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Biomedical subjects

Peter Grassberger

Publications and source records attributed to Peter Grassberger.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Estimating mutual information.

We present two classes of improved estimators for mutual information M(X,Y), from samples of random points distributed according to some joint probability density mu(x,y). In contrast to conventional estimators based on binnings, they are based on entropy estimates from k -nearest neighbor distances. This means that they are data efficient (with k=1 we resolve structures down to the smallest possible scales), adaptive (the resolution is higher where data are more numerous), and have minimal bias. Indeed, the bias of the underlying entropy estimates is mainly due to nonuniformity of the density at the smallest resolved scale, giving typically systematic errors which scale as functions of k/N for N points. Numerically, we find that both families become exact for independent distributions, i.e. the estimator M(X,Y) vanishes (up to statistical fluctuations) if mu(x,y)=mu(x)mu(y). This holds for all tested marginal distributions and for all dimensions of x and y. In addition, we give estimators for redundancies between more than two random variables. We compare our algorithms in detail with existing algorithms. Finally, we demonstrate the usefulness of our estimators for assessing the actual independence of components obtained from independent component analysis (ICA), for improving ICA, and for estimating the reliability of blind source separation.

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Measure profile surrogates: a method to validate the performance of epileptic seizure prediction algorithms.

In a growing number of publications it is claimed that epileptic seizures can be predicted by analyzing the electroencephalogram (EEG) with different characterizing measures. However, many of these studies suffer from a severe lack of statistical validation. Only rarely are results passed to a statistical test and verified against some null hypothesis H0 in order to quantify their significance. In this paper we propose a method to statistically validate the performance of measures used to predict epileptic seizures. From measure profiles rendered by applying a moving-window technique to the electroencephalogram we first generate an ensemble of surrogates by a constrained randomization using simulated annealing. Subsequently the seizure prediction algorithm is applied to the original measure profile and to the surrogates. If detectable changes before seizure onset exist, highest performance values should be obtained for the original measure profiles and the null hypothesis. "The measure is not suited for seizure prediction" can be rejected. We demonstrate our method by applying two measures of synchronization to a quasicontinuous EEG recording and by evaluating their predictive performance using a straightforward seizure prediction statistics. We would like to stress that the proposed method is rather universal and can be applied to many other prediction and detection problems.

Algorithms↗

Polymers confined between two parallel plane walls.

Single three-dimensional polymers confined to a slab, i.e., to the region between two parallel plane walls, are studied by Monte Carlo simulations. They are described by N-step walks on a simple cubic lattice confined to the region 1< or = z < or = D. The simulations cover both regions D< >RF (where RF approximately Nnu is the Flory radius, with nu approximately 0.587), as well as the cross-over region in between. Chain lengths are up to N=80 000, slab widths up to D=120. In order to test the analysis program and to check for finite size corrections, we actually studied three different models: (a) ordinary random walks (mimicking Theta polymers); (b) self-avoiding walks; and (c) Domb-Joyce walks with the self-repulsion tuned to the point where finite size corrections for free (unrestricted) chains are minimal. For the simulations we employ the pruned-enriched-Rosenbluth method with Markovian anticipation. In addition to the partition sum (which gives us a direct estimate of the forces exerted onto the walls), we measure the density profiles of monomers and of end points transverse to the slab, and the radial extent of the chain parallel to the walls. All scaling laws and some of the universal amplitude ratios are compared to theoretical predictions.

Journal Article↗

Structure optimization in an off-lattice protein model.

We study an off-lattice protein toy model with two species of monomers interacting through modified Lennard-Jones interactions. Low energy configurations are optimized using the pruned-enriched-Rosenbluth method (PERM), hitherto employed to native state searches only for off-lattice models. For two dimensions we found states with lower energy than previously proposed putative ground states for all chain lengths >/=13. This indicates that PERM has the potential to produce native states also for more realistic protein models. For d=3, where no published ground states exist, we present some putative lowest energy states for future comparison with other methods.

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Growth-based optimization algorithm for lattice heteropolymers.

An improved version of the pruned-enriched-Rosenbluth method (PERM) is proposed and tested on finding lowest energy states in simple models of lattice heteropolymers. It is found to outperform not only the previous version of PERM, but also all other fully blind general purpose stochastic algorithms which have been employed on this problem. In many cases, it found new lowest energy states missed in previous papers. Limitations are discussed.

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Critical percolation in high dimensions.

We present Monte Carlo estimates for site and bond percolation thresholds in simple hypercubic lattices with 4-13 dimensions. For d<6 they are preliminary, for d>or =6 they are between 20 and 10(4) times more precise than the best previous estimates. This was achieved by three ingredients: (i) simple and fast hashing that allowed us to simulate clusters of millions of sites on computers with less than 500 Mbytes memory; (ii) a histogram method that allowed us to obtain information for several p values from a single simulation; and (iii) a variance reduction technique that is especially efficient at high dimensions where it reduces error bars by a factor of up to approximately 30 and more. Based on these data we propose a scaling law for finite cluster size corrections.

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Heat conduction and entropy production in a one-dimensional hard-particle gas.

We present large scale simulations for a one-dimensional chain of hard-point particles with alternating masses and correct several claims in recent literature based on much smaller simulations. We find heat conductivities kappa to diverge with the number N of particles. These depended strongly on the mass ratio, and extrapolations to N--> infinity, and t--> infinity, are difficult due to very large finite-size and finite-time corrections. Nevertheless, our data seem compatible with a universal power law kappa approximately N(alpha) with alpha approximately 0.33 suggesting a relation to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang model. We finally discuss why the system leads nevertheless to energy dissipation and entropy production, in spite of not being chaotic in the usual sense.

Journal Article↗

Trapping reaction with mobile traps.

We present the Monte Carlo results for the two-species trapping reaction A+B-->B with diffusing A and B on lattices in one, two, and three dimensions. We use an algorithm that permits one to simulate the survival probabilities of A particles down to <10(-30) with high accuracy. The results for the survival probability agree much better with the exact asymptotic predictions of Bramson and Lebowitz [Phys. Rev. Lett. 61, 2397 (1988)] than with the heuristics of Kang and Redner [J. Phys. A 17, L451 (1984)]. But there are very large deviations from either, which show that even these simulations are far from asymptotia. This is supported by the rms displacement of A particles, which clearly shows that the asymptotic regime has not been reached, at least for d=2 and d=3.

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Stretched polymers in a poor solvent.

Stretched polymers with attractive interaction are studied in two and three dimensions. They are described by biased self-avoiding random walks with nearest-neighbor attraction. The bias corresponds to opposite forces applied to the first and last monomers. We show that both in d=2 and d=3 a phase transition occurs as this force is increased beyond a critical value, where the polymer changes from a collapsed globule to a stretched configuration. This transition is second order in d=2 and first order in d=3. For d=2 we predict the transition point quantitatively from properties of the unstretched polymer. This is not possible in d=3, but even there we can estimate the transition point precisely, and we can study the scaling at temperatures slightly below the collapse temperature of the unstretched polymer. We find very large finite size corrections that would make very difficult the estimate of the transition point from straightforward simulations.

Journal Article↗

Entropy estimation of symbol sequences.

We discuss algorithms for estimating the Shannon entropy h of finite symbol sequences with long range correlations. In particular, we consider algorithms which estimate h from the code lengths produced by some compression algorithm. Our interest is in describing their convergence with sequence length, assuming no limits for the space and time complexities of the compression algorithms. A scaling law is proposed for extrapolation from finite sample lengths. This is applied to sequences of dynamical systems in non-trivial chaotic regimes, a 1-D cellular automaton, and to written English texts. (c)1996 American Institute of Physics.

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On noise reduction methods for chaotic data.

Recently proposed noise reduction methods for nonlinear chaotic time sequences with additive noise are analyzed and generalized. All these methods have in common that they work iteratively, and that in each step of the iteration the noise is suppressed by requiring locally linear relations among the delay coordinates, i.e., by moving the delay vectors towards some smooth manifold. The different methods can be compared unambiguously in the case of strictly hyperbolic systems corrupted by measurement noise of infinitesimally low level. It was found that all proposed methods converge in this ideal case, but not equally fast. Different problems arise if the system is not hyperbolic, and at higher noise levels. A new scheme which seems to avoid most of these problems is proposed and tested, and seems to give the best noise reduction so far. Moreover, large improvements are possible within the new scheme and the previous schemes if their parameters are not kept fixed during the iteration, and if corrections are included which take into account the curvature of the attracting manifold. Finally, the fact that comparison with simple low-pass filters tends to overestimate the relative achievements of these nonlinear noise reduction schemes is stressed, and it is suggested that they should be compared to Wiener-type filters.

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