A Novel Evolutionary Algorithm
household data from two towns in Guatemala as examples .
Evolutionary Algorithms
Evolutionary algorithms are biologically inspired algorithms that have been used to solve a range of complex problems . While there are many different types of evolutionary algorithms , all evolutionary algorithms use populations of possible solutions where usually the fit solutions survive and / or produce offspring . Offspring are created every generation using crossover , mutation , or a combination of the two methods . Crossover involves the combination of parts of fit solutions to create a new solution , while mutation usually consists of random minor changes to a fit solution ( Eiben & Smith , 2010 ). Using these core concepts of evolution , evolutionary algorithms are able to evolve a population of fit solutions for problems that have complex nonlinear search spaces .
In this article , we apply a novel evolutionary algorithm , the conjunctive clause evolutionary algorithm ( CCEA ) ( Hanley et al ., 2016 , 2017 ), to explore the complex epistatic , heterogeneous , nonlinear interactions associated with the infestation of two towns in Guatemala with the Chagas vector T . dimidiata .
Methods and Material
Study Sites
Our study sites are the small rural towns of El Chaperno and El Carrizal located in the dry highlands of Jutiapa , Guatemala ( red and yellow dots of Figure 1 ). Jutiapa , Guatemala ( highlighted in red , Panel A ) borders El Salvador with the study site locations shown as a yellow star . El Carrizal
( Panel B ) has spur roads radiating from the main road making the town less linear in shape . El Chaperno ( Panel C ) is linear in shape since most of the houses are adjacent to the principal road running through the town . In addition , El Chaperno is more heavily forested than El Carrizal due to its forest conservation efforts .
From October 1 – 3 , 2012 in El Chaperno and February 4 – 5 , 2013 in El Carrizal , teams comprised of personnel from the Escuela de Biología , La Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala , and the Guatemalan Ministry of Health Office of Vector-Borne Diseases conducted entomological and socioeconomic surveys of 182 and 129 houses , respectively . Informed consent was obtained from all adult participants and from parents or legal guardians of minors . This project received ethical clearance from the Ministry of Health in Guatemala , La Universidad de San Carlos bioethics committee , and the Panamerican Health Organization .
The El Chaperno and El Carrizal house surveys contained 64 features thought to be potential risk factors for infestation with T . dimidiata . The dataset of each community was analyzed separately , and then combined and re-analyzed to test for larger-scale regional patterns . Given the difficulty in finding live T . dimidiata ( Monroy et al ., 1998 ), and because we are interested in identifying features associated with the risk of house infestation that help further the development of intervention strategies , we define infestation as any sign of T . dimidiata presence in the house ( i . e ., live or dead vectors , eggs , exuviae , or feces ) as we believe these signs of T . dimidiata are indicative that the house is either currently infested or has been infested in the recent past . El Carrizal has a higher percentage of infested houses than El Chaperno does ; however , both data-
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