Designing a hierarchical fuzzy logic controller using the differential evolution approach

In conventional fuzzy logic controllers, the computational complexity increases with the dimensions of the system variables; the number of rules increases exponentially as the number of system variables increases. Hierarchical fuzzy logic controllers ( HFLC) have been introduced to reduce the number of rules to a linear function of system variables. However, the use of hierarchical fuzzy logic controllers raises new issues in the automatic design of controllers, namely the coordination of outputs of sub- controllers at lower levels of the hierarchy. In this paper, a method is described for the automatic design of an HFLC using an evolutionary algorithm called differential evolution ( DE). The aim in this paper is to develop a sufficiently versatile method that can be applied to the design of any HFLC architecture. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated by developing a two- stage HFLC for controlling a cart - pole with four state variables. The merits of the method are automatic generation of the HFLC and simplicity as the number of parameters used for encoding the problem are greatly reduced as compared to conventional methods

On simplifying the automatic design of a fuzzy logic controller

With the availability of a wide range of evolutionary algorithms such as genetic algorithms, evolutionary programming, evolution strategies and differential evolution, every conceivable aspect of the design of a fuzzy logic controller has been optimized and automated. Although there is no doubt that these automated techniques can produce an optimal fuzzy logic controller, the structure of such a controller is often obscure and in many cases these optimizations are simply not needed. We believe that the automatic design of a fuzzy logic controller can be simplified by using a generic rule base such as the Mac Vicar-Whelan rule base and using an evolutionary algorithm to optimize only the membership functions of the fuzzy sets. Furthermore, by restricting the overlapping of fuzzy sets, using triangular membership functions and singletons, and reducing the number of parameters to represent the membership functions, the design can be further simplified. This paper describes this method of simplifying the design and some experiments performed to ascertain its validity

Determining the physical conditions of extremely young Class 0 circumbinary disk around VLA1623A

We present detailed analysis of high-resolution C18O (2-1), SO (88-77), CO (3-2) and DCO+ (3-2) data obtained by the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) towards a Class 0 Keplerian circumbinary disk around VLA1623A, which represents one of the most complete analysis towards a Class 0 source. From the dendrogram analysis, we identified several accretion flows feeding the circumbinary disk in a highly anisotropic manner. Stream-like SO emission around the circumbinary disk reveals the complicated shocks caused by the interactions between the disk, accretion flows and outflows. A wall-like structure is discovered south of VLA1623B. The discovery of two outflow cavity walls at the same position traveling at different velocities suggests the two outflows from both VLA1623A and VLA1623B overlays on top of each other in the plane of sky. Our detailed flat and flared disk modeling shows that Cycle 2 C18O J = 2-1 data is inconsistent with the combined binary mass of 0.2 Msun as suggested by early Cycle 0 studies. The combined binary mass for VLA1623A should be modified to 0.3 ~ 0.5 Msun.Comment: 26 pages, 20 figures, accepted by ApJ 2020.2.2

The effects of owning a pet on self-esteem and self-efficacy of Malaysian per owners

In this research, 200 pet owners and non-pet owners were studied to ascertain the effects of owning a pet on the self-esteem and self-efficacy of the pet owners. All the respondents completed self-reported questionnaires. While the results showed no significant differences, it was noted that there was a tendency for people with pets to generally have slightly higher self-esteem and self-efficacy as compared to people without pets. The study also showed that higher self-esteem contributed towards predicting higher self-efficacy

Treatments of chicken feather waste

Feather waste is a potential renewable source to recover valuable products because it is being a rich source of keratin proteins and amino acids. It can be used to make feather meal, fertilizer and yarn sizing agent. Various treatments have been used to recover the protein from chicken feathers as the keratinous feathers cannot be easily degraded due to its tough structure. This paper reviews the existing treatment methods used to hydrolyze chicken feathers. The treatment methods for feather hydrolysis such as physical, chemical, biological and combined treatments as well as their advantages and challenges are highlighted. The effects of these treatments on feather hydrolysis are complex and vary in regards to the performance of feather hydrolysis and product yielded. Hence, it is important to choose an appropriate treatment method since the type of treatment applied affects the product yielded qualitatively and quantitatively. In addition, the economic assessment and environmental impact of the choice of treatment should be considered also

Aging affects two modes of nanoleakage expression in bonded dentin

Water sorption into resin-dentin interfaces precedes hydrolytic degradation. We hypothesized that these processes are morphologically manifested by the uptake of ammoniacal silver nitrate, which is thought to trace hydrophilic domains and water-filled channels within matrices. Water sorption is thought to be nonuniform and can be traced by the use of silver nitrate. Human teeth bonded with an experimental filled-adhesive were aged in artificial saliva (experimental) or non-aqueous mineral oil (control). Specimens retrieved for up to a 12-month period were immersed in 50 wt% ammoniacal silver nitrate and examined by transmission electron microscopy for identification of the changes in their silver uptake. Reticular silver deposits initially identified within the bulk of hybrid layers in the experimental group were gradually reduced over time, but were subsequently replaced by similar deposits that were located along the hybrid layer-adhesive interface. Silver uptake in water-binding domains of the adhesive layers increased with aging, resulting in water tree formation. These water-filled channels may act as potential sites for hydrolytic degradation of resin-dentin bonds.published_or_final_versio

Pricing Link by Time

The combination of loss-based TCP and drop-tail routers often results in full buffers, creating large queueing delays. The challenge with parameter tuning and the drastic consequence of improper tuning have discouraged network administrators from enabling AQM even when routers support it. To address this problem, we propose a novel design principle for AQM, called the pricing-link-by-time (PLT) principle. PLT increases the link price as the backlog stays above a threshold β, and resets the price once the backlog goes below β. We prove that such a system exhibits cyclic behavior that is robust against changes in network environment and protocol parameters. While β approximately controls the level of backlog, the backlog dynamics are invariant for β across a wide range of values. Therefore, β can be chosen to reduce delay without undermining system performance. We validate these analytical results using packet-level simulation

Response surface modeling of processing parameters for the preparation of phytosterol Nanodispersions using an emulsification-evaporation technique.

The purpose of this study was to optimize the production parameters for water-soluble phytosterol nanodispersions. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to model and optimize three of the processing parameters: mixing time (t) by conventional homogenizer (1–20 min), mixing speed (v) by conventional homogenizer (1,000–9,000 rpm) and homogenization pressure (P) by high-pressure homogenizer (0.1–80 MPa). All responses [i.e., mean particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI) and phytosterols concentration (Phyto, mg/l)] fitted well to a reduced quadratic model by multiple regressions after manual elimination. For PS, PDI and Phyto, the coefficients of determination (R 2) were 0.9902, 0.9065 and 0.8878, respectively. The optimized processing parameters were 15.25 min mixing time, 7,000 rpm mixing speed and homogenization pressure 42.4 MPa. In the produced nanodispersions, the corresponding responses for the optimized preparation conditions were a PS of 52 nm, PDI of 0.3390 and a Phyto of 336 mg/l

Production of a diacylglycerol-enriched palm olein using lipase-catalyzed partial hydrolysis : optimization using response surface methodology

Partial hydrolysis using Lipozyme RMIM lipase in a solvent-free system was used to produce a diacylglycerol (DAG)-enriched palm olein. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to model and optimize the reaction conditions namely water content (30– 70 wt% of enzyme mass), enzyme load (5–15 wt% of oil mass), reaction temperature (45–85 C) and reaction time (6–16 h). Well fitting models were successfully established for both DAG yield (R2 = 0.8788) and unhydrolysed triacylglycerol (TAG) (R2 = 0.8653) through multiple linear regressions with backward elimination. Chi-square test indicated that there were no significant (P > 0.05) differences between the observed and predicted values for both models. All reaction conditions had positive effects on DAG yield and negative effects on unhydrolysed TAG. Optimal reaction conditions were: 50 wt% water content, 10 wt% enzyme load, 65C of reaction temperature and 12 h of reaction time. The process was further up-scaled to a 9 kg production in a continuous packed bed bioreactor. Results indicated that upscaling was possible with a similar DAG yield (32 wt%) as in lab scale. Purification of the DAG oil using short path distillation yielded a DAG-enriched palm olein with 60 wt% DAG and 40 wt% TAG which is suitable for margarine, spread or shortening applications

Diacylglycerol and Triacylglycerol as Responses in a Dual Response Surface-Optimized Process for Diacylglycerol Production by Lipase-Catalyzed Esterification in a Pilot Packed-Bed Enzyme Reactor

Diacylglycerol (DAG) and triacylglycerol (TAG) as responses on optimization of DAG production using a dual response approach of response surface methodology were investigated. This approach takes the molecular equilibrium of DAG into account and allows for the optimization of reaction conditions to achieve maximum DAG and minimum TAG yields. The esterification reaction was optimized with four factors using a central composite rotatable design. The following optimized conditions yielded 48 wt % DAG and 14 wt % TAG: reaction temperature of 66.29 °C, enzyme dosage of 4 wt %, fatty acid/glycerol molar ratio of 2.14, and reaction time of 4.14 h. Similar results were achieved when the process was scaled up to a 10 kg production in a pilot packed-bed enzyme reactor. Lipozyme RM IM did not show any significant activity losses or changes in fatty acid selectivity on DAG synthesis during the 10 pilot productions. However, lipozyme RM IM displayed higher selectivity toward the production of oleic acid-enriched DAG. The purity of DAG oil after purification was 92 wt %