Performances of Clustering Methods Considering Data Transformation and Sample Size: An Evaluation with Fisheries Survey Data

Clustering is a group of unsupervised statistical techniques commonly used in many disciplines. Considering their applications to fish abundance data, many technical details need to be considered to ensure reasonable interpretation. However, the reliability and stability of the clustering methods have rarely been studied in the contexts of fisheries. This study presents an intensive evaluation of three common clustering methods, including hierarchical clustering(HC), K-means(KM), and expectation-maximization(EM) methods, based on fish community surveys in the coastal waters of Shandong, China. We evaluated the performances of these three methods considering different numbers of clusters, data size, and data transformation approaches, focusing on the consistency validation using the index of average proportion of non-overlap(APN). The results indicate that the three methods tend to be inconsistent in the optimal number of clusters. EM showed relatively better performances to avoid unbalanced classification, whereas HC and KM provided more stable clustering results. Data transformation including scaling, square-root, and log-transformation had substantial influences on the clustering results, especially for KM. Moreover, transformation also influenced clustering stability, wherein scaling tended to provide a stable solution at the same number of clusters. The APN values indicated improved stability with increasing data size, and the effect leveled off over 70 samples in general and most quickly in EM. We conclude that the best clustering method can be chosen depending on the aim of the study and the number of clusters. In general, KM is relatively robust in our tests. We also provide recommendations for future application of clustering analyses. This study is helpful to ensure the credibility of the application and interpretation of clustering methods.

Automatic Data Clustering Based Mean Best Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm

Fuzzy C-means(FCM)is a clustering method that falls under unsupervised machine learning.The main issues plaguing this clustering algorithm are the number of the unknown clusters within a particular dataset and initialization sensitivity of cluster centres.Artificial Bee Colony(ABC)is a type of swarm algorithm that strives to improve the members’solution quality as an iterative process with the utilization of particular kinds of randomness.However,ABC has some weaknesses,such as balancing exploration and exploitation.To improve the exploration process within the ABC algorithm,the mean artificial bee colony(MeanABC)by its modified search equation that depends on solutions of mean previous and global best is used.Furthermore,to solve the main issues of FCM,Automatic clustering algorithm was proposed based on the mean artificial bee colony called(AC-MeanABC).It uses the MeanABC capability of balancing between exploration and exploitation and its capacity to explore the positive and negative directions in search space to find the best value of clusters number and centroids value.A few benchmark datasets and a set of natural images were used to evaluate the effectiveness of AC-MeanABC.The experimental findings are encouraging and indicate considerable improvements compared to other state-of-the-art approaches in the same domain.

A numerical model for cloud cavitation based on bubble cluster

The cavitation cloud of different internal structures results in different collapse pressures owing to the interaction among bubbles. The internal structure of cloud cavitation is required to accurately predict collapse pressure. A cavitation model was developed through dimensional analysis and direct numerical simulation of collapse of bubble cluster. Bubble number density was included in proposed model to characterize the internal structure of bubble cloud. Implemented on flows over a projectile, the proposed model predicts a higher collapse pressure compared with Singhal model. Results indicate that the collapse pressure of detached cavitation cloud is affected by bubble number density.

A Study on Numerical Calculation Method of Small Cluster Density in Percolation Model

Percolation theory deals with the numbers and properties of the clusters formed in the different occupation probability. In this Paper, we study the calculation method of small clusters. We calcu-lated the small cluster density of 1, 2 and 3 in the percolation model with the exact method and the numerical method. The results of the two methods are very close, which can be verified by each other. We find that the cluster density of all three kinds of small clusters reaches the highest value when the occupation probability is between 0.1 and 0.2. It is very difficult to get the analytical formula for the exact method when the cluster area is relatively large (such as the area is more than 50), so we can get the density value of the cluster by numerical method. We find that the time required calculating the cluster density is proportional to the percolation area, which is indepen-dent of the cluster size and the occupation probability.

A Recombination Clustering Technique for Forecasting of Tropical Cyclone Tracks Based on the CMA-TRAMS Ensemble Prediction System

Despite marked improvements in tropical cyclone(TC) track ensemble forecasting,forecasters still have difficulty in making quick decisions when facing multiple potential predictions,so it is demanding to develop post-processing techniques reducing the uncertainty in TC track forecasts,and one of such techniques is the cluster-based methods.To improve the effect and efficiency of the previous cluster-based methods,this study adopts recombination clustering(RC) by optimizing the use of limited TC variables and constructing better features that can accurately capture the good TC track forecasts from the ensemble prediction system(EPS) of the China Meteorological Administration Tropical Regional Atmosphere Model for the South China Sea(CMA-TRAMS).The RC technique is further optimized by constraining the number of clusters using the absolute track bias between the ensemble mean(EM) and ensemble spread(ES).Finally,the RC-based deterministic and weighted probabilistic forecasts are compared with the TC track forecasts from traditional methods.It is found that(1) for deterministic TC track forecasts,the RC-based TC track forecasts outperform all other methods at 12–72-h lead times;compared with the skillful EM(118.6 km),the improvements introduced by the use of RC reach up to 10.8%(8.1 km),10.2%(13.7 km),and 8.7%(20.5 km) at forecast times of 24,48,and 72 h,respectively.(2) For probabilistic TC track forecasts,RC yields significantly more accurate and discriminative forecasts than traditional equal-weight track forecasts,by increasing the weight of the best cluster,with a decrease of 4.1% in brier score(BS) and an increase of 1.4% in area under the relative operating characteristic curve(AUC).(3) In particular,for cases with recurved tracks,such as typhoons Saudel(2017) and Bavi(2008),RC significantly reduces track errors relative to EM by 56.0%(125.5 km) and 77.7%(192.2 km),respectively.Our results demonstrate that the RC technique not only improves TC track forecasts but also helps to unravel skillful ensemble members,and is likely useful for feature construction in machine learning.

Spectral clustering based on matrix perturbation theory

This paper exposes some intrlnsic chsracterlstlca of the spectral clustering method by using the tools from the mstrlx perturbation theory. We construct s welght mstrix of s graph and study Its elgenvalues and elgenvectors. It shows that the number of clusters Is equal to the number of elgenvslues that are larger than 1, and the number of polnts In each of the clusters can be spproxlmsted by the associated elgenvslue. It also shows that the elgenvector of the weight rnatrlx can be used dlrectly to perform clusterlng; that Is, the dlrectlonsl angle between the two-row vectors of the mstrlx derlved from the elgenvectors Is s sultable distance measure for clustsrlng. As s result, an unsupervised spectral clusterlng slgorlthm based on welght mstrlx （USCAWM） Is developed. The experlmental results on s number of srtlficisl and real-world data sets show the correctness of the theoretical analysis.

The upper bound of the optimal number of clusters in fuzzy clustering

The upper bound of the optimal number of clusters in clustering algorithm is studied in this paper. A new method is proposed to solve this issue. This method shows that the rule cmax≤n, which is popular in current papers, is reasonable in some sense. The above conclusion is tested and analyzed by some typical examples in the literature, which demonstrates the validity of the new method.

Optimized air-ground data fusion method for mine slope modeling

Refined 3D modeling of mine slopes is pivotal for precise prediction of geological hazards.Aiming at the inadequacy of existing single modeling methods in comprehensively representing the overall and localized characteristics of mining slopes,this study introduces a new method that fuses model data from Unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV)tilt photogrammetry and 3D laser scanning through a data alignment algorithm based on control points.First,the mini batch K-Medoids algorithm is utilized to cluster the point cloud data from ground 3D laser scanning.Then,the elbow rule is applied to determine the optimal cluster number(K0),and the feature points are extracted.Next,the nearest neighbor point algorithm is employed to match the feature points obtained from UAV tilt photogrammetry,and the internal point coordinates are adjusted through the distanceweighted average to construct a 3D model.Finally,by integrating an engineering case study,the K0 value is determined to be 8,with a matching accuracy between the two model datasets ranging from 0.0669 to 1.0373 mm.Therefore,compared with the modeling method utilizing K-medoids clustering algorithm,the new modeling method significantly enhances the computational efficiency,the accuracy of selecting the optimal number of feature points in 3D laser scanning,and the precision of the 3D model derived from UAV tilt photogrammetry.This method provides a research foundation for constructing mine slope model.

Characteristics of settling of dilute suspension of particles with different density at high Reynolds numbers

Dilute suspension of particles with same density and size develops clusters when settle at high Reynolds number(≥250).It is due to particles entrapment in the wakes produced by upstream particles.In this work,this phenomenon is studied for suspension having particles with different densities by numerical simulations.The particle-fluid interactions are modelled using immersed boundary method and inter-particle collisions are modelled using discrete element method.In simulations,settling Reynolds number is always kept above 250 and the suspension solid volume fraction is nearly 0.1 percent.Two particle density ratios(i.e.density of heavy particles to lighter particles)equal to 4:1 and 2:1 and particles with same density are studied.For each density ratio,the percentage volume fraction of each particle density is nearly varied from 0.8 to 0.2.Settling characteristics such as microstructures of settling particle,average settling velocity and velocity fluctuations of settling particles are studied.Simulations show that for different density particles settling characteristics of suspension is largely dominated by heavy particles.At the end of paper,the underlying physics is explained for the anomalies observed in simulation.