Search results for "Genetic algorithm"

Analysing the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants: The problem of the definition of desirable outputs and its solution

2020

Abstract Evaluating the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is highly relevant to improve their performance from an economic and environmental perspective. The issue is even more critical in countries where WWTPs are benchmarked to regulate water companies and define WWTPs’ economic and environmental objectives. Despite the large number of previous studies on this topic, none has considered that the amount of outputs produced by the WWTPs is restricted by the concentration of pollutants in the effluent. To overcome this limitation, the study’s main objective was to propose a new variant of the Weighted Russell Directional Distance Model (WRDDM) that would solve problems regard…

The German Water Chemical Society: Actual Trends and Fields of Research in the Principle Committee “Basic Research”Representing the principle committ…

2001

CRISPR-Cas12a-Based Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Harboring the E484K Mutation

2021

The novel respiratory virus SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly evolving across the world with the potential of increasing its transmission and the induced disease. Here, we applied the CRISPR-Cas12a system to detect, without the need of sequencing, SARS-CoV-2 genomes harboring the E484K mutation, first identified in the Beta variant and catalogued as an escape mutation. The E484K mutation creates a canonical protospacer adjacent motif for Cas12a recognition in the resulting DNA amplicon, which was exploited to obtain a differential readout. We analyzed a series of fecal samples from hospitalized patients in Valencia (Spain), finding one infection with SARS-CoV-2 harboring the E484K mutation, which was t…

Defining poor prognosis markers of implantation for embryo selection by time-lapse

2012

Cost of host radiation in an RNA virus.

2000

Abstract Although host radiation allows a parasite to expand its ecological niche, traits governing the infection of multiple host types can decrease fitness in the original or alternate host environments. Reasons for this reduction in fitness include slower replication due to added genetic material or modifications, fitness trade-offs across host environments, and weaker selection resulting from simultaneous adaptation to multiple habitats. We examined the consequences of host radiation using vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and mammalian host cells in tissue culture. Replicate populations of VSV were allowed to evolve for 100 generations on the original host (BHK cells), on either of two …

Bluetooth Base Station Minimal Deployment for High Definition Positioning

2005

This paper discusses our approach to the problem of arranging a Bluetooth based positioning system capable of providing people coordinates in a given area with an accuracy as high as possible. Our strategy focuses on optimizing the disposition of a minimal number of available Bluetooth base stations in a subset of locations which are the only ones permitted by site characteristics and constraints. We used a genetic algorithm to this purpose and a layout chromosome whose best evolution suggested us how to deploy a minimal set of Bluetooth base stations. As a case study, we discuss our experiments and results which deal with a late middle age castle in Sicily where we carried out many trials.

A predictive function optimization algorithm for multi-spectral skin lesion assessment

2015

The newly introduced Kubelka-Munk Genetic Algorithm (KMGA) is a promising technique used in the assessment of skin lesions. Unfortunately, this method is computationally expensive due to its function inverting process. In the work of this paper, we design a Predictive Function Optimization Algorithm in order to improve the efficiency of KMGA by speeding up its convergence rate. Using this approach, a High-Convergence-Rate KMGA (HCR-KMGA) is implemented onto multi-core processors and FPGA devices respectively. Furthermore, the implementations are optimized using parallel computing techniques. Intensive experiments demonstrate that HCR-KMGA can effectively accelerate KMGA method, while improv…

Effects of a French remedial program on pupils’ educational outcomes

2018

International audience; Few studies have examined the French “Networks for Specialized Assistance to Pupils in Difficulty” (Rased). In this article, we evaluate the impact of receiving Rased services in the first year of primary schooling on academic success. Using data from a national panel study, we find inconsistency in student selection within Rased. Using matching methods, our results reveal that pupils who benefited from the program school have a higher probability of grade repetition and obtain significantly lower scores on the third grade national assessment, particularly in mathematics, compared to pupils with similar characteristics who did not take part in the program. This impac…

Rapid screening of the LDL receptor point mutation FH-Genoa/Palermo

1999

The LDL-receptor gene point mutation FH-Genoa/Palermo is the most frequent mutation responsible for Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Sicily. The mutation does not introduce or abolish any useful restriction site. We establish a GeneComb™-based strategy to identify this mutation in a population of Sicilian unrelated clinically diagnosed FH probands. The method was very sensitive and specific; 12 out of 90 (13.3%) unrelated FH probands were found to carry the FH-Genoa/Palermo mutation. According to these results, the FH-Genoa/Palermo is the more frequent LDL-receptor gene mutation among the Sicilian FH patients. Moreover FH-Genoa/Palermo is the mutation cluster to date more represented in Sou…

Inheritance and variable expression in Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome.

2010

Familial Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) is very rare. Here we report on the 6th and 7th case of inherited RTS. Family 1 presents with incomplete or mild RTS over three generations; a 13-year-old girl (proband 1) with mild but typical facial features and learning disabilities, her very mildly affected mother (proband 2), and the maternal grandmother (proband 3). Family 2 includes three females with classical RTS (probands 4-6) and their father (proband 7) with broad thumbs and halluces. Proband 5 also had a brain tumor (ganglioglioma) at the age of 3 years. In probands 1-3, direct sequencing identified a novel CREBBP missense mutation, c.2728A > G (predicting p.Thr910Ala), that was absent i…