Application of Fuzzy Logic in Automated Cow Status Monitoring

Sensors that measure yield, temperature, electrical conductivity of milk, and animal activity can be used for automated cow status monitoring. The occurrence of false-positive alerts, generated by a detection model, creates problems in practice. We used fuzzy logic to classify mastitis and estrus alerts; our objective was to reduce the number of false-positive alerts and not to change the level of detected cases of mastitis and estrus. Inputs for the fuzzy logic model were alerts from the detection model and additional information, such as the reproductive status. The output was a classification, true or false, of each alert. Only alerts that were classified true should be presented to the herd manager. Additional information was used to check whether deviating sensor measurements were caused by mastitis or estrus, or by other influences. A fuzzy logic model for the classification of mastitis alerts was tested on a data set from cows milked in an automatic milking system. All clinical cases without measurement errors were classified correctly. The number of false-positive alerts over time from a subset of 25 cows was reduced from 1266 to 64 by applying the fuzzy logic model. A fuzzy logic model for the classification of estrus alerts was tested on two data sets. The number of detected cases decreased slightly after classification, and the number of false-positive alerts decreased considerably. Classification by a fuzzy logic model proved to be very useful in increasing the applicability of automated cow status monitoring

Essential facts of the monitoring of the sand extraction and its impact on the Flemish banks on the Belgian Continental Shelf from 2003 to 2012

The monitoring of sand extraction on the Flemish sandbanks of the Belgian continental shelf is based on multiple types of data: statistics derived from the extraction registers, data from the Electronic Monitoring System (EMS = “black-boxes”) on board the dredging vessels (complete records are available since 2003), and regular bathymetric surveys with the multibeam echosounders MBES) EM1002 and EM3002D (installed on the R/V Belgica) across the sandbanks along parallel lines and on specific areas. The analysis of the various types of data provides a 4D (space and time) view of the evolution of the extraction and admits robust and pragmatic conclusions about the real impact of the sand extraction on the marine environment. From 2003 to 2012, the global bathymetric evolution, based on MBES EM1002 and EM3002D measurements along lines across the control zones, confirms thestraightforward relation between the extraction and the bathymetrical evolution. On a larger scale, virtually all ofthe bathymetric variation can be explained by the extraction itself. In areas without any extraction, no significanttrend of the bathymetry is observed

Applying suitability distributions in a geological context

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The early diagenetic and PETROphysical behaviour of recent cold-water CARbonate mounds in Deep Environments (PETROCARDE)

Sub-recent cold-water carbonate mounds localized in deeper slope settings on the Atlantic continental margins cannot be any longer neglected in the study of carbonate systems. They clearly play a major role in the dynamics of mixed siliciclastic-carbonate and/or carbonate-dominated continental slopes. Carbonate accumulation rates of cold-water carbonate mounds are about 4 to 12 % of the carbonate accumulation rates of tropical shallow-water reefs but exceed the carbonate accumulation rates of their slope settings by a factor of 4 to 12 (Titschack et al.,2009). These findings emphasize the importance of these carbonate factories as carbonate niches on the continental margins. The primary environmental architecture of such carbonate bodies is well-characterized. However, despite proven evidences of early diagenesis overprinting the primary environmental record (e.g. aragonite dissolution) (Foubert & Henriet, 2009), the extent of early diagenetic and biogeochemical processes shaping the petrophysical nature of mounds is until now not yet fully understood.Understanding (1) the functioning of a carbonate mound as biogeochemical reactor triggering early diagenetic processes and (2) the impact of early diagenesis on the petrophysical behaviour of a carbonate mound in space and through time are necessary (vital) for the reliable prediction of potential late diagenetic processes. Approaching the fossil carbonate mound record, through a profound study of recent carbonate bodies is innovative and will help to better understand processes observed in the fossil mound world (such as cementation, brecciation, fracturing, etc. . . ).In this study, the 155-m high Challenger mound (Porcupine Seabight, SW of Ireland), drilled during IODP Expedition 307 aboard the R/V Joides Resolution (Foubert & Henriet, 2009), and mounds from the Gulf of Cadiz (Moroccan margin) will be discussed in terms of early diagenetic processes and petrophysical behaviour. Early differential diagenesis overprints the primary environmental signals in Challenger mound, with extensive coral dissolution and the genesis of small-scaled semi-lithified layers in the Ca-rich intervals. The low cementation rates compared to the extensive dissolution patterns can be explained by an open-system diagenetic model. Moreover, Pirlet et al. (2009) emphasizes the occurrence of gypsum and dolomite in another mound system (Mound Perseverance) in Porcupine Seabight, which might be also related with fluid oxidation events in a semi-open diagenetic system. Along the Moroccan margins, fluid seepage and fluxes in pore water transport affect the development of mound structures, enhancing extensive cold-water coral dissolution and precipitation of diagenetic minerals such as dolomite, calcite, pyrite, etc. (Foubert et al., 2008). Recent carbonate mounds provide indeed an excellent opportunity to study early diagenetic processes in carbonate systems without the complications of burial and/or later meteoric diagenesis

A machine learning pipeline for discriminant pathways identification

Motivation: Identifying the molecular pathways more prone to disruption during a pathological process is a key task in network medicine and, more in general, in systems biology. Results: In this work we propose a pipeline that couples a machine learning solution for molecular profiling with a recent network comparison method. The pipeline can identify changes occurring between specific sub-modules of networks built in a case-control biomarker study, discriminating key groups of genes whose interactions are modified by an underlying condition. The proposal is independent from the classification algorithm used. Three applications on genomewide data are presented regarding children susceptibility to air pollution and two neurodegenerative diseases: Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Availability: Details about the software used for the experiments discussed in this paper are provided in the Appendix

Observations on the Bongo

This is where the abstract of this record would appear. This is only demonstration data

Green Deal Sportvelden 2020 : samen op weg naar een duurzame toekomst

BSNC werkt nadrukkelijk mee aan een duurzame aanpak. Los van de juridische haalbaarheid ondersteunt BSNC de conclusie dat een absoluut verbod op gebruik van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen op sportvelden in 2017 niet haalbaar is. Zorgvuldig gebruik van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen is en blijft noodzakelijk. Op basis van IPM kan men in 2015 de concreet haalbare reductie op de milieudruk voor sportvelden vastleggen. De milieubelasting richt zich op volume en effect op water, leven, bodemleven, grondwater en de mate van vervluchtiging

Limited effect of patient and disease characteristics on compliance with hospital antimicrobial guidelines

Objective: Physicians frequently deviate from guidelines that promote prudent use of antimicrobials. We explored to what extent patient and disease characteristics were associated with compliance with guideline recommendations for three common infections. Methods: In a 1-year prospective observational study, 1,125 antimicrobial prescriptions were analysed for compliance with university hospital guidelines. Results: Compliance varied significantly between and within the groups of infections studied. Compliance was much higher for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs; 79%) than for sepsis (53%) and urinary tract infections (UTIs; 40%). Only predisposing illnesses and active malignancies were associated with more compliant prescribing, whereas alcohol/ intravenous drug abuse and serum creatinine levels > 130 mu mol/l were associated with less compliant prescribing. Availability of culture results had no impact on compliance with guidelines for sepsis but was associated with more compliance in UTIs and less in LRTIs. Narrowing initial broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy to cultured pathogens was seldom practised. Most noncompliant prescribing concerned a too broad spectrum of activity when compared with guideline-recommended therapy. Conclusion: Patient characteristics had only a limited impact on compliant prescribing for a variety of reasons. Physicians seemed to practise defensive prescribing behaviour, favouring treatment success in current patients over loss of effectiveness due to resistance in future patients