A Scalable and Extensible Framework for Superposition-Structured Models

In many learning tasks, structural models usually lead to better interpretability and higher generalization performance. In recent years, however, the simple structural models such as lasso are frequently proved to be insufficient. Accordingly, there has been a lot of work on "superposition-structured" models where multiple structural constraints are imposed. To efficiently solve these "superposition-structured" statistical models, we develop a framework based on a proximal Newton-type method. Employing the smoothed conic dual approach with the LBFGS updating formula, we propose a scalable and extensible proximal quasi-Newton (SEP-QN) framework. Empirical analysis on various datasets shows that our framework is potentially powerful, and achieves super-linear convergence rate for optimizing some popular "superposition-structured" statistical models such as the fused sparse group lasso

Single-Curvature Sandwich Panels with Aluminum Foam Cores under Impulsive Loading

Single-curvature sandwich panels combine the advantages of the shell and sandwich structure and are therefore envisaged to possess good potential to resist blast and shock or impact loads. This study presents a comprehensive report on the dynamic response and shock resistance of single-curvature sandwich panels, comprising two aluminum alloy face-sheets and an aluminum foam core, subjected to air-blast loading, in terms of the experimental investigation and numerical simulation. The deformation modes, shock resistance capability, and energy absorption performance are studied, and the influences of specimen curvature, blast impulse, and geometrical configuration are discussed. Results indicate that the deformation/failure, deflection response, and energy absorption of curved sandwich panels are sensitive to the loading intensity and geometric configuration. These results are significant to guide the engineering applications of sandwich structures with metallic foam cores subjected to air-blast loading

Multi-focus Image Fusion with Sparse Feature Based Pulse Coupled Neural Network

In order to better extract the focused regions and effectively improve the quality of the fused image, a novel multi-focus image fusion scheme with sparse feature based pulse coupled neural network (PCNN) is proposed. The registered source images are decomposed into principal matrices and sparse matrices by robust principal component analysis (RPCA). The salient features of the sparse matrices construct the sparse feature space of the source images. The sparse features are used to motivate the PCNN neurons. The focused regions of the source images are detected by the output of the PCNN and integrated to construct the final fused image. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme works better in extracting the focused regions and improving the fusion quality compared to the other existing fusion methods in both spatial and transform domain

DREAMSeq: An Improved Method for Analyzing Differentially Expressed Genes in RNA-seq Data

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has become a widely used technology for analyzing global gene-expression changes during certain biological processes. It is generally acknowledged that RNA-seq data displays equidispersion and overdispersion characteristics; therefore, most RNA-seq analysis methods were developed based on a negative binomial model capable of capturing both equidispersed and overdispersed data. In this study, we reported that in addition to equidispersion and overdispersion, RNA-seq data also displays underdispersion characteristics that cannot be adequately captured by general RNA-seq analysis methods. Based on a double Poisson model capable of capturing all data characteristics, we developed a new RNA-seq analysis method (DREAMSeq). Comparison of DREAMSeq with five other frequently used RNA-seq analysis methods using simulated datasets showed that its performance was comparable to or exceeded that of other methods in terms of type I error rate, statistical power, receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, area under the ROC curve, precision-recall curve, and the ability to detect the number of differentially expressed genes, especially in situations involving underdispersion. These results were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction using a real Foxtail dataset. Our findings demonstrated DREAMSeq as a reliable, robust, and powerful new method for RNA-seq data mining. The DREAMSeq R package is available at http://tanglab.hebtu.edu.cn/tanglab/Home/DREAMSeq

A Novel Multi-focus Image Fusion Method Based on Non-negative Matrix Factorization

In order to efficiently extract the focused regions from the source images and improve the quality of the fused image, this paper presents a novel image fusion scheme with non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). The source images are fused by NMF to construct temporary fused image, whose region homogeneityis used to split the source images into regions.The focused regions are detected and integrated to construct the final fused image. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposedschemeis capable ofefficiently extracting the focused regions and significantly improving the fusion quality compared to other existing fusion methods,in terms of visualand quantitative evaluations

Security and Privacy on Generative Data in AIGC: A Survey

The advent of artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of information technology. With AIGC, it can be effortless to generate high-quality data that is challenging for the public to distinguish. Nevertheless, the proliferation of generative data across cyberspace brings security and privacy issues, including privacy leakages of individuals and media forgery for fraudulent purposes. Consequently, both academia and industry begin to emphasize the trustworthiness of generative data, successively providing a series of countermeasures for security and privacy. In this survey, we systematically review the security and privacy on generative data in AIGC, particularly for the first time analyzing them from the perspective of information security properties. Specifically, we reveal the successful experiences of state-of-the-art countermeasures in terms of the foundational properties of privacy, controllability, authenticity, and compliance, respectively. Finally, we summarize the open challenges and potential exploration directions from each of theses properties