Gradient boosting machine learning to improve satellite-derived column water vapor measurement error

Abstract. The atmospheric products of the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm include column water vapor (CWV) at a 1 km resolution, derived from daily overpasses of NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard the Aqua and Terra satellites. We have recently shown that machine learning using extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) can improve the estimation of MAIAC aerosol optical depth (AOD). Although MAIAC CWV is generally well validated (Pearson's R > 0.97 versus CWV from AERONET sun photometers), it has not yet been assessed whether machine-learning approaches can further improve CWV. Using a novel spatiotemporal cross-validation approach to avoid overfitting, our XGBoost model, with nine features derived from land use terms, date, and ancillary variables from the MAIAC retrieval, quantifies and can correct a substantial portion of measurement error relative to collocated measurements at AERONET sites (26.9 % and 16.5 % decrease in root mean square error (RMSE) for Terra and Aqua datasets, respectively) in the Northeastern USA, 2000–2015. We use machine-learning interpretation tools to illustrate complex patterns of measurement error and describe a positive bias in MAIAC Terra CWV worsening in recent summertime conditions. We validate our predictive model on MAIAC CWV estimates at independent stations from the SuomiNet GPS network where our corrections decrease the RMSE by 19.7 % and 9.5 % for Terra and Aqua MAIAC CWV. Empirically correcting for measurement error with machine-learning algorithms is a postprocessing opportunity to improve satellite-derived CWV data for Earth science and remote sensing applications.

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Gradient Boosting Machine Learning to Improve Satellite-Derived Column Water Vapor Measurement Error

10.5194/amt-2019-308 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Allan C. Just ◽

Yang Liu ◽

Meytar Sorek-Hamer ◽

Johnathan Rush ◽

Michael Dorman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Water Vapor ◽

Measurement Error ◽

Earth Science ◽

Atmospheric Correction ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Sensing Applications ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting

Abstract. The atmospheric products of the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm include column water vapor (CWV) at 1 km resolution, derived from daily overpasses of NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard the Aqua and Terra satellites. We have recently shown that machine learning using extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) can improve the estimation of MAIAC aerosol optical depth (AOD). Although MAIAC CWV is generally well validated (Pearson’s R > 0.97 versus CWV from AERONET sun photometers), it has not yet been assessed whether machine-learning approaches can further improve CWV. Using a novel spatiotemporal cross-validation approach to avoid overfitting, our XGBoost model with nine features derived from land use terms, date, and ancillary variables from the MAIAC retrieval, quantifies and can correct a substantial portion of measurement error relative to collocated measures at AERONET sites (26.9 % and 16.5 % decrease in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) for Terra and Aqua datasets, respectively) in the Northeastern USA, 2000–2015. We use machine-learning interpretation tools to illustrate complex patterns of measurement error and describe a positive bias in MAIAC Terra CWV worsening in recent summertime conditions. We validate our predictive model on MAIAC CWV estimates at independent stations from the SuomiNet GPS network where our corrections decrease the RMSE by 19.7 % and 9.5 % for Terra and Aqua MAIAC CWV. Empirically correcting for measurement error with machine-learning algorithms is a post-processing opportunity to improve satellite-derived CWV data for Earth science and remote sensing applications.

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Predicting Endometriosis Onset Using Machine Learning Algorithms

10.21203/rs.3.rs-135736/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ewa J Kleczyk ◽

Aparna Peri ◽

Tarachand Yadav ◽

Ramachandra Komera ◽

Maruthi Peri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Reproductive Organs ◽

The Body ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Reproductive Age ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Patient Journey ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting

Abstract Background Endometriosis is a common progressive female health disorder in which tissues similar to the lining of the uterus grow on other parts of the body like ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowel, and other parts of reproductive organs. In women, it is one of the most common causes of pelvic pain and infertility. In the US, one in every ten women of reproductive age group has endometriosis. The actual cause of endometriosis is still unknown, and it is quite difficult to diagnose. There are several theories regarding the cause; however, not a single theory has been scientifically proven. Methods In this paper, we try to identify the drivers of endometriosis’ diagnoses via leveraging advanced Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. The primary risks of infertility and other health complications can be minimized to a great extent, if likelihood of endometriosis can be predicted well in advance. As a result, the proper medical care and treatment can be given to the impacted patients. To demonstrate the feasibility, Logistic Regression (LR) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) algorithms were trained on 36 months of medical history data. Results The machine learning models were used to predict the likelihood of disease on qualified patients from the healthcare claims patient level database. Several directly and indirectly features were identified as important in accurate prediction of the condition onset, including selected diagnosis and procedure codes. Conclusions Leveraging the machine learning approaches can aid early prediction of the disease and offer an opportunity for patients to receive the needed medical treatment earlier in the patient journey. Creating a typing tool that can be integrated into the Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems and easily accessed by healthcare providers could further aid the objective of improving the diagnosis activities and inform the diagnostic processes that would result in timely and precise diagnosis, ultimately increasing patient care and quality of life.

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Performance of Statistical and Machine Learning-Based Methods for Predicting Biogeographical Patterns of Fungal Productivity in Forest Ecosystems

10.21203/rs.3.rs-122045/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Albert Morera ◽

Juan Martínez de Aragón ◽

José Antonio Bonet ◽

Jingjing Liang ◽

Sergio de-Miguel

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Random Forest ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Support Vector ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Learning Models ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting ◽

Machine Learning Models ◽

Modelling Approaches

Abstract BackgroundThe prediction of biogeographical patterns from a large number of driving factors with complex interactions, correlations and non-linear dependences require advanced analytical methods and modelling tools. This study compares different statistical and machine learning models for predicting fungal productivity biogeographical patterns as a case study for the thorough assessment of the performance of alternative modelling approaches to provide accurate and ecologically-consistent predictions.MethodsWe evaluated and compared the performance of two statistical modelling techniques, namely, generalized linear mixed models and geographically weighted regression, and four machine learning models, namely, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, support vector machine and deep learning to predict fungal productivity. We used a systematic methodology based on substitution, random, spatial and climatic blocking combined with principal component analysis, together with an evaluation of the ecological consistency of spatially-explicit model predictions.ResultsFungal productivity predictions were sensitive to the modelling approach and complexity. Moreover, the importance assigned to different predictors varied between machine learning modelling approaches. Decision tree-based models increased prediction accuracy by ~7% compared to other machine learning approaches and by more than 25% compared to statistical ones, and resulted in higher ecological consistence at the landscape level.ConclusionsWhereas a large number of predictors are often used in machine learning algorithms, in this study we show that proper variable selection is crucial to create robust models for extrapolation in biophysically differentiated areas. When dealing with spatial-temporal data in the analysis of biogeographical patterns, climatic blocking is postulated as a highly informative technique to be used in cross-validation to assess the prediction error over larger scales. Random forest was the best approach for prediction both in sampling-like environments as well as in extrapolation beyond the spatial and climatic range of the modelling data.

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Performance of statistical and machine learning-based methods for predicting biogeographical patterns of fungal productivity in forest ecosystems

Forest Ecosystems ◽

10.1186/s40663-021-00297-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Albert Morera ◽

Juan Martínez de Aragón ◽

José Antonio Bonet ◽

Jingjing Liang ◽

Sergio de-Miguel

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Decision Tree ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Support Vector ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Modeling Tools ◽

Modeling Approaches ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting ◽

Modeling Data

Abstract Background The prediction of biogeographical patterns from a large number of driving factors with complex interactions, correlations and non-linear dependences require advanced analytical methods and modeling tools. This study compares different statistical and machine learning-based models for predicting fungal productivity biogeographical patterns as a case study for the thorough assessment of the performance of alternative modeling approaches to provide accurate and ecologically-consistent predictions. Methods We evaluated and compared the performance of two statistical modeling techniques, namely, generalized linear mixed models and geographically weighted regression, and four techniques based on different machine learning algorithms, namely, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, support vector machine and artificial neural network to predict fungal productivity. Model evaluation was conducted using a systematic methodology combining random, spatial and environmental blocking together with the assessment of the ecological consistency of spatially-explicit model predictions according to scientific knowledge. Results Fungal productivity predictions were sensitive to the modeling approach and the number of predictors used. Moreover, the importance assigned to different predictors varied between machine learning modeling approaches. Decision tree-based models increased prediction accuracy by more than 10% compared to other machine learning approaches, and by more than 20% compared to statistical models, and resulted in higher ecological consistence of the predicted biogeographical patterns of fungal productivity. Conclusions Decision tree-based models were the best approach for prediction both in sampling-like environments as well as in extrapolation beyond the spatial and climatic range of the modeling data. In this study, we show that proper variable selection is crucial to create robust models for extrapolation in biophysically differentiated areas. This allows for reducing the dimensions of the ecosystem space described by the predictors of the models, resulting in higher similarity between the modeling data and the environmental conditions over the whole study area. When dealing with spatial-temporal data in the analysis of biogeographical patterns, environmental blocking is postulated as a highly informative technique to be used in cross-validation to assess the prediction error over larger scales.

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Predicting Undesired Treatment Outcome in Mental Healthcare: Machine Learning Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.17235 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Kasper Van Mens ◽

Joran Lokkerbol ◽

Richard Janssen ◽

Robert de Lange ◽

Bea Tiemens

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Treatment Outcome ◽

Mental Health Treatment ◽

Mental Healthcare ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Trade Off ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Outcome Monitoring ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting

BACKGROUND It remains a challenge to predict which treatment will work for which patient in mental healthcare. OBJECTIVE In this study we compare machine algorithms to predict during treatment which patients will not benefit from brief mental health treatment and present trade-offs that must be considered before an algorithm can be used in clinical practice. METHODS Using an anonymized dataset containing routine outcome monitoring data from a mental healthcare organization in the Netherlands (n = 2,655), we applied three machine learning algorithms to predict treatment outcome. The algorithms were internally validated with cross-validation on a training sample (n = 1,860) and externally validated on an unseen test sample (n = 795). RESULTS The performance of the three algorithms did not significantly differ on the test set. With a default classification cut-off at 0.5 predicted probability, the extreme gradient boosting algorithm showed the highest positive predictive value (ppv) of 0.71(0.61 – 0.77) with a sensitivity of 0.35 (0.29 – 0.41) and area under the curve of 0.78. A trade-off can be made between ppv and sensitivity by choosing different cut-off probabilities. With a cut-off at 0.63, the ppv increased to 0.87 and the sensitivity dropped to 0.17. With a cut-off of at 0.38, the ppv decreased to 0.61 and the sensitivity increased to 0.57. CONCLUSIONS Machine learning can be used to predict treatment outcomes based on routine monitoring data.This allows practitioners to choose their own trade-off between being selective and more certain versus inclusive and less certain.

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Techniques for Detecting Malware Traffic: A Comprehensive Approach to Feature Selection and Classification

International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology ◽

10.22214/ijraset.2021.39088 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Harsha A K

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Feature Selection ◽

Random Forest ◽

Learning Algorithms ◽

Malware Detection ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Support Vector ◽

Steady Increase ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting

Abstract: Since the advent of encryption, there has been a steady increase in malware being transmitted over encrypted networks. Traditional approaches to detect malware like packet content analysis are inefficient in dealing with encrypted data. In the absence of actual packet contents, we can make use of other features like packet size, arrival time, source and destination addresses and other such metadata to detect malware. Such information can be used to train machine learning classifiers in order to classify malicious and benign packets. In this paper, we offer an efficient malware detection approach using classification algorithms in machine learning such as support vector machine, random forest and extreme gradient boosting. We employ an extensive feature selection process to reduce the dimensionality of the chosen dataset. The dataset is then split into training and testing sets. Machine learning algorithms are trained using the training set. These models are then evaluated against the testing set in order to assess their respective performances. We further attempt to tune the hyper parameters of the algorithms, in order to achieve better results. Random forest and extreme gradient boosting algorithms performed exceptionally well in our experiments, resulting in area under the curve values of 0.9928 and 0.9998 respectively. Our work demonstrates that malware traffic can be effectively classified using conventional machine learning algorithms and also shows the importance of dimensionality reduction in such classification problems. Keywords: Malware Detection, Extreme Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, Feature Selection.

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Machine learning algorithms for predicting undernutrition among under-five children in Ethiopia

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021004262 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-29

Author(s):

Fikrewold H. Bitew ◽

Corey S. Sparks ◽

Samuel H. Nyarko

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Linear Models ◽

Learning Algorithms ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Water Source ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Prediction Ability ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting

Abstract Objective: Child undernutrition is a global public health problem with serious implications. In this study, estimate predictive algorithms for the determinants of childhood stunting by using various machine learning (ML) algorithms. Design: This study draws on data from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey of 2016. Five machine learning algorithms including eXtreme gradient boosting (xgbTree), k-nearest neighbors (K-NN), random forest (RF), neural network (NNet), and the generalized linear models (GLM) were considered to predict the socio-demographic risk factors for undernutrition in Ethiopia. Setting: Households in Ethiopia. Participants: A total of 9,471 children below five years of age. Results: The descriptive results show substantial regional variations in child stunting, wasting, and underweight in Ethiopia. Also, among the five ML algorithms, xgbTree algorithm shows a better prediction ability than the generalized linear mixed algorithm. The best predicting algorithm (xgbTree) shows diverse important predictors of undernutrition across the three outcomes which include time to water source, anemia history, child age greater than 30 months, small birth size, and maternal underweight, among others. Conclusions: The xgbTree algorithm was a reasonably superior ML algorithm for predicting childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia compared to other ML algorithms considered in this study. The findings support improvement in access to water supply, food security, and fertility regulation among others in the quest to considerably improve childhood nutrition in Ethiopia.

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Evaluating Variable Selection and Machine Learning Algorithms for Estimating Forest Heights by Combining Lidar and Hyperspectral Data

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi9090507 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 507

Author(s):

Sanjiwana Arjasakusuma ◽

Sandiaga Swahyu Kusuma ◽

Stuart Phinn

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Feature Selection ◽

Learning Algorithms ◽

Principal Component ◽

Hyperspectral Data ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Support Vector ◽

Forest Height ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting

Machine learning has been employed for various mapping and modeling tasks using input variables from different sources of remote sensing data. For feature selection involving high- spatial and spectral dimensionality data, various methods have been developed and incorporated into the machine learning framework to ensure an efficient and optimal computational process. This research aims to assess the accuracy of various feature selection and machine learning methods for estimating forest height using AISA (airborne imaging spectrometer for applications) hyperspectral bands (479 bands) and airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) height metrics (36 metrics), alone and combined. Feature selection and dimensionality reduction using Boruta (BO), principal component analysis (PCA), simulated annealing (SA), and genetic algorithm (GA) in combination with machine learning algorithms such as multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS), extra trees (ET), support vector regression (SVR) with radial basis function, and extreme gradient boosting (XGB) with trees (XGbtree and XGBdart) and linear (XGBlin) classifiers were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the combinations of BO-XGBdart and BO-SVR delivered the best model performance for estimating tropical forest height by combining lidar and hyperspectral data, with R2 = 0.53 and RMSE = 1.7 m (18.4% of nRMSE and 0.046 m of bias) for BO-XGBdart and R2 = 0.51 and RMSE = 1.8 m (15.8% of nRMSE and −0.244 m of bias) for BO-SVR. Our study also demonstrated the effectiveness of BO for variables selection; it could reduce 95% of the data to select the 29 most important variables from the initial 516 variables from lidar metrics and hyperspectral data.

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Understanding Multi-Vehicle Collision Patterns on Freeways—A Machine Learning Approach

Infrastructures ◽

10.3390/infrastructures5080062 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (8) ◽

pp. 62

Author(s):

Clint Morris ◽

Jidong J. Yang

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Statistical Methods ◽

Machine Learning Techniques ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Crash Analysis ◽

Suitable Alternative ◽

Crash Data ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting ◽

Modern Machine

Generating meaningful inferences from crash data is vital to improving highway safety. Classic statistical methods are fundamental to crash data analysis and often regarded for their interpretability. However, given the complexity of crash mechanisms and associated heterogeneity, classic statistical methods, which lack versatility, might not be sufficient for granular crash analysis because of the high dimensional features involved in crash-related data. In contrast, machine learning approaches, which are more flexible in structure and capable of harnessing richer data sources available today, emerges as a suitable alternative. With the aid of new methods for model interpretation, the complex machine learning models, previously considered enigmatic, can be properly interpreted. In this study, two modern machine learning techniques, Linear Discriminate Analysis and eXtreme Gradient Boosting, were explored to classify three major types of multi-vehicle crashes (i.e., rear-end, same-direction sideswipe, and angle) occurred on Interstate 285 in Georgia. The study demonstrated the utility and versatility of modern machine learning methods in the context of crash analysis, particularly in understanding the potential features underlying different crash patterns on freeways.

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Using Machine Learning to Predict National Hockey League Average Home Game Attendance

The Journal of Prediction Markets ◽

10.5750/jpm.v12i2.1608 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 85-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Barry E King ◽

Jennifer L Rice ◽

Julie Vaughan

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

National Hockey League ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Mean Square ◽

Sample Average ◽

Extreme Gradient Boosting ◽

Out Of Sample ◽

Game Attendance ◽

Home Game

Research predicting National Hockey League average attendance is presented. The seasons examined are the 2013 hockey season through the beginning of the 2017 hockey season. Multiple linear regression and three machine learning algorithms – random forest, M5 prime, and extreme gradient boosting – are employed to predict out-of-sample average home game attendance. Extreme gradient boosting generated the lowest out-of-sample root mean square error. The team identifier (team name), the number of Twitter followers (a surrogate for team popularity), median ticket price, and arena capacity have appeared as the top four predictor variables.

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