Sikha Bagui

Breast cancer detection using rank nearest neighbor classification rules

In this article, we propose a new generalization of the rank nearest neighbor (RNN) rule for multivariate data for diagnosis of breast cancer. We study the performance of this rule using two well known databases and compare the results with the conventional k-NN rule. We observe that this rule performed remarkably well, and the computational complexity of the proposed k-RNN is much less than the conventional k-NN rule.

An Approach to Mining Crime Patterns

This paper presents a knowledge discovery effort to retrieve meaningful information about crime from a U.S. state database. The raw data were preprocessed, and data cubes were created using Structured Query Language (SQL). The data cubes then were used in deriving quantitative generalizations and for further analysis of the data. An entropy-based attribute relevance study was undertaken to determine the relevant attributes. A machine learning software called WEKA was used for mining association rules, developing a decision tree, and clustering. SOM was used to view multidimensional clusters on a regular two-dimensional grid.

Adaptable Enterprise Architectures for Software Evolution of SmartLife Ecosystems

SmartLife ecosystems are emerging as intelligent user-centered systems that will shape future trends in technology and communication. Biological metaphors of living adaptable ecosystems provide the logical foundation for self-optimizing and self-healing run-time environments for intelligent adaptable business services and related information systems with service-oriented enterprise architectures. The present research in progress work investigates mechanisms for adaptable enterprise architectures for the development of service-oriented ecosystems with integrated technologies like Semantic Technologies, Web Services, Cloud Computing and Big Data Management. With a large and diverse set of ecosystem services with different owners, our scenario of service-based SmartLife ecosystems can pose challenges in their development, and more importantly, for maintenance and software evolution. Our research explores the use of knowledge modeling using ontologies and flexible metamodels for adaptable enterprise architectures to support program comprehension for software engineers during maintenance and evolution tasks of service-based applications. Our previous reference enterprise architecture model ESARC -- Enterprise Services Architecture Reference Cube -- and the Open Group SOA Ontology was extended to support agile semantic analysis, program comprehension and software evolution for a SmartLife applications scenario. The Semantic Browser is a semantic search tool that was developed to provide knowledge-enhanced investigation capabilities for service-oriented applications and their architectures.

Deriving strong association mining rules using a dependency criterion, the lift measure

Traditional association mining rule algorithms have two major drawbacks: first, there is a need to repeatedly scan the dataset and second, they generate too many association rules. In this paper, we have presented a dependency-based association mining rule algorithm, implemented using an array list structure in JAVA, that does not require more than one scan of the full dataset and generates a lot less strong association mining rules. The additional dependency criterion used was the lift measure.

Database Sharding: To Provide Fault Tolerance and Scalability of Big Data on the Cloud

In this paper, the authors present an architecture and implementation of a distributed database system using sharding to provide high availability, fault-tolerance, and scalability of large databases in the cloud. Sharding, or horizontal partitioning, is used to disperse the data among the data nodes located on commodity servers for effective management of big data on the cloud.

Mapping XML Schema to Entity Relationship and Extended Entity Relationship Models

In this paper, we conceptually model an Entity Relationship (ER) diagram and Extended Entity Relationship (EER) diagram from XML Schema. This conceptual view of XML Schema is a necessary step in understanding XML data, and can easily be used to translate XML data to the relational model. Once in the relational model, XML data can avail of mature relational database technology.

A Knowledge-Based System Approach for Extracting Abstractions from Service Oriented Architecture Artifacts

Rule-based methods have traditionally been applied to develop knowledge-based systems that replicate expert performance on a deep but narrow problem domain. Knowledge engineers capture expert knowledge and encode it as a set of rules for automating the expert’s reasoning process to solve problems in a variety of domains. We describe the development of a knowledge-based system approach to enhance program comprehension of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) software. Our approach uses rule-based methods to automate the analysis of the set of artifacts involved in building and deploying a SOA composite application. The rules codify expert knowledge to abstract information from these artifacts to facilitate program comprehension and thus assist Software Engineers as they perform system maintenance activities. A main advantage of the knowledge-based approach is its adaptability to the heterogeneous and dynamically evolving nature of SOA environments.

Mapping OWL to the Entity Relationship and Extended Entity Relationship models

This paper presents mapping rules to conceptually model an Entity Relationship (ER) diagram and Extended Entity Relationship (EER) diagram from OWL by identifying ER and EER constructs in OWL. OWL has been designed for the semantic web, but data in OWL format is not easy to manipulate or query. The conceptual view of OWL presented in this paper is necessary to understand OWL and OWL data, and will be used to eventually map OWL data to the relational model. Once in the relational model, OWL data can avail of mature relational database technology.

Improving virtual screening predictive accuracy of Human kallikrein 5 inhibitors using machine learning models

The readily available high throughput screening (HTS) data from the PubChem database provides an opportunity for mining of small molecules in a variety of biological systems using machine learning techniques. From the thousands of available molecular descriptors developed to encode useful chemical information representing the characteristics of molecules, descriptor selection is an essential step in building an optimal quantitative structural-activity relationship (QSAR) model. For the development of a systematic descriptor selection strategy, we need the understanding of the relationship between: (i) the descriptor selection; (ii) the choice of the machine learning model; and (iii) the characteristics of the target bio-molecule. In this work, we employed the Signature descriptor to generate a dataset on the Human kallikrein 5 (hK 5) inhibition confirmatory assay data and compared multiple classification models including logistic regression, support vector machine, random forest and k-nearest neighbor. Under optimal conditions, the logistic regression model provided extremely high overall accuracy (98%) and precision (90%), with good sensitivity (65%) in the cross validation test. In testing the primary HTS screening data with more than 200K molecular structures, the logistic regression model exhibited the capability of eliminating more than 99.9% of the inactive structures. As part of our exploration of the descriptor-model-target relationship, the excellent predictive performance of the combination of the Signature descriptor and the logistic regression model on the assay data of the Human kallikrein 5 (hK 5) target suggested a feasible descriptor/model selection strategy on similar targets.

Impact of Automated Software Testing Tools on Reflective Thinking and Student Performance in Introductory Computer Science Programming Classes

The goal of this research was to investigate the effects of automated testing software on levels of student reflection and student performance. This was a self-selecting, between subjects design that examined the performance of students in introductory computer programming classes. Participants were given the option of using the Web-CAT software-testing tool to evaluate their computer code. Student self-reported levels of reflection were measured using reflective thinking survey.