Approximations and Bounds for (n, k) Fork-Join Queues: A Linear Transformation Approach

Compared to basic fork-join queues, a job in (n, k) fork-join queues only needs its k out of all n sub-tasks to be finished. Since (n, k) fork-join queues are prevalent in popular distributed systems, erasure coding based cloud storages, and modern network protocols like multipath routing, estimating the sojourn time of such queues is thus critical for the performance measurement and resource plan of computer clusters. However, the estimating keeps to be a well-known open challenge for years, and only rough bounds for a limited range of load factors have been given. In this paper, we developed a closed-form linear transformation technique for jointly-identical random variables: An order statistic can be represented by a linear combination of maxima. This brand-new technique is then used to transform the sojourn time of non-purging (n, k) fork-join queues into a linear combination of the sojourn times of basic (k, k), (k+1, k+1), ..., (n, n) fork-join queues. Consequently, existing approximations for basic fork-join queues can be bridged to the approximations for non-purging (n, k) fork-join queues. The uncovered approximations are then used to improve the upper bounds for purging (n, k) fork-join queues. Simulation experiments show that this linear transformation approach is practiced well for moderate n and relatively large k.Comment: 10 page

Reinforced Imitative Graph Representation Learning for Mobile User Profiling: An Adversarial Training Perspective

In this paper, we study the problem of mobile user profiling, which is a critical component for quantifying users' characteristics in the human mobility modeling pipeline. Human mobility is a sequential decision-making process dependent on the users' dynamic interests. With accurate user profiles, the predictive model can perfectly reproduce users' mobility trajectories. In the reverse direction, once the predictive model can imitate users' mobility patterns, the learned user profiles are also optimal. Such intuition motivates us to propose an imitation-based mobile user profiling framework by exploiting reinforcement learning, in which the agent is trained to precisely imitate users' mobility patterns for optimal user profiles. Specifically, the proposed framework includes two modules: (1) representation module, which produces state combining user profiles and spatio-temporal context in real-time; (2) imitation module, where Deep Q-network (DQN) imitates the user behavior (action) based on the state that is produced by the representation module. However, there are two challenges in running the framework effectively. First, epsilon-greedy strategy in DQN makes use of the exploration-exploitation trade-off by randomly pick actions with the epsilon probability. Such randomness feeds back to the representation module, causing the learned user profiles unstable. To solve the problem, we propose an adversarial training strategy to guarantee the robustness of the representation module. Second, the representation module updates users' profiles in an incremental manner, requiring integrating the temporal effects of user profiles. Inspired by Long-short Term Memory (LSTM), we introduce a gated mechanism to incorporate new and old user characteristics into the user profile.Comment: AAAI 202

Reinforcement-Enhanced Autoregressive Feature Transformation: Gradient-steered Search in Continuous Space for Postfix Expressions

Feature transformation aims to generate new pattern-discriminative feature space from original features to improve downstream machine learning (ML) task performances. However, the discrete search space for the optimal feature explosively grows on the basis of combinations of features and operations from low-order forms to high-order forms. Existing methods, such as exhaustive search, expansion reduction, evolutionary algorithms, reinforcement learning, and iterative greedy, suffer from large search space. Overly emphasizing efficiency in algorithm design usually sacrifices stability or robustness. To fundamentally fill this gap, we reformulate discrete feature transformation as a continuous space optimization task and develop an embedding-optimization-reconstruction framework. This framework includes four steps: 1) reinforcement-enhanced data preparation, aiming to prepare high-quality transformation-accuracy training data; 2) feature transformation operation sequence embedding, intending to encapsulate the knowledge of prepared training data within a continuous space; 3) gradient-steered optimal embedding search, dedicating to uncover potentially superior embeddings within the learned space; 4) transformation operation sequence reconstruction, striving to reproduce the feature transformation solution to pinpoint the optimal feature space.Comment: Accepted by NeurIPS 202

Dish-TS: A General Paradigm for Alleviating Distribution Shift in Time Series Forecasting

The distribution shift in Time Series Forecasting (TSF), indicating series distribution changes over time, largely hinders the performance of TSF models. Existing works towards distribution shift in time series are mostly limited in the quantification of distribution and, more importantly, overlook the potential shift between lookback and horizon windows. To address above challenges, we systematically summarize the distribution shift in TSF into two categories. Regarding lookback windows as input-space and horizon windows as output-space, there exist (i) intra-space shift, that the distribution within the input-space keeps shifted over time, and (ii) inter-space shift, that the distribution is shifted between input-space and output-space. Then we introduce, Dish-TS, a general neural paradigm for alleviating distribution shift in TSF. Specifically, for better distribution estimation, we propose the coefficient net (CONET), which can be any neural architectures, to map input sequences into learnable distribution coefficients. To relieve intra-space and inter-space shift, we organize Dish-TS as a Dual-CONET framework to separately learn the distribution of input- and output-space, which naturally captures the distribution difference of two spaces. In addition, we introduce a more effective training strategy for intractable CONET learning. Finally, we conduct extensive experiments on several datasets coupled with different state-of-the-art forecasting models. Experimental results show Dish-TS consistently boosts them with a more than 20% average improvement. Code is available.Comment: Accepted by AAAI 202

Semi-supervised Domain Adaptation in Graph Transfer Learning

As a specific case of graph transfer learning, unsupervised domain adaptation on graphs aims for knowledge transfer from label-rich source graphs to unlabeled target graphs. However, graphs with topology and attributes usually have considerable cross-domain disparity and there are numerous real-world scenarios where merely a subset of nodes are labeled in the source graph. This imposes critical challenges on graph transfer learning due to serious domain shifts and label scarcity. To address these challenges, we propose a method named Semi-supervised Graph Domain Adaptation (SGDA). To deal with the domain shift, we add adaptive shift parameters to each of the source nodes, which are trained in an adversarial manner to align the cross-domain distributions of node embedding, thus the node classifier trained on labeled source nodes can be transferred to the target nodes. Moreover, to address the label scarcity, we propose pseudo-labeling on unlabeled nodes, which improves classification on the target graph via measuring the posterior influence of nodes based on their relative position to the class centroids. Finally, extensive experiments on a range of publicly accessible datasets validate the effectiveness of our proposed SGDA in different experimental settings

Traceable Group-Wise Self-Optimizing Feature Transformation Learning: A Dual Optimization Perspective

Feature transformation aims to reconstruct an effective representation space by mathematically refining the existing features. It serves as a pivotal approach to combat the curse of dimensionality, enhance model generalization, mitigate data sparsity, and extend the applicability of classical models. Existing research predominantly focuses on domain knowledge-based feature engineering or learning latent representations. However, these methods, while insightful, lack full automation and fail to yield a traceable and optimal representation space. An indispensable question arises: Can we concurrently address these limitations when reconstructing a feature space for a machine-learning task? Our initial work took a pioneering step towards this challenge by introducing a novel self-optimizing framework. This framework leverages the power of three cascading reinforced agents to automatically select candidate features and operations for generating improved feature transformation combinations. Despite the impressive strides made, there was room for enhancing its effectiveness and generalization capability. In this extended journal version, we advance our initial work from two distinct yet interconnected perspectives: 1) We propose a refinement of the original framework, which integrates a graph-based state representation method to capture the feature interactions more effectively and develop different Q-learning strategies to alleviate Q-value overestimation further. 2) We utilize a new optimization technique (actor-critic) to train the entire self-optimizing framework in order to accelerate the model convergence and improve the feature transformation performance. Finally, to validate the improved effectiveness and generalization capability of our framework, we perform extensive experiments and conduct comprehensive analyses.Comment: 21 pages, submitted to TKDD. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2209.08044, arXiv:2205.1452

Self-Optimizing Feature Transformation

Feature transformation aims to extract a good representation (feature) space by mathematically transforming existing features. It is crucial to address the curse of dimensionality, enhance model generalization, overcome data sparsity, and expand the availability of classic models. Current research focuses on domain knowledge-based feature engineering or learning latent representations; nevertheless, these methods are not entirely automated and cannot produce a traceable and optimal representation space. When rebuilding a feature space for a machine learning task, can these limitations be addressed concurrently? In this extension study, we present a self-optimizing framework for feature transformation. To achieve a better performance, we improved the preliminary work by (1) obtaining an advanced state representation for enabling reinforced agents to comprehend the current feature set better; and (2) resolving Q-value overestimation in reinforced agents for learning unbiased and effective policies. Finally, to make experiments more convincing than the preliminary work, we conclude by adding the outlier detection task with five datasets, evaluating various state representation approaches, and comparing different training strategies. Extensive experiments and case studies show that our work is more effective and superior.Comment: Under review of TKDE. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2205.1452