Flexible Job Shop Composite Dispatching Rule Mining Approach Based on an Improved Genetic Programming Algorithm

To obtain a suitable scheduling scheme in an effective time range,the minimum completion time is taken as the objective of Flexible Job Shop scheduling Problems(FJSP)with different scales,and Composite Dispatching Rules(CDRs)are applied to generate feasible solutions.Firstly,the binary tree coding method is adopted,and the constructed function set is normalized.Secondly,a CDR mining approach based on an Improved Genetic Programming Algorithm(IGPA)is designed.Two population initialization methods are introduced to enrich the initial population,and a superior and inferior population separation strategy is designed to improve the global search ability of the algorithm.At the same time,two individual mutation methods are introduced to improve the algorithm’s local search ability,to achieve the balance between global search and local search.In addition,the effectiveness of the IGPA and the superiority of CDRs are verified through comparative analysis.Finally,Deep Reinforcement Learning(DRL)is employed to solve the FJSP by incorporating the CDRs as the action set,the selection times are counted to further verify the superiority of CDRs.

National Swine Genetic Improvement: An overview of essential program components and organizational structure needed for success

The swine industry in China is a thriving and evolving industry that has shown phenomenal growth over the past 10 years. To insure long term success and viability in a worldwide competitive industry such as pork, there is need for a National Swine Genetic Improvement Program. This program needs to draw on expertise and technology from across the world for its development, but it should be based on the structure of the pig industry in China and be led by Chinese scientists, administrators and producers. National Genetic Improvement requires more than just technology. A successful program of national genetic improvement will require cooperation from the industry and the government. The support for the university system is essential for the success of the pig industry. The university system has a vital role on education (of students, faculty, producers and consumers) as well as research and technology transfer. The government could also have a role in supporting the central test stations and AI stations across the country. An accurate and comprehensive pedigree maintenance system is essential to genetic improvement. And it will be vitally important to be active in the importation of new genetics to sample other populations.

Applications of Molecular Markers in Fruit Crops for Breeding Programs—A Review

Selection and use of molecular markers for evaluation of DNA polymorphism in plants are couple of the most important approaches in the field of molecular genetics.The assessment of genetic diversity using morphological markers is not sufficient due to little differentiating traits among the species,genera or their individuals.Morphological markers are not only highly influenced by environmental factors but skilled assessment is also prerequisite to find the variations in plant genetic resources.Therefore,molecular markers are considered as efficient tools for detailed DNA based characterization of fruit crops.Molecular markers provide new directions to the efforts of plant breeders particularly in genetic variability,gene tags,gene localization,taxonomy,genetic diversity,phylogenetic analysis and also play an important role to decrease the time required for development of new and excellent cultivars.The success of molecular markers technology in genetic improvement programs depends on the close relationship among the plant breeders,biotechnologists,skilled manpower and good financial support.The present review describes application and success of molecular markers technology used for genetic improvement in different fruit crops.