Algorithms, applications and systems towards interpretable pattern mining from multi-aspect data

How do humans move around in the urban space and how do they differ when the city undergoes terrorist attacks? How do users behave in Massive Open Online courses~(MOOCs) and how do they differ if some of them achieve certificates while some of them not? What areas in the court elite players, such as Stephen Curry, LeBron James, like to make their shots in the course of the game? How can we uncover the hidden habits that govern our online purchases? Are there unspoken agendas in how different states pass legislation of certain kinds? At the heart of these seemingly unconnected puzzles is this same mystery of multi-aspect mining, i.g., how can we mine and interpret the hidden pattern from a dataset that simultaneously reveals the associations, or changes of the associations, among various aspects of the data (e.g., a shot could be described with three aspects, player, time of the game, and area in the court)? Solving this problem could open gates to a deep understanding of underlying mechanisms for many real-world phenomena. While much of the research in multi-aspect mining contribute broad scope of innovations in the mining part, interpretation of patterns from the perspective of users (or domain experts) is often overlooked. Questions like what do they require for patterns, how good are the patterns, or how to read them, have barely been addressed. Without efficient and effective ways of involving users in the process of multi-aspect mining, the results are likely to lead to something difficult for them to comprehend. This dissertation proposes the M^3 framework, which consists of multiplex pattern discovery, multifaceted pattern evaluation, and multipurpose pattern presentation, to tackle the challenges of multi-aspect pattern discovery. Based on this framework, we develop algorithms, applications, and analytic systems to enable interpretable pattern discovery from multi-aspect data. Following the concept of meaningful multiplex pattern discovery, we propose PairFac to close the gap between human information needs and naive mining optimization. We demonstrate its effectiveness in the context of impact discovery in the aftermath of urban disasters. We develop iDisc to target the crossing of multiplex pattern discovery with multifaceted pattern evaluation. iDisc meets the specific information need in understanding multi-level, contrastive behavior patterns. As an example, we use iDisc to predict student performance outcomes in Massive Open Online Courses given users' latent behaviors. FacIt is an interactive visual analytic system that sits at the intersection of all three components and enables for interpretable, fine-tunable, and scrutinizable pattern discovery from multi-aspect data. We demonstrate each work's significance and implications in its respective problem context. As a whole, this series of studies is an effort to instantiate the M^3 framework and push the field of multi-aspect mining towards a more human-centric process in real-world applications

Using reconfigurable computing technology to accelerate matrix decomposition and applications

Matrix decomposition plays an increasingly significant role in many scientific and engineering applications. Among numerous techniques, Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Eigenvalue Decomposition (EVD) are widely used as factorization tools to perform Principal Component Analysis for dimensionality reduction and pattern recognition in image processing, text mining and wireless communications, while QR Decomposition (QRD) and sparse LU Decomposition (LUD) are employed to solve the dense or sparse linear system of equations in bioinformatics, power system and computer vision. Matrix decompositions are computationally expensive and their sequential implementations often fail to meet the requirements of many time-sensitive applications. The emergence of reconfigurable computing has provided a flexible and low-cost opportunity to pursue high-performance parallel designs, and the use of FPGAs has shown promise in accelerating this class of computation. In this research, we have proposed and implemented several highly parallel FPGA-based architectures to accelerate matrix decompositions and their applications in data mining and signal processing. Specifically, in this dissertation we describe the following contributions: • We propose an efficient FPGA-based double-precision floating-point architecture for EVD, which can efficiently analyze large-scale matrices. • We implement a floating-point Hestenes-Jacobi architecture for SVD, which is capable of analyzing arbitrary sized matrices. • We introduce a novel deeply pipelined reconfigurable architecture for QRD, which can be dynamically configured to perform either Householder transformation or Givens rotation in a manner that takes advantage of the strengths of each. • We design a configurable architecture for sparse LUD that supports both symmetric and asymmetric sparse matrices with arbitrary sparsity patterns. • By further extending the proposed hardware solution for SVD, we parallelize a popular text mining tool-Latent Semantic Indexing with an FPGA-based architecture. • We present a configurable architecture to accelerate Homotopy l1-minimization, in which the modification of the proposed FPGA architecture for sparse LUD is used at its core to parallelize both Cholesky decomposition and rank-1 update. Our experimental results using an FPGA-based acceleration system indicate the efficiency of our proposed novel architectures, with application and dimension-dependent speedups over an optimized software implementation that range from 1.5ÃÂ to 43.6ÃÂ in terms of computation time

Advanced tensor based signal processing techniques for wireless communication systems and biomedical signal processing

Many observed signals in signal processing applications including wireless communications, biomedical signal processing, image processing, and machine learning are multi-dimensional. Tensors preserve the multi-dimensional structure and provide a natural representation of these signals/data. Moreover, tensors provide often an improved identifiability. Therefore, we benefit from using tensor algebra in the above mentioned applications and many more. In this thesis, we present the benefits of utilizing tensor algebra in two signal processing areas. These include signal processing for MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) wireless communication systems and biomedical signal processing. Moreover, we contribute to the theoretical aspects of tensor algebra by deriving new properties and ways of computing tensor decompositions. Often, we only have an element-wise or a slice-wise description of the signal model. This representation of the signal model does not reveal the explicit tensor structure. Therefore, the derivation of all tensor unfoldings is not always obvious. Consequently, exploiting the multi-dimensional structure of these models is not always straightforward. We propose an alternative representation of the element-wise multiplication or the slice-wise multiplication based on the generalized tensor contraction operator. Later in this thesis, we exploit this novel representation and the properties of the contraction operator such that we derive the final tensor models. There exist a number of different tensor decompositions that describe different signal models such as the HOSVD (Higher Order Singular Value Decomposition), the CP/PARAFAC (Canonical Polyadic / PARallel FACtors) decomposition, the BTD (Block Term Decomposition), the PARATUCK2 (PARAfac and TUCker2) decomposition, and the PARAFAC2 (PARAllel FACtors2) decomposition. Among these decompositions, the CP decomposition is most widely spread and used. Therefore, the development of algorithms for the efficient computation of the CP decomposition is important for many applications. The SECSI (Semi-Algebraic framework for approximate CP decomposition via SImultaneaous matrix diagonalization) framework is an efficient and robust tool for the calculation of the approximate low-rank CP decomposition via simultaneous matrix diagonalizations. In this thesis, we present five extensions of the SECSI framework that reduce the computational complexity of the original framework and/or introduce constraints to the factor matrices. Moreover, the PARAFAC2 decomposition and the PARATUCK2 decomposition are usually described using a slice-wise notation that can be expressed in terms of the generalized tensor contraction as proposed in this thesis. We exploit this novel representation to derive explicit tensor models for the PARAFAC2 decomposition and the PARATUCK2 decomposition. Furthermore, we use the PARAFAC2 model to derive an ALS (Alternating Least-Squares) algorithm for the computation of the PARAFAC2 decomposition. Moreover, we exploit the novel contraction properties for element wise and slice-wise multiplications to model MIMO multi-carrier wireless communication systems. We show that this very general model can be used to derive the tensor model of the received signal for MIMO-OFDM (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), Khatri-Rao coded MIMO-OFDM, and randomly coded MIMO-OFDM systems. We propose the transmission techniques Khatri-Rao coding and random coding in order to impose an additional tensor structure of the transmit signal tensor that otherwise does not have a particular structure. Moreover, we show that this model can be extended to other multi-carrier techniques such as GFDM (Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing). Utilizing these models at the receiver side, we design several types for receivers for these systems that outperform the traditional matrix based solutions in terms of the symbol error rate. In the last part of this thesis, we show the benefits of using tensor algebra in biomedical signal processing by jointly decomposing EEG (ElectroEncephaloGraphy) and MEG (MagnetoEncephaloGraphy) signals. EEG and MEG signals are usually acquired simultaneously, and they capture aspects of the same brain activity. Therefore, EEG and MEG signals can be decomposed using coupled tensor decompositions such as the coupled CP decomposition. We exploit the proposed coupled SECSI framework (one of the proposed extensions of the SECSI framework) for the computation of the coupled CP decomposition to first validate and analyze the photic driving effect. Moreover, we validate the effects of scull defects on the measurement EEG and MEG signals by means of a joint EEG-MEG decomposition using the coupled SECSI framework. Both applications show that we benefit from coupled tensor decompositions and the coupled SECSI framework is a very practical tool for the analysis of biomedical data.Zahlreiche messbare Signale in verschiedenen Bereichen der digitalen Signalverarbeitung, z.B. in der drahtlosen Kommunikation, im Mobilfunk, biomedizinischen Anwendungen, der Bild- oder akustischen Signalverarbeitung und dem maschinellen Lernen sind mehrdimensional. Tensoren erhalten die mehrdimensionale Struktur und stellen eine natürliche Darstellung dieser Signale/Daten dar. Darüber hinaus bieten Tensoren oft eine verbesserte Trennbarkeit von enthaltenen Signalkomponenten. Daher profitieren wir von der Verwendung der Tensor-Algebra in den oben genannten Anwendungen und vielen mehr. In dieser Arbeit stellen wir die Vorteile der Nutzung der Tensor-Algebra in zwei Bereichen der Signalverarbeitung vor: drahtlose MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) Kommunikationssysteme und biomedizinische Signalverarbeitung. Darüber hinaus tragen wir zu theoretischen Aspekten der Tensor-Algebra bei, indem wir neue Eigenschaften und Berechnungsmethoden für die Tensor-Zerlegung ableiten. Oftmals verfügen wir lediglich über eine elementweise oder ebenenweise Beschreibung des Signalmodells, welche nicht die explizite Tensorstruktur zeigt. Daher ist die Ableitung aller Tensor-Unfoldings nicht offensichtlich, wodurch die multidimensionale Struktur dieser Modelle nicht trivial nutzbar ist. Wir schlagen eine alternative Darstellung der elementweisen Multiplikation oder der ebenenweisen Multiplikation auf der Grundlage des generalisierten Tensor-Kontraktionsoperators vor. Weiterhin nutzen wir diese neuartige Darstellung und deren Eigenschaften zur Ableitung der letztendlichen Tensor-Modelle. Es existieren eine Vielzahl von Tensor-Zerlegungen, die verschiedene Signalmodelle beschreiben, wie die HOSVD (Higher Order Singular Value Decomposition), CP/PARAFAC (Canonical Polyadic/ PARallel FACtors) Zerlegung, die BTD (Block Term Decomposition), die PARATUCK2-(PARAfac und TUCker2) und die PARAFAC2-Zerlegung (PARAllel FACtors2). Dabei ist die CP-Zerlegung am weitesten verbreitet und wird findet in zahlreichen Gebieten Anwendung. Daher ist die Entwicklung von Algorithmen zur effizienten Berechnung der CP-Zerlegung von besonderer Bedeutung. Das SECSI (Semi-Algebraic Framework for approximate CP decomposition via Simultaneaous matrix diagonalization) Framework ist ein effizientes und robustes Werkzeug zur Berechnung der approximierten Low-Rank CP-Zerlegung durch simultane Matrixdiagonalisierung. In dieser Arbeit stellen wir fünf Erweiterungen des SECSI-Frameworks vor, welche die Rechenkomplexität des ursprünglichen Frameworks reduzieren bzw. Einschränkungen für die Faktormatrizen einführen. Darüber hinaus werden die PARAFAC2- und die PARATUCK2-Zerlegung in der Regel mit einer ebenenweisen Notation beschrieben, die sich in Form der allgemeinen Tensor-Kontraktion, wie sie in dieser Arbeit vorgeschlagen wird, ausdrücken lässt. Wir nutzen diese neuartige Darstellung, um explizite Tensormodelle für diese beiden Zerlegungen abzuleiten. Darüber hinaus verwenden wir das PARAFAC2-Modell, um einen ALS-Algorithmus (Alternating Least-Squares) für die Berechnung der PARAFAC2-Zerlegungen abzuleiten. Weiterhin nutzen wir die neuartigen Kontraktionseigenschaften für elementweise und ebenenweise Multiplikationen, um MIMO Multi-Carrier-Mobilfunksysteme zu modellieren. Wir zeigen, dass dieses sehr allgemeine Modell verwendet werden kann, um das Tensor-Modell des empfangenen Signals für MIMO-OFDM- (Multiple- Input Multiple-Output - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), Khatri-Rao codierte MIMO-OFDM- und zufällig codierte MIMO-OFDM-Systeme abzuleiten. Wir schlagen die Übertragungstechniken der Khatri-Rao-Kodierung und zufällige Kodierung vor, um eine zusätzliche Tensor-Struktur des Sendesignal-Tensors einzuführen, welcher gewöhnlich keine bestimmte Struktur aufweist. Darüber hinaus zeigen wir, dass dieses Modell auf andere Multi-Carrier-Techniken wie GFDM (Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing) erweitert werden kann. Unter Verwendung dieser Modelle auf der Empfängerseite entwerfen wir verschiedene Typen von Empfängern für diese Systeme, die die traditionellen matrixbasierten Lösungen in Bezug auf die Symbolfehlerrate übertreffen. Im letzten Teil dieser Arbeit zeigen wir die Vorteile der Verwendung von Tensor-Algebra in der biomedizinischen Signalverarbeitung durch die gemeinsame Zerlegung von EEG-(ElectroEncephaloGraphy) und MEG- (MagnetoEncephaloGraphy) Signalen. Diese werden in der Regel gleichzeitig erfasst, wobei sie gemeinsame Aspekte derselben Gehirnaktivität beschreiben. Daher können EEG- und MEG-Signale mit gekoppelten Tensor-Zerlegungen wie der gekoppelten CP Zerlegung analysiert werden. Wir nutzen das vorgeschlagene gekoppelte SECSI-Framework (eine der vorgeschlagenen Erweiterungen des SECSI-Frameworks) für die Berechnung der gekoppelten CP Zerlegung, um zunächst den photic driving effect zu validieren und zu analysieren. Darüber hinaus validieren wir die Auswirkungen von Schädeldefekten auf die Messsignale von EEG und MEG durch eine gemeinsame EEG-MEG-Zerlegung mit dem gekoppelten SECSI-Framework. Beide Anwendungen zeigen, dass wir von gekoppelten Tensor-Zerlegungen profitieren, wobei die Methoden des gekoppelten SECSI-Frameworks erfolgreich zur Analyse biomedizinischer Daten genutzt werden können

A maximum margin dynamic model with its application to brain signal analysis

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH