The probabilistic neural network architecture for high speed classification of remotely sensed imagery

In this paper we discuss a neural network architecture (the Probabilistic Neural Net or the PNN) that, to the best of our knowledge, has not previously been applied to remotely sensed data. The PNN is a supervised non-parametric classification algorithm as opposed to the Gaussian maximum likelihood classifier (GMLC). The PNN works by fitting a Gaussian kernel to each training point. The width of the Gaussian is controlled by a tuning parameter called the window width. If very small widths are used, the method is equivalent to the nearest neighbor method. For large windows, the PNN behaves like the GMLC. The basic implementation of the PNN requires no training time at all. In this respect it is far better than the commonly used backpropagation neural network which can be shown to take O(N6) time for training where N is the dimensionality of the input vector. In addition the PNN can be implemented in a feed forward mode in hardware. The disadvantage of the PNN is that it requires all the training data to be stored. Some solutions to this problem are discussed in the paper. Finally, we discuss the accuracy of the PNN with respect to the GMLC and the backpropagation neural network (BPNN). The PNN is shown to be better than GMLC and not as good as the BPNN with regards to classification accuracy

Evolutionary design of nearest prototype classifiers

In pattern classification problems, many works have been carried out with the aim of designing good classifiers from different perspectives. These works achieve very good results in many domains. However, in general they are very dependent on some crucial parameters involved in the design. These parameters have to be found by a trial and error process or by some automatic methods, like heuristic search and genetic algorithms, that strongly decrease the performance of the method. For instance, in nearest prototype approaches, main parameters are the number of prototypes to use, the initial set, and a smoothing parameter. In this work, an evolutionary approach based on Nearest Prototype Classifier (ENPC) is introduced where no parameters are involved, thus overcoming all the problems that classical methods have in tuning and searching for the appropiate values. The algorithm is based on the evolution of a set of prototypes that can execute several operators in order to increase their quality in a local sense, and with a high classification accuracy emerging for the whole classifier. This new approach has been tested using four different classical domains, including such artificial distributions as spiral and uniform distibuted data sets, the Iris Data Set and an application domain about diabetes. In all the cases, the experiments show successfull results, not only in the classification accuracy, but also in the number and distribution of the prototypes achieved.Publicad

ANN-Based Prediction of Kidney Dysfunction Using Clinical Laboratory Data

This paper presents the prediction of Kidney dysfunction using probabilistic neural network (PNN). Six hundred and sixty (660) sets of analytical laboratory test have been collected from one of the private Clinical laboratories in Baghdad. For each subject, Serum urea and Serum creatinin levels have been analyzed and tested by using clinical laboratory measurements. The collected Urea and cretinine levels are then used as inputs to the Artificial Neural network model in which the training process is done by PNN which is a class of radial basis function (RBF) network is used as a classifier to predict whether Kidney is normal or it will have a dysfunction. The accuracy of Prediction, sensitivity and Specificity were found to be equal to 99%, 98% and 99% respectively for this proposed network .We conclude that the proposed model gives faster and more accurate prediction of Kidney dysfunction and it works as promising tool for predicting of routine kidney dysfunction from the clinical laboratory data

Temporal updating scheme for probabilistic neural network with application to satellite cloud classification

Includes bibliographical references.In cloud classification from satellite imagery, temporal change in the images is one of the main factors that causes degradation in the classifier performance. In this paper, a novel temporal updating approach is developed for probabilistic neural network (PNN) classifiers that can be used to track temporal changes in a sequence of images. This is done by utilizing the temporal contextual information and adjusting the PNN to adapt to such changes. Whenever a new set of images arrives, an initial classification is first performed using the PNN updated up to the last frame while at the same time, a prediction using Markov chain models is also made based on the classification results of the previous frame. The results of both the old PNN and the predictor are then compared. Depending on the outcome, either a supervised or an unsupervised updating scheme is used to update the PNN classifier. Maximum likelihood (ML) criterion is adopted in both the training and updating schemes. The proposed scheme is examined on both a simulated data set and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 8 satellite cloud imagery data. These results indicate the improvements in the classification accuracy when the proposed scheme is used.This work was supported by the Department of Defense under the Contract DAAH04 94 G0420

NEW APPROACH FOR ONLINE ARABIC MANUSCRIPT RECOGNITION BY DEEP BELIEF NETWORK

In this paper, we present a neural approach for an unconstrained Arabic manuscript recognition using the online writing signal rather than images. First, we build the database which contains 2800 characters and 4800 words collected from 20 different handwritings. Thereafter, we will perform the pretreatment, feature extraction and classification phases, respectively. The use of a classical neural network methods has been beneficial for the character recognition, but revealed some limitations for the recognition rate of Arabic words. To remedy this, we used a deep learning through the Deep Belief Network (DBN) that resulted in a 97.08% success rate of recognition for Arabic words

Revisiting probabilistic neural networks: a comparative study with support vector machines and the microhabitat suitability for the Eastern Iberian chub (Squalius valentinus)

[EN] Probabilistic Neural Networks (PNNs) and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are flexible classification techniques suited to render trustworthy species distribution and habitat suitability models. Although several alternatives to improve PNNs¿ reliability and performance and/or to reduce computational costs exist, PNNs are currently not well recognised as SVMs because the SVMs were compared with standard PNNs. To rule out this idea, the microhabitat suitability for the Eastern Iberian chub (Squalius valentinus Doadrio & Carmona, 2006) was modelled with SVMs and four types of PNNs (homoscedastic, heteroscedastic, cluster and enhanced PNNs); all of them optimised with differential evolution. The fitness function and several performance criteria (correctly classified instances, true skill statistic, specificity and sensitivity) and partial dependence plots were used to assess respectively the performance and reliability of each habitat suitability model. Heteroscedastic and enhanced PNNs achieved the highest performance in every index but specificity. However, these two PNNs rendered ecologically unreliable partial dependence plots. Conversely, homoscedastic and cluster PNNs rendered ecologically reliable partial dependence plots. Thus, Eastern Iberian chub proved to be a eurytopic species, presenting the highest suitability in microhabitats with cover present, low flow velocity (approx. 0.3 m/s), intermediate depth (approx. 0.6 m) and fine gravel (64¿256 mm). PNNs outperformed SVMs; thus, based on the results of the cluster PNN, which also showed high values of the performance criteria, we would advocate a combination of approaches (e.g., cluster & heteroscedastic or cluster & enhanced PNNs) to balance the trade-off between accuracy and reliability of habitat suitability models.The study has been partially funded by the national Research project IMPADAPT (CGL2013-48424-C2-1-R) with MINECO (Spanish Ministry of Economy) and Feder funds and by the Confederacion Hidrografica del Near (Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment). This study was also supported in part by the University Research Administration Center of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Thanks to Maria Jose Felipe for reviewing the mathematical notation and to the two anonymous reviewers who helped to improve the manuscript.Muñoz Mas, R.; Fukuda, S.; Portolés, J.; Martinez-Capel, F. (2018). Revisiting probabilistic neural networks: a comparative study with support vector machines and the microhabitat suitability for the Eastern Iberian chub (Squalius valentinus). Ecological Informatics. 43:24-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECOINF.2017.10.008S24374

Plasmonic transmission lines: neural networks modeling and applications

In this thesis, a new model based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is used to predict the propagation characteristics of plasmonic nanostrip and coupled nanostrips transmission lines. The trained ANNs are capable of providing the required outputs with good accuracy. The nonlinear mapping performed by the trained ANN is written in the form of closed form expressions for the different characteristics of the lines under investigation. These characteristics include the effective refractive index and the characteristic impedance. The plasmonic coupled nanostrips transmission line is used as a new sensor that that senses variation in the refractive index with accuracy of 106μm (The accuracy is defined as the change in the coupling length divided by the change in the cladding material refractive index). In addition, an optimal new design for polarization rotation based on the coupled nanostrips is introduced and characterized

Systems biology of breast cancer

Breast cancer, with an alarming incidence rate throughout the globe, has attracted significant investigations to identify disease specific biomarkers. Among these, oestrogen receptor (ER) occupies a central role where overexpression is a prognostic indication for breast cancer. The cross-talk between the responsible contenders of ER-associated genes potentially play an important role in the disease aetiology. Investigation of such cross talk is the focus of this thesis. The development of high throughput technologies such as expression microarrays has paved the way for investigating thousands of genes at a time. Microarrays with their high data volume, multivariate nature and non-linearity pose challenges for analysing using conventional statistical approaches. To combat these challenges, computational researchers have developed machine learning approaches such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). This thesis evaluates ANNs based methodologies and their application to the analysis of microarray data generated for breast cancer cases of differing oestrogen receptor status. Furthermore they are used for network inferencing to identify interactions between ER-associated markers and for the subsequent identification of putative pathway elements. The present thesis shows that it is possible to identify some ER-associated breast cancer relevant markers using ANNs. These have been subsequently validated on clinical breast tumour samples highlighting the promise of this approach