Advanced Approach for Distributions Parameters Learning in Bayesian Networks with Gaussian Mixture Models and Discriminative Models

Abstract

Bayesian networks are a powerful tool for modelling multivariate random variables. However, when applied in practice, for example, for industrial projects, problems arise because the existing learning and inference algorithms are not adapted to real data. This article discusses two learning and inference problems on mixed data in Bayesian networks—learning and inference at nodes of a Bayesian network that have non-Gaussian distributions and learning and inference for networks that require edges from continuous nodes to discrete ones. First, an approach based on the use of mixtures of Gaussian distributions is proposed to solve a problem when the joint normality assumption is not confirmed. Second, classification models are proposed to solve a problem with edges from continuous nodes to discrete nodes. Experiments have been run on both synthetic datasets and real-world data and have shown gains in modelling quality.