Solving Multiple-Instance and Multiple-Part Learning Problems with Decision Trees and Rule Sets. Application to the Mutagenesis Problem

Abstract

In recent work, Dietterich et al. (1997) have presented the problem of supervised multiple-instance learning and how to solve it by building axis-parallel rectangles. This problem is encountered in contexts where an object may have different possible alternative configurations, each of which is described by a vector. This paper introduces the multiple-part problem, which is related to the multiple-instance problem, and shows how it can be solved using the multiple-instance algorithms. These two so-called “multiple“ problems could play a key role both in the development of efficient algorithms for learning the relations between the activity of a structured object and its structural properties and in relational learning. This paper analyzes and tries to clarify multiple-problem solving. It goes on to propose multiple-instance extensions of classical learning algorithms to solve multiple-problems by learning multiple-decision trees (Id3-Mi) and multiple-decision rules (Ripper- Mi). In particular, it suggests a new multiple-instance entropy function and a multiple-instance coverage function. Finally, it successfully applies the multiple-part framework on the well-known mutagenesis prediction problem.