A quantitative approach to topology for fuzzy regions

There has been lots of research in the field of fuzzy spatial data and the topology of fuzzy spatial objects. In this contribution, an extension to the 9-intersection model is presented, to allow for the relative position of overlapping fuzzy regions to be determined. The topology will be determined by means of a. new intersection matrix, and a set of numbers, expressing the similarity between the topology of the given regions and a number of predefined cases. The approach is not merely a conceptual idea, but has been built on our representation model and can as such be immediately applied

Using level-2 fuzzy sets to combine uncertainty and imprecision in fuzzy regions

In many applications, spatial data need to be considered but are prone to uncertainty or imprecision. A fuzzy region - a fuzzy set over a two dimensional domain - allows the representation of such imperfect spatial data. In the original model, points of the fuzzy region where treated independently, making it impossible to model regions where groups of points should be considered as one basic element or subregion. A first extension overcame this, but required points within a group to have the same membership grade. In this contribution, we will extend this further, allowing a fuzzy region to contain subregions in which not all points have the same membership grades. The concept can be used as an underlying model in spatial applications, e.g. websites showing maps and requiring representation of imprecise features or websites with routing functions needing to handle concepts as walking distance or closeby

Partial replacement of soybean meal with pumpkin seed cake in lamb diets: Effects on carcass traits, haemato-chemical parameters and fatty acids in meat

The composition of lamb diets has an effect on production traits and meat quality, especially fatty acid proportions. Recently, in organic farming, soybean meal has frequently been replaced with feedstuffs that are rich in protein. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of partial replacement of soybean meal with pumpkin seed cake on carcass traits, biochemical parameters and fatty acids of lamb meat produced in organic farming. The research was carried out on 70-day-old lambs of the Merinolandschaf breed. Thirty-six lambs were grouped by gender, and allotted to three treatment groups, which were given one of the three diets: control diet with no pumpkin seed cake; a diet in which 10% of soybean meal was replaced with 10% pumpkin seed cake; and a diet in which 15% of soybean meal was replaced with 15% pumpkin seed cake. The experimental feeding period was 30 days. Hay and water were provided ad libitum. Differential blood tests and haematological parameters were determined, and the concentrations of minerals and biochemical parameters, and enzyme activity were ascertained in blood serum. Carcass traits and lamb meat colour did not differ among dietary treatments. Significant differences were observed in the concentrations of some biochemical parameters, which indicated good energy and protein balance, and changes in fat metabolism that did not impair antioxidant status. Compared with the control, the concentration of linoleic acid (C18:2 n-6) was higher in diets containing 10% and 15% of pumpkin seed cake replacements. The results indicated that partial replacement of soybean meal with 10% or 15% of pumpkin seed cake could be implemented in lamb feeding in organic farming without major changes in carcass traits, haemato-chemical parameters and the fatty acid profile in meat.Keywords: Blood parameters, meat quality, Merinolandschaf lambs, organic farmin

Statistical relational learning with soft quantifiers

Quantification in statistical relational learning (SRL) is either existential or universal, however humans might be more inclined to express knowledge using soft quantifiers, such as ``most'' and ``a few''. In this paper, we define the syntax and semantics of PSL^Q, a new SRL framework that supports reasoning with soft quantifiers, and present its most probable explanation (MPE) inference algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, PSL^Q is the first SRL framework that combines soft quantifiers with first-order logic rules for modelling uncertain relational data. Our experimental results for link prediction in social trust networks demonstrate that the use of soft quantifiers not only allows for a natural and intuitive formulation of domain knowledge, but also improves the accuracy of inferred results

Fuzzy regions: adding subregions and the impact on surface and distance calculation

In the concept of fuzzy regions we introduced before, a region was considered to be a fuzzy set of points, each having its own membership grade. While this allows the modelling of regions in which points only partly belong to the region, it has the downside that all the points are considered independently, which is too loose a restriction for some situations. The model is not able to support the fact that some points may be linked together. In this contribution, we propose an extension to the model, so that points can be made related to one another. It will permit the user to, for instance, specify points or even (sub)regions within the fuzzy region that are linked together: they all belong to the region to the same extent at the same time. By letting the user specify such subregions, the accuracy Of the model can be increased: the model can match the real situation better; while at the same time decreasing the fuzziness: if points are known to be related, there is no need to consider them independently. As an example, the use of such a fuzzy region to represent a lake with a variable water level can be considered: as the water level rises, a set of points will become flooded; it is interesting to represent this set of points as a. subset of the region, as these points are somewhat related (the same can be done for different water levels). The impact of this extension to the model on both surface area calculation an distance measurement are considered, and new appropriate definitions are introduced

Anytime Algorithms for Solving Possibilistic MDPs and Hybrid MDPs

The ability of an agent to make quick, rational decisions in an uncertain environment is paramount for its applicability in realistic settings. Markov Decision Processes (MDP) provide such a framework, but can only model uncertainty that can be expressed as probabilities. Possibilistic counterparts of MDPs allow to model imprecise beliefs, yet they cannot accurately represent probabilistic sources of uncertainty and they lack the efficient online solvers found in the probabilistic MDP community. In this paper we advance the state of the art in three important ways. Firstly, we propose the first online planner for possibilistic MDP by adapting the Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) algorithm. A key component is the development of efficient search structures to sample possibility distributions based on the DPY transformation as introduced by Dubois, Prade, and Yager. Secondly, we introduce a hybrid MDP model that allows us to express both possibilistic and probabilistic uncertainty, where the hybrid model is a proper extension of both probabilistic and possibilistic MDPs. Thirdly, we demonstrate that MCTS algorithms can readily be applied to solve such hybrid models. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.This work is partially funded by EPSRC PACES project (Ref: EP/J012149/1).Peer Reviewe

Construction of Capacities from Overlap Indexes

In many problems, it is crucial to find a relation between groups of data. Such relation can be expressed, for instance, in terms of an appropriate fuzzy measure or capacity([10, 21]) which reflects the way the different data are connected to each other [20]. In this chapter, taking into account this fact and following the developments in [8],we introduce a method to build capacities ([20, 21]) directly from the data (inputs) of a given problem. In order to do so, we make use of the notions of overlap function and overlap index ([5, 12, 13, 7, 4, 14, 16]) for constructing capacities which reflect how different data are related to each other. This paper is organized as follows: after providing some preliminaries, we analyse, in Section 3, some properties of overlap functions and indexes. In Sections 4 we discuss a method for constructing capacities from overlap functions and overlap indexes. Finally, we present some conclusions and references

Basic features of electromagnetic pulse generated in a laser-target chamber at 3-TW laser facility PALS

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