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Fulltext On Nash Equilibrium and Evolutionarily Stable States That Are Not Characterised by the Folk Theorem

Li J, Kendall G

PLoS One, 2015;10(8):e0136032.
PMID: 26288088 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136032

In evolutionary game theory, evolutionarily stable states are characterised by the folk theorem because exact solutions to the replicator equation are difficult to obtain. It is generally assumed that the folk theorem, which is the fundamental theory for non-cooperative games, defines all Nash equilibria in infinitely repeated games. Here, we prove that Nash equilibria that are not characterised by the folk theorem do exist. By adopting specific reactive strategies, a group of players can be better off by coordinating their actions in repeated games. We call it a type-k equilibrium when a group of k players coordinate their actions and they have no incentive to deviate from their strategies simultaneously. The existence and stability of the type-k equilibrium in general games is discussed. This study shows that the sets of Nash equilibria and evolutionarily stable states have greater cardinality than classic game theory has predicted in many repeated games.
Fulltext The effects of extra-somatic weapons on the evolution of human cooperation towards non-kin

Phillips T, Li J, Kendall G

PLoS One, 2014;9(5):e95742.
PMID: 24796325 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095742

Human cooperation and altruism towards non-kin is a major evolutionary puzzle, as is 'strong reciprocity' where no present or future rewards accrue to the co-operator/altruist. Here, we test the hypothesis that the development of extra-somatic weapons could have influenced the evolution of human cooperative behaviour, thus providing a new explanation for these two puzzles. Widespread weapons use could have made disputes within hominin groups far more lethal and also equalized power between individuals. In such a cultural niche non-cooperators might well have become involved in such lethal disputes at a higher frequency than cooperators, thereby increasing the relative fitness of genes associated with cooperative behaviour. We employ two versions of the evolutionary Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma (IPD) model--one where weapons use is simulated and one where it is not. We then measured the performance of 25 IPD strategies to evaluate the effects of weapons use on them. We found that cooperative strategies performed significantly better, and non-cooperative strategies significantly worse, under simulated weapons use. Importantly, the performance of an 'Always Cooperate' IPD strategy, equivalent to that of 'strong reciprocity', improved significantly more than that of all other cooperative strategies. We conclude that the development of extra-somatic weapons throws new light on the evolution of human altruistic and cooperative behaviour, and particularly 'strong reciprocity'. The notion that distinctively human altruism and cooperation could have been an adaptive trait in a past environment that is no longer evident in the modern world provides a novel addition to theory that seeks to account for this major evolutionary puzzle.
Is There a Role for Publication Consultants and How Should Their Contribution be Recognized?

Kendall G, Yee A, McCollum B

Sci Eng Ethics, 2016 10;22(5):1553-1560.
PMID: 26480965

When a scientific paper, dissertation or thesis is published the author(s) have a duty to report who has contributed to the work. This recognition can take several forms such as authorship, relevant acknowledgments and by citing previous work. There is a growing industry where publication consultants will work with authors, research groups or even institutions to help get their work published, or help submit their dissertation/thesis. This help can range from proof reading, data collection, analysis (including statistics), helping with the literature review and identifying suitable journals/conferences. In this opinion article we question whether these external services are required, given that institutions should provide this support and that experienced researchers should be qualified to carry out these activities. If these services are used, we argue that their use should at least be made transparent either by the consultant being an author on the paper, or by being acknowledged on the paper, dissertation or thesis. We also argue that publication consultants should provide an annual return that details the papers, dissertations and thesis that they have consulted on.
The combined effect of optimal control and swarm intelligence on optimization of cancer chemotherapy

Shindi O, Kanesan J, Kendall G, Ramanathan A

Comput Methods Programs Biomed, 2020 Jun;189:105327.
PMID: 31978808 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105327

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In cancer therapy optimization, an optimal amount of drug is determined to not only reduce the tumor size but also to maintain the level of chemo toxicity in the patient's body. The increase in the number of objectives and constraints further burdens the optimization problem. The objective of the present work is to solve a Constrained Multi- Objective Optimization Problem (CMOOP) of the Cancer-Chemotherapy. This optimization results in optimal drug schedule through the minimization of the tumor size and the drug concentration by ensuring the patient's health level during dosing within an acceptable level.
METHODS: This paper presents two hybrid methodologies that combines optimal control theory with multi-objective swarm and evolutionary algorithms and compares the performance of these methodologies with multi-objective swarm intelligence algorithms such as MOEAD, MODE, MOPSO and M-MOPSO. The hybrid and conventional methodologies are compared by addressing CMOOP.
RESULTS: The minimized tumor and drug concentration results obtained by the hybrid methodologies demonstrate that they are not only superior to pure swarm intelligence or evolutionary algorithm methodologies but also consumes far less computational time. Further, Second Order Sufficient Condition (SSC) is also used to verify and validate the optimality condition of the constrained multi-objective problem.
CONCLUSION: The proposed methodologies reduce chemo-medicine administration while maintaining effective tumor killing. This will be helpful for oncologist to discover and find the optimum dose schedule of the chemotherapy that reduces the tumor cells while maintaining the patients' health at a safe level.
Fulltext An improved adaptive memetic differential evolution optimization algorithms for data clustering problems

Mustafa HMJ, Ayob M, Nazri MZA, Kendall G

PLoS One, 2019;14(5):e0216906.
PMID: 31137034 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216906

The performance of data clustering algorithms is mainly dependent on their ability to balance between the exploration and exploitation of the search process. Although some data clustering algorithms have achieved reasonable quality solutions for some datasets, their performance across real-life datasets could be improved. This paper proposes an adaptive memetic differential evolution optimisation algorithm (AMADE) for addressing data clustering problems. The memetic algorithm (MA) employs an adaptive differential evolution (DE) mutation strategy, which can offer superior mutation performance across many combinatorial and continuous problem domains. By hybridising an adaptive DE mutation operator with the MA, we propose that it can lead to faster convergence and better balance the exploration and exploitation of the search. We would also expect that the performance of AMADE to be better than MA and DE if executed separately. Our experimental results, based on several real-life benchmark datasets, shows that AMADE outperformed other compared clustering algorithms when compared using statistical analysis. We conclude that the hybridisation of MA and the adaptive DE is a suitable approach for addressing data clustering problems and can improve the balance between global exploration and local exploitation of the optimisation algorithm.
What does ChatGPT advise about predatory publishing?

Tsigaris P, Kendall G, Teixeira da Silva JA

J Prof Nurs, 2023;49:188-189.
PMID: 38042556 DOI: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2023.08.002

The debate surrounding "predatory publishing" continues to be unable to find entirely effective solutions to dealing with this problem, despite fervent efforts by many academics and policy makers around the world. Given this situation, we were interested in appreciating whether ChatGPT would be able to offer insight and solutions, to complement current human-based efforts.
Fulltext The undeclared use of third-party service providers in academic publishing is unethical: an epistemic reflection and scoping review

Teixeira da Silva JA, Daly T, Türp JC, Sabel BA, Kendall G

Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol, 2024 Dec;397(12):9435-9447.
PMID: 38990307 DOI: 10.1007/s00210-024-03177-6

There is a substantial body of scientific literature on the use of third-party services (TPS) by academics to assist as "publication consultants" in scholarly publishing. TPS provide a wide range of scholarly services to research teams that lack the equipment, skills, motivation, or time to produce a paper without external assistance. While services such as language editing, statistical support, or graphic design are common and often legitimate, some TPS also provide illegitimate services and send unsolicited e-mails (spam) to academics offering these services. Such illegitimate types of TPS have the potential to threaten the integrity of the peer-reviewed scientific literature. In extreme cases, for-profit agencies known as "paper mills" even offer fake scientific publications or authorship slots for sale. The use of such illegitimate services as well as the failure to acknowledge their use is an ethical violation in academic publishing, while the failure to declare support for a TPS can be considered a form of contract fraud. We discuss some literature on TPS, highlight services currently offered by ten of the largest commercial publishers and expect authors to be transparent about the use of these services in their publications. From an ethical/moral (i.e., non-commercial) point of view, it is the responsibility of editors, journals, and publishers, and it should be in their best interest to ensure that illegitimate TPS are identified and prohibited, while publisher-employed TPS should be properly disclosed in their publications.