-26

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) is a subset of combinatorial chemistry where the library members interconvert continuously by exchanging building blocks with each other. Dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs) are powerful tools for discovering the unexpected and have given rise to many fascinating molecules, ranging from interlocked structures to self-replicators. Furthermore, dynamic combinatorial molecular networks can produce emergent properties at systems level, which provide exciting new opportunities in systems chemistry. In this perspective we will highlight some new methodologies in this field and analyze selected examples of DCLs that are under thermodynamic control, leading to synthetic receptors, catalytic systems, and complex self-assembled supramolecular architectures. Also reviewed are extensions of the principles of DCC to systems that are not at equilibrium and may therefore harbor richer functional behavior. Examples include self-replication and molecular machines.

Combinatorial Micro-Macro Dynamical Systems

OpenAIRE

Diaz, Rafael; Villamarin, Sergio

2015-01-01

The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of an isolated system is almost always increasing. We propose combinatorial formalizations of the second law and explore their conditions of possibilities.

Hybrid Genetic Algorithm with Multiparents Crossover for Job Shop Scheduling Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noor Hasnah Moin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The job shop scheduling problem (JSSP is one of the well-known hard combinatorial scheduling problems. This paper proposes a hybrid genetic algorithm with multiparents crossover for JSSP. The multiparents crossover operator known as extended precedence preservative crossover (EPPX is able to recombine more than two parents to generate a single new offspring distinguished from common crossover operators that recombine only two parents. This algorithm also embeds a schedule generation procedure to generate full-active schedule that satisfies precedence constraints in order to reduce the search space. Once a schedule is obtained, a neighborhood search is applied to exploit the search space for better solutions and to enhance the GA. This hybrid genetic algorithm is simulated on a set of benchmarks from the literatures and the results are compared with other approaches to ensure the sustainability of this algorithm in solving JSSP. The results suggest that the implementation of multiparents crossover produces competitive results.

On Definitions and Existence of Combinatorial Entropy of 2d Fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forchhammer, Søren Otto; Shtarkov, Yuri; Justesen, Jørn

1998-01-01

Different definitions of combinatorial entropy is presented and conditions for their existence examined.......Different definitions of combinatorial entropy is presented and conditions for their existence examined....

Combinatorial therapy discovery using mixed integer linear programming.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Kaifang; Wan, Ying-Wooi; Choi, William T; Donehower, Lawrence A; Sun, Jingchun; Pant, Dhruv; Liu, Zhandong

2014-05-15

Combinatorial therapies play increasingly important roles in combating complex diseases. Owing to the huge cost associated with experimental methods in identifying optimal drug combinations, computational approaches can provide a guide to limit the search space and reduce cost. However, few computational approaches have been developed for this purpose, and thus there is a great need of new algorithms for drug combination prediction. Here we proposed to formulate the optimal combinatorial therapy problem into two complementary mathematical algorithms, Balanced Target Set Cover (BTSC) and Minimum Off-Target Set Cover (MOTSC). Given a disease gene set, BTSC seeks a balanced solution that maximizes the coverage on the disease genes and minimizes the off-target hits at the same time. MOTSC seeks a full coverage on the disease gene set while minimizing the off-target set. Through simulation, both BTSC and MOTSC demonstrated a much faster running time over exhaustive search with the same accuracy. When applied to real disease gene sets, our algorithms not only identified known drug combinations, but also predicted novel drug combinations that are worth further testing. In addition, we developed a web-based tool to allow users to iteratively search for optimal drug combinations given a user-defined gene set. Our tool is freely available for noncommercial use at http://www.drug.liuzlab.org/. zhandong.liu@bcm.edu Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Combinatorial Mathematics: Research into Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Sriraman, Bharath; English, Lyn D.

2004-01-01

Implications and suggestions for using combinatorial mathematics in the classroom through a survey and synthesis of numerous research studies are presented. The implications revolve around five major themes that emerge from analysis of these studies.

Recent advances in combinatorial biosynthesis for drug discovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sun H

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Huihua Sun,1,* Zihe Liu,1,* Huimin Zhao,1,2 Ee Lui Ang1 1Metabolic Engineering Research Laboratory, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore; 2Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Because of extraordinary structural diversity and broad biological activities, natural products have played a significant role in drug discovery. These therapeutically important secondary metabolites are assembled and modified by dedicated biosynthetic pathways in their host living organisms. Traditionally, chemists have attempted to synthesize natural product analogs that are important sources of new drugs. However, the extraordinary structural complexity of natural products sometimes makes it challenging for traditional chemical synthesis, which usually involves multiple steps, harsh conditions, toxic organic solvents, and byproduct wastes. In contrast, combinatorial biosynthesis exploits substrate promiscuity and employs engineered enzymes and pathways to produce novel “unnatural” natural products, substantially expanding the structural diversity of natural products with potential pharmaceutical value. Thus, combinatorial biosynthesis provides an environmentally friendly way to produce natural product analogs. Efficient expression of the combinatorial biosynthetic pathway in genetically tractable heterologous hosts can increase the titer of the compound, eventually resulting in less expensive drugs. In this review, we will discuss three major strategies for combinatorial biosynthesis: 1 precursor-directed biosynthesis; 2 enzyme-level modification, which includes swapping of the entire domains, modules and subunits, site-specific mutagenesis, and directed evolution; 3 pathway-level recombination. Recent examples of combinatorial biosynthesis employing these

Adapting Experiential Learning to Develop Problem-Solving Skills in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Matthew M.; Carrano, Andres L.; Dannels, Wendy A.

2016-01-01

Individuals who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions, and this may be due in part to their level of preparation in the development and retention of mathematical and problem-solving skills. An approach was developed that incorporates experiential learning and…

A quark interpretation of the combinatorial hierarchy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enqvist, Kari.

1979-01-01

We propose a physical interpretation of the second level of the combinatorial hierarchy in terms of three quarks, three antiquarks and the vacuum. This interpretation allows us to introduce a new quantum number, which measures electromagnetic mass splitting of the quarks. We extend our argument by analogue to baryons, and find some SU(3) and some new mass formulas for baryons. The generalization of our approach to other hierarchy levels is discussed. We present also an empirical mass formula for baryons, which seems to be loosely connected with the combinatorial hierarchy. (author)

Combinatorial techniques to efficiently investigate and optimize organic thin film processing and properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Wieberger, Florian; Kolb, Tristan; Neuber, Christian; Ober, Christopher K; Schmidt, Hans-Werner

2013-04-08

In this article we present several developed and improved combinatorial techniques to optimize processing conditions and material properties of organic thin films. The combinatorial approach allows investigations of multi-variable dependencies and is the perfect tool to investigate organic thin films regarding their high performance purposes. In this context we develop and establish the reliable preparation of gradients of material composition, temperature, exposure, and immersion time. Furthermore we demonstrate the smart application of combinations of composition and processing gradients to create combinatorial libraries. First a binary combinatorial library is created by applying two gradients perpendicular to each other. A third gradient is carried out in very small areas and arranged matrix-like over the entire binary combinatorial library resulting in a ternary combinatorial library. Ternary combinatorial libraries allow identifying precise trends for the optimization of multi-variable dependent processes which is demonstrated on the lithographic patterning process. Here we verify conclusively the strong interaction and thus the interdependency of variables in the preparation and properties of complex organic thin film systems. The established gradient preparation techniques are not limited to lithographic patterning. It is possible to utilize and transfer the reported combinatorial techniques to other multi-variable dependent processes and to investigate and optimize thin film layers and devices for optical, electro-optical, and electronic applications.

Combinatorial Techniques to Efficiently Investigate and Optimize Organic Thin Film Processing and Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans-Werner Schmidt

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In this article we present several developed and improved combinatorial techniques to optimize processing conditions and material properties of organic thin films. The combinatorial approach allows investigations of multi-variable dependencies and is the perfect tool to investigate organic thin films regarding their high performance purposes. In this context we develop and establish the reliable preparation of gradients of material composition, temperature, exposure, and immersion time. Furthermore we demonstrate the smart application of combinations of composition and processing gradients to create combinatorial libraries. First a binary combinatorial library is created by applying two gradients perpendicular to each other. A third gradient is carried out in very small areas and arranged matrix-like over the entire binary combinatorial library resulting in a ternary combinatorial library. Ternary combinatorial libraries allow identifying precise trends for the optimization of multi-variable dependent processes which is demonstrated on the lithographic patterning process. Here we verify conclusively the strong interaction and thus the interdependency of variables in the preparation and properties of complex organic thin film systems. The established gradient preparation techniques are not limited to lithographic patterning. It is possible to utilize and transfer the reported combinatorial techniques to other multi-variable dependent processes and to investigate and optimize thin film layers and devices for optical, electro-optical, and electronic applications.

Standard hardness conversion tables for metals relationship among brinell hardness, vickers hardness, rockwell hardness, superficial hardness, knoop hardness, and scleroscope hardness

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2007-01-01

1.1 Conversion Table 1 presents data in the Rockwell C hardness range on the relationship among Brinell hardness, Vickers hardness, Rockwell hardness, Rockwell superficial hardness, Knoop hardness, and Scleroscope hardness of non-austenitic steels including carbon, alloy, and tool steels in the as-forged, annealed, normalized, and quenched and tempered conditions provided that they are homogeneous. 1.2 Conversion Table 2 presents data in the Rockwell B hardness range on the relationship among Brinell hardness, Vickers hardness, Rockwell hardness, Rockwell superficial hardness, Knoop hardness, and Scleroscope hardness of non-austenitic steels including carbon, alloy, and tool steels in the as-forged, annealed, normalized, and quenched and tempered conditions provided that they are homogeneous. 1.3 Conversion Table 3 presents data on the relationship among Brinell hardness, Vickers hardness, Rockwell hardness, Rockwell superficial hardness, and Knoop hardness of nickel and high-nickel alloys (nickel content o...

Asymmetric continuous-time neural networks without local traps for solving constraint satisfaction problems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Botond Molnár

Full Text Available There has been a long history of using neural networks for combinatorial optimization and constraint satisfaction problems. Symmetric Hopfield networks and similar approaches use steepest descent dynamics, and they always converge to the closest local minimum of the energy landscape. For finding global minima additional parameter-sensitive techniques are used, such as classical simulated annealing or the so-called chaotic simulated annealing, which induces chaotic dynamics by addition of extra terms to the energy landscape. Here we show that asymmetric continuous-time neural networks can solve constraint satisfaction problems without getting trapped in non-solution attractors. We concentrate on a model solving Boolean satisfiability (k-SAT, which is a quintessential NP-complete problem. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the stable fixed points of the neural network and the k-SAT solutions and we present numerical evidence that limit cycles may also be avoided by appropriately choosing the parameters of the model. This optimal parameter region is fairly independent of the size and hardness of instances, this way parameters can be chosen independently of the properties of problems and no tuning is required during the dynamical process. The model is similar to cellular neural networks already used in CNN computers. On an analog device solving a SAT problem would take a single operation: the connection weights are determined by the k-SAT instance and starting from any initial condition the system searches until finding a solution. In this new approach transient chaotic behavior appears as a natural consequence of optimization hardness and not as an externally induced effect.

Simulated annealing (SA to vehicle routing problems with soft time windows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suphan Sodsoon

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The researcher has applied and develops the meta-heuristics method to solve Vehicle Routing Problems with Soft Time Windows (VRPSTW. For this case there was only one depot, multi customers which each generally sparse either or demand was different though perceived number of demand and specific period of time to receive them. The Operation Research was representative combinatorial optimization problems and is known to be NP-hard. In this research algorithm, use Simulated Annealing (SA to determine the optimum solutions which rapidly time solving. After developed the algorithms, apply them to examine the factors and the optimum extended time windows and test these factors with vehicle problem routing under specific time windows by Solomon in OR-Library in case of maximum 25 customers. Meanwhile, 6 problems are including of C101, C102, R101, R102, RC101 and RC102 respectively. The result shows the optimum extended time windows at level of 50%. At last, after comparison these answers with the case of vehicle problem routing under specific time windows and flexible time windows, found that percentage errors on number of vehicles approximately by -28.57% and percentage errors on distances approximately by -28.57% which this algorithm spent average processing time on 45.5 sec/problems.

Geometric differential evolution for combinatorial and programs spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Moraglio, A; Togelius, J; Silva, S

2013-01-01

Geometric differential evolution (GDE) is a recently introduced formal generalization of traditional differential evolution (DE) that can be used to derive specific differential evolution algorithms for both continuous and combinatorial spaces retaining the same geometric interpretation of the dynamics of the DE search across representations. In this article, we first review the theory behind the GDE algorithm, then, we use this framework to formally derive specific GDE for search spaces associated with binary strings, permutations, vectors of permutations and genetic programs. The resulting algorithms are representation-specific differential evolution algorithms searching the target spaces by acting directly on their underlying representations. We present experimental results for each of the new algorithms on a number of well-known problems comprising NK-landscapes, TSP, and Sudoku, for binary strings, permutations, and vectors of permutations. We also present results for the regression, artificial ant, parity, and multiplexer problems within the genetic programming domain. Experiments show that overall the new DE algorithms are competitive with well-tuned standard search algorithms.

Combinatorial Dyson-Schwinger equations and inductive data types

Science.gov (United States)

Kock, Joachim

2016-06-01

The goal of this contribution is to explain the analogy between combinatorial Dyson-Schwinger equations and inductive data types to a readership of mathematical physicists. The connection relies on an interpretation of combinatorial Dyson-Schwinger equations as fixpoint equations for polynomial functors (established elsewhere by the author, and summarised here), combined with the now-classical fact that polynomial functors provide semantics for inductive types. The paper is expository, and comprises also a brief introduction to type theory.

Solving the neutron diffusion equation on combinatorial geometry computational cells for reactor physics calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azmy, Y. Y.

2004-01-01

An approach is developed for solving the neutron diffusion equation on combinatorial geometry computational cells, that is computational cells composed by combinatorial operations involving simple-shaped component cells. The only constraint on the component cells from which the combinatorial cells are assembled is that they possess a legitimate discretization of the underlying diffusion equation. We use the Finite Difference (FD) approximation of the x, y-geometry diffusion equation in this work. Performing the same combinatorial operations involved in composing the combinatorial cell on these discrete-variable equations yields equations that employ new discrete variables defined only on the combinatorial cell's volume and faces. The only approximation involved in this process, beyond the truncation error committed in discretizing the diffusion equation over each component cell, is a consistent-order Legendre series expansion. Preliminary results for simple configurations establish the accuracy of the solution to the combinatorial geometry solution compared to straight FD as the system dimensions decrease. Furthermore numerical results validate the consistent Legendre-series expansion order by illustrating the second order accuracy of the combinatorial geometry solution, the same as standard FD. Nevertheless the magnitude of the error for the new approach is larger than FD's since it incorporates the additional truncated series approximation. (authors)

Boltzmann machines for travelling salesman problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aarts, E.H.L.; Korst, J.H.M.

1989-01-01

Boltzmann machines are proposed as a massively parallel alternative to the (sequential) simulated annealing algorithm. Our approach is tailored to the travelling salesman problem, but it can also be applied to a more general class of combinatorial optimization problems. For two distinct 0–1

The Combinatorial Rigidity Conjecture is False for Cubic Polynomials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Christian

2003-01-01

We show that there exist two cubic polynomials with connected Julia sets which are combinatorially equivalent but not topologically conjugate on their Julia sets. This disproves a conjecture by McMullen from 1995.......We show that there exist two cubic polynomials with connected Julia sets which are combinatorially equivalent but not topologically conjugate on their Julia sets. This disproves a conjecture by McMullen from 1995....

Bivium as a Mixed Integer Programming Problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borghoff, Julia; Knudsen, Lars Ramkilde; Stolpe, Mathias

2009-01-01

over $GF(2)$ into a combinatorial optimization problem. We convert the Boolean equation system into an equation system over $\\mathbb{R}$ and formulate the problem of finding a $0$-$1$-valued solution for the system as a mixed-integer programming problem. This enables us to make use of several...

Combinatorial Algorithms for Computing Column Space Bases ThatHave Sparse Inverses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinar, Ali; Chow, Edmond; Pothen, Alex

2005-03-18

This paper presents a combinatorial study on the problem ofconstructing a sparse basis forthe null-space of a sparse, underdetermined, full rank matrix, A. Such a null-space is suitable forsolving solving many saddle point problems. Our approach is to form acolumn space basis of A that has a sparse inverse, by selecting suitablecolumns of A. This basis is then used to form a sparse null-space basisin fundamental form. We investigate three different algorithms forcomputing the column space basis: Two greedy approaches that rely onmatching, and a third employing a divide and conquer strategy implementedwith hypergraph partitioning followed by the greedy approach. We alsodiscuss the complexity of selecting a column basis when it is known thata block diagonal basis exists with a small given block size.

Fixed Parameter Evolutionary Algorithms and Maximum Leaf Spanning Trees: A Matter of Mutations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kratsch, Stefan; Lehre, Per Kristian; Neumann, Frank

2011-01-01

Evolutionary algorithms have been shown to be very successful for a wide range of NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. We investigate the NP-hard problem of computing a spanning tree that has a maximal number of leaves by evolutionary algorithms in the context of fixed parameter tractabil...... two common mutation operators, we show that an operator related to spanning tree problems leads to an FPT running time in contrast to a general mutation operator that does not have this property....

Dendrimer-based dynamic combinatorial libraries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chang, T.; Meijer, E.W.

2005-01-01

The aim of this project is to create water-sol. dynamic combinatorial libraries based upon dendrimer-guest complexes. The guest mols. are designed to bind to dendrimers using multiple secondary interactions, such as electrostatics and hydrogen bonding. We have been able to incorporate various guest

Combinatorial auctions for electronic business

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

(6) Information feedback: An auction protocol may be a direct mechanism or an .... transparency of allocation decisions arise in resolving these ties. .... bidding, however more recently, combinatorial bids are allowed [50] making ...... Also, truth revelation and other game theoretic considerations are not taken into account.

Combinatorial Proofs and Algebraic Proofs

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/018/07/0630-0645. Keywords. Combinatorial proof; algebraic proof; binomial identity; recurrence relation; composition; Fibonacci number; Fibonacci identity; Pascal triangle. Author Affiliations. Shailesh A Shirali1. Sahyadri School Tiwai Hill, Rajgurunagar Pune 410 ...

Efficient high-precision matrix algebra on parallel architectures for nonlinear combinatorial optimization

KAUST Repository

Gunnels, John; Lee, Jon; Margulies, Susan

2010-01-01

We provide a first demonstration of the idea that matrix-based algorithms for nonlinear combinatorial optimization problems can be efficiently implemented. Such algorithms were mainly conceived by theoretical computer scientists for proving efficiency. We are able to demonstrate the practicality of our approach by developing an implementation on a massively parallel architecture, and exploiting scalable and efficient parallel implementations of algorithms for ultra high-precision linear algebra. Additionally, we have delineated and implemented the necessary algorithmic and coding changes required in order to address problems several orders of magnitude larger, dealing with the limits of scalability from memory footprint, computational efficiency, reliability, and interconnect perspectives. © Springer and Mathematical Programming Society 2010.

Efficient high-precision matrix algebra on parallel architectures for nonlinear combinatorial optimization

KAUST Repository

Gunnels, John

2010-06-01

We provide a first demonstration of the idea that matrix-based algorithms for nonlinear combinatorial optimization problems can be efficiently implemented. Such algorithms were mainly conceived by theoretical computer scientists for proving efficiency. We are able to demonstrate the practicality of our approach by developing an implementation on a massively parallel architecture, and exploiting scalable and efficient parallel implementations of algorithms for ultra high-precision linear algebra. Additionally, we have delineated and implemented the necessary algorithmic and coding changes required in order to address problems several orders of magnitude larger, dealing with the limits of scalability from memory footprint, computational efficiency, reliability, and interconnect perspectives. © Springer and Mathematical Programming Society 2010.

Dynamic Hierarchical Energy-Efficient Method Based on Combinatorial Optimization for Wireless Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yuchao; Tang, Hongying; Cheng, Yongbo; Zhao, Qin; Yuan, Baoqing Li andXiaobing

2017-07-19

Routing protocols based on topology control are significantly important for improving network longevity in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Traditionally, some WSN routing protocols distribute uneven network traffic load to sensor nodes, which is not optimal for improving network longevity. Differently to conventional WSN routing protocols, we propose a dynamic hierarchical protocol based on combinatorial optimization (DHCO) to balance energy consumption of sensor nodes and to improve WSN longevity. For each sensor node, the DHCO algorithm obtains the optimal route by establishing a feasible routing set instead of selecting the cluster head or the next hop node. The process of obtaining the optimal route can be formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem. Specifically, the DHCO algorithm is carried out by the following procedures. It employs a hierarchy-based connection mechanism to construct a hierarchical network structure in which each sensor node is assigned to a special hierarchical subset; it utilizes the combinatorial optimization theory to establish the feasible routing set for each sensor node, and takes advantage of the maximum-minimum criterion to obtain their optimal routes to the base station. Various results of simulation experiments show effectiveness and superiority of the DHCO algorithm in comparison with state-of-the-art WSN routing algorithms, including low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH), hybrid energy-efficient distributed clustering (HEED), genetic protocol-based self-organizing network clustering (GASONeC), and double cost function-based routing (DCFR) algorithms.

Paths and partitions: Combinatorial descriptions of the parafermionic states

Science.gov (United States)

Mathieu, Pierre

2009-09-01

The Zk parafermionic conformal field theories, despite the relative complexity of their modes algebra, offer the simplest context for the study of the bases of states and their different combinatorial representations. Three bases are known. The classic one is given by strings of the fundamental parafermionic operators whose sequences of modes are in correspondence with restricted partitions with parts at distance k -1 differing at least by 2. Another basis is expressed in terms of the ordered modes of the k -1 different parafermionic fields, which are in correspondence with the so-called multiple partitions. Both types of partitions have a natural (Bressoud) path representation. Finally, a third basis, formulated in terms of different paths, is inherited from the solution of the restricted solid-on-solid model of Andrews-Baxter-Forrester. The aim of this work is to review, in a unified and pedagogical exposition, these four different combinatorial representations of the states of the Zk parafermionic models. The first part of this article presents the different paths and partitions and their bijective relations; it is purely combinatorial, self-contained, and elementary; it can be read independently of the conformal-field-theory applications. The second part links this combinatorial analysis with the bases of states of the Zk parafermionic theories. With the prototypical example of the parafermionic models worked out in detail, this analysis contributes to fix some foundations for the combinatorial study of more complicated theories. Indeed, as we briefly indicate in ending, generalized versions of both the Bressoud and the Andrews-Baxter-Forrester paths emerge naturally in the description of the minimal models.

A hybrid guided neighborhood search for the disjunctively constrained knapsack problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mhand Hifi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate the use of a hybrid guided neighborhood search for solving the disjunctively constrained knapsack problem. The studied problem may be viewed as a combination of two NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems: the weighted-independent set and the classical binary knapsack. The proposed algorithm is a hybrid approach that combines both deterministic and random local searches. The deterministic local search is based on a descent method, where both building and exploring procedures are alternatively used for improving the solution at hand. In order to escape from a local optima, a random local search strategy is introduced which is based on a modified ant colony optimization system. During the search process, the ant colony optimization system tries to diversify and to enhance the solutions using some informations collected from the previous iterations. Finally, the proposed algorithm is computationally analyzed on a set of benchmark instances available in the literature. The provided results are compared to those realized by both the Cplex solver and a recent algorithm of the literature. The computational part shows that the obtained results improve most existing solution values.

Analysis of Hard Thin Film Coating

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Dashen

1998-01-01

MSFC is interested in developing hard thin film coating for bearings. The wearing of the bearing is an important problem for space flight engine. Hard thin film coating can drastically improve the surface of the bearing and improve the wear-endurance of the bearing. However, many fundamental problems in surface physics, plasma deposition, etc, need further research. The approach is using electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECRCVD) to deposit hard thin film an stainless steel bearing. The thin films in consideration include SiC, SiN and other materials. An ECRCVD deposition system is being assembled at MSFC.

Design and spectroscopic reflectometry characterization of pulsed laser deposition combinatorial libraries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schenck, Peter K.; Bassim, Nabil D.; Otani, Makoto; Oguchi, Hiroyuki; Green, Martin L.

2007-01-01

The goal of the design of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) combinatorial library films is to optimize the compositional coverage of the films while maintaining a uniform thickness. The deposition pattern of excimer laser PLD films can be modeled with a bimodal cos n distribution. Deposited films were characterized using a spectroscopic reflectometer (250-1000 nm) to map the thickness of both single composition calibration films and combinatorial library films. These distribution functions were used to simulate the composition and thickness of multiple target combinatorial library films. The simulations were correlated with electron-probe microanalysis wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy (EPMA-WDS) composition maps. The composition and thickness of the library films can be fine-tuned by adjusting the laser spot size, fluence, background gas pressure, target geometry and other processing parameters which affect the deposition pattern. Results from compositionally graded combinatorial library films of the ternary system Al 2 O 3 -HfO 2 -Y 2 O 3 are discussed

Enumeration of Combinatorial Classes of Single Variable Complex Polynomial Vector Fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dias, Kealey

A vector field in the space of degree d monic, centered single variable complex polynomial vector fields has a combinatorial structure which can be fully described by a combinatorial data set consisting of an equivalence relation and a marked subset on the integers mod 2d-2, satisfying certain...

Simulated annealing algorithm for solving chambering student-case assignment problem

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazali, Saadiah; Abdul-Rahman, Syariza

2015-12-01

The problem related to project assignment problem is one of popular practical problem that appear nowadays. The challenge of solving the problem raise whenever the complexity related to preferences, the existence of real-world constraints and problem size increased. This study focuses on solving a chambering student-case assignment problem by using a simulated annealing algorithm where this problem is classified under project assignment problem. The project assignment problem is considered as hard combinatorial optimization problem and solving it using a metaheuristic approach is an advantage because it could return a good solution in a reasonable time. The problem of assigning chambering students to cases has never been addressed in the literature before. For the proposed problem, it is essential for law graduates to peruse in chambers before they are qualified to become legal counselor. Thus, assigning the chambering students to cases is a critically needed especially when involving many preferences. Hence, this study presents a preliminary study of the proposed project assignment problem. The objective of the study is to minimize the total completion time for all students in solving the given cases. This study employed a minimum cost greedy heuristic in order to construct a feasible initial solution. The search then is preceded with a simulated annealing algorithm for further improvement of solution quality. The analysis of the obtained result has shown that the proposed simulated annealing algorithm has greatly improved the solution constructed by the minimum cost greedy heuristic. Hence, this research has demonstrated the advantages of solving project assignment problem by using metaheuristic techniques.

Generating an Automated Test Suite by Variable Strength Combinatorial Testing for Web Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yin Li

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Testing Web Services has become the spotlight of software engineering as an important means to assure the quality of Web application. Due to lacking of graphic interface and source code, Web services need an automated testing method, which is an important part in efficiently designing and generating test suite. However, the existing testing methods may lead to the redundancy of test suite and the decrease of fault-detecting ability since it cannot handle scenarios where the strengths of the different interactions are not uniform. With the purpose of solving this problem, firstly the formal tree model based on WSDL is constructed and the actual interaction relationship of each node is made sufficient consideration into, then the combinatorial testing is proposed to generate variable strength combinatorial test suite based on One-test-at-a-time strategy. At last test cases are minimized according to constraint rules. The results show that compared with conventional random testing, the proposed approach can detect more errors with the same amount of test cases which turning out to be more ideal than existing ones in size.

Melting of polydisperse hard disks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pronk, S.; Frenkel, D.

2004-01-01

The melting of a polydisperse hard-disk system is investigated by Monte Carlo simulations in the semigrand canonical ensemble. This is done in the context of possible continuous melting by a dislocation-unbinding mechanism, as an extension of the two-dimensional hard-disk melting problem. We find

Focusing on the Golden Ball Metaheuristic: An Extended Study on a Wider Set of Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Osaba

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, the development of new metaheuristics for solving optimization problems is a topic of interest in the scientific community. In the literature, a large number of techniques of this kind can be found. Anyway, there are many recently proposed techniques, such as the artificial bee colony and imperialist competitive algorithm. This paper is focused on one recently published technique, the one called Golden Ball (GB. The GB is a multiple-population metaheuristic based on soccer concepts. Although it was designed to solve combinatorial optimization problems, until now, it has only been tested with two simple routing problems: the traveling salesman problem and the capacitated vehicle routing problem. In this paper, the GB is applied to four different combinatorial optimization problems. Two of them are routing problems, which are more complex than the previously used ones: the asymmetric traveling salesman problem and the vehicle routing problem with backhauls. Additionally, one constraint satisfaction problem (the n-queen problem and one combinatorial design problem (the one-dimensional bin packing problem have also been used. The outcomes obtained by GB are compared with the ones got by two different genetic algorithms and two distributed genetic algorithms. Additionally, two statistical tests are conducted to compare these results.

Focusing on the Golden Ball Metaheuristic: An Extended Study on a Wider Set of Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Osaba, E.; Diaz, F.; Carballedo, R.; Onieva, E.; Perallos, A.

2014-01-01

Nowadays, the development of new metaheuristics for solving optimization problems is a topic of interest in the scientific community. In the literature, a large number of techniques of this kind can be found. Anyway, there are many recently proposed techniques, such as the artificial bee colony and imperialist competitive algorithm. This paper is focused on one recently published technique, the one called Golden Ball (GB). The GB is a multiple-population metaheuristic based on soccer concepts. Although it was designed to solve combinatorial optimization problems, until now, it has only been tested with two simple routing problems: the traveling salesman problem and the capacitated vehicle routing problem. In this paper, the GB is applied to four different combinatorial optimization problems. Two of them are routing problems, which are more complex than the previously used ones: the asymmetric traveling salesman problem and the vehicle routing problem with backhauls. Additionally, one constraint satisfaction problem (the n-queen problem) and one combinatorial design problem (the one-dimensional bin packing problem) have also been used. The outcomes obtained by GB are compared with the ones got by two different genetic algorithms and two distributed genetic algorithms. Additionally, two statistical tests are conducted to compare these results. PMID:25165742

Combinatorial vector fields and the valley structure of fitness landscapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Stadler, Bärbel M R; Stadler, Peter F

2010-12-01

Adaptive (downhill) walks are a computationally convenient way of analyzing the geometric structure of fitness landscapes. Their inherently stochastic nature has limited their mathematical analysis, however. Here we develop a framework that interprets adaptive walks as deterministic trajectories in combinatorial vector fields and in return associate these combinatorial vector fields with weights that measure their steepness across the landscape. We show that the combinatorial vector fields and their weights have a product structure that is governed by the neutrality of the landscape. This product structure makes practical computations feasible. The framework presented here also provides an alternative, and mathematically more convenient, way of defining notions of valleys, saddle points, and barriers in landscape. As an application, we propose a refined approximation for transition rates between macrostates that are associated with the valleys of the landscape.

Logging to Facilitate Combinatorial System Testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kruse, P.M.; Prasetya, I.S.W.B.; Hage, J; Elyasov, Alexander

2014-01-01

Testing a web application is typically very complicated. Imposing simple coverage criteria such as function or line coverage is often not sufficient to uncover bugs due to incorrect components integration. Combinatorial testing can enforce a stronger criterion, while still allowing the

Combinatorial computational chemistry approach to the design of metal catalysts for deNOx

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Endou, Akira; Jung, Changho; Kusagaya, Tomonori; Kubo, Momoji; Selvam, Parasuraman; Miyamoto, Akira

2004-01-01

Combinatorial chemistry is an efficient technique for the synthesis and screening of a large number of compounds. Recently, we introduced the combinatorial approach to computational chemistry for catalyst design and proposed a new method called ''combinatorial computational chemistry''. In the present study, we have applied this combinatorial computational chemistry approach to the design of precious metal catalysts for deNO x . As the first step of the screening of the metal catalysts, we studied Rh, Pd, Ag, Ir, Pt, and Au clusters regarding the adsorption properties towards NO molecule. It was demonstrated that the energetically most stable adsorption state of NO on Ir model cluster, which was irrespective of both the shape and number of atoms including the model clusters

Balancing focused combinatorial libraries based on multiple GPCR ligands

Science.gov (United States)

Soltanshahi, Farhad; Mansley, Tamsin E.; Choi, Sun; Clark, Robert D.

2006-08-01

G-Protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are important targets for drug discovery, and combinatorial chemistry is an important tool for pharmaceutical development. The absence of detailed structural information, however, limits the kinds of combinatorial design techniques that can be applied to GPCR targets. This is particularly problematic given the current emphasis on focused combinatorial libraries. By linking an incremental construction method (OptDesign) to the very fast shape-matching capability of ChemSpace, we have created an efficient method for designing targeted sublibraries that are topomerically similar to known actives. Multi-objective scoring allows consideration of multiple queries (actives) simultaneously. This can lead to a distribution of products skewed towards one particular query structure, however, particularly when the ligands of interest are quite dissimilar to one another. A novel pivoting technique is described which makes it possible to generate promising designs even under those circumstances. The approach is illustrated by application to some serotonergic agonists and chemokine antagonists.

The combinatorial derivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor V. Protasov

2013-09-01

$\\Delta(A=\\{g\\in G:|gA\\cap A|=\\infty\\}$. The mapping $\\Delta:\\mathcal{P}_G\\rightarrow\\mathcal{P}_G$, $A\\mapsto\\Delta(A$, is called a combinatorial derivation and can be considered as an analogue of the topological derivation $d:\\mathcal{P}_X\\rightarrow\\mathcal{P}_X$, $A\\mapsto A^d$, where $X$ is a topological space and $A^d$ is the set of all limit points of $A$. Content: elementary properties, thin and almost thin subsets, partitions, inverse construction and $\\Delta$-trajectories,  $\\Delta$ and $d$.

Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lisbjerg, Micke

This thesis is divided into seven chapters, which can all be read individually. The first chapter, however, contains a general introduction to the chemistry used in the remaining six chapters, and it is therefore recommended to read chapter one before reading the other chapters. Chapter 1...... is a general introductory chapter for the whole thesis. The history and concepts of dynamic combinatorial chemistry are described, as are some of the new and intriguing results recently obtained. Finally, the properties of a broad range of hexameric macrocycles are described in detail. Chapter 2 gives...

Exact combinatorial reliability analysis of dynamic systems with sequence-dependent failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xing Liudong; Shrestha, Akhilesh; Dai Yuanshun

2011-01-01

Many real-life fault-tolerant systems are subjected to sequence-dependent failure behavior, in which the order in which the fault events occur is important to the system reliability. Such systems can be modeled by dynamic fault trees (DFT) with priority-AND (pAND) gates. Existing approaches for the reliability analysis of systems subjected to sequence-dependent failures are typically state-space-based, simulation-based or inclusion-exclusion-based methods. Those methods either suffer from the state-space explosion problem or require long computation time especially when results with high degree of accuracy are desired. In this paper, an analytical method based on sequential binary decision diagrams is proposed. The proposed approach can analyze the exact reliability of non-repairable dynamic systems subjected to the sequence-dependent failure behavior. Also, the proposed approach is combinatorial and is applicable for analyzing systems with any arbitrary component time-to-failure distributions. The application and advantages of the proposed approach are illustrated through analysis of several examples. - Highlights: → We analyze the sequence-dependent failure behavior using combinatorial models. → The method has no limitation on the type of time-to-failure distributions. → The method is analytical and based on sequential binary decision diagrams (SBDD). → The method is computationally more efficient than existing methods.

Systematic identification of combinatorial drivers and targets in cancer cell lines.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adel Tabchy

Full Text Available There is an urgent need to elicit and validate highly efficacious targets for combinatorial intervention from large scale ongoing molecular characterization efforts of tumors. We established an in silico bioinformatic platform in concert with a high throughput screening platform evaluating 37 novel targeted agents in 669 extensively characterized cancer cell lines reflecting the genomic and tissue-type diversity of human cancers, to systematically identify combinatorial biomarkers of response and co-actionable targets in cancer. Genomic biomarkers discovered in a 141 cell line training set were validated in an independent 359 cell line test set. We identified co-occurring and mutually exclusive genomic events that represent potential drivers and combinatorial targets in cancer. We demonstrate multiple cooperating genomic events that predict sensitivity to drug intervention independent of tumor lineage. The coupling of scalable in silico and biologic high throughput cancer cell line platforms for the identification of co-events in cancer delivers rational combinatorial targets for synthetic lethal approaches with a high potential to pre-empt the emergence of resistance.

Systematic identification of combinatorial drivers and targets in cancer cell lines.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabchy, Adel; Eltonsy, Nevine; Housman, David E; Mills, Gordon B

2013-01-01

There is an urgent need to elicit and validate highly efficacious targets for combinatorial intervention from large scale ongoing molecular characterization efforts of tumors. We established an in silico bioinformatic platform in concert with a high throughput screening platform evaluating 37 novel targeted agents in 669 extensively characterized cancer cell lines reflecting the genomic and tissue-type diversity of human cancers, to systematically identify combinatorial biomarkers of response and co-actionable targets in cancer. Genomic biomarkers discovered in a 141 cell line training set were validated in an independent 359 cell line test set. We identified co-occurring and mutually exclusive genomic events that represent potential drivers and combinatorial targets in cancer. We demonstrate multiple cooperating genomic events that predict sensitivity to drug intervention independent of tumor lineage. The coupling of scalable in silico and biologic high throughput cancer cell line platforms for the identification of co-events in cancer delivers rational combinatorial targets for synthetic lethal approaches with a high potential to pre-empt the emergence of resistance.

Complex network problems in physics, computer science and biology

Science.gov (United States)

Cojocaru, Radu Ionut

There is a close relation between physics and mathematics and the exchange of ideas between these two sciences are well established. However until few years ago there was no such a close relation between physics and computer science. Even more, only recently biologists started to use methods and tools from statistical physics in order to study the behavior of complex system. In this thesis we concentrate on applying and analyzing several methods borrowed from computer science to biology and also we use methods from statistical physics in solving hard problems from computer science. In recent years physicists have been interested in studying the behavior of complex networks. Physics is an experimental science in which theoretical predictions are compared to experiments. In this definition, the term prediction plays a very important role: although the system is complex, it is still possible to get predictions for its behavior, but these predictions are of a probabilistic nature. Spin glasses, lattice gases or the Potts model are a few examples of complex systems in physics. Spin glasses and many frustrated antiferromagnets map exactly to computer science problems in the NP-hard class defined in Chapter 1. In Chapter 1 we discuss a common result from artificial intelligence (AI) which shows that there are some problems which are NP-complete, with the implication that these problems are difficult to solve. We introduce a few well known hard problems from computer science (Satisfiability, Coloring, Vertex Cover together with Maximum Independent Set and Number Partitioning) and then discuss their mapping to problems from physics. In Chapter 2 we provide a short review of combinatorial optimization algorithms and their applications to ground state problems in disordered systems. We discuss the cavity method initially developed for studying the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model of spin glasses. We extend this model to the study of a specific case of spin glass on the Bethe

Ant Colony Optimization and the Minimum Cut Problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kötzing, Timo; Lehre, Per Kristian; Neumann, Frank

2010-01-01

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a powerful metaheuristic for solving combinatorial optimization problems. With this paper we contribute to the theoretical understanding of this kind of algorithm by investigating the classical minimum cut problem. An ACO algorithm similar to the one that was prov...

Some results from the combinatorial approach to quantum logic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greechie, R.J.

1976-01-01

The combinatorial approach to quantum logic focuses on certain interconnections between graphs, combinatorial designs, and convex sets as applied to a quantum logic. This article is concerned only with orthomodular lattices and associated structures. A class of complete atomic irreducible semimodular orthomodular lattices is derived which may not be represented as linear subspaces of a vector space over a division ring. Each of these lattices is a proposition system of dimension three. These proposition systems form orthocomplemented non-Desarguesian projective geometries. (B.R.H.)

Combinatorial enzyme technology for the conversion of agricultural fibers to functional properties

Science.gov (United States)

The concept of combinatorial chemistry has received little attention in agriculture and food research, although its applications in this area were described more than fifteen years ago (1, 2). More recently, interest in the use of combinatorial chemistry in agrochemical discovery has been revitalize...

DNA-Encoded Dynamic Combinatorial Chemical Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddavide, Francesco V; Lin, Weilin; Lehnert, Sarah; Zhang, Yixin

2015-06-26

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) explores the thermodynamic equilibrium of reversible reactions. Its application in the discovery of protein binders is largely limited by difficulties in the analysis of complex reaction mixtures. DNA-encoded chemical library (DECL) technology allows the selection of binders from a mixture of up to billions of different compounds; however, experimental results often show low a signal-to-noise ratio and poor correlation between enrichment factor and binding affinity. Herein we describe the design and application of DNA-encoded dynamic combinatorial chemical libraries (EDCCLs). Our experiments have shown that the EDCCL approach can be used not only to convert monovalent binders into high-affinity bivalent binders, but also to cause remarkably enhanced enrichment of potent bivalent binders by driving their in situ synthesis. We also demonstrate the application of EDCCLs in DNA-templated chemical reactions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Combinatorial synthesis of ceramic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Lauf, Robert J.; Walls, Claudia A.; Boatner, Lynn A.

2006-11-14

A combinatorial library includes a gelcast substrate defining a plurality of cavities in at least one surface thereof; and a plurality of gelcast test materials in the cavities, at least two of the test materials differing from the substrate in at least one compositional characteristic, the two test materials differing from each other in at least one compositional characteristic.

Resource allocation via sum-rate maximization in the uplink of multi-cell OFDMA networks

KAUST Repository

Tabassum, Hina; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Dawy, Zaher

2012-01-01

In this paper, we consider maximizing the sum rate in the uplink of a multi-cell orthogonal frequency-division multiple access network. The problem has a non-convex combinatorial structure and is known to be NP-hard. Because of the inherent

Combinatorial thin film materials science: From alloy discovery and optimization to alloy design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gebhardt, Thomas, E-mail: gebhardt@mch.rwth-aachen.de; Music, Denis; Takahashi, Tetsuya; Schneider, Jochen M.

2012-06-30

This paper provides an overview of modern alloy development, from discovery and optimization towards alloy design, based on combinatorial thin film materials science. The combinatorial approach, combining combinatorial materials synthesis of thin film composition-spreads with high-throughput property characterization has proven to be a powerful tool to delineate composition-structure-property relationships, and hence to efficiently identify composition windows with enhanced properties. Furthermore, and most importantly for alloy design, theoretical models and hypotheses can be critically appraised. Examples for alloy discovery, optimization, and alloy design of functional as well as structural materials are presented. Using Fe-Mn based alloys as an example, we show that the combination of modern electronic-structure calculations with the highly efficient combinatorial thin film composition-spread method constitutes an effective tool for knowledge-based alloy design.

Combinatorial thin film materials science: From alloy discovery and optimization to alloy design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gebhardt, Thomas; Music, Denis; Takahashi, Tetsuya; Schneider, Jochen M.

2012-01-01

This paper provides an overview of modern alloy development, from discovery and optimization towards alloy design, based on combinatorial thin film materials science. The combinatorial approach, combining combinatorial materials synthesis of thin film composition-spreads with high-throughput property characterization has proven to be a powerful tool to delineate composition–structure–property relationships, and hence to efficiently identify composition windows with enhanced properties. Furthermore, and most importantly for alloy design, theoretical models and hypotheses can be critically appraised. Examples for alloy discovery, optimization, and alloy design of functional as well as structural materials are presented. Using Fe-Mn based alloys as an example, we show that the combination of modern electronic-structure calculations with the highly efficient combinatorial thin film composition-spread method constitutes an effective tool for knowledge-based alloy design.

Laguerre-type derivatives: Dobinski relations and combinatorial identities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Penson, K. A.; Blasiak, P.; Horzela, A.; Duchamp, G. H. E.; Solomon, A. I.

2009-01-01

We consider properties of the operators D(r,M)=a r (a † a) M (which we call generalized Laguerre-type derivatives), with r=1,2,..., M=0,1,..., where a and a † are boson annihilation and creation operators, respectively, satisfying [a,a † ]=1. We obtain explicit formulas for the normally ordered form of arbitrary Taylor-expandable functions of D(r,M) with the help of an operator relation that generalizes the Dobinski formula. Coherent state expectation values of certain operator functions of D(r,M) turn out to be generating functions of combinatorial numbers. In many cases the corresponding combinatorial structures can be explicitly identified.

Combinatorial pretreatment and fermentation optimization enabled a record yield on lignin bioconversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhi-Hua; Xie, Shangxian; Lin, Furong; Jin, Mingjie; Yuan, Joshua S

2018-01-01

Lignin valorization has recently been considered to be an essential process for sustainable and cost-effective biorefineries. Lignin represents a potential new feedstock for value-added products. Oleaginous bacteria such as Rhodococcus opacus can produce intracellular lipids from biodegradation of aromatic substrates. These lipids can be used for biofuel production, which can potentially replace petroleum-derived chemicals. However, the low reactivity of lignin produced from pretreatment and the underdeveloped fermentation technology hindered lignin bioconversion to lipids. In this study, combinatorial pretreatment with an optimized fermentation strategy was evaluated to improve lignin valorization into lipids using R. opacus PD630. As opposed to single pretreatment, combinatorial pretreatment produced a 12.8-75.6% higher lipid concentration in fermentation using lignin as the carbon source. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that combinatorial pretreatment released more aromatic monomers, which could be more readily utilized by lignin-degrading strains. Three detoxification strategies were used to remove potential inhibitors produced from pretreatment. After heating detoxification of the lignin stream, the lipid concentration further increased by 2.9-9.7%. Different fermentation strategies were evaluated in scale-up lipid fermentation using a 2.0-l fermenter. With laccase treatment of the lignin stream produced from combinatorial pretreatment, the highest cell dry weight and lipid concentration were 10.1 and 1.83 g/l, respectively, in fed-batch fermentation, with a total soluble substrate concentration of 40 g/l. The improvement of the lipid fermentation performance may have resulted from lignin depolymerization by the combinatorial pretreatment and laccase treatment, reduced inhibition effects by fed-batch fermentation, adequate oxygen supply, and an accurate pH control in the fermenter. Overall, these results demonstrate that combinatorial

Development of the PEBLebl Traveling Salesman Problem Computerized Testbed

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Shane T.; Perelman, Brandon S.; Tan, Yin Yin; Thanasuan, Kejkaew

2015-01-01

The traveling salesman problem (TSP) is a combinatorial optimization problem that requires finding the shortest path through a set of points ("cities") that returns to the starting point. Because humans provide heuristic near-optimal solutions to Euclidean versions of the problem, it has sometimes been used to investigate human visual…

Methane in German hard coal mining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martens, P.N.; Den Drijver, J.

1995-01-01

Worldwide, hard coal mining is being carried out at ever increasing depth, and has, therefore, to cope with correspondingly increasing methane emissions are caused by coal mining. Beside carbon dioxide, chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFCs) and nitrogen oxides, methane is one of the most significant 'greenhouse' gases. It is mainly through the release of such trace gases that the greenhouse effect is brought about. Reducing methane emissions is therefore an important problem to be solved by the coal mining industry. This paper begins by highlighting some of the fundamental principles of methane in hard coal mining. The methane problem in German hard coal mining and the industry's efforts to reduce methane emissions are presented. The future development in German hard coal mining is illustrated by an example which shows how large methane volumes can be managed, while still maintaining high outputs at increasing depth. (author). 7 tabs., 10 figs., 20 refs

Double hard scattering without double counting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diehl, Markus [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Gaunt, Jonathan R. [VU Univ. Amsterdam (Netherlands). NIKHEF Theory Group; Schoenwald, Kay [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany)

2017-02-15

Double parton scattering in proton-proton collisions includes kinematic regions in which two partons inside a proton originate from the perturbative splitting of a single parton. This leads to a double counting problem between single and double hard scattering. We present a solution to this problem, which allows for the definition of double parton distributions as operator matrix elements in a proton, and which can be used at higher orders in perturbation theory. We show how the evaluation of double hard scattering in this framework can provide a rough estimate for the size of the higher-order contributions to single hard scattering that are affected by double counting. In a numeric study, we identify situations in which these higher-order contributions must be explicitly calculated and included if one wants to attain an accuracy at which double hard scattering becomes relevant, and other situations where such contributions may be neglected.

Double hard scattering without double counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diehl, Markus; Gaunt, Jonathan R.

2017-02-01

Double parton scattering in proton-proton collisions includes kinematic regions in which two partons inside a proton originate from the perturbative splitting of a single parton. This leads to a double counting problem between single and double hard scattering. We present a solution to this problem, which allows for the definition of double parton distributions as operator matrix elements in a proton, and which can be used at higher orders in perturbation theory. We show how the evaluation of double hard scattering in this framework can provide a rough estimate for the size of the higher-order contributions to single hard scattering that are affected by double counting. In a numeric study, we identify situations in which these higher-order contributions must be explicitly calculated and included if one wants to attain an accuracy at which double hard scattering becomes relevant, and other situations where such contributions may be neglected.

Combinatorial interpretations of particular evaluations of complete and elementary symmetric functions

OpenAIRE

Mongelli, Pietro

2011-01-01

The Jacobi-Stirling numbers and the Legendre-Stirling numbers of the first and second kind were first introduced in [6], [7]. In this paper we note that Jacobi-Stirling numbers and Legendre-Stirling numbers are specializations of elementary and complete symmetric functions. We then study combinatorial interpretations of this specialization and obtain new combinatorial interpretations of the Jacobi-Stirling and Legendre-Stirling numbers.

A spectral algorithm for the seriation problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atkins, J.E. [Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Mathematics; Boman, E.G. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Computer Science; Hendrickson, B. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1994-11-01

Given a set of objects and a correlation function f reflecting the desire for two items to be near each other, find all sequences {pi} of the items so that correlation preferences are preserved; that is if {pi}(i) < {pi}(j) < {pi}(k) then f(i,j) {ge} f(i,k) and f(j,k) {ge} f(i,k). This seriation problem has numerous applications, for instance, solving it yields a solution to the consecutive ones problem. We present a spectral algorithm for this problem that has a number of interesting features. Whereas most previous applications of spectral techniques provided bounds or heuristics, our result is an algorithm for a nontrivial combinatorial problem. Our analysis introduces powerful tools from matrix theory to the theoretical computer science community. Also, spectral methods are being applied as heuristics for a variety of sequencing problems and our result helps explain and justify these applications. Although the worst case running time for our approach is not competitive with that of existing methods for well posed problem instances, unlike combinatorial approaches our algorithm remains a credible heuristic for the important cases where there are errors in the data.

Application of computer assisted combinatorial chemistry in antivirial, antimalarial and anticancer agents design

Science.gov (United States)

Burello, E.; Bologa, C.; Frecer, V.; Miertus, S.

Combinatorial chemistry and technologies have been developed to a stage where synthetic schemes are available for generation of a large variety of organic molecules. The innovative concept of combinatorial design assumes that screening of a large and diverse library of compounds will increase the probability of finding an active analogue among the compounds tested. Since the rate at which libraries are screened for activity currently constitutes a limitation to the use of combinatorial technologies, it is important to be selective about the number of compounds to be synthesized. Early experience with combinatorial chemistry indicated that chemical diversity alone did not result in a significant increase in the number of generated lead compounds. Emphasis has therefore been increasingly put on the use of computer assisted combinatorial chemical techniques. Computational methods are valuable in the design of virtual libraries of molecular models. Selection strategies based on computed physicochemical properties of the models or of a target compound are introduced to reduce the time and costs of library synthesis and screening. In addition, computational structure-based library focusing methods can be used to perform in silico screening of the activity of compounds against a target receptor by docking the ligands into the receptor model. Three case studies are discussed dealing with the design of targeted combinatorial libraries of inhibitors of HIV-1 protease, P. falciparum plasmepsin and human urokinase as potential antivirial, antimalarial and anticancer drugs. These illustrate library focusing strategies.

Gian-Carlos Rota and Combinatorial Math.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolata, Gina Bari

1979-01-01

Presents the first of a series of occasional articles about mathematics as seen through the eyes of its prominent scholars. In an interview with Gian-Carlos Rota of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he discusses how combinatorial mathematics began as a field and its future. (HM)

Capability of focused Ar ion beam sputtering for combinatorial synthesis of metal films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagata, T.; Haemori, M.; Chikyow, T.

2009-01-01

The authors examined the use of focused Ar ion beam sputtering (FAIS) for combinatorial synthesis. A Langmuir probe revealed that the electron temperature and density for FAIS of metal film deposition was lower than that of other major combinatorial thin film growth techniques such as pulsed laser deposition. Combining FAIS with the combinatorial method allowed the compositional fraction of the Pt-Ru binary alloy to be systematically controlled. Pt-Ru alloy metal film grew epitaxially on ZnO substrates, and crystal structures changed from the Pt phase (cubic structure) to the Ru phase (hexagonal structure) in the Pt-Ru alloy phase diagram. The alloy film has a smooth surface, with the Ru phase, in particular, showing a clear step-and-terrace structure. The combination of FAIS and the combinatorial method has major potential for the fabrication of high quality composition-spread metal film.

Capability of focused Ar ion beam sputtering for combinatorial synthesis of metal films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagata, T.; Haemori, M.; Chikyow, T. [Advanced Electric Materials Center, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan)

2009-05-15

The authors examined the use of focused Ar ion beam sputtering (FAIS) for combinatorial synthesis. A Langmuir probe revealed that the electron temperature and density for FAIS of metal film deposition was lower than that of other major combinatorial thin film growth techniques such as pulsed laser deposition. Combining FAIS with the combinatorial method allowed the compositional fraction of the Pt-Ru binary alloy to be systematically controlled. Pt-Ru alloy metal film grew epitaxially on ZnO substrates, and crystal structures changed from the Pt phase (cubic structure) to the Ru phase (hexagonal structure) in the Pt-Ru alloy phase diagram. The alloy film has a smooth surface, with the Ru phase, in particular, showing a clear step-and-terrace structure. The combination of FAIS and the combinatorial method has major potential for the fabrication of high quality composition-spread metal film.

Algorithms in combinatorial design theory

CERN Document Server

Colbourn, CJ

1985-01-01

The scope of the volume includes all algorithmic and computational aspects of research on combinatorial designs. Algorithmic aspects include generation, isomorphism and analysis techniques - both heuristic methods used in practice, and the computational complexity of these operations. The scope within design theory includes all aspects of block designs, Latin squares and their variants, pairwise balanced designs and projective planes and related geometries.

Summation on the basis of combinatorial representation of equal powers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander I. Nikonov

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In the paper the conclusion of combinatorial expressions for the sums of members of several sequences is considered. Conclusion is made on the basis of combinatorial representation of the sum of the weighted equal powers. The weighted members of a geometrical progression, the simple arithmetic-geometrical and combined progressions are subject to summation. One of principal places in the given conclusion occupies representation of members of each of the specified progressions in the form of matrix elements. The row of this matrix is formed with use of a gang of equal powers with the set weight factor. Besides, in work formulas of combinatorial identities with participation of free components of the sums of equal powers, and also separate power-member of sequence of equal powers or a geometrical progression are presented. All presented formulas have the general basis-components of the sums of equal powers.

The Downward Causality and the Hard Problem of Consciousness or Why Computer Programs Do not Work in the Dark

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boldachev Alexander

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Any low-level processes, the sequence of chemical interactions in a living cell, muscle cellular activity, processor commands or neuron interaction, is possible only if there is a downward causality, only due to uniting and controlling power of the highest level. Therefore, there is no special “hard problem of consciousness”, i.e. the problem of relation of ostensibly purely biological materiality and non-causal mentality - we have only the single philosophical problem of relation between the upward and downward causalities, the problem of interrelation between hierarchic levels of existence. It is necessary to conclude that the problem of determinacy of chemical processes by the biological ones and the problem of neuron interactions caused by consciousness are of one nature and must have one solution.

View Discovery in OLAP Databases through Statistical Combinatorial Optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joslyn, Cliff A.; Burke, Edward J.; Critchlow, Terence J.

2009-05-01

The capability of OLAP database software systems to handle data complexity comes at a high price for analysts, presenting them a combinatorially vast space of views of a relational database. We respond to the need to deploy technologies sufficient to allow users to guide themselves to areas of local structure by casting the space of ``views'' of an OLAP database as a combinatorial object of all projections and subsets, and ``view discovery'' as an search process over that lattice. We equip the view lattice with statistical information theoretical measures sufficient to support a combinatorial optimization process. We outline ``hop-chaining'' as a particular view discovery algorithm over this object, wherein users are guided across a permutation of the dimensions by searching for successive two-dimensional views, pushing seen dimensions into an increasingly large background filter in a ``spiraling'' search process. We illustrate this work in the context of data cubes recording summary statistics for radiation portal monitors at US ports.

Validation of an Instrument and Testing Protocol for Measuring the Combinatorial Analysis Schema.

Science.gov (United States)

Staver, John R.; Harty, Harold

1979-01-01

Designs a testing situation to examine the presence of combinatorial analysis, to establish construct validity in the use of an instrument, Combinatorial Analysis Behavior Observation Scheme (CABOS), and to investigate the presence of the schema in young adolescents. (Author/GA)

MARCC (Matrix-Assisted Reader Chromatin Capture): an antibody-free method to enrich and analyze combinatorial nucleosome modifications

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Zhangli

2016-01-01

Combinatorial patterns of histone modifications are key indicators of different chromatin states. Most of the current approaches rely on the usage of antibodies to analyze combinatorial histone modifications. Here we detail an antibody-free method named MARCC (Matrix-Assisted Reader Chromatin Capture) to enrich combinatorial histone modifications. The combinatorial patterns are enriched on native nucleosomes extracted from cultured mammalian cells and prepared by micrococcal nuclease digestion. Such enrichment is achieved by recombinant chromatin-interacting protein modules, or so-called reader domains, which can bind in a combinatorial modification-dependent manner. The enriched chromatin can be quantified by western blotting or mass spectrometry for the co-existence of histone modifications, while the associated DNA content can be analyzed by qPCR or next-generation sequencing. Altogether, MARCC provides a reproducible, efficient and customizable solution to enrich and analyze combinatorial histone modifications. PMID:26131849

Combinatorial application of two aldehyde oxidoreductases on isobutanol production in the presence of furfural.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Hyung-Min; Jeon, Jong-Min; Lee, Ju Hee; Song, Hun-Suk; Joo, Han-Byul; Park, Sung-Hee; Choi, Kwon-Young; Kim, Yong Hyun; Park, Kyungmoon; Ahn, Jungoh; Lee, Hongweon; Yang, Yung-Hun

2016-01-01

Furfural is a toxic by-product formulated from pretreatment processes of lignocellulosic biomass. In order to utilize the lignocellulosic biomass on isobutanol production, inhibitory effect of the furfural on isobutanol production was investigated and combinatorial application of two oxidoreductases, FucO and YqhD, was suggested as an alternative strategy. Furfural decreased cell growth and isobutanol production when only YqhD or FucO was employed as an isobutyraldehyde oxidoreductase. However, combinatorial overexpression of FucO and YqhD could overcome the inhibitory effect of furfural giving higher isobutanol production by 110% compared with overexpression of YqhD. The combinatorial oxidoreductases increased furfural detoxification rate 2.1-fold and also accelerated glucose consumption 1.4-fold. When it compares to another known system increasing furfural tolerance, membrane-bound transhydrogenase (pntAB), the combinatorial aldehyde oxidoreductases were better on cell growth and production. Thus, to control oxidoreductases is important to produce isobutanol using furfural-containing biomass and the combinatorial overexpression of FucO and YqhD can be an alternative strategy.

A multi-objective optimization problem for multi-state series-parallel systems: A two-stage flow-shop manufacturing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azadeh, A.; Maleki Shoja, B.; Ghanei, S.; Sheikhalishahi, M.

2015-01-01

This research investigates a redundancy-scheduling optimization problem for a multi-state series parallel system. The system is a flow shop manufacturing system with multi-state machines. Each manufacturing machine may have different performance rates including perfect performance, decreased performance and complete failure. Moreover, warm standby redundancy is considered for the redundancy allocation problem. Three objectives are considered for the problem: (1) minimizing system purchasing cost, (2) minimizing makespan, and (3) maximizing system reliability. Universal generating function is employed to evaluate system performance and overall reliability of the system. Since the problem is in the NP-hard class of combinatorial problems, genetic algorithm (GA) is used to find optimal/near optimal solutions. Different test problems are generated to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of proposed approach and compared to simulated annealing optimization method. The results show the proposed approach is capable of finding optimal/near optimal solution within a very reasonable time. - Highlights: • A redundancy-scheduling optimization problem for a multi-state series parallel system. • A flow shop with multi-state machines and warm standby redundancy. • Objectives are to optimize system purchasing cost, makespan and reliability. • Different test problems are generated and evaluated by a unique genetic algorithm. • It locates optimal/near optimal solution within a very reasonable time

Car sequencing is NP-hard: a short proof

OpenAIRE

B Estellon; F Gardi

2013-01-01

In this note, a new proof is given that the car sequencing (CS) problem is NP-hard. Established from the Hamiltonian Path problem, the reduction is direct while closing some gaps remaining in the previous NP-hardness results. Since CS is studied in many operational research courses, this result and its proof are particularly interesting for teaching purposes.

INdAM conference "CoMeTA 2013 - Combinatorial Methods in Topology and Algebra"

CERN Document Server

Delucchi, Emanuele; Moci, Luca

2015-01-01

Combinatorics plays a prominent role in contemporary mathematics, due to the vibrant development it has experienced in the last two decades and its many interactions with other subjects. This book arises from the INdAM conference "CoMeTA 2013 - Combinatorial Methods in Topology and Algebra,'' which was held in Cortona in September 2013. The event brought together emerging and leading researchers at the crossroads of Combinatorics, Topology and Algebra, with a particular focus on new trends in subjects such as: hyperplane arrangements; discrete geometry and combinatorial topology; polytope theory and triangulations of manifolds; combinatorial algebraic geometry and commutative algebra; algebraic combinatorics; and combinatorial representation theory. The book is divided into two parts. The first expands on the topics discussed at the conference by providing additional background and explanations, while the second presents original contributions on new trends in the topics addressed by the conference.

Combinatorial algebraic geometry selected papers from the 2016 apprenticeship program

CERN Document Server

Sturmfels, Bernd

2017-01-01

This volume consolidates selected articles from the 2016 Apprenticeship Program at the Fields Institute, part of the larger program on Combinatorial Algebraic Geometry that ran from July through December of 2016. Written primarily by junior mathematicians, the articles cover a range of topics in combinatorial algebraic geometry including curves, surfaces, Grassmannians, convexity, abelian varieties, and moduli spaces. This book bridges the gap between graduate courses and cutting-edge research by connecting historical sources, computation, explicit examples, and new results.

PIPERIDINE OLIGOMERS AND COMBINATORIAL LIBRARIES THEREOF

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

1999-01-01

The present invention relates to piperidine oligomers, methods for the preparation of piperidine oligomers and compound libraries thereof, and the use of piperidine oligomers as drug substances. The present invention also relates to the use of combinatorial libraries of piperidine oligomers...... in libraries (arrays) of compounds especially suitable for screening purposes....

Three Syntactic Theories for Combinatory Graph Reduction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier; Zerny, Ian

2011-01-01

in a third syntactic theory. The structure of the store-based abstract machine corresponding to this third syntactic theory oincides with that of Turner's original reduction machine. The three syntactic theories presented here The three syntactic heories presented here therefore have the following......We present a purely syntactic theory of graph reduction for the canonical combinators S, K, and I, where graph vertices are represented with evaluation contexts and let expressions. We express this syntactic theory as a reduction semantics, which we refocus into the first storeless abstract machine...... for combinatory graph reduction, which we refunctionalize into the first storeless natural semantics for combinatory graph reduction.We then factor out the introduction of let expressions to denote as many graph vertices as possible upfront instead of on demand, resulting in a second syntactic theory, this one...

Three Syntactic Theories for Combinatory Graph Reduction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier; Zerny, Ian

2013-01-01

, as a store-based reduction semantics of combinatory term graphs. We then refocus this store-based reduction semantics into a store-based abstract machine. The architecture of this store-based abstract machine coincides with that of Turner's original reduction machine. The three syntactic theories presented......We present a purely syntactic theory of graph reduction for the canonical combinators S, K, and I, where graph vertices are represented with evaluation contexts and let expressions. We express this rst syntactic theory as a storeless reduction semantics of combinatory terms. We then factor out...... the introduction of let expressions to denote as many graph vertices as possible upfront instead of on demand . The factored terms can be interpreted as term graphs in the sense of Barendregt et al. We express this second syntactic theory, which we prove equivalent to the rst, as a storeless reduction semantics...

Quantum fields and processes a combinatorial approach

CERN Document Server

Gough, John

2018-01-01

Wick ordering of creation and annihilation operators is of fundamental importance for computing averages and correlations in quantum field theory and, by extension, in the Hudson-Parthasarathy theory of quantum stochastic processes, quantum mechanics, stochastic processes, and probability. This book develops the unified combinatorial framework behind these examples, starting with the simplest mathematically, and working up to the Fock space setting for quantum fields. Emphasizing ideas from combinatorics such as the role of lattice of partitions for multiple stochastic integrals by Wallstrom-Rota and combinatorial species by Joyal, it presents insights coming from quantum probability. It also introduces a 'field calculus' which acts as a succinct alternative to standard Feynman diagrams and formulates quantum field theory (cumulant moments, Dyson-Schwinger equation, tree expansions, 1-particle irreducibility) in this language. Featuring many worked examples, the book is aimed at mathematical physicists, quant...

Quantum fields and processes a combinatorial approach

CERN Document Server

Gough, John

2018-01-01

Wick ordering of creation and annihilation operators is of fundamental importance for computing averages and correlations in quantum field theory and, by extension, in the Hudson–Parthasarathy theory of quantum stochastic processes, quantum mechanics, stochastic processes, and probability. This book develops the unified combinatorial framework behind these examples, starting with the simplest mathematically, and working up to the Fock space setting for quantum fields. Emphasizing ideas from combinatorics such as the role of lattice of partitions for multiple stochastic integrals by Wallstrom–Rota and combinatorial species by Joyal, it presents insights coming from quantum probability. It also introduces a 'field calculus' which acts as a succinct alternative to standard Feynman diagrams and formulates quantum field theory (cumulant moments, Dyson–Schwinger equation, tree expansions, 1-particle irreducibility) in this language. Featuring many worked examples, the book is aimed at mathematical physicists,...

Particle swarm optimization with random keys applied to the nuclear reactor reload problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meneses, Anderson Alvarenga de Moura [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Fundacao Educacional de Macae (FUNEMAC), RJ (Brazil). Faculdade Professor Miguel Angelo da Silva Santos; Machado, Marcelo Dornellas; Medeiros, Jose Antonio Carlos Canedo; Schirru, Roberto [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear]. E-mails: ameneses@con.ufrj.br; marcelo@lmp.ufrj.br; canedo@lmp.ufrj.br; schirru@lmp.ufrj.br

2007-07-01

In 1995, Kennedy and Eberhart presented the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), an Artificial Intelligence metaheuristic technique to optimize non-linear continuous functions. The concept of Swarm Intelligence is based on the socials aspects of intelligence, it means, the ability of individuals to learn with their own experience in a group as well as to take advantage of the performance of other individuals. Some PSO models for discrete search spaces have been developed for combinatorial optimization, although none of them presented satisfactory results to optimize a combinatorial problem as the nuclear reactor fuel reloading problem (NRFRP). In this sense, we developed the Particle Swarm Optimization with Random Keys (PSORK) in previous research to solve Combinatorial Problems. Experiences demonstrated that PSORK performed comparable to or better than other techniques. Thus, PSORK metaheuristic is being applied in optimization studies of the NRFRP for Angra 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Results will be compared with Genetic Algorithms and the manual method provided by a specialist. In this experience, the problem is being modeled for an eight-core symmetry and three-dimensional geometry, aiming at the minimization of the Nuclear Enthalpy Power Peaking Factor as well as the maximization of the cycle length. (author)

Particle swarm optimization with random keys applied to the nuclear reactor reload problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meneses, Anderson Alvarenga de Moura; Fundacao Educacional de Macae; Machado, Marcelo Dornellas; Medeiros, Jose Antonio Carlos Canedo; Schirru, Roberto

2007-01-01

In 1995, Kennedy and Eberhart presented the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), an Artificial Intelligence metaheuristic technique to optimize non-linear continuous functions. The concept of Swarm Intelligence is based on the socials aspects of intelligence, it means, the ability of individuals to learn with their own experience in a group as well as to take advantage of the performance of other individuals. Some PSO models for discrete search spaces have been developed for combinatorial optimization, although none of them presented satisfactory results to optimize a combinatorial problem as the nuclear reactor fuel reloading problem (NRFRP). In this sense, we developed the Particle Swarm Optimization with Random Keys (PSORK) in previous research to solve Combinatorial Problems. Experiences demonstrated that PSORK performed comparable to or better than other techniques. Thus, PSORK metaheuristic is being applied in optimization studies of the NRFRP for Angra 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Results will be compared with Genetic Algorithms and the manual method provided by a specialist. In this experience, the problem is being modeled for an eight-core symmetry and three-dimensional geometry, aiming at the minimization of the Nuclear Enthalpy Power Peaking Factor as well as the maximization of the cycle length. (author)

Resolving combinatorial ambiguities in dilepton t t¯ event topologies with constrained M2 variables

Science.gov (United States)

Debnath, Dipsikha; Kim, Doojin; Kim, Jeong Han; Kong, Kyoungchul; Matchev, Konstantin T.

2017-10-01

We advocate the use of on-shell constrained M2 variables in order to mitigate the combinatorial problem in supersymmetry-like events with two invisible particles at the LHC. We show that in comparison to other approaches in the literature, the constrained M2 variables provide superior ansätze for the unmeasured invisible momenta and therefore can be usefully applied to discriminate combinatorial ambiguities. We illustrate our procedure with the example of dilepton t t ¯ events. We critically review the existing methods based on the Cambridge MT 2 variable and MAOS reconstruction of invisible momenta, and show that their algorithm can be simplified without loss of sensitivity, due to a perfect correlation between events with complex solutions for the invisible momenta and events exhibiting a kinematic endpoint violation. Then we demonstrate that the efficiency for selecting the correct partition is further improved by utilizing the M2 variables instead. Finally, we also consider the general case when the underlying mass spectrum is unknown, and no kinematic endpoint information is available.

RELAXATION HEURISTICS FOR THE SET COVERING PROBLEM

OpenAIRE

Umetani, Shunji; Yagiura, Mutsunori; 柳浦, 睦憲

2007-01-01

The set covering problem (SCP) is one of representative combinatorial optimization problems, which has many practical applications. The continuous development of mathematical programming has derived a number of impressive heuristic algorithms as well as exact branch-and-bound algorithms, which can solve huge SCP instances of bus, railway and airline crew scheduling problems. We survey heuristic algorithms for SCP focusing mainly on contributions of mathematical programming techniques to heuri...

A Convergent Solid-Phase Synthesis of Actinomycin Analogues - Towards Implementation of Double-Combinatorial Chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tong, Glenn; Nielsen, John

1996-01-01

The actinomycin antibiotics bind to nucleic acids via both intercalation and hydrogen bonding. We found this 'double-action attack' mechanism very attractive in our search for a novel class of nucleic acid binders. A highly convergent, solid-phase synthetic strategy has been developed for a class...... with the requirements for combinatorial synthesis and furthermore, the final segment condensation allows, for the first time, double-combinatorial chemistry to be performed where two combinatorial libraries can be reacted with each other. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd....

Log-balanced combinatorial sequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomislav Došlic

2005-01-01

Full Text Available We consider log-convex sequences that satisfy an additional constraint imposed on their rate of growth. We call such sequences log-balanced. It is shown that all such sequences satisfy a pair of double inequalities. Sufficient conditions for log-balancedness are given for the case when the sequence satisfies a two- (or more- term linear recurrence. It is shown that many combinatorially interesting sequences belong to this class, and, as a consequence, that the above-mentioned double inequalities are valid for all of them.

Adapting Experiential Learning to Develop Problem-Solving Skills in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Engineering Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Matthew M; Carrano, Andres L; Dannels, Wendy A

2016-10-01

Individuals who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions, and this may be due in part to their level of preparation in the development and retention of mathematical and problem-solving skills. An approach was developed that incorporates experiential learning and best practices of STEM instruction to give first-year DHH students enrolled in a postsecondary STEM program the opportunity to develop problem-solving skills in real-world scenarios. Using an industrial engineering laboratory that provides manufacturing and warehousing environments, students were immersed in real-world scenarios in which they worked on teams to address prescribed problems encountered during the activities. The highly structured, Plan-Do-Check-Act approach commonly used in industry was adapted for the DHH student participants to document and communicate the problem-solving steps. Students who experienced the intervention realized a 14.6% improvement in problem-solving proficiency compared with a control group, and this gain was retained at 6 and 12 months, post-intervention. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Novel Combinatorial Chemistry-Derived Inhibitors of Oncogenic Phosphatases

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lazo, John

1999-01-01

Our overall goal of this US Army Breast Cancer Grant entitled "Novel Combinatorial Chemistry-Derived Inhibitors of Oncogenic Phosphatases" is to identity and develop novel therapeutic agents for human breast cancer...

Combinatorial Solid-Phase Synthesis of Balanol Analogues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, John; Lyngsø, Lars Ole

1996-01-01

The natural product balanol has served as a template for the design and synthesis of a combinatorial library using solid-phase chemistry. Using a retrosynthetic analysis, the structural analogues have been assembled from three relatively accessible building blocks. The solid-phase chemistry inclu...

Infinitary Combinatory Reduction Systems: Normalising Reduction Strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ketema, J.; Simonsen, Jakob Grue

2010-01-01

We study normalising reduction strategies for infinitary Combinatory Reduction Systems (iCRSs). We prove that all fair, outermost-fair, and needed-fair strategies are normalising for orthogonal, fully-extended iCRSs. These facts properly generalise a number of results on normalising strategies in

Functional completeness of the mixed λ-calculus and combinatory logic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming

1990-01-01

Functional completeness of the combinatory logic means that every lambda-expression may be translated into an equivalent combinator expression and this is the theoretical basis for the implementation of functional languages on combinator-based abstract machines. To obtain efficient implementations...... it is important to distinguish between early and late binding times, i.e. to distinguish between compile-time and run-time computations. The authors therefore introduce a two-level version of the lambda-calculus where this distinction is made in an explicit way. Turning to the combinatory logic they generate...

On language acquisition in speech and sign:development drives combinatorial structure in both modalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary eMorgan

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Languages are composed of a conventionalized system of parts which allow speakers and signers to compose an infinite number of form-meaning mappings through phonological and morphological combinations. This level of linguistic organization distinguishes language from other communicative acts such as gestures. In contrast to signs, gestures are made up of meaning units that are mostly holistic. Children exposed to signed and spoken languages from early in life develop grammatical structure following similar rates and patterns. This is interesting, because signed languages are perceived and articulated in very different ways to their spoken counterparts with many signs displaying surface resemblances to gestures. The acquisition of forms and meanings in child signers and talkers might thus have been a different process. Yet in one sense both groups are faced with a similar problem: 'how do I make a language with combinatorial structure’? In this paper I argue first language development itself enables this to happen and by broadly similar mechanisms across modalities. Combinatorial structure is the outcome of phonological simplifications and productivity in using verb morphology by children in sign and speech.

Effects of Suboptimal Bidding in Combinatorial Auctions

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Stefan; Shabalin, Pasha; Bichler, Martin

Though the VCG auction assumes a central place in the mechanism design literature, there are a number of reasons for favoring iterative combinatorial auction designs. Several promising ascending auction formats have been developed throughout the past few years based on primal-dual and subgradient algorithms and linear programming theory. Prices are interpreted as a feasible dual solution and the provisional allocation is interpreted as a feasible primal solution. iBundle( 3) (Parkes and Ungar 2000), dVSV (de Vries et al. 2007) and the Ascending Proxy auction (Ausubel and Milgrom 2002) result in VCG payoffs when the coalitional value function satisfies the buyer submodularity condition and bidders bid straightforward, which is an expost Nash equilibrium in that case. iBEA and CreditDebit auctions (Mishra and Parkes 2007) do not even require the buyer submodularity condition and achieve the same properties for general valuations. In many situations, however, one cannot assume bidders to bid straightforward and it is not clear from the theory how these non-linear personalized price auctions (NLPPAs) perform in this case. Robustness of auctions with respect to different bidding behavior is therefore a critical issue for any application. We have conducted a large number of computational experiments to analyze the performance of NLPPA designs with respect to different bidding strategies and different valuation models. We compare the results of NLPPAs to those of the VCG auction and those of iterative combinatorial auctions with approximate linear prices, such as ALPS (Bichler et al. 2009) and the Combinatorial Clock auction (Porter et al. 2003).

Combinatorial biosynthesis of medicinal plant secondary metabolites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Julsing, Mattijs K.; Koulman, Albert; Woerdenbag, Herman J.; Quax, Wim J.; Kayser, Oliver

2006-01-01

Combinatorial biosynthesis is a new tool in the generation of novel natural products and for the production of rare and expensive natural products. The basic concept is combining metabolic pathways in different organisms on a genetic level. As a consequence heterologous organisms provide precursors

Combinatorial aspects of covering arrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles J. Colbourn

2004-11-01

Full Text Available Covering arrays generalize orthogonal arrays by requiring that t -tuples be covered, but not requiring that the appearance of t -tuples be balanced.Their uses in screening experiments has found application in software testing, hardware testing, and a variety of fields in which interactions among factors are to be identified. Here a combinatorial view of covering arrays is adopted, encompassing basic bounds, direct constructions, recursive constructions, algorithmic methods, and applications.

Polyomino Problems to Confuse Computers

Science.gov (United States)

Coffin, Stewart

2009-01-01

Computers are very good at solving certain types combinatorial problems, such as fitting sets of polyomino pieces into square or rectangular trays of a given size. However, most puzzle-solving programs now in use assume orthogonal arrangements. When one departs from the usual square grid layout, complications arise. The author--using a computer,…

Combinatorial chemistry on solid support in the search for central nervous system agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Zajdel, Paweł; Pawłowski, Maciej; Martinez, Jean; Subra, Gilles

2009-08-01

The advent of combinatorial chemistry was one of the most important developments, that has significantly contributed to the drug discovery process. Within just a few years, its initial concept aimed at production of libraries containing huge number of compounds (thousands to millions), so called screening libraries, has shifted towards preparation of small and medium-sized rationally designed libraries. When applicable, the use of solid supports for the generation of libraries has been a real breakthrough in enhancing productivity. With a limited amount of resin and simple manual workups, the split/mix procedure may generate thousands of bead-tethered compounds. Beads can be chemically or physically encoded to facilitate the identification of a hit after the biological assay. Compartmentalization of solid supports using small reactors like teabags, kans or pellicular discrete supports like Lanterns resulted in powerful sort and combine technologies, relying on codes 'written' on the reactor, and thus reducing the need for automation and improving the number of compounds synthesized. These methods of solid-phase combinatorial chemistry have been recently supported by introduction of solid-supported reagents and scavenger resins. The first part of this review discusses the general premises of combinatorial chemistry and some methods used in the design of primary and focused combinatorial libraries. The aim of the second part is to present combinatorial chemistry methodologies aimed at discovering bioactive compounds acting on diverse GPCR involved in central nervous system disorders.

Criticism of EFSA's scientific opinion on combinatorial effects of 'stacked' GM plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Bøhn, Thomas

2018-01-01

Recent genetically modified plants tend to include both insect resistance and herbicide tolerance traits. Some of these 'stacked' GM plants have multiple Cry-toxins expressed as well as tolerance to several herbicides. This means that non-target organisms in the environment (biodiversity) will be co-exposed to multiple stressors simultaneously. A similar co-exposure may happen to consumers through chemical residues in the food chain. EFSA, the responsible unit for minimizing risk of harm in European food chains, has expressed its scientific interest in combinatorial effects. However, when new data showed how two Cry-toxins acted in combination (added toxicity), and that the same Cry-toxins showed combinatorial effects when co-exposed with Roundup (Bøhn et al., 2016), EFSA dismissed these new peer-reviewed results. In effect, EFSA claimed that combinatorial effects are not relevant for itself. EFSA was justifying this by referring to a policy question, and by making invalid assumptions, which could have been checked directly with the lead-author. With such approach, EFSA may miss the opportunity to improve its environmental and health risk assessment of toxins and pesticides in the food chain. Failure to follow its own published requests for combinatorial effects research, may also risk jeopardizing EFSA's scientific and public reputation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Hybrid Genetic Algorithm with a Knowledge-Based Operator for Solving the Job Shop Scheduling Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamed Piroozfard

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Scheduling is considered as an important topic in production management and combinatorial optimization in which it ubiquitously exists in most of the real-world applications. The attempts of finding optimal or near optimal solutions for the job shop scheduling problems are deemed important, because they are characterized as highly complex and NP-hard problems. This paper describes the development of a hybrid genetic algorithm for solving the nonpreemptive job shop scheduling problems with the objective of minimizing makespan. In order to solve the presented problem more effectively, an operation-based representation was used to enable the construction of feasible schedules. In addition, a new knowledge-based operator was designed based on the problem’s characteristics in order to use machines’ idle times to improve the solution quality, and it was developed in the context of function evaluation. A machine based precedence preserving order-based crossover was proposed to generate the offspring. Furthermore, a simulated annealing based neighborhood search technique was used to improve the local exploitation ability of the algorithm and to increase its population diversity. In order to prove the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, numerous benchmarked instances were collected from the Operations Research Library. Computational results of the proposed hybrid genetic algorithm demonstrate its effectiveness.

Implementation of a combinatorial cleavage and deprotection scheme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, John; Rasmussen, Palle H.

1996-01-01

Phthalhydrazide libraries are synthesized in solution from substituted hydrazines and phthalimides in several different library formats including single compounds, indexed sub-libraries and a full library. When carried out during solid-phase synthesis, this combinatorial cleavage and deprotection...

Sampling from a polytope and hard-disk Monte Carlo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapfer, Sebastian C; Krauth, Werner

2013-01-01

The hard-disk problem, the statics and the dynamics of equal two-dimensional hard spheres in a periodic box, has had a profound influence on statistical and computational physics. Markov-chain Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics were first discussed for this model. Here we reformulate hard-disk Monte Carlo algorithms in terms of another classic problem, namely the sampling from a polytope. Local Markov-chain Monte Carlo, as proposed by Metropolis et al. in 1953, appears as a sequence of random walks in high-dimensional polytopes, while the moves of the more powerful event-chain algorithm correspond to molecular dynamics evolution. We determine the convergence properties of Monte Carlo methods in a special invariant polytope associated with hard-disk configurations, and the implications for convergence of hard-disk sampling. Finally, we discuss parallelization strategies for event-chain Monte Carlo and present results for a multicore implementation

Evaluation of the Optimum Composition of Low-Temperature Fuel Cell Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation by Combinatorial Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Antolini, Ermete

2017-02-13

Combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening represent an innovative and rapid tool to prepare and evaluate a large number of new materials, saving time and expense for research and development. Considering that the activity and selectivity of catalysts depend on complex kinetic phenomena, making their development largely empirical in practice, they are prime candidates for combinatorial discovery and optimization. This review presents an overview of recent results of combinatorial screening of low-temperature fuel cell electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation. Optimum catalyst compositions obtained by combinatorial screening were compared with those of bulk catalysts, and the effect of the library geometry on the screening of catalyst composition is highlighted.

Material Mediation: Tools and Representations Supporting Collaborative Problem-Solving Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Katic, Elvira K.; Hmelo-Silver, Cindy E.; Weber, Keith H.

2009-01-01

This study investigates how a variety of resources mediated collaborative problem solving for a group of preservice teachers. The participants in this study completed mathematical, combinatorial tasks and then watched a video of a sixth grader as he exhibited sophisticated reasoning to recognize the isomorphic structure of these problems. The…

Work Hard / Play Hard

OpenAIRE

Burrows, J.; Johnson, V.; Henckel, D.

2016-01-01

Work Hard / Play Hard was a participatory performance/workshop or CPD experience hosted by interdisciplinary arts atelier WeAreCodeX, in association with AntiUniversity.org. As a socially/economically engaged arts practice, Work Hard / Play Hard challenged employees/players to get playful, or go to work. 'The game changes you, you never change the game'. Employee PLAYER A 'The faster the better.' Employer PLAYER B

The Combinatorial Trace Method in Action

Science.gov (United States)

Krebs, Mike; Martinez, Natalie C.

2013-01-01

On any finite graph, the number of closed walks of length k is equal to the sum of the kth powers of the eigenvalues of any adjacency matrix. This simple observation is the basis for the combinatorial trace method, wherein we attempt to count (or bound) the number of closed walks of a given length so as to obtain information about the graph's…

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry at the phospholipid bilayer interface

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mansfeld, Friederike M.; Au-Yeung, Ho Yu; Sanders, Jeremy K.M.; Otto, Sijbren

2010-01-01

Background: Molecular recognition at the environment provided by the phospholipid bilayer interface plays an important role in biology and is subject of intense investigation. Dynamic combinatorial chemistry is a powerful approach for exploring molecular recognition, but has thus far not been

Programme for test generation for combinatorial and sequential systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran Huy Hoan

1973-01-01

This research thesis reports the computer-assisted search for tests aimed at failure detection in combinatorial and sequential logic circuits. As he wants to deal with complex circuits with many modules such as those met in large scale integrated circuits (LSI), the author used propagation paths. He reports the development of a method which is valid for combinatorial systems and for several sequential circuits comprising elementary logic modules and JK and RS flip-flops. This method is developed on an IBM 360/91 computer in PL/1 language. The used memory space is limited and adjustable with respect to circuit dimension. Computing time is short when compared to that needed by other programmes. The solution is practical and efficient for failure test and localisation

Combinatorial nuclear level density by a Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cerf, N.

1994-01-01

We present a new combinatorial method for the calculation of the nuclear level density. It is based on a Monte Carlo technique, in order to avoid a direct counting procedure which is generally impracticable for high-A nuclei. The Monte Carlo simulation, making use of the Metropolis sampling scheme, allows a computationally fast estimate of the level density for many fermion systems in large shell model spaces. We emphasize the advantages of this Monte Carlo approach, particularly concerning the prediction of the spin and parity distributions of the excited states,and compare our results with those derived from a traditional combinatorial or a statistical method. Such a Monte Carlo technique seems very promising to determine accurate level densities in a large energy range for nuclear reaction calculations

Computation of disordered system from the first principles of classical mechanics and ℕℙ hard problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gevorkyan, A. S., E-mail: g-ashot@sci.am; Sahakyan, V. V. [National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Institute for Informatics and Automation Problems (Armenia)

2017-03-15

We study the classical 1D Heisenberg spin glasses in the framework of nearest-neighboring model. Based on the Hamilton equations we obtained the system of recurrence equations which allows to perform node-by-node calculations of a spin-chain. It is shown that calculations from the first principles of classical mechanics lead to ℕℙ hard problem, that however in the limit of the statistical equilibrium can be calculated by ℙ algorithm. For the partition function of the ensemble a new representation is offered in the form of one-dimensional integral of spin-chains’ energy distribution.

The Yoccoz Combinatorial Analytic Invariant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Carsten Lunde; Roesch, Pascale

2008-01-01

In this paper we develop a combinatorial analytic encoding of the Mandelbrot set M. The encoding is implicit in Yoccoz' proof of local connectivity of M at any Yoccoz parameter, i.e. any at most finitely renormalizable parameter for which all periodic orbits are repelling. Using this encoding we ...... to reprove that the dyadic veins of M are arcs and that more generally any two Yoccoz parameters are joined by a unique ruled (in the sense of Douady-Hubbard) arc in M....

Fast and Efficient Discrimination of Traveling Salesperson Problem Stimulus Difficulty

Science.gov (United States)

Dry, Matthew J.; Fontaine, Elizabeth L.

2014-01-01

The Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP) is a computationally difficult combinatorial optimization problem. In spite of its relative difficulty, human solvers are able to generate close-to-optimal solutions in a close-to-linear time frame, and it has been suggested that this is due to the visual system's inherent sensitivity to certain geometric…

Comprehensive human transcription factor binding site map for combinatory binding motifs discovery.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnoldo J Müller-Molina

Full Text Available To know the map between transcription factors (TFs and their binding sites is essential to reverse engineer the regulation process. Only about 10%-20% of the transcription factor binding motifs (TFBMs have been reported. This lack of data hinders understanding gene regulation. To address this drawback, we propose a computational method that exploits never used TF properties to discover the missing TFBMs and their sites in all human gene promoters. The method starts by predicting a dictionary of regulatory "DNA words." From this dictionary, it distills 4098 novel predictions. To disclose the crosstalk between motifs, an additional algorithm extracts TF combinatorial binding patterns creating a collection of TF regulatory syntactic rules. Using these rules, we narrowed down a list of 504 novel motifs that appear frequently in syntax patterns. We tested the predictions against 509 known motifs confirming that our system can reliably predict ab initio motifs with an accuracy of 81%-far higher than previous approaches. We found that on average, 90% of the discovered combinatorial binding patterns target at least 10 genes, suggesting that to control in an independent manner smaller gene sets, supplementary regulatory mechanisms are required. Additionally, we discovered that the new TFBMs and their combinatorial patterns convey biological meaning, targeting TFs and genes related to developmental functions. Thus, among all the possible available targets in the genome, the TFs tend to regulate other TFs and genes involved in developmental functions. We provide a comprehensive resource for regulation analysis that includes a dictionary of "DNA words," newly predicted motifs and their corresponding combinatorial patterns. Combinatorial patterns are a useful filter to discover TFBMs that play a major role in orchestrating other factors and thus, are likely to lock/unlock cellular functional clusters.

Solving multiconstraint assignment problems using learning automata.

Science.gov (United States)

Horn, Geir; Oommen, B John

2010-02-01

This paper considers the NP-hard problem of object assignment with respect to multiple constraints: assigning a set of elements (or objects) into mutually exclusive classes (or groups), where the elements which are "similar" to each other are hopefully located in the same class. The literature reports solutions in which the similarity constraint consists of a single index that is inappropriate for the type of multiconstraint problems considered here and where the constraints could simultaneously be contradictory. This feature, where we permit possibly contradictory constraints, distinguishes this paper from the state of the art. Indeed, we are aware of no learning automata (or other heuristic) solutions which solve this problem in its most general setting. Such a scenario is illustrated with the static mapping problem, which consists of distributing the processes of a parallel application onto a set of computing nodes. This is a classical and yet very important problem within the areas of parallel computing, grid computing, and cloud computing. We have developed four learning-automata (LA)-based algorithms to solve this problem: First, a fixed-structure stochastic automata algorithm is presented, where the processes try to form pairs to go onto the same node. This algorithm solves the problem, although it requires some centralized coordination. As it is desirable to avoid centralized control, we subsequently present three different variable-structure stochastic automata (VSSA) algorithms, which have superior partitioning properties in certain settings, although they forfeit some of the scalability features of the fixed-structure algorithm. All three VSSA algorithms model the processes as automata having first the hosting nodes as possible actions; second, the processes as possible actions; and, third, attempting to estimate the process communication digraph prior to probabilistically mapping the processes. This paper, which, we believe, comprehensively reports the

Isocyanide based multi component reactions in combinatorial chemistry.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dömling, A.

1998-01-01

Although usually regarded as a recent development, the combinatorial approach to the synthesis of libraries of new drug candidates was first described as early as 1961 using the isocyanide-based one-pot multicomponent Ugi reaction. Isocyanide-based multi component reactions (MCR's) markedly differ

Explaining the Mind: Problems, Problems

OpenAIRE

Harnad, Stevan

2001-01-01

The mind/body problem is the feeling/function problem: How and why do feeling systems feel? The problem is not just "hard" but insoluble (unless one is ready to resort to telekinetic dualism). Fortunately, the "easy" problems of cognitive science (such as the how and why of categorization and language) are not insoluble. Five books (by Damasio, Edelman/Tononi...

View discovery in OLAP databases through statistical combinatorial optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hengartner, Nick W [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Burke, John [PNNL; Critchlow, Terence [PNNL; Joslyn, Cliff [PNNL; Hogan, Emilie [PNNL

2009-01-01

OnLine Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a relational database technology providing users with rapid access to summary, aggregated views of a single large database, and is widely recognized for knowledge representation and discovery in high-dimensional relational databases. OLAP technologies provide intuitive and graphical access to the massively complex set of possible summary views available in large relational (SQL) structured data repositories. The capability of OLAP database software systems to handle data complexity comes at a high price for analysts, presenting them a combinatorially vast space of views of a relational database. We respond to the need to deploy technologies sufficient to allow users to guide themselves to areas of local structure by casting the space of 'views' of an OLAP database as a combinatorial object of all projections and subsets, and 'view discovery' as an search process over that lattice. We equip the view lattice with statistical information theoretical measures sufficient to support a combinatorial optimization process. We outline 'hop-chaining' as a particular view discovery algorithm over this object, wherein users are guided across a permutation of the dimensions by searching for successive two-dimensional views, pushing seen dimensions into an increasingly large background filter in a 'spiraling' search process. We illustrate this work in the context of data cubes recording summary statistics for radiation portal monitors at US ports.

Combinatorial Aspects of the Generalized Euler's Totient

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nittiya Pabhapote

2010-01-01

Full Text Available A generalized Euler's totient is defined as a Dirichlet convolution of a power function and a product of the Souriau-Hsu-Möbius function with a completely multiplicative function. Two combinatorial aspects of the generalized Euler's totient, namely, its connections to other totients and its relations with counting formulae, are investigated.

Ant Colony Optimization ACO For The Traveling Salesman Problem TSP Using Partitioning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alok Bajpai

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract An ant colony optimization is a technique which was introduced in 1990s and which can be applied to a variety of discrete combinatorial optimization problem and to continuous optimization. The ACO algorithm is simulated with the foraging behavior of the real ants to find the incremental solution constructions and to realize a pheromone laying-and-following mechanism. This pheromone is the indirect communication among the ants. In this paper we introduces the partitioning technique based on the divide and conquer strategy for the traveling salesman problem which is one of the most important combinatorial problem in which the original problem is partitioned into the group of sub problems. And then we apply the ant colony algorithm using candidate list strategy for each smaller sub problems. After that by applying the local optimization and combining the sub problems to find the good solution for the original problem by improving the exploration efficiency of the ants. At the end of this paper we have also be presented the comparison of result with the normal ant colony system for finding the optimal solution to the traveling salesman problem.

Stability, pseudostability and quasistability of vector trajectorial lexicographic optimization problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Berdysheva

1998-03-01

Full Text Available Lower bounds of stability, pseudostability and quasistability radii of lexicographic set in vector combinatorial problem on systems of subsets of finite set with partial criteria of more general kinds have been found.

ON 3-WAY COMBINATORIAL IDENTITIES A. K. AGARWAL MEGHA ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

36

∗Corresponding author: Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, University College of Engineering,. Punjabi ... In this paper we provide combinatorial meanings to two generalized basic ... 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. 05A15 ...

Hard electronics; Hard electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

Hard material technologies were surveyed to establish the hard electronic technology which offers superior characteristics under hard operational or environmental conditions as compared with conventional Si devices. The following technologies were separately surveyed: (1) The device and integration technologies of wide gap hard semiconductors such as SiC, diamond and nitride, (2) The technology of hard semiconductor devices for vacuum micro- electronics technology, and (3) The technology of hard new material devices for oxides. The formation technology of oxide thin films made remarkable progress after discovery of oxide superconductor materials, resulting in development of an atomic layer growth method and mist deposition method. This leading research is expected to solve such issues difficult to be easily realized by current Si technology as high-power, high-frequency and low-loss devices in power electronics, high temperature-proof and radiation-proof devices in ultimate electronics, and high-speed and dense- integrated devices in information electronics. 432 refs., 136 figs., 15 tabs.

Extensions of Dynamic Programming: Decision Trees, Combinatorial Optimization, and Data Mining

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Shahid

2016-01-01

This thesis is devoted to the development of extensions of dynamic programming to the study of decision trees. The considered extensions allow us to make multi-stage optimization of decision trees relative to a sequence of cost functions, to count the number of optimal trees, and to study relationships: cost vs cost and cost vs uncertainty for decision trees by construction of the set of Pareto-optimal points for the corresponding bi-criteria optimization problem. The applications include study of totally optimal (simultaneously optimal relative to a number of cost functions) decision trees for Boolean functions, improvement of bounds on complexity of decision trees for diagnosis of circuits, study of time and memory trade-off for corner point detection, study of decision rules derived from decision trees, creation of new procedure (multi-pruning) for construction of classifiers, and comparison of heuristics for decision tree construction. Part of these extensions (multi-stage optimization) was generalized to well-known combinatorial optimization problems: matrix chain multiplication, binary search trees, global sequence alignment, and optimal paths in directed graphs.

Extensions of Dynamic Programming: Decision Trees, Combinatorial Optimization, and Data Mining

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Shahid

2016-07-10

This thesis is devoted to the development of extensions of dynamic programming to the study of decision trees. The considered extensions allow us to make multi-stage optimization of decision trees relative to a sequence of cost functions, to count the number of optimal trees, and to study relationships: cost vs cost and cost vs uncertainty for decision trees by construction of the set of Pareto-optimal points for the corresponding bi-criteria optimization problem. The applications include study of totally optimal (simultaneously optimal relative to a number of cost functions) decision trees for Boolean functions, improvement of bounds on complexity of decision trees for diagnosis of circuits, study of time and memory trade-off for corner point detection, study of decision rules derived from decision trees, creation of new procedure (multi-pruning) for construction of classifiers, and comparison of heuristics for decision tree construction. Part of these extensions (multi-stage optimization) was generalized to well-known combinatorial optimization problems: matrix chain multiplication, binary search trees, global sequence alignment, and optimal paths in directed graphs.

Combinatorial structures and processing in neural blackboard architectures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Velde, Frank; van der Velde, Frank; de Kamps, Marc; Besold, Tarek R.; d'Avila Garcez, Artur; Marcus, Gary F.; Miikkulainen, Risto

2015-01-01

We discuss and illustrate Neural Blackboard Architectures (NBAs) as the basis for variable binding and combinatorial processing the brain. We focus on the NBA for sentence structure. NBAs are based on the notion that conceptual representations are in situ, hence cannot be copied or transported.

Combinatorial set theory with a gentle introduction to forcing

CERN Document Server

Halbeisen, Lorenz J

2017-01-01

This book, now in a thoroughly revised second edition, provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to modern set theory. Following an overview of basic notions in combinatorics and first-order logic, the author outlines the main topics of classical set theory in the second part, including Ramsey theory and the axiom of choice. The revised edition contains new permutation models and recent results in set theory without the axiom of choice. The third part explains the sophisticated technique of forcing in great detail, now including a separate chapter on Suslin’s problem. The technique is used to show that certain statements are neither provable nor disprovable from the axioms of set theory. In the final part, some topics of classical set theory are revisited and further developed in light of forcing, with new chapters on Sacks Forcing and Shelah’s astonishing construction of a model with finitely many Ramsey ultrafilters. Written for graduate students in axiomatic set theory, Combinatorial Set Th...

Random vs. Combinatorial Methods for Discrete Event Simulation of a Grid Computer Network

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, D. Richard; Kacker, Raghu; Lei, Yu

2010-01-01

This study compared random and t-way combinatorial inputs of a network simulator, to determine if these two approaches produce significantly different deadlock detection for varying network configurations. Modeling deadlock detection is important for analyzing configuration changes that could inadvertently degrade network operations, or to determine modifications that could be made by attackers to deliberately induce deadlock. Discrete event simulation of a network may be conducted using random generation, of inputs. In this study, we compare random with combinatorial generation of inputs. Combinatorial (or t-way) testing requires every combination of any t parameter values to be covered by at least one test. Combinatorial methods can be highly effective because empirical data suggest that nearly all failures involve the interaction of a small number of parameters (1 to 6). Thus, for example, if all deadlocks involve at most 5-way interactions between n parameters, then exhaustive testing of all n-way interactions adds no additional information that would not be obtained by testing all 5-way interactions. While the maximum degree of interaction between parameters involved in the deadlocks clearly cannot be known in advance, covering all t-way interactions may be more efficient than using random generation of inputs. In this study we tested this hypothesis for t = 2, 3, and 4 for deadlock detection in a network simulation. Achieving the same degree of coverage provided by 4-way tests would have required approximately 3.2 times as many random tests; thus combinatorial methods were more efficient for detecting deadlocks involving a higher degree of interactions. The paper reviews explanations for these results and implications for modeling and simulation.

Advanced Aqueous Phase Catalyst Development using Combinatorial Methods, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Combinatorial methods are proposed to develop advanced Aqueous Oxidation Catalysts (AOCs) with the capability to mineralize organic contaminants present in effluents...

A note on the depth function of combinatorial optimization problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Woeginger, G.J.

2001-01-01

In a recent paper [Discrete Appl. Math. 43 (1993) 115–129], Kern formulates two conjectures on the relationship between the computational complexity of computing the depth function of a discrete optimization problem and the computational complexity of solving this optimization problem to optimality.

Device for preparing combinatorial libraries in powder metallurgy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shoufeng; Evans, Julian R G

2004-01-01

This paper describes a powder-metering, -mixing, and -dispensing mechanism that can be used as a method for producing large numbers of samples for metallurgical evaluation or electrical or mechanical testing from multicomponent metal and cermet powder systems. It is designed to make use of the same commercial powders that are used in powder metallurgy and, therefore, to produce samples that are faithful to the microstructure of finished products. The particle assemblies produced by the device could be consolidated by die pressing, isostatic pressing, laser sintering, or direct melting. The powder metering valve provides both on/off and flow rate control of dry powders in open capillaries using acoustic vibration. The valve is simple and involves no relative movement, avoiding seizure with fine powders. An orchestra of such valves can be arranged on a building platform to prepare multicomponent combinatorial libraries. As with many combinatorial devices, identification and evaluation of sources of mixing error as a function of sample size is mandatory. Such an analysis is presented.

Non-unique factorizations algebraic, combinatorial and analytic theory

CERN Document Server

Geroldinger, Alfred

2006-01-01

From its origins in algebraic number theory, the theory of non-unique factorizations has emerged as an independent branch of algebra and number theory. Focused efforts over the past few decades have wrought a great number and variety of results. However, these remain dispersed throughout the vast literature. For the first time, Non-Unique Factorizations: Algebraic, Combinatorial, and Analytic Theory offers a look at the present state of the theory in a single, unified resource.Taking a broad look at the algebraic, combinatorial, and analytic fundamentals, this book derives factorization results and applies them in concrete arithmetical situations using appropriate transfer principles. It begins with a basic introduction that can be understood with knowledge of standard basic algebra. The authors then move to the algebraic theory of monoids, arithmetic theory of monoids, the structure of sets of lengths, additive group theory, arithmetical invariants, and the arithmetic of Krull monoids. They also provide a s...

Steam explosion and its combinatorial pretreatment refining technology of plant biomass to bio-based products.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hong-Zhang; Liu, Zhi-Hua

2015-06-01

Pretreatment is a key unit operation affecting the refinery efficiency of plant biomass. However, the poor efficiency of pretreatment and the lack of basic theory are the main challenges to the industrial implementation of the plant biomass refinery. The purpose of this work is to review steam explosion and its combinatorial pretreatment as a means of overcoming the intrinsic characteristics of plant biomass, including recalcitrance, heterogeneity, multi-composition, and diversity. The main advantages of the selective use of steam explosion and other combinatorial pretreatments across the diversity of raw materials are introduced. Combinatorial pretreatment integrated with other unit operations is proposed as a means to exploit the high-efficiency production of bio-based products from plant biomass. Finally, several pilot- and demonstration-scale operations of the plant biomass refinery are described. Based on the principle of selective function and structure fractionation, and multi-level and directional composition conversion, an integrated process with the combinatorial pretreatments of steam explosion and other pretreatments as the core should be feasible and conform to the plant biomass refinery concept. Combinatorial pretreatments of steam explosion and other pretreatments should be further exploited based on the type and intrinsic characteristics of the plant biomass used, the bio-based products to be made, and the complementarity of the processes. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Development of combinatorial chemistry methods for coatings: high-throughput adhesion evaluation and scale-up of combinatorial leads.

Science.gov (United States)

Potyrailo, Radislav A; Chisholm, Bret J; Morris, William G; Cawse, James N; Flanagan, William P; Hassib, Lamyaa; Molaison, Chris A; Ezbiansky, Karin; Medford, George; Reitz, Hariklia

2003-01-01

Coupling of combinatorial chemistry methods with high-throughput (HT) performance testing and measurements of resulting properties has provided a powerful set of tools for the 10-fold accelerated discovery of new high-performance coating materials for automotive applications. Our approach replaces labor-intensive steps with automated systems for evaluation of adhesion of 8 x 6 arrays of coating elements that are discretely deposited on a single 9 x 12 cm plastic substrate. Performance of coatings is evaluated with respect to their resistance to adhesion loss, because this parameter is one of the primary considerations in end-use automotive applications. Our HT adhesion evaluation provides previously unavailable capabilities of high speed and reproducibility of testing by using a robotic automation, an expanded range of types of tested coatings by using the coating tagging strategy, and an improved quantitation by using high signal-to-noise automatic imaging. Upon testing, the coatings undergo changes that are impossible to quantitatively predict using existing knowledge. Using our HT methodology, we have developed several coatings leads. These HT screening results for the best coating compositions have been validated on the traditional scales of coating formulation and adhesion loss testing. These validation results have confirmed the superb performance of combinatorially developed coatings over conventional coatings on the traditional scale.

Heuristics for Solving Problem of Evacuating Non-Ambulatory People in a Short-Notice Disaster

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-01

Problem B&B Branch and Bound B&C Branch and Cut BPP Bin Packing Problem CCRP Capacity Constrained Route Planner CO Combinatorial Optimzation CRED...increase. Worst-case analyses for the related Bin Packing Problem ( BPP ), which can be viewed as a CVRP where all the customers are at the same

Mental health problems in deaf and severely hard of hearing children and adolescents : findings on prevalence, pathogenesis and clinical complexities, and implications for prevention, diagnosis and intervention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gent, Tiejo van

2012-01-01

The aim of this thesis is to expand the knowledge of mental health problems with deaf and severely hard of hearing children and adolescents in the following domains: 1. The prevalence of mental health problems; 2. Specific intra- and interpersonal aspects of pathogenesis; 3. characteristics of the

Soft and hard pomerons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maor, Uri; Tel Aviv Univ.

1995-09-01

The role of s-channel unitarity screening corrections, calculated in the eikonal approximation, is investigated for soft Pomeron exchange responsible for elastic and diffractive hadron scattering in the high energy limit. We examine the differences between our results and those obtained from the supercritical Pomeron-Regge model with no such corrections. It is shown that screening saturation is attained at different scales for different channels. We then proceed to discuss the new HERA data on hard (PQCD) Pomeron diffractive channels and discuss the relationship between the soft and hard Pomerons and the relevance of our analysis to this problem. (author). 18 refs, 9 figs, 1 tab

Designing a fuzzy scheduler for hard real-time systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, John; Lee, Jonathan; Pfluger, Nathan; Natarajan, Swami

1992-01-01

In hard real-time systems, tasks have to be performed not only correctly, but also in a timely fashion. If timing constraints are not met, there might be severe consequences. Task scheduling is the most important problem in designing a hard real-time system, because the scheduling algorithm ensures that tasks meet their deadlines. However, the inherent nature of uncertainty in dynamic hard real-time systems increases the problems inherent in scheduling. In an effort to alleviate these problems, we have developed a fuzzy scheduler to facilitate searching for a feasible schedule. A set of fuzzy rules are proposed to guide the search. The situation we are trying to address is the performance of the system when no feasible solution can be found, and therefore, certain tasks will not be executed. We wish to limit the number of important tasks that are not scheduled.

Graphical-based construction of combinatorial geometries for radiation transport and shielding applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burns, T.J.

1992-01-01

A graphical-based code system is being developed at ORNL to manipulate combinatorial geometries for radiation transport and shielding applications. The current version (basically a combinatorial geometry debugger) consists of two parts: a FORTRAN-based ''view'' generator and a Microsoft Windows application for displaying the geometry. Options and features of both modules are discussed. Examples illustrating the various options available are presented. The potential for utilizing the images produced using the debugger as a visualization tool for the output of the radiation transport codes is discussed as is the future direction of the development

A taxing problem: the complementary use of hard and soft OR in public policy

OpenAIRE

Cooper, C; Brown, J; Pidd, M

2004-01-01

A review of the UK personal taxation system used a combination of hard and soft OR approaches in a complementary way. The hard OR was based on data mining to increase understanding of individual taxpayers and their changing needs within the personal tax system. The soft OR was based on soft systems methodology with two aims in mind. First, to guide the review and, secondly, as an auditable approach for collecting the views of key internal and external stakeholders. The soft and hard OR were u...

Olefin Metathesis in Peptidomimetics, Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry, and Molecular Imprinting

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Low, Tammy K

2006-01-01

.... Our research goals consisted of employing olefin metathesis in the synthesis of peptidomimetics, and studying the feasibility of this method in dynamic combinatorial chemistry and molecular imprinting of nerve agents...

MiYA, an efficient machine-learning workflow in conjunction with the YeastFab assembly strategy for combinatorial optimization of heterologous metabolic pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yikang; Li, Gang; Dong, Junkai; Xing, Xin-Hui; Dai, Junbiao; Zhang, Chong

2018-05-01

Facing boosting ability to construct combinatorial metabolic pathways, how to search the metabolic sweet spot has become the rate-limiting step. We here reported an efficient Machine-learning workflow in conjunction with YeastFab Assembly strategy (MiYA) for combinatorial optimizing the large biosynthetic genotypic space of heterologous metabolic pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using β-carotene biosynthetic pathway as example, we first demonstrated that MiYA has the power to search only a small fraction (2-5%) of combinatorial space to precisely tune the expression level of each gene with a machine-learning algorithm of an artificial neural network (ANN) ensemble to avoid over-fitting problem when dealing with a small number of training samples. We then applied MiYA to improve the biosynthesis of violacein. Feed with initial data from a colorimetric plate-based, pre-screened pool of 24 strains producing violacein, MiYA successfully predicted, and verified experimentally, the existence of a strain that showed a 2.42-fold titer improvement in violacein production among 3125 possible designs. Furthermore, MiYA was able to largely avoid the branch pathway of violacein biosynthesis that makes deoxyviolacein, and produces very pure violacein. Together, MiYA combines the advantages of standardized building blocks and machine learning to accelerate the Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle for combinatorial optimization of metabolic pathways, which could significantly accelerate the development of microbial cell factories. Copyright © 2018 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sentence processing in an artificial language: Learning and using combinatorial constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Amato, Michael S; MacDonald, Maryellen C

2010-07-01

A study combining artificial grammar and sentence comprehension methods investigated the learning and online use of probabilistic, nonadjacent combinatorial constraints. Participants learned a small artificial language describing cartoon monsters acting on objects. Self-paced reading of sentences in the artificial language revealed comprehenders' sensitivity to nonadjacent combinatorial constraints, without explicit awareness of the probabilities embedded in the language. These results show that even newly-learned constraints have an identifiable effect on online sentence processing. The rapidity of learning in this paradigm relative to others has implications for theories of implicit learning and its role in language acquisition. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Combinatorial Testing for VDM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Peter Gorm; Lausdahl, Kenneth; Battle, Nick

2010-01-01

by forgotten preconditions as well as broken invariants and post-conditions. Trace definitions are defined as regular expressions describing possible sequences of operation calls, and are conceptually similar to UML sequence diagrams. In this paper we present a tool enabling test automation based on VDM traces......Abstract—Combinatorial testing in VDM involves the automatic generation and execution of a large collection of test cases derived from templates provided in the form of trace definitions added to a VDM specification. The main value of this is the rapid detection of run-time errors caused......, and explain how it is possible to reduce large collections of test cases in different ways. Its use is illustrated with a small case study....

Neurogenetic Algorithm for Solving Combinatorial Engineering Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Jalali Varnamkhasti

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Diversity of the population in a genetic algorithm plays an important role in impeding premature convergence. This paper proposes an adaptive neurofuzzy inference system genetic algorithm based on sexual selection. In this technique, for choosing the female chromosome during sexual selection, a bilinear allocation lifetime approach is used to label the chromosomes based on their fitness value which will then be used to characterize the diversity of the population. The motivation of this algorithm is to maintain the population diversity throughout the search procedure. To promote diversity, the proposed algorithm combines the concept of gender and age of individuals and the fuzzy logic during the selection of parents. In order to appraise the performance of the techniques used in this study, one of the chemistry problems and some nonlinear functions available in literature is used.

Scaffold architecture and pharmacophoric properties of natural products and trade drugs: application in the design of natural product-based combinatorial libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, M L; Schneider, G

2001-01-01

Natural products were analyzed to determine whether they contain appealing novel scaffold architectures for potential use in combinatorial chemistry. Ring systems were extracted and clustered on the basis of structural similarity. Several such potential scaffolds for combinatorial chemistry were identified that are not present in current trade drugs. For one of these scaffolds a virtual combinatorial library was generated. Pharmacophoric properties of natural products, trade drugs, and the virtual combinatorial library were assessed using a self-organizing map. Obviously, current trade drugs and natural products have several topological pharmacophore patterns in common. These features can be systematically explored with selected combinatorial libraries based on a combination of natural product-derived and synthetic molecular building blocks.

A combinatorial approximation algorithm for CDMA downlink rate allocation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boucherie, Richardus J.; Bumb, A.F.; Endrayanto, A.I.; Woeginger, Gerhard; Raghavan, S.; Anandalingam, G.

2006-01-01

This paper presents a combinatorial algorithm for downlink rate allocation in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile networks. By discretizing the coverage area into small segments, the transmit power requirements are characterized via a matrix representation that separates user and system

A combinatorial approximation algorithm for CDMA downlink rate allocation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boucherie, Richardus J.; Bumb, A.F.; Endrayanto, A.I.; Woeginger, Gerhard

2004-01-01

This paper presents a combinatorial algorithm for downlink rate allocation in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile networks. By discretizing the coverage area into small segments, the transmit power requirements are characterized via a matrix representation that separates user and system

Development of tight-binding, chemical-reaction-dynamics simulator for combinatorial computational chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubo, Momoji; Ando, Minako; Sakahara, Satoshi; Jung, Changho; Seki, Kotaro; Kusagaya, Tomonori; Endou, Akira; Takami, Seiichi; Imamura, Akira; Miyamoto, Akira

2004-01-01

Recently, we have proposed a new concept called 'combinatorial computational chemistry' to realize a theoretical, high-throughput screening of catalysts and materials. We have already applied our combinatorial, computational-chemistry approach, mainly based on static first-principles calculations, to various catalysts and materials systems and its applicability to the catalysts and materials design was strongly confirmed. In order to realize more effective and efficient combinatorial, computational-chemistry screening, a high-speed, chemical-reaction-dynamics simulator based on quantum-chemical, molecular-dynamics method is essential. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no chemical-reaction-dynamics simulator, which has an enough high-speed ability to perform a high-throughput screening. In the present study, we have succeeded in the development of a chemical-reaction-dynamics simulator based on our original, tight-binding, quantum-chemical, molecular-dynamics method, which is more than 5000 times faster than the regular first-principles, molecular-dynamics method. Moreover, its applicability and effectiveness to the atomistic clarification of the methanol-synthesis dynamics at reaction temperature were demonstrated

Strong Bisimilarity and Regularity of Basic Parallel Processes is PSPACE-Hard

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Srba, Jirí

2002-01-01

We show that the problem of checking whether two processes definable in the syntax of Basic Parallel Processes (BPP) are strongly bisimilar is PSPACE-hard. We also demonstrate that there is a polynomial time reduction from the strong bisimilarity checking problem of regular BPP to the strong...... regularity (finiteness) checking of BPP. This implies that strong regularity of BPP is also PSPACE-hard....

Some Combinatorial Interpretations and Applications of Fuss-Catalan Numbers

OpenAIRE

Lin, Chin-Hung

2011-01-01

Fuss-Catalan number is a family of generalized Catalan numbers. We begin by two definitions of Fuss-Catalan numbers and some basic properties. And we give some combinatorial interpretations different from original Catalan numbers. Finally we generalize the Jonah's theorem as its applications.

Construction of a virtual combinatorial library using SMILES strings to discover potential structure-diverse PPAR modulators.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Chenzhong; Liu, Bing; Shi, Leming; Zhou, Jiaju; Lu, Xian-Ping

2005-07-01

Based on the structural characters of PPAR modulators, a virtual combinatorial library containing 1226,625 compounds was constructed using SMILES strings. Selected ADME filters were employed to compel compounds having poor drug-like properties from this library. This library was converted to sdf and mol2 files by CONCORD 4.0, and was then docked to PPARgamma by DOCK 4.0 to identify new chemical entities that may be potential drug leads against type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases. The method to construct virtual combinatorial library using SMILES strings was further visualized by Visual Basic.net that can facilitate the needs of generating other type virtual combinatorial libraries.

Enabling techniques in the search for new antibiotics: Combinatorial biosynthesis of sugar-containing antibiotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Je Won; Nam, Sang-Jip; Yoon, Yeo Joon

2017-06-15

Nature has a talent for inventing a vast number of natural products, including hybrids generated by blending different scaffolds, resulting in a myriad of bioactive chemical entities. Herein, we review the highlights and recent trends (2010-2016) in the combinatorial biosynthesis of sugar-containing antibiotics where nature's structural diversification capabilities are exploited to enable the creation of new anti-infective and anti-proliferative drugs. In this review, we describe the modern combinatorial biosynthetic approaches for polyketide synthase-derived complex and aromatic polyketides, non-ribosomal peptide synthetase-directed lipo-/glycopeptides, aminoglycosides, nucleoside antibiotics, and alkaloids, along with their therapeutic potential. Finally, we present the feasible nexus between combinatorial biosynthesis, systems biology, and synthetic biology as a toolbox to provide new antibiotics that will be indispensable in the post-antibiotic era. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A grouping hyper-heuristic framework: application on graph colouring

OpenAIRE

Elhag, Anas; Özcan, Ender

2015-01-01

Grouping problems are hard to solve combinatorial optimisation problems which require partitioning of objects into a minimum number of subsets while a given objective is simultaneously optimised. Selection hyper-heuristics are high level general purpose search methodologies that operate on a space formed by a set of low level heuristics rather than solutions. Most of the recently proposed selection hyper-heuristics are iterative and make use of two key methods which are employed successively;...

An Atlas of Combinatorial Transcriptional Regulation in Mouse and Man

KAUST Repository

Ravasi, Timothy; Suzuki, Harukazu; Cannistraci, Carlo; Katayama, Shintaro; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Tan, Kai; Akalin, Altuna; Schmeier, Sebastian; Kanamori-Katayama, Mutsumi; Bertin, Nicolas; Carninci, Piero; Daub, Carsten O.; Forrest, Alistair R.R.; Gough, Julian; Grimmond, Sean; Han, Jung-Hoon; Hashimoto, Takehiro; Hide, Winston; Hofmann, Oliver; Kamburov, Atanas; Kaur, Mandeep; Kawaji, Hideya; Kubosaki, Atsutaka; Lassmann, Timo; van Nimwegen, Erik; MacPherson, Cameron Ross; Ogawa, Chihiro; Radovanovic, Aleksandar; Schwartz, Ariel; Teasdale, Rohan D.; Tegné r, Jesper; Lenhard, Boris; Teichmann, Sarah A.; Arakawa, Takahiro; Ninomiya, Noriko; Murakami, Kayoko; Tagami, Michihira; Fukuda, Shiro; Imamura, Kengo; Kai, Chikatoshi; Ishihara, Ryoko; Kitazume, Yayoi; Kawai, Jun; Hume, David A.; Ideker, Trey; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide

2010-01-01

Combinatorial interactions among transcription factors are critical to directing tissue-specific gene expression. To build a global atlas of these combinations, we have screened for physical interactions among the majority of human and mouse DNA-binding transcription factors (TFs). The complete networks contain 762 human and 877 mouse interactions. Analysis of the networks reveals that highly connected TFs are broadly expressed across tissues, and that roughly half of the measured interactions are conserved between mouse and human. The data highlight the importance of TF combinations for determining cell fate, and they lead to the identification of a SMAD3/FLI1 complex expressed during development of immunity. The availability of large TF combinatorial networks in both human and mouse will provide many opportunities to study gene regulation, tissue differentiation, and mammalian evolution.

An Atlas of Combinatorial Transcriptional Regulation in Mouse and Man

KAUST Repository

Ravasi, Timothy

2010-03-01

Combinatorial interactions among transcription factors are critical to directing tissue-specific gene expression. To build a global atlas of these combinations, we have screened for physical interactions among the majority of human and mouse DNA-binding transcription factors (TFs). The complete networks contain 762 human and 877 mouse interactions. Analysis of the networks reveals that highly connected TFs are broadly expressed across tissues, and that roughly half of the measured interactions are conserved between mouse and human. The data highlight the importance of TF combinations for determining cell fate, and they lead to the identification of a SMAD3/FLI1 complex expressed during development of immunity. The availability of large TF combinatorial networks in both human and mouse will provide many opportunities to study gene regulation, tissue differentiation, and mammalian evolution.

Skeletal Diversity in Combinatorial Fashion: A New Format for the Castagnoli-Cushman Reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Lepikhina, Anastasia; Dar'in, Dmitry; Bakulina, Olga; Chupakhin, Evgeny; Krasavin, Mikhail

2017-11-13

A new format for the Castagnoli-Cushman reaction of structurally diverse dicarboxylic acids, amines, and aldehydes in the presence of acetic anhydride as dehydrating agent is described. The reaction is distinctly amenable to parallel format: the combinatorial array of 180 reactions delivered 157 products of >85% purity without chromatographic purification (of this number, 143 compounds had >94% purity). The new method offers a convenient preparation of the skeletally and peripherally diverse, lead- and druglike γ- and δ-lactam carboxylic acids with high diastereoselectivity in combinatorial fashion.

Development of automatic combinatorial system for synthesis of nanoparticles using microreactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watanabe, Kosuke; Maeda, Hideaki [Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka, 816-8580 (Japan); Orimoto, Yuuichi; Yamashita, Kenichi; Uehara, Masato; Nakamura, Hiroyuki [Measurement Solution Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 807-1, Shuku, Tosu, Saga, 841-0052 (Japan); Furuya, Takeshi, E-mail: maeda-h@aist.go.jp [Nanosystem Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8565 (Japan)

2011-10-29

In this study, automatic system for combinatorial synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) was developed and optimization of reaction parameter for NPs synthesis was performed. Microreactor was employed for kinetic control constantly. Programmable equipments were employed for additional speed up and used a microreactor. Six reaction condition parameters were systematically combined to produce CdSe synthesis condition sets. Reaction conditions of 3404 experimental sets were synthesized and characterized in 1 month. As a result of some multivariate analyses using the numerous and complicated data, we found as follows: 1) neural network is an effective method to analyze data from combinatorial synthesis, 2) weighting evaluation method was effective to find the condition for balanced NP properties.

Combinatorial algorithms enabling computational science: tales from the front

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhowmick, Sanjukta; Boman, Erik G; Devine, Karen; Gebremedhin, Assefaw; Hendrickson, Bruce; Hovland, Paul; Munson, Todd; Pothen, Alex

2006-01-01

Combinatorial algorithms have long played a crucial enabling role in scientific and engineering computations. The importance of discrete algorithms continues to grow with the demands of new applications and advanced architectures. This paper surveys some recent developments in this rapidly changing and highly interdisciplinary field

Combinatorial algorithms enabling computational science: tales from the front

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhowmick, Sanjukta [Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory (United States); Boman, Erik G [Discrete Algorithms and Math Department, Sandia National Laboratories (United States); Devine, Karen [Discrete Algorithms and Math Department, Sandia National Laboratories (United States); Gebremedhin, Assefaw [Computer Science Department, Old Dominion University (United States); Hendrickson, Bruce [Discrete Algorithms and Math Department, Sandia National Laboratories (United States); Hovland, Paul [Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory (United States); Munson, Todd [Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory (United States); Pothen, Alex [Computer Science Department, Old Dominion University (United States)

2006-09-15

Combinatorial algorithms have long played a crucial enabling role in scientific and engineering computations. The importance of discrete algorithms continues to grow with the demands of new applications and advanced architectures. This paper surveys some recent developments in this rapidly changing and highly interdisciplinary field.

Dynamic combinatorial libraries based on hydrogen-bonde molecular boxes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kerckhoffs, J.M.C.A.; Mateos timoneda, Miguel; Reinhoudt, David; Crego Calama, Mercedes

2007-01-01

This article describes two different types of dynamic combinatorial libraries of host and guest molecules. The first part of this article describes the encapsulation of alizarin trimer 2 a3 by dynamic mixtures of up to twenty different self-assembled molecular receptors together with the

Comparison of combinatorial clustering methods on pharmacological data sets represented by machine learning-selected real molecular descriptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera-Borroto, Oscar Miguel; Marrero-Ponce, Yovani; García-de la Vega, José Manuel; Grau-Ábalo, Ricardo del Corazón

2011-12-27

Cluster algorithms play an important role in diversity related tasks of modern chemoinformatics, with the widest applications being in pharmaceutical industry drug discovery programs. The performance of these grouping strategies depends on various factors such as molecular representation, mathematical method, algorithmical technique, and statistical distribution of data. For this reason, introduction and comparison of new methods are necessary in order to find the model that best fits the problem at hand. Earlier comparative studies report on Ward's algorithm using fingerprints for molecular description as generally superior in this field. However, problems still remain, i.e., other types of numerical descriptions have been little exploited, current descriptors selection strategy is trial and error-driven, and no previous comparative studies considering a broader domain of the combinatorial methods in grouping chemoinformatic data sets have been conducted. In this work, a comparison between combinatorial methods is performed,with five of them being novel in cheminformatics. The experiments are carried out using eight data sets that are well established and validated in the medical chemistry literature. Each drug data set was represented by real molecular descriptors selected by machine learning techniques, which are consistent with the neighborhood principle. Statistical analysis of the results demonstrates that pharmacological activities of the eight data sets can be modeled with a few of families with 2D and 3D molecular descriptors, avoiding classification problems associated with the presence of nonrelevant features. Three out of five of the proposed cluster algorithms show superior performance over most classical algorithms and are similar (or slightly superior in the most optimistic sense) to Ward's algorithm. The usefulness of these algorithms is also assessed in a comparative experiment to potent QSAR and machine learning classifiers, where they perform

Normal ordering problem and the extensions of the Stirling grammar

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, S.-M.; Mansour, T.; Schork, M.

2014-04-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connection between context-free grammars and normal ordered problem, and then to explore various extensions of the Stirling grammar. We present grammatical characterizations of several well known combinatorial sequences, including the generalized Stirling numbers of the second kind related to the normal ordered problem and the r-Dowling polynomials. Also, possible avenues for future research are described.

A ripple-spreading genetic algorithm for the aircraft sequencing problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xiao-Bing; Di Paolo, Ezequiel A

2011-01-01

When genetic algorithms (GAs) are applied to combinatorial problems, permutation representations are usually adopted. As a result, such GAs are often confronted with feasibility and memory-efficiency problems. With the aircraft sequencing problem (ASP) as a study case, this paper reports on a novel binary-representation-based GA scheme for combinatorial problems. Unlike existing GAs for the ASP, which typically use permutation representations based on aircraft landing order, the new GA introduces a novel ripple-spreading model which transforms the original landing-order-based ASP solutions into value-based ones. In the new scheme, arriving aircraft are projected as points into an artificial space. A deterministic method inspired by the natural phenomenon of ripple-spreading on liquid surfaces is developed, which uses a few parameters as input to connect points on this space to form a landing sequence. A traditional GA, free of feasibility and memory-efficiency problems, can then be used to evolve the ripple-spreading related parameters in order to find an optimal sequence. Since the ripple-spreading model is the centerpiece of the new algorithm, it is called the ripple-spreading GA (RSGA). The advantages of the proposed RSGA are illustrated by extensive comparative studies for the case of the ASP.

Equilibrium problems for Raney densities

Science.gov (United States)

Forrester, Peter J.; Liu, Dang-Zheng; Zinn-Justin, Paul

2015-07-01

The Raney numbers are a class of combinatorial numbers generalising the Fuss-Catalan numbers. They are indexed by a pair of positive real numbers (p, r) with p > 1 and 0 0 and similarly use both methods to identify the equilibrium problem for (p, r) = (θ/q + 1, 1/q), θ > 0 and q \\in Z+ . The Wiener-Hopf method is used to extend the latter to parameters (p, r) = (θ/q + 1, m + 1/q) for m a non-negative integer, and also to identify the equilibrium problem for a family of densities with moments given by certain binomial coefficients.

A Genetic Algorithm on Inventory Routing Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nevin Aydın

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Inventory routing problem can be defined as forming the routes to serve to the retailers from the manufacturer, deciding on the quantity of the shipment to the retailers and deciding on the timing of the replenishments. The difference of inventory routing problems from vehicle routing problems is the consideration of the inventory positions of retailers and supplier, and making the decision accordingly. Inventory routing problems are complex in nature and they can be solved either theoretically or using a heuristics method. Metaheuristics is an emerging class of heuristics that can be applied to combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, we provide the relationship between vendor-managed inventory and inventory routing problem. The proposed genetic for solving vehicle routing problem is described in detail.

Automatic generation of combinatorial test data

CERN Document Server

Zhang, Jian; Ma, Feifei

2014-01-01

This book reviews the state-of-the-art in combinatorial testing, with particular emphasis on the automatic generation of test data. It describes the most commonly used approaches in this area - including algebraic construction, greedy methods, evolutionary computation, constraint solving and optimization - and explains major algorithms with examples. In addition, the book lists a number of test generation tools, as well as benchmarks and applications. Addressing a multidisciplinary topic, it will be of particular interest to researchers and professionals in the areas of software testing, combi

A combinatorial approach to diffeomorphism invariant quantum gauge theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zapata, J.A.

1997-01-01

Quantum gauge theory in the connection representation uses functions of holonomies as configuration observables. Physical observables (gauge and diffeomorphism invariant) are represented in the Hilbert space of physical states; physical states are gauge and diffeomorphism invariant distributions on the space of functions of the holonomies of the edges of a certain family of graphs. Then a family of graphs embedded in the space manifold (satisfying certain properties) induces a representation of the algebra of physical observables. We construct a quantum model from the set of piecewise linear graphs on a piecewise linear manifold, and another manifestly combinatorial model from graphs defined on a sequence of increasingly refined simplicial complexes. Even though the two models are different at the kinematical level, they provide unitarily equivalent representations of the algebra of physical observables in separable Hilbert spaces of physical states (their s-knot basis is countable). Hence, the combinatorial framework is compatible with the usual interpretation of quantum field theory. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Alcohol, cognitive impairment and the hard to discharge acute hospital inpatients.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Popoola, A

2012-02-03

AIM: To examine the role of alcohol and alcohol-related cognitive impairment in the clinical presentation of adults in-patients less than 65 years who are \\'hard to discharge\\' in a general hospital. METHOD: Retrospective medical file review of inpatients in CUH referred to the discharge coordinator between March and September 2006. RESULTS: Of 46 patients identified, the case notes of 44 (25 male; age was 52.2 +\\/- 7.7 years) were reviewed. The average length of stay in the hospital was 84.0 +\\/- 72.3 days and mean lost bed days was 15.9 +\\/- 36.6 days. The number of patients documented to have an overt alcohol problem was 15 (34.1%). Patients with alcohol problems were more likely to have cognitive impairment than those without an alcohol problem [12 (80%) and 9 (31%) P = 0.004]. Patients with alcohol problems had a shorter length of stay (81.5 vs. 85.3 days; t = 0.161, df = 42, P = 0.87), fewer lost bed days (8.2 vs. 19.2 days; Mann-Whitney U = 179, P = 0.34) and no mortality (0 vs. 6) compared with hard to discharge patients without alcohol problem. CONCLUSION: Alcohol problems and alcohol-related cognitive impairment are hugely over-represented in acute hospital in-patients who are hard to discharge. Despite these problems, this group appears to have reduced morbidity, less lost bed days and a better outcome than other categories of hard to discharge patients. There is a need to resource acute hospitals to address alcohol-related morbidity in general and Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome in particular.

Gas-Foamed Scaffold Gradients for Combinatorial Screening in 3D

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joachim Kohn

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Current methods for screening cell-material interactions typically utilize a two-dimensional (2D culture format where cells are cultured on flat surfaces. However, there is a need for combinatorial and high-throughput screening methods to systematically screen cell-biomaterial interactions in three-dimensional (3D tissue scaffolds for tissue engineering. Previously, we developed a two-syringe pump approach for making 3D scaffold gradients for use in combinatorial screening of salt-leached scaffolds. Herein, we demonstrate that the two-syringe pump approach can also be used to create scaffold gradients using a gas-foaming approach. Macroporous foams prepared by a gas-foaming technique are commonly used for fabrication of tissue engineering scaffolds due to their high interconnectivity and good mechanical properties. Gas-foamed scaffold gradient libraries were fabricated from two biodegradable tyrosine-derived polycarbonates: poly(desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine ethyl ester carbonate (pDTEc and poly(desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine octyl ester carbonate (pDTOc. The composition of the libraries was assessed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR and showed that pDTEc/pDTOc gas-foamed scaffold gradients could be repeatably fabricated. Scanning electron microscopy showed that scaffold morphology was similar between the pDTEc-rich ends and the pDTOc-rich ends of the gradient. These results introduce a method for fabricating gas-foamed polymer scaffold gradients that can be used for combinatorial screening of cell-material interactions in 3D.

Quasi-stability of a vector trajectorial problem with non-linear partial criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir A. Emelichev

2003-10-01

Full Text Available Multi-objective (vector combinatorial problem of finding the Pareto set with four kinds of non-linear partial criteria is considered. Necessary and sufficient conditions of that kind of stability of the problem (quasi-stability are obtained. The problem is a discrete analogue of the lower semicontinuity by Hausdorff of the optimal mapping. Mathematics Subject Classification 2000: 90C10, 90C05, 90C29, 90C31.

Combinatorial nuclear level-density model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uhrenholt, H.; Åberg, S.; Dobrowolski, A.; Døssing, Th.; Ichikawa, T.; Möller, P.

2013-01-01

A microscopic nuclear level-density model is presented. The model is a completely combinatorial (micro-canonical) model based on the folded-Yukawa single-particle potential and includes explicit treatment of pairing, rotational and vibrational states. The microscopic character of all states enables extraction of level-distribution functions with respect to pairing gaps, parity and angular momentum. The results of the model are compared to available experimental data: level spacings at neutron separation energy, data on total level-density functions from the Oslo method, cumulative level densities from low-lying discrete states, and data on parity ratios. Spherical and deformed nuclei follow basically different coupling schemes, and we focus on deformed nuclei

A hybrid metaheuristic for the time-dependent vehicle routing problem with hard time windows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Rincon-Garcia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article paper presents a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm to solve the time-dependent vehicle routing problem with hard time windows. Time-dependent travel times are influenced by different congestion levels experienced throughout the day. Vehicle scheduling without consideration of congestion might lead to underestimation of travel times and consequently missed deliveries. The algorithm presented in this paper makes use of Large Neighbourhood Search approaches and Variable Neighbourhood Search techniques to guide the search. A first stage is specifically designed to reduce the number of vehicles required in a search space by the reduction of penalties generated by time-window violations with Large Neighbourhood Search procedures. A second stage minimises the travel distance and travel time in an ‘always feasible’ search space. Comparison of results with available test instances shows that the proposed algorithm is capable of obtaining a reduction in the number of vehicles (4.15%, travel distance (10.88% and travel time (12.00% compared to previous implementations in reasonable time.

Design and implementation of reliability evaluation of SAS hard disk based on RAID card

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Shaohua; Han, Sen

2015-10-01

Because of the huge advantage of RAID technology in storage, it has been widely used. However, the question associated with this technology is that the hard disk based on the RAID card can not be queried by Operating System. Therefore how to read the self-information and log data of hard disk has been a problem, while this data is necessary for reliability test of hard disk. In traditional way, this information can be read just suitable for SATA hard disk, but not for SAS hard disk. In this paper, we provide a method by using LSI RAID card's Application Program Interface, communicating with RAID card and analyzing the feedback data to solve the problem. Then we will get the necessary information to assess the SAS hard disk.

Application of Tabu Search Algorithm in Job Shop Scheduling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Betrianis Betrianis

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Tabu Search is one of local search methods which is used to solve the combinatorial optimization problem. This method aimed is to make the searching process of the best solution in a complex combinatorial optimization problem(np hard, ex : job shop scheduling problem, became more effective, in a less computational time but with no guarantee to optimum solution.In this paper, tabu search is used to solve the job shop scheduling problem consists of 3 (three cases, which is ordering package of September, October and November with objective of minimizing makespan (Cmax. For each ordering package, there is a combination for initial solution and tabu list length. These result then  compared with 4 (four other methods using basic dispatching rules such as Shortest Processing Time (SPT, Earliest Due Date (EDD, Most Work Remaining (MWKR dan First Come First Served (FCFS. Scheduling used Tabu Search Algorithm is sensitive for variables changes and gives makespan shorter than scheduling used by other four methods.

Combinatorial Strategies for Synthesis and Characterization of Alloy Microstructures over Large Compositional Ranges.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yanglin; Jensen, Katharine E; Liu, Yanhui; Liu, Jingbei; Gong, Pan; Scanley, B Ellen; Broadbridge, Christine C; Schroers, Jan

2016-10-10

The exploration of new alloys with desirable properties has been a long-standing challenge in materials science because of the complex relationship between composition and microstructure. In this Research Article, we demonstrate a combinatorial strategy for the exploration of composition dependence of microstructure. This strategy is comprised of alloy library synthesis followed by high-throughput microstructure characterization. As an example, we synthesized a ternary Au-Cu-Si composition library containing over 1000 individual alloys using combinatorial sputtering. We subsequently melted and resolidified the entire library at controlled cooling rates. We used scanning optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction mapping to explore trends in phase formation and microstructural length scale with composition across the library. The integration of combinatorial synthesis with parallelizable analysis methods provides a efficient method for examining vast compositional ranges. The availability of microstructures from this vast composition space not only facilitates design of new alloys by controlling effects of composition on phase selection, phase sequence, length scale, and overall morphology, but also will be instrumental in understanding the complex process of microstructure formation in alloys.

Combinatorial programming of human neuronal progenitors using magnetically-guided stoichiometric mRNA delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Azimi, Sayyed M; Sheridan, Steven D; Ghannad-Rezaie, Mostafa; Eimon, Peter M; Yanik, Mehmet Fatih

2018-05-01

Identification of optimal transcription-factor expression patterns to direct cellular differentiation along a desired pathway presents significant challenges. We demonstrate massively combinatorial screening of temporally-varying mRNA transcription factors to direct differentiation of neural progenitor cells using a dynamically-reconfigurable magnetically-guided spotting technology for localizing mRNA, enabling experiments on millimetre size spots. In addition, we present a time-interleaved delivery method that dramatically reduces fluctuations in the delivered transcription-factor copy-numbers per cell. We screened combinatorial and temporal delivery of a pool of midbrain-specific transcription factors to augment the generation of dopaminergic neurons. We show that the combinatorial delivery of LMX1A, FOXA2 and PITX3 is highly effective in generating dopaminergic neurons from midbrain progenitors. We show that LMX1A significantly increases TH -expression levels when delivered to neural progenitor cells either during proliferation or after induction of neural differentiation, while FOXA2 and PITX3 increase expression only when delivered prior to induction, demonstrating temporal dependence of factor addition. © 2018, Azimi et al.

Recursive deconvolution of combinatorial chemical libraries.

OpenAIRE

Erb, E; Janda, K D; Brenner, S

1994-01-01

A recursive strategy that solves for the active members of a chemical library is presented. A pentapeptide library with an alphabet of Gly, Leu, Phe, and Tyr (1024 members) was constructed on a solid support by the method of split synthesis. One member of this library (NH2-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu) is a native binder to a beta-endorphin antibody. A variation of the split synthesis approach is used to build the combinatorial library. In four vials, a member of the library's alphabet is coupled to a...

Use of Software Programs as Zero Fill Help in Overcoming the Problem Around Hard Drive

OpenAIRE

Eko Prasetyo Nugroho; Fivtatianti Fivtatianti, Skom, MM

2003-01-01

Zero Fill, is a software tool programs that are designed for hard disk drive specially branded Quantum. This software is a tool programs that function to format the hard drive. Where is the type of format here is the first format or in other words the software to format the hard drive is working under conditions of low- level or commonly referred to as a low- level format. The advantages of this software is able to fix and remove all existing data within the disk, such as files...

New high-throughput material-exploration system based on combinatorial chemistry and electrostatic atomization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimoto, K.; Takahashi, H.; Ito, S.; Inoue, S.; Watanabe, M.

2006-01-01

As a tool to facilitate future material explorations, our group has developed a new combinatorial system for the high-throughput preparation of compounds made up of more than three components. The system works in two steps: the atomization of a liquid by a high electric field followed by deposition to a grounded substrate. The combinatorial system based on this method has plural syringe pumps. The each starting materials are fed through the syringe pumps into a manifold, thoroughly mixed as they pass through the manifold, and atomized from the tip of a stainless steel nozzle onto a grounded substrate

Insight and analysis problem solving in microbes to machines.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Kevin B

2015-11-01

A key feature for obtaining solutions to difficult problems, insight is oftentimes vaguely regarded as a special discontinuous intellectual process and/or a cognitive restructuring of problem representation or goal approach. However, this nearly century-old state of art devised by the Gestalt tradition to explain the non-analytical or non-trial-and-error, goal-seeking aptitude of primate mentality tends to neglect problem-solving capabilities of lower animal phyla, Kingdoms other than Animalia, and advancing smart computational technologies built from biological, artificial, and composite media. Attempting to provide an inclusive, precise definition of insight, two major criteria of insight, discontinuous processing and problem restructuring, are here reframed using terminology and statistical mechanical properties of computational complexity classes. Discontinuous processing becomes abrupt state transitions in algorithmic/heuristic outcomes or in types of algorithms/heuristics executed by agents using classical and/or quantum computational models. And problem restructuring becomes combinatorial reorganization of resources, problem-type substitution, and/or exchange of computational models. With insight bounded by computational complexity, humans, ciliated protozoa, and complex technological networks, for example, show insight when restructuring time requirements, combinatorial complexity, and problem type to solve polynomial and nondeterministic polynomial decision problems. Similar effects are expected from other problem types, supporting the idea that insight might be an epiphenomenon of analytical problem solving and consequently a larger information processing framework. Thus, this computational complexity definition of insight improves the power, external and internal validity, and reliability of operational parameters with which to classify, investigate, and produce the phenomenon for computational agents ranging from microbes to man-made devices. Copyright

"One-sample concept" micro-combinatory for high throughput TEM of binary films.

Science.gov (United States)

Sáfrán, György

2018-04-01

Phases of thin films may remarkably differ from that of bulk. Unlike to the comprehensive data files of Binary Phase Diagrams [1] available for bulk, complete phase maps for thin binary layers do not exist. This is due to both the diverse metastable, non-equilibrium or instable phases feasible in thin films and the required volume of characterization work with analytical techniques like TEM, SAED and EDS. The aim of the present work was to develop a method that remarkably facilitates the TEM study of the diverse binary phases of thin films, or the creation of phase maps. A micro-combinatorial method was worked out that enables both preparation and study of a gradient two-component film within a single TEM specimen. For a demonstration of the technique thin Mn x Al 1- x binary samples with evolving concentration from x = 0 to x = 1 have been prepared so that the transition from pure Mn to pure Al covers a 1.5 mm long track within the 3 mm diameter TEM grid. The proposed method enables the preparation and study of thin combinatorial samples including all feasible phases as a function of composition or other deposition parameters. Contrary to known "combinatorial chemistry", in which a series of different samples are deposited in one run, and investigated, one at a time, the present micro-combinatorial method produces a single specimen condensing a complete library of a binary system that can be studied, efficiently, within a single TEM session. That provides extremely high throughput for TEM characterization of composition-dependent phases, exploration of new materials, or the construction of phase diagrams of binary films. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhancements to the Combinatorial Geometry Particle Tracker in the Mercury Monte Carlo Transport Code: Embedded Meshes and Domain Decomposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenman, G.M.; O'Brien, M.J.; Procassini, R.J.; Joy, K.I.

2009-01-01

Two enhancements to the combinatorial geometry (CG) particle tracker in the Mercury Monte Carlo transport code are presented. The first enhancement is a hybrid particle tracker wherein a mesh region is embedded within a CG region. This method permits efficient calculations of problems with contain both large-scale heterogeneous and homogeneous regions. The second enhancement relates to the addition of parallelism within the CG tracker via spatial domain decomposition. This permits calculations of problems with a large degree of geometric complexity, which are not possible through particle parallelism alone. In this method, the cells are decomposed across processors and a particles is communicated to an adjacent processor when it tracks to an interprocessor boundary. Applications that demonstrate the efficacy of these new methods are presented

A quantum annealing approach for fault detection and diagnosis of graph-based systems

Science.gov (United States)

Perdomo-Ortiz, A.; Fluegemann, J.; Narasimhan, S.; Biswas, R.; Smelyanskiy, V. N.

2015-02-01

Diagnosing the minimal set of faults capable of explaining a set of given observations, e.g., from sensor readouts, is a hard combinatorial optimization problem usually tackled with artificial intelligence techniques. We present the mapping of this combinatorial problem to quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO), and the experimental results of instances embedded onto a quantum annealing device with 509 quantum bits. Besides being the first time a quantum approach has been proposed for problems in the advanced diagnostics community, to the best of our knowledge this work is also the first research utilizing the route Problem → QUBO → Direct embedding into quantum hardware, where we are able to implement and tackle problem instances with sizes that go beyond previously reported toy-model proof-of-principle quantum annealing implementations; this is a significant leap in the solution of problems via direct-embedding adiabatic quantum optimization. We discuss some of the programmability challenges in the current generation of the quantum device as well as a few possible ways to extend this work to more complex arbitrary network graphs.

Solving stochastic multiobjective vehicle routing problem using probabilistic metaheuristic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gannouni Asmae

2017-01-01

closed form expression. This novel approach is based on combinatorial probability and can be incorporated in a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm. (iiProvide probabilistic approaches to elitism and diversification in multiobjective evolutionary algorithms. Finally, The behavior of the resulting Probabilistic Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithms (PrMOEAs is empirically investigated on the multi-objective stochastic VRP problem.

Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry with Diselenides, Disulfides, Imines and Metal Coordination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Anne

combinatorial chemistry, namely the reversible diselenide exchange reaction. The first part of the thesis describes the development of a thermally induced OAr → SeAr migration reaction. Here, it was proven possible to rearrange a variety of substituted O-aryl selenocarbamates into the corresponding Se...

Combinatorial chemistry approach to development of molecular plastic solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Godovsky, Dmitri; Inganäs, Olle; Brabec, Christoph J.; Sariciftci, N. Serdar; Hummelen, Jan C.; Janssen, Rene A.J.; Prato, M.; Maggini, M.; Segura, Jose; Martin, Nazario

1999-01-01

We used a combinatorial chemistry approach to develop the molecular plastic solar cells based on soluble fullerene derivatives or solubilized TCNQ molecules in combination with conjugated polymers. Profiles, formed by the diffusion of low molecular weight component in the spin-cast polymer host were

Performance analysis of the partial use of a local optimization operator on the genetic algorithm for the Travelling Salesman Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milan Djordjevic

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The Travelling Salesman Problem is an NP-hard problem in combinatorial optimization with a number of practical implications. There are many heuristic algorithms and exact methods for solving the problem. Objectives: In this paper we study the influence of hybridization of a genetic algorithm with a local optimizer on solving instances of the Travelling Salesman Problem. Methods/ Approach: Our algorithm uses hybridization that occurs at various percentages of generations of a genetic algorithm. Moreover, we have also studied at which generations to apply the hybridization and hence applied it at random generations, at the initial generations, and at the last ones. Results: We tested our algorithm on instances with sizes ranging from 76 to 439 cities. On the one hand, the less frequent application of hybridization decreased the average running time of the algorithm from 14.62 sec to 2.78 sec at 100% and 10% hybridization respectively, while on the other hand, the quality of the solution on average deteriorated only from 0.21% till 1.40% worse than the optimal solution. Conclusions: In the paper we have shown that even a small hybridization substantially improves the quality of the result. Moreover, the hybridization in fact does not deteriorate the running time too much. Finally, our experiments show that the best results are obtained when hybridization occurs in the last generations of the genetic algorithm.

Problems in probability theory, mathematical statistics and theory of random functions

CERN Document Server

Sveshnikov, A A

1979-01-01

Problem solving is the main thrust of this excellent, well-organized workbook. Suitable for students at all levels in probability theory and statistics, the book presents over 1,000 problems and their solutions, illustrating fundamental theory and representative applications in the following fields: Random Events; Distribution Laws; Correlation Theory; Random Variables; Entropy & Information; Markov Processes; Systems of Random Variables; Limit Theorems; Data Processing; and more.The coverage of topics is both broad and deep, ranging from the most elementary combinatorial problems through lim

Solving the Traveling Salesman Problem Based on The Genetic Reactive Bone Route Algorithm whit Ant Colony System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Majid Yousefikhoshbakht

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The TSP is considered one of the most well-known combinatorial optimization tasks and researchers have paid so much attention to the TSP for many years. In this problem, a salesman starts to move from an arbitrary place called depot and after visits all of the nodes, finally comes back to the depot. The objective is to minimize the total distance traveled by the salesman.  Because this problem is a non-deterministic polynomial (NP-hard problem in nature, a hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm called REACSGA is used for solving the TSP. In REACSGA, a reactive bone route algorithm that uses the ant colony system (ACS for generating initial diversified solutions and the genetic algorithm (GA as an improved procedure are applied. Since the performance of the Metaheuristic algorithms is significantly influenced by their parameters, Taguchi Method is used to set the parameters of the proposed algorithm. The proposed algorithm is tested on several standard instances involving 24 to 318 nodes from the literature. The computational result shows that the results of the proposed algorithm are competitive with other metaheuristic algorithms for solving the TSP in terms of better quality of solution and computational time respectively. In addition, the proposed REACSGA is significantly efficient and finds closely the best known solutions for most of the instances in which thirteen best known solutions are also found.

Availability allocation to repairable systems with genetic algorithms: a multi-objective formulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elegbede, Charles; Adjallah, Kondo

2003-01-01

This paper describes a methodology based on genetic algorithms (GA) and experiments plan to optimize the availability and the cost of reparable parallel-series systems. It is a NP-hard problem of multi-objective combinatorial optimization, modeled with continuous and discrete variables. By using the weighting technique, the problem is transformed into a single-objective optimization problem whose constraints are then relaxed by the exterior penalty technique. We then propose a search of solution through GA, whose parameters are adjusted using experiments plan technique. A numerical example is used to assess the method

Minimizing Lid Overstows in Master Stowage Plans for Container Vessels is NP-Complete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ajspur, Mai Lise; Jensen, Rune Møller; Guilbert, Nicolas

Container vessel stowage is a particularly hard combinatorial problem within the shipping industry. The currently most successful approaches decompose the problem hierarchically and first generate a master plan that handle highlevel constraints and objectives such as balance and stress moments...... that it is an NP -complete problem to generate master plans that minimize the number of these lid overstows. Since any efficient approach to container vessel stowage most likely must include a master plan, the implication of this result is that future research must focus and developing good heuristics...

Anti-termite efficacy of Capparis decidua and its combinatorial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Michael Horsfall

ABSTRACT: Capparis deciduas and its combinatorial mixtures were evaluated to observe the anti-termite efficacy against Indian white termite Odontotermes obesus. These have shown very high termiticidal activity and wood protection in the soil. It is proved by very low LD50 values i.e. 0.0218mg/g and 0.021mg/g obtained ...

Combinatorial drug screening identifies Ewing sarcoma-specific sensitivities

OpenAIRE

Radic-Sarikas, Branka; Tsafou, Kalliopi P.; Emdal, Kristina B.; Papamarkou, Theodore; Huber, Kilian V.M.; Mutz, Cornelia; Toretsky, Jeffrey A.; Bennett, Keiryn L.; Olsen, Jesper V.; Brunak, Søren; Kovar, Heinrich; Superti-Furga, Giulio

2017-01-01

Improvements in survival for Ewing sarcoma pediatric and adolescent patients have been modest over the past 20 years. Combinations of anticancer agents endure as an option to overcome resistance to single treatments caused by compensatory pathways. Moreover, combinations are thought to lessen any associated adverse side effects through reduced dosing, which is particularly important in childhood tumors. Using a parallel phenotypic combinatorial screening approach of cells derived from three p...

ACRE: Absolute concentration robustness exploration in module-based combinatorial networks

KAUST Repository

Kuwahara, Hiroyuki; Umarov, Ramzan; Almasri, Islam; Gao, Xin

2017-01-01

To engineer cells for industrial-scale application, a deep understanding of how to design molecular control mechanisms to tightly maintain functional stability under various fluctuations is crucial. Absolute concentration robustness (ACR) is a category of robustness in reaction network models in which the steady-state concentration of a molecular species is guaranteed to be invariant even with perturbations in the other molecular species in the network. Here, we introduce a software tool, absolute concentration robustness explorer (ACRE), which efficiently explores combinatorial biochemical networks for the ACR property. ACRE has a user-friendly interface, and it can facilitate efficient analysis of key structural features that guarantee the presence and the absence of the ACR property from combinatorial networks. Such analysis is expected to be useful in synthetic biology as it can increase our understanding of how to design molecular mechanisms to tightly control the concentration of molecular species. ACRE is freely available at https://github.com/ramzan1990/ACRE.

ACRE: Absolute concentration robustness exploration in module-based combinatorial networks

KAUST Repository

Kuwahara, Hiroyuki

2017-03-01

To engineer cells for industrial-scale application, a deep understanding of how to design molecular control mechanisms to tightly maintain functional stability under various fluctuations is crucial. Absolute concentration robustness (ACR) is a category of robustness in reaction network models in which the steady-state concentration of a molecular species is guaranteed to be invariant even with perturbations in the other molecular species in the network. Here, we introduce a software tool, absolute concentration robustness explorer (ACRE), which efficiently explores combinatorial biochemical networks for the ACR property. ACRE has a user-friendly interface, and it can facilitate efficient analysis of key structural features that guarantee the presence and the absence of the ACR property from combinatorial networks. Such analysis is expected to be useful in synthetic biology as it can increase our understanding of how to design molecular mechanisms to tightly control the concentration of molecular species. ACRE is freely available at https://github.com/ramzan1990/ACRE.

Hard equality constrained integer knapsacks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aardal, K.I.; Lenstra, A.K.; Cook, W.J.; Schulz, A.S.

2002-01-01

We consider the following integer feasibility problem: "Given positive integer numbers a 0, a 1,..., a n, with gcd(a 1,..., a n) = 1 and a = (a 1,..., a n), does there exist a nonnegative integer vector x satisfying ax = a 0?" Some instances of this type have been found to be extremely hard to solve

Solidified self-nanoemulsifying formulation for oral delivery of combinatorial therapeutic regimen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jain, Amit K; Thanki, Kaushik; Jain, Sanyog

2014-01-01

PURPOSE: The present work reports rationalized development and characterization of solidified self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system for oral delivery of combinatorial (tamoxifen and quercetin) therapeutic regimen. METHODS: Suitable oil for the preparation of liquid SNEDDS was selected based...

Synthesis of new water-soluble metal-binding polymers: Combinatorial chemistry approach. 1998 annual progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurth, M.J.; Miller, R.B.; Sawan, S.; Smith, B.F.

1998-01-01

'(1) Develop rapid discovery and optimization approaches to new water-soluble chelating polymers for use in Polymer Filtration (PF) systems, and (2) evaluate the concept of using water and organic soluble polymers as new solid supports for combinatorial synthesis. Polymer Filtration (PF), which uses water-soluble metal-binding polymers to sequester metal ions in dilute solution with ultrafiltration (UF) to separate the polymers, is a new technology to selectively remove or recover hazardous and valuable metal ions. Future directions in PF must include rapid development, testing, and characterization of new metal-binding polymers. Thus, the authors are building upon and adapting the combinatorial chemistry approach developed for rapid molecule generation for the drug industry to the rapid development of new chelating polymers. The authors have focused on four areas including the development of: (1) synthetic procedures, (2) small ultrafiltration equipment compatible with organic- and aqueous-based combinatorial synthesis, (3) rapid assay techniques, and (4) polymer characterization techniques.'

Introducing Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry: Probing the Substrate Selectivity of Acetylcholinesterase

Science.gov (United States)

Angelin, Marcus; Larsson, Rikard; Vongvilai, Pornrapee; Ramstrom, Olof

2010-01-01

In this laboratory experiment, college students are introduced to dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) and apply it to determine the substrate selectivity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Initially, the students construct a chemical library of dynamically interchanging thioesters and thiols. Then, AChE is added and allowed to select and hydrolyze…

A comparison of approaches for finding minimum identifying codes on graphs

Science.gov (United States)

Horan, Victoria; Adachi, Steve; Bak, Stanley

2016-05-01

In order to formulate mathematical conjectures likely to be true, a number of base cases must be determined. However, many combinatorial problems are NP-hard and the computational complexity makes this research approach difficult using a standard brute force approach on a typical computer. One sample problem explored is that of finding a minimum identifying code. To work around the computational issues, a variety of methods are explored and consist of a parallel computing approach using MATLAB, an adiabatic quantum optimization approach using a D-Wave quantum annealing processor, and lastly using satisfiability modulo theory (SMT) and corresponding SMT solvers. Each of these methods requires the problem to be formulated in a unique manner. In this paper, we address the challenges of computing solutions to this NP-hard problem with respect to each of these methods.

Strong Relaxations for the Train Timetabling Problem Using Connected Configurations

OpenAIRE

Fischer, Frank; Schlechte, Thomas

2017-01-01

The task of the train timetabling problem or track allocation problem is to find conflict free schedules for a set of trains with predefined routes in a railway network. Especially for non-periodic instances models based on time expanded networks are often used. Unfortunately, the linear programming relaxation of these models is often extremely weak because these models do not describe combinatorial relations like overtaking possibilities very well. In this paper we extend the model by so cal...

First steps in combinatorial optimization on graphons: matchings

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Doležal, Martin; Hladký, J.; Hu, P.; Piguet, Diana

2017-01-01

Roč. 61, August (2017), s. 359-365 ISSN 1571-0653 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-07378S; GA ČR GJ16-07822Y EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 628974 - PAECIDM Institutional support: RVO:67985840 ; RVO:67985807 Keywords : graphon * graph limits * matching * combinatorial optimization Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics ; BA - General Mathematics (UIVT-O) OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics ; Pure mathematics (UIVT-O) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571065317301452

First steps in combinatorial optimization on graphons: matchings

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Doležal, Martin; Hladký, J.; Hu, P.; Piguet, Diana

2017-01-01

Roč. 61, August (2017), s. 359-365 ISSN 1571-0653 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-07378S; GA ČR GJ16-07822Y EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 628974 - PAECIDM Institutional support: RVO:67985840 ; RVO:67985807 Keywords : graphon * graph limits * matching * combinatorial optimization Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics; BA - General Mathematics (UIVT-O) OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics; Pure mathematics (UIVT-O) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571065317301452

Deciphering Cis-Regulatory Element Mediated Combinatorial Regulation in Rice under Blast Infected Condition.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arindam Deb

Full Text Available Combinations of cis-regulatory elements (CREs present at the promoters facilitate the binding of several transcription factors (TFs, thereby altering the consequent gene expressions. Due to the eminent complexity of the regulatory mechanism, the combinatorics of CRE-mediated transcriptional regulation has been elusive. In this work, we have developed a new methodology that quantifies the co-occurrence tendencies of CREs present in a set of promoter sequences; these co-occurrence scores are filtered in three consecutive steps to test their statistical significance; and the significantly co-occurring CRE pairs are presented as networks. These networks of co-occurring CREs are further transformed to derive higher order of regulatory combinatorics. We have further applied this methodology on the differentially up-regulated gene-sets of rice tissues under fungal (Magnaporthe infected conditions to demonstrate how it helps to understand the CRE-mediated combinatorial gene regulation. Our analysis includes a wide spectrum of biologically important results. The CRE pairs having a strong tendency to co-occur often exhibit very similar joint distribution patterns at the promoters of rice. We couple the network approach with experimental results of plant gene regulation and defense mechanisms and find evidences of auto and cross regulation among TF families, cross-talk among multiple hormone signaling pathways, similarities and dissimilarities in regulatory combinatorics between different tissues, etc. Our analyses have pointed a highly distributed nature of the combinatorial gene regulation facilitating an efficient alteration in response to fungal attack. All together, our proposed methodology could be an important approach in understanding the combinatorial gene regulation. It can be further applied to unravel the tissue and/or condition specific combinatorial gene regulation in other eukaryotic systems with the availability of annotated genomic

Cobalt allergy in hard metal workers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, T; Rystedt, I

1983-03-01

Hard metal contains about 10% cobalt. 853 hard metal workers were examined and patch tested with substances from their environment. Initial patch tests with 1% cobalt chloride showed 62 positive reactions. By means of secondary serial dilution tests, allergic reactions to cobalt were reproduced in 9 men and 30 women. Weak reactions could not normally be reproduced. A history of hand eczema was found in 36 of the 39 individuals with reproducible positive test reactions to cobalt, while 21 of 23 with a positive initial patch test but negative serial dilution test had never had any skin problems. Hand etching and hand grinding, mainly female activities and traumatic to the hands, were found to involve the greatest risk of cobalt sensitization. 24 individuals had an isolated cobalt allergy. They had probably been sensitized by hard metal work, while the individuals, all women, who had simultaneous nickel allergy had probably been sensitized to nickel before their employment and then became sensitized to cobalt by hard metal work. A traumatic occupation, which causes irritant contact dermatitis and/or a previous contact allergy or atopy is probably a prerequisite for the development of cobalt allergy.

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry to identify binders of ThiT, an S-component of the energy-coupling factor transporter for thiamine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Monjas, Leticia; Swier, Lotteke J Y M; Setyawati, Inda; Slotboom, Dirk Jan; Hirsch, Anna Katharina Herta

2017-01-01

We applied dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) to identify ligands of ThiT, the S-component of the energy-coupling factor (ECF) transporter for thiamine in Lactococcus lactis. We used a pre-equilibrated dynamic combinatorial library (DCL) and saturation-transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy

Deaf and hard of hearing students' perspectives on bullying and school climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiner, Mary T; Day, Stefanie J; Galvan, Dennis

2013-01-01

Student perspectives reflect school climate. The study examined perspectives among deaf and hard of hearing students in residential and large day schools regarding bullying, and compared these perspectives with those of a national database of hearing students. The participants were 812 deaf and hard of hearing students in 11 U.S. schools. Data were derived from the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire (Olweus, 2007b), a standardized self-reported survey with multiple-choice questions focusing on different aspects of bullying problems. Significant bullying problems were found in deaf school programs. It appears that deaf and hard of hearing students experience bullying at rates 2-3 times higher than those reported by hearing students. Deaf and hard of hearing students reported that school personnel intervened less often when bullying occurred than was reported in the hearing sample. Results indicate the need for school climate improvement for all students, regardless of hearing status.

Method and apparatus for combinatorial chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Foote, Robert S [Oak Ridge, TN

2012-06-05

A method and apparatus are provided for performing light-directed reactions in spatially addressable channels within a plurality of channels. One aspect of the invention employs photoactivatable reagents in solutions disposed into spatially addressable flow streams to control the parallel synthesis of molecules immobilized within the channels. The reagents may be photoactivated within a subset of channels at the site of immobilized substrate molecules or at a light-addressable site upstream from the substrate molecules. The method and apparatus of the invention find particularly utility in the synthesis of biopolymer arrays, e.g., oligonucleotides, peptides and carbohydrates, and in the combinatorial synthesis of small molecule arrays for drug discovery.

Revisiting the definition of local hardness and hardness kernel.

Science.gov (United States)

Polanco-Ramírez, Carlos A; Franco-Pérez, Marco; Carmona-Espíndola, Javier; Gázquez, José L; Ayers, Paul W

2017-05-17

An analysis of the hardness kernel and local hardness is performed to propose new definitions for these quantities that follow a similar pattern to the one that characterizes the quantities associated with softness, that is, we have derived new definitions for which the integral of the hardness kernel over the whole space of one of the variables leads to local hardness, and the integral of local hardness over the whole space leads to global hardness. A basic aspect of the present approach is that global hardness keeps its identity as the second derivative of energy with respect to the number of electrons. Local hardness thus obtained depends on the first and second derivatives of energy and electron density with respect to the number of electrons. When these derivatives are approximated by a smooth quadratic interpolation of energy, the expression for local hardness reduces to the one intuitively proposed by Meneses, Tiznado, Contreras and Fuentealba. However, when one combines the first directional derivatives with smooth second derivatives one finds additional terms that allow one to differentiate local hardness for electrophilic attack from the one for nucleophilic attack. Numerical results related to electrophilic attacks on substituted pyridines, substituted benzenes and substituted ethenes are presented to show the overall performance of the new definition.

Two is better than one; toward a rational design of combinatorial therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sheng-Hong; Lahav, Galit

2016-12-01

Drug combination is an appealing strategy for combating the heterogeneity of tumors and evolution of drug resistance. However, the rationale underlying combinatorial therapy is often not well established due to lack of understandings of the specific pathways responding to the drugs, and their temporal dynamics following each treatment. Here we present several emerging trends in harnessing properties of biological systems for the optimal design of drug combinations, including the type of drugs, specific concentration, sequence of addition and the temporal schedule of treatments. We highlight recent studies showing different approaches for efficient design of drug combinations including single-cell signaling dynamics, adaption and pathway crosstalk. Finally, we discuss novel and feasible approaches that can facilitate the optimal design of combinatorial therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovery of Cationic Polymers for Non-viral Gene Delivery using Combinatorial Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Barua, Sutapa; Ramos, James; Potta, Thrimoorthy; Taylor, David; Huang, Huang-Chiao; Montanez, Gabriela; Rege, Kaushal

2015-01-01

Gene therapy is an attractive treatment option for diseases of genetic origin, including several cancers and cardiovascular diseases. While viruses are effective vectors for delivering exogenous genes to cells, concerns related to insertional mutagenesis, immunogenicity, lack of tropism, decay and high production costs necessitate the discovery of non-viral methods. Significant efforts have been focused on cationic polymers as non-viral alternatives for gene delivery. Recent studies have employed combinatorial syntheses and parallel screening methods for enhancing the efficacy of gene delivery, biocompatibility of the delivery vehicle, and overcoming cellular level barriers as they relate to polymer-mediated transgene uptake, transport, transcription, and expression. This review summarizes and discusses recent advances in combinatorial syntheses and parallel screening of cationic polymer libraries for the discovery of efficient and safe gene delivery systems. PMID:21843141

Integrative Analysis of Transcription Factor Combinatorial Interactions Using a Bayesian Tensor Factorization Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Yusen; Gao, Lin; Zhang, Shihua

2017-01-01

Transcription factors play a key role in transcriptional regulation of genes and determination of cellular identity through combinatorial interactions. However, current studies about combinatorial regulation is deficient due to lack of experimental data in the same cellular environment and extensive existence of data noise. Here, we adopt a Bayesian CANDECOMP/PARAFAC (CP) factorization approach (BCPF) to integrate multiple datasets in a network paradigm for determining precise TF interaction landscapes. In our first application, we apply BCPF to integrate three networks built based on diverse datasets of multiple cell lines from ENCODE respectively to predict a global and precise TF interaction network. This network gives 38 novel TF interactions with distinct biological functions. In our second application, we apply BCPF to seven types of cell type TF regulatory networks and predict seven cell lineage TF interaction networks, respectively. By further exploring the dynamics and modularity of them, we find cell lineage-specific hub TFs participate in cell type or lineage-specific regulation by interacting with non-specific TFs. Furthermore, we illustrate the biological function of hub TFs by taking those of cancer lineage and blood lineage as examples. Taken together, our integrative analysis can reveal more precise and extensive description about human TF combinatorial interactions. PMID:29033978

Efficient Discovery of Nonlinear Dependencies in a Combinatorial Catalyst Data Set

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Cawse, J.N.; Baerns, M.; Holeňa, Martin

2004-01-01

Roč. 44, č. 3 (2004), s. 143-146 ISSN 0095-2338 Source of funding: V - iné verejné zdroje Keywords : combinatorial catalysis * genetic algorithms * nonlinear dependency * data analysis * high-order interactions Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science Impact factor: 2.810, year: 2004

A combinatorial framework to quantify peak/pit asymmetries in complex dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hasson, Uri; Iacovacci, Jacopo; Davis, Ben; Flanagan, Ryan; Tagliazucchi, E.; Laufs, Helmut; Lacasa, Lucas

2018-01-01

We explore a combinatorial framework which efficiently quantifies the asymmetries between minima and maxima in local fluctuations of time series. We first showcase its performance by applying it to a battery of synthetic cases. We find rigorous results on some canonical dynamical models (stochastic

Sentence Processing in an Artificial Language: Learning and Using Combinatorial Constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Amato, Michael S.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.

2010-01-01

A study combining artificial grammar and sentence comprehension methods investigated the learning and online use of probabilistic, nonadjacent combinatorial constraints. Participants learned a small artificial language describing cartoon monsters acting on objects. Self-paced reading of sentences in the artificial language revealed comprehenders'…

Obfuscation Framework Based on Functionally Equivalent Combinatorial Logic Families

Science.gov (United States)

2008-03-01

of Defense, or the United States Government . AFIT/GCS/ENG/08-12 Obfuscation Framework Based on Functionally Equivalent Combinatorial Logic Families...time, United States policy strongly encourages the sale and transfer of some military equipment to foreign governments and makes it easier for...Proceedings of the International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security, 2007. 14. McDonald, J. Todd and Alec Yasinsac. “Of unicorns and random

Performance impact of mutation operators of a subpopulation-based genetic algorithm for multi-robot task allocation problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chun; Kroll, Andreas

2016-01-01

Multi-robot task allocation determines the task sequence and distribution for a group of robots in multi-robot systems, which is one of constrained combinatorial optimization problems and more complex in case of cooperative tasks because they introduce additional spatial and temporal constraints. To solve multi-robot task allocation problems with cooperative tasks efficiently, a subpopulation-based genetic algorithm, a crossover-free genetic algorithm employing mutation operators and elitism selection in each subpopulation, is developed in this paper. Moreover, the impact of mutation operators (swap, insertion, inversion, displacement, and their various combinations) is analyzed when solving several industrial plant inspection problems. The experimental results show that: (1) the proposed genetic algorithm can obtain better solutions than the tested binary tournament genetic algorithm with partially mapped crossover; (2) inversion mutation performs better than other tested mutation operators when solving problems without cooperative tasks, and the swap-inversion combination performs better than other tested mutation operators/combinations when solving problems with cooperative tasks. As it is difficult to produce all desired effects with a single mutation operator, using multiple mutation operators (including both inversion and swap) is suggested when solving similar combinatorial optimization problems.

Statistical mechanical analysis of linear programming relaxation for combinatorial optimization problems

Science.gov (United States)

Takabe, Satoshi; Hukushima, Koji

2016-05-01

Typical behavior of the linear programming (LP) problem is studied as a relaxation of the minimum vertex cover (min-VC), a type of integer programming (IP) problem. A lattice-gas model on the Erdös-Rényi random graphs of α -uniform hyperedges is proposed to express both the LP and IP problems of the min-VC in the common statistical mechanical model with a one-parameter family. Statistical mechanical analyses reveal for α =2 that the LP optimal solution is typically equal to that given by the IP below the critical average degree c =e in the thermodynamic limit. The critical threshold for good accuracy of the relaxation extends the mathematical result c =1 and coincides with the replica symmetry-breaking threshold of the IP. The LP relaxation for the minimum hitting sets with α ≥3 , minimum vertex covers on α -uniform random graphs, is also studied. Analytic and numerical results strongly suggest that the LP relaxation fails to estimate optimal values above the critical average degree c =e /(α -1 ) where the replica symmetry is broken.

Statistical mechanical analysis of linear programming relaxation for combinatorial optimization problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Takabe, Satoshi; Hukushima, Koji

2016-05-01

Typical behavior of the linear programming (LP) problem is studied as a relaxation of the minimum vertex cover (min-VC), a type of integer programming (IP) problem. A lattice-gas model on the Erdös-Rényi random graphs of α-uniform hyperedges is proposed to express both the LP and IP problems of the min-VC in the common statistical mechanical model with a one-parameter family. Statistical mechanical analyses reveal for α=2 that the LP optimal solution is typically equal to that given by the IP below the critical average degree c=e in the thermodynamic limit. The critical threshold for good accuracy of the relaxation extends the mathematical result c=1 and coincides with the replica symmetry-breaking threshold of the IP. The LP relaxation for the minimum hitting sets with α≥3, minimum vertex covers on α-uniform random graphs, is also studied. Analytic and numerical results strongly suggest that the LP relaxation fails to estimate optimal values above the critical average degree c=e/(α-1) where the replica symmetry is broken.

Early identification: Language skills and social functioning in deaf and hard of hearing preschool children.

Science.gov (United States)

Netten, Anouk P; Rieffe, Carolien; Theunissen, Stephanie C P M; Soede, Wim; Dirks, Evelien; Korver, Anna M H; Konings, Saskia; Oudesluys-Murphy, Anne Marie; Dekker, Friedo W; Frijns, Johan H M

2015-12-01

Permanent childhood hearing impairment often results in speech and language problems that are already apparent in early childhood. Past studies show a clear link between language skills and the child's social-emotional functioning. The aim of this study was to examine the level of language and communication skills after the introduction of early identification services and their relation with social functioning and behavioral problems in deaf and hard of hearing children. Nationwide cross-sectional observation of a cohort of 85 early identified deaf and hard of hearing preschool children (aged 30-66 months). Parents reported on their child's communicative abilities (MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory III), social functioning and appearance of behavioral problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). Receptive and expressive language skills were measured using the Reynell Developmental Language Scale and the Schlichting Expressive Language Test, derived from the child's medical records. Language and communicative abilities of early identified deaf and hard of hearing children are not on a par with hearing peers. Compared to normative scores from hearing children, parents of deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower social functioning and more behavioral problems. Higher communicative abilities were related to better social functioning and less behavioral problems. No relation was found between the degree of hearing loss, age at amplification, uni- or bilateral amplification, mode of communication and social functioning and behavioral problems. These results suggest that improving the communicative abilities of deaf and hard of hearing children could improve their social-emotional functioning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Algebraic solution of the synthesis problem for coded sequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leukhin, Anatolii N

2005-01-01

The algebraic solution of a 'complex' problem of synthesis of phase-coded (PC) sequences with the zero level of side lobes of the cyclic autocorrelation function (ACF) is proposed. It is shown that the solution of the synthesis problem is connected with the existence of difference sets for a given code dimension. The problem of estimating the number of possible code combinations for a given code dimension is solved. It is pointed out that the problem of synthesis of PC sequences is related to the fundamental problems of discrete mathematics and, first of all, to a number of combinatorial problems, which can be solved, as the number factorisation problem, by algebraic methods by using the theory of Galois fields and groups. (fourth seminar to the memory of d.n. klyshko)

Molecular computation: RNA solutions to chess problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Faulhammer, D; Cukras, A R; Lipton, R J; Landweber, L F

2000-02-15

We have expanded the field of "DNA computers" to RNA and present a general approach for the solution of satisfiability problems. As an example, we consider a variant of the "Knight problem," which asks generally what configurations of knights can one place on an n x n chess board such that no knight is attacking any other knight on the board. Using specific ribonuclease digestion to manipulate strands of a 10-bit binary RNA library, we developed a molecular algorithm and applied it to a 3 x 3 chessboard as a 9-bit instance of this problem. Here, the nine spaces on the board correspond to nine "bits" or placeholders in a combinatorial RNA library. We recovered a set of "winning" molecules that describe solutions to this problem.

Similarity searching and scaffold hopping in synthetically accessible combinatorial chemistry spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Boehm, Markus; Wu, Tong-Ying; Claussen, Holger; Lemmen, Christian

2008-04-24

Large collections of combinatorial libraries are an integral element in today's pharmaceutical industry. It is of great interest to perform similarity searches against all virtual compounds that are synthetically accessible by any such library. Here we describe the successful application of a new software tool CoLibri on 358 combinatorial libraries based on validated reaction protocols to create a single chemistry space containing over 10 (12) possible products. Similarity searching with FTrees-FS allows the systematic exploration of this space without the need to enumerate all product structures. The search result is a set of virtual hits which are synthetically accessible by one or more of the existing reaction protocols. Grouping these virtual hits by their synthetic protocols allows the rapid design and synthesis of multiple follow-up libraries. Such library ideas support hit-to-lead design efforts for tasks like follow-up from high-throughput screening hits or scaffold hopping from one hit to another attractive series.

Affinity-based screening of combinatorial libraries using automated, serial-column chromatography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Evans, D.M.; Williams, K.P.; McGuinness, B. [PerSeptive Biosystems, Framingham, MA (United States)] [and others

1996-04-01

The authors have developed an automated serial chromatographic technique for screening a library of compounds based upon their relative affinity for a target molecule. A {open_quotes}target{close_quotes} column containing the immobilized target molecule is set in tandem with a reversed-phase column. A combinatorial peptide library is injected onto the target column. The target-bound peptides are eluted from the first column and transferred automatically to the reversed-phase column. The target-specific peptide peaks from the reversed-phase column are identified and sequenced. Using a monoclonal antibody (3E-7) against {beta}-endorphin as a target, we selected a single peptide with sequence YGGFL from approximately 5800 peptides present in a combinatorial library. We demonstrated the applicability of the technology towards selection of peptides with predetermined affinity for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin). We expect that this technology will have broad applications for high throughput screening of chemical libraries or natural product extracts. 21 refs., 4 figs.

A Combinatorial Proof of a Result on Generalized Lucas Polynomials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laugier Alexandre

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We give a combinatorial proof of an elementary property of generalized Lucas polynomials, inspired by [1]. These polynomials in s and t are defined by the recurrence relation 〈n〉 = s〈n-1〉+t〈n-2〉 for n ≥ 2. The initial values are 〈0〉 = 2; 〈1〉= s, respectively.

The wetted solid - a generalization of Plateau's problem and its implications for sintered materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salomon, P.; Berry, R.S.; Carrera-Patino, M.E.; Chicago Univ., IL; Andresen, B.

1988-01-01

We introduce a new generalization of the Plateau problem which includes the constraint of enclosing a given region. Physically the problem is important insofar as it bears on sintering processes and on the structure of wetted porous media. Some primal and dual characterizations of the solutions are offered, and aspects of the problem are illustrated in one and two dimensions in order to clarify the combinatorial elements and to demonstrate the importance of numerous local minima. (orig.)

The wetted solid---A generalization of the Plateau problem and its implications for sintered materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salamon, P.; Bernholc, J.; Berry, R.S.; Carrera-Patino, M.E.; Andresen, B.

1990-01-01

A new generalization of the Plateau problem that includes the constraint of enclosing a given region is introduced. Physically, the problem is important insofar as it bears on sintering processes and the structure of wetted porous media. Some primal and dual characterizations of the solutions are offered and aspects of the problem are illustrated in one and two dimensions in order to clarify the combinatorial elements and demonstrate the importance of numerous local minima

Hard processes in hadronic interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satz, H.; Wang, X.N.

1995-01-01

Quantum chromodynamics is today accepted as the fundamental theory of strong interactions, even though most hadronic collisions lead to final states for which quantitative QCD predictions are still lacking. It therefore seems worthwhile to take stock of where we stand today and to what extent the presently available data on hard processes in hadronic collisions can be accounted for in terms of QCD. This is one reason for this work. The second reason - and in fact its original trigger - is the search for the quark-gluon plasma in high energy nuclear collisions. The hard processes to be considered here are the production of prompt photons, Drell-Yan dileptons, open charm, quarkonium states, and hard jets. For each of these, we discuss the present theoretical understanding, compare the resulting predictions to available data, and then show what behaviour it leads to at RHIC and LHC energies. All of these processes have the structure mentioned above: they contain a hard partonic interaction, calculable perturbatively, but also the non-perturbative parton distribution within a hadron. These parton distributions, however, can be studied theoretically in terms of counting rule arguments, and they can be checked independently by measurements of the parton structure functions in deep inelastic lepton-hadron scattering. The present volume is the work of Hard Probe Collaboration, a group of theorists who are interested in the problem and were willing to dedicate a considerable amount of their time and work on it. The necessary preparation, planning and coordination of the project were carried out in two workshops of two weeks' duration each, in February 1994 at CERn in Geneva andin July 1994 at LBL in Berkeley

Combinatorial interpretation of Haldane-Wu fractional exclusion statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Aringazin, A K; Mazhitov, M I

2002-08-01

Assuming that the maximal allowed number of identical particles in a state is an integer parameter, q, we derive the statistical weight and analyze the associated equation that defines the statistical distribution. The derived distribution covers Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein ones in the particular cases q=1 and q--> infinity (n(i)/q-->1), respectively. We show that the derived statistical weight provides a natural combinatorial interpretation of Haldane-Wu fractional exclusion statistics, and present exact solutions of the distribution equation.

Combinatorial Models for Assembly and Decomposition of Products

OpenAIRE

A. N. Bojko

2015-01-01

The paper discusses the most popular combinatorial models that are used for the synthesis of design solutions at the stage of the assembly process flow preparation. It shows that while assembling the product the relations of parts can be represented as a structure of preferences, which is formed on the basis of objective design restrictions put in at the stage of the product design. This structure is a binary preference relation pre-order. Its symmetrical part is equivalence and describes the...

Systematic hardness studies on lithium niobate crystals

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

crystals with different growth origins, and a Fe-doped sample. The problem of load ... The true hardness of LiNbO3 is found to be 630 ± 30 kg/mm2. .... Experimental. Pure lithium ... the index of d strikes at this simple and meaningful defini-.

Comparison of Decisions Quality of Heuristic Methods with Limited Depth-First Search Techniques in the Graph Shortest Path Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vatutin Eduard

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the problem of analysis of effectiveness of the heuristic methods with limited depth-first search techniques of decision obtaining in the test problem of getting the shortest path in graph. The article briefly describes the group of methods based on the limit of branches number of the combinatorial search tree and limit of analyzed subtree depth used to solve the problem. The methodology of comparing experimental data for the estimation of the quality of solutions based on the performing of computational experiments with samples of graphs with pseudo-random structure and selected vertices and arcs number using the BOINC platform is considered. It also shows description of obtained experimental results which allow to identify the areas of the preferable usage of selected subset of heuristic methods depending on the size of the problem and power of constraints. It is shown that the considered pair of methods is ineffective in the selected problem and significantly inferior to the quality of solutions that are provided by ant colony optimization method and its modification with combinatorial returns.

Comparison of Decisions Quality of Heuristic Methods with Limited Depth-First Search Techniques in the Graph Shortest Path Problem

Science.gov (United States)

Vatutin, Eduard

2017-12-01

The article deals with the problem of analysis of effectiveness of the heuristic methods with limited depth-first search techniques of decision obtaining in the test problem of getting the shortest path in graph. The article briefly describes the group of methods based on the limit of branches number of the combinatorial search tree and limit of analyzed subtree depth used to solve the problem. The methodology of comparing experimental data for the estimation of the quality of solutions based on the performing of computational experiments with samples of graphs with pseudo-random structure and selected vertices and arcs number using the BOINC platform is considered. It also shows description of obtained experimental results which allow to identify the areas of the preferable usage of selected subset of heuristic methods depending on the size of the problem and power of constraints. It is shown that the considered pair of methods is ineffective in the selected problem and significantly inferior to the quality of solutions that are provided by ant colony optimization method and its modification with combinatorial returns.

Generalized network improvement and packing problems

CERN Document Server

Holzhauser, Michael

2016-01-01

Michael Holzhauser discusses generalizations of well-known network flow and packing problems by additional or modified side constraints. By exploiting the inherent connection between the two problem classes, the author investigates the complexity and approximability of several novel network flow and packing problems and presents combinatorial solution and approximation algorithms. Contents Fractional Packing and Parametric Search Frameworks Budget-Constrained Minimum Cost Flows: The Continuous Case Budget-Constrained Minimum Cost Flows: The Discrete Case Generalized Processing Networks Convex Generalized Flows Target Groups Researchers and students in the fields of mathematics, computer science, and economics Practitioners in operations research and logistics The Author Dr. Michael Holzhauser studied computer science at the University of Kaiserslautern and is now a research fellow in the Optimization Research Group at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Kaiserslautern.

Editorial: Cologne/Twente workshop on graphs and combinatorial optimization CTW 2007

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faigle, U.; Hurink, Johann L.

2010-01-01

The 6th Cologne-Twente Workshop on Graphs and Combinatorial Optimization (CTW 2007) was held at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, 29-31 May, 2007. The CTW started as a series of biennial meetings at the Universities of Cologne in Germany and Twente in the Netherlands. Ever increasing

Hierarchical Bayesian mixture modelling for antigen-specific T-cell subtyping in combinatorially encoded flow cytometry studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lin, Lin; Chan, Cliburn; Hadrup, Sine R

2013-01-01

subtype identification in this novel, general model framework, and provide a detailed example using simulated data. We then describe application to a data set from an experimental study of antigen-specific T-cell subtyping using combinatorially encoded assays in human blood samples. Summary comments...... profiling in many biological areas, traditional flow cytometry measures relative levels of abundance of marker proteins using fluorescently labeled tags that identify specific markers by a single-color. One specific and important recent development in this area is the use of combinatorial marker assays...

Using combinatorial problem decomposition for optimizing plutonium inventory management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niquil, Y.; Gondran, M.; Voskanian, A.; Paris-11 Univ., 91 - Orsay

1997-03-01

Plutonium Inventory Management Optimization can be modeled as a very large 0-1 linear program. To solve it, problem decomposition is necessary, since other classic techniques are not efficient for such a size. The first decomposition consists in favoring constraints that are the most difficult to reach and variables that have the highest influence on the cost: fortunately, both correspond to stock output decisions. The second decomposition consists in mixing continuous linear program solving and integer linear program solving. Besides, the first decisions to be taken are systematically favored, for they are based on data considered to be sure, when data supporting later decisions in known with less accuracy and confidence. (author)

Using combinatorial problem decomposition for optimizing plutonium inventory management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niquil, Y.; Gondran, M. [Electricite de France (EDF), 92 - Clamart (France). Direction des Etudes et Recherches; Voskanian, A. [Electricite de France (EDF), 92 - Clamart (France). Direction des Etudes et Recherches]|[Paris-11 Univ., 91 - Orsay (France). Lab. de Recherche en Informatique

1997-03-01

Plutonium Inventory Management Optimization can be modeled as a very large 0-1 linear program. To solve it, problem decomposition is necessary, since other classic techniques are not efficient for such a size. The first decomposition consists in favoring constraints that are the most difficult to reach and variables that have the highest influence on the cost: fortunately, both correspond to stock output decisions. The second decomposition consists in mixing continuous linear program solving and integer linear program solving. Besides, the first decisions to be taken are systematically favored, for they are based on data considered to be sure, when data supporting later decisions in known with less accuracy and confidence. (author) 7 refs.

Solving Minimal Covering Location Problems with Single and Multiple Node Coverage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darko DRAKULIĆ

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Location science represents a very attractiveresearch field in combinatorial optimization and it is in expansion in last five decades. The main objective of location problems is determining the best position for facilities in a given set of nodes.Location science includes techniques for modelling problemsand methods for solving them. This paper presents results of solving two types of minimal covering location problems, with single and multiple node coverage, by using CPLEX optimizer and Particle Swarm Optimization method.

A dynamical systems model for combinatorial cancer therapy enhances oncolytic adenovirus efficacy by MEK-inhibition.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagheri, Neda; Shiina, Marisa; Lauffenburger, Douglas A; Korn, W Michael

2011-02-01

Oncolytic adenoviruses, such as ONYX-015, have been tested in clinical trials for currently untreatable tumors, but have yet to demonstrate adequate therapeutic efficacy. The extent to which viruses infect targeted cells determines the efficacy of this approach but many tumors down-regulate the Coxsackievirus and Adenovirus Receptor (CAR), rendering them less susceptible to infection. Disrupting MAPK pathway signaling by pharmacological inhibition of MEK up-regulates CAR expression, offering possible enhanced adenovirus infection. MEK inhibition, however, interferes with adenovirus replication due to resulting G1-phase cell cycle arrest. Therefore, enhanced efficacy will depend on treatment protocols that productively balance these competing effects. Predictive understanding of how to attain and enhance therapeutic efficacy of combinatorial treatment is difficult since the effects of MEK inhibitors, in conjunction with adenovirus/cell interactions, are complex nonlinear dynamic processes. We investigated combinatorial treatment strategies using a mathematical model that predicts the impact of MEK inhibition on tumor cell proliferation, ONYX-015 infection, and oncolysis. Specifically, we fit a nonlinear differential equation system to dedicated experimental data and analyzed the resulting simulations for favorable treatment strategies. Simulations predicted enhanced combinatorial therapy when both treatments were applied simultaneously; we successfully validated these predictions in an ensuing explicit test study. Further analysis revealed that a CAR-independent mechanism may be responsible for amplified virus production and cell death. We conclude that integrated computational and experimental analysis of combinatorial therapy provides a useful means to identify treatment/infection protocols that yield clinically significant oncolysis. Enhanced oncolytic therapy has the potential to dramatically improve non-surgical cancer treatment, especially in locally advanced

COGEDIF - automatic TORT and DORT input generation from MORSE combinatorial geometry models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castelli, R.A.; Barnett, D.A.

1992-01-01

COGEDIF is an interactive utility which was developed to automate the preparation of two and three dimensional geometrical inputs for the ORNL-TORT and DORT discrete ordinates programs from complex three dimensional models described using the MORSE combinatorial geometry input description. The program creates either continuous or disjoint mesh input based upon the intersections of user defined meshing planes and the MORSE body definitions. The composition overlay of the combinatorial geometry is used to create the composition mapping of the discretized geometry based upon the composition found at the centroid of each of the mesh cells. This program simplifies the process of using discrete orthogonal mesh cells to represent non-orthogonal geometries in large models which require mesh sizes of the order of a million cells or more. The program was specifically written to take advantage of the new TORT disjoint mesh option which was developed at ORNL

Hardness and Approximation for Network Flow Interdiction

OpenAIRE

Chestnut, Stephen R.; Zenklusen, Rico

2015-01-01

In the Network Flow Interdiction problem an adversary attacks a network in order to minimize the maximum s-t-flow. Very little is known about the approximatibility of this problem despite decades of interest in it. We present the first approximation hardness, showing that Network Flow Interdiction and several of its variants cannot be much easier to approximate than Densest k-Subgraph. In particular, any $n^{o(1)}$-approximation algorithm for Network Flow Interdiction would imply an $n^{o(1)}...

Combinatorial discovery of new methanol-tolerant non-noble metal cathode electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jong-Sung; Kim, Min-Sik; Kim, Jung Ho

2010-12-14

Combinatorial synthesis and screening were used to identify methanol-tolerant non-platinum cathode electrocatalysts for use in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Oxygen reduction consumes protons at the surface of DMFC cathode catalysts. In combinatorial screening, this pH change allows one to differentiate active catalysts using fluorescent acid-base indicators. Combinatorial libraries of carbon-supported catalyst compositions containing Ru, Mo, W, Sn, and Se were screened. Ternary and quaternary compositions containing Ru, Sn, Mo, Se were more active than the "standard" Alonso-Vante catalyst, Ru(3)Mo(0.08)Se(2), when tested in liquid-feed DMFCs. Physical characterization of the most active catalysts by powder X-ray diffraction, gas adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the predominant crystalline phase was hexagonal close-packed (hcp) ruthenium, and showed a surface mostly covered with oxide. The best new catalyst, Ru(7.0)Sn(1.0)Se(1.0), was significantly more active than Ru(3)Se(2)Mo(0.08), even though the latter contained smaller particles.

Template-based combinatorial enumeration of virtual compound libraries for lipids.

Science.gov (United States)

Sud, Manish; Fahy, Eoin; Subramaniam, Shankar

2012-09-25

A variety of software packages are available for the combinatorial enumeration of virtual libraries for small molecules, starting from specifications of core scaffolds with attachments points and lists of R-groups as SMILES or SD files. Although SD files include atomic coordinates for core scaffolds and R-groups, it is not possible to control 2-dimensional (2D) layout of the enumerated structures generated for virtual compound libraries because different packages generate different 2D representations for the same structure. We have developed a software package called LipidMapsTools for the template-based combinatorial enumeration of virtual compound libraries for lipids. Virtual libraries are enumerated for the specified lipid abbreviations using matching lists of pre-defined templates and chain abbreviations, instead of core scaffolds and lists of R-groups provided by the user. 2D structures of the enumerated lipids are drawn in a specific and consistent fashion adhering to the framework for representing lipid structures proposed by the LIPID MAPS consortium. LipidMapsTools is lightweight, relatively fast and contains no external dependencies. It is an open source package and freely available under the terms of the modified BSD license.

NP-hardness of decoding quantum error-correction codes

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Min-Hsiu; Le Gall, François

2011-05-01

Although the theory of quantum error correction is intimately related to classical coding theory and, in particular, one can construct quantum error-correction codes (QECCs) from classical codes with the dual-containing property, this does not necessarily imply that the computational complexity of decoding QECCs is the same as their classical counterparts. Instead, decoding QECCs can be very much different from decoding classical codes due to the degeneracy property. Intuitively, one expects degeneracy would simplify the decoding since two different errors might not and need not be distinguished in order to correct them. However, we show that general quantum decoding problem is NP-hard regardless of the quantum codes being degenerate or nondegenerate. This finding implies that no considerably fast decoding algorithm exists for the general quantum decoding problems and suggests the existence of a quantum cryptosystem based on the hardness of decoding QECCs.

NP-hardness of decoding quantum error-correction codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsieh, Min-Hsiu; Le Gall, Francois

2011-01-01

Although the theory of quantum error correction is intimately related to classical coding theory and, in particular, one can construct quantum error-correction codes (QECCs) from classical codes with the dual-containing property, this does not necessarily imply that the computational complexity of decoding QECCs is the same as their classical counterparts. Instead, decoding QECCs can be very much different from decoding classical codes due to the degeneracy property. Intuitively, one expects degeneracy would simplify the decoding since two different errors might not and need not be distinguished in order to correct them. However, we show that general quantum decoding problem is NP-hard regardless of the quantum codes being degenerate or nondegenerate. This finding implies that no considerably fast decoding algorithm exists for the general quantum decoding problems and suggests the existence of a quantum cryptosystem based on the hardness of decoding QECCs.

Combinatorial One-Pot Synthesis of Poly-N-acetyllactosamine Oligosaccharides with Leloir-Glycosyltransferases

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rech, C.; Rosencrantz, R. R.; Křenek, Karel; Pelantová, Helena; Bojarová, Pavla; Roemer, Ch. E.; Hanisch, F.-G.; Křen, Vladimír; Elling, L.

2011-01-01

Roč. 353, č. 13 (2011), s. 2492-2500 ISSN 1615-4150 R&D Projects: GA MŠk OC09045 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Keywords : combinatorial chemistry * biocatalysis * carbohydrates Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 6.048, year: 2011

A model-based combinatorial optimisation approach for energy-efficient processing of microalgae

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slegers, P.M.; Koetzier, B.J.; Fasaei, F.; Wijffels, R.H.; Straten, van G.; Boxtel, van A.J.B.

2014-01-01

The analyses of algae biorefinery performance are commonly based on fixed performance data for each processing step. In this work, we demonstrate a model-based combinatorial approach to derive the design-specific upstream energy consumption and biodiesel yield in the production of biodiesel from

Distributed data fusion across multiple hard and soft mobile sensor platforms

Science.gov (United States)

Sinsley, Gregory

order to track a car that could be driving normally or erratically. The second simulation adds the extra complication of classifying the type of target to the simulation. The third simulation uses multiple hard and soft sensors, with a limited field of view, to track a moving target and classify it as a friend, foe, or neutral. The final chapter builds on the work done in previous chapters by performing a field test of the algorithms for hard and soft sensor data fusion. The test utilizes an unmanned aerial vehicle, an unmanned ground vehicle, and a human observer with a laptop. The test is designed to mimic a collaborative human and robot search and rescue problem. This test makes some of the most important practical contributions of the thesis by showing that the algorithms that have been developed for hard and soft sensor data fusion are capable of running in real time on relatively simple hardware.

A coherent Ising machine for 2000-node optimization problems

Science.gov (United States)

Inagaki, Takahiro; Haribara, Yoshitaka; Igarashi, Koji; Sonobe, Tomohiro; Tamate, Shuhei; Honjo, Toshimori; Marandi, Alireza; McMahon, Peter L.; Umeki, Takeshi; Enbutsu, Koji; Tadanaga, Osamu; Takenouchi, Hirokazu; Aihara, Kazuyuki; Kawarabayashi, Ken-ichi; Inoue, Kyo; Utsunomiya, Shoko; Takesue, Hiroki

2016-11-01

The analysis and optimization of complex systems can be reduced to mathematical problems collectively known as combinatorial optimization. Many such problems can be mapped onto ground-state search problems of the Ising model, and various artificial spin systems are now emerging as promising approaches. However, physical Ising machines have suffered from limited numbers of spin-spin couplings because of implementations based on localized spins, resulting in severe scalability problems. We report a 2000-spin network with all-to-all spin-spin couplings. Using a measurement and feedback scheme, we coupled time-multiplexed degenerate optical parametric oscillators to implement maximum cut problems on arbitrary graph topologies with up to 2000 nodes. Our coherent Ising machine outperformed simulated annealing in terms of accuracy and computation time for a 2000-node complete graph.

Comparative metallurgical study of thick hard coatings without cobalt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clemendot, F.; Van Duysen, J.C.; Champredonde, J.

1992-07-01

Wear and corrosion of stellite type hard coatings for valves of the PWR primary system raise important problems of contamination. Substitution of these alloys by cobalt-free hard coatings (Colmonoy 4 and 4.26, Cenium 36) should allow to reduce this contamination. A comparative study (chemical, mechanical, thermal, metallurgical), as well as a corrosion study of these coatings were carried out. The results of this characterization show that none of the studied products has globally characteristics as good as those of grade 6 Stellite currently in service

Combinatorial synthesis of oxazol-thiazole bis-heterocyclic compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Murru, Siva; Nefzi, Adel

2014-01-13

A combinatorial library of novel oxazol-thiazole bis-heterocycles was synthesized in good to excellent overall yields with high purity using a solution and solid-phase parallel synthesis approach. Oxazole amino acids, prepared from serine methyl ester and amino acids via coupling and cyclodehydration, were treated with Fmoc-NCS and α-haloketones for the parallel synthesis of diverse bis-heterocycles. Fmoc-isothiocyanate is used as a traceless reagent for thiazole formation. Oxazole diversity can be achieved by using variety of amino acids, whereas thiazole diversity is produced with various haloketones.

Proceedings of the 8th Nordic Combinatorial Conference

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geil, Olav; Andersen, Lars Døvling

The Nordic Combinatorial Conferences were initiated in 1981 by mathematicians from Stavanger. Held approximately every three years since then, the conferences have been able to sustain the interest from combinatorialists all over the Nordic countries. In 2004 the 8th conference is held in Aalborg......, Denmark. We are pleased that so many people have chosen to attend, and that lectures were offered from more participants than we had originally reserved time for. We asked two mathematicians to give special lectures and are happy that both accepted immediately. Andries Brouwer from the Technical...

Asymmetric proteome equalization of the skeletal muscle proteome using a combinatorial hexapeptide library.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenny Rivers

Full Text Available Immobilized combinatorial peptide libraries have been advocated as a strategy for equalization of the dynamic range of a typical proteome. The technology has been applied predominantly to blood plasma and other biological fluids such as urine, but has not been used extensively to address the issue of dynamic range in tissue samples. Here, we have applied the combinatorial library approach to the equalization of a tissue where there is also a dramatic asymmetry in the range of abundances of proteins; namely, the soluble fraction of skeletal muscle. We have applied QconCAT and label-free methodology to the quantification of the proteins that bind to the beads as the loading is progressively increased. Although some equalization is achieved, and the most abundant proteins no longer dominate the proteome analysis, at high protein loadings a new asymmetry of protein expression is reached, consistent with the formation of complex assembles of heat shock proteins, cytoskeletal elements and other proteins on the beads. Loading at different ionic strength values leads to capture of different subpopulations of proteins, but does not completely eliminate the bias in protein accumulation. These assemblies may impair the broader utility of combinatorial library approaches to the equalization of tissue proteomes. However, the asymmetry in equalization is manifest at either low and high ionic strength values but manipulation of the solvent conditions may extend the capacity of the method.

A binary plasmid system for shuffling combinatorial antibody libraries.

OpenAIRE

Collet, T A; Roben, P; O'Kennedy, R; Barbas, C F; Burton, D R; Lerner, R A

1992-01-01

We have used a binary system of replicon-compatible plasmids to test the potential for promiscuous recombination of heavy and light chains within sets of human Fab fragments isolated from combinatorial antibody libraries. Antibody molecules showed a surprising amount of promiscuity in that a particular heavy chain could recombine with multiple light chains with retention of binding to a protein antigen. The degree to which a given heavy chain productively paired with any light chain to bind a...

High-throughput combinatorial chemical bath deposition: The case of doping Cu (In, Ga) Se film with antimony

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Zongkai; Zhang, Xiaokun; Li, Guang; Cui, Yuxing; Jiang, Zhaolian; Liu, Wen; Peng, Zhi; Xiang, Yong

2018-01-01

The conventional methods for designing and preparing thin film based on wet process remain a challenge due to disadvantages such as time-consuming and ineffective, which hinders the development of novel materials. Herein, we present a high-throughput combinatorial technique for continuous thin film preparation relied on chemical bath deposition (CBD). The method is ideally used to prepare high-throughput combinatorial material library with low decomposition temperatures and high water- or oxygen-sensitivity at relatively high-temperature. To check this system, a Cu(In, Ga)Se (CIGS) thin films library doped with 0-19.04 at.% of antimony (Sb) was taken as an example to evaluate the regulation of varying Sb doping concentration on the grain growth, structure, morphology and electrical properties of CIGS thin film systemically. Combined with the Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), automated X-ray Diffraction (XRD) for rapid screening and Localized Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (LEIS), it was confirmed that this combinatorial high-throughput system could be used to identify the composition with the optimal grain orientation growth, microstructure and electrical properties systematically, through accurately monitoring the doping content and material composition. According to the characterization results, a Sb2Se3 quasi-liquid phase promoted CIGS film-growth model has been put forward. In addition to CIGS thin film reported here, the combinatorial CBD also could be applied to the high-throughput screening of other sulfide thin film material systems.

Middle-down hybrid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry workflow for characterization of combinatorial post-translational modifications in histones.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidoli, Simone; Schwämmle, Veit; Ruminowicz, Chrystian; Hansen, Thomas A; Wu, Xudong; Helin, Kristian; Jensen, Ole N

2014-10-01

We present an integrated middle-down proteomics platform for sensitive mapping and quantification of coexisting PTMs in large polypeptides (5-7 kDa). We combined an RP trap column with subsequent weak cation exchange-hydrophilic interaction LC interfaced directly to high mass accuracy ESI MS/MS using electron transfer dissociation. This enabled automated and efficient separation and sequencing of hypermodified histone N-terminal tails for unambiguous localization of combinatorial PTMs. We present Histone Coder and IsoScale software to extract, filter, and analyze MS/MS data, including quantification of cofragmenting isobaric polypeptide species. We characterized histone tails derived from murine embryonic stem cells knockout in suppressor of zeste12 (Suz12(-/-) ) and quantified 256 combinatorial histone marks in histones H3, H4, and H2A. Furthermore, a total of 713 different combinatorial histone marks were identified in purified histone H3. We measured a seven-fold reduction of H3K27me2/me3 (where me2 and me3 are dimethylation and trimethylation, respectively) in Suz12(-) (/) (-) cells and detected significant changes of the relative abundance of 16 other single PTMs of histone H3 and other combinatorial marks. We conclude that the inactivation of Suz12 is associated with changes in the abundance of not only H3K27 methylation but also multiple other PTMs in histone H3 tails. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Strong Bisimilarity and Regularity of Basic Parallel Processes is PSPACE-Hard

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Srba, Jirí

2002-01-01

We show that the problem of checking whether two processes definable in the syntax of Basic Parallel Processes (BPP) are strongly bisimilar is PSPACE-hard. We also demonstrate that there is a polynomial time reduction from the strong bisimilarity checking problem of regular BPP to the strong...

A genetic algorithm solution for combinatorial problems - the nuclear core reload example

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schirru, R.; Silva, F.C. [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia; Pereira, C.M.N.A. [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Chapot, J.L.C. [FURNAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

1997-12-01

This paper presents a solution to Traveling Salesman Problem based upon genetic algorithms (GA), using the classic crossover, but avoiding the feasibility problem in offspring individuals, allowing the natural evolution of the GA without introduction of heuristics in the genetic crossover operator. The genetic model presented, that we call the List Model (LM) is based on the encoding and decoding genotype in the way to always generate a phenotype that has a valid structure, over which will be applied the fitness, represented by the total distance. The main purpose of this work was to develop the basis for a new genetic model to be used in the reload of nuclear core of a PWR. In a generic way, this problem can be interpreted as a a search of the optimal combination of N different fuel elements in N nuclear core `holes`, where each combination or load pattern, determines the neutron flux shape and its associate peak factor. The goal is to find out the load pattern that minimizes the peak factor and consequently maximize the useful life of the nuclear fuel. The GA with the List Model was applied to the Angra-1 PWR reload problem and the results are remarkably better than the ones used in the last fuel cycle. (author). 12 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

Combinatorial identities for Stirling numbers the unpublished notes of H. W. Gould

CERN Document Server

Quaintance, Jocelyn

2016-01-01

This book is a unique work which provides an in-depth exploration into the mathematical expertise, philosophy, and knowledge of H W Gould. It is written in a style that is accessible to the reader with basic mathematical knowledge, and yet contains material that will be of interest to the specialist in enumerative combinatorics. This book begins with exposition on the combinatorial and algebraic techniques that Professor Gould uses for proving binomial identities. These techniques are then applied to develop formulas which relate Stirling numbers of the second kind to Stirling numbers of the first kind. Professor Gould's techniques also provide connections between both types of Stirling numbers and Bernoulli numbers. Professor Gould believes his research success comes from his intuition on how to discover combinatorial identities.This book will appeal to a wide audience and may be used either as lecture notes for a beginning graduate level combinatorics class, or as a research supplement for the specialist in...

Hospital daily outpatient visits forecasting using a combinatorial model based on ARIMA and SES models.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Li; Luo, Le; Zhang, Xinli; He, Xiaoli

2017-07-10

Accurate forecasting of hospital outpatient visits is beneficial for the reasonable planning and allocation of healthcare resource to meet the medical demands. In terms of the multiple attributes of daily outpatient visits, such as randomness, cyclicity and trend, time series methods, ARIMA, can be a good choice for outpatient visits forecasting. On the other hand, the hospital outpatient visits are also affected by the doctors' scheduling and the effects are not pure random. Thinking about the impure specialty, this paper presents a new forecasting model that takes cyclicity and the day of the week effect into consideration. We formulate a seasonal ARIMA (SARIMA) model on a daily time series and then a single exponential smoothing (SES) model on the day of the week time series, and finally establish a combinatorial model by modifying them. The models are applied to 1 year of daily visits data of urban outpatients in two internal medicine departments of a large hospital in Chengdu, for forecasting the daily outpatient visits about 1 week ahead. The proposed model is applied to forecast the cross-sectional data for 7 consecutive days of daily outpatient visits over an 8-weeks period based on 43 weeks of observation data during 1 year. The results show that the two single traditional models and the combinatorial model are simplicity of implementation and low computational intensiveness, whilst being appropriate for short-term forecast horizons. Furthermore, the combinatorial model can capture the comprehensive features of the time series data better. Combinatorial model can achieve better prediction performance than the single model, with lower residuals variance and small mean of residual errors which needs to be optimized deeply on the next research step.

Performance analysis of demodulation with diversity -- A combinatorial approach I: Symmetric function theoretical methods

OpenAIRE

Jean-Louis Dornstetter; Daniel Krob; Jean-Yves Thibon; Ekaterina A. Vassilieva

2002-01-01

This paper is devoted to the presentation of a combinatorial approach, based on the theory of symmetric functions, for analyzing the performance of a family of demodulation methods used in mobile telecommunications.

Combinatorial Pharmacophore-Based 3D-QSAR Analysis and Virtual Screening of FGFR1 Inhibitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nannan Zhou

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The fibroblast growth factor/fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGF/FGFR signaling pathway plays crucial roles in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, migration, and survival. Aberration in FGFRs correlates with several malignancies and disorders. FGFRs have proved to be attractive targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer, and it is of high interest to find FGFR inhibitors with novel scaffolds. In this study, a combinatorial three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR model was developed based on previously reported FGFR1 inhibitors with diverse structural skeletons. This model was evaluated for its prediction performance on a diverse test set containing 232 FGFR inhibitors, and it yielded a SD value of 0.75 pIC50 units from measured inhibition affinities and a Pearson’s correlation coefficient R2 of 0.53. This result suggests that the combinatorial 3D-QSAR model could be used to search for new FGFR1 hit structures and predict their potential activity. To further evaluate the performance of the model, a decoy set validation was used to measure the efficiency of the model by calculating EF (enrichment factor. Based on the combinatorial pharmacophore model, a virtual screening against SPECS database was performed. Nineteen novel active compounds were successfully identified, which provide new chemical starting points for further structural optimization of FGFR1 inhibitors.

Intrinsic information carriers in combinatorial dynamical systems

Science.gov (United States)

Harmer, Russ; Danos, Vincent; Feret, Jérôme; Krivine, Jean; Fontana, Walter

2010-09-01

Many proteins are composed of structural and chemical features—"sites" for short—characterized by definite interaction capabilities, such as noncovalent binding or covalent modification of other proteins. This modularity allows for varying degrees of independence, as the behavior of a site might be controlled by the state of some but not all sites of the ambient protein. Independence quickly generates a startling combinatorial complexity that shapes most biological networks, such as mammalian signaling systems, and effectively prevents their study in terms of kinetic equations—unless the complexity is radically trimmed. Yet, if combinatorial complexity is key to the system's behavior, eliminating it will prevent, not facilitate, understanding. A more adequate representation of a combinatorial system is provided by a graph-based framework of rewrite rules where each rule specifies only the information that an interaction mechanism depends on. Unlike reactions, which deal with molecular species, rules deal with patterns, i.e., multisets of molecular species. Although the stochastic dynamics induced by a collection of rules on a mixture of molecules can be simulated, it appears useful to capture the system's average or deterministic behavior by means of differential equations. However, expansion of the rules into kinetic equations at the level of molecular species is not only impractical, but conceptually indefensible. If rules describe bona fide patterns of interaction, molecular species are unlikely to constitute appropriate units of dynamics. Rather, we must seek aggregate variables reflective of the causal structure laid down by the rules. We call these variables "fragments" and the process of identifying them "fragmentation." Ideally, fragments are aspects of the system's microscopic population that the set of rules can actually distinguish on average; in practice, it may only be feasible to identify an approximation to this. Most importantly, fragments are

Intrinsic information carriers in combinatorial dynamical systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Harmer, Russ; Danos, Vincent; Feret, Jérôme; Krivine, Jean; Fontana, Walter

2010-09-01

Many proteins are composed of structural and chemical features--"sites" for short--characterized by definite interaction capabilities, such as noncovalent binding or covalent modification of other proteins. This modularity allows for varying degrees of independence, as the behavior of a site might be controlled by the state of some but not all sites of the ambient protein. Independence quickly generates a startling combinatorial complexity that shapes most biological networks, such as mammalian signaling systems, and effectively prevents their study in terms of kinetic equations-unless the complexity is radically trimmed. Yet, if combinatorial complexity is key to the system's behavior, eliminating it will prevent, not facilitate, understanding. A more adequate representation of a combinatorial system is provided by a graph-based framework of rewrite rules where each rule specifies only the information that an interaction mechanism depends on. Unlike reactions, which deal with molecular species, rules deal with patterns, i.e., multisets of molecular species. Although the stochastic dynamics induced by a collection of rules on a mixture of molecules can be simulated, it appears useful to capture the system's average or deterministic behavior by means of differential equations. However, expansion of the rules into kinetic equations at the level of molecular species is not only impractical, but conceptually indefensible. If rules describe bona fide patterns of interaction, molecular species are unlikely to constitute appropriate units of dynamics. Rather, we must seek aggregate variables reflective of the causal structure laid down by the rules. We call these variables "fragments" and the process of identifying them "fragmentation." Ideally, fragments are aspects of the system's microscopic population that the set of rules can actually distinguish on average; in practice, it may only be feasible to identify an approximation to this. Most importantly, fragments are