arXiv subjects

Narsis A. Kiani

Publications and source records attributed to Narsis A. Kiani.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Symmetry and Algorithmic Complexity of Polyominoes and Polyhedral Graphs

We introduce a definition of algorithmic symmetry able to capture essential aspects of geometric symmetry. We review, study and apply a method for approximating the algorithmic complexity (also known as Kolmogorov-Chaitin complexity) of graphs and networks based on the concept of Algorithmic Probability (AP). AP is a concept (and method) capable of recursively enumeration all properties of computable (causal) nature beyond statistical regularities. We explore the connections of algorithmic complexity---both theoretical and numerical---with geometric properties mainly symmetry and topology from an (algorithmic) information-theoretic perspective. We show that approximations to algorithmic complexity by lossless compression and an Algorithmic Probability-based method can characterize properties of polyominoes, polytopes, regular and quasi-regular polyhedra as well as polyhedral networks, thereby demonstrating its profiling capabilities.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2018

Predictive Systems Toxicology

In this review we address to what extent computational techniques can augment our ability to predict toxicity. The first section provides a brief history of empirical observations on toxicity dating back to the dawn of Sumerian civilization. Interestingly, the concept of dose emerged very early on, leading up to the modern emphasis on kinetic properties, which in turn encodes the insight that toxicity is not solely a property of a compound but instead depends on the interaction with the host organism. The next logical step is the current conception of evaluating drugs from a personalized medicine point-of-view. We review recent work on integrating what could be referred to as classical pharmacokinetic analysis with emerging systems biology approaches incorporating multiple omics data. These systems approaches employ advanced statistical analytical data processing complemented with machine learning techniques and use both pharmacokinetic and omics data. We find that such integrated approaches not only provide improved predictions of toxicity but also enable mechanistic interpretations of the molecular mechanisms underpinning toxicity and drug resistance. We conclude the chapter by discussing some of the main challenges, such as how to balance the inherent tension between the predictive capacity of models, which in practice amounts to constraining the number of features in the models versus allowing for rich mechanistic interpretability, i.e. equipping models with numerous molecular features. This challenge also requires patient-specific predictions on toxicity, which in turn requires proper stratification of patients as regards how they respond, with or without adverse toxic effects. In summary, the transformation of the ancient concept of dose is currently successfully operationalized using rich integrative data encoded in patient-specific models.

q-bio.MN↗

arXiv2017

HiDi: An efficient reverse engineering schema for large scale dynamic regulatory network reconstruction using adaptive differentiation

The use of differential equations (ODE) is one of the most promising approaches to network inference. The success of ODE-based approaches has, however, been limited, due to the difficulty in estimating parameters and by their lack of scalability. Here we introduce a novel method and pipeline to reverse engineer gene regulatory networks from gene expression of time series and perturbation data based upon an improvement on the calculation scheme of the derivatives and a pre-filtration step to reduce the number of possible links. The method introduces a linear differential equation model with adaptive numerical differentiation that is scalable to extremely large regulatory networks. We demonstrate the ability of this method to outperform current state-of-the-art methods applied to experimental and synthetic data using test data from the DREAM4 and DREAM5 challenges. Our method displays greater accuracy and scalability. We benchmark the performance of the pipeline with respect to data set size and levels of noise. We show that the computation time is linear over various network sizes.

q-bio.MN↗

arXiv2016

Evaluating Network Inference Methods in Terms of Their Ability to Preserve the Topology and Complexity of Genetic Networks

Network inference is a rapidly advancing field, with new methods being proposed on a regular basis. Understanding the advantages and limitations of different network inference methods is key to their effective application in different circumstances. The common structural properties shared by diverse networks naturally pose a challenge when it comes to devising accurate inference methods, but surprisingly, there is a paucity of comparison and evaluation methods. Historically, every new methodology has only been tested against \textit{gold standard} (true values) purpose-designed synthetic and real-world (validated) biological networks. In this paper we aim to assess the impact of taking into consideration aspects of topological and information content in the evaluation of the final accuracy of an inference procedure. Specifically, we will compare the best inference methods, in both graph-theoretic and information-theoretic terms, for preserving topological properties and the original information content of synthetic and biological networks. New methods for performance comparison are introduced by borrowing ideas from gene set enrichment analysis and by applying concepts from algorithmic complexity. Experimental results show that no individual algorithm outperforms all others in all cases, and that the challenging and non-trivial nature of network inference is evident in the struggle of some of the algorithms to turn in a performance that is superior to random guesswork. Therefore special care should be taken to suit the method to the purpose at hand. Finally, we show that evaluations from data generated using different underlying topologies have different signatures that can be used to better choose a network reconstruction method.

q-bio.MN↗

arXiv2015

Methods of Information Theory and Algorithmic Complexity for Network Biology

We survey and introduce concepts and tools located at the intersection of information theory and network biology. We show that Shannon's information entropy, compressibility and algorithmic complexity quantify different local and global aspects of synthetic and biological data. We show examples such as the emergence of giant components in Erdos-Renyi random graphs, and the recovery of topological properties from numerical kinetic properties simulating gene expression data. We provide exact theoretical calculations, numerical approximations and error estimations of entropy, algorithmic probability and Kolmogorov complexity for different types of graphs, characterizing their variant and invariant properties. We introduce formal definitions of complexity for both labeled and unlabeled graphs and prove that the Kolmogorov complexity of a labeled graph is a good approximation of its unlabeled Kolmogorov complexity and thus a robust definition of graph complexity.

q-bio.MN↗

arXiv2015

Quantifying Loss of Information in Network-based Dimensionality Reduction Techniques

To cope with the complexity of large networks, a number of dimensionality reduction techniques for graphs have been developed. However, the extent to which information is lost or preserved when these techniques are employed has not yet been clear. Here we develop a framework, based on algorithmic information theory, to quantify the extent to which information is preserved when network motif analysis, graph spectra and spectral sparsification methods are applied to over twenty different biological and artificial networks. We find that the spectral sparsification is highly sensitive to high number of edge deletion, leading to significant inconsistencies, and that graph spectral methods are the most irregular, capturing algebraic information in a condensed fashion but largely losing most of the information content of the original networks. However, the approach shows that network motif analysis excels at preserving the relative algorithmic information content of a network, hence validating and generalizing the remarkable fact that despite their inherent combinatorial possibilities, local regularities preserve information to such an extent that essential properties are fully recoverable across different networks to determine their family group to which they belong to (eg genetic vs social network). Our algorithmic information methodology thus provides a rigorous framework enabling a fundamental assessment and comparison between different data dimensionality reduction methods thereby facilitating the identification and evaluation of the capabilities of old and new methods.

q-bio.MN↗

arXiv2015

Numerical Investigation of Graph Spectra and Information Interpretability of Eigenvalues

We undertake an extensive numerical investigation of the graph spectra of thousands regular graphs, a set of random Erdös-Rényi graphs, the two most popular types of complex networks and an evolving genetic network by using novel conceptual and experimental tools. Our objective in so doing is to contribute to an understanding of the meaning of the Eigenvalues of a graph relative to its topological and information-theoretic properties. We introduce a technique for identifying the most informative Eigenvalues of evolving networks by comparing graph spectra behavior to their algorithmic complexity. We suggest that extending techniques can be used to further investigate the behavior of evolving biological networks. In the extended version of this paper we apply these techniques to seven tissue specific regulatory networks as static example and network of a naïve pluripotent immune cell in the process of differentiating towards a Th17 cell as evolving example, finding the most and least informative Eigenvalues at every stage.

cs.IT↗