Hi Phileas:
You're welcome. This is a very old post. I know a lot more now than I knew then. If you wish to get in touch, I may be able to help more.
For what it is worth, I have now adapted topic modeling to numerical data and applied it to microbiomic studies of Alzheimer's disease. See preprint. The methodology might be useful to you. See the part on LDA.
Jeff Lapides
Adjunct Associate Professor
Drexel University
Working from Annapolis, MD
jeffrey.lapides@gmail.com