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Applications of the cross-entropy method to importance sampling and optimal control of diffusions
(2014)
We study the cross-entropy method for diffusions. One of the results is a versatile cross-entropy algorithm that can be used to design efficient importance sampling strategies for rare events or to solve optimal control problems. The approach is based on the minimization of a suitable cross-entropy functional, with a parametric family of exponentially tilted probability distributions. We illustrate the new algorithm with several numerical examples and discuss algorithmic issues and possible extensions of the method.
Rare but important transition events between long lived states are a key feature of many molecular systems. In many cases the computation of rare event statistics by direct molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is infeasible even on the most powerful computers because of the immensely long simulation timescales needed. Recently a technique for spatial discretization of the molecular state space designed to help overcome such problems, so-called Markov State Models (MSMs), has attracted a lot of attention. We review the theoretical background and algorithmic realization of MSMs and illustrate their use by some numerical examples. Furthermore we introduce a novel approach to using MSMs for the efficient solution of optimal control problems that appear in applications where one desires to optimize molecular properties by means of external controls.
Linear response theory and optimal control for a molecular system under nonequilibrium conditions
(2013)
In this paper, we propose a straightforward generalization of linear
response theory to systems in nonequilibrium that are subject to
nonequilibrium driving. We briefly revisit the standard linear response
result for equilibrium systems, where we consider Langevin dynamics
as a special case, and then give an alternative derivation using a
change-of-measure argument that does not rely on any stationarity or
reversibility assumption. This procedure moreover easily enables us
to calculate the second order correction to the linear response formula
(which may or may not be useful in practice). Furthermore, we outline
how the novel nonequilibirum linear response formula can be used to
compute optimal controls of molecular systems for cases in which one
wants to steer the system to maximize a certain target expectation
value. We illustrate our approach with simple numerical examples.
Understanding the Romanization Spreading on Historical Interregional Networks in Northern Tunisia
(2022)
Spreading processes are important drivers of change in social systems. To understand the mechanisms of spreading it is fundamental to have information about the underlying contact network and the dynamical parameters of the process.
However, in many real-wold examples, this information is not known and needs to be inferred from data. State-of-the-art spreading inference methods have mostly been applied to modern social systems, as they rely on availability of very detailed data. In this paper we study the inference challenges for historical spreading processes, for which only very fragmented information is available. To cope with this problem, we extend existing network models by formulating a model on a mesoscale with temporal spreading rate. Furthermore, we formulate the respective parameter inference problem for the extended model. We apply our approach to the romanization process of Northern Tunisia, a scarce dataset, and study properties of the inferred time-evolving interregional networks. As a result, we show that (1) optimal solutions consist of very different network structures and spreading rate functions; and that (2) these diverse solutions produce very similar spreading patterns. Finally, we discuss how inferred dominant interregional connections are related to available archaeological traces. Historical networks resulting from our approach can help understanding complex processes of cultural change in ancient times.
We consider complex dynamical systems showing metastable behavior but no local
separation of fast and slow time scales. The article raises the question of whether
such systems exhibit a low-dimensional manifold supporting its effective dynamics.
For answering this question, we aim at finding nonlinear coordinates, called reaction
coordinates, such that the projection of the dynamics onto these coordinates preserves
the dominant time scales of the dynamics. We show that, based on a specific
reducibility property, the existence of good low-dimensional reaction coordinates
preserving the dominant time scales is guaranteed. Based on this theoretical framework,
we develop and test a novel numerical approach for computing good reaction
coordinates. The proposed algorithmic approach is fully local and thus not prone to
the curse of dimension with respect to the state space of the dynamics. Hence, it is
a promising method for data-based model reduction of complex dynamical systems
such as molecular dynamics.
Initiated by mathematical modelling of extracellular interactions between G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ligands in normal versus diseased (inflamed) environments, we previously reported the successful design, synthesis and testing of the prototype opioid painkiller NFEPP that does not elicit adverse side effects. Uniquely, this design recognised that GPCRs function differently under pathological versus healthy conditions.
We now present a novel stochastic model of GPCR function that includes intracellular dissociation of G-protein subunits and modulation of plasma membrane calcium channels associated with parameters of inflamed tissue (pH, radicals). By means of molecular dynamics simulations, we also assessed qualitative changes of the reaction rates due to additional disulfide bridges inside the GPCR binding pocket and used these rates for stochastic simulations of the corresponding reaction jump process.
The modelling results were validated with in vitro experiments measuring calcium currents and G-protein activation.
We found markedly reduced G-protein dissociation and calcium channel inhibition induced by NFEPP at normal pH, and enhanced constitutive G-protein activation but lower probability of ligand binding with increasing radical concentrations.
These results suggest that, compared to radicals, low pH is a more important determinant of overall GPCR function in an inflamed environment. Future drug design efforts should take this into account.
Molecular simulations of ligand-receptor interactions are a computational challenge, especially when their association- (``on''-rate) and dissociation- (``off''-rate) mechanisms are working on vastly differing timescales. In addition, the timescale of the simulations themselves is, in practice, orders of magnitudes smaller than that of the mechanisms; which further adds to the complexity of observing these mechanisms, and of drawing meaningful and significant biological insights from the simulation.
One way of tackling this multiscale problem is to compute the free-energy landscapes, where molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories are used to only produce certain statistical ensembles. The approach allows for deriving the transition rates between energy states as a function of the height of the activation-energy barriers. In this article, we derive the association rates of the opioids fentanyl and N-(3-fluoro-1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)- N-phenyl propionamide (NFEPP) in a $\mu$-opioid receptor by combining the free-energy landscape approach with the square-root-approximation method (SQRA), which is a particularly robust version of Markov modelling. The novelty of this work is that we derive the association rates as a function of the pH level using only an ensemble of MD simulations. We also verify our MD-derived insights by reproducing the in vitro study performed by the Stein Lab, who investigated the influence of pH on the inhibitory constant of fentanyl and NFEPP (Spahn et al. 2017).
MD simulations are far more accessible and cost-effective than in vitro and in vivo studies. Especially in the context of the current opioid crisis, MD simulations can aid in unravelling molecular functionality and assist in clinical decision-making; the approaches presented in this paper are a pertinent step forward in this direction.
Recent years have seen an increased interest in non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations, especially for molecular systems with periodic forcing by external fields, e.g., in the context of studying effects of electromagnetic radiation on the human body tissue. Lately, an NEMD methods with local thermostating has been proposed that allows for studying non-equilibrium processes in a statistically reliable and thermodynamically consistent way. In this article, we demonstrate how to construct Markov State Models (MSMs) for such NEMD simulations. MSM building has been well-established for systems in equilibrium where MSMs with just a few (macro-)states allow for accurate reproduction of the essential kinetics of the molecular system under consideration. Non-equilibrium MSMs have been lacking so far. The article presents how to construct such MSMs and illustrates their validity and usefulness for the case of conformation dynamics of alanine dipeptide in an external electric field.
We investigate metastable dynamical systems subject to non-stationary forcing as they appear in molecular dynamics for systems driven by external fields. We show, that if the strength of the forcing is inversely proportional to the length of the slow metastable time scales of the unforced system, then the effective behavior of the forced system on slow time scales can be described by a low-dimensional reduced master equation. Our construction is explicit and uses the multiscale perturbation expansion method called two-timing, or method of multiple scales. The reduced master equation—a Markov state model—can be assembled by constructing two equilibrium Markov state models; one for the unforced system, and one for a slightly perturbed one.
We present a comprehensive theory for analysis and understanding of transition events between an initial set A and a target set B for general ergodic finite-state space Markov chains or jump processes, including random walks on networks as they occur, e.g., in Markov State Modelling in molecular dynamics. The theory allows us to decompose the probability flow generated by transition events between the sets A and B into the productive part that directly flows from A to B through reaction pathways and the unproductive part that runs in loops and is supported on cycles of the underlying network. It applies to random walks on directed networks and nonreversible Markov processes and can be seen as an extension of Transition Path Theory. Information on reaction pathways and unproductive cycles results from the stochastic cycle decomposition of the underlying network which also allows to compute their corresponding weight, thus characterizing completely which structure is used how often in transition events. The new theory is illustrated by an application to a Markov State Model resulting from weakly damped Langevin dynamics where the unproductive cycles are associated with periodic orbits of the underlying Hamiltonian dynamics.