On Inference Stability for Diffusion Models

Denoising Probabilistic Models (DPMs) represent an emerging domain of generative models that excel in generating diverse and high-quality images. However, most current training methods for DPMs often neglect the correlation between timesteps, limiting the model's performance in generating images effectively. Notably, we theoretically point out that this issue can be caused by the cumulative estimation gap between the predicted and the actual trajectory. To minimize that gap, we propose a novel \textit{sequence-aware} loss that aims to reduce the estimation gap to enhance the sampling quality. Furthermore, we theoretically show that our proposed loss function is a tighter upper bound of the estimation loss in comparison with the conventional loss in DPMs. Experimental results on several benchmark datasets including CIFAR10, CelebA, and CelebA-HQ consistently show a remarkable improvement of our proposed method regarding the image generalization quality measured by FID and Inception Score compared to several DPM baselines. Our code and pre-trained checkpoints are available at \url{https://github.com/VinAIResearch/SA-DPM}.Comment: Oral presentation at AAAI 202

An open database of productivity in Vietnam's social sciences and humanities for public use

This study presents a description of an open database on scientific output of Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities, one that corrects for the shortcomings in current research publication databases such as data duplication, slow update, and a substantial cost of doing science. Here, using scientists’ self-reports, open online sources and cross-checking with Scopus database, we introduce a manual system and its semi-automated version of the database on the profiles of 657 Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities who have published in Scopus-indexed journals from 2008 to 2018. The final system also records 973 foreign co-authors, 1,289 papers, and 789 affiliations. The data collection method, highly applicable for other sources, could be replicated in other developing countries while its content be used in cross-section, multivariate, and network data analyses. The open database is expected to help Vietnam revamp its research capacity and meet the public demand for greater transparency in science management

Ecohealth research in Southeast Asia : past, present and the way forward

Ecohealth is a comprehensive approach to understanding health at its human, animal and environmental interface in a socio-ecological systems context. This approach was introduced widely in Southeast Asia (SEA) by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in the late 2000s. Aimed at addressing the problem of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), numerous such projects and activities have been generated throughout the region. Ecohealth is increasingly converging with the One Health approach, as both movements emphasise a holistic understanding to health. We conducted a scoping review by considering all of the Ecohealth programmes, initiatives and projects that have been implemented in SEA since the introduction of the approach, and also gathered information from peer-reviewed literature. The objective of this paper is to review Ecohealth activities within SEA over the last 10 years to address the lessons learned, challenges faced and the way forward for Ecohealth in the region. Activities range from those focusing purely on capacity, projects focusing on research and projects covering both. Achievements to date include, for example, research contributing to the field of infectious diseases in relation to social ecological factors and associated urbanisation and agricultural intensification. Challenges remain at the project design and implementation level, in the available capacity and coordination to develop Ecohealth research teams in the countries, gauging teams' assimilation of Ecohealth's underlying tenets and their translation into sustainable disease prevention and control, as well as in the ability to scale up Ecohealth projects. We suggest that the way forward for Ecohealth should be from a regional perspective in terms of research, training and policy translation using Ecohealth in combination with the One Health approach

How swelling debts give rise to a new type of politics in Vietnam

Vietnam has seen fast-rising debts, both domestic and external, in recent years. This paperreviews the literature on credit market in Vietnam, providing an up-to-date take on the domesticlending and borrowing landscape. The study highlights the strong demand for credit in both therural and urban areas, the ubiquity of informal lenders, the recent popularity of consumer financecompanies, as well as the government’s attempts to rein in its swelling public debt. Given thehigh level of borrowing, which is fueled by consumerism and geopolitics, it is inevitable that theamount of debt will soon be higher than the saving of the borrowers. Unlike the conventional wisdom that creditors have more bargaining power over the borrowers, we suggest that—albeitlacking a quantitative estimation—when the debts pile up so high that the borrowers could not repay, the power dynamics may reverse. In this new politics of debt, the lenders fear to lose the money's worth and continue to lend and feed the insolvent debtors. The result is a toxic lending/borrowing market and profound lessons, from which the developing world could learn

Interregional Input-Output Analysis between the Mekong Delta Region (MDR) and the Rest of Vietnam (ROV)

The Mekong Delta is an important economic area, located in the southern part of Vietnam. The Mekong Delta has many potential and opportunities for development, but also new challenges in the context of global climate change, sea level rise, as well as the consequences of blocking the river and the Mekong countries also need to increase competition in international integration. In addition to these challenges, the region also has new opportunities when implementing economic restructuring in line with the policy of restructuring the economy in new conditions, including the establishment of special economic zones as PhuQuoc Resort. Besides analysis based on modern economic theory, this paper uses the input-output framework (I/O Inter-sect oral Scope Model) updated in 2016 for two areas: by the Mekong River and the Rest of Vietnam (ROV) to find inter-regional impacts and to calculate some impact assessments of climate change. The study also analyzes some other factors related to the viewpoint of sustainable regional development in new conditions, income distribution and social security

Công bằng trong giáo dục trước ảnh hưởng của trí tuệ nhân tạo

Việc nghiên cứu các vấn đề công bằng xã hội liên quan đến AI là vô cùng cần thiết. Công bằng trong giáo dục là việc đảm bảo quyền bình đẳng tiếp cận giáo dục cho mọi người: Giáo dục phổ thông miễn phí; không phân biệt đối xử; đảm bảo nội dung, phương pháp phù hợp với từng đối tượng. Rủi ro về công bằng trong giáo dục bao gồm: Bất cân bằng giữa các thế hệ; định kiến trong dữ liệu huấn luyện; hộp đen AI; và bất bình đẳng trong tiếp cận giáo dục về AI. Giải pháp: Ứng dụng AI trong giáo dục phải đảm bảo tôn trọng phẩm giá của con người, quyền riêng tư, trách nhiệm giải trình và tính minh bạch

Influence of magnetic field on properties of electrodeposited FeCo layer

Effect of magnetic field on the electrodeposition of FeCo layers has been investigated with respect to the orientation of the magnetic field to surface electrode e.g magnetic field is parallel and perpendicular to electrode. Electrochemical behaviours, morphology, composition, structure and magnetic properties were investigated using cyclic voltammogram (CV), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (EDS), X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). Results show that morphology and structure of the deposited layers are not effected by external magnetic field. Meanwhile, the Fe content of the layer decreases by following sequence CFe(B=0)CFe(B//)CFe(^), resulting in the following sequence of coerciviy HC(B=0) HC (B//) HC (^). These results were explained based on the magnetohydronamic (MHD) effect caused by the Lorentz force () when magnetic field is superimposed