A Clustering System for Dynamic Data Streams Based on Metaheuristic Optimisation

open access articleThis article presents the Optimised Stream clustering algorithm (OpStream), a novel approach to cluster dynamic data streams. The proposed system displays desirable features, such as a low number of parameters and good scalability capabilities to both high-dimensional data and numbers of clusters in the dataset, and it is based on a hybrid structure using deterministic clustering methods and stochastic optimisation approaches to optimally centre the clusters. Similar to other state-of-the-art methods available in the literature, it uses “microclusters” and other established techniques, such as density based clustering. Unlike other methods, it makes use of metaheuristic optimisation to maximise performances during the initialisation phase, which precedes the classic online phase. Experimental results show that OpStream outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in several cases, and it is always competitive against other comparison algorithms regardless of the chosen optimisation method. Three variants of OpStream, each coming with a different optimisation algorithm, are presented in this study. A thorough sensitive analysis is performed by using the best variant to point out OpStream’s robustness to noise and resiliency to parameter changes

MOLNs: A cloud platform for interactive, reproducible and scalable spatial stochastic computational experiments in systems biology using PyURDME

Computational experiments using spatial stochastic simulations have led to important new biological insights, but they require specialized tools, a complex software stack, as well as large and scalable compute and data analysis resources due to the large computational cost associated with Monte Carlo computational workflows. The complexity of setting up and managing a large-scale distributed computation environment to support productive and reproducible modeling can be prohibitive for practitioners in systems biology. This results in a barrier to the adoption of spatial stochastic simulation tools, effectively limiting the type of biological questions addressed by quantitative modeling. In this paper, we present PyURDME, a new, user-friendly spatial modeling and simulation package, and MOLNs, a cloud computing appliance for distributed simulation of stochastic reaction-diffusion models. MOLNs is based on IPython and provides an interactive programming platform for development of sharable and reproducible distributed parallel computational experiments

Sustaining Economic Exploitation of Complex Ecosystems in Computational Models of Coupled Human-Natural Networks

Understanding ecological complexity has stymied scientists for decades. Recent elucidation of the famously coined "devious strategies for stability in enduring natural systems" has opened up a new field of computational analyses of complex ecological networks where the nonlinear dynamics of many interacting species can be more realistically mod-eled and understood. Here, we describe the first extension of this field to include coupled human-natural systems. This extension elucidates new strategies for sustaining extraction of biomass (e.g., fish, forests, fiber) from ecosystems that account for ecological complexity and can pursue multiple goals such as maximizing economic profit, employment and carbon sequestration by ecosystems. Our more realistic modeling of ecosystems helps explain why simpler "maxi-mum sustainable yield" bioeconomic models underpinning much natural resource extraction policy leads to less profit, biomass, and biodiversity than predicted by those simple models. Current research directions of this integrated natu-ral and social science include applying artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and multiplayer online games

Event tracking for real-time unaware sensitivity analysis (EventTracker)

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.This paper introduces a platform for online Sensitivity Analysis (SA) that is applicable in large scale real-time data acquisition (DAQ) systems. Here we use the term real-time in the context of a system that has to respond to externally generated input stimuli within a finite and specified period. Complex industrial systems such as manufacturing, healthcare, transport, and finance require high quality information on which to base timely responses to events occurring in their volatile environments. The motivation for the proposed EventTracker platform is the assumption that modern industrial systems are able to capture data in real-time and have the necessary technological flexibility to adjust to changing system requirements. The flexibility to adapt can only be assured if data is succinctly interpreted and translated into corrective actions in a timely manner. An important factor that facilitates data interpretation and information modelling is an appreciation of the affect system inputs have on each output at the time of occurrence. Many existing sensitivity analysis methods appear to hamper efficient and timely analysis due to a reliance on historical data, or sluggishness in providing a timely solution that would be of use in real-time applications. This inefficiency is further compounded by computational limitations and the complexity of some existing models. In dealing with real-time event driven systems, the underpinning logic of the proposed method is based on the assumption that in the vast majority of cases changes in input variables will trigger events. Every single or combination of events could subsequently result in a change to the system state. The proposed event tracking sensitivity analysis method describes variables and the system state as a collection of events. The higher the numeric occurrence of an input variable at the trigger level during an event monitoring interval, the greater is its impact on the final analysis of the system state. Experiments were designed to compare the proposed event tracking sensitivity analysis method with a comparable method (that of Entropy). An improvement of 10% in computational efficiency without loss in accuracy was observed. The comparison also showed that the time taken to perform the sensitivity analysis was 0.5% of that required when using the comparable Entropy based method.EPSR

SciTech News Volume 71, No. 1 (2017)

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