Self-adjusting the intensity of assortative mating in genetic algorithms

Mate selection plays a crucial role in both natural and artificial systems. While traditional Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) usually engage in random mating strategies, that is, mating chance is independent of genotypic or phenotypic distance between individuals, in natural systems non-random mating is common, which means that somehow this mechanism has been favored during the evolutionary process. In non-random mating, the individuals mate according to their parenthood or likeness. Previous studies indicate that negative assortative mating (AM)—also known as dissortative mating—, which is a specific type of non-random mating, may improve EAs performance by maintaining the genetic diversity of the population at a higher level during the search process. In this paper we present the Variable Dissortative Mating Genetic Algorithm (VDMGA). The algorithm holds a mechanism that varies the GA’s mating restrictions during the run by means of simple rule based on the number of chromosomes created in each generation and indirectly influenced by the genetic diversity of the population. We compare VDMGA not only with traditional Genetic Algorithms (GA) but also with two preceding non-random mating EAs: the CHC algorithm and the negative Assortative Mating Genetic Algorithm (nAMGA). We intend to study the effects of the different methods in the performance of GAs and verify the reliability of the proposed algorithm when facing an heterogeneous set of landscapes. In addition, we include the positive Assortative Mating Genetic Algorithm (pAMGA) in the experiments in order test both negative and positive AM mechanisms, and try to understand if and when negative AM (or DM) speeds up the search process or enables the GAs to escape local optima traps. For these purposes, an extensive set of optimization test problems was chosen to cover a variety of search landscapes with different characteristics. Our results confirm that negative AM is effective in leading EAs out of local optima traps, and show that the proposed VDMGA is at least as efficient as nAMGA when applied to the range of our problems, being more efficient in very hard functions were traditional GAs usually fail to escape local optima. Also, scalability tests have been made that show VDMGA ability to decrease optimal population size, thus reducing the amount of evaluations needed to attain global optima. We like to stress that only two parameters need to be hand-tuned in VDMGA, thus reducing the tuning effort present in traditional GAs and nAMGA.     

Creating a Student Centered Learning Environment at the University of Denver

A team of faculty members at the University of Denver changed the learning environment in key courses in the Department of Engineering from predominately teacher centered to student centered. Through this funded project new grading methods were implemented, classrooms were renovated and wired with studio layouts to facilitate learning, the Engineering Circuits Laboratory was rewired and instrumented for automated data acquisition and reporting, and two new pedagogical approaches were developed. At the onset of the project, six goals were established related to student learning. The introduction of industry standard hardware and software provided students with unprecedented hands‐on experience and project related activities stimulated faculty innovations in other current and future courses. Assessment results indicate that the new grading system improved the clarity of expectations for students before assignments were given resulting in increased reported motivation for learning in many courses. Even though course GPAs did not always reflect higher achievement on graded work, faculty members firmly believe that deeper understanding was achieved because more complex material was assimilated.     

Crystallinity variations in kaolinite induced by grinding and pressure treatments

Kaolinite samples treated with uniaxial pressures higher than 0.1 GPa or grinding times greater than 0.3 h show changes in their crystallinity. These changes are easily detected by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and can be quantified from Hinckley (HI), Lietard (R₂) and also reference intensity ratio (RIR) index studies. The sensitivity of these indices to the Crystallinity changes is; HI>RIR>R₂. In the range of pressures and grinding times considered, these values can be diminished by 50%. The variations in these indices with either the pressure or grinding time follow logarithmic laws whose correlation coefficients are closed to unity. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy and thermal analysis studies show low sensitivity to the changes introduced by grinding or pressure. Nevertheless, thermal gravimetric curves confirm the decrease in the dehydroxylation starting point of about 100°C for the pressed and ground samples. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals important changes in kaolinite particle morphologies after pressure and grinding treatments. The samples compressed at 0.1, 0.32, 0.85, 1.0 and 2.0 GPa show a large number of defects (fractures, bending, deformations and rolling of layers, glide and rotation of the shell). The ground samples show grain boundaries, dislocations, twins and rounded voids. These defects are responsible for the decrease in crystallinity of the kaolinite samples shown in the XRD and IR studies.     

Fast acquisition clock and data recovery circuit with low jitter

This paper presents a half-rate clock and data recovery circuit (CDR)that combines the fast acquisition of a phase selection (PS) delay-locked loop (DLL) with the low jitter of a phase-locked loop (PLL). The PLL acquisition time improves considerably with use of a phase frequency magnitude detector(PFMD) that feeds back an estimate of the magnitude of the frequency difference in addition to the sign. Measurements in 0.5/spl mu/m CMOS technology show operation up to 700 Mb/s, a 7% acquisition range, an initial acquisition time of 8 bit times with jitter of 30% bit time, and jitter of 16 ps after the PLL acquires lock. With a phase frequency detector (PFD), the PLL locks in about 700 ns from an initial frequency difference of 7%. Measurements using a PFMD show the 700 ns PLL acquisition time is reduced on average by about a factor of 5 to 140 ns from an initial 7% frequency difference. The power dissipation is 300mW.     

Investigation of the relationships between the chain organization and rheological properties of atactic poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels

The structure and rheological behavior of atactic poly(vinyl alcohol) (a-PVA) hydrogels prepared by freeze/thaw cycles were investigated as a function of polymer concentration and number of freeze/thaw cycles. The presence of phases with different mobilities was observed using ¹³C CP/MAS and DP/MAS NMR experiments. The degree of crystallinity of the a-PVA-rich phase was determined by ¹H NMR free decay experiments. Measurements of the shear storage and loss modulus were performed at a fixed frequency of 1 Hz and a strain value of 0.1%, i.e. under conditions where the deformation imposed on the gel structure is entirely reversible. Results thus obtained showed that an increase in the number of freeze/thaw cycles induces an increase in the degree of crystallinity in the polymer-rich phase together with an increase in the storage modulus. The a-PVA hydrogels became more fragile as the number of freeze/thaw cycles was increased. Moreover, both the percentage of protons in a rigid environment measured by ¹H NMR and the storage modulus values tended to a limiting value after six freeze/thaw cycles. These results show that the first five or six freeze/thaw cycles play a very important role in determining the hydrogel structure and rheological properties. A more detailed comparison of NMR and rheological data led to the conclusion that the storage modulus is mainly controlled by the a-PVA crystallinity while the hydrogen bond interactions have a much smaller contribution.     

How do the newer oral antimicrobials stack up against traditional agents?

As the antibiotic arsenal expands with the development of new oral agents, selecting appropriate therapy is becoming more difficult. What are the therapeutic indications for the newer antimicrobials, and what advantages do they have over traditional agents? Drs Gleckman and De La Rosa discuss current issues related to antibiotic treatment and offer specific recommendations for the best use of the newer agents.