Machine Learning Approach for Prediction: Cross-Domain Applications

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Computer Science & Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2026 | Viewed by 2995

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Computer Engineering, Mersin University, 33343 Mersin, Türkiye
Interests: neural language processing; machine learning; deep learning; traffic accident analysis; parallel computing

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, KTO Karatay University, Konya, Turkey
Interests: application of machine learning and remote sensing in environmental monitoring and geospatial analysis; hydrologic cycle modeling and hydrologic trend analysis using data-driven approaches
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Machine learning (ML) has fundamentally transformed our ability to anticipate future events and understand complex patterns, establishing itself as a cornerstone of predictive analytics across various disciplines. The capacity to learn from data and generate accurate forecasts, classifications, or estimations is no longer a niche capability but a critical driver of innovation and decision-making in science, industry, and society. This Special Issue, titled "Machine Learning Approach for Prediction: Cross-Domain Applications", aims to capture the vibrant landscape of ML-driven prediction, showcasing cutting-edge research that advances methodologies and demonstrates impactful applications.

The primary focus of this Special Issue is on the development, application, and rigorous evaluation of ML models specifically designed for predictive tasks. We are particularly interested in contributions that explore novel algorithms, innovative deployments of existing techniques, and solutions to challenges encountered in real-world predictive modeling.

The scope is broad, welcoming submissions from any field where ML-based prediction provides significant insights. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: engineering (e.g., predictive maintenance, material property prediction, and manufacturing defect forecasting); energy systems (e.g., renewable energy output forecasting and grid stability prediction); smart city applications (e.g., traffic flow prediction and public transport demand); wireless communications & network management (e.g., forecasting network traffic, predicting link quality degradation, or anticipating user mobility patterns for proactive resource allocation); environmental science (e.g., climate modeling, air quality forecasting, and natural disaster prediction); agriculture (e.g., crop yield prediction and pest outbreak forecasting); cybersecurity (e.g., intrusion detection and malware behavior prediction); semiconductor manufacturing (e.g., predicting semiconductor wafer yield or identifying defect-prone areas on a wafer); electronic design automation & system-on-chip performance (e.g., estimating power consumption, timing closure, or thermal hotspots in complex SoCs at early design stages).

We encourage submissions covering a wide range of ML methodologies, ranging from traditional supervised and unsupervised learning to advanced deep learning architectures (RNNs, LSTMs, Transformers, and GNNs), ensemble methods, and hybrid approaches. Key aspects such as feature engineering, model interpretability (XAI), uncertainty quantification, and robust model evaluation are also central to our interest.

The purpose of this Special Issue is as follows:

  • To consolidate and highlight the latest advancements in ML for prediction, offering a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art.
  • To foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge transfer by bringing together researchers and practitioners from diverse fields, allowing for the sharing of best practices and innovative solutions that might transcend domain boundaries.
  • To identify persistent challenges and illuminate future research directions in predictive ML, including issues related to data quality, model scalability, and the practical deployment of predictive systems.

While numerous publications address ML within specific domains, this Special Issue will usefully supplement the existing literature by providing a unique, cross-cutting perspective focused explicitly on the act and challenge of prediction across multiple applications. It aims to synthesize diverse applications, allowing for the identification of common predictive hurdles and potentially transferable methodological innovations.

In essence, this Special Issue will act as a curated collection that underscores the power and versatility of machine learning as a predictive tool, offering a broader, more integrated view than typically found in domain-specific or purely methodological publications.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Çiğdem ACI
Dr. Vahdettin Demir
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • machine learning
  • predictive modeling
  • forecasting
  • classification
  • regression
  • time series analysis
  • deep learning
  • supervised learning
  • data-driven prediction
  • algorithm development
  • model evaluation
  • cross-domain applications
  • engineering prediction
  • environmental modeling
  • explainable AI (XAI) for prediction
  • predictive analytics

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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41 pages, 2388 KB  
Article
Comparative Epidemiology of Machine and Deep Learning Diagnostics in Diabetes and Sickle Cell Disease: Africa’s Challenges, Global Non-Communicable Disease Opportunities
by Oluwafisayo Babatope Ayoade, Seyed Shahrestani and Chun Ruan
Electronics 2026, 15(2), 394; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15020394 - 16 Jan 2026
Viewed by 271
Abstract
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) pose an escalating health challenge in Africa, underscored by diagnostic deficiencies, inadequate surveillance, and limited health system capacity that contribute to late diagnoses and consequent preventable complications. This review adopts [...] Read more.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) pose an escalating health challenge in Africa, underscored by diagnostic deficiencies, inadequate surveillance, and limited health system capacity that contribute to late diagnoses and consequent preventable complications. This review adopts a comparative framework that considers DM and SCD as complementary indicator diseases, both metabolic and genetic, and highlights intersecting diagnostic, infrastructural, and governance hurdles relevant to AI-enabled screening in resource-constrained environments. The study synthesizes epidemiological data across both African and high-income regions and methodically catalogs machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) research by clinical application, including risk prediction, image-based diagnostics, remote patient monitoring, privacy-preserving learning, and governance frameworks. Our key observations reveal significant disparities in disease detection and health outcomes, driven by underdiagnosis, a lack of comprehensive newborn screening for SCD, and fragmented diabetes surveillance systems in Africa, despite the availability of effective diagnostic technologies in other regions. The reviewed literature on ML/DL shows high algorithmic accuracy, particularly in diabetic retinopathy screening and emerging applications in SCD microscopy. However, most studies are constrained by small, single-site datasets that lack robust external validation and do not align well with real-world clinical workflows. The review identifies persistent implementation challenges, including data scarcity, device variability, limited connectivity, and inadequate calibration and subgroup analysis. By integrating epidemiological insights into AI diagnostic capabilities and health system realities, this work extends beyond earlier surveys to offer a comprehensive, Africa-centric, implementation-focused synthesis. It proposes actionable operational and policy recommendations, including offline-first deployment strategies, federated learning approaches for low-bandwidth scenarios, integration with primary care and newborn screening initiatives, and enhanced governance structures, to promote equitable and scalable AI-enhanced diagnostics for NCDs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Machine Learning Approach for Prediction: Cross-Domain Applications)
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19 pages, 3558 KB  
Article
ROI+Context Graph Neural Networks for Thyroid Nodule Classification: Baselines, Cross-Validation Protocol, and Reproducibility
by Mehmet Yavuz and Nejat Yumuşak
Electronics 2026, 15(1), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15010151 - 29 Dec 2025
Viewed by 304
Abstract
Accurate differentiation of malignant from benign thyroid nodules on ultrasound remains challenging and existing deep models typically operate on isolated ROI crops or whole images, ignoring structured peri-lesional context. We present a simple, reproducible graph neural network (GNN) baseline that represents each thyroid [...] Read more.
Accurate differentiation of malignant from benign thyroid nodules on ultrasound remains challenging and existing deep models typically operate on isolated ROI crops or whole images, ignoring structured peri-lesional context. We present a simple, reproducible graph neural network (GNN) baseline that represents each thyroid ultrasound image as a small graph with one lesion region-of-interest (ROI) node and multiple peri-lesional context nodes, aggregates node embeddings with attention pooling, and predicts malignancy. A ResNet-50 encoder (ImageNet initialization) provides visual features, and lightweight geometry (relative offsets, size ratio, IoU) augments nodes. Using the public TN5000 dataset, we obtain a single-split validation accuracy of 0.904, AUROC 0.942, and AUPRC 0.979 on the official train/validation split, and a more robust 5-fold × 3-seed cross-validation AUROC of 0.906 and AUPRC of 0.954. We also report calibration analysis with temperature scaling to encourage transparent, robust evaluation of thyroid ultrasound classifiers. To our knowledge this is the first ROI+context GNN study on TN5000, providing a transparent baseline and cross-validation protocol. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Machine Learning Approach for Prediction: Cross-Domain Applications)
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24 pages, 3133 KB  
Article
A Feature Selection-Based Multi-Stage Methodology for Improving Driver Injury Severity Prediction on Imbalanced Crash Data
by Çiğdem İnan Acı, Gizen Mutlu, Murat Ozen, Esra Sarac and Vahide Nida Kılıç Uzel
Electronics 2025, 14(17), 3377; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14173377 - 25 Aug 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1283
Abstract
Predicting driver injury severity is critical for enhancing road safety, but it is complicated because fatal accidents inherently create class imbalance within datasets. This study conducts a comparative analysis of machine-learning (ML) and deep-learning (DL) models for multi-class driver injury severity prediction using [...] Read more.
Predicting driver injury severity is critical for enhancing road safety, but it is complicated because fatal accidents inherently create class imbalance within datasets. This study conducts a comparative analysis of machine-learning (ML) and deep-learning (DL) models for multi-class driver injury severity prediction using a comprehensive dataset of 107,195 traffic accidents from the Adana, Mersin, and Antalya provinces in Turkey (2018–2023). To address the significant imbalance between fatal, injury, and non-injury classes, the hybrid SMOTE-ENN algorithm was employed for data balancing. Subsequently, feature selection techniques, including Relief-F, Extra Trees, and Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE), were utilized to identify the most influential predictors. Various ML models (K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), XGBoost, Random Forest) and DL architectures (Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN)) were developed and rigorously evaluated. The findings demonstrate that traditional ML models, particularly KNN (0.95 accuracy, 0.95 F1-macro) and XGBoost (0.92 accuracy, 0.92 F1-macro), significantly outperformed DL models. The SMOTE-ENN technique proved effective in managing class imbalance, and RFE identified a critical 25-feature subset including driver fault, speed limit, and road conditions. This research highlights the efficacy of well-preprocessed ML approaches for tabular crash data, offering valuable insights for developing robust predictive tools to improve traffic safety outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Machine Learning Approach for Prediction: Cross-Domain Applications)
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Review

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21 pages, 1238 KB  
Review
Wi-Fi RSS Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Localization in Large Multi-Floor Buildings
by Inoj Neupane, Seyed Shahrestani and Chun Ruan
Electronics 2026, 15(1), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15010183 - 30 Dec 2025
Viewed by 369
Abstract
Location estimation is significant in this era of the Internet of Things (IoT). Satellite and cellular signals are often blocked indoors, prompting researchers to explore alternative wireless technologies for indoor positioning. Among these, Wi-Fi Received Signal Strength (RSS) with fingerprinting is dominant in [...] Read more.
Location estimation is significant in this era of the Internet of Things (IoT). Satellite and cellular signals are often blocked indoors, prompting researchers to explore alternative wireless technologies for indoor positioning. Among these, Wi-Fi Received Signal Strength (RSS) with fingerprinting is dominant in large, multi-floor buildings due to its existing infrastructure, acceptable accuracy, low cost, easy deployment, and scalability. This study aims to systematically search and review the literature on the use of real Wi-Fi RSS fingerprints for indoor localization or positioning in large, multi-floor buildings, in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, to identify current trends, performance, and gaps. Our findings highlight three main public datasets in this fields (covering areas over 10,000 sq.m). Recent trends indicate the widespread adoption of Deep Learning (DL) techniques, particularly Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Stacked Autoencoders (SAEs). While buildings (in the same vicinity) and their respective floors are accurately identified, the maximum average error remains around 7 m. A notable gap is the lack of public datasets with detailed room or zone information. This review intends to serve as a guide for future researchers looking to improve indoor location estimation in large, multi-floor structures such as universities, hospitals, and malls. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Machine Learning Approach for Prediction: Cross-Domain Applications)
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