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Abstract Fuzzy objective relation systems are an important class of datasets that are generalizations of many types of decision tables. This paper proposes an approach, based on relation systems and fuzzy sets, to reduce data redundancy in fuzzy objective relation systems. We study lower and upper approximation reductions of a relation system for a given fuzzy set. As a generalization of such reductions, we consider lower and upper approximation reductions of fuzzy objective relation systems and give their corresponding reduction algorithms using methods based on the discernibility matrix. We note that the usual positive region reduction for a decision table can be considered a special case of our lower approximation reduction. Finally, we provide two examples from the UCI datasets to verify our theoretical results. These results can help in the decision making analysis of fuzzy objective relation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents a hybrid method for identification of Pareto-optimal fuzzy classifiers (FCs). In contrast to many existing methods, the initial population for multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) is neither created randomly nor a priori knowledge is required. Instead, it is created by the proposed two-step initialization method. First, a decision tree (DT) created by C4.5 algorithm is transformed into an FC. Therefore, relevant variables are selected and initial partition of input space is performed. Then, the rest of the population is created by randomly replacing some parameters of the initial FC, such that, the initial population is widely spread. That improves the convergence of MOEAs into the correct Pareto front. The initial population is optimized by NSGA-II algorithm and a set of Pareto-optimal FCs representing the trade-off between accuracy and interpretability is obtained. The method does not require any a priori knowledge of the number of fuzzy sets, distribution of fuzzy sets or the number of relevant variables. They are all determined by it. Performance of the obtained FCs is validated by six benchmark data sets from the literature. The obtained results are compared to a recently published paper [H. Ishibuchi, Y. Nojima, Analysis of interpretability-accuracy tradeoff of fuzzy systems by multiobjective fuzzy genetics-based machine learning, International Journal of Approximate Reasoning 44 (1) (2007) 4–31] and the benefits of our method are clearly shown. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Traditional c-means clustering partitions a group of objects into a number of non-overlapping sets. Rough sets provide more flexible and objective representation than classical sets with hard partition and fuzzy sets with subjective membership function for a given dataset. Rough c-means clustering and its extensions were introduced and successfully applied in many real life applications in recent years. Each cluster is represented by a reasonable pair of lower and upper approximations. However, the most available algorithms pay no attention to the influence of the imbalanced spatial distribution within a cluster. The limitation of the mean iterative calculation function, with the same weight for all the data objects in a lower or upper approximation, is analyzed. A hybrid imbalanced measure of distance and density for the rough c-means clustering is defined, and a modified rough c-means clustering algorithm is presented in this paper. To evaluate the proposed algorithm, it has been applied to several real world data sets from UCI. The validity of this algorithm is demonstrated by the results of comparative experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents a real-time segmentation algorithm to obtain moving objects from the H.264 compressed domain. The proposed segmentation works with very little information and is based on two features of the H.264 compressed video: motion vectors associated to the macroblocks and decision modes. The algorithm uses fuzzy logic and allows to describe position, velocity and size of the detected regions in a comprehensive way, so the proposed approach works with low level information but manages highly comprehensive linguistic concepts. The performance of the algorithm is improved using dynamic design of fuzzy sets that avoids merge and split problems. Experimental results for several traffic scenes demonstrate the real-time performance and the encouraging results in diverse situations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper is directed towards an infrastructure for handling both uncertainty and vagueness in the Rules, Logic, and Proof layers of the Semantic Web. More concretely, we present probabilistic fuzzy description logic programs, which combine fuzzy description logics, fuzzy logic programs (with stratified default-negation), and probabilistic uncertainty in a uniform framework for the Semantic Web. We define important concepts dealing with both probabilistic uncertainty and fuzzy vagueness, such as the expected truth value of a crisp sentence and the probability of a vague sentence. Furthermore, we describe a shopping agent example, which gives evidence of the usefulness of probabilistic fuzzy description logic programs in realistic Web applications. We also provide algorithms for query processing in probabilistic fuzzy description logic programs, and we delineate a special case where query processing can be done in polynomial time in the data complexity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Algorithms for preprocessing databases with incomplete and imprecise data are seldom studied. For the most part, we lack numerical tools to quantify the mutual information between fuzzy random variables. Therefore, these algorithms (discretization, instance selection, feature selection, etc.) have to use crisp estimations of the interdependency between continuous variables, whose application to vague datasets is arguable. In particular, when we select features for being used in fuzzy rule-based classifiers, we often use a mutual information-based ranking of the relevance of inputs. But, either with crisp or fuzzy data, fuzzy rule-based systems route the input through a fuzzification interface. The fuzzification process may alter this ranking, as the partition of the input data does not need to be optimal. In our opinion, to discover the most important variables for a fuzzy rule-based system, we want to compute the mutual information between the fuzzified variables, and we should not assume that the ranking between the crisp variables is the best one. In this paper we address these problems, and propose an extended definition of the mutual information between two fuzzified continuous variables. We also introduce a numerical algorithm for estimating the mutual information from a sample of vague data. We will show that this estimation can be included in a feature selection algorithm, and also that, in combination with a genetic optimization, the same definition can be used to obtain the most informative fuzzy partition for the data. Both applications will be exemplified with the help of some benchmark problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the interpretability-accuracy tradeoff in fuzzy rule-based classifiers using a multiobjective fuzzy genetics-based machine learning (GBML) algorithm. Our GBML algorithm is a hybrid version of Michigan and Pittsburgh approaches, which is implemented in the framework of evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO). Each fuzzy rule is represented by its antecedent fuzzy sets as an integer string of fixed length. Each fuzzy rule-based classifier, which is a set of fuzzy rules, is represented as a concatenated integer string of variable length. Our GBML algorithm simultaneously maximizes the accuracy of rule sets and minimizes their complexity. The accuracy is measured by the number of correctly classified training patterns while the complexity is measured by the number of fuzzy rules and/or the total number of antecedent conditions of fuzzy rules. We examine the interpretability-accuracy tradeoff for training patterns through computational experiments on some benchmark data sets. A clear tradeoff structure is visualized for each data set. We also examine the interpretability-accuracy tradeoff for test patterns. Due to the overfitting to training patterns, a clear tradeoff structure is not always obtained in computational experiments for test patterns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) and hard clustering are the most common tools for data partitioning. However, the presence of noisy observations in the data being partitioned may render these clustering algorithms unreliable. In this paper, we introduce a robust noise-rejection clustering algorithm based on a combination of techniques that treat the FCM pitfalls with an outliers exclusion criterion. Unlike the traditional FCM, the proposed clustering tool provides much efficient data partitioning capabilities in the presence of noise and outliers. At the conclusion of the theoretical development, we validate the effectiveness of the proposed noise-rejection data partitioning tool through various comparison studies with existing noise-rejection clustering approaches in the literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fuzzy cognitive map is a soft computing technique for modeling systems, which combines synergistically the theories of neural networks and fuzzy logic. Developing of fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) relies on human experience and knowledge, but still exhibits weaknesses in utilization of learning methods. The critical dependence on experts and the potential uncontrollable convergence to undesired steady-states are important deficiencies to manage FCMs. Overcoming these deficiencies will improve the efficiency and robustness of the FCM methodology. Learning and convergence algorithms constitute the mean to improve these characteristics of FCMs, by modifying the values of cause–effect weights among concepts. In this paper a new learning algorithm that alleviates the problem of the potential convergence to a steady-state, named Active Hebbian Learning (AHL) is presented, validated and implemented. This proposed learning procedure is a promising approach for exploiting experts'' involvement with their subjective reasoning and at the same time improving the effectiveness of the FCM operation mode and thus it broadens the applicability of FCMs modeling for complex systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, a novel approach is presented to fine tune a direct fuzzy controller based on very limited information on the nonlinear plant to be controlled. Without any off-line pretraining, the algorithm achieves very high control performance through a two-stage algorithm. In the first stage, coarse tuning of the fuzzy rules (both rule consequents and membership functions of the premises) is accomplished using the sign of the dependency of the plant output with respect to the control signal and an overall analysis of the main operating regions. In stage two, fine tuning of the fuzzy rules is achieved based on the controller output error using a gradient-based method. The enhanced features of the proposed algorithm are demonstrated by various simulation examples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]