Efficient Predicate Invention using Shared NeMuS

Amao is a cognitive agent framework that tacklesthe invention of predicates with a different strat-egy as compared to recent advances in InductiveLogic Programming (ILP) approaches like Meta-Intepretive Learning (MIL) technique. It uses aNeural Multi-Space (NeMuS) graph structure toanti-unify atoms from the Herbrand base, whichpasses in the inductive momentum check. Induc-tive Clause Learning (ICL), as it is called, is ex-tended here by using the weights of logical compo-nents, already present in NeMuS, to support induc-tive learning by expanding clause candidates withanti-unified atoms. An efficient invention mecha-nism is achieved, including the learning of recur-sive hypotheses, while restricting the shape of thehypothesis by adding bias definitions or idiosyn-crasies of the language

Category-based Inductive Learning in Shared NeMuS

One of the main objectives of cognitive science is to use abstraction to create models that represent accurately the cognitive processes that constitute learning, such as categorisation. Relational knowledge is important in this task, since it is through the reasoning processes of induction and analogy that the mind creates categories (it later estabilishes causal relations between them by using induction and abduction), and analogies exemplify crucial properties of relational processing, like structure-consistent mapping[2]. Given the complexity of the task, no model today has accomplished it com- pletely. The associacionist/connectionist approach represents those processes through associations between different informations. That is done by using artifi- cial neural networks. However, it faces a great obstacle: the idea (called proposi- tional fixation) that neural networks could not represent relational knowledge. A recent attempt to tackle the symbolic extraction from artificial neural networks was proposed in [1] The cognitive agent Amao uses a shared Neural Multi-Space (Shared NeMuS) of coded first-order expressions to model the various aspects of logical formulae as separate spaces, with importance vectors of different sizes. Amao [4] uses inverse unification as the generalization mechanism for learning from a set of logically connected expressions of the Herbrand Base (HB). Here We present an experiment to use such learning mechanism to model a simple version of train set from Michalski’s train problem[3

Learning about Actions and Events in Shared NeMuS

The categorization process of information from pure data or learned in unsuper- vised artificial neural networks is still manual, especially in the labeling phase. Such a process is fundamental to knowledge representation [6], especially for symbol-based systems like logic, natural language processing and textual infor- mation retrieval. Unfortunately, applying categorization theory in large volumes of data does not lead to good results mainly because there is no generic and systematic way of categorizing such data processed by artificial neural networks and joining investigated conceptual structures. Connectionist approaches are capable of extracting information from arti- ficial neural networks, but categorizing them as symbolic knowledge have been little explored. The obstacle lies on the difficulty to find logical justification from response patterns of these networks [2]. This gets worse when considering induc- tive learning from dynamic data which is very important to Cognitive Sciences that considers categorization as a mental operation of classifying objects, actions and events [1]. We shall address the discoveries of our on-going investigation on the problem of inductively learning (IL) from dynamic data by applying a novel framework for neural-symbolic representation and reasoning called share Neural Multi-Space (NeMuS) used in the Amao system[4]. Instead of woking like traditional ap- proaches for ILP, e.g. [5], Amao uses a shared NeMuS of a give background knowledge (BK) and uses inverse unification as the generalization mechanism of a set of logically connected expressions from the Herbrand Base (HB) of BK that defines positive examples

Produtividade e altura da rebrota de estilosantes Campo Grande.

O estilosantes Campo Grande tem despertado interesse crescente como forrageira por ser uma planta que se adapta bem a solos de baixa fertilidade natural, apresenta resistência à antracnose, elevada ressemeadura natural e persistência sob pastejo. Dependendo do tipo de crescimento da planta, altura e produtividade podem estar estreitamente relacionadas. Objetivou-se avaliar a produtividade de matéria seca e altura do estilosantes Campo Grande a diferentes idades de rebrota, com e sem adição de fósforo. O experimento foi conduzido na área do Departamento de Zootecnia do Centro de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal do Piauí, adotando-se o delineamento experimental de blocos casualizados com quatro repetições e cinco tratamentos (idade de rebrota de 30, 35, 40, 45 e 50 dias) na presença e ausência de adubação fosfatada, equivalente a 50 kg/ha de P2O5. Na menor idade de rebrota a produtividade média foi cerca de 750 kg de MS/ha, tendo as plantas a média de 40 cm de altura. A maior altura encontrada foi de 60 cm, na idade de rebrota de 50 dias, acompanhada de produtividade de, aproximadamente, 2350 kg de MS/ha. A adição de fósforo teve pequeno efeito sobre a produtividade das plantas, não tendo, porém, influência sobre a sua altura. A produtividade e a altura das plantas aumentam linearmente com a idade de rebrota, sem efeito da adubação fosfatada sobre essa última

Nutrient metabolism and ingestive behavior of goats fed diets containing palm tree fruit.

The objective was to evaluate the nutrient metabolism and ingestive behavior of goats fed diets containing fruits of Carnauba and Tucum palm trees, abundant in the Northeast region with fruiting in the dry season and use as alternative food for ruminants. For this end, 21 goats fed three diets, one control and two with carnauba or tucum fruits, in a completely randomized design. We determined nutrient intake through total collection of leftovers, faces and urine, as well as energy and nitrogen balance. Ingestive behavior was assessed by visual observations every 5 min for 24 h. There was a reduction in dry matter intake of 0.183 and 0.223 kg/day for diets containing tucum and carnauba fruits, respectively. The intake of digestible protein (78.04 gDP/day) and metabolizable energy (2.51 McalME/day) of the diet containing tucum fruits met the nutritional requirements of the animals, besides resulting in nitrogen balance above 60% and increase of 0.57 Mcal/kgDM of digestible energy of the diets. Diets containing fruits of carnauba required a longer rumination (453.65 min/day), associated with the higher fiber content in their composition. The inclusion of carnauba and tucum fruits in diets composed of corn, soybean and Tifton 85 hay for growing goats promotes a reduction in dry matter intake due to the low quality of the fiber of these fruits. However, the diets containing tucum fruits met the nutritional requirements of goats regarding digestible protein and metabolizable energy, suggesting the use of this alternative food for this category

Fast relational learning using bottom clause propositionalization with artificial neural networks

Relational learning can be described as the task of learning first-order logic rules from examples. It has enabled a number of new machine learning applications, e.g. graph mining and link analysis. Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) performs relational learning either directly by manipulating first-order rules or through propositionalization, which translates the relational task into an attribute-value learning task by representing subsets of relations as features. In this paper, we introduce a fast method and system for relational learning based on a novel propositionalization called Bottom Clause Propositionalization (BCP). Bottom clauses are boundaries in the hypothesis search space used by ILP systems Progol and Aleph. Bottom clauses carry semantic meaning and can be mapped directly onto numerical vectors, simplifying the feature extraction process. We have integrated BCP with a well-known neural-symbolic system, C-IL2P, to perform learning from numerical vectors. C-IL2P uses background knowledge in the form of propositional logic programs to build a neural network. The integrated system, which we call CILP++, handles first-order logic knowledge and is available for download from Sourceforge. We have evaluated CILP++ on seven ILP datasets, comparing results with Aleph and a well-known propositionalization method, RSD. The results show that CILP++ can achieve accuracy comparable to Aleph, while being generally faster, BCP achieved statistically significant improvement in accuracy in comparison with RSD when running with a neural network, but BCP and RSD perform similarly when running with C4.5. We have also extended CILP++ to include a statistical feature selection method, mRMR, with preliminary results indicating that a reduction of more than 90 % of features can be achieved with a small loss of accuracy

Performance and grazing behavior of growing goats supplemented with palm tree fruit.

Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the performance and ingestive behavior of growing goats grazing on Tanzania guinea grass and fed diets containing 40% carnauba or tucum fruits. Twenty-one male castrated goats were distributed into three groups, one exclusively on pasture and the other two on pasture and fed diet supplemented at the level of 1.5% body weight (BW) in a completely randomized design. The intake of the supplements was obtained by difference between the amount supplied and the leftovers, with weighing performed every seven days, while pasture intake was determined using titanium dioxide (TiO2) as external indicator. Ingestive behavior was evaluated for three days. The supplement containing carnauba fruit resulted in a greater intake of neutral detergent fiber (0.137 kg NDF/day), with a reduction of 8.61% in the pasture dry matter (DM) intake of goats. Associated with the intake of pasture nutrients, the tucum fruit diet met the protein (0.103 kg CP/day) and energetic (0.547 kg TDN/day) requirements of goats with intake set at 0.124 kg CP/day and 0.572 kg TDN/day, with higher weight gain (0.111 kg/day) and larger loin eye area (12.76 cm2). The supplementation with fruits influenced the grazing behavior of goats, increasing the idle time by 1 h in relation to animals not supplemented. The supplementation of growing goats grazing on Tanzania guinea grass pasture with a diet containing 40% tucum fruit, in the proportion of 1.5% BW, did not meet the nutritional requirements for gain of 150 g/day; however, it met requirements for maintenance and average gain of 111 g/day. Energy supplementation reduces the grazing time of goats; thus, it is necessary to consider the level and formulation of supplements, with the possibility of increasing the stocking rate and productivity per unit area

Composição químico-bromatológica da silagem de Tanzânia com niveis de farelo de trigo.

O experimento foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o melhor nível de inclusão do farelo de trigo na silagem de capim tanzânia com base nos parâmetros químico- bromatológicos. O experimento foi realizado na Fazenda Experimental da Escola de Medicina Veterinária da UFBA. Os tratamentos foram compostos por capim tanzânia (CT) cortado aos 46 dias, picado e acrescido de 8%; 16%; 24%; e 34% de farelo de trigo (FT), além do tratamento sem farelo adicional. Após a mistura, o material foi compactado em silos experimentais, que foram abertos após 60 dias. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com cinco tratamentos e quatro repetições. Os dados foram analisados por meio de análise de regressão. A adição de farelo de trigo melhorou os parâmetros químicos bromatológicos da silagem, elevando os teores de matéria seca e carboidratos não fibrosos, e reduzindo os níveis da porção fibrosa

Use of palm bran (Nopalea cochenillifera (L.) Salm-Dyck) in partial replacement of concentrate in maintenance equine diets ? a pilot study.

Forage palm is extremely suitable as animal fodder due to its high tolerance to the climatic rigors of the semiarid region and its ability to withstand the harsh physical–chemical limitations of poor soils. Thus, in this study, the effects of the partial replacement (0 %, 5 %, 10 % and 15 % replacement) of a molasses- or oat-based commercial concentrate with forage palm bran (FPB) on the acceptability, apparent digestibility and glycemic response of horses at maintenance were evaluated. The ratio of concentrate to roughage (Tifton 85 hay) was 30:70, and the dry matter (DM) intake was 2 % of body weight (BW). For the preference test, 10 barren Mangalarga Marchador mares were used. The experimental diets were offered simultaneously to determine the consumption preference and the intake ratio. For the digestibility test, four mixed-breed geldings were used and were distributed in a Latin square experimental design (4×4). For the glycemic response, blood samples were collected 30 min before and 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 min after supplying the feed. The preference test indicated that feed containing 0 % and 5 % FPB was preferred by the animals. Nutrient digestibility coefficients did not differ among the experimental diets. Blood glucose was lower at 180 min in the 7.42 % FPB inclusion diet (R2=0.97); this was estimated using the following equation: Y=115.05-2.75x+0.19x2. It is concluded that the incorporation of up to 15 % of forage palm bran as a substitute for concentrate in the maintenance diet tested did not negatively influence feed intake, nutrient digestibility or glycemic index; however, inclusion values above 5 % reduced diet acceptability.</p

Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the evolution of form and function in the amniote jaw.

The amniote jaw complex is a remarkable amalgamation of derivatives from distinct embryonic cell lineages. During development, the cells in these lineages experience concerted movements, migrations, and signaling interactions that take them from their initial origins to their final destinations and imbue their derivatives with aspects of form including their axial orientation, anatomical identity, size, and shape. Perturbations along the way can produce defects and disease, but also generate the variation necessary for jaw evolution and adaptation. We focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate form in the amniote jaw complex, and that enable structural and functional integration. Special emphasis is placed on the role of cranial neural crest mesenchyme (NCM) during the species-specific patterning of bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, and other jaw tissues. We also address the effects of biomechanical forces during jaw development and discuss ways in which certain molecular and cellular responses add adaptive and evolutionary plasticity to jaw morphology. Overall, we highlight how variation in molecular and cellular programs can promote the phenomenal diversity and functional morphology achieved during amniote jaw evolution or lead to the range of jaw defects and disease that affect the human condition