In this paper we present a variant of the McEliece cryptosystem that possesses several interesting properties, including a reduction of the public key for a given security level. In contrast to the classical McEliece cryptosystems, where block codes are used, we propose the use of a convolutional encoder to be part of the public key. The permutation matrix is substituted by a polynomial matrix whose coefficient matrices have columns with weight zero or at least weight two. This allows the use of Generalized Reed-Solomon (GRS) codes which translates into shorter keys for a given security level. Hence, the private key is constituted by a generator matrix of a GRS code and two polynomial matrices containing large parts generated completely at random. In this setting the message is a sequence of messages instead of a single block message and the errors are added throughout the sequence. We discuss possible structural and ISD attacks to this scheme. We conclude presenting the key sizes obtained for different parameters and estimating the computational cost of encryption and decryption process.
In this paper, we introduce YONOS-SR, a novel stable diffusion-based approach for image super-resolution that yields state-of-the-art results using only a single DDIM step. We propose a novel scale distillation approach to train our SR model. Instead of directly training our SR model on the scale factor of interest, we start by training a teacher model on a smaller magnification scale, thereby making the SR problem simpler for the teacher. We then train a student model for a higher magnification scale, using the predictions of the teacher as a target during the training. This process is repeated iteratively until we reach the target scale factor of the final model. The rationale behind our scale distillation is that the teacher aids the student diffusion model training by i) providing a target adapted to the current noise level rather than using the same target coming from ground truth data for all noise levels and ii) providing an accurate target as the teacher has a simpler task to solve. We empirically show that the distilled model significantly outperforms the model trained for high scales directly, specifically with few steps during inference. Having a strong diffusion model that requires only one step allows us to freeze the U-Net and fine-tune the decoder on top of it. We show that the combination of spatially distilled U-Net and fine-tuned decoder outperforms state-of-the-art methods requiring 200 steps with only one single step.
This paper presents Flash, an optimized private inference (PI) hybrid protocol utilizing both homomorphic encryption (HE) and secure two-party computation (2PC), which can reduce the end-to-end PI latency for deep CNN models less than 1 minute with CPU. To this end, first, Flash proposes a low-latency convolution algorithm built upon a fast slot rotation operation and a novel data encoding scheme, which results in 4-94x performance gain over the state-of-the-art. Second, to minimize the communication cost introduced by the standard nonlinear activation function ReLU, Flash replaces the entire ReLUs with the polynomial $x^2+x$ and trains deep CNN models with the new activation function. The trained models improve the inference accuracy for CIFAR-10/100 and TinyImageNet by 16% on average (up to 40% for ResNet-32) compared to prior art. Last, Flash proposes an efficient 2PC-based $x^2+x$ evaluation protocol that does not require any offline communication and that reduces the total communication cost to process the activation layer by 84-196x over the state-of-the-art. As a result, the end-to-end PI latency of Flash implemented on CPU is 0.02 minute for CIFAR-100 and 0.57 minute for TinyImageNet classification, while the total data communication is 0.07GB for CIFAR-100 and 0.22GB for TinyImageNet. Flash improves the state-of-the-art PI by 16-45x in latency and 84-196x in communication cost. Moreover, even for ImageNet, Flash can deliver the latency less than 1 minute on CPU with the total communication less than 1GB.
This paper unveils CG-Eval, the first-ever comprehensive and automated evaluation framework designed for assessing the generative capabilities of large Chinese language models across a spectrum of academic disciplines. CG-Eval stands out for its automated process, which critically assesses models based on their proficiency in generating precise and contextually relevant responses to a diverse array of questions within six key domains: Science and Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematical Calculations, Medical Practitioner Qualification Examination, Judicial Examination, and Certified Public Accountant Examination. Alongside this, we introduce Gscore, an innovative composite index developed from a weighted sum of multiple metrics. Gscore uniquely automates the quality measurement of a model's text generation against reference standards, providing a detailed and nuanced assessment of model performance. This automation not only enhances the efficiency and scalability of the evaluation process but also ensures objective and consistent assessment across various models. The detailed test data and results, highlighting the robust capabilities and comparative performance of the evaluated models, are accessible at //cgeval.besteasy.com/.
Longitudinal studies are subject to nonresponse when individuals fail to provide data for entire waves or particular questions of the survey. We compare approaches to nonresponse bias analysis (NRBA) in longitudinal studies and illustrate them on the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). Wave nonresponse with attrition often yields a monotone missingness pattern, and the missingness mechanism can be missing at random (MAR) or missing not at random (MNAR). We discuss weighting, multiple imputation (MI), incomplete data modeling, and Bayesian approaches to NRBA for monotone patterns. Weighting adjustments are effective when the constructed weights are correlated to the survey outcome of interest. MI allows for variables with missing values to be included in the imputation model, yielding potentially less biased and more efficient estimates. Multilevel models with maximum likelihood estimation and marginal models estimated using generalized estimating equations can also handle incomplete longitudinal data. Bayesian methods introduce prior information and potentially stabilize model estimation. We add offsets in the MAR results to provide sensitivity analyses to assess MNAR deviations. We conduct NRBA for descriptive summaries and analytic model estimates and find that in the ECLS-K:2011 application, NRBA yields minor changes to the substantive conclusions. The strength of evidence about our NRBA depends on the strength of the relationship between the characteristics in the nonresponse adjustment and the key survey outcomes, so the key to a successful NRBA is to include strong predictors.
In this paper, we provide a theoretical analysis for a preconditioned steepest descent (PSD) iterative solver that improves the computational time of a finite difference numerical scheme for the Cahn-Hilliard equation with Flory-Huggins energy potential. In the numerical design, a convex splitting approach is applied to the chemical potential such that the logarithmic and the surface diffusion terms are treated implicitly while the expansive concave term is treated with an explicit update. The nonlinear and singular nature of the logarithmic energy potential makes the numerical implementation very challenging. However, the positivity-preserving property for the logarithmic arguments, unconditional energy stability, and optimal rate error estimates have been established in a recent work and it has been shown that successful solvers ensure a similar positivity-preserving property at each iteration stage. Therefore, in this work, we will show that the PSD solver ensures a positivity-preserving property at each iteration stage. The PSD solver consists of first computing a search direction (involved with solving a Poisson-like equation) and then takes a one-parameter optimization step over the search direction in which the Newton iteration becomes very powerful. A theoretical analysis is applied to the PSD iteration solver and a geometric convergence rate is proved for the iteration. In particular, the strict separation property of the numerical solution, which indicates a uniform distance between the numerical solution and the singular limit values of $\pm 1$ for the phase variable, plays an essential role in the iteration convergence analysis. A few numerical results are presented to demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the PSD solver.
In this paper, we propose localized versions of Weisfeiler-Leman (WL) algorithms in an effort to both increase the expressivity, as well as decrease the computational overhead. We focus on the specific problem of subgraph counting and give localized versions of $k-$WL for any $k$. We analyze the power of Local $k-$WL and prove that it is more expressive than $k-$WL and at most as expressive as $(k+1)-$WL. We give a characterization of patterns whose count as a subgraph and induced subgraph are invariant if two graphs are Local $k-$WL equivalent. We also introduce two variants of $k-$WL: Layer $k-$WL and recursive $k-$WL. These methods are more time and space efficient than applying $k-$WL on the whole graph. We also propose a fragmentation technique that guarantees the exact count of all induced subgraphs of size at most 4 using just $1-$WL. The same idea can be extended further for larger patterns using $k>1$. We also compare the expressive power of Local $k-$WL with other GNN hierarchies and show that given a bound on the time-complexity, our methods are more expressive than the ones mentioned in Papp and Wattenhofer[2022a].
In this paper, we introduce a novel explicit family of subcodes of Reed-Solomon (RS) codes that efficiently achieve list decoding capacity with a constant output list size. Our approach builds upon the idea of large linear subcodes of RS codes evaluated on a subfield, similar to the method employed by Guruswami and Xing (STOC 2013). However, our approach diverges by leveraging the idea of {\it permuted product codes}, thereby simplifying the construction by avoiding the need of {\it subspace designs}. Specifically, the codes are constructed by initially forming the tensor product of two RS codes with carefully selected evaluation sets, followed by specific cyclic shifts to the codeword rows. This process results in each codeword column being treated as an individual coordinate, reminiscent of prior capacity-achieving codes, such as folded RS codes and univariate multiplicity codes. This construction is easily shown to be a subcode of an interleaved RS code, equivalently, an RS code evaluated on a subfield. Alternatively, the codes can be constructed by the evaluation of bivariate polynomials over orbits generated by \emph{two} affine transformations with coprime orders, extending the earlier use of a single affine transformation in folded RS codes and the recent affine folded RS codes introduced by Bhandari {\it et al.} (IEEE T-IT, Feb.~2024). While our codes require large, yet constant characteristic, the two affine transformations facilitate achieving code length equal to the field size, without the restriction of the field being prime, contrasting with univariate multiplicity codes.
This paper presents a method for achieving equilibrium in the ISING Hamiltonian when confronted with unevenly distributed charges on an irregular grid. Employing (Multi-Edge) QC-LDPC codes and the Boltzmann machine, our approach involves dimensionally expanding the system, substituting charges with circulants, and representing distances through circulant shifts. This results in a systematic mapping of the charge system onto a space, transforming the irregular grid into a uniform configuration, applicable to Torical and Circular Hyperboloid Topologies. The paper covers fundamental definitions and notations related to QC-LDPC Codes, Multi-Edge QC-LDPC codes, and the Boltzmann machine. It explores the marginalization problem in code on the graph probabilistic models for evaluating the partition function, encompassing exact and approximate estimation techniques. Rigorous proof is provided for the attainability of equilibrium states for the Boltzmann machine under Torical and Circular Hyperboloid, paving the way for the application of our methodology. Practical applications of our approach are investigated in Finite Geometry QC-LDPC Codes, specifically in Material Science. The paper further explores its effectiveness in the realm of Natural Language Processing Transformer Deep Neural Networks, examining Generalized Repeat Accumulate Codes, Spatially-Coupled and Cage-Graph QC-LDPC Codes. The versatile and impactful nature of our topology-aware hardware-efficient quasi-cycle codes equilibrium method is showcased across diverse scientific domains without the use of specific section delineations.
This article presents the affordances that Generative Artificial Intelligence can have in disinformation context, one of the major threats to our digitalized society. We present a research framework to generate customized agent-based social networks for disinformation simulations that would enable understanding and evaluation of the phenomena whilst discussing open challenges.
In this paper, we propose a novel Feature Decomposition and Reconstruction Learning (FDRL) method for effective facial expression recognition. We view the expression information as the combination of the shared information (expression similarities) across different expressions and the unique information (expression-specific variations) for each expression. More specifically, FDRL mainly consists of two crucial networks: a Feature Decomposition Network (FDN) and a Feature Reconstruction Network (FRN). In particular, FDN first decomposes the basic features extracted from a backbone network into a set of facial action-aware latent features to model expression similarities. Then, FRN captures the intra-feature and inter-feature relationships for latent features to characterize expression-specific variations, and reconstructs the expression feature. To this end, two modules including an intra-feature relation modeling module and an inter-feature relation modeling module are developed in FRN. Experimental results on both the in-the-lab databases (including CK+, MMI, and Oulu-CASIA) and the in-the-wild databases (including RAF-DB and SFEW) show that the proposed FDRL method consistently achieves higher recognition accuracy than several state-of-the-art methods. This clearly highlights the benefit of feature decomposition and reconstruction for classifying expressions.