So-called string problems are abundant in bioinformatics and computational biology. New optimization problems dealing with DNA or protein sequences are constantly arising and researchers are highly in need of efficient optimization techniques for solving them. One obstacle for optimization practitioners is the atypical nature of these problems which require an interdisciplinary approach in order to solve them efficiently and accurately.

So-called string problems are abundant in bioinformatics and computational biology. New optimization problems dealing with DNA or protein sequences are constantly arising and researchers are highly in need of efficient optimization techniques for solving them. One obstacle for optimization practitioners is the atypical nature of these problems which require an interdisciplinary approach in order to solve them efficiently and accurately.

This volume LNCS 12735 constitutes the papers of the 18th International Conference on the Integration of Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Operations Research, CPAIOR 2021, which was held in Vienna, Austria, in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held online. The 30 regular papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 75 submissions. The conference program included a Master Class on the topic "Explanation and Verification of Machine Learning Models".

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Hybrid Metaheuristics, HM 2010, held in Vienna, Austria, in October 2010. The 14 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 29 submissions.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Learning and Intelligent Optimization, LION 12, held in Kalamata, Greece, in June 2018. The 28 full papers and 12 short papers presented have been carefully reviewed and selected from 62 submissions. The papers explore the advanced research developments in such interconnected fields as mathematical programming, global optimization, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Special focus is given to advanced ideas, technologies, methods, and applications in optimization and machine learning.

A unified view of metaheuristics This book provides a complete background on metaheuristics and shows readers how to design and implement efficient algorithms to solve complex optimization problems across a diverse range of applications, from networking and bioinformatics to engineering design, routing, and scheduling. It presents the main design questions for all families of metaheuristics and clearly illustrates how to implement the algorithms under a software framework to reuse both the design and code. Throughout the book, the key search components of metaheuristics are considered as a toolbox for: Designing efficient metaheuristics (e.g. local search, tabu search, simulated annealing, evolutionary algorithms, particle swarm optimization, scatter search, ant colonies, bee colonies, artificial immune systems) for optimization problems Designing efficient metaheuristics for multi-objective optimization problems Designing hybrid, parallel, and distributed metaheuristics Implementing metaheuristics on sequential and parallel machines Using many case studies and treating design and implementation independently, this book gives readers the skills necessary to solve large-scale optimization problems quickly and efficiently. It is a valuable reference for practicing engineers and researchers from diverse areas dealing with optimization or machine learning; and graduate students in computer science, operations research, control, engineering, business and management, and applied mathematics.

This book constitutes the post-conference proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Machine Learning, Optimization, and Data Science, LOD 2019, held in Siena, Italy, in September 2019. The 54 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 158 submissions. The papers cover topics in the field of machine learning, artificial intelligence, reinforcement learning, computational optimization and data science presenting a substantial array of ideas, technologies, algorithms, methods and applications.