Learning fuzzy systems: an ojective function-approach

One of the most important aspects of fuzzy systems is that they are easily understandable and interpretable. This property, however, does not come for free but poses some essential constraints on the parameters of a fuzzy system (like the linguistic terms), which are sometimes overlooked when learning fuzzy system automatically from data. In this paper, an objective function-based approach to learn fuzzy systems is developed, taking these constraints explicitly into account. Starting from fuzzy c-means clustering, several modifications of the basic algorithm are proposed, affecting the shape of the membership functions, the partition of individual variables and the coupling of input space partitioning and local function approximation

Eignung verschiedener Stangen- und Feuerbohnensorten für den Mais-Bohnen-Gemengeanbau und Optimierung der Bestandeszusammensetzung

Traditional intercropping systems with maize and climbing beans have the potential to improve the protein- and energy supply from locally grown roughage. As previous field experiments at the Thünen Institute of Organic Farming have shown, the crude protein content of maize silage can be enhanced by intercropping with climbing Phaseolus beans. Since 2014 further field experiments are conducted, that aim to optimize bean yield and fodder quality in intercropping with maize. Therefore four cultivars of Phaseolus vulgaris (Pv) and two cultivars of P. coccineus (Pc) are evaluated for their intercropping potential. Furthermore, the influence of varied seed densities on bean yield and crude nutrients are evaluated for two selected bean cultivars. The experiments have shown, that bean yield is mainly influenced by the choice of cultivar. Varied seed densities had little effect on the almost higher bean yields of cv. Tarbais (Pv) while the yield of cv. Preisgewinner (Pc) increased at higher seed densities. As the cv. Tarbais had the highest bean yields in both years, and total yield was comparable to the maize control, this cultivar has the highest potential for intercropping at our site

Silierung von Mais mit Stangen- und Feuerbohne

An intercropping system with maize and climbing beans has the potential to improve the protein- and energy supply from regional grown roughage. Up to now there is only limited knowledge to the ensilage and to silage quality. Therefore maize with six bean cultivars in mixed cultivation as well as maize with a controlled proportion of beans were tested on fermentability and silage quality. Additionally the use of chemical and biological silage additives were evaluated. With the mixed cultivation of maize and beans a good silage quality could be achieved when the harvest material showed good ensiling characteristics and the ensiling conditions were optimized. If this should not be the case, the application of silage additives can have a positive effect. Above all a good silage quality could be achieved by the chemical additive Kofasil stabil

Sorteneffekte von Stangen- und Feuerbohnen auf die Erträge und die Ertragszusammensetzung im Gemenge mit Silomais

Der Gemengeanbau von Silomais mit rankenden Phaseolus-Bohnen bietet die Möglichkeit, die energiereiche Maissilage durch höhere Rohproteingehalte aufzuwerten. Hierdurch kann ein wichtiger Beitrag zur Verbesserung der regional-basierten Versorgung landwirtschaftlicher Nutztiere aus dem Grundfutter geleistet werden. Wie bisherige Untersuchungen (Fischer und Böhm, 2013) am Thünen-Institut für Ökologischen Landbau gezeigt haben, werden die Bohnenerträge, neben witterungsbedingten Effekten, insbesondere durch die Sortenwahl beeinflusst. Daher wird seit 2014 die Eignung von vier Stangenbohnen, sowie zwei Feuerbohnensorten für den Gemengeanbau mit Silomais geprüft

Gemengeanbau von Mais mit Phaseolus-Bohnen: Einfluss von Sorte und Saatdichte der Bohnen auf die Bestandszusammensetzung

Vor dem Hintergrund, dass eine nachhaltige Proteinversorgung landwirtschaftlicher Nutztiere zukünftig verstärkt mit betrieblich oder regional erzeugten Futtermitteln erfolgen soll, bietet der Mais-Bohnen-Gemengeanbau, insbesondere für den Ökologischen Landbau, einige Vorteile. Während Silomais, aufgrund der hohen Energiedichte und der guten Silierfähigkeit ein wichtiges Grundfuttermittel darstellt, müssen die geringen Proteingehalte in der Maissilage, durch eiweißreiche Futterkomponenten ergänzt werden. Durch den Gemengeanbau von Silomais mit rankenden Phaseolus-Bohnen besteht dagegen die Möglichkeit, ein silierfähiges und energiereiches Futtermittel zu gewinnen, das gegenüber der reinen Maissilage einen höheren Proteingehalt aufweist und in einem Arbeitsgang gewonnen werden kann. In ersten Versuchen am Thünen-Institut für Ökologischen Landbau konnte der Gemengeanbau von Mais mit Phaseolus-Bohnen bereits erfolgreich unter den Anbaubedingungen des Ökologischen Landbaus etabliert werden (Fischer und Böhm 2013)

Assessment of the biogas production potential of renewable resources with near infrared spectroscopy

Die zunehmende Nutzung von Biomasse zur Biogas­gewinnung erfordert die Entwicklung entsprechender Analyseverfahren, mit denen die potentielle Gasausbeute des eingesetzten Pflanzenmaterials bewertet werden kann. Insbesondere in der Energiepflanzenzüchtung werden Schnellmethoden benötigt, die möglichst erntezeitnah und kostengünstig genotypische Unterschiede im Gasbildungspotential an großen Probenserien feststellen können. Die Eignung der Nahinfrarot-Spektroskopie (NIRS) für diese Aufgabe wird an Silomais, Gras und Gras-Leguminosengemischen untersucht. Die Kalibrier-/Validierexperimente werden an frischen und entsprechenden trockenen, vermahlenen Proben durchgeführt. Dabei wird zum Einen die Methanausbeute, die aus Batch-Tests ermittelt wurde, als Referenz genutzt, zum Anderen die berechnete potentielle Methanausbeute, auf der Grundlage der fermentierbaren organischen Trockenmasse. Es wird nachgewiesen, dass sich die gemessene Methanausbeute nicht mit ausreichender Bestimmtheit kalibrieren/validieren lässt. Ursache ist eine zu geringe Wiederholgenauigkeit der Batch-Tests im Verhältnis zur fruchtartenspezifischen Varianz des Methanbildungs­potentials. Dagegen ist mit den Referenzdaten der berechneten potentiellen Methanausbeute die NIR-Kali­brierung/Validierung mit ausreichender Bestimmtheit möglich. Die Vorhersageleistung, die bei frischem Pflanzenmaterial erreicht wird, ist für das Screening geeignet, die die bei trockenem Material erreicht wird, liegt im Bereich üblicher NIR-Laboranalysen.The increasing use of biomass for biogas production requires the development of appropriate analytical processes with which the potential gas yields of the plants used can be evaluated. Particularly in energy plant breeding, quick methods to determine genotypical differences in gas development potential are needed that can be applied on large sample series as close to harvest time as possible and at as low a cost as possible. The suitability of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for this task was studied on silage maize, grass and grass-legume mixtures. The calibration-validation experiments were carried out on fresh and accordingly dried, ground samples, as well as on the basis of two reference data bases on methane yield, one calculated from batch tests and the other calculating potential methane yield on the basis of the fermentable organic dry matter. It is shown that the measured methane yield cannot be calibrated or vali­dated with adequate certainty. The reason for this is the inexactness in the repetitions of the batch tests in relation to the crop type specific variance of the methane production potential. With the reference data on the calculated potential methane yield, in contrast, the NIR calibration/validation can be made with adequate exactness. Here the prediction ability lies within the screening area for fresh plant material and an acceptable level of laboratory analysis for dry material is possible

Mutations of the ret protooncogene in German multiple endocrine neoplasia families: Relation between genotype and phenotype.

It has been suggested that not only the position but also the nature of the mutations of the ret protooncogene strongly correlate with the clinical manifestation of the multiple endocrine neoplasm type 2 (MEN 2) syndrome. In particular, individuals with a Cys634-Arg substitution should have a greater risk of developing parathyroid disease. We, therefore, analyzed 94 unrelated families from Germany with inherited medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) for mutation of the ret protooncogene. In all but 1 of 59 families with MEN 2A, germline mutations in the extracellular domain of the ret protein were found. Some 81% of the MEN 2A mutations affected codon 634. Phenotype-genotype correlations suggested that the prevalence of pheochromocytoma and hyperparathyroidism is significantly higher in families with codon 634 mutations, but there was no correlation with the nature of the mutation. In all but 1 of 27 familial MTC (FMTC) families, mutations were detected in 1 of 4 cysteines in the extracellular domain of the ret protooncogene. Half of the FMTC mutations affected codon 634. Mutations outside of codon 634 occurred more often in FMTC families than in MEN 2A families. In all but 1 of 8 MEN 2B patients, de novo mutations in codon 918 were found. These data confirm the preferential localization of MEN 2-associated mutations and the correlation between disease phenotype and the position of the ret mutation, but there was no correlation between the occurrence of hyperparathyroidism or pheochromocytoma and the nature of the mutation

Crop rotations with and without legumes: a review

Leguminosen sind im ökologischen Landbau aufgrund ihrer Fähigkeit zur Luftstickstofffixierung unverzichtbar für die Stickstoffversorgung der Ackerkulturen und die Proteinversorgung der Nutztiere. Im konventionellen Anbau bieten Leguminosen die Möglichkeit, die häufig getreideintensiven Fruchtfolgen aufzulockern. Eine der wichtigsten Wirkungen dieses Break-crop-Effekts ist das Durchbrechen des Lebenszyklus von fruchtartenspezifischen Pathogenen und der damit verbundenen Einsparung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln. Die vorliegende Übersichtsarbeit stellt den derzeitigen Stand des Wissens zu Fruchtfolgen mit und ohne Leguminosen zusammen. Dabei werden ackerbauliche, ökologische und ökonomische Wirkungen des Anbaus groß- und kleinkörnig Leguminosenarten als Haupt- oder Zwischenfrüchte bzw. Unter­saaten oder als Komponenten in Gemengen dar­gestellt und bewertet. Der Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf relevanten Publikationen in wissenschaftlichen Journalen sowie Praxis- und Forschungsberichten der Jahre 2010 – 2020 die in Deutschland oder vergleichbaren klimatischen Bedingungen durchgeführt wurden. Abschließend wird daraus der notwendige Forschungsbedarf für die Themenbereiche Pflanzenbau (konventionell und ökologisch), Pflanzenschutz, Ökonomie, Ökologie und Klimaschutz abgeleitet.In organic farming, legumes are indispensable for the nitro­gen supply of arable crops and the protein supply of livestock due to their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. In conventional farming, legumes offer the potential to break the often cereal-intensive crop rotations. One of the most important consequences of the break-crop effect is the interruption of the life cycle of crop-specific pathogens and the associated savings of pesticides. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on crop rotations with and without legumes. It presents and evaluates the agronomic, ecological and economic effects of the cultivation of large- and small-seeded legume species as main or catch crops, when undersown in other crops, or used as components in mixtures. The focus is on relevant publications in scientific journals as well as practice and research reports published between 2010 and 2020 which were carried out in Germany or under comparable climatic conditions. Finally, essential research needs in the areas of crop production (conventional and organic), crop protection, economics, ecology, and climate protection are identified

Parallel imaging: is GRAPPA a useful acquisition tool for MR imaging intended for volumetric brain analysis?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The work presented here investigates parallel imaging applied to T1-weighted high resolution imaging for use in longitudinal volumetric clinical studies involving Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients. This was in an effort to shorten acquisition times to minimise the risk of motion artefacts caused by patient discomfort and disorientation. The principle question is, "Can parallel imaging be used to acquire images at 1.5 T of sufficient quality to allow volumetric analysis of patient brains?"</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Optimisation studies were performed on a young healthy volunteer and the selected protocol (including the use of two different parallel imaging acceleration factors) was then tested on a cohort of 15 elderly volunteers including MCI and AD patients. In addition to automatic brain segmentation, hippocampus volumes were manually outlined and measured in all patients. The 15 patients were scanned on a second occasion approximately one week later using the same protocol and evaluated in the same manner to test repeatability of measurement using images acquired with the GRAPPA parallel imaging technique applied to the MPRAGE sequence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Intraclass correlation tests show that almost perfect agreement between repeated measurements of both segmented brain parenchyma fraction and regional measurement of hippocampi. The protocol is suitable for both global and regional volumetric measurement dementia patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In summary, these results indicate that parallel imaging can be used without detrimental effect to brain tissue segmentation and volumetric measurement and should be considered for both clinical and research studies where longitudinal measurements of brain tissue volumes are of interest.</p