A review on genetic algorithm: past, present, and future

Population Symmetrization in Genetic Algorithms

The paper presents a memetic modification of the classical genetic algorithm by introducing a cyclic symmetrization of the population, symmetrizing the parental points around the current population leader. Such an operator provides a more spherical distribution of the population around the current leader, which significantly improves exploitation. The proposed algorithm was described, illustrated by examples, and theoretically analyzed. Its effectiveness was examined using a recognized benchmark, which includes the continuous functions test set on a multidimensional cube, to be minimized.

Application of genetic algorithm combined with improved SEIR model in predicting the epidemic trend of COVID-19, China

Since the outbreak of the 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the end of 2019, it has caused great adverse effects on the whole world, and it has been hindering the global economy. It is ergent to establish an infectious disease model for the current COVID-19 epidemic to predict the trend of the epidemic. Based on the SEIR model, the improved SEIR models were established with considering the incubation period, the isolated population, and genetic algorithm (GA) parameter optimization method. The improved SEIR models can predict the trend of the epidemic situation better and obtain the more accurate epidemic-related parameters. Comparing some key parameters, it is capable to evaluate the impact of different epidemic prevention measures and the implementation of different epidemic prevention levels on the COVID-19, which has significant guidance for further epidemic prevention measures.

Study of Joint Symmetry in Gait Evolution for Quadrupedal Robots Using a Neural Network

Bio-inspired legged robots have the potential to traverse uneven terrains in a very efficient way. The effectiveness of the robot gait depends on the joint symmetry of the robot; variations in joint symmetries can result in different types of gaits suitable for different scenarios. In the literature, symmetric and asymmetric gaits have been synthesized for legged robots; however, no relation between the gait effectiveness and joint symmetry has been studied. In this research work, the effect of joint symmetry on the robot gait is studied. To test the suggested algorithm, spider-like robot morphology was created in a simulator. The simulation environment was set to a flat surface where the robots could be tested. The simulations were performed on the PyroSim software platform, a physics engine built on top of the Open Dynamics Engine. The quadrupedal robot was created with eight joints, and it is controlled using an artificial neural network. The artificial neural network was optimized using a genetic algorithm. Different robot symmetries were tested, i.e., diagonal joint symmetry, diagonal joint reverse symmetry, adjacent joint symmetry, adjacent joint reverse symmetry and random joint symmetry or joint asymmetry. The robot controllers for each joint symmetry were evolved for a set number of generations and the robot controllers were evaluated using a fitness function that we designed. Our results showed that symmetry in joint movement could help in generating optimal gaits for our test terrain, and joint symmetry produced gaits that were already present in nature. Moreover, our results also showed that certain joint symmetries tended to perform better than others in terms of stability, speed, and distance traveled.

Machine Leaning-Based Optimization Algorithm for Myocardial Injury under High-Intensity Exercise in Track and Field Athletes

In order to train at high-intensity, athletics can again cause varying degrees of myocardial damage. Evaluating the balance between exercise myocardial injury and exercise intensity should actively prevent myocardial injury caused by high-intensity athletic training. In this paper, an intelligent optimization algorithm is used to investigate the degree of myocardial injury. The basic idea is to define the measured data and the output of the numerical model as an objective function of the structural parameters, to obtain the structural parameters by finding ways to continuously optimize the objective function to be close to the observed values, and to identify the injury based on the changes in these parameters before and after myocardial injury. The objective function can be defined in various ways, and the myocardial injury optimization algorithm can be chosen. In order to obtain the best computational results, numerical simulations of damage identification are performed using the objective function and three machine learning-based optimization algorithms. The computational results show that the combination of the objective function and the machine learning algorithms provides good accuracy and computational speed in identifying myocardial injury.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches using gene expression and variant data for personalized medicine

Precision medicine uses genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors to more accurately diagnose and treat disease in specific groups of patients, and it is considered one of the most promising medical efforts of our time. The use of genetics is arguably the most data-rich and complex components of precision medicine. The grand challenge today is the successful assimilation of genetics into precision medicine that translates across different ancestries, diverse diseases and other distinct populations, which will require clever use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) methods. Our goal here was to review and compare scientific objectives, methodologies, datasets, data sources, ethics and gaps of AI/ML approaches used in genomics and precision medicine. We selected high-quality literature published within the last 5 years that were indexed and available through PubMed Central. Our scope was narrowed to articles that reported application of AI/ML algorithms for statistical and predictive analyses using whole genome and/or whole exome sequencing for gene variants, and RNA-seq and microarrays for gene expression. We did not limit our search to specific diseases or data sources. Based on the scope of our review and comparative analysis criteria, we identified 32 different AI/ML approaches applied in variable genomics studies and report widely adapted AI/ML algorithms for predictive diagnostics across several diseases.

GASS-Metal: identifying metal-binding sites on protein structures using genetic algorithms

Metals are present in >30% of proteins found in nature and assist them to perform important biological functions, including storage, transport, signal transduction and enzymatic activity. Traditional and experimental techniques for metal-binding site prediction are usually costly and time-consuming, making computational tools that can assist in these predictions of significant importance. Here we present Genetic Active Site Search (GASS)-Metal, a new method for protein metal-binding site prediction. The method relies on a parallel genetic algorithm to find candidate metal-binding sites that are structurally similar to curated templates from M-CSA and MetalPDB. GASS-Metal was thoroughly validated using homologous proteins and conservative mutations of residues, showing a robust performance. The ability of GASS-Metal to identify metal-binding sites was also compared with state-of-the-art methods, outperforming similar methods and achieving an MCC of up to 0.57 and detecting up to 96.1% of the sites correctly. GASS-Metal is freely available at https://gassmetal.unifei.edu.br. The GASS-Metal source code is available at https://github.com/sandroizidoro/gassmetal-local.

Optimizing the Vehicle Scheduling Problem for Just-in-Time Delivery Considering Carbon Emissions and Atmospheric Particulate Matter

The coordinated development of companies and ecological protection are possible only with increasing environmental awareness. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how companies can achieve sustainable development. It is found that the scientific implementation of the vehicle scheduling problem (VSP) for just-in-time (JIT) delivery in the raw material procurement logistics of iron and steel companies can reduce the carbon emissions in the VSP process and, taking into account the negative correlation between weather conditions and PM10, can effectively reduce PM10. On this basis, a multiobjective optimization model is constructed with the objectives of minimizing carbon emissions and PM10 along with the traditional objective of cost optimization. A greedy algorithm with high computational efficiency and an embedded genetic algorithm (GA) is used to further improve the response time of the VSP. Verification shows that in practice, the model enables companies to effectively reduce not only logistics costs but also PM10 and carbon emissions; in theory, the model expands the applicability of JIT to all value-added activities, exploring all value-added activities in different spatial and temporal dimensions to achieve the optimal combination of company cost, environmental effects, and weather dimensions.

Cancer Detection and Prediction Using Genetic Algorithms

Cancer is a wide category of diseases that is caused by the abnormal, uncontrollable growth of cells, and it is the second leading cause of death globally. Screening, early diagnosis, and prediction of recurrence give patients the best possible chance for successful treatment. However, these tests can be expensive and invasive and the results have to be interpreted by experts. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are metaheuristics that belong to the class of evolutionary algorithms. GAs can find the optimal or near-optimal solutions in huge, difficult search spaces and are widely used for search and optimization. This makes them ideal for detecting cancer by creating models to interpret the results of tests, especially noninvasive. In this article, we have comprehensively reviewed the existing literature, analyzed them critically, provided a comparative analysis of the state-of-the-art techniques, and identified the future challenges in the development of such techniques by medical professionals.

Genetic algorithm based artificial neural network and partial least squares regression methods to predict of breakdown voltage for transformer oils samples in power industry using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

The current study proposes a novel analytical method for calculating the breakdown voltage (BV) of transformer oil samples considered as a significant method to assess the safe operation of power industry. Transformer oil samples can be analyzed using the Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy combined with multivariate calibration methods. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) back propagation-artificial neural network (BP-ANN) methods and a genetic algorithm (GA) for variable selection are used to predict and assess breakdown voltage in transformer oil samples from various Iranian transformer oils. As a result, the root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient for the training and test sets of oil samples are also calculated. In the GA-PLS-R method, the squared correlation coefficient (R²pred) and root mean square prediction error (RMSEP) are 0.9437 and 2.6835, respectively. GA-BP-ANN, on the other hand, had a lower RMSEP value (0.2874) and a higher R²pred function (0.9891). Considering the complexity of transformer oil samples, the performance of GA-BP-ANN has resulted in an efficient approach for predicting breakdown voltage; consequently, it can be effectively used as a new method for quantitative breakdown voltage analysis of samples to evaluate the health of transformer oil. .

Dynamic Evaluation Method of Straightness Considering Time-Dependent Springback in Bending-Straightening Based on GA-BP Neural Network

There is a time-dependent springback phenomenon seen during the process of the bending-straightening of slender shafts, which has a great influence on the evaluation of straightness after straightening, creating a risk of misjudgment. This paper presents a dynamic evaluation method of straightness considering time-dependent springback in the bending-straightening process. Firstly, based on viscoelastic mechanics and bending-straightening, the influencing factors of time-dependent springback were analyzed on the basis of certain assumptions, including straightening stroke δC, fulcrum distance L, instantaneous springback δb, straightening time ts, and straightening force Fmax. As the main part of the proposed dynamic evaluation method, the GA-BP neural network is used to establish a model for fast prediction of time-dependent springback in straightening, and it is compared with the linear regression model. The maximum prediction error of the GA-BP model was 0.0038 mm, which was much lower than that of the regression model, at 0.014 mm. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the GA-BP model was 0.0042, and that of the regression model was 0.0098. Finally, the effectiveness of the dynamic straightness evaluation method considering time-dependent springback is verified by experiments. Finally, the sensitivity and relative importance of the influencing factors are analyzed, and the order is δC > ts > Fmax > L > δb.

A Hybrid Arithmetic Optimization and Golden Sine Algorithm for Solving Industrial Engineering Design Problems

Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm (AOA) is a physically inspired optimization algorithm that mimics arithmetic operators in mathematical calculation. Although the AOA has an acceptable exploration and exploitation ability, it also has some shortcomings such as low population diversity, premature convergence, and easy stagnation into local optimal solutions. The Golden Sine Algorithm (Gold-SA) has strong local searchability and fewer coefficients. To alleviate the above issues and improve the performance of AOA, in this paper, we present a hybrid AOA with Gold-SA called HAGSA for solving industrial engineering design problems. We divide the whole population into two subgroups and optimize them using AOA and Gold-SA during the searching process. By dividing these two subgroups, we can exchange and share profitable information and utilize their advantages to find a satisfactory global optimal solution. Furthermore, we used the Levy flight and proposed a new strategy called Brownian mutation to enhance the searchability of the hybrid algorithm. To evaluate the efficiency of the proposed work, HAGSA, we selected the CEC 2014 competition test suite as a benchmark function and compared HAGSA against other well-known algorithms. Moreover, five industrial engineering design problems were introduced to verify the ability of algorithms to solve real-world problems. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed work HAGSA is significantly better than original AOA, Gold-SA, and other compared algorithms in terms of optimization accuracy and convergence speed.

An enhance multimodal multiobjective optimization genetic algorithm with special crowding distance for pulmonary hypertension feature selection

Multiobjective optimization assumes a one-to-one mapping between decisions and objective space, however, this is not always the case. When many variables have the same or equivalent objective value, a multimodal multiobjective issue develops in which more than one Pareto Set (PS) maps to the same Pareto Front (PF). Evolutionary computing research into multimodal multiobjective optimization issues has increased (MMOPs). This paper proposed an enhanced multimodal multiobjective genetic algorithm to crack MMOPs using a special crowding distance calculation (ESNSGA-II). This special crowding distance calculation can consider the diversity of the decision space while paying attention to the diversity of the object space. Then, a unique crossover mechanism is established by combining the simulated binary crossover (SBX) method with the capacity of Pareto solutions to generate offspring solutions. The balance between convergence and diversity in both decision space and object space can be guaranteed synchronously, and PS distribution and PF accuracy may both be enhanced. The proposed ESNSGA-II uses the CEC2020 benchmarks MMF1-MMF8 to assess its properties. Comparing the ESNSGA-II to other recently established multimodal multiobjective evolutionary techniques demonstrates that it is capable of efficiently searching numerous PSs of MMOPs. Finally, the suggested ESNSGA-II is used to address a real MMOP problem of pulmonary hypertension detection via arterial blood gas analysis. The statistical analysis reveals that the suggested ESNSGA-II algorithm outperforms other algorithms on this MMOP, and so may be considered a possible tool for pulmonary hypertension.

Trajectory Generation and Optimization Using the Mutual Learning and Adaptive Ant Colony Algorithm in Uneven Environments

Aiming at the trajectory generation and optimization of mobile robots in complex and uneven environments, a hybrid scheme using mutual learning and adaptive ant colony optimization (MuL-ACO) is proposed in this paper. In order to describe the uneven environment with various obstacles, a 2D-H map is introduced in this paper. Then an adaptive ant colony algorithm based on simulated annealing (SA) is proposed to generate initial trajectories of mobile robots, where based on a de-temperature function of the simulated annealing algorithm, the pheromone volatilization factor is adaptively adjusted to accelerate the convergence of the algorithm. Moreover, the length factor, height factor, and smooth factor are considered in the comprehensive heuristic function of ACO to adapt to uneven environments. Finally, a mutual learning algorithm is designed to further smooth and shorten initial trajectories, in which different trajectory node sequences learn from each other to acquire the shortest trajectory sequence to optimize the trajectory. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, MuL-ACO is compared with several well-known and novel algorithms in terms of running time, trajectory length, height, and smoothness. The experimental results show that MuL-ACO can generate a collision-free trajectory with a high comprehensive quality in uneven environments.

CamoEvo: An open access toolbox for artificial camouflage evolution experiments

Camouflage research has long shaped our understanding of evolution by natural selection, and elucidating the mechanisms by which camouflage operates remains a key question in visual ecology. However, the vast diversity of color patterns found in animals and their backgrounds, combined with the scope for complex interactions with receiver vision, presents a fundamental challenge for investigating optimal camouflage strategies. Genetic algorithms (GAs) have provided a potential method for accounting for these interactions, but with limited accessibility. Here, we present CamoEvo, an open-access toolbox for investigating camouflage pattern optimization by using tailored GAs, animal and egg maculation theory, and artificial predation experiments. This system allows for camouflage evolution within the span of just 10-30 generations (∼1-2 min per generation), producing patterns that are both significantly harder to detect and that are optimized to their background. CamoEvo was built in ImageJ to allow for integration with an array of existing open access camouflage analysis tools. We provide guides for editing and adjusting the predation experiment and GA as well as an example experiment. The speed and flexibility of this toolbox makes it adaptable for a wide range of computer-based phenotype optimization experiments.

Integrative artificial intelligence models for Australian coastal sediment lead prediction: An investigation of in-situ measurements and meteorological parameters effects

Heavy metals (HMs) such as Lead (Pb) have played a vital role in increasing the sediments of the Australian bay's ecosystem. Several meteorological parameters (i.e., minimum, maximum and average temperature (T_min, T_max and T_avg^oC), rainfall (R_n mm) and their interactions with the other batch HMs, are hypothesized to have high impact for the decision-making strategies to minimize the impacts of Pb. Three feature selection (FS) algorithms namely the Boruta method, genetic algorithm (GA) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) were investigated to select the highly important predictors for Pb concentration in the coastal bay sediments of Australia. These FS algorithms were statistically evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA) Biplot along with the correlation metrics describing the statistical characteristics that exist in the input and output parameter space of the models. To ensure a high accuracy attained by the applied predictive artificial intelligence (AI) models i.e., XGBoost, support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), an auto-hyper-parameter tuning process using a Grid-search approach was also implemented. Cu, Ni, Ce, and Fe were selected by all the three applied FS algorithms whereas the T_avg and R_n inputs remained the essential parameters identified by GA and Boruta. The order of the FS outcome was XGBoost > GA > Boruta based on the applied statistical examination and the PCA Biplot results and the order of applied AI predictive models was XGBoost-SVM > GA-SVM > Boruta-SVM, where the SVM model remained at the top performance among the other statistical metrics. Based on the Taylor diagram for model evaluation, the RF model was reflected only marginally different so overall, the proposed integrative AI model provided an evidence a robust and reliable predictive technique used for coastal sediment Pb prediction.

A Review on Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Smart Technology in Water Treatment and Monitoring

Artificial-intelligence methods and machine-learning models have demonstrated their ability to optimize, model, and automate critical water- and wastewater-treatment applications, natural-systems monitoring and management, and water-based agriculture such as hydroponics and aquaponics. In addition to providing computer-assisted aid to complex issues surrounding water chemistry and physical/biological processes, artificial intelligence and machine-learning (AI/ML) applications are anticipated to further optimize water-based applications and decrease capital expenses. This review offers a cross-section of peer reviewed, critical water-based applications that have been coupled with AI or ML, including chlorination, adsorption, membrane filtration, water-quality-index monitoring, water-quality-parameter modeling, river-level monitoring, and aquaponics/hydroponics automation/monitoring. Although success in control, optimization, and modeling has been achieved with the AI methods, ML models, and smart technologies (including the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, and systems based on these technologies) that are reviewed herein, key challenges and limitations were common and pervasive throughout. Poor data management, low explainability, poor model reproducibility and standardization, as well as a lack of academic transparency are all important hurdles to overcome in order to successfully implement these intelligent applications. Recommendations to aid explainability, data management, reproducibility, and model causality are offered in order to overcome these hurdles and continue the successful implementation of these powerful tools.

Organic Photoredox Catalysts for CO2 reduction: Driving Discovery with Genetic Algorithms

This work implements a genetic algorithm (GA) to discover organic catalysts for photoredox CO2 reduction that are both highly active and resistant to degradation. The LUMO energy of the ground state catalyst is chosen as the activity descriptor and average Mulliken charge on all ring carbons as the descriptor for resistance to degradation via carboxylation (both obtained using density functional theory), to construct the fitness function of the GA. We combine the results of multiple GA runs, each based on different relative weighting of the two descriptors, and rigorously assess GA performance by calculating electron transfer barriers to CO2 reduction. A large majority of GA predictions exhibit improved performance relative to experimentally studied o-, m-, and p-terphenyl catalysts. Based on stringent cut-offs imposed on the average charge, barrier to electron transfer to CO2, and excitation energy, we recommend 25 catalysts for further experimental investigation of viability towards photoredox CO2 reduction.

Research on College English Classroom Teaching Model Based on Adaptive Genetic Algorithm

While college English teaching is steadily changing from static knowledge transfer to dynamic language ability development, classroom activities centered on language application are becoming more and more important in cultivating students' language application ability. In recent years, education has been paid more and more attention, the scale of university education has gradually expanded, the professional categories have become more and more complete, the curriculum has become larger and larger, and the number of students has grown by leaps and bounds. The teaching resources (teachers, classrooms, teaching equipment, etc.) and the workload of English teachers are increasing. In order to effectively improve the efficiency of college English teaching, the paper proposes to apply genetic algorithms to the actual English course scheduling problem in colleges, taking into account all the various hardware and software constraints and the expected course scheduling goals, so as to provide a clear and concise solution to the course scheduling problem plan (parallel search for optimal scheduling) and the design and coding structure of each genetic operator. Furthermore, this study creates a genetic algorithm-based English social platform and examines the design aspects of dynamic teaching models and classroom activities of college English students in the context of this paper.

Design of an Intelligent Nursing Information Management System for Critically Ill Patients in Neurosurgery

In hospitals, one of the dominant issues is the development of an accurate and precise nursing management system which is hard to implement due to the various problems in the implementation of the traditional manual system. For this purpose, we are to solve the imperfect functions of the traditional nursing information management system and the strong subjectivity and low accuracy of the way of manually judging the patient's condition. Firstly, the Immune Genetic Algorithm (IGA) is used to optimize the Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN). A mortality prediction model using IGA-BPNN is proposed. Secondly, a nursing information management system for critically ill patients in neurosurgery is designed. The IGA-BPNN prediction model is used as a part of the system to predict the mortality of critically ill patients. Finally, the performance of the predictive model and the system is tested using the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-III data set design experiment. The results show the following: (1) Precision, Recall, and F1-score of mortality prediction using the IGA-BPNN model are 7.2%, 7.2%, and 7.3% higher than those of other prediction models. The designed model has better performance. (2) The comprehensive performance of the system during operation can reach the standard. The researched content aims to provide important technical support for the nursing information management of critically ill patients in neurosurgery and the intelligent analysis of patients' condition.

Discovery of new Cdc2-like kinase 4 (CLK4) inhibitors via pharmacophore exploration combined with flexible docking-based ligand/receptor contact fingerprints and machine learning

Cdc2-like kinase 4 (CLK4) inhibitors are of potential therapeutic value in many diseases particularly cancer. In this study, we combined extensive ligand-based pharmacophore exploration, ligand-receptor contact fingerprints generated by flexible docking, physicochemical descriptors and machine learning-quantitative structure-activity relationship (ML-QSAR) analysis to investigate the pharmacophoric/binding requirements for potent CLK4 antagonists. Several ML methods were attempted to tie these properties with anti-CLK4 bioactivities including multiple linear regression (MLR), random forests (RF), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), probabilistic neural network (PNN), and support vector regression (SVR). A genetic function algorithm (GFA) was combined with each method for feature selection. Eventually, GFA-SVR was found to produce the best self-consistent and predictive model. The model selected three pharmacophores, three ligand-receptor contacts and two physicochemical descriptors. The GFA-SVR model and associated pharmacophore models were used to screen the National Cancer Institute (NCI) structural database for novel CLK4 antagonists. Three potent hits were identified with the best one showing an anti-CLK4 IC50 value of 57 nM.

Simulation and Optimization of Connection-Strength Performance of Axial Extrusion Joint

Axial extrusion-connection technology is one of the important connection technologies for hydraulic piping systems, with high sealing performance and mechanical strength. In this paper, the finite-element-modeling method is used to simulate the experimental process of the connection strength of the axial extrusion joint. The generation mechanism and calculation method of the connection strength are analyzed. To optimize the joint strength, orthogonal testing and grey correlation analysis are used to analyze the influencing factors of joint strength. The key factors affecting joint strength are obtained as the friction coefficient μ1, μ2 between joint components and the groove angle θ1 of the fittings body. The back-propagation (BP) neural-network algorithm is used to establish the connection-strength model of the joint and the genetic algorithm is used to optimize it. The optimal connection strength is 8.237 kN and the optimal combination of influencing factors is 0.2, 0.4 and 76.8°. Compared with the prediction results of the neural-network genetic algorithm, the relative error of the finite-element results is 3.9%, indicating that the method has high accuracy. The results show that the extrusion-based joining process offers significant advantages in the manufacture of high-strength titanium tubular joints.

Pulse Shape Estimation in a DSR Fiber Laser Using the Genetic Algorithm

Exploiting the computing power of the genetic algorithm, a numerical study of dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) in a ring laser mode-locked by a real saturable absorber (SA) is conducted. A section of photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is inserted into the laser cavity design to facilitate accurate control of both dispersion and nonlinearity. The influence of the cavity parameters on the evolution of the DSR pulses is systematically analyzed. The genetic algorithm demonstrates that the generation of DSR square pulses depends directly on the PCF dispersion, the PCF nonlinearity, the PCF length, and the modulation depth of the SA. Finally, the sensitivity of the DSR pulse width, peak power and energy to perturbations in a few key design parameters are highlighted.

Modified Remora Optimization Algorithm for Global Optimization and Multilevel Thresholding Image Segmentation

Image segmentation is a key stage in image processing because it simplifies the representation of the image and facilitates subsequent analysis. The multi-level thresholding image segmentation technique is considered one of the most popular methods because it is efficient and straightforward. Many relative works use meta-heuristic algorithms (MAs) to determine threshold values, but they have issues such as poor convergence accuracy and stagnation into local optimal solutions. Therefore, to alleviate these shortcomings, in this paper, we present a modified remora optimization algorithm (MROA) for global optimization and image segmentation tasks. We used Brownian motion to promote the exploration ability of ROA and provide a greater opportunity to find the optimal solution. Second, lens opposition-based learning is introduced to enhance the ability of search agents to jump out of the local optimal solution. To substantiate the performance of MROA, we first used 23 benchmark functions to evaluate the performance. We compared it with seven well-known algorithms regarding optimization accuracy, convergence speed, and significant difference. Subsequently, we tested the segmentation quality of MORA on eight grayscale images with cross-entropy as the objective function. The experimental metrics include peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structure similarity (SSIM), and feature similarity (FSIM). A series of experimental results have proved that the MROA has significant advantages among the compared algorithms. Consequently, the proposed MROA is a promising method for global optimization problems and image segmentation.

Genetic Algorithm-Based Partial Least-Squares with Only the First Component for Model Interpretation

In the fields of molecular design, material design, process design, and process control, it is important not only to construct models with high predictive ability between explanatory variables X and objective variables y but also to interpret the constructed models to clarify phenomena and elucidate mechanisms in the fields. However, even in linear models, it is dangerous to use regression coefficients as contributions of X to y due to multicollinearity among X. Thus, the focus of this study is the model of partial least-squares with only the first component (PLSFC). It is possible to use regression coefficients as contributions of X to y for the PLSFC model. In addition, selecting the combination of X that can construct a predictive PLSFC model using a genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed, which is called GA-based PLSFC (GA-PLSFC). The constructed model would have both high predictive ability and high interpretability with regression coefficients that can be defined as contributions of X to y. The effectiveness of the proposed PLSFC and GA-PLSFC is verified using numerically simulated data sets and real material data sets. The proposed method was found to be capable of constructing predictive models with high interpretability. The Python codes for GA-PLSFC are available at https://github.com/hkaneko1985/dcekit.

Metaheuristic Algorithms Based on Compromise Programming for the Multi-Objective Urban Shipment Problem

The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) and its variants are found in many fields, especially logistics. In this study, we introduced an adaptive method to a complex VRP. It combines multi-objective optimization and several forms of VRPs with practical requirements for an urban shipment system. The optimizer needs to consider terrain and traffic conditions. The proposed model also considers customers’ expectations and shipper considerations as goals, and a common goal such as transportation cost. We offered compromise programming to approach the multi-objective problem by decomposing the original multi-objective problem into a minimized distance-based problem. We designed a hybrid version of the genetic algorithm with the local search algorithm to solve the proposed problem. We evaluated the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm with the Tabu Search algorithm and the original genetic algorithm on the tested dataset. The results show that our method is an effective decision-making tool for the multi-objective VRP and an effective solver for the new variation of VRP.

Optimization of Water Distribution Networks Using Genetic Algorithm Based SOP–WDN Program

Water distribution networks are vital hydraulic infrastructures, essential for providing consumers with sufficient water of appropriate quality. The cost of construction, operation, and maintenance of such networks is extremely large. The problem of optimization of a water distribution network is governed by the type of water distribution network and the size of pipelines placed in the distribution network. This problem of optimal diameter allocation of pipes in a distribution network has been heavily researched over the past few decades. This study describes the development of an algorithm, ‘Smart Optimization Program for Water Distribution Networks’ (SOP–WDN), which applies genetic algorithm to the problem of the least-cost design of water distribution networks. SOP–WDN demonstrates the application of an evolutionary optimization technique, i.e., genetic algorithm, linked with a hydraulic simulation solver EPANET, for the optimal design of water distribution networks. The developed algorithm was applied to three benchmark water distribution network optimization problems and produced consistently good results. SOP–WDN can be utilized as a tool for guiding engineers during the design and rehabilitation of water distribution pipelines.

Oversampling by genetic algorithm and k-nearest neighbors for network intrusion problem

A class imbalance problem is a problem in which the number of majority class and minority class varies greatly. In this article, we propose an oversampling method using GA and k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN) to deal with a network intrusion, a class imbalance problem. We use GA as the main algorithm and use a kNN as its fitness function. We compare the proposed method with a very popular oversampling technique which is a SMOTE family. The experimental results show that the proposed method provides better Accuracy, Precision, and F-measure values than a SMOTE family in almost all datasets with almost all classifiers. Moreover, in some datasets with some classifiers, the proposed method also gives a better Recall value than a SMOTE family as well. This is because the proposed method can generate new intruders in a more independent area than a SMOTE family.

An improved immune plasma algorithm with a regional pandemic restriction

The coronavirus (COVID-19) and its global effect have increased the interests of researchers from different disciplines to the medical methods such as immune or convalescent plasma treatment. Immune Plasma algorithm (IPA) that is the first meta-heuristic referencing the steps of the immune plasma treatment as the name implies has been proposed recently and its potential has been investigated. In this study, a pandemic management strategy based on limiting the free movements between regions was modeled and integrated into the workflow of the IPA and a new variant called regional IPA (rIPA) was introduced. For analyzing the contribution of the proposed method, twelve numerical benchmark problems were solved. Also, the performance of the rIPA was investigated by solving a new big data optimization problem that requires minimization of the measurement noise of electroencephalography signals. The results obtained by the rIPA were compared with the fourteen well-known and state-of-art meta-heuristics. Comparative studies showed that managing the relationship between the individuals of the population as in the proposed regional model significantly contributes to the capabilities and rIPA outperforms other meta-heuristics for most of the test cases.

Area Coverage Maximization under Connectivity Constraint in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have several important applications, both in research and domestic use. Generally, their main role is to collect and transmit data from an ROI (region of interest) to a base station for processing and analysis. Therefore, it is vital to ensure maximum coverage of the chosen area and communication between the nodes forming the network. A major problem in network design is the deployment of sensors with the aim to ensure both maximum coverage and connectivity between sensor node. The maximum coverage problem addressed here focuses on calculating the area covered by the deployed sensor nodes. Thus, we seek to cover any type of area (regular or irregular shape) with a predefined number of homogeneous sensors using a genetic algorithm to find the best placement to ensure maximum network coverage under the constraint of connectivity between the sensors. Therefore, this paper tackles the dual problem of maximum coverage and connectivity between sensor nodes. We define the maximum coverage and connectivity problems and then propose a mathematical model and a complex objective function. The results show that the algorithm, called GAFACM (Genetic Algorithm For Area Coverage Maximization), covers all forms of the area for a given number of sensors and finds the best positions to maximize coverage within the area of interest while guaranteeing the connectivity between the sensors.

Energy Optimization of the Continuous-Time Perfect Control Algorithm

In this paper, an attempt at the energy optimization of perfect control systems is performed. The perfect control law is the maximum-speed and maximum-accuracy procedure, which allows us to obtain a reference value on the plant’s output just after a time delay. Based on the continuous-time state-space description, the minimum-error strategy is discussed in the context of possible solutions aiming for the minimization of the control energy. The approach presented within this study is focused on the nonunique matrix inverse-originated so-called degrees of freedom being the core of perfect control scenarios. Thus, in order to obtain the desired energy-saving parameters, a genetic algorithm has been employed during the inverse model control synthesis process. Now, the innovative continuous-time procedure can be applied to a wide range of multivariable plants without any stress caused by technological limitations. Simulation examples made in the MATLAB/Simulink environment have proven the usefulness of the new method shown within the paper. In the extreme case, the energy consumption has been reduced by approximately 80% in comparison with the well-known Moore–Penrose inverse.

A Multi-Objective Task Scheduling Strategy for Intelligent Production Line Based on Cloud-Fog Computing

With the widespread use of industrial Internet technology in intelligent production lines, the number of task requests generated by smart terminals is growing exponentially. Achieving rapid response to these massive tasks becomes crucial. In this paper we focus on the multi-objective task scheduling problem of intelligent production lines and propose a task scheduling strategy based on task priority. First, we set up a cloud-fog computing architecture for intelligent production lines and built the multi-objective function for task scheduling, which minimizes the service delay and energy consumption of the tasks. In addition, the improved hybrid monarch butterfly optimization and improved ant colony optimization algorithm (HMA) are used to search for the optimal task scheduling scheme. Finally, HMA is evaluated by rigorous simulation experiments, showing that HMA outperformed other algorithms in terms of task completion rate. When the number of nodes exceeds 10, the completion rate of all tasks is greater than 90%, which well meets the real-time requirements of the corresponding tasks in the intelligent production lines. In addition, the algorithm outperforms other algorithms in terms of maximum completion rate and power consumption.

A novel coevolving differential evolution and its application in intelligent device-to-device communication systems

Due to the increasingly demand of wireless broadband applications in modern society, the device-to-device (D2D) communication technique plays an important role for improving communication spectrum efficiency and quality of service (QoS). This study focuses on the optimal allocation of link resource in D2D communication systems using intelligent approaches, in order to obtain optimal energy efficiency of D2D-pair users (DP) and also ensure communication QoS. To be specific, the optimal resource allocation (ORA) model for ensuring the cooperation between DP and cellular users (CU) is established, and a novel coding strategy of ORA model is also proposed. Then, for efficiently optimizing the ORA model, a novel swarm-intelligence-based algorithm called the dynamic topology coevolving differential evolution (DTC-DE) is developed, and the efficiency of DTC-DE is also tested by a comprehensive set of benchmark functions. Finally, the DTC-DE algorithm is employed for optimizing the proposed ORA model, and some state-of-the-art algorithms are also employed for comparison. Result of case study shows that the DTC-DE outperforms its competitors significantly, and the optimal resource allocation can be obtained by DTC-DE with robust performance.

Application of Modern Digital Systems and Approaches to Business Process Management

In order to adapt to ever-changing customer needs and satisfy them, good Business Process Management (BPM) in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) is crucial. The target group of this research is production SMEs whose BPM can be monitored respecting the values of key performance indicators (KPIs). This paper shows how improving the performance of the observed business processes can improve the level of customer satisfaction. This improvement should lead to the sustainability of SMEs in the market. In this paper, evaluation of business processes performance is defined as a multi-criteria decision problem. The relative importance of considered KPIs and their imprecise values are described by linguistic expressions, which are then modeled by triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (TIFNs). Calculation of KPI weights is done by using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). Evaluation of BPM success is conducted respecting the obtained KPI weights and KPI values. An optimal solution for BPM success improvement, respecting customer satisfaction indicators, is calculated using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) approaches. By applying the proposed model, managers of production SMEs can determine the management initiatives that will improve their business and the sustainability of their companies.

An Advanced Optimization Approach for Long-Short Pairs Trading Strategy Based on Correlation Coefficients and Bollinger Bands

In the financial market, commodity prices change over time, yielding profit opportunities. Various trading strategies have been proposed to yield good earnings. Pairs trading is one such critical, widely-used strategy with good effect. Given two highly correlated paired target stocks, the strategy suggests buying one when its price falls behind, selling it when its stock price converges, and operating the other stock inversely. In the existing approach, the genetic Bollinger Bands and correlation-coefficient-based pairs trading strategy (GBCPT) utilizes optimization technology to determine the parameters for correlation-based candidate pairs and discover Bollinger Bands-based trading signals. The correlation coefficients are used to calculate the relationship between two stocks through their historical stock prices, and the Bollinger Bands are indicators composed of the moving averages and standard deviations of the stocks. In this paper, to achieve more robust and reliable trading performance, AGBCPT, an advanced GBCPT algorithm, is proposed to take into account volatility and more critical parameters that influence profitability. It encodes six critical parameters into a chromosome. To evaluate the fitness of a chromosome, the encoded parameters are utilized to observe the trading pairs and their trading signals generated from Bollinger Bands. The fitness value is then calculated by the average return and volatility of the long and short trading pairs. The genetic process is repeated to find suitable parameters until the termination condition is met. Experiments on 44 stocks selected from the Taiwan 50 Index are conducted, showing the merits and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Privacy-Preserving Human Action Recognition with a Many-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm

Wrist-worn devices equipped with accelerometers constitute a non-intrusive way to achieve active and assisted living (AAL) goals, such as automatic journaling for self-reflection, i.e., lifelogging, as well as to provide other services, such as general health and wellbeing monitoring, personal autonomy assessment, among others. Human action recognition (HAR), and in particular, the recognition of activities of daily living (ADLs), can be used for these types of assessment or journaling. In this paper, a many-objective evolutionary algorithm (MaOEA) is used in order to maximise action recognition from individuals while concealing (minimising recognition of) gender and age. To validate the proposed method, the PAAL accelerometer signal ADL dataset (v2.0) is used, which includes data from 52 participants (26 men and 26 women) and 24 activity class labels. The results show a drop in gender and age recognition to 58% (from 89%, a 31% drop), and to 39% (from 83%, a 44% drop), respectively; while action recognition stays closer to the initial value of 68% (from: 87%, i.e., 19% down).

The Sea Route Planning for Survey Vessel Intelligently Navigating to the Survey Lines

Marine surveying is an important part of marine environment monitoring systems. In order to improve the accuracy of marine surveying and reduce investment in artificial stations, it is necessary to use high-precision GNSS for shipborne navigation measurements. The basic measurement is based on the survey lines that are already planned by surveyors. In response to the needs of survey vessels sailing to the survey line, a method framework for the shortest route planning is proposed. Then an intelligent navigation system for survey vessels is established, which can be applied to online navigation of survey vessels. The essence of the framework is that the vessel can travel along the shortest route to the designated survey line under the limitation of its own minimum turning radius. Comparison and analysis of experiments show that the framework achieves better optimization. The experimental results show that our proposed method can enable the vessel to sail along a shorter path and reach the starting point of the survey line at the specified angle.

A noise-immune reinforcement learning method for early diagnosis of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus

The neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE), a severe disease that can damage the heart, liver, kidney, and other vital organs, often involves the central nervous system and even leads to death. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a brain functional imaging technology that can detect the concentration of metabolites in organs and tissues non-invasively. However, the performance of early diagnosis of NPSLE through conventional MRS analysis is still unsatisfactory. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on genetic algorithm (GA) and multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) to improve the performance of the NPSLE diagnosis model. Firstly, the proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) data from 23 NPSLE patients and 16 age-matched healthy controls (HC) were standardized before training. Secondly, we adopt MARL by assigning an agent to each feature to select the optimal feature subset. Thirdly, the parameter of SVM is optimized by GA. Our experiment shows that the SVM classifier optimized by feature selection and parameter optimization achieves 94.9% accuracy, 91.3% sensitivity, 100% specificity and 0.87 cross-validation score, which is the best score compared with other state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, our method is even better than other dimension reduction ones, such as SVM based on principal component analysis (PCA) and variational autoencoder (VAE). By analyzing the metabolites obtained by MRS, we believe that this method can provide a reliable classification result for doctors and can be effectively used for the early diagnosis of this disease.

Experimental Programming of Genetic Algorithms for the “Casse-Tête” Problem

The Casse-tête board puzzle consists of an n×n grid covered with n^2 tokens. m<n^2 tokens are deleted from the grid so that each row and column of the grid contains an even number of remaining tokens. The size of the search space is exponential. This study used a genetic algorithm (GA) to design and implement solutions for the board puzzle. The chromosome representation is a matrix of binary permutations. Variants for two crossover operators and two mutation operators were presented. The study experimented with and compared four possible operator combinations. Additionally, it compared GA and simulated annealing (SA)-based solutions, finding a 100% success rate (SR) for both. However, the GA-based model was more effective in solving larger instances of the puzzle than the SA-based model. The GA-based model was found to be considerably more efficient than the SA-based model when measured by the number of fitness function evaluations (FEs). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test confirms a significant difference among FEs in the two models (p=0.038).

Optimal selection of COVID-19 vaccination sites in the Philippines at the municipal level

In this work, we present an approach to determine the optimal location of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination sites at the municipal level. We assume that each municipality is subdivided into smaller administrative units, which we refer to as barangays. The proposed method solves a minimization problem arising from a facility location problem, which is formulated based on the proximity of the vaccination sites to the barangays, the number of COVID-19 cases, and the population densities of the barangays. These objectives are formulated as a single optimization problem. As an alternative decision support tool, we develop a bi-objective optimization problem that considers distance and population coverage. Lastly, we propose a dynamic optimization approach that recalculates the optimal vaccination sites to account for the changes in the population of the barangays that have completed their vaccination program. A numerical scheme that solves the optimization problems is presented and the detailed description of the algorithms, which are coded in Python and MATLAB, are uploaded to a public repository. As an illustration, we apply our method to determine the optimal location of vaccination sites in San Juan, a municipality in the province of Batangas, in the Philippines. We hope that this study may guide the local government units in coming up with strategic and accessible plans for vaccine administration.

Impact of sewer overflow on public health: A comprehensive scientometric analysis and systematic review

Sewer overflow (SO), which has attracted global attention, poses serious threat to public health and ecosystem. SO impacts public health via consumption of contaminated drinking water, aerosolization of pathogens, food-chain transmission, and direct contact with fecally-polluted rivers and beach sediments during recreation. However, no study has attempted to map the linkage between SO and public health including Covid-19 using scientometric analysis and systematic review of literature. Results showed that only few countries were actively involved in SO research in relation to public health. Furthermore, there are renewed calls to scale up environmental surveillance to safeguard public health. To safeguard public health, it is important for public health authorities to optimize water and wastewater treatment plants and improve building ventilation and plumbing systems to minimize pathogen transmission within buildings and transportation systems. In addition, health authorities should formulate appropriate policies that can enhance environmental surveillance and facilitate real-time monitoring of sewer overflow. Increased public awareness on strict personal hygiene and point-of-use-water-treatment such as boiling drinking water will go a long way to safeguard public health. Ecotoxicological studies and health risk assessment of exposure to pathogens via different transmission routes is also required to appropriately inform the use of lockdowns, minimize their socio-economic impact and guide evidence-based welfare/social policy interventions. Soft infrastructures, optimized sewer maintenance and prescreening of sewer overflow are recommended to reduce stormwater burden on wastewater treatment plant, curtail pathogen transmission and marine plastic pollution. Comprehensive, integrated surveillance and global collaborative efforts are important to curtail on-going Covid-19 pandemic and improve resilience against future pandemics.