QLS

Europe/Rome 2018-07-05 11:00:00 2018-07-05 12:00:00 QLS Seminar: Hydrodynamic signatures of stationary Marangoni-driven surfactant transport Surfactant spreading at air-water interfaces is driven by flow setup by surface tension gradients (Marangoni stress) established by the surfactants themselves. We experimentally probe the nature of steady surfactant transport on the interface when the resulting flow is strongest in a thin boundary layer near the interface. In particular, we present three experimental hydrodynamic signatures to distinguish between two limiting cases, viz. adsorption versus dissolution dominated transport, without invoking the surfactant's physico-chemical properties. In a region much larger than the surfactant source, but much smaller than the interfacial area, the steady-state fluid velocity assumes a self-similar form whose magnitude decays as a power-law with the distance from the source. We experimentally demonstrate that this power-law possesses an exponent -3/5 in adsorption and -1 in dissolution dominated flow. Explicit measurement of boundary layer and shear stress provide additional hydrodynamic signatures of surfactant transport mechanisms in the two limiting cases. We test this criterion against two known surfactants, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate and Tergitol 15-S-9, and apply the results to camphoric acid, with unknown surface properties. ICTP ICTP pio@ictp.it 5 Jul 2018

Europe/Rome 2018-07-09 08:00:00 2018-07-14 22:00:00 Workshop on Operations Research of Biological Systems | (smr 3223) Aim of the workshop   The workshop on the emerging field of biological operations research – the application of operations research methodologies in systems and molecular cell biology – is designed to bring together participants and lecturers versed in either of the two disciplines that are eager to further uncover the deep connections between the two fields and find new avenues for research and collaboration while gaining new insight on biological functions from an operational and system perspective.   The long-term goal of the workshop is to boost research and collaboration in this field, by acquainting researchers with the existing long-standing problems in system biology, molecular cell biology and bacterial physiology. We will explore the deep connections between these problems and those that arise in operations research, e.g. the question of regulation of mass production in an uncertain market, dynamic resource allocation, scheduling problems and the impact of different queuing disciplines of speed and efficiency of a complex production facility.   Researchers will have a chance to exchange ideas and compare different methodologies and modes of thinking about operational parameters such as throughput, efficiency, resource allocation, reliability, redundancy, and cost in a novel biological context.   Topics Scheduling and queuing disciplines – from circadian rhythms to pipelining of self-replication Allocation of resources to self-replication vs. maintenance Transcription and translation regulation, role of external and internal information Controlling WIP (work-in-progress) – Kanban, TOC, and CONWIP vs. product feedback inhibition Anticipatory systems and their reverse engineering Metabolic networks and queuing theory Bullwhip effect and the role of inventory control, forecasting and information Modern queuing theory Self-regulating and resource dependent branching processes   ICTP ICTP pio@ictp.it 9 Jul 2018 - 14 Jul 2018

Europe/Rome 2018-11-12 07:00:00 2018-11-23 21:00:00 Winter School on Quantitative Systems Biology: Learning and Artificial Intelligence | (smr 3246) THE CALL FOR APPLICATIONS IS OPEN DEADLINE: For applicants requesting  financial support: 1 September 2018 For applicants NOT requesting financial support: 15 October 2018   Artificial intelligence (AI) is undergoing an explosive phase — machines can now accomplish complex specific tasks at a level that exceeds human skills. At the basis of this performance is the ability to understand the sensory input from the external world and to associate it with effective strategies to achieve the desired goal.   This advanced school aims to combine different yet strongly coupled perspectives: first, theoretical approaches, which focus on principles, algorithms, and their applications to computer science; second, the relationship with experimental neuroscience, which has inspired the latest generation developments in AI and has, in turn, benefited from the ability of AI to investigate the computations underlying complex cognitive processes; third, applications such as robotics, gaming, etc.   The topics covered include:   •    deep learning and its relation to vision and language •    reinforcement learning and decision making •    sensorimotor learning •    the ethics of artificial intelligence and its impact on society Invited lecturers: B. Biggio (Cagliari U.) D. Braun (Ulm U.) P. Dayan (Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit) J. Di Carlo (MIT) B. Kappen (Radboud U., Nijmegen) T. Lattimore (DeepMind, London) M. Pelillo (Ca' Foscari U.) J. Peters (Technische Universitaet Darmstadt) L. Rosasco (U. Genova, MIT & IIT) N. Tishby (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) R. Zecchina (U. Bocconi )   Financial support for students from India is available under the Pratiksha Trust Scholarships, ICTS Bangalore ICTP ICTP pio@ictp.it 12 Nov 2018 - 23 Nov 2018