Population based Local Search for university course timetabling problems

Population based algorithms are generally better at exploring a search space than local search algorithms (i.e. searches based on a single heuristic). However, the limitation of many population based algorithms is in exploiting the search space. We propose a population based Local Search (PB-LS) heuristic that is embedded within a local search algorithm (as a mechanism to exploit the search space). PB-LS employs two operators. The first is applied to a single solution to determine the force between the incumbent solution and the trial current solution (i.e. a single direction force), whilst the second operator is applied to all solutions to determine the force in all directions. The progress of the search is governed by these forces, either in a single direction or in all directions. Our proposed algorithm is able to both diversify and intensify the search more effectively, when compared to other local search and population based algorithms. We use university course timetabling (Socha benchmark datasets) as a test domain. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of PB-LS, we perform a comparison between the performances of PB-LS with other approaches drawn from the scientific literature. Results demonstrate that PB-LS is able to produce statistically significantly higher quality solutions, outperforming many other approaches on the Socha dataset.     

Morphological distribution of injection-moulded isotactic polypropylene: a study of synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering

Synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies were carried out to investigate effects of thickness of injection-moulded isotactic polypropylene (iPP) plates on shear-induced morphology and morphological distribution through the depth direction of the plates. Different levels of effective shear flow are imposed on the iPP melt by changing the thickness of the plates although the injection moulding is performed with the same injection ram speed and the same melt and mould temperatures. Shish-kebab-like morphology is found roughly 100 μm from the surface of plates, regardless of the thickness of plates. However, the type of shish-kebab-like morphology is very sensitive to the thickness. The shish-kebab structure at the surface region can be changed into the kebab-structure only or random crystalline lamellae as the thickness of the plate increases. The preferential orientation of crystalline lamellae along the flow direction strongly depends on the thickness of the plate, although the melt-shear does not significantly enhance the degree of linear crystallinity. It is also found that in the core region, the slow relaxation of polymer chains in the thick plate results in a higher degree of linear crystallinity. The results indicate that the shear-induced morphology is strongly dependent on effective shear flow and should be described individually.     

“Red Tweezers”: Fast,customisable hologram generation for optical tweezers

Holographic Optical Tweezers (HOT) are a versatile way of manipulating microscopic particles in 3D. However, their ease of use has been hampered by the computational load of calculating the holograms, resulting in an unresponsive system. We present a program for generating these holograms on a consumer Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), coupled to an easy-to-use interface in LabVIEW (National Instruments). This enables a HOT system to be set up without writing any additional code, as well as providing a platform enabling the fast generation of other holograms. The GPU engine calculates holograms over 300 times faster than the same algorithm running on a quad core CPU. The hologram algorithm can be altered on-the-fly without recompiling the program, allowing it to be used to control Spatial Light Modulators in any situation where the hologram can be calculated in a single pass. The interface has also been rewritten to take advantage of new features in LabVIEW 2010. It is designed to be easily modified and extended to integrate with hardware other than our own.     

A unifying framework for ℓ 0-sampling algorithms

The problem of building an ? ₀-sampler is to sample near-uniformly from the support set of a dynamic multiset. This problem has a variety of applications within data analysis, computational geometry and graph algorithms. In this paper, we abstract a set of steps for building an ? ₀-sampler, based on sampling, recovery and selection. We analyze the implementation of an ? ₀-sampler within this framework, and show how prior constructions of ? ₀-samplers can all be expressed in terms of these steps. Our experimental contribution is to provide a first detailed study of the accuracy and computational cost of ? ₀-samplers.     

Interaction between a Fab fragment against gp41 of human immunodeficiency virus 1 and its peptide epitope: characterization using a peptide epitope library and molecular modeling

The molecular interaction of the Fab fragment of the human monoclonalantibody 3D6, directed against the transmembrane protein gp41of human immunodeficiency virus (HTV) 1, with its peptide epitopeis characterized by a panel of overlapping peptides, a peptideepitope library and molecular modeling techniques. The sequenceCSGKLICTTAVPW, corresponding to amino acids 605–617 ofgp41, was identified as the best binding peptide (K_D = 1x10^-8mol/1). This peptide served as a starting point to prepare acellulose-bound peptide epitope library in which each residueof the epitope is substituted by all L- and D-amino acids, resultingin 494 epitope peptide variants which were subsequently analyzedfor binding 3D6. The library was synthesized to identify residuescritical for binding and to obtain information about the molecularenvironment of the epitope peptide bound to 3D6. Both cysteineresidues, as well as isoleucine 6, threonine 8 and proline 12,of the epitope were highly sensitive to substitution. Usingthe data obtained from the epitope characterization, as wellas a low-resolution electron density map of a 3D6 Fab-peptidecomplex, a 3-D model of the Fab-peptide complex was generatedby molecular modeling. The modeling experiments predict bindingof the peptide, which is cyclized via the two cysteine residues,to a pocket formed dominantly by the hypervariable loops complementaritydetermining regions CDR3L, CDR2H and CDR3H.     

Experimental studies on the development of a cast film

The cast film process is of significant industrial interest. This work presents quantitative experimental results for the characterization of a film casting operation in the region between the die exit and the chill roll. The polymer melt employed is a commercial PET sample that has been characterized in both shear and extension‐dominated flows. Pointwise measurements of both the film temperature and the local velocity are made over the entire region between the die and the chill roll. The velocity increases in the gap, although the strain rate decreases as the polymer moves from the die to the chill roll. For a particular axial position, the velocity decreases significantly near the edges of the film. There are modest (～20 °C) decreases in the temperature between the die and the chill roll, with the greatest variations again occurring near the edges of the film. The experimental results are explained by the coupling between the temperature, velocity fields, and geometry of the experimental apparatus. POLYM. ENG. SCI. 45:443–450, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Pd oxidation under UHV in a model Pd/ceria–zirconia catalyst

A model planar catalyst was prepared by depositing Pd onto a thick (few m) film of ceria–zirconia in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV), and the oxidation state of Pd and its support was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, following thermal treatments in UHV, oxygen, or carbon monoxide. It was found that Pd could be oxidized simply by heating the catalyst in UHV, indicating that transfer of oxygen from the support to the metal is both thermodynamically favorable and facile.     

Synergistic surfactant mixtures containing lignosulphonates

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) schemes have been gaining importance over the past several years. Of the various methods being tested, surfactant (or micellar) flooding appears to be one of the most promising ones. It involves injecting into the well the solution of a surfactant which reduces the inter-facial tension between the displacing aqueous solution and the oil trapped in the reservoir. Depending on the concentration of the surfactant, oil displacement proceeds either by a miscible process (surfactant concentration > 10%) or by a immiscible process (surfactant concentration = 2–3%). Miscible flooding converts to the immiscible process as the system is diluted by connate (interstitial) water. Under immiscible conditions, the most significant parameter affecting recovery is the interfacial tension^(1,2). Petroleum sulfonates are perhaps the most important group of surfactants capable of producing very low interfacial tensions between crude oil and the water phase. Their relatively high cost, however, renders many potential applications uneconomical.     

Proteomic and other mass spectrometry based “omics” biomarker discovery and validation in pediatric venous thromboembolism and arterial ischemic stroke: Current state,unmet needs,and future directions

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) and arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) are increasingly-recognized health conditions in children, with both acute and chronic sequelae. Risk factors for, and pathogenesis of, VTE are readily related to three principal factors, consisting of venous stasis, endothelial damage, and the hypercoagulable state (i.e. thrombophilia), termed the triad of Virchow. In children, greater than 90% of VTE are provoked by an overt clinical risk factor, the most common of which is a central venous catheter. Risk factors for childhood-onset (beyond the neonatal period) AIS include sickle cell disease, infection, cerebral arteriopathy, and congenital cardiac disease. In perinatal AIS, risk factors are less well-defined, and have been hypothesized to include maternal-fetal conditions. While some acquired and inherited thrombophilias have been associated with increased risk of incident and/or recurrent VTE and AIS, knowledge of other diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of VTE/AIS in children remains quite limited. To date, very few published studies have employed plasma mass spectrometry-based “omics” approaches (proteomics, lipidomics or metabolomics). Ongoing and future research efforts involving multicenter prospective study-derived plasma biobanks in pediatric VTE (such as the Kids-DOTT trial) and AIS (including VIPS) along with new multi-omics-compatible sample processing methods offer fertile opportunities for discovery and validation of both novel risk factors and prognostic markers, with great potential to achieve improved prognostic stratification in these diseases.     

Descartes Among the Robots

We consider the symbol grounding problem, and apply to it philosophical arguments against Cartesianism developed by Sellars and McDowell: the problematic issue is the dichotomy between inside and outside which the definition of a physical symbol system presupposes. Surprisingly, one can question this dichotomy and still do symbolic computation: a detailed examination of the hardware and software of serial ports shows this.