1386080
Using Constraints to Describe Source Contents in Data Integration Systems
In data integration systems, information sources often have constraints, such as "all houses stored at a source have a unique address." These constraints are useful in computing answers to queries and facilitating information exchange.
3403058
Selectivity Estimation for Fuzzy String Predicates in Large Data Sets
Many database applications have the emerging need to support fuzzy queries that ask for strings that are similar to a given string, such as "name similar to smith" and "telephone number similar to 412-0964." Query optimization needs the selectivity of such a fuzzy predicate, i.e., the fraction of records in the database that satisfy the condition. In this paper, we study the problem of estimating selectivities of fuzzy string predicates. We develop a novel technique, called SEPIA, to solve the problem. It groups strings into clusters, builds a histogram structure for each cluster, and constructs a global histogram for the database. It is based on the following intuition: given a query string q, a preselected string p in a cluster, and a string s in the cluster, based on the proximity between q and p, and the proximity between p and s, we can obtain a probability distribution from a global histogram about the similarity between q and s. We give a full specification of the technique using the edit distance function. We study challenges in adopting this technique, including how to construct the histogram structures, how to use them to do selectivity estimation, and how to alleviate the effect of non-uniform errors in the estimation. We discuss how to extend the techniques to other similarity functions. Our extensive experiments on real data sets show that this technique can accurately estimate selectivities of fuzzy string predicates.
35008704
Image segmentation based on a multiresolution Bayesian framework
A multiresolution Markov random field (MMRF) approach to texture segmentation which makes use of both regional and boundary information is proposed in this work. The algorithm is designed to improve the efficiency and solve two problems: over-segmentation and under-segmentation. At each resolution level, regional information and boundary information between textured regions is extracted to describe each block using the multiresolution Fourier transform (MFT). The image is then modelled as a sequence of Markov random fields (MRFs) of varying resolution and a Gibbs sampling scheme is applied to label the constituent sites at each scale by seeking the configuration with minimal interaction energy. The interaction energy is defined as a function of the regional and boundary information. The constraints of region context, and boundary smoothness and connectivity are also encoded in the interaction energy. Once the algorithm converges at a given scale, the segmentation result is propagated down to the next resolution for further refinement.
5657260
Guided Cluster Discovery with Markov Model
Cluster discovery is an essential part of many data mining applications. While cluster discovery process is mainly unsupervised in nature, it can often be aided by a small amount of labeled data. A probabilistic model on the clustering structure is adopted and a novel unified energy equation for clustering that incorporates both labeled data and unlabeled data is introduced. This formulation is inspired by a force-field model integrating labeling constraint on labeled data and similarity information on unlabeled data for joint estimation. Experimental results show that good clusters can be identified using small amount of labeled data.
29013572
Semi-supervised Learning in Medical Image Database
This paper presents a novel graph-based algorithm for solving the semi-supervised learning problem. The graph-based algorithm makes use of the recent advances in stochastic graph sampling technqiue and a modeling of the labeling consistency in semi-supervised learning. The quality of the algorithm is empirically evaluated on a synthetic clustering problem. The semi-supervised clustering is also applied to the problem of symptoms classification in medical image database and shows promising results.
22347603
Two supervised learning approaches for name disambiguation in author citations
10976471
Derivatives of Generalized Distance Functions and Existence of Generalized Nearest Points
The relationship between directional derivatives of generalized distance functions and the existence of generalized nearest points in Banach spaces is investigated. Let G be any nonempty closed subset in a compact locally uniformly convex Banach space. It is proved that if the one-sided directional derivative of the generalized distance function associated to G at x equals to 1 or -1, then the generalized nearest points to x from G exist. We also give a partial answer (Theorem 3.5) to the open problem put forward by S. Fitzpatrick (1989, Bull. Austral. Math. Soc.39, 233-238).