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1303.0642
Bayesian Compressed Regression
stat.ML cs.LG
As an alternative to variable selection or shrinkage in high dimensional regression, we propose to randomly compress the predictors prior to analysis. This dramatically reduces storage and computational bottlenecks, performing well when the predictors can be projected to a low dimensional linear subspace with minimal loss of information about the response. As opposed to existing Bayesian dimensionality reduction approaches, the exact posterior distribution conditional on the compressed data is available analytically, speeding up computation by many orders of magnitude while also bypassing robustness issues due to convergence and mixing problems with MCMC. Model averaging is used to reduce sensitivity to the random projection matrix, while accommodating uncertainty in the subspace dimension. Strong theoretical support is provided for the approach by showing near parametric convergence rates for the predictive density in the large p small n asymptotic paradigm. Practical performance relative to competitors is illustrated in simulations and real data applications.
1303.0644
Automatic symmetry based cluster approach for anomalous brain identification in PET scan image : An Analysis
cs.CV
Medical image segmentation is referred to the segmentation of known anatomic structures from different medical images. Normally, the medical data researches are more complicated and an exclusive structures. This computer aided diagnosis is used for assisting doctors in evaluating medical imagery or in recognizing abnormal findings in a medical image. To integrate the specialized knowledge for medical data processing is helpful to form a real useful healthcare decision making system. This paper studies the different symmetry based distances applied in clustering algorithms and analyzes symmetry approach for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan image segmentation. Unlike CT and MRI, the PET scan identifies the structure of blood flow to and from organs. PET scan also helps in early diagnosis of cancer and heart, brain and gastro intestinal ailments and to detect the progress of treatment. In this paper, the scope diagnostic task expands for PET image in various brain functions.
1303.0645
Symmetry Based Cluster Approach for Automatic Recognition of the Epileptic Focus in Brain Using PET Scan Image : An Analysis
cs.CV
Recognition of epileptic focal point is the important diagnosis when screening the epilepsy patients for latent surgical cures. The accurate localization is challenging one because of the low spatial resolution images with more noisy data. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has now replaced the issues and caring a high resolution. This paper focuses the research of automated localization of epileptic seizures in brain functional images using symmetry based cluster approach. This approach presents a fully automated symmetry based brain abnormality detection method for PET sequences. PET images are spatially normalized to Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard and then it has been trained using symmetry based cluster approach using Medical Image Processing, Analysis & Visualization (MIPAV) tool. The performance evolution is considered by the metric like accuracy of diagnosis. The obtained result is surely assists the surgeon for the automated identification of seizures focus.
1303.0646
The Zen of Multidisciplinary Team Recommendation
cs.SI cs.IR physics.soc-ph
In order to accomplish complex tasks, it is often necessary to compose a team consisting of experts with diverse competencies. However, for proper functioning, it is also preferable that a team be socially cohesive. A team recommendation system, which facilitates the search for potential team members can be of great help both for (i) individuals who need to seek out collaborators and (ii) managers who need to build a team for some specific tasks. A decision support system which readily helps summarize such metrics, and possibly rank the teams in a personalized manner according to the end users' preferences, can be a great tool to navigate what would otherwise be an information avalanche. In this work we present a general framework of how to compose such subsystems together to build a composite team recommendation system, and instantiate it for a case study of academic teams.
1303.0647
Spatial Fuzzy C Means PET Image Segmentation of Neurodegenerative Disorder
cs.CV
Nuclear image has emerged as a promising research work in medical field. Images from different modality meet its own challenge. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) image may help to precisely localize disease to assist in planning the right treatment for each case and saving valuable time. In this paper, a novel approach of Spatial Fuzzy C Means (PET SFCM) clustering algorithm is introduced on PET scan image datasets. The proposed algorithm is incorporated the spatial neighborhood information with traditional FCM and updating the objective function of each cluster. This algorithm is implemented and tested on huge data collection of patients with brain neuro degenerative disorder such as Alzheimers disease. It has demonstrated its effectiveness by testing it for real world patient data sets. Experimental results are compared with conventional FCM and K Means clustering algorithm. The performance of the PET SFCM provides satisfactory results compared with other two algorithms
1303.0663
Denoising Deep Neural Networks Based Voice Activity Detection
cs.LG cs.SD stat.ML
Recently, the deep-belief-networks (DBN) based voice activity detection (VAD) has been proposed. It is powerful in fusing the advantages of multiple features, and achieves the state-of-the-art performance. However, the deep layers of the DBN-based VAD do not show an apparent superiority to the shallower layers. In this paper, we propose a denoising-deep-neural-network (DDNN) based VAD to address the aforementioned problem. Specifically, we pre-train a deep neural network in a special unsupervised denoising greedy layer-wise mode, and then fine-tune the whole network in a supervised way by the common back-propagation algorithm. In the pre-training phase, we take the noisy speech signals as the visible layer and try to extract a new feature that minimizes the reconstruction cross-entropy loss between the noisy speech signals and its corresponding clean speech signals. Experimental results show that the proposed DDNN-based VAD not only outperforms the DBN-based VAD but also shows an apparent performance improvement of the deep layers over shallower layers.
1303.0665
Personalized News Recommendation with Context Trees
cs.IR cs.LG stat.ML
The profusion of online news articles makes it difficult to find interesting articles, a problem that can be assuaged by using a recommender system to bring the most relevant news stories to readers. However, news recommendation is challenging because the most relevant articles are often new content seen by few users. In addition, they are subject to trends and preference changes over time, and in many cases we do not have sufficient information to profile the reader. In this paper, we introduce a class of news recommendation systems based on context trees. They can provide high-quality news recommendation to anonymous visitors based on present browsing behaviour. We show that context-tree recommender systems provide good prediction accuracy and recommendation novelty, and they are sufficiently flexible to capture the unique properties of news articles.
1303.0667
Query Expansion Using Term Distribution and Term Association
cs.IR
Good term selection is an important issue for an automatic query expansion (AQE) technique. AQE techniques that select expansion terms from the target corpus usually do so in one of two ways. Distribution based term selection compares the distribution of a term in the (pseudo) relevant documents with that in the whole corpus / random distribution. Two well-known distribution-based methods are based on Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KLD) and Bose-Einstein statistics (Bo1). Association based term selection, on the other hand, uses information about how a candidate term co-occurs with the original query terms. Local Context Analysis (LCA) and Relevance-based Language Model (RM3) are examples of association-based methods. Our goal in this study is to investigate how these two classes of methods may be combined to improve retrieval effectiveness. We propose the following combination-based approach. Candidate expansion terms are first obtained using a distribution based method. This set is then refined based on the strength of the association of terms with the original query terms. We test our methods on 11 TREC collections. The proposed combinations generally yield better results than each individual method, as well as other state-of-the-art AQE approaches. En route to our primary goal, we also propose some modifications to LCA and Bo1 which lead to improved performance.
1303.0669
Second Order Asymptotics for Random Number Generation
cs.IT math.IT
We treat a random number generation from an i.i.d. probability distribution of $P$ to that of $Q$. When $Q$ or $P$ is a uniform distribution, the problems have been well-known as the uniform random number generation and the resolvability problem respectively, and analyzed not only in the context of the first order asymptotic theory but also that in the second asymptotic theory. On the other hand, when both $P$ and $Q$ are not a uniform distribution, the second order asymptotics has not been treated. In this paper, we focus on the second order asymptotics of a random number generation for arbitrary probability distributions $P$ and $Q$ on a finite set. In particular, we derive the optimal second order generation rate under an arbitrary permissible confidence coefficient.
1303.0691
Learning AMP Chain Graphs and some Marginal Models Thereof under Faithfulness: Extended Version
stat.ML cs.AI cs.LG
This paper deals with chain graphs under the Andersson-Madigan-Perlman (AMP) interpretation. In particular, we present a constraint based algorithm for learning an AMP chain graph a given probability distribution is faithful to. Moreover, we show that the extension of Meek's conjecture to AMP chain graphs does not hold, which compromises the development of efficient and correct score+search learning algorithms under assumptions weaker than faithfulness. We also introduce a new family of graphical models that consists of undirected and bidirected edges. We name this new family maximal covariance-concentration graphs (MCCGs) because it includes both covariance and concentration graphs as subfamilies. However, every MCCG can be seen as the result of marginalizing out some nodes in an AMP CG. We describe global, local and pairwise Markov properties for MCCGs and prove their equivalence. We characterize when two MCCGs are Markov equivalent, and show that every Markov equivalence class of MCCGs has a distinguished member. We present a constraint based algorithm for learning a MCCG a given probability distribution is faithful to. Finally, we present a graphical criterion for reading dependencies from a MCCG of a probability distribution that satisfies the graphoid properties, weak transitivity and composition. We prove that the criterion is sound and complete in certain sense.
1303.0695
Non-Asymptotic Output Statistics of Random Binning and Its Applications
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper we develop a finite blocklength version of the Output Statistics of Random Binning (OSRB) framework. The framework is shown to be optimal in the point-to-point case. New second order regions for broadcast channel and wiretap channel with strong secrecy criterion are derived.
1303.0696
A Technique for Deriving One-Shot Achievability Results in Network Information Theory
cs.IT math.IT
This paper proposes a novel technique to prove a one-shot version of achievability results in network information theory. The technique is not based on covering and packing lemmas. In this technique, we use an stochastic encoder and decoder with a particular structure for coding that resembles both the ML and the joint-typicality coders. Although stochastic encoders and decoders do not usually enhance the capacity region, their use simplifies the analysis. The Jensen inequality lies at the heart of error analysis, which enables us to deal with the expectation of many terms coming from stochastic encoders and decoders at once. The technique is illustrated via several examples: point-to-point channel coding, Gelfand-Pinsker, Broadcast channel (Marton), Berger-Tung, Heegard-Berger/Kaspi, Multiple description coding and Joint source-channel coding over a MAC. Most of our one-shot results are new. The asymptotic forms of these expressions is the same as that of classical results. Our one-shot bounds in conjunction with multi-dimensional Berry-Essen CLT imply new results in the finite blocklength regime. In particular applying the one-shot result for the memoryless broadcast channel in the asymptotic case, we get the entire region of Marton's inner bound without any need for time-sharing.
1303.0699
Low-complexity dominance-based Sphere Decoder for MIMO Systems
cs.IT math.IT
The sphere decoder (SD) is an attractive low-complexity alternative to maximum likelihood (ML) detection in a variety of communication systems. It is also employed in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems where the computational complexity of the optimum detector grows exponentially with the number of transmit antennas. We propose an enhanced version of the SD based on an additional cost function derived from conditions on worst case interference, that we call dominance conditions. The proposed detector, the king sphere decoder (KSD), has a computational complexity that results to be not larger than the complexity of the sphere decoder and numerical simulations show that the complexity reduction is usually quite significant.
1303.0707
On the Achievable Error Region of Physical Layer Authentication Techniques over Rayleigh Fading Channels
cs.IT cs.CR math.IT
For a physical layer message authentication procedure based on the comparison of channel estimates obtained from the received messages, we focus on an outer bound on the type I/II error probability region. Channel estimates are modelled as multivariate Gaussian vectors, and we assume that the attacker has only some side information on the channel estimate, which he does not know directly. We derive the attacking strategy that provides the tightest bound on the error region, given the statistics of the side information. This turns out to be a zero mean, circularly symmetric Gaussian density whose correlation matrices may be obtained by solving a constrained optimization problem. We propose an iterative algorithm for its solution: Starting from the closed form solution of a relaxed problem, we obtain, by projection, an initial feasible solution; then, by an iterative procedure, we look for the fixed point solution of the problem. Numerical results show that for cases of interest the iterative approach converges, and perturbation analysis shows that the found solution is a local minimum.
1303.0718
Spectral Theory for Networks with Attractive and Repulsive Interactions
math.SP cond-mat.dis-nn cs.SI
There is a wealth of applied problems that can be posed as a dynamical system defined on a network with both attractive and repulsive interactions. Some examples include: understanding synchronization properties of nonlinear oscillator;, the behavior of groups, or cliques, in social networks; the study of optimal convergence for consensus algorithm; and many other examples. Frequently the problems involve computing the index of a matrix, i.e. the number of positive and negative eigenvalues, and the dimension of the kernel. In this paper we consider one of the most common examples, where the matrix takes the form of a signed graph Laplacian. We show that the there are topological constraints on the index of the Laplacian matrix related to the dimension of a certain homology group. In certain situations, when the homology group is trivial, the index of the operator is rigid and is determined only by the topology of the network and is independent of the strengths of the interactions. In general these constraints give upper and lower bounds on the number of positive and negative eigenvalues, with the dimension of the homology group counting the number of eigenvalue crossings. The homology group also gives a natural decomposition of the dynamics into "fixed" degrees of freedom, whose index does not depend on the edge-weights, and an orthogonal set of "free" degrees of freedom, whose index changes as the edge weights change. We also present some numerical studies of this problem for large random matrices.
1303.0727
Estimating a sharp convergence bound for randomized ensembles
math.PR cs.SI math.ST stat.ML stat.TH
When randomized ensembles such as bagging or random forests are used for binary classification, the prediction error of the ensemble tends to decrease and stabilize as the number of classifiers increases. However, the precise relationship between prediction error and ensemble size is unknown in practice. In the standard case when classifiers are aggregated by majority vote, the present work offers a way to quantify this convergence in terms of "algorithmic variance," i.e. the variance of prediction error due only to the randomized training algorithm. Specifically, we study a theoretical upper bound on this variance, and show that it is sharp --- in the sense that it is attained by a specific family of randomized classifiers. Next, we address the problem of estimating the unknown value of the bound, which leads to a unique twist on the classical problem of non-parametric density estimation. In particular, we develop an estimator for the bound and show that its MSE matches optimal non-parametric rates under certain conditions. (Concurrent with this work, some closely related results have also been considered in Cannings and Samworth (2017) and Lopes (2019).)
1303.0742
Multivariate Temporal Dictionary Learning for EEG
cs.LG q-bio.NC stat.ML
This article addresses the issue of representing electroencephalographic (EEG) signals in an efficient way. While classical approaches use a fixed Gabor dictionary to analyze EEG signals, this article proposes a data-driven method to obtain an adapted dictionary. To reach an efficient dictionary learning, appropriate spatial and temporal modeling is required. Inter-channels links are taken into account in the spatial multivariate model, and shift-invariance is used for the temporal model. Multivariate learned kernels are informative (a few atoms code plentiful energy) and interpretable (the atoms can have a physiological meaning). Using real EEG data, the proposed method is shown to outperform the classical multichannel matching pursuit used with a Gabor dictionary, as measured by the representative power of the learned dictionary and its spatial flexibility. Moreover, dictionary learning can capture interpretable patterns: this ability is illustrated on real data, learning a P300 evoked potential.
1303.0766
Bibliometrics for Internet Media: Applying the h-Index to YouTube
cs.DL cs.SI physics.soc-ph
The h-index can be a useful metric for evaluating a person's output of Internet media. Here we advocate and demonstrate adaption of the h-index and the g-index to the top video content creators on YouTube. The h-index for Internet video media is based on videos and their view counts. The index h is defined as the number of videos with >= h*10^5 views. The index g is defined as the number of videos with >= g*10^5 views on average. When compared to a video creator's total view count, the h-index and g-index better capture both productivity and impact in a single metric.
1303.0775
Hybrid Maximum Likelihood Modulation Classification Using Multiple Radios
cs.IT math.IT stat.ML
The performance of a modulation classifier is highly sensitive to channel signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In this paper, we focus on amplitude-phase modulations and propose a modulation classification framework based on centralized data fusion using multiple radios and the hybrid maximum likelihood (ML) approach. In order to alleviate the computational complexity associated with ML estimation, we adopt the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. Due to SNR diversity, the proposed multi-radio framework provides robustness to channel SNR. Numerical results show the superiority of the proposed approach with respect to single radio approaches as well as to modulation classifiers using moments based estimators.
1303.0777
Integrating hidden information which is observed and the observer information regularities
nlin.AO cs.IT math.IT
Bayesian integral functional measure of entropy-uncertainty (EF) on trajectories of Markov multi-dimensional diffusion process is cutting off by interactive impulses (controls). Each cutoff minimax of EF superimposes and entangles conjugated fractions in microprocess, enclosing the captured entropy fractions as source of an information unit. The impulse step-up action launches the unit formation and step-down action finishes it and brings energy from the interactive jump. This finite jump transfers the entangled entropy from uncertain Yes-logic to the certain-information No-logic information unit whose measuring at end of the cut kills final entropy-uncertainty and limits unit. The Yes-No logic holds Bit Participator creating elementary information observer without physical pre-law. Cooperating two units in doublet and an opposite directional information unit in triplet forms minimal stable structure. Information path functional (IPF) integrates multiple hidden information contributions along the cutting process correlations in information units of cooperating doublets-triplets, bound by free information, and enfolds the sequence of enclosing triplet structures in the information network (IN) that sequentially decreases the entropy and maximizes information. The IN bound triplets release free information rising information forces enable attracting new information unit and ordering it. While IPF collects the information units, the IN performs logical computing using doublet-triplet code. The IN different levels unite logic of quantum micro- and macro- information processes, composing quantum and/or classical computation.
1303.0783
Epidemic threshold in directed networks
physics.soc-ph cs.SI
Epidemics have so far been mostly studied in undirected networks. However, many real-world networks, such as the social network Twitter and the WWW networks, upon which information, emotion or malware spreads, are shown to be directed networks, composed of both unidirectional links and bidirectional links. We define the directionality as the percentage of unidirectional links. The epidemic threshold for the susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemic has been proved to be 1/lambda_{1} in directed networks by N-intertwined Mean-field Approximation, where lambda_{1}, also called as spectral radius, is the largest eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix. Here, we propose two algorithms to generate directed networks with a given degree distribution, where the directionality can be controlled. The effect of directionality on the spectral radius lambda_{1}, principal eigenvector x_{1}, spectral gap lambda_{1}-|lambda_{2}|) and algebraic connectivity |mu_{N-1}| is studied. Important findings are that the spectral radius lambda_{1} decreases with the directionality, and the spectral gap and the algebraic connectivity increase with the directionality. The extent of the decrease of the spectral radius depends on both the degree distribution and the degree-degree correlation rho_{D}. Hence, the epidemic threshold of directed networks is larger than that of undirected networks, and a random walk converges to its steady-state faster in directed networks than in undirected networks with degree distribution.
1303.0787
Restricted Manipulation in Iterative Voting: Convergence and Condorcet Efficiency
cs.AI cs.GT
In collective decision making, where a voting rule is used to take a collective decision among a group of agents, manipulation by one or more agents is usually considered negative behavior to be avoided, or at least to be made computationally difficult for the agents to perform. However, there are scenarios in which a restricted form of manipulation can instead be beneficial. In this paper we consider the iterative version of several voting rules, where at each step one agent is allowed to manipulate by modifying his ballot according to a set of restricted manipulation moves which are computationally easy and require little information to be performed. We prove convergence of iterative voting rules when restricted manipulation is allowed, and we present experiments showing that most iterative voting rules have a higher Condorcet efficiency than their non-iterative version.
1303.0789
How to Be Both Rich and Happy: Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Strategic Reasoning about Multi-Player Games (Extended Abstract)
cs.LO cs.MA
We propose a logical framework combining a game-theoretic study of abilities of agents to achieve quantitative objectives in multi-player games by optimizing payoffs or preferences on outcomes with a logical analysis of the abilities of players for achieving qualitative objectives of players, i.e., reaching or maintaining game states with desired properties. We enrich concurrent game models with payoffs for the normal form games associated with the states of the model and propose a quantitative extension of the logic ATL* enabling the combination of quantitative and qualitative reasoning.
1303.0791
Strategic Analysis of Trust Models for User-Centric Networks
cs.GT cs.MA
We present a strategic analysis of a trust model that has recently been proposed for promoting cooperative behaviour in user-centric networks. The mechanism for cooperation is based on a combination of reputation and virtual currency schemes in which service providers reward paying customers and punish non-paying ones by adjusting their reputation, and hence the price they pay for services. We model and analyse this system using PRISM-games, a tool that performs automated verification and strategy synthesis for stochastic multi-player games using the probabilistic alternating-time temporal logic with rewards (rPATL). We construct optimal strategies for both service users and providers, which expose potential risks of the cooperation mechanism and which we use to devise improvements that counteract these risks.
1303.0792
Concurrent Game Structures with Roles
cs.LO cs.MA
In the following paper we present a new semantics for the well-known strategic logic ATL. It is based on adding roles to concurrent game structures, that is at every state, each agent belongs to exactly one role, and the role specifies what actions are available to him at that state. We show advantages of the new semantics, provide motivating examples based on sensor networks, and analyze model checking complexity.
1303.0793
Reasoning about Strategies under Partial Observability and Fairness Constraints
cs.LO cs.MA
A number of extensions exist for Alternating-time Temporal Logic; some of these mix strategies and partial observability but, to the best of our knowledge, no work provides a unified framework for strategies, partial observability and fairness constraints. In this paper we propose ATLK^F_po, a logic mixing strategies under partial observability and epistemic properties of agents in a system with fairness constraints on states, and we provide a model checking algorithm for it.
1303.0794
Reducing Validity in Epistemic ATL to Validity in Epistemic CTL
cs.LO cs.AI cs.MA
We propose a validity preserving translation from a subset of epistemic Alternating-time Temporal Logic (ATL) to epistemic Computation Tree Logic (CTL). The considered subset of epistemic ATL is known to have the finite model property and decidable model-checking. This entails the decidability of validity but the implied algorithm is unfeasible. Reducing the validity problem to that in a corresponding system of CTL makes the techniques for automated deduction for that logic available for the handling of the apparently more complex system of ATL.
1303.0808
Sequential decoding of a general classical-quantum channel
quant-ph cs.IT math.IT
Since a quantum measurement generally disturbs the state of a quantum system, one might think that it should not be possible for a sender and receiver to communicate reliably when the receiver performs a large number of sequential measurements to determine the message of the sender. We show here that this intuition is not true, by demonstrating that a sequential decoding strategy works well even in the most general "one-shot" regime, where we are given a single instance of a channel and wish to determine the maximal number of bits that can be communicated up to a small failure probability. This result follows by generalizing a non-commutative union bound to apply for a sequence of general measurements. We also demonstrate two ways in which a receiver can recover a state close to the original state after it has been decoded by a sequence of measurements that each succeed with high probability. The second of these methods will be useful in realizing an efficient decoder for fully quantum polar codes, should a method ever be found to realize an efficient decoder for classical-quantum polar codes.
1303.0817
On Cooperation in Multi-Terminal Computation and Rate Distortion
cs.IT math.IT
A receiver wants to compute a function of two correlated sources separately observed by two transmitters. One of the transmitters may send a possibly private message to the other transmitter in a cooperation phase before both transmitters communicate to the receiver. For this network configuration this paper investigates both a function computation setup, wherein the receiver wants to compute a given function of the sources exactly, and a rate distortion setup, wherein the receiver wants to compute a given function within some distortion. For the function computation setup, a general inner bound to the rate region is established and shown to be tight in a number of cases: partially invertible functions, full cooperation between transmitters, one-round point-to-point communication, two-round point-to-point communication, and the cascade setup where the transmitters and the receiver are aligned. In particular it is shown that the ratio of the total number of transmitted bits without cooperation and the total number of transmitted bits with cooperation can be arbitrarily large. Furthermore, one bit of cooperation suffices to arbitrarily reduce the amount of information both transmitters need to convey to the receiver. For the rate distortion version, an inner bound to the rate region is exhibited which always includes, and sometimes strictly, the convex hull of Kaspi-Berger's related inner bounds. The strict inclusion is shown via two examples.
1303.0818
Riemannian metrics for neural networks I: feedforward networks
cs.NE cs.IT cs.LG math.DG math.IT
We describe four algorithms for neural network training, each adapted to different scalability constraints. These algorithms are mathematically principled and invariant under a number of transformations in data and network representation, from which performance is thus independent. These algorithms are obtained from the setting of differential geometry, and are based on either the natural gradient using the Fisher information matrix, or on Hessian methods, scaled down in a specific way to allow for scalability while keeping some of their key mathematical properties.
1303.0861
Structural and Cognitive Bottlenecks to Information Access in Social Networks
cs.SI cs.CY physics.soc-ph
Information in networks is non-uniformly distributed, enabling individuals in certain network positions to get preferential access to information. Social scientists have developed influential theories about the role of network structure in information access. These theories were validated through numerous studies, which examined how individuals leverage their social networks for competitive advantage, such as a new job or higher compensation. It is not clear how these theories generalize to online networks, which differ from real-world social networks in important respects, including asymmetry of social links. We address this problem by analyzing how users of the social news aggregator Digg adopt stories recommended by friends, i.e., users they follow. We measure the impact different factors, such as network position and activity rate; have on access to novel information, which in Digg's case means set of distinct news stories. We show that a user can improve his information access by linking to active users, though this becomes less effective as the number of friends, or their activity, grows due to structural network constraints. These constraints arise because users in structurally diverse position within the follower graph have topically diverse interests from their friends. Moreover, though in most cases user's friends are exposed to almost all the information available in the network, after they make their recommendations, the user sees only a small fraction of the available information. Our study suggests that cognitive and structural bottlenecks limit access to novel information in online social networks.
1303.0866
Adaptive Partitioning and its Applicability to a Highly Scalable and Available Geo-Spatial Indexing Solution
cs.DB
Satellite Tracking of People (STOP) tracks thousands of GPS-enabled devices 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. With locations captured for each device every minute, STOP servers receive tens of millions of points each day. In addition to cataloging these points in real-time, STOP must also respond to questions from customers such as, "What devices of mine were at this location two months ago?" They often then broaden their question to one such as, "Which of my devices have ever been at this location?" The processing requirements necessary to answer these questions while continuing to process inbound data in real-time is non-trivial. To meet this demand, STOP developed Adaptive Partitioning to provide a cost-effective and highly available hardware platform for the geographical and time-spatial indexing capabilities necessary for responding to customer data requests while continuing to catalog inbound data in real-time.
1303.0868
LabelRank: A Stabilized Label Propagation Algorithm for Community Detection in Networks
cs.SI cs.DS physics.soc-ph
An important challenge in big data analysis nowadays is detection of cohesive groups in large-scale networks, including social networks, genetic networks, communication networks and so. In this paper, we propose LabelRank, an efficient algorithm detecting communities through label propagation. A set of operators is introduced to control and stabilize the propagation dynamics. These operations resolve the randomness issue in traditional label propagation algorithms (LPA), stabilizing the discovered communities in all runs of the same network. Tests on real-world networks demonstrate that LabelRank significantly improves the quality of detected communities compared to LPA, as well as other popular algorithms.
1303.0875
LT^2C^2: A language of thought with Turing-computable Kolmogorov complexity
q-bio.NC cs.AI
In this paper, we present a theoretical effort to connect the theory of program size to psychology by implementing a concrete language of thought with Turing-computable Kolmogorov complexity (LT^2C^2) satisfying the following requirements: 1) to be simple enough so that the complexity of any given finite binary sequence can be computed, 2) to be based on tangible operations of human reasoning (printing, repeating,...), 3) to be sufficiently powerful to generate all possible sequences but not too powerful as to identify regularities which would be invisible to humans. We first formalize LT^2C^2, giving its syntax and semantics and defining an adequate notion of program size. Our setting leads to a Kolmogorov complexity function relative to LT^2C^2 which is computable in polynomial time, and it also induces a prediction algorithm in the spirit of Solomonoff's inductive inference theory. We then prove the efficacy of this language by investigating regularities in strings produced by participants attempting to generate random strings. Participants had a profound understanding of randomness and hence avoided typical misconceptions such as exaggerating the number of alternations. We reasoned that remaining regularities would express the algorithmic nature of human thoughts, revealed in the form of specific patterns. Kolmogorov complexity relative to LT^2C^2 passed three expected tests examined here: 1) human sequences were less complex than control PRNG sequences, 2) human sequences were not stationary, showing decreasing values of complexity resulting from fatigue, 3) each individual showed traces of algorithmic stability since fitting of partial sequences was more effective to predict subsequent sequences than average fits. This work extends on previous efforts to combine notions of Kolmogorov complexity theory and algorithmic information theory to psychology, by explicitly ...
1303.0890
Set-Membership Conjugate Gradient Constrained Adaptive Filtering Algorithm for Beamforming
cs.IT math.IT
We introduce a new linearly constrained minimum variance (LCMV) beamformer that combines the set-membership (SM) technique with the conjugate gradient (CG) method, and develop a low-complexity adaptive filtering algorithm for beamforming. The proposed algorithm utilizes a CG-based vector and a variable forgetting factor to perform the data-selective updates that are controlled by a time-varying bound related to the parameters. For the update, the CG-based vector is calculated iteratively (one iteration per update) to obtain the filter parameters and to avoid the matrix inversion. The resulting iterations construct a space of feasible solutions that satisfy the constraints of the LCMV optimization problem. The proposed algorithm reduces the computational complexity significantly and shows an enhanced convergence and tracking performance over existing algorithms.
1303.0926
Injectivity w.r.t. Distribution of Elements in the Compressed Sequences Derived from Primitive Sequences over $Z/p^eZ$
cs.IT math.IT
Let $p\geq3$ be a prime and $e\geq2$ an integer. Let $\sigma(x)$ be a primitive polynomial of degree $n$ over $Z/p^eZ$ and $G'(\sigma(x),p^e)$ the set of primitive linear recurring sequences generated by $\sigma(x)$. A compressing map $\varphi$ on $Z/p^eZ$ naturally induces a map $\hat{\varphi}$ on $G'(\sigma(x),p^e)$. For a subset $D$ of the image of $\varphi$,$\hat{\varphi}$ is called to be injective w.r.t. $D$-uniformity if the distribution of elements of $D$ in the compressed sequence implies all information of the original primitive sequence. In this correspondence, for at least $1-2(p-1)/(p^n-1)$ of primitive polynomials of degree $n$, a clear criterion on $\varphi$ is obtained to decide whether $\hat{\varphi}$ is injective w.r.t. $D$-uniformity, and the majority of maps on $Z/p^eZ$ induce injective maps on $G'(\sigma(x),p^e)$. Furthermore, a sufficient condition on $\varphi$ is given to ensure injectivity of $\hat{\varphi}$ w.r.t. $D$-uniformity. It follows from the sufficient condition that if $\sigma(x)$ is strongly primitive and the compressing map $\varphi(x)=f(x_{e-1})$, where $f(x_{e-1})$ is a permutation polynomial over $\mathbb{F}_{p}$, then $\hat{\varphi}$ is injective w.r.t. $D$-uniformity for $\emptyset\neq D\subset\mathbb{F}_{p}$. Moreover, we give three specific families of compressing maps which induce injective maps on $G'(\sigma(x),p^e)$.
1303.0930
An Authentication Scheme for Subspace Codes over Network Based on Linear Codes
cs.CR cs.IT math.IT
Network coding provides the advantage of maximizing the usage of network resources, and has great application prospects in future network communications. However, the properties of network coding also make the pollution attack more serious. In this paper, we give an unconditional secure authentication scheme for network coding based on a linear code $C$. Safavi-Naini and Wang gave an authentication code for multi-receivers and multiple messages. We notice that the scheme of Safavi-Naini and Wang is essentially constructed with Reed-Solomon codes. And we modify their construction slightly to make it serve for authenticating subspace codes over linear network. Also, we generalize the construction with linear codes. The generalization to linear codes has the similar advantages as generalizing Shamir's secret sharing scheme to linear secret sharing sceme based on linear codes. One advantage of this generalization is that for a fixed message space, our scheme allows arbitrarily many receivers to check the integrity of their own messages, while the scheme with Reed-Solomon codes has a constraint on the number of verifying receivers. Another advantage is that we introduce access structure in the generalized scheme. Massey characterized the access structure of linear secret sharing scheme by minimal codewords in the dual code whose first component is 1. We slightly modify the definition of minimal codewords. Let $C$ be a $[V,k]$ linear code. For any coordinate $i\in \{1,2,\cdots,V\}$, a codeword $\vec{c}$ in $C$ is called minimal respect to $i$ if the codeword $\vec{c}$ has component 1 at the $i$-th coordinate and there is no other codeword whose $i$-th component is 1 with support strictly contained in that of $\vec{c}$. Then the security of receiver $R_i$ in our authentication scheme is characterized by the minimal codewords respect to $i$ in the dual code $C^\bot$.
1303.0934
GURLS: a Least Squares Library for Supervised Learning
cs.LG cs.AI cs.MS
We present GURLS, a least squares, modular, easy-to-extend software library for efficient supervised learning. GURLS is targeted to machine learning practitioners, as well as non-specialists. It offers a number state-of-the-art training strategies for medium and large-scale learning, and routines for efficient model selection. The library is particularly well suited for multi-output problems (multi-category/multi-label). GURLS is currently available in two independent implementations: Matlab and C++. It takes advantage of the favorable properties of regularized least squares algorithm to exploit advanced tools in linear algebra. Routines to handle computations with very large matrices by means of memory-mapped storage and distributed task execution are available. The package is distributed under the BSD licence and is available for download at https://github.com/CBCL/GURLS.
1303.0943
A New Approach of Deriving Bounds between Entropy and Error from Joint Distribution: Case Study for Binary Classifications
cs.IT math.IT
The existing upper and lower bounds between entropy and error are mostly derived through an inequality means without linking to joint distributions. In fact, from either theoretical or application viewpoint, there exists a need to achieve a complete set of interpretations to the bounds in relation to joint distributions. For this reason, in this work we propose a new approach of deriving the bounds between entropy and error from a joint distribution. The specific case study is given on binary classifications, which can justify the need of the proposed approach. Two basic types of classification errors are investigated, namely, the Bayesian and non-Bayesian errors. For both errors, we derive the closed-form expressions of upper bound and lower bound in relation to joint distributions. The solutions show that Fano's lower bound is an exact bound for any type of errors in a relation diagram of "Error Probability vs. Conditional Entropy". A new upper bound for the Bayesian error is derived with respect to the minimum prior probability, which is generally tighter than Kovalevskij's upper bound.
1303.0964
GBM Volumetry using the 3D Slicer Medical Image Computing Platform
cs.CV
Volumetric change in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) over time is a critical factor in treatment decisions. Typically, the tumor volume is computed on a slice-by-slice basis using MRI scans obtained at regular intervals. (3D)Slicer - a free platform for biomedical research - provides an alternative to this manual slice-by-slice segmentation process, which is significantly faster and requires less user interaction. In this study, 4 physicians segmented GBMs in 10 patients, once using the competitive region-growing based GrowCut segmentation module of Slicer, and once purely by drawing boundaries completely manually on a slice-by-slice basis. Furthermore, we provide a variability analysis for three physicians for 12 GBMs. The time required for GrowCut segmentation was on an average 61% of the time required for a pure manual segmentation. A comparison of Slicer-based segmentation with manual slice-by-slice segmentation resulted in a Dice Similarity Coefficient of 88.43 +/- 5.23% and a Hausdorff Distance of 2.32 +/- 5.23 mm.
1303.0970
A heuristic optimization method for mitigating the impact of a virus attack
cs.SI physics.soc-ph q-bio.PE
Taking precautions before or during the start of a virus outbreak can heavily reduce the number of infected. The question which individuals should be immunized in order to mitigate the impact of the virus on the rest of population has received quite some attention in the literature. The dynamics of the of a virus spread through a population is often represented as information spread over a complex network. The strategies commonly proposed to determine which nodes are to be selected for immunization often involve only one centrality measure at a time, while often the topology of the network seems to suggest that a single metric is insufficient to capture the influence of a node entirely. In this work we present a generic method based on a genetic algorithm (GA) which does not rely explicitly on any centrality measures during its search but only exploits this type of information to narrow the search space. The fitness of an individual is defined as the estimated expected number of infections of a virus following SIR dynamics. The proposed method is evaluated on two contact networks: the Goodreau's Faux Mesa high school and the US air transportation network. The GA method manages to outperform the most common strategies based on a single metric for the air transportation network and its performance is comparable with the best performing strategy for the high school network.
1303.1026
Non-overlapping codes
cs.DM cs.IT math.CO math.IT
We say that a $q$-ary length $n$ code is \emph{non-overlapping} if the set of non-trivial prefixes of codewords and the set of non-trivial suffices of codewords are disjoint. These codes were first studied by Levenshtein in 1964, motivated by applications in synchronisation. More recently these codes were independently invented (under the name \emph{cross-bifix-free} codes) by Baji\'c and Stojanovi\'c. We provide a simple construction for a class of non-overlapping codes which has optimal cardinality whenever $n$ divides $q$. Moreover, for all parameters $n$ and $q$ we show that a code from this class is close to optimal, in the sense that it has cardinality within a constant factor of an upper bound due to Levenshtein from 1970. Previous constructions have cardinality within a constant factor of the upper bound only when $q$ is fixed. Chee, Kiah, Purkayastha and Wang showed that a $q$-ary length $n$ non-overlapping code contains at most $q^n/(2n-1)$ codewords; this bound is weaker than the Levenshtein bound. Their proof appealed to the application in synchronisation: we provide a direct combinatorial argument to establish the bound of Chee \emph{et al}. We also consider codes of short length, finding the leading term of the maximal cardinality of a non-overlapping code when $n$ is fixed and $q\rightarrow \infty$. The largest cardinality of non-overlapping codes of lengths $3$ or less is determined exactly.
1303.1038
Anytime Reliable LDPC Convolutional Codes for Networked Control over Wireless Channel
cs.IT cs.SY math.IT
This paper deals with the problem of stabilizing an unstable system through networked control over the wireless medium. In such a situation a remote sensor communicates the measurements to the system controller through a noisy channel. In particular, in the AWGN scenario, we show that protograph-based LDPC convolutional codes achieve anytime reliability and we also derive a lower bound to the signal-to-noise ratio required to stabilize the system. Moreover, on the Rayleigh-fading channel, we show by simulations that resorting to multiple sensors allows to achieve a diversity gain.
1303.1051
A Genetic algorithm to solve the container storage space allocation problem
cs.NE
This paper presented a genetic algorithm (GA) to solve the container storage problem in the port. This problem is studied with different container types such as regular, open side, open top, tank, empty and refrigerated containers. The objective of this problem is to determine an optimal containers arrangement, which respects customers delivery deadlines, reduces the rehandle operations of containers and minimizes the stop time of the container ship. In this paper, an adaptation of the genetic algorithm to the container storage problem is detailed and some experimental results are presented and discussed. The proposed approach was compared to a Last In First Out (LIFO) algorithm applied to the same problem and has recorded good results
1303.1090
Embedded Online Optimization for Model Predictive Control at Megahertz Rates
cs.SY math.OC
Faster, cheaper, and more power efficient optimization solvers than those currently offered by general-purpose solutions are required for extending the use of model predictive control (MPC) to resource-constrained embedded platforms. We propose several custom computational architectures for different first-order optimization methods that can handle linear-quadratic MPC problems with input, input-rate, and soft state constraints. We provide analysis ensuring the reliable operation of the resulting controller under reduced precision fixed-point arithmetic. Implementation of the proposed architectures in FPGAs shows that satisfactory control performance at a sample rate beyond 1 MHz is achievable even on low-end devices, opening up new possibilities for the application of MPC on embedded systems.
1303.1093
On Large Deviation Property of Recurrence Times
cs.IT math.IT
We extend the study by Ornstein and Weiss on the asymptotic behavior of the normalized version of recurrence times and establish the large deviation property for a certain class of mixing processes. Further, an estimator for entropy based on recurrence times is proposed for which large deviation behavior is proved for stationary and ergodic sources satisfying similar mixing conditions.
1303.1095
A New Achievable Scheme for Interference Relay Channels
cs.IT math.IT
We establish an achievable rate region for discrete memoryless interference relay channels that consist of two source-destination pairs and one or more relays. We develop an achievable scheme combining Han-Kobayashi and noisy network coding schemes. We apply our achievability to two cases. First, we characterize the capacity region of a class of discrete memoryless interference relay channels. This class naturally generalizes the injective deterministic discrete memoryless interference channel by El Gamal and Costa and the deterministic discrete memoryless relay channel with orthogonal receiver components by Kim. Moreover, for the Gaussian interference relay channel with orthogonal receiver components, we show that our scheme achieves a better sum rate than that of noisy network coding.
1303.1098
On Match Lengths and the Asymptotic Behavior of Sliding Window Lempel-Ziv Algorithm for Zero Entropy Sequences
cs.IT math.IT
The Sliding Window Lempel-Ziv (SWLZ) algorithm has been studied from various perspectives in information theory literature. In this paper, we provide a general law which defines the asymptotics of match length for stationary and ergodic zero entropy processes. Moreover, we use this law to choose the match length $L_o$ in the almost sure optimality proof of Fixed Shift Variant of Lempel-Ziv (FSLZ) and SWLZ algorithms given in literature. First, through an example of stationary and ergodic processes generated by irrational rotation we establish that for a window size of $n_w$ a compression ratio given by $O(\frac{\log n_w}{{n_w}^a})$ where $a$ is arbitrarily close to 1 and $0 < a < 1$, is obtained under the application of FSLZ and SWLZ algorithms. Further, we give a general expression for the compression ratio for a class of stationary and totally ergodic processes with zero entropy.
1303.1144
Recursive Sparse Recovery in Large but Structured Noise - Part 2
cs.IT math.IT
We study the problem of recursively recovering a time sequence of sparse vectors, St, from measurements Mt := St + Lt that are corrupted by structured noise Lt which is dense and can have large magnitude. The structure that we require is that Lt should lie in a low dimensional subspace that is either fixed or changes "slowly enough"; and the eigenvalues of its covariance matrix are "clustered". We do not assume any model on the sequence of sparse vectors. Their support sets and their nonzero element values may be either independent or correlated over time (usually in many applications they are correlated). The only thing required is that there be some support change every so often. We introduce a novel solution approach called Recursive Projected Compressive Sensing with cluster-PCA (ReProCS-cPCA) that addresses some of the limitations of earlier work. Under mild assumptions, we show that, with high probability, ReProCS-cPCA can exactly recover the support set of St at all times; and the reconstruction errors of both St and Lt are upper bounded by a time-invariant and small value.
1303.1152
An Equivalence between the Lasso and Support Vector Machines
cs.LG stat.ML
We investigate the relation of two fundamental tools in machine learning and signal processing, that is the support vector machine (SVM) for classification, and the Lasso technique used in regression. We show that the resulting optimization problems are equivalent, in the following sense. Given any instance of an $\ell_2$-loss soft-margin (or hard-margin) SVM, we construct a Lasso instance having the same optimal solutions, and vice versa. As a consequence, many existing optimization algorithms for both SVMs and Lasso can also be applied to the respective other problem instances. Also, the equivalence allows for many known theoretical insights for SVM and Lasso to be translated between the two settings. One such implication gives a simple kernelized version of the Lasso, analogous to the kernels used in the SVM setting. Another consequence is that the sparsity of a Lasso solution is equal to the number of support vectors for the corresponding SVM instance, and that one can use screening rules to prune the set of support vectors. Furthermore, we can relate sublinear time algorithms for the two problems, and give a new such algorithm variant for the Lasso. We also study the regularization paths for both methods.
1303.1201
Multi-Pair Amplify-and-Forward Relaying with Very Large Antenna Arrays
cs.IT math.IT
We consider a multi-pair relay channel where multiple sources simultaneously communicate with destinations using a relay. Each source or destination has only a single antenna, while the relay is equipped with a very large antenna array. We investigate the power efficiency of this system when maximum ratio combining/maximal ratio transmission (MRC/MRT) or zero-forcing (ZF) processing is used at the relay. Using a very large array, the transmit power of each source or relay (or both) can be made inversely proportional to the number of relay antennas while maintaining a given quality-of-service. At the same time, the achievable sum rate can be increased by a factor of the number of source-destination pairs. We show that when the number of antennas grows to infinity, the asymptotic achievable rates of MRC/MRT and ZF are the same if we scale the power at the sources. Depending on the large scale fading effect, MRC/MRT can outperform ZF or vice versa if we scale the power at the relay.
1303.1208
Classification with Asymmetric Label Noise: Consistency and Maximal Denoising
stat.ML cs.LG
In many real-world classification problems, the labels of training examples are randomly corrupted. Most previous theoretical work on classification with label noise assumes that the two classes are separable, that the label noise is independent of the true class label, or that the noise proportions for each class are known. In this work, we give conditions that are necessary and sufficient for the true class-conditional distributions to be identifiable. These conditions are weaker than those analyzed previously, and allow for the classes to be nonseparable and the noise levels to be asymmetric and unknown. The conditions essentially state that a majority of the observed labels are correct and that the true class-conditional distributions are "mutually irreducible," a concept we introduce that limits the similarity of the two distributions. For any label noise problem, there is a unique pair of true class-conditional distributions satisfying the proposed conditions, and we argue that this pair corresponds in a certain sense to maximal denoising of the observed distributions. Our results are facilitated by a connection to "mixture proportion estimation," which is the problem of estimating the maximal proportion of one distribution that is present in another. We establish a novel rate of convergence result for mixture proportion estimation, and apply this to obtain consistency of a discrimination rule based on surrogate loss minimization. Experimental results on benchmark data and a nuclear particle classification problem demonstrate the efficacy of our approach.
1303.1209
Sample-Optimal Average-Case Sparse Fourier Transform in Two Dimensions
cs.DS cs.IT math.IT
We present the first sample-optimal sublinear time algorithms for the sparse Discrete Fourier Transform over a two-dimensional sqrt{n} x sqrt{n} grid. Our algorithms are analyzed for /average case/ signals. For signals whose spectrum is exactly sparse, our algorithms use O(k) samples and run in O(k log k) time, where k is the expected sparsity of the signal. For signals whose spectrum is approximately sparse, our algorithm uses O(k log n) samples and runs in O(k log^2 n) time; the latter algorithm works for k=Theta(sqrt{n}). The number of samples used by our algorithms matches the known lower bounds for the respective signal models. By a known reduction, our algorithms give similar results for the one-dimensional sparse Discrete Fourier Transform when n is a power of a small composite number (e.g., n = 6^t).
1303.1217
Impulsive Noise Mitigation in Powerline Communications Using Sparse Bayesian Learning
stat.ML cs.IT math.IT
Additive asynchronous and cyclostationary impulsive noise limits communication performance in OFDM powerline communication (PLC) systems. Conventional OFDM receivers assume additive white Gaussian noise and hence experience degradation in communication performance in impulsive noise. Alternate designs assume a parametric statistical model of impulsive noise and use the model parameters in mitigating impulsive noise. These receivers require overhead in training and parameter estimation, and degrade due to model and parameter mismatch, especially in highly dynamic environments. In this paper, we model impulsive noise as a sparse vector in the time domain without any other assumptions, and apply sparse Bayesian learning methods for estimation and mitigation without training. We propose three iterative algorithms with different complexity vs. performance trade-offs: (1) we utilize the noise projection onto null and pilot tones to estimate and subtract the noise impulses; (2) we add the information in the data tones to perform joint noise estimation and OFDM detection; (3) we embed our algorithm into a decision feedback structure to further enhance the performance of coded systems. When compared to conventional OFDM PLC receivers, the proposed receivers achieve SNR gains of up to 9 dB in coded and 10 dB in uncoded systems in the presence of impulsive noise.
1303.1220
Reduced-Rank DOA Estimation based on Joint Iterative Subspace Optimization and Grid Search
cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we propose a novel reduced-rank algorithm for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation based on the minimum variance (MV) power spectral evaluation. It is suitable to DOA estimation with large arrays and can be applied to arbitrary array geometries. The proposed DOA estimation algorithm is formulated as a joint optimization of a subspace projection matrix and an auxiliary reduced-rank parameter vector with respect to the MV and grid search. A constrained least squares method is employed to solve this joint optimization problem for the output power over the grid. The proposed algorithm is described for problems of large number of users' direction finding with or without exact information of the number of sources, and does not require the singular value decomposition (SVD). The spatial smoothing (SS) technique is also employed in the proposed algorithm for dealing with correlated sources problem. Simulations are conducted with comparisons against existent algorithms to show the improved performance of the proposed algorithm in different scenarios.
1303.1232
Japanese-Spanish Thesaurus Construction Using English as a Pivot
cs.CL cs.AI
We present the results of research with the goal of automatically creating a multilingual thesaurus based on the freely available resources of Wikipedia and WordNet. Our goal is to increase resources for natural language processing tasks such as machine translation targeting the Japanese-Spanish language pair. Given the scarcity of resources, we use existing English resources as a pivot for creating a trilingual Japanese-Spanish-English thesaurus. Our approach consists of extracting the translation tuples from Wikipedia, disambiguating them by mapping them to WordNet word senses. We present results comparing two methods of disambiguation, the first using VSM on Wikipedia article texts and WordNet definitions, and the second using categorical information extracted from Wikipedia, We find that mixing the two methods produces favorable results. Using the proposed method, we have constructed a multilingual Spanish-Japanese-English thesaurus consisting of 25,375 entries. The same method can be applied to any pair of languages that are linked to English in Wikipedia.
1303.1243
A Generalized Hybrid Real-Coded Quantum Evolutionary Algorithm Based on Particle Swarm Theory with Arithmetic Crossover
cs.NE
This paper proposes a generalized Hybrid Real-coded Quantum Evolutionary Algorithm (HRCQEA) for optimizing complex functions as well as combinatorial optimization. The main idea of HRCQEA is to devise a new technique for mutation and crossover operators. Using the evolutionary equation of PSO a Single-Multiple gene Mutation (SMM) is designed and the concept of Arithmetic Crossover (AC) is used in the new Crossover operator. In HRCQEA, each triploid chromosome represents a particle and the position of the particle is updated using SMM and Quantum Rotation Gate (QRG), which can make the balance between exploration and exploitation. Crossover is employed to expand the search space, Hill Climbing Selection (HCS) and elitism help to accelerate the convergence speed. Simulation results on Knapsack Problem and five benchmark complex functions with high dimension show that HRCQEA performs better in terms of ability to discover the global optimum and convergence speed.
1303.1264
Discovery of factors in matrices with grades
cs.LG cs.NA
We present an approach to decomposition and factor analysis of matrices with ordinal data. The matrix entries are grades to which objects represented by rows satisfy attributes represented by columns, e.g. grades to which an image is red, a product has a given feature, or a person performs well in a test. We assume that the grades form a bounded scale equipped with certain aggregation operators and conforms to the structure of a complete residuated lattice. We present a greedy approximation algorithm for the problem of decomposition of such matrix in a product of two matrices with grades under the restriction that the number of factors be small. Our algorithm is based on a geometric insight provided by a theorem identifying particular rectangular-shaped submatrices as optimal factors for the decompositions. These factors correspond to formal concepts of the input data and allow an easy interpretation of the decomposition. We present illustrative examples and experimental evaluation.
1303.1271
Convex and Scalable Weakly Labeled SVMs
cs.LG
In this paper, we study the problem of learning from weakly labeled data, where labels of the training examples are incomplete. This includes, for example, (i) semi-supervised learning where labels are partially known; (ii) multi-instance learning where labels are implicitly known; and (iii) clustering where labels are completely unknown. Unlike supervised learning, learning with weak labels involves a difficult Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) problem. Therefore, it can suffer from poor scalability and may also get stuck in local minimum. In this paper, we focus on SVMs and propose the WellSVM via a novel label generation strategy. This leads to a convex relaxation of the original MIP, which is at least as tight as existing convex Semi-Definite Programming (SDP) relaxations. Moreover, the WellSVM can be solved via a sequence of SVM subproblems that are much more scalable than previous convex SDP relaxations. Experiments on three weakly labeled learning tasks, namely, (i) semi-supervised learning; (ii) multi-instance learning for locating regions of interest in content-based information retrieval; and (iii) clustering, clearly demonstrate improved performance, and WellSVM is also readily applicable on large data sets.
1303.1280
Large-Margin Metric Learning for Partitioning Problems
cs.LG stat.ML
In this paper, we consider unsupervised partitioning problems, such as clustering, image segmentation, video segmentation and other change-point detection problems. We focus on partitioning problems based explicitly or implicitly on the minimization of Euclidean distortions, which include mean-based change-point detection, K-means, spectral clustering and normalized cuts. Our main goal is to learn a Mahalanobis metric for these unsupervised problems, leading to feature weighting and/or selection. This is done in a supervised way by assuming the availability of several potentially partially labelled datasets that share the same metric. We cast the metric learning problem as a large-margin structured prediction problem, with proper definition of regularizers and losses, leading to a convex optimization problem which can be solved efficiently with iterative techniques. We provide experiments where we show how learning the metric may significantly improve the partitioning performance in synthetic examples, bioinformatics, video segmentation and image segmentation problems.
1303.1285
Bandlimited Signal Reconstruction From the Distribution of Unknown Sampling Locations
cs.IT math.IT math.ST stat.TH
We study the reconstruction of bandlimited fields from samples taken at unknown but statistically distributed sampling locations. The setup is motivated by distributed sampling where precise knowledge of sensor locations can be difficult. Periodic one-dimensional bandlimited fields are considered for sampling. Perfect samples of the field at independent and identically distributed locations are obtained. The statistical realization of sampling locations is not known. First, it is shown that a bandlimited field cannot be uniquely determined with samples taken at statistically distributed but unknown locations, even if the number of samples is infinite. Next, it is assumed that the order of sample locations is known. In this case, using insights from order-statistics, an estimate for the field with useful asymptotic properties is designed. Distortion (mean-squared error) and central-limit are established for this estimate.
1303.1292
Stabilizing switching signals for switched linear systems
cs.SY math.OC
This article deals with stability of continuous-time switched linear systems under constrained switching. Given a family of linear systems, possibly containing unstable dynamics, we characterize a new class of switching signals under which the switched linear system generated by it and the family of systems is globally asymptotically stable. Our characterization of such stabilizing switching signals involves the asymptotic frequency of switching, the asymptotic fraction of activation of the constituent systems, and the asymptotic densities of admissible transitions among them. Our techniques employ multiple Lyapunov-like functions, and extend preceding results both in scope and applicability.
1303.1312
A Fast Iterative Bayesian Inference Algorithm for Sparse Channel Estimation
stat.ML cs.IT math.IT
In this paper, we present a Bayesian channel estimation algorithm for multicarrier receivers based on pilot symbol observations. The inherent sparse nature of wireless multipath channels is exploited by modeling the prior distribution of multipath components' gains with a hierarchical representation of the Bessel K probability density function; a highly efficient, fast iterative Bayesian inference method is then applied to the proposed model. The resulting estimator outperforms other state-of-the-art Bayesian and non-Bayesian estimators, either by yielding lower mean squared estimation error or by attaining the same accuracy with improved convergence rate, as shown in our numerical evaluation.
1303.1354
Adaptive Spatial Aloha, Fairness and Stochastic Geometry
cs.NI cs.IT math.IT
This work aims at combining adaptive protocol design, utility maximization and stochastic geometry. We focus on a spatial adaptation of Aloha within the framework of ad hoc networks. We consider quasi-static networks in which mobiles learn the local topology and incorporate this information to adapt their medium access probability (MAP) selection to their local environment. We consider the cases where nodes cooperate in a distributed way to maximize the global throughput or to achieve either proportional fair or max-min fair medium access. In the proportional fair case, we show that nodes can compute their optimal MAPs as solutions to certain fixed point equations. In the maximum throughput case, the optimal MAPs are obtained through a Gibbs Sampling based algorithm. In the max min case, these are obtained as the solution of a convex optimization problem. The main performance analysis result of the paper is that this type of distributed adaptation can be analyzed using stochastic geometry in the proportional fair case. In this case, we show that, when the nodes form a homogeneous Poisson point process in the Euclidean plane, the distribution of the optimal MAP can be obtained from that of a certain shot noise process w.r.t. the node Poisson point process and that the mean utility can also be derived from this distribution. We discuss the difficulties to be faced for analyzing the performance of the other cases (maximum throughput and max-min fairness). Numerical results illustrate our findings and quantify the gains brought by spatial adaptation in such networks.
1303.1369
Coevolution and correlated multiplexity in multiplex networks
physics.soc-ph cond-mat.dis-nn cond-mat.stat-mech cs.SI
Distinct channels of interaction in a complex networked system define network layers, which co-exist and co-operate for the system's function. Towards realistic modeling and understanding such multiplex systems, we introduce and study a class of growing multiplex network models in which different network layers coevolve, and examine how the entangled growth of coevolving layers can shape the overall network structure. We show analytically and numerically that the coevolution can induce strong degree correlations across layers, as well as modulate degree distributions. We further show that such a coevolution-induced correlated multiplexity can alter the system's response to dynamical process, exemplified by the suppressed susceptibility to a threshold cascade process.
1303.1384
Causality in concurrent systems
cs.DC cs.AI
Concurrent systems identify systems, either software, hardware or even biological systems, that are characterized by sets of independent actions that can be executed in any order or simultaneously. Computer scientists resort to a causal terminology to describe and analyse the relations between the actions in these systems. However, a thorough discussion about the meaning of causality in such a context has not been developed yet. This paper aims to fill the gap. First, the paper analyses the notion of causation in concurrent systems and attempts to build bridges with the existing philosophical literature, highlighting similarities and divergences between them. Second, the paper analyses the use of counterfactual reasoning in ex-post analysis in concurrent systems (i.e. execution trace analysis).
1303.1414
Dynamical influence processes on networks: General theory and applications to social contagion
physics.soc-ph cs.SI
We study binary state dynamics on a network where each node acts in response to the average state of its neighborhood. Allowing varying amounts of stochasticity in both the network and node responses, we find different outcomes in random and deterministic versions of the model. In the limit of a large, dense network, however, we show that these dynamics coincide. We construct a general mean field theory for random networks and show this predicts that the dynamics on the network are a smoothed version of the average response function dynamics. Thus, the behavior of the system can range from steady state to chaotic depending on the response functions, network connectivity, and update synchronicity. As a specific example, we model the competing tendencies of imitation and non-conformity by incorporating an off-threshold into standard threshold models of social contagion. In this way we attempt to capture important aspects of fashions and societal trends. We compare our theory to extensive simulations of this "limited imitation contagion" model on Poisson random graphs, finding agreement between the mean-field theory and stochastic simulations.
1303.1420
Verifying a platform for digital imaging: a multi-tool strategy
cs.SE cs.CV
Fiji is a Java platform widely used by biologists and other experimental scientists to process digital images. In particular, in our research - made together with a biologists team; we use Fiji in some pre-processing steps before undertaking a homological digital processing of images. In a previous work, we have formalised the correctness of the programs which use homological techniques to analyse digital images. However, the verification of Fiji's pre-processing step was missed. In this paper, we present a multi-tool approach filling this gap, based on the combination of Why/Krakatoa, Coq and ACL2.
1303.1441
A Hybrid Approach to Extract Keyphrases from Medical Documents
cs.IR cs.CL
Keyphrases are the phrases, consisting of one or more words, representing the important concepts in the articles. Keyphrases are useful for a variety of tasks such as text summarization, automatic indexing, clustering/classification, text mining etc. This paper presents a hybrid approach to keyphrase extraction from medical documents. The keyphrase extraction approach presented in this paper is an amalgamation of two methods: the first one assigns weights to candidate keyphrases based on an effective combination of features such as position, term frequency, inverse document frequency and the second one assign weights to candidate keyphrases using some knowledge about their similarities to the structure and characteristics of keyphrases available in the memory (stored list of keyphrases). An efficient candidate keyphrase identification method as the first component of the proposed keyphrase extraction system has also been introduced in this paper. The experimental results show that the proposed hybrid approach performs better than some state-of-the art keyphrase extraction approaches.
1303.1454
Causality in Bayesian Belief Networks
cs.AI
We address the problem of causal interpretation of the graphical structure of Bayesian belief networks (BBNs). We review the concept of causality explicated in the domain of structural equations models and show that it is applicable to BBNs. In this view, which we call mechanism-based, causality is defined within models and causal asymmetries arise when mechanisms are placed in the context of a system. We lay the link between structural equations models and BBNs models and formulate the conditions under which the latter can be given causal interpretation.
1303.1455
From Conditional Oughts to Qualitative Decision Theory
cs.AI
The primary theme of this investigation is a decision theoretic account of conditional ought statements (e.g., "You ought to do A, if C") that rectifies glaring deficiencies in classical deontic logic. The resulting account forms a sound basis for qualitative decision theory, thus providing a framework for qualitative planning under uncertainty. In particular, we show that adding causal relationships (in the form of a single graph) as part of an epistemic state is sufficient to facilitate the analysis of action sequences, their consequences, their interaction with observations, their expected utilities and, hence, the synthesis of plans and strategies under uncertainty.
1303.1456
A Probabilistic Algorithm for Calculating Structure: Borrowing from Simulated Annealing
cs.AI
We have developed a general Bayesian algorithm for determining the coordinates of points in a three-dimensional space. The algorithm takes as input a set of probabilistic constraints on the coordinates of the points, and an a priori distribution for each point location. The output is a maximum-likelihood estimate of the location of each point. We use the extended, iterated Kalman filter, and add a search heuristic for optimizing its solution under nonlinear conditions. This heuristic is based on the same principle as the simulated annealing heuristic for other optimization problems. Our method uses any probabilistic constraints that can be expressed as a function of the point coordinates (for example, distance, angles, dihedral angles, and planarity). It assumes that all constraints have Gaussian noise. In this paper, we describe the algorithm and show its performance on a set of synthetic data to illustrate its convergence properties, and its applicability to domains such ng molecular structure determination.
1303.1457
A Study of Scaling Issues in Bayesian Belief Networks for Ship Classification
cs.AI
The problems associated with scaling involve active and challenging research topics in the area of artificial intelligence. The purpose is to solve real world problems by means of AI technologies, in cases where the complexity of representation of the real world problem is potentially combinatorial. In this paper, we present a novel approach to cope with the scaling issues in Bayesian belief networks for ship classification. The proposed approach divides the conceptual model of a complex ship classification problem into a set of small modules that work together to solve the classification problem while preserving the functionality of the original model. The possible ways of explaining sensor returns (e.g., the evidence) for some features, such as portholes along the length of a ship, are sometimes combinatorial. Thus, using an exhaustive approach, which entails the enumeration of all possible explanations, is impractical for larger problems. We present a network structure (referred to as Sequential Decomposition, SD) in which each observation is associated with a set of legitimate outcomes which are consistent with the explanation of each observed piece of evidence. The results show that the SD approach allows one to represent feature-observation relations in a manageable way and achieve the same explanatory power as an exhaustive approach.
1303.1458
Tradeoffs in Constructing and Evaluating Temporal Influence Diagrams
cs.AI
This paper addresses the tradeoffs which need to be considered in reasoning using probabilistic network representations, such as Influence Diagrams (IDs). In particular, we examine the tradeoffs entailed in using Temporal Influence Diagrams (TIDs) which adequately capture the temporal evolution of a dynamic system without prohibitive data and computational requirements. Three approaches for TID construction which make different tradeoffs are examined: (1) tailoring the network at each time interval to the data available (rather then just copying the original Bayes Network for all time intervals); (2) modeling the evolution of a parsimonious subset of variables (rather than all variables); and (3) model selection approaches, which seek to minimize some measure of the predictive accuracy of the model without introducing too many parameters, which might cause "overfitting" of the model. Methods of evaluating the accuracy/efficiency of the tradeoffs are proposed.
1303.1459
End-User Construction of Influence Diagrams for Bayesian Statistics
cs.AI
Influence diagrams are ideal knowledge representations for Bayesian statistical models. However, these diagrams are difficult for end users to interpret and to manipulate. We present a user-based architecture that enables end users to create and to manipulate the knowledge representation. We use the problem of physicians' interpretation of two-arm parallel randomized clinical trials (TAPRCT) to illustrate the architecture and its use. There are three primary data structures. Elements of statistical models are encoded as subgraphs of a restricted class of influence diagram. The interpretations of those elements are mapped into users' language in a domain-specific, user-based semantic interface, called a patient-flow diagram, in the TAPRCT problem. Pennitted transformations of the statistical model that maintain the semantic relationships of the model are encoded in a metadata-state diagram, called the cohort-state diagram, in the TAPRCT problem. The algorithm that runs the system uses modular actions called construction steps. This framework has been implemented in a system called THOMAS, that allows physicians to interpret the data reported from a TAPRCT.
1303.1460
On Considering Uncertainty and Alternatives in Low-Level Vision
cs.AI cs.CV
In this paper we address the uncertainty issues involved in the low-level vision task of image segmentation. Researchers in computer vision have worked extensively on this problem, in which the goal is to partition (or segment) an image into regions that are homogeneous or uniform in some sense. This segmentation is often utilized by some higher level process, such as an object recognition system. We show that by considering uncertainty in a Bayesian formalism, we can use statistical image models to build an approximate representation of a probability distribution over a space of alternative segmentations. We give detailed descriptions of the various levels of uncertainty associated with this problem, discuss the interaction of prior and posterior distributions, and provide the operations for constructing this representation.
1303.1461
Forecasting Sleep Apnea with Dynamic Network Models
cs.AI
Dynamic network models (DNMs) are belief networks for temporal reasoning. The DNM methodology combines techniques from time series analysis and probabilistic reasoning to provide (1) a knowledge representation that integrates noncontemporaneous and contemporaneous dependencies and (2) methods for iteratively refining these dependencies in response to the effects of exogenous influences. We use belief-network inference algorithms to perform forecasting, control, and discrete event simulation on DNMs. The belief network formulation allows us to move beyond the traditional assumptions of linearity in the relationships among time-dependent variables and of normality in their probability distributions. We demonstrate the DNM methodology on an important forecasting problem in medicine. We conclude with a discussion of how the methodology addresses several limitations found in traditional time series analyses.
1303.1462
Normative Engineering Risk Management Systems
cs.AI
This paper describes a normative system design that incorporates diagnosis, dynamic evolution, decision making, and information gathering. A single influence diagram demonstrates the design's coherence, yet each activity is more effectively modeled and evaluated separately. Application to offshore oil platforms illustrates the design. For this application, the normative system is embedded in a real-time expert system.
1303.1463
Diagnosis of Multiple Faults: A Sensitivity Analysis
cs.AI
We compare the diagnostic accuracy of three diagnostic inference models: the simple Bayes model, the multimembership Bayes model, which is isomorphic to the parallel combination function in the certainty-factor model, and a model that incorporates the noisy OR-gate interaction. The comparison is done on 20 clinicopathological conference (CPC) cases from the American Journal of Medicine-challenging cases describing actual patients often with multiple disorders. We find that the distributions produced by the noisy OR model agree most closely with the gold-standard diagnoses, although substantial differences exist between the distributions and the diagnoses. In addition, we find that the multimembership Bayes model tends to significantly overestimate the posterior probabilities of diseases, whereas the simple Bayes model tends to significantly underestimate the posterior probabilities. Our results suggest that additional work to refine the noisy OR model for internal medicine will be worthwhile.
1303.1464
Additive Belief-Network Models
cs.AI
The inherent intractability of probabilistic inference has hindered the application of belief networks to large domains. Noisy OR-gates [30] and probabilistic similarity networks [18, 17] escape the complexity of inference by restricting model expressiveness. Recent work in the application of belief-network models to time-series analysis and forecasting [9, 10] has given rise to the additive belief network model (ABNM). We (1) discuss the nature and implications of the approximations made by an additive decomposition of a belief network, (2) show greater efficiency in the induction of additive models when available data are scarce, (3) generalize probabilistic inference algorithms to exploit the additive decomposition of ABNMs, (4) show greater efficiency of inference, and (5) compare results on inference with a simple additive belief network.
1303.1465
Parameter Adjustment in Bayes Networks. The generalized noisy OR-gate
cs.AI
Spiegelhalter and Lauritzen [15] studied sequential learning in Bayesian networks and proposed three models for the representation of conditional probabilities. A forth model, shown here, assumes that the parameter distribution is given by a product of Gaussian functions and updates them from the _ and _r messages of evidence propagation. We also generalize the noisy OR-gate for multivalued variables, develop the algorithm to compute probability in time proportional to the number of parents (even in networks with loops) and apply the learning model to this gate.
1303.1466
A fuzzy relation-based extension of Reggia's relational model for diagnosis handling uncertain and incomplete information
cs.AI
Relational models for diagnosis are based on a direct description of the association between disorders and manifestations. This type of model has been specially used and developed by Reggia and his co-workers in the late eighties as a basic starting point for approaching diagnosis problems. The paper proposes a new relational model which includes Reggia's model as a particular case and which allows for a more expressive representation of the observations and of the manifestations associated with disorders. The model distinguishes, i) between manifestations which are certainly absent and those which are not (yet) observed, and ii) between manifestations which cannot be caused by a given disorder and manifestations for which we do not know if they can or cannot be caused by this disorder. This new model, which can handle uncertainty in a non-probabilistic way, is based on possibility theory and so-called twofold fuzzy sets, previously introduced by the authors.
1303.1467
Dialectic Reasoning with Inconsistent Information
cs.AI
From an inconsistent database non-trivial arguments may be constructed both for a proposition, and for the contrary of that proposition. Therefore, inconsistency in a logical database causes uncertainty about which conclusions to accept. This kind of uncertainty is called logical uncertainty. We define a concept of "acceptability", which induces a means for differentiating arguments. The more acceptable an argument, the more confident we are in it. A specific interest is to use the acceptability classes to assign linguistic qualifiers to propositions, such that the qualifier assigned to a propositions reflects its logical uncertainty. A more general interest is to understand how classes of acceptability can be defined for arguments constructed from an inconsistent database, and how this notion of acceptability can be devised to reflect different criteria. Whilst concentrating on the aspects of assigning linguistic qualifiers to propositions, we also indicate the more general significance of the notion of acceptability.
1303.1468
Causal Independence for Knowledge Acquisition and Inference
cs.AI
I introduce a temporal belief-network representation of causal independence that a knowledge engineer can use to elicit probabilistic models. Like the current, atemporal belief-network representation of causal independence, the new representation makes knowledge acquisition tractable. Unlike the atemproal representation, however, the temporal representation can simplify inference, and does not require the use of unobservable variables. The representation is less general than is the atemporal representation, but appears to be useful for many practical applications.
1303.1469
Utility-Based Abstraction and Categorization
cs.AI
We take a utility-based approach to categorization. We construct generalizations about events and actions by considering losses associated with failing to distinguish among detailed distinctions in a decision model. The utility-based methods transform detailed states of the world into more abstract categories comprised of disjunctions of the states. We show how we can cluster distinctions into groups of distinctions at progressively higher levels of abstraction, and describe rules for decision making with the abstractions. The techniques introduce a utility-based perspective on the nature of concepts, and provide a means of simplifying decision models used in automated reasoning systems. We demonstrate the techniques by describing the capabilities and output of TUBA, a program for utility-based abstraction.
1303.1470
Sensitivity Analysis for Probability Assessments in Bayesian Networks
cs.AI
When eliciting probability models from experts, knowledge engineers may compare the results of the model with expert judgment on test scenarios, then adjust model parameters to bring the behavior of the model more in line with the expert's intuition. This paper presents a methodology for analytic computation of sensitivity values to measure the impact of small changes in a network parameter on a target probability value or distribution. These values can be used to guide knowledge elicitation. They can also be used in a gradient descent algorithm to estimate parameter values that maximize a measure of goodness-of-fit to both local and holistic probability assessments.
1303.1471
Causal Modeling
cs.AI
Causal Models are like Dependency Graphs and Belief Nets in that they provide a structure and a set of assumptions from which a joint distribution can, in principle, be computed. Unlike Dependency Graphs, Causal Models are models of hierarchical and/or parallel processes, rather than models of distributions (partially) known to a model builder through some sort of gestalt. As such, Causal Models are more modular, easier to build, more intuitive, and easier to understand than Dependency Graph Models. Causal Models are formally defined and Dependency Graph Models are shown to be a special case of them. Algorithms supporting inference are presented. Parsimonious methods for eliciting dependent probabilities are presented.
1303.1472
Some Complexity Considerations in the Combination of Belief Networks
cs.AI
One topic that is likely to attract an increasing amount of attention within the Knowledge-base systems research community is the coordination of information provided by multiple experts. We envision a situation in which several experts independently encode information as belief networks. A potential user must then coordinate the conclusions and recommendations of these networks to derive some sort of consensus. One approach to such a consensus is the fusion of the contributed networks into a single, consensus model prior to the consideration of any case-specific data (specific observations, test results). This approach requires two types of combination procedures, one for probabilities, and one for graphs. Since the combination of probabilities is relatively well understood, the key barriers to this approach lie in the realm of graph theory. This paper provides formal definitions of some of the operations necessary to effect the necessary graphical combinations, and provides complexity analyses of these procedures. The paper's key result is that most of these operations are NP-hard, and its primary message is that the derivation of ?good? consensus networks must be done heuristically.
1303.1473
Deriving a Minimal I-map of a Belief Network Relative to a Target Ordering of its Nodes
cs.AI
This paper identifies and solves a new optimization problem: Given a belief network (BN) and a target ordering on its variables, how can we efficiently derive its minimal I-map whose arcs are consistent with the target ordering? We present three solutions to this problem, all of which lead to directed acyclic graphs based on the original BN's recursive basis relative to the specified ordering (such a DAG is sometimes termed the boundary DAG drawn from the given BN relative to the said ordering [5]). Along the way, we also uncover an important general principal about arc reversals: when reordering a BN according to some target ordering, (while attempting to minimize the number of arcs generated), the sequence of arc reversals should follow the topological ordering induced by the original belief network's arcs to as great an extent as possible. These results promise to have a significant impact on the derivation of consensus models, as well as on other algorithms that require the reconfiguration and/or combination of BN's.
1303.1474
Probabilistic Conceptual Network: A Belief Representation Scheme for Utility-Based Categorization
cs.AI
Probabilistic conceptual network is a knowledge representation scheme designed for reasoning about concepts and categorical abstractions in utility-based categorization. The scheme combines the formalisms of abstraction and inheritance hierarchies from artificial intelligence, and probabilistic networks from decision analysis. It provides a common framework for representing conceptual knowledge, hierarchical knowledge, and uncertainty. It facilitates dynamic construction of categorization decision models at varying levels of abstraction. The scheme is applied to an automated machining problem for reasoning about the state of the machine at varying levels of abstraction in support of actions for maintaining competitiveness of the plant.
1303.1475
Reasoning about the Value of Decision-Model Refinement: Methods and Application
cs.AI
We investigate the value of extending the completeness of a decision model along different dimensions of refinement. Specifically, we analyze the expected value of quantitative, conceptual, and structural refinement of decision models. We illustrate the key dimensions of refinement with examples. The analyses of value of model refinement can be used to focus the attention of an analyst or an automated reasoning system on extensions of a decision model associated with the greatest expected value.
1303.1476
Mixtures of Gaussians and Minimum Relative Entropy Techniques for Modeling Continuous Uncertainties
cs.AI
Problems of probabilistic inference and decision making under uncertainty commonly involve continuous random variables. Often these are discretized to a few points, to simplify assessments and computations. An alternative approximation is to fit analytically tractable continuous probability distributions. This approach has potential simplicity and accuracy advantages, especially if variables can be transformed first. This paper shows how a minimum relative entropy criterion can drive both transformation and fitting, illustrating with a power and logarithm family of transformations and mixtures of Gaussian (normal) distributions, which allow use of efficient influence diagram methods. The fitting procedure in this case is the well-known EM algorithm. The selection of the number of components in a fitted mixture distribution is automated with an objective that trades off accuracy and computational cost.
1303.1477
Valuation Networks and Conditional Independence
cs.AI
Valuation networks have been proposed as graphical representations of valuation-based systems (VBSs). The VBS framework is able to capture many uncertainty calculi including probability theory, Dempster-Shafer's belief-function theory, Spohn's epistemic belief theory, and Zadeh's possibility theory. In this paper, we show how valuation networks encode conditional independence relations. For the probabilistic case, the class of probability models encoded by valuation networks includes undirected graph models, directed acyclic graph models, directed balloon graph models, and recursive causal graph models.
1303.1478
Relevant Explanations: Allowing Disjunctive Assignments
cs.AI
Relevance-based explanation is a scheme in which partial assignments to Bayesian belief network variables are explanations (abductive conclusions). We allow variables to remain unassigned in explanations as long as they are irrelevant to the explanation, where irrelevance is defined in terms of statistical independence. When multiple-valued variables exist in the system, especially when subsets of values correspond to natural types of events, the over specification problem, alleviated by independence-based explanation, resurfaces. As a solution to that, as well as for addressing the question of explanation specificity, it is desirable to collapse such a subset of values into a single value on the fly. The equivalent method, which is adopted here, is to generalize the notion of assignments to allow disjunctive assignments. We proceed to define generalized independence based explanations as maximum posterior probability independence based generalized assignments (GIB-MAPs). GIB assignments are shown to have certain properties that ease the design of algorithms for computing GIB-MAPs. One such algorithm is discussed here, as well as suggestions for how other algorithms may be adapted to compute GIB-MAPs. GIB-MAP explanations still suffer from instability, a problem which may be addressed using ?approximate? conditional independence as a condition for irrelevance.
1303.1479
A Generalization of the Noisy-Or Model
cs.AI
The Noisy-Or model is convenient for describing a class of uncertain relationships in Bayesian networks [Pearl 1988]. Pearl describes the Noisy-Or model for Boolean variables. Here we generalize the model to nary input and output variables and to arbitrary functions other than the Boolean OR function. This generalization is a useful modeling aid for construction of Bayesian networks. We illustrate with some examples including digital circuit diagnosis and network reliability analysis.
1303.1480
Using First-Order Probability Logic for the Construction of Bayesian Networks
cs.AI
We present a mechanism for constructing graphical models, specifically Bayesian networks, from a knowledge base of general probabilistic information. The unique feature of our approach is that it uses a powerful first-order probabilistic logic for expressing the general knowledge base. This logic allows for the representation of a wide range of logical and probabilistic information. The model construction procedure we propose uses notions from direct inference to identify pieces of local statistical information from the knowledge base that are most appropriate to the particular event we want to reason about. These pieces are composed to generate a joint probability distribution specified as a Bayesian network. Although there are fundamental difficulties in dealing with fully general knowledge, our procedure is practical for quite rich knowledge bases and it supports the construction of a far wider range of networks than allowed for by current template technology.
1303.1481
Representing and Reasoning With Probabilistic Knowledge: A Bayesian Approach
cs.AI
PAGODA (Probabilistic Autonomous Goal-Directed Agent) is a model for autonomous learning in probabilistic domains [desJardins, 1992] that incorporates innovative techniques for using the agent's existing knowledge to guide and constrain the learning process and for representing, reasoning with, and learning probabilistic knowledge. This paper describes the probabilistic representation and inference mechanism used in PAGODA. PAGODA forms theories about the effects of its actions and the world state on the environment over time. These theories are represented as conditional probability distributions. A restriction is imposed on the structure of the theories that allows the inference mechanism to find a unique predicted distribution for any action and world state description. These restricted theories are called uniquely predictive theories. The inference mechanism, Probability Combination using Independence (PCI), uses minimal independence assumptions to combine the probabilities in a theory to make probabilistic predictions.
1303.1482
Graph-Grammar Assistance for Automated Generation of Influence Diagrams
cs.AI
One of the most difficult aspects of modeling complex dilemmas in decision-analytic terms is composing a diagram of relevance relations from a set of domain concepts. Decision models in domains such as medicine, however, exhibit certain prototypical patterns that can guide the modeling process. Medical concepts can be classified according to semantic types that have characteristic positions and typical roles in an influence-diagram model. We have developed a graph-grammar production system that uses such inherent interrelationships among medical terms to facilitate the modeling of medical decisions.
1303.1483
Using Causal Information and Local Measures to Learn Bayesian Networks
cs.AI
In previous work we developed a method of learning Bayesian Network models from raw data. This method relies on the well known minimal description length (MDL) principle. The MDL principle is particularly well suited to this task as it allows us to tradeoff, in a principled way, the accuracy of the learned network against its practical usefulness. In this paper we present some new results that have arisen from our work. In particular, we present a new local way of computing the description length. This allows us to make significant improvements in our search algorithm. In addition, we modify our algorithm so that it can take into account partial domain information that might be provided by a domain expert. The local computation of description length also opens the door for local refinement of an existent network. The feasibility of our approach is demonstrated by experiments involving networks of a practical size.
1303.1484
Minimal Assumption Distribution Propagation in Belief Networks
cs.AI
As belief networks are used to model increasingly complex situations, the need to automatically construct them from large databases will become paramount. This paper concentrates on solving a part of the belief network induction problem: that of learning the quantitative structure (the conditional probabilities), given the qualitative structure. In particular, a theory is presented that shows how to propagate inference distributions in a belief network, with the only assumption being that the given qualitative structure is correct. Most inference algorithms must make at least this assumption. The theory is based on four network transformations that are sufficient for any inference in a belief network. Furthermore, the claim is made that contrary to popular belief, error will not necessarily grow as the inference chain grows. Instead, for QBN belief nets induced from large enough samples, the error is more likely to decrease as the size of the inference chain increases.