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Ying Cui

Publications and source records attributed to Ying Cui.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Sensing in Low-altitude Wireless Networks: Systems, Techniques, and Developments

The highly dynamic and safety-critical characteristics of low-altitude airspace render sensing an indispensable component of low-altitude wireless networks (LAWN). Although sensing techniques have been extensively studied under diverse paradigms, a prominent mismatch persists between state-of-the-art sensing schemes and the practical sensing demands of LAWN. To fill this research gap, this article systematically reviews LAWN-oriented sensing from the dimensions of system framework, core technologies, and research trends. Specifically, we first analyze the sensing system framework, covering concepts, services and tasks, nodes and targets, and scenarios for LAWN sensing. Next, we conduct a comparative analysis of existing sensing techniques from the perspectives of propagation medium, cooperation, methodology, and modality, analyzing their advantages and limitations. Then, we summarize promising future research directions for deployable LAWN sensing systems, covering non-cooperative and cooperative sensing, model-driven and data-driven sensing, and model-and-data-driven multi-modal sensing. Finally, we present a case study of a model-and-data-driven multi-modal method for real-time aerial target sensing. Compared with existing surveys on LAWN or sensing, this article delivers a more comprehensive, targeted review exclusively centered on LAWN sensing.

cs.NI

Understanding Quantization-Aware Training: Gradients at Quantized Weights Bias to the Low-Loss Basin

Post-training quantization (PTQ) converts a trained full-precision model into low-bit weights without task-level retraining, while quantization-aware training (QAT) incorporates quantization into the training loop. Although PTQ is efficient and often accurate at moderate bitwidths, it can fail sharply at aggressive bitwidths; QAT is more expensive but can often recover the lost accuracy. We propose a unified geometric framework that explains both PTQ failure and QAT recovery. We model full-precision training as following a low-loss \emph{river} inside a wider \emph{valley}: a normal neighborhood of the river forms a nearly flat \emph{basin}, while leaving this basin incurs a sharp loss increase. When the quantization grid is comparable to the basin width, local PTQ objectives, including rounding and Hessian-based second-order reconstruction, can select a high-loss deployed quantized point outside the basin even when nearby low-loss quantized points exist. In this regime, straight-through-estimator-based QAT has a useful bias: it evaluates gradients at the deployed quantized weights while updating latent full-precision weights, causing the gradient to sense the valley wall and acquire an inward component that steers subsequent quantized iterates back into the basin. We formalize this mechanism through a local landscape model, construct a geometric PTQ failure mode, and prove finite-time QAT recovery under local quantizer-compatibility assumptions. Experiments across vision and language models under multiple neural-network quantization schemes corroborate the predicted basin-crossing failure of PTQ and the corresponding recovery mechanism of QAT.

cs.LG

Learning Interpretable Point-Based Clinical Risk Scores via Direct Optimization

Many clinical risk scores are deployed as additive rules with nonnegative integer points assigned to relevant binary predictive features. These integer weights not only make the score easier to use in practice but also promote sparsity in the resulting prediction model. Such risk scores are often derived by first fitting a regression model and then rounding the estimated coefficients to the nearest integer after appropriate scaling. This approach is computationally fast but does not guarantee optimality of the resulting score. Alternatively, one may search over all possible integer weights to directly optimize a value function by posing the problem as an integer programming task. However, the associated computational burden can be substantial, especially when the value function is nonconcave or even discontinuous. In this paper, we develop new machine learning algorithms that employ a flexible greedy optimization strategy to learn such additive scoring directly under explicit and sensible optimality objectives. We apply the proposed method to a large electronic health record (EHR) cohort in Epic Cosmos to construct an integer-weighted comorbidity score for measuring the risk of post-discharge mortality. We also conduct a simulation study to examine the finite-sample operating characteristics.

stat.ME

Decomposition and Successive Decomposition Methods and Algorithms for Nonconvex Optimization

Existing results on decomposition methods and algorithms for nonconvex problems are minimal. Parallel decomposition algorithms do not exist for nonconvex problems with coupling nonlinear equality constraints. Besides, decomposition structures (i.e., coupling variables and constraints) are not fully exploited in designing decomposition methods and algorithms. In this paper, we consider nonconvex problems with decomposition structures that are more general than those handled in the existing literature. We propose primal and dual decomposition and successive primal and successive dual decomposition methods and algorithms for these nonconvex problems, which exploit decomposition structures, allow for parallel and distributed implementations, produce the original nonconvex problems' stationary points, and offer good opportunities to achieve superior tradeoff between convergence performance and computation time. Finally, we compare the proposed methods and algorithms, extend them to indirect and two-level decomposition methods and algorithms, and provide examples and numerical results to demonstrate their respective values. Notably, the proposed decomposition and successive decomposition methods and algorithms generalize the basic ones for convex problems, and the proposed successive decomposition methods and algorithms extend the existing ones for nonconvex problems, together enriching the decomposition theory.

math.OC

GeoMotion: Rethinking Motion Segmentation via Latent 4D Geometry

Motion segmentation in dynamic scenes is highly challenging, as conventional methods heavily rely on estimating camera poses and point correspondences from inherently noisy motion cues. Existing statistical inference or iterative optimization techniques that struggle to mitigate the cumulative errors in multi-stage pipelines often lead to limited performance or high computational cost. In contrast, we propose a fully learning-based approach that directly infers moving objects from latent feature representations via attention mechanisms, thus enabling end-to-end feed-forward motion segmentation. Our key insight is to bypass explicit correspondence estimation and instead let the model learn to implicitly disentangle object and camera motion. Supported by recent advances in 4D scene geometry reconstruction (e.g., $\pi^3$), the proposed method leverages reliable camera poses and rich spatial-temporal priors, which ensure stable training and robust inference for the model. Extensive experiments demonstrate that by eliminating complex pre-processing and iterative refinement, our approach achieves state-of-the-art motion segmentation performance with high efficiency. The code is available at:https://github.com/zjutcvg/GeoMotion.

cs.CV

Constraining the nuclear symmetry energy with electric dipole polarizability and neutron skin characteristics in \texorpdfstring{$^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$}{208Pb} within antisymmetrized molecular dynamics

The electric dipole polarizability $\alpha_D$ and the neutron-skin thickness $\Delta R_{np}$ of $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ are two powerful and clean probes for constraining the symmetry energy at subsaturation densities. Within the framework of the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics (AMD) model, the width of the strength function and its dynamical origins are understood, and the $\alpha_D$ and $\Delta R_{np}$ data favor effective interaction parameter sets with $S_0\approx32$-34 MeV and $L=64$-87 MeV. In addition, our calculations show that the sensitive densities of $\alpha_D$ and $\Delta R_{np}$ range from 0.2$\rho_0$ to 0.57$\rho_0$, and the corresponding values of the symmetry energy at the lower and upper ends of this sensitive density region are $S(0.2\rho_0)=10.18\pm 1.10$ MeV and $S(0.57\rho_0)=22.31\pm 1.32$ MeV.

nucl-th

COMETS: Coordinated Multi-Destination Video Transmission with In-Network Rate Adaptation

Large-scale video streaming events attract millions of simultaneous viewers, stressing existing delivery infrastructures. Client-driven adaptation reacts slowly to shared congestion, while server-based coordination introduces scalability bottlenecks and single points of failure. We present COMETS, a coordinated multi-destination video transmission framework that leverages information-centric networking principles such as request aggregation and in-network state awareness to enable scalable, fair, and adaptive rate control. COMETS introduces a novel range-interest protocol and distributed in-network decision process that aligns video quality across receiver groups while minimizing redundant transmissions. To achieve this, we develop a lightweight distributed optimization framework that guides per-hop quality adaptation without centralized control. Extensive emulation shows that COMETS consistently improves bandwidth utilization, fairness, and user-perceived quality of experience over DASH, MoQ, and ICN baselines, particularly under high concurrency. The results highlight COMETS as a practical, deployable approach for next-generation scalable video delivery.

cs.NI

Multiscale Cross-Modal Mapping of Molecular, Pathologic, and Radiologic Phenotypes in Lipid-Deficient Clear Cell Renal CellCarcinoma

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) exhibits extensive intratumoral heterogeneity on multiple biological scales, contributing to variable clinical outcomes and limiting the effectiveness of conventional TNM staging, which highlights the urgent need for multiscale integrative analytic frameworks. The lipid-deficient de-clear cell differentiated (DCCD) ccRCC subtype, defined by multi-omics analyses, is associated with adverse outcomes even in early-stage disease. Here, we establish a hierarchical cross-scale framework for the preoperative identification of DCCD-ccRCC. At the highest layer, cross-modal mapping transferred molecular signatures to histological and CT phenotypes, establishing a molecular-to-pathology-to-radiology supervisory bridge. Within this framework, each modality-specific model is designed to mirror the inherent hierarchical structure of tumor biology. PathoDCCD captured multi-scale microscopic features, from cellular morphology and tissue architecture to meso-regional organization. RadioDCCD integrated complementary macroscopic information by combining whole-tumor and its habitat-subregions radiomics with a 2D maximal-section heterogeneity metric. These nested models enabled integrated molecular subtype prediction and clinical risk stratification. Across five cohorts totaling 1,659 patients, PathoDCCD reliably recapitulated molecular subtypes, while RadioDCCD provided reliable preoperative prediction. The consistent predictions identified patients with the poorest clinical outcomes. This cross-scale paradigm unifies molecular biology, computational pathology, and quantitative radiology into a biologically grounded strategy for preoperative noninvasive molecular phenotyping of ccRCC.

q-bio.QM

AMP-based Joint Activity Detection and Channel Estimation for Massive Grant-Free Access in OFDM-based Wideband Systems

To realize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based grant-free access for wideband systems under frequency-selective fading, existing device activity detection and channel estimation methods need substantial accuracy improvement or computation time reduction. In this paper, we aim to resolve this issue. First, we present an exact time-domain signal model for OFDM-based grant-free access under frequency-selective fading. Then, we present a maximum a posteriori (MAP)-based device activity detection problem and two minimum mean square error (MMSE)-based channel estimation problems. The MAP-based device activity detection problem and one of the MMSE-based channel estimation problems are formulated for the first time. Next, we build a new factor graph that captures the exact statistics of time-domain channels and device activities. Based on it, we propose two approximate message passing (AMP)-based algorithms, AMP-A-EC and AMP-A-AC, to approximately solve the MAP-based device activity detection problem and two MMSE-based channel estimation problems. Both proposed algorithms alleviate the AMP's inherent convergence problem when the pilot length is smaller or comparable to the number of active devices. Then, we analyze AMP-A-EC's error probability of activity detection and mean square error (MSE) of channel estimation via state evolution and show that AMP-A-AC has the lower computational complexity (in dominant term). Finally, numerical results show the two proposed AMP-based algorithms' superior performance and respective preferable regions, revealing their significant values for OFDM-based grant-free access.

cs.IT

Exact Reformulation and Optimization for Direct Metric Optimization in Binary Imbalanced Classification

For classification with imbalanced class frequencies, i.e., imbalanced classification (IC), standard accuracy is known to be misleading as a performance measure. While most existing methods for IC resort to optimizing balanced accuracy (i.e., the average of class-wise recalls), they fall short in scenarios where the significance of classes varies or certain metrics should reach prescribed levels. In this paper, we study two key classification metrics, precision and recall, under three practical binary IC settings: fix precision optimize recall (FPOR), fix recall optimize precision (FROP), and optimize $F_1$-score (OFOS). Unlike existing methods that rely on smooth approximations to deal with the indicator function involved, we introduce, for the first time, exact constrained reformulations for these direct metric optimization (DMO) problems, which can be effectively solved by exact penalty methods. Experiment results on multiple benchmark datasets demonstrate the practical superiority of our approach over the state-of-the-art methods for the three DMO problems. We also expect our exact reformulation and optimization (ERO) framework to be applicable to a wide range of DMO problems for binary IC and beyond. Our code is available at https://github.com/sun-umn/DMO.

cs.LG

Investigation of the neutron-proton effective mass splitting via heavy ion collisions: Constraints and Implications

The neutron-proton effective mass splitting ($\Delta m^*_{np}$) is investigated through analyses of heavy-ion collisions using the improved quantum molecular dynamics (ImQMD) model with both standard and extended Skyrme interactions. By uncovering the strong correlation between the slope of the neutron-to-proton yield ratio with respect to the kinetic energy (i.e., $S_{n/p} $) and $\Delta m^*_{np}$, we reveal that the constraints of the neutron-proton effective mass splitting via heavy ion collisions depend on the kinetic energy region of the emitted nucleons. At low kinetic energies, the data favor $m_n^*>m_p^*$ which is consistent with the nucleon-nucleus scattering analysis, while at high kinetic energies, they favor $m_n^*<m_p^*$. Our findings partly resolve the longstanding discrepancy in the constraints of neutron-proton effective mass splitting with heavy ion collisions and nucleon-nucleus scattering, and significantly advance the understanding of nucleon effective mass splitting through heavy ion collisions.

nucl-th

An IPCW Adjusted Win Statistics Approach in Clinical Trials Incorporating Equivalence Margins to Define Ties

In clinical trials, multiple outcomes of different priorities commonly occur as the patient's response may not be adequately characterized by a single outcome. Win statistics are appealing summary measures for between-group difference at more than one endpoint. When defining the result of pairwise comparisons of a time-to-event endpoint, it is desirable to allow ties to account for incomplete follow-up and not clinically meaningful difference in endpoints of interest. In this paper, we propose a class of win statistics for time-to-event endpoints with a user-specified equivalence margin. These win statistics are identifiable in the presence of right-censoring and do not depend on the censoring distribution. We then develop estimation and inference procedures for the proposed win statistics based on inverse-probability-of-censoring {weighting} (IPCW) adjustment to handle right-censoring. We conduct extensive simulations to investigate the operational characteristics of the proposed procedure in the finite sample setting. A real oncology trial is used to illustrate the proposed approach.

stat.ME

Subgradient Regularization: A Descent-Oriented Subgradient Method for Nonsmooth Optimization

In nonsmooth optimization, a negative subgradient is not necessarily a descent direction, making the design of convergent descent methods based on zeroth-order and first-order information a challenging task. The well-studied bundle methods and gradient sampling algorithms construct descent directions by aggregating subgradients at nearby points in seemingly different ways, and are often complicated or lack deterministic guarantees. In this work, we identify a unifying principle behind these approaches, and develop a general framework of descent methods under the abstract principle that provably converge to stationary points. Within this framework, we introduce a simple yet effective technique, called subgradient regularization, to generate stable descent directions for a broad class of nonsmooth marginal functions, including finite maxima or minima of smooth functions. When applied to the composition of a convex function with a smooth map, the method naturally recovers the prox-linear method and, as a byproduct, provides a new dual interpretation of this classical algorithm. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our methods on several challenging classes of nonsmooth optimization problems, including the minimization of Nesterov's nonsmooth Chebyshev-Rosenbrock function.

math.OC

Transforming physics-informed machine learning to convex optimization

Physics-Informed Machine Learning (PIML) offers a powerful paradigm of integrating data with physical laws to address important scientific problems, such as parameter estimation, inferring hidden physics, equation discovery, and state prediction, etc. However, PIML still faces many serious optimization challenges that significantly restrict its applications. In this study, we propose a comprehensive framework that transforms PIML to convex optimization to overcome all these limitations, referred to as Convex-PIML. The linear combination of B-splines is utilized to approximate the data, promoting the convexity of the loss function. By replacing the non-convex components of the loss function with convex approximations, the problem is further converted into a sequence of successively refined approximated convex optimization problems. This conversion allows the use of well-established convex optimization algorithms, obtaining solutions effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, an adaptive knot optimization method based on error estimate is introduced to mitigate the spectral bias issue of PIML, further improving the performance. The proposed theoretically guaranteed framework is tested in scenarios with distinct types of physical prior. The results indicate that optimization problems are effectively solved in these scenarios, highlighting the potential of the framework for broad applications.

cs.CE

An effective finite-range Gogny-type interaction for the quantum molecular dynamics like model

In this work, we propose an effective finite-range Gogny-type interaction that can be directly used in the quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) like model. Two methods for determining the parameters of the effective interaction are discussed. The first method establishes an approach to connect the conventional Gogny interaction in nuclear structure to that in heavy-ion collisions, the second method allows for the description of the symmetry energy varying from the supersoft to stiff, as well as the momentum-dependent symmetry potential, exhibiting behaviors ranging from monotonic to non-monotonic variations. This effective interaction opens up opportunities for a deeper understanding of finite-range interactions and non-monotonic momentum-dependent symmetry potentials in future studies.

nucl-th

Bayesian method for quantifying the non-Gaussian fluctuations in low-intermediate energy heavy ion collisions

In this work, we present a model-independent method to quantify the non-Gaussian fluctuations in the observable distributions, which are assessed by the difference between the measured observable distributions and reconstructed observable distributions via the Bayesian method. Our results indicate that the strength of non-Gaussian fluctuation increases with the beam energy, and is primarily driven by non-central collision mechanisms. The experimental measurement of the strength of non-Gaussian fluctuation of the observable distributions will provide valuable insights into understanding the nonequilibrium effects in heavy ion collisions and the liquid-gas phase transition in finite nuclei.

nucl-th

Multispectral radiation temperature inversion based on Transformer-LSTM-SVM

The key challenge in multispectral radiation thermometry is accurately measuring emissivity. Traditional constrained optimization methods often fail to meet practical requirements in terms of precision, efficiency, and noise resistance. However, the continuous advancement of neural networks in data processing offers a potential solution to this issue. This paper presents a multispectral radiation thermometry algorithm that combines Transformer, LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory), and SVM (Support Vector Machine) to mitigate the impact of emissivity, thereby enhancing accuracy and noise resistance. In simulations, compared to the BP neural network algorithm, GIM-LSTM, and Transformer-LSTM algorithms, the Transformer-LSTM-SVM algorithm demonstrates an improvement in accuracy of 1.23%, 0.46% and 0.13%, respectively, without noise. When 5% random noise is added, the accuracy increases by 1.39%, 0.51%, and 0.38%, respectively. Finally, experiments confirmed that the maximum temperature error using this method is less than 1%, indicating that the algorithm offers high accuracy, fast processing speed, and robust noise resistance. These characteristics make it well-suited for real-time high-temperature measurements with multi-wavelength thermometry equipment.

physics.optics

Fast MLE and MAPE-Based Device Activity Detection for Grant-Free Access via PSCA and PSCA-Net

Fast and accurate device activity detection is the critical challenge in grant-free access for supporting massive machine-type communications (mMTC) and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) in 5G and beyond. The state-of-the-art methods have unsatisfactory error rates or computation times. To address these outstanding issues, we propose new maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and maximum a posterior estimation (MAPE) based device activity detection methods for known and unknown pathloss that achieve superior error rate and computation time tradeoffs using optimization and deep learning techniques. Specifically, we investigate four non-convex optimization problems for MLE and MAPE in the two pathloss cases, with one MAPE problem being formulated for the first time. For each non-convex problem, we develop an innovative parallel iterative algorithm using the parallel successive convex approximation (PSCA) method. Each PSCA-based algorithm allows parallel computations, uses up to the objective function's second-order information, converges to the problem's stationary points, and has a low per-iteration computational complexity compared to the state-of-the-art algorithms. Then, for each PSCA-based iterative algorithm, we present a deep unrolling neural network implementation, called PSCA-Net, to further reduce the computation time. Each PSCA-Net elegantly marries the underlying PSCA-based algorithm's parallel computation mechanism with the parallelizable neural network architecture and effectively optimizes its step sizes based on vast data samples to speed up the convergence. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed methods can significantly reduce the error rate and computation time compared to the state-of-the-art methods, revealing their significant values for grant-free access.

math.OC