1. A novel framework for unification of association rule miningRahul Sharma, Minakshi Kaushik, Sijo Arakkal Peious, Alexandre Bazin, Syed Attique Shah, Iztok Fister, Sadok Ben Yahia, Dirk Draheim, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Statistical reasoning was one of the earliest methods to draw insights from data. However, over the last three decades, association rule mining and online analytical processing have gained massive ground in practice and theory. Logically, both association rule mining and online analytical processing have some common objectives, but they have been introduced with their own set of mathematical formalizations and have developed their specific terminologies. Therefore, it is difficult to reuse results from one domain in another. Furthermore, it is not easy to unlock the potential of statistical results in their application scenarios. The target of this paper is to bridge the artificial gaps between association rule mining, online analytical processing and statistical reasoning. We first provide an elaboration of the semantic correspondences between their foundations, i.e., itemset apparatus, relational algebra and probability theory. Subsequently, we propose a novel framework for the unification of association rule mining, online analytical processing and statistical reasoning. Additionally, an instance of the proposed framework is developed by implementing a sample decision support tool. The tool is compared with a state-of-the-art decision support tool and evaluated by a series of experiments using two real data sets and one synthetic data set. The results of the tool validate the framework for the unified usage of association rule mining, online analytical processing, and statistical reasoning. The tool clarifies in how far the operations of association rule mining and online analytical processing can complement each other in understanding data, data visualization and decision making. Keywords: association rule mining, data mining, online analytical processing, statistical reasoning Published in DKUM: 02.10.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 5
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2. Toward explainable time-series numerical association rule mining : a case study in smart-agricultureIztok Fister, Sancho Salcedo-Sanz, Enrique Alexandre-Cortizo, Damijan Novak, Iztok Fister, Vili Podgorelec, Mario Gorenjak, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: This paper defines time-series numerical association rule mining in smart-agriculture applications from an explainable-AI perspective. Two novel explainable methods are presented, along with a newly developed algorithm for time-series numerical association rule mining. Unlike previous approaches, such as fixed interval time-series numerical association, the proposed methods offer enhanced interpretability and an improved data science pipeline by incorporating explainability directly into the software library. The newly developed xNiaARMTS methods are then evaluated through a series of experiments, using real datasets produced from sensors in a smart-agriculture domain. The results obtained using explainable methods within numerical association rule mining in smart-agriculture applications are very positive. Keywords: association rule mining, explainable artificial intelligence, XAI, numerical association rule mining, optimization algorithms Published in DKUM: 27.08.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 5
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3. NiaAutoARM: automated framework for constructing and evaluating association rule mining pipelinesUroš Mlakar, Iztok Fister, Iztok Fister, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Numerical Association Rule Mining (NARM), which simultaneously handles both numerical and categorical attributes, is a powerful approach for uncovering meaningful associations in heterogeneous datasets. However, designing effective NARM solutions is a complex task involving multiple sequential steps, such as data preprocessing, algorithm selection, hyper-parameter tuning, and the definition of rule quality metrics, which together form a complete processing pipeline. In this paper, we introduce NiaAutoARM, a novel Automated Machine Learning (AutoML) framework that leverages stochastic population-based metaheuristics to automatically construct full association rule mining pipelines. Extensive experimental evaluation on ten benchmark datasets demonstrated that NiaAutoARM consistently identifies high-quality pipelines, improving both rule accuracy and interpretability compared to baseline configurations. Furthermore, NiaAutoARM achieves superior or comparable performance to the state-of-the-art VARDE algorithm while offering greater flexibility and automation. These results highlight the framework’s practical value for automating NARM tasks, reducing the need for manual tuning, and enabling broader adoption of association rule mining in real-world applications. Keywords: AutoML, association rule mining, numerical association rule mining, pipelines Published in DKUM: 16.06.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 8
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4. Using generative AI to improve the performance and interpretability of rule-based diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitusLeon Kopitar, Iztok Fister, Gregor Štiglic, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major global health concern, but interpreting machine learning models for diagnosis remains challenging. This study investigates combining association rule mining with advanced natural language processing to improve both diagnostic accuracy and interpretability. This novel approach has not been explored before in using pretrained transformers for diabetes classification on tabular data. Methods: The study used the Pima Indians Diabetes dataset to investigate Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Python and Jupyter Notebook were employed for analysis, with the NiaARM framework for association rule mining. LightGBM and the dalex package were used for performance comparison and feature importance analysis, respectively. SHAP was used for local interpretability. OpenAI GPT version 3.5 was utilized for outcome prediction and interpretation. The source code is available on GitHub. Results: NiaARM generated 350 rules to predict diabetes. LightGBM performed better than the GPT-based model. A comparison of GPT and NiaARM rules showed disparities, prompting a similarity score analysis. LightGBM’s decision making leaned heavily on glucose, age, and BMI, as highlighted in feature importance rankings. Beeswarm plots demonstrated how feature values correlate with their influence on diagnosis outcomes. Discussion: Combining association rule mining with GPT for Type 2 diabetes mellitus classification yields limited effectiveness. Enhancements like preprocessing and hyperparameter tuning are required. Interpretation challenges and GPT’s dependency on provided rules indicate the necessity for prompt engineering and similarity score methods. Variations in feature importance rankings underscore the complexity of T2DM. Concerns regarding GPT’s reliability emphasize the importance of iterative approaches for improving prediction accuracy.
Keywords: GPT, association rule mining, classification, interpretability, diagnostics Published in DKUM: 26.11.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 255
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5. Time series numerical association rule mining variants in smart agricultureIztok Fister, Dušan Fister, Iztok Fister, Vili Podgorelec, Sancho Salcedo-Sanz, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: association rule mining, smart agriculture, optimization, evolutionary algotihms, internet of things Published in DKUM: 12.06.2024; Views: 121; Downloads: 21
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6. Action-Based Digital Characterization of a Game PlayerDamijan Novak, Domen Verber, Jani Dugonik, Iztok Fister, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: association rule mining, digital characterization, game agent, game player, real-time strategy games Published in DKUM: 23.05.2024; Views: 131; Downloads: 11
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7. Variable-length differential evolution for numerical and discrete association rule miningUroš Mlakar, Iztok Fister, Iztok Fister, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: This paper proposes a variable-length Differential Evolution for Association Rule Mining. The proposed algorithm includes a novel representation of individuals, which can encode both numerical and discrete attributes in their original or absolute complement of the original intervals. The fitness function used is comprised of a weighted sum of Support and Confidence Association Rule Mining metrics. The proposed algorithm was tested on fourteen publicly available, and commonly used datasets from the UC Irvine Machine Learning Repository. It is also compared to the nature inspired algorithms taken from the NiaARM framework, providing superior results. The implementation of the proposed algorithm follows the principles of Green Artificial Intelligence, where a smaller computational load is required for obtaining promising results, and thus lowering the carbon footprint. Keywords: association rule mining, differential evolution, data mining, variable-lenght solution representation, green AI Published in DKUM: 18.01.2024; Views: 341; Downloads: 30
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8. uARMSolver: a framework for association rule miningIztok Fister, Iztok Fister, 2020, treatise, preliminary study, study Keywords: association rule mining, categorical attributes, numerical attributes, software framework, optimization Published in DKUM: 17.03.2021; Views: 1446; Downloads: 41
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