Interval type-3 fuzzy aggregators for ensembles of neural networks in COVID-19 time series prediction.

In this work we are presenting an approach for fuzzy aggregation in ensembles of neural networks for forecasting. The aggregator is used in an ensemble to combine the outputs of the networks forming the ensemble. This is done in such a way that the total output of the ensemble is better than the outputs of the individual modules. In our approach a fuzzy system is used to estimate the weights that will be assigned to the outputs in the process of combining them in a weighted average calculation. The uncertainty in the process of aggregation is modeled with interval type-3 fuzzy, which in theory can outperform type-2 and type-1. Publicly available data sets of COVID-19 cases for several countries in the world were utilized to test the proposed approach. Simulation results of the COVID-19 data show the potential of the approach to outperform other aggregators in the literature.

A new fuzzy fractal control approach of non-linear dynamic systems: The case of controlling the COVID-19 pandemics.

This article is presenting a first attempt on a proposed fuzzy fractal control method for efficiently controlling nonlinear dynamic systems. The main goal is to combine the main advantages of fractal theoretical concepts and fuzzy logic theory for achieving efficient control of nonlinear dynamic systems. The concept coming from Fractal theory, known as the fractal dimension, can be utilized to measure the complexity of the dynamic behavior of a non-linear plant. On the other hand, fuzzy logic theory can be used to represent and capture the expert knowledge in controlling a plant. In addition, fuzzy logic enables to manage the uncertainty involved in the decision-making process for achieving efficient control of a non-linear plant. We illustrate the proposed fuzzy fractal control method with the current worldwide situation that requires achieving an efficient control of the COVID-19 pandemics.

A new approach for classifying coronavirus COVID-19 based on its manifestation on chest X-rays using texture features and neural networks.

Since the recent challenge that humanity is facing against COVID-19, several initiatives have been put forward with the goal of creating measures to help control the spread of the pandemic. In this paper we present a series of experiments using supervised learning models in order to perform an accurate classification on datasets consisting of medical images from COVID-19 patients and medical images of several other related diseases affecting the lungs. This work represents an initial experimentation using image texture feature descriptors, feed-forward and convolutional neural networks on newly created databases with COVID-19 images. The goal was setting a baseline for the future development of a system capable of automatically detecting the COVID-19 disease based on its manifestation on chest X-rays and computerized tomography images of the lungs.

Forecasting of COVID-19 time series for countries in the world based on a hybrid approach combining the fractal dimension and fuzzy logic.

We describe in this paper a hybrid intelligent approach for forecasting COVID-19 time series combining fractal theory and fuzzy logic. The mathematical concept of the fractal dimension is used to measure the complexity of the dynamics in the time series of the countries in the world. Fuzzy Logic is used to represent the uncertainty in the process of making a forecast. The hybrid approach consists on a fuzzy model formed by a set of fuzzy rules that use as input values the linear and nonlinear fractal dimensions of the time series and as outputs the forecast for the countries based on the COVID-19 time series of confirmed cases and deaths. The main contribution is the proposed hybrid approach combining the fractal dimension and fuzzy logic for enabling an efficient and accurate forecasting of COVID-19 time series. Publicly available data sets of 10 countries in the world have been used to build the fuzzy model with time series in a fixed period. After that, other periods of time were used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach for the forecasted values of the 10 countries. Forecasting windows of 10 and 30 days ahead were used to test the proposed approach. Forecasting average accuracy is 98%, which can be considered good considering the complexity of the COVID problem. The proposed approach can help people in charge of decision making to fight the pandemic can use the information of a short window to decide immediate actions and also the longer window (like 30 days) can be beneficial in long term decisions.

Analysis of Spatial Spread Relationships of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic in the World using Self Organizing Maps.

We describe in this paper an analysis of the spatial evolution of coronavirus pandemic around the world by using a particular type of unsupervised neural network, which is called self-organizing maps. Based on the clustering abilities of self-organizing maps we are able to spatially group together countries that are similar according to their coronavirus cases, in this way being able to analyze which countries are behaving similarly and thus can benefit by using similar strategies in dealing with the spread of the virus. Publicly available datasets of coronavirus cases around the globe from the last months have been used in the analysis. Interesting conclusions have been obtained, that could be helpful in deciding the best strategies in dealing with this virus. Most of the previous papers dealing with data of the Coronavirus have viewed the problem on temporal aspect, which is also important, but this is mainly concerned with the forecast of the numeric information. However, we believe that the spatial aspect is also important, so in this view the main contribution of this paper is the use of unsupervised self-organizing maps for grouping together similar countries in their fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, and thus proposing that strategies for similar countries could be established accordingly.

Fuzzy Sets in Dynamic Adaptation of Parameters of a Bee Colony Optimization for Controlling the Trajectory of an Autonomous Mobile Robot.

A hybrid approach composed by different types of fuzzy systems, such as the Type-1 Fuzzy Logic System (T1FLS), Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic System (IT2FLS) and Generalized Type-2 Fuzzy Logic System (GT2FLS) for the dynamic adaptation of the alpha and beta parameters of a Bee Colony Optimization (BCO) algorithm is presented. The objective of the work is to focus on the BCO technique to find the optimal distribution of the membership functions in the design of fuzzy controllers. We use BCO specifically for tuning membership functions of the fuzzy controller for trajectory stability in an autonomous mobile robot. We add two types of perturbations in the model for the Generalized Type-2 Fuzzy Logic System to better analyze its behavior under uncertainty and this shows better results when compared to the original BCO. We implemented various performance indices; ITAE, IAE, ISE, ITSE, RMSE and MSE to measure the performance of the controller. The experimental results show better performances using GT2FLS then by IT2FLS and T1FLS in the dynamic adaptation the parameters for the BCO algorithm.

The testis anion transporter TAT1 (SLC26A8) physically and functionally interacts with the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator channel: a potential role during sperm capacitation.

The Slc26 gene family encodes several conserved anion transporters implicated in human genetic disorders, including Pendred syndrome, diastrophic dysplasia and congenital chloride diarrhea. We previously characterized the TAT1 (testis anion transporter 1; SLC26A8) protein specifically expressed in male germ cells and mature sperm and showed that in the mouse, deletion of Tat1 caused male sterility due to a lack of sperm motility, impaired sperm capacitation and structural defects of the flagella. Ca(2+), Cl(-) and HCO(3)(-) influxes trigger sperm capacitation events required for oocyte fertilization; these events include the intracellular rise of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent protein phosphorylation. The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is expressed in mature sperm and has been shown to contribute to Cl(-) and HCO(3)(-) movements during capacitation. Furthermore, several members of the SLC26 family have been described to form complexes with CFTR, resulting in the reciprocal regulation of their activities. We show here that TAT1 and CFTR physically interact and that in Xenopus laevis oocytes and in CHO-K1 cells, TAT1 expression strongly stimulates CFTR activity. Consistent with this, we show that Tat1 inactivation in mouse sperm results in deregulation of the intracellular cAMP content, preventing the activation of PKA-dependent downstream phosphorylation cascades essential for sperm activation. These various results suggest that TAT1 and CFTR may form a molecular complex involved in the regulation of Cl(-) and HCO(3)(-) fluxes during sperm capacitation. In humans, mutations in CFTR and/or TAT1 may therefore be causes of asthenozoospermia and low fertilizing capacity of sperm.

Multiclass Mask Classification with a New Convolutional Neural Model and Its Real-Time Implementation.

The world has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing people to remain isolated and decreasing the interaction between people. Accordingly, various measures have been taken to continue with a new normal way of life, which is why there is a need to implement the use of technologies and systems to decrease the spread of the virus. This research proposes a real-time system to identify the region of the face using preprocessing techniques and then classify the people who are using the mask, through a new convolutional neural network (CNN) model. The approach considers three different classes, assigning a different color to identify the corresponding class: green for persons using the mask correctly, yellow when used incorrectly, and red when people do not have a mask. This study validates that CNN models can be very effective in carrying out these types of tasks, identifying faces, and classifying them according to the class. The real-time system is developed using a Raspberry Pi 4, which can be used for the monitoring and alarm of humans who do not use the mask. This study mainly benefits society by decreasing the spread of the virus between people. The proposed model achieves 99.69% accuracy with the MaskedFace-Net dataset, which is very good when compared to other works in the current literature.

Architecture Optimization of a Non-Linear Autoregressive Neural Networks for Mackey-Glass Time Series Prediction Using Discrete Mycorrhiza Optimization Algorithm.

Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) are basically used for applications with time series and sequential data and are currently being used in embedded devices. However, one of their drawbacks is that RNNs have a high computational cost and require the use of a significant amount of memory space. Therefore, computer equipment with a large processing capacity and memory is required. In this article, we experiment with Nonlinear Autoregressive Neural Networks (NARNN), which are a type of RNN, and we use the Discrete Mycorrhizal Optimization Algorithm (DMOA) in the optimization of the NARNN architecture. We used the Mackey-Glass chaotic time series (MG) to test the proposed approach, and very good results were obtained. In addition, some comparisons were made with other methods that used the MG and other types of Neural Networks such as Backpropagation and ANFIS, also obtaining good results. The proposed algorithm can be applied to robots, microsystems, sensors, devices, MEMS, microfluidics, piezoelectricity, motors, biosensors, 3D printing, etc.

A new prediction approach of the COVID-19 virus pandemic behavior with a hybrid ensemble modular nonlinear autoregressive neural network.

We describe in this paper an approach for predicting the COVID-19 time series in the world using a hybrid ensemble modular neural network, which combines nonlinear autoregressive neural networks. At the level of the modular neural network, which is formed with several modules (ensembles in this case), the modules are designed to be efficient predictors for each country. In this case, an integrator is used to combine the outputs of the modules, in this way achieving the goal of predicting a set of countries. At the level of the ensembles, forming a part of the modular network, these are constituted by a set of modules, which are nonlinear autoregressive neural networks that are designed to be efficient predictors under particular conditions for each country. In each ensemble, the results of the modules are combined with an aggregator to achieve a better and improved result for the ensemble. Publicly available datasets of coronavirus cases around the globe from the last months have been used in the analysis. Interesting conclusions have been obtained that could be helpful in deciding the best strategies in dealing with this virus for countries in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the proposed approach could be helpful in proposing strategies for similar countries.

Optimization using the firefly algorithm of ensemble neural networks with type-2 fuzzy integration for COVID-19 time series prediction.

In this paper, the latest global COVID-19 pandemic prediction is addressed. Each country worldwide has faced this pandemic differently, reflected in its statistical number of confirmed and death cases. Predicting the number of confirmed and death cases could allow us to know the future number of cases and provide each country with the necessary information to make decisions based on the predictions. Recent works are focused only on confirmed COVID-19 cases or a specific country. In this work, the firefly algorithm designs an ensemble neural network architecture for each one of 26 countries. In this work, we propose the firefly algorithm for ensemble neural network optimization applied to COVID-19 time series prediction with type-2 fuzzy logic in a weighted average integration method. The proposed method finds the number of artificial neural networks needed to form an ensemble neural network and their architecture using a type-2 fuzzy inference system to combine the responses of individual artificial neural networks to perform a final prediction. The advantages of the type-2 fuzzy weighted average integration (FWA) method over the conventional average method and type-1 fuzzy weighted average integration are shown.

A review on quantum computing and deep learning algorithms and their applications.

In this paper, we describe a review concerning the Quantum Computing (QC) and Deep Learning (DL) areas and their applications in Computational Intelligence (CI). Quantum algorithms (QAs), engage the rules of quantum mechanics to solve problems using quantum information, where the quantum information is concerning the state of a quantum system, which can be manipulated using quantum information algorithms and other processing techniques. Nowadays, many QAs have been proposed, whose general conclusion is that using the effects of quantum mechanics results in a significant speedup (exponential, polynomial, super polynomial) over the traditional algorithms. This implies that some complex problems currently intractable with traditional algorithms can be solved with QA. On the other hand, DL algorithms offer what is known as machine learning techniques. DL is concerned with teaching a computer to filter inputs through layers to learn how to predict and classify information. Observations can be in the form of plain text, images, or sound. The inspiration for deep learning is the way that the human brain filters information. Therefore, in this research, we analyzed these two areas to observe the most relevant works and applications developed by the researchers in the world.

Fuzzy dynamic parameter adaptation in the bird swarm algorithm for neural network optimization.

Fuzzy dynamic parameter adaptation has proven to be of great help when it is implemented in bio-inspired algorithms for optimization in different application areas, such as control, mathematical functions, classification, among others. One of the main contributions of this work is the proposed improvement of the Bird Swarm algorithm using a Fuzzy System approach, and we called this improvement the Fuzzy Bird Swarm Algorithm. Furthermore, we use a set of complex Benchmark Functions of the Congress on Evolutionary Computation Competition 2017 to compare the results between the original algorithm and the proposed improvement of the algorithm. The fuzzy system is utilized for the dynamic parameter adaptation of the C1 and C2 parameters of the Bird Swarm Algorithm. As a result, the Fuzzy Bird Swarm Algorithm has enhanced exploration and exploitation abilities that help in achieving better results than the Bird Swarm Algorithm. We additionally test the algorithm's performance in a real problem in the medical area, using the optimization of a neural network to obtain the risk of developing hypertension. This neural network uses information, such as age, gender, body mass index, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, if the patient smokes and if the patient has parents with hypertension. Hypertension is one of the leading causes of heart problems, which in turn are also one of the top causes of death. Moreover, these days it causes more complications and deaths in people infected with COVID-19, the virus of the ongoing pandemic. Based on the results obtained through the 30 experiments carried out in three different study cases, and the results obtained from the statistical tests, it can be concluded that the proposed method provides better performance when compared with the original method.

Interval Type-3 Fuzzy Adaptation of the Bee Colony Optimization Algorithm for Optimal Fuzzy Control of an Autonomous Mobile Robot.

In this study, the first goal is achieving a hybrid approach composed by an Interval Type-3 Fuzzy Logic System (IT3FLS) for the dynamic adaptation of α and ß parameters of Bee Colony Optimization (BCO) algorithm. The second goal is, based on BCO, to find the best partition of the membership functions (MFs) of a Fuzzy Controller (FC) for trajectory tracking in an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR). A comparative with different types of Fuzzy Systems, such as Fuzzy BCO with Type-1 Fuzzy Logic System (FBCO-T1FLS), Fuzzy BCO with Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic System (FBCO-IT2FLS) and Fuzzy BCO with Generalized Type-2 Fuzzy Logic System (FBCO-GT2FLS) is analyzed. A disturbance is added to verify if the FBCO-IT3FLS performance is better when the uncertainty is present. Several performance indices are used; RMSE, MSE and some metrics of control such as, ITAE, IAE, ISE and ITSE to measure the controller's performance. The experiments show excellent results using FBCO-IT3FLS and are better than FBCO-GT2FLS, FBCO-IT2FLS and FBCO-T1FLS in the adaptation of α and ß parameters.

C terminus of nucleotide binding domain 1 contains critical features for cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator trafficking and activation.

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a Cl(-) channel physiologically important in fluid-transporting epithelia and pathologically relevant in several human diseases. Here, we show that mutations in the C terminus of the first nucleotide binding domain comprising the latest beta strands (beta(c)5 and beta(c)6) influence the trafficking, channel activity, and pharmacology of CFTR. We mutated CFTR amino acids located in the beta(c)5-beta(c)6 hairpin, within the beta(c)5 strand (H620Q), within the beta-turn linking the two beta strands (E621G, G622D), as well as within (S623A, S624A) and at the extremity (G628R) of the beta(c)6 strand. Functional analysis reveals that the current density was largely reduced for G622D and G628R channels compared with wt CFTR, similar for E621G and S624A, but increased for H620Q and S623A. For G622D and G628R, the abnormal activity is likely due to a defective maturation process, as assessed by the augmented activity and mature C-band observed in the presence of the trafficking corrector miglustat. In addition, in presence of the CFTR activator benzo[c]quinolizinium, the CFTR current density compared with that of wt CFTR was abolished for G622D and G628R channels, but similar for H620Q, S623A, and S624A or slightly increased for E621G. Finally, G622D and G628R were activated by the CFTR agonists genistein, RP-107, and isobutylmethylxanthine. Our results identify the C terminus of the CFTR first nucleotide binding domain as an important molecular site for the trafficking of CFTR protein, for the control of CFTR channel gating, and for the pharmacological effect of a dual activity agent.

A Novel Method for a COVID-19 Classification of Countries Based on an Intelligent Fuzzy Fractal Approach.

We outline in this article a hybrid intelligent fuzzy fractal approach for classification of countries based on a mixture of fractal theoretical concepts and fuzzy logic mathematical constructs. The mathematical definition of the fractal dimension provides a way to estimate the complexity of the non-linear dynamic behavior exhibited by the time series of the countries. Fuzzy logic offers a way to represent and handle the inherent uncertainty of the classification problem. The hybrid intelligent approach is composed of a fuzzy system formed by a set of fuzzy rules that uses the fractal dimensions of the data as inputs and produce as a final output the classification of countries. The hybrid approach calculations are based on the COVID-19 data of confirmed and death cases. The main contribution is the proposed hybrid approach composed of the fractal dimension definition and fuzzy logic concepts for achieving an accurate classification of countries based on the complexity of the COVID-19 time series data. Publicly available datasets of 11 countries have been the basis to construct the fuzzy system and 15 different countries were considered in the validation of the proposed classification approach. Simulation results show that a classification accuracy over 93% can be achieved, which can be considered good for this complex problem.

Multiple Ensemble Neural Network Models with Fuzzy Response Aggregation for Predicting COVID-19 Time Series: The Case of Mexico.

In this paper, a multiple ensemble neural network model with fuzzy response aggregation for the COVID-19 time series is presented. Ensemble neural networks are composed of a set of modules, which are used to produce several predictions under different conditions. The modules are simple neural networks. Fuzzy logic is then used to aggregate the responses of several predictor modules, in this way, improving the final prediction by combining the outputs of the modules in an intelligent way. Fuzzy logic handles the uncertainty in the process of making a final decision about the prediction. The complete model was tested for the case of predicting the COVID-19 time series in Mexico, at the level of the states and the whole country. The simulation results of the multiple ensemble neural network models with fuzzy response integration show very good predicted values in the validation data set. In fact, the prediction errors of the multiple ensemble neural networks are significantly lower than using traditional monolithic neural networks, in this way showing the advantages of the proposed approach.

Endosomal SNARE proteins regulate CFTR activity and trafficking in epithelial cells.

The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) protein is a chloride channel localized at the apical plasma membrane of epithelial cells. We previously described that syntaxin 8, an endosomal SNARE (Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor Attachment protein REceptor) protein, interacts with CFTR and regulates its trafficking to the plasma membrane and hence its channel activity. Syntaxin 8 belongs to the endosomal SNARE complex which also contains syntaxin 7, vti1b and VAMP8. Here, we report that these four endosomal SNARE proteins physically and functionally interact with CFTR. In LLC-PK1 cells transfected with CFTR and in Caco-2 cells endogenously expressing CFTR, we demonstrated that endosomal SNARE protein overexpression inhibits CFTR activity but not swelling- or calcium-activated iodide efflux, indicating a specific effect upon CFTR activity. Moreover, co-immunoprecipitation experiments in LLC-PK1-CFTR cells showed that CFTR and SNARE proteins belong to a same complex and pull-down assays showed that VAMP8 and vti1b preferentially interact with CFTR N-terminus tail. By cell surface biotinylation and immunofluorescence experiments, we evidenced that endosomal SNARE overexpression disturbs CFTR apical targeting. Finally, we found a colocalization of CFTR and endosomal SNARE proteins in Rab11-positive recycling endosomes, suggesting a new role for endosomal SNARE proteins in CFTR trafficking in epithelial cells.

Blood Pressure Classification Using the Method of the Modular Neural Networks.

In this paper, we present a new model based on modular neural networks (MNN) to classify a patient's blood pressure level (systolic and diastolic pressure and pulse). Tests are performed with the Levenberg-Marquardt (trainlm) and scaled conjugate gradient backpropagation (traincsg) training methods. The modular neural network architecture is formed by three modules. In the first module we consider the diastolic pressure data; in the second module we use details of the systolic pressure; in the third module, pulse data is used and the response integration is performed with the average method. The goal is to design the best MNN architecture for achieving an accurate classification. The results of the model show that MNN presents an excellent classification for blood pressure. The contribution of this work is related to helping the cardiologist in providing a good diagnosis and patient treatment and allows the analysis of the behavior of blood pressure in relation to the corresponding diagnosis, in order to prevent heart disease.

General Type-2 Fuzzy Sugeno Integral for Edge Detection.

A type-2 fuzzy edge detection method is presented in this paper. The general process consists of first obtaining the image gradients in the four directions-horizontal, vertical, and the two diagonals-and this technique is known as the morphological gradient. After that, the general type-2 fuzzy Sugeno integral (GT2 FSI) is used to integrate the four image gradients. In this second step, the GT2 FSI establishes criteria to determine at which level the obtained image gradient belongs to an edge during the process; this is calculated assigning different general type-2 fuzzy densities, and these fuzzy gradients are aggregated using the meet and join operators. The gradient integration using the GT2 FSI provides a methodology for achieving more robust edge detection, even more if we are working with blurry images. The experimental evaluations are performed on synthetic and real images, and the accuracy is quantified using Pratt's Figure of Merit. The results values demonstrate that the proposed edge detection method outperforms other existing algorithms.