{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,21]],"date-time":"2026-06-21T04:29:25Z","timestamp":1782016165922,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,13]],"date-time":"2016-07-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1468368000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The aim of this study was to develop and test a new fuzzy logic model for monitoring the udder health status (HS) of goats. The model evaluated, as input variables, the milk electrical conductivity (EC) signal, acquired on-line for each gland by a dedicated sensor, the bandwidth length and the frequency and amplitude of the first main peak of the Fourier frequency spectrum of the recorded milk EC signal. Two foremilk gland samples were collected from eight Saanen goats for six months at morning milking (lactation stages (LS): 0\u201360 Days In Milking (DIM); 61\u2013120 DIM; 121\u2013180 DIM), for a total of 5592 samples. Bacteriological analyses and somatic cell counts (SCC) were used to define the HS of the glands. With negative bacteriological analyses and SCC &lt; 1,000,000 cells\/mL, glands were classified as healthy. When bacteriological analyses were positive or showed a SCC &gt; 1,000,000 cells\/mL, glands were classified as not healthy (NH). For each EC signal, an estimated EC value was calculated and a relative deviation was obtained. Furthermore, the Fourier frequency spectrum was evaluated and bandwidth length, frequency and amplitude of the first main peak were identified. Before using these indexes as input variables of the fuzzy logic model a linear mixed-effects model was developed to evaluate the acquired data considering the HS, LS and LS \u00d7 HS as explanatory variables. Results showed that performance of a fuzzy logic model, in the monitoring of mammary gland HS, could be improved by the use of EC indexes derived from the Fourier frequency spectra of gland milk EC signals recorded by on-line EC sensors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s16071079","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,13]],"date-time":"2016-07-13T09:48:45Z","timestamp":1468403325000},"page":"1079","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Improved Fuzzy Logic System to Evaluate Milk Electrical Conductivity Signals from On-Line Sensors to Monitor Dairy Goat Mastitis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8800-1777","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mauro","family":"Zaninelli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Universit\u00e0 Telematica San Raffaele Roma, Via di Val Cannuta 247, 00166 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"Tangorra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety (VESPA), Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1038-6886","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annamaria","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety (VESPA), Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1178-4683","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luciana","family":"Rossi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety (VESPA), Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8401-3615","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vittorio","family":"Dell\u2019Orto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety (VESPA), Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Savoini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety (VESPA), Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1132","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.S0022-0302(94)77049-1","article-title":"Evaluation of a prototype on-line electrical conductivity system for detection of subclinical mastitis","volume":"77","author":"Lansbergen","year":"1994","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.1016\/S0301-6226(06)80013-8","article-title":"The efficacy of in-line measurement of quarter milk electrical conductivity, milk yield and milk temperature for the detection of clinical and subclinical mastitis","volume":"30","author":"Maatje","year":"1992","journal-title":"Livest. Prod. Sci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1039","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.S0022-0302(95)76720-0","article-title":"Detection of subclinical mastitis from on-line milking parlor data","volume":"78","author":"Nielen","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1016\/0167-5877(94)00405-8","article-title":"Application of a neural network to analyse on-line milking parlour data for the detection of clinical mastitis in dairy cows","volume":"22","author":"Nielen","year":"1995","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"240","article-title":"Clinical mastitis detection by on-line measurements of milk yield, electrical conductivity and milking duration in commercial dairy farms","volume":"59","author":"Zecconi","year":"2004","journal-title":"Milchwiss. Milk Sci. Int."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Zazueta, F. (2006). Computers in Agriculture and Natural Resources, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compag.2007.03.004","article-title":"Development and testing of a \u201cfree-flow\u201d conductimetric milk meter","volume":"57","author":"Zaninelli","year":"2007","journal-title":"Comput. Electron. Agric."},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"267","article-title":"Intramammary infections in dairy goats: Recent knowledge and indicators for detection of subclinical mastitis","volume":"60","author":"Stuhr","year":"2010","journal-title":"Landbauforschung"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"606","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.S0022-0302(92)77798-4","article-title":"Electrical conductivity of milk: Measurement, modifiers, and meta analysis of mastitis fetection performance","volume":"75","author":"Nielen","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3885","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2011-4187","article-title":"Analysis of the influence of variation factors on electrical conductivity of milk in Murciano-Granadina goats","volume":"94","author":"Diaz","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"Mepham, T.B. (1983). Biochemistry of Lactation, Elsevier B.V."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"966","DOI":"10.14202\/vetworld.2014.966-969","article-title":"The use of Na+ and K+ ion concentrations as potential diagnostic indicators of subclinical mastitis in dairy cows","volume":"7","author":"Haron","year":"2014","journal-title":"Vet. World"},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Hamann, J., and Zecconi, A. (1998). Evaluation of the Electrical Conductivity of Milk as a Mastitis Indicator, International Dairy Federation. Bulletin of IDF n 334."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smallrumres.2012.05.001","article-title":"Analysis of the electrical conductivity in milking fractions as a mean for detecting and characterizing mastitis in goats","volume":"107","author":"Romero","year":"2012","journal-title":"Small Rumin. Res."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smallrumres.2010.02.006","article-title":"Milk electrical conductivity and mastitis status in dairy goats: Results from a pilot study","volume":"90","author":"Tangorra","year":"2010","journal-title":"Small Rumin. Res."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"718","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2011-4698","article-title":"Effect of intramammary infection on milk electrical conductivity in Murciano-Granadina goats","volume":"95","author":"Romero","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"428","DOI":"10.17221\/7654-CJAS","article-title":"Goat mastitis detection using daily records of milk conductivity: comparative results of different algorithms","volume":"9","author":"Romero","year":"2014","journal-title":"Czech J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"81","article-title":"Monitoraggio dello stato di salute delle capre attraverso l\u2019analisi on-line della conducibilit\u00e0 elettrica del latte","volume":"21","author":"Zaninelli","year":"2015","journal-title":"Large Anim. Rev."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4493","DOI":"10.3390\/s120404493","article-title":"Evaluation of commercial probes for on-line electrical conductivity measurements during goat gland milking process","volume":"12","author":"Romero","year":"2012","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"340","DOI":"10.4081\/ijas.2014.3170","article-title":"On-line monitoring of milk electrical conductivity by fuzzy logic technology to characterise health status in dairy goats","volume":"13","author":"Zaninelli","year":"2014","journal-title":"Ital. J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Biewer, B. (1997). Fuzzy-Methoden, Springer Verlag.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-59164-8"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zimmermann, H.-J. (1996). Fuzzy Set Theory and Its Applications, Kluwer Academic Publishers. [3rd ed.].","DOI":"10.1007\/978-94-015-8702-0"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"92","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2009.02.020","article-title":"Mastitis and lameness detection in dairy cows by application of fuzzy logic","volume":"125","author":"Kramer","year":"2009","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2006.06.006","article-title":"Mastitis detection in dairy cows by application of fuzzy logic","volume":"105","author":"Cavero","year":"2006","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"400","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.S0022-0302(01)74490-6","article-title":"Application of fuzzy logic in automated cow status monitoring","volume":"84","author":"Woldt","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"De Mol, R.M., and Ouweltjes, W. (2000, January 17\u201319). Detection model for estrus and mastitis in cows milked in an automatic milking system. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Robotic Milking, Lelystad, The Netherlands."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1016\/S0167-5877(01)00176-3","article-title":"Detection model for mastitis in cows milked in an automatic milking system","volume":"49","author":"Ouweltjes","year":"2001","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20698","DOI":"10.3390\/s150820698","article-title":"Evaluation of the fourier frequency spectrum peaks of milk electrical conductivity signals as indexes to monitor the dairy goats\u2019 health status by on-line sensors","volume":"15","author":"Zaninelli","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.4081\/ijas.2015.3518","article-title":"Signal spectral analysis to characterize gland milk electrical conductivity in dairy goats","volume":"14","author":"Zaninelli","year":"2015","journal-title":"Ital. J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1050","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.S0022-0302(95)76721-2","article-title":"Comparison of analysis techniques for on-line detection of clinical mastitis","volume":"78","author":"Nielen","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"Council, N.R. (2007). Nutrient Requirements of Small Ruminants: Sheep, Goats, Cervids, and New World Camelids, The National Academies Press."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Federation Internationale de Laiterie\u2014International Dairy Federation (1981). Laboratory Methods for Use in Mastitis Work, International Dairy Federation. Bullettin of IDF n 132."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Federation Internationale de Laiterie\u2014International Dairy Federation (1995). Enumeration of Somatic Cells, International Dairy Federation. FIL-IDF Standard n 148A."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2006.10.006","article-title":"Analysing serial data for mastitis detection by means of local regression","volume":"110","author":"Cavero","year":"2007","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Salehi, F., Lacroix, R., and Wade, K.M. (2000). Development of neuro-fuzzifiers for qualitative analyses of milk yield. 28, 171\u2013186.","DOI":"10.1016\/S0168-1699(00)00128-9"},{"key":"ref_36","first-page":"1014","article-title":"Newton-raphson and EM algorithms for linear mixed-effects models for repeated-measures data","volume":"83","author":"Lindstrom","year":"1988","journal-title":"J. Am. Stat. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1592","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.S0022-0302(97)76089-2","article-title":"Estimation of interdependence among quarters of the bovine udder with subclinical mastitis and implications for analysis","volume":"80","author":"Barkema","year":"1997","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Box, G.E.P., Jenkins, G.M., and Reinsel, G.C. (1994). Time Series Analysis: Forecasting and Control, Prentice Hall. [3rd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3091","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2008-1557","article-title":"Effects of repeated gram-positive and gram-negative clinical mastitis episodes on milk yield loss in Holstein dairy cows","volume":"92","author":"Schukken","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_40","unstructured":"Hillerton, J.E. (2000, January 13\u201316). Detecting mastitis cow-sided. Proceedings of the 39th National Mastitis Council Annual Meeting Proceedings, Atlanta, GA, USA."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1016\/S0921-4488(02)00191-8","article-title":"Prevalence and incidence of subclinical mastitis in goats and dairy ewes in Vermont","volume":"46","author":"McDougall","year":"2002","journal-title":"Small Rumin. Res."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/16\/7\/1079\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T19:26:02Z","timestamp":1760210762000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/16\/7\/1079"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,13]]},"references-count":41,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,7]]}},"alternative-id":["s16071079"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s16071079","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,13]]}}}