Abstract: In this paper, we propose ablock-wise watermarking scheme for color image authentication to resist malicious tampering of digital media. The thresholding technique is incorporated into the scheme such that the tampered region of the color image can be recovered with high quality while the proofing result is obtained. The watermark for each block consists of its dual authentication data and the corresponding feature information. The feature information for recovery iscomputed bythe thresholding technique. In the proofing process, we propose a dual-option parity check method to proof the validity of image blocks. In the recovery process, the feature information of each block embedded into the color image is rebuilt for high quality recovery. The simulation results show that the proposed watermarking scheme can effectively proof the tempered region with high detection rate and can recover the tempered region with high quality.
Abstract: The quantitative determination of several trace
elements (Cr, As, Se, Cd, Hg, Pb) existing as inorganic impurities in
some oriental herb-products such as Lingzhi Mushroom capsules,
Philamin powder, etc using ICP-MS has been studied. Various
instrumental parameters such as power, gas flow rate, sample depth, as
well as the concentration of nitric acid and thick background due to
high concentration of possible interferences on the determination of
these above-mentioned elements was investigated and the optimum
working conditions of the sample measurement on ICP-MS
(Agilent-7500a) were reported. Appropriate isotope internal standards
were also used to improve the accuracy of mercury determination.
Optimal parameters for sampling digestion were also investigated. The
recovery of analytical procedure was examined by using a Certified
Reference Material (IAEA-CRM 359). The recommended procedure
was then applied for the quantitative determination of Cr, As, Se, Cd,
Hg, Pb in Lingzhi Mushroom capsule, and Philamine powder samples.
The reproducibility of sample measurement (average value between
94 and 102%) and the uncertainty of analytical data (less than 20%)
are acceptable.
Abstract: In this paper we present a combined
hashing/watermarking method for image authentication. A robust
image hash, invariant to legitimate modifications, but fragile to
illegitimate modifications is generated from the local image
characteristics. To increase security of the system the watermark is
generated using the image hash as a key. Quantized Index
Modulation of DCT coefficients is used for watermark embedding.
Watermark detection is performed without use of the original image.
Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented
method in terms of robustness and fragility.
Abstract: This research study the application of the immobilized
TiO2 layer and Cu-TiO2 layer on graphite substrate as a negative
electrode or anode for Li-ion battery. The titania layer was produced
through chemical bath deposition method, meanwhile Cu particles
were deposited electrochemically. A material can be used as an
electrode as it has capability to intercalates Li ions into its crystal
structure. The Li intercalation into TiO2/Graphite and Cu-
TiO2/Graphite were analyzed from the changes of its XRD pattern
after it was used as electrode during discharging process. The XRD
patterns were refined by Le Bail method in order to determine the
crystal structure of the prepared materials. A specific capacity and the
cycle ability measurement were carried out to study the performance
of the prepared materials as negative electrode of the Li-ion battery.
The specific capacity was measured during discharging process from
fully charged until the cut off voltage. A 300 was used as a load.
The result shows that the specific capacity of Li-ion battery with
TiO2/Graphite as negative electrode is 230.87 ± 1.70mAh.g-1 which is
higher than the specific capacity of Li-ion battery with pure graphite
as negative electrode, i.e 140.75 ±0.46mAh.g-1. Meanwhile
deposition of Cu onto TiO2 layer does not increase the specific
capacity, and the value even lower than the battery with
TiO2/Graphite as electrode. The cycle ability of the prepared battery
is only two cycles, due to the Li ribbon which was used as cathode
became fragile and easily broken.
Abstract: Many companies have switched their processes to project-oriented in the last years. This brings new possibilities and effectiveness not only in the field of external processes connected with the product delivery but also the internal processes as well. However centralized project organization which is based on the role of project manager in the team has proved insufficient in some cases. Agile methods of project organization are trying to solve this problem by bringing new view on the project organization, roles, processes and competences. Scrum is one of these methods which builds on the principles of knowledge management to drive the project to effectiveness from all view angles. Using this method to organize internal and delivery projects helps the organization to create and share knowledge throughout the company. It also supports forming unique competences of individuals and project teams and drives innovations in the company.
Abstract: In this paper, a semi-fragile watermarking scheme is proposed for color image authentication. In this particular scheme, the color image is first transformed from RGB to YST color space, suitable for watermarking the color media. Each channel is divided into 4×4 non-overlapping blocks and its each 2×2 sub-block is selected. The embedding space is created by setting the two LSBs of selected sub-block to zero, which will hold the authentication and recovery information. For verification of work authentication and parity bits denoted by 'a' & 'p' are computed for each 2×2 subblock. For recovery, intensity mean of each 2×2 sub-block is computed and encoded upto six to eight bits depending upon the channel selection. The size of sub-block is important for correct localization and fast computation. For watermark distribution 2DTorus Automorphism is implemented using a private key to have a secure mapping of blocks. The perceptibility of watermarked image is quite reasonable both subjectively and objectively. Our scheme is oblivious, correctly localizes the tampering and able to recovery the original work with probability of near one.
Abstract: This paper describes the two actual tendencies in the
software development process usage: 'Scrum' and 'work in home
office'. It-s exposed the four main challenges to adopt Scrum
framework for distributed teams in this cited kind of work. The
challenges are mainly based on the communication problems due
distances since the Scrum encourages the team to work together in
the same room, and this is not possible when people work distributed
in their homes.
Abstract: The aim of every software product is to achieve an
appropriate level of software quality. Developers and designers are
trying to produce readable, reliable, maintainable, reusable and
testable code. To help achieve these goals, several approaches have
been utilized. In this paper, refactoring technique was used to
evaluate software quality with a quality index. It is composed of
different metric sets which describes various quality aspects.
Abstract: Groundwater is an essential and vital component of our life support system. The groundwater resources are being utilized for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes. There is growing concern on deterioration of groundwater quality due to geogenic and anthropogenic activities. Groundwater, being a fragile must be carefully managed to maintain its purity within standard limits. So, quality assessment and management are to be carried out hand-in-hand to have a pollution free environment and for a sustainable use. In order to assess the quality for consumption by human beings and for use in agriculture, the groundwater from the shallow aquifers (dug well) in the Palakkad and Chittur taluks of Bharathapuzha river basin - a paddy dominated agricultural basin (order=8th; L= 209 Km; Area = 6186 Km2), Kerala, India, has been selected. The water samples (n= 120) collected for various seasons, viz., monsoon-MON (August, 2005), postmonsoon-POM (December, 2005) and premonsoon-PRM (April, 2006), were analyzed for important physico-chemical attributes. Spatial and temporal variation of attributes do exist in the study area, and based on major cations and anions, different hydrochemical facies have been identified. Using Gibbs'diagram, rock dominance has been identified as the mechanism controlling groundwater chemistry. Further, the suitability of water for irrigation was determined by analyzing salinity hazard indicated by sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and sodium percent (%Na). Finally, stress zones in the study area were delineated using Arc GIS spatial analysis and various management options were recommended to restore the ecosystem.
Abstract: The aged are faced with increasing risk for falls. The
aged have the easily fragile bones than others. When falls have
occurred, it is important to detect this emergency state because such
events often lead to more serious illness or even death. A
implementation of PDA system, for detection of emergency situation,
was developed using 3-axis accelerometer in this paper as follows.
The signals were acquired from the 3-axis accelerometer, and then
transmitted to the PDA through Bluetooth module. This system can
classify the human activity, and also detect the emergency state like
falls. When the fall occurs, the system generates the alarm on the
PDA. If a subject does not respond to the alarm, the system determines
whether the current situation is an emergency state or not, and then
sends some information to the emergency center in the case of urgent
situation. Three different studies were conducted on 12 experimental
subjects, with results indicating a good accuracy. The first study was
performed to detect the posture change of human daily activity. The
second study was performed to detect the correct direction of fall. The
third study was conducted to check the classification of the daily
physical activity. Each test was lasted at least 1 min. in third study.
The output of acceleration signal was compared and evaluated by
changing a various posture after attaching a 3-axis accelerometer
module on the chest. The newly developed system has some important
features such as portability, convenience and low cost. One of the
main advantages of this system is that it is available at home
healthcare environment. Another important feature lies in low cost to
manufacture device. The implemented system can detect the fall
accurately, so will be widely used in emergency situation.
Abstract: Authentication of multimedia contents has gained much attention in recent times. In this paper, we propose a secure semi-fragile watermarking, with a choice of two watermarks to be embedded. This technique operates in integer wavelet domain and makes use of semi fragile watermarks for achieving better robustness. A self-recovering algorithm is employed, that hides the image digest into some Wavelet subbands to detect possible malevolent object manipulation undergone by the image (object replacing and/or deletion). The Semi-fragility makes the scheme tolerant for JPEG lossy compression as low as quality of 70%, and locate the tempered area accurately. In addition, the system ensures more security because the embedded watermarks are protected with private keys. The computational complexity is reduced using parameterized integer wavelet transform. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme guarantees the safety of watermark, image recovery and location of the tempered area accurately.
Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding
RNAs that hybridize to mRNAs and induce either translation
repression or mRNA cleavage. Recently, it has been reported that
miRNAs could possibly play an important role in human diseases. By
integrating miRNA target genes, cancer genes, miRNA and mRNA
expression profiles information, a database is developed to link
miRNAs to cancer target genes. The database provides experimentally
verified human miRNA target genes information, including oncogenes
and tumor suppressor genes. In addition, fragile sites information for
miRNAs, and the strength of the correlation of miRNA and its target
mRNA expression level for nine tissue types are computed, which
serve as an indicator for suggesting miRNAs could play a role in
human cancer. The database is freely accessible at
http://ppi.bioinfo.asia.edu.tw/mirna_target/index.html.
Abstract: Having a very many number of pipelines all over the
country, Iran is one of the countries consists of various ecosystems
with variable degrees of fragility and robusticity as well as
geographical conditions. This study presents a state-of-the-art method
to estimate environmental risks of pipelines by recommending
rational equations including FES, URAS, SRS, RRS, DRS, LURS
and IRS as well as FRS to calculate the risks. This study was carried
out by a relative semi-quantitative approach based on land uses and
HVAs (High-Value Areas). GIS as a tool was used to create proper
maps regarding the environmental risks, land uses and distances. The
main logic for using the formulas was the distance-based approaches
and ESI as well as intersections. Summarizing the results of the
study, a risk geographical map based on the ESIs and final risk score
(FRS) was created. The study results showed that the most sensitive
and so of high risk area would be an area comprising of mangrove
forests located in the pipeline neighborhood. Also, salty lands were
the most robust land use units in the case of pipeline failure
circumstances. Besides, using a state-of-the-art method, it showed
that mapping the risks of pipelines out with the applied method is of
more reliability and convenience as well as relative
comprehensiveness in comparison to present non-holistic methods for
assessing the environmental risks of pipelines. The focus of the
present study is “assessment" than that of “management". It is
suggested that new policies are to be implemented to reduce the
negative effects of the pipeline that has not yet been constructed
completely
Abstract: In this paper, a fragile watermarking scheme is proposed for color image specified object-s authentication. The color image is first transformed from RGB to YST color space, suitable for watermarking the color media. The T channel corresponds to the chrominance component of a color image andYS ÔèÑ T , therefore selected for embedding the watermark. The T channel is first divided into 2×2 non-overlapping blocks and the two LSBs are set to zero. The object that is to be authenticated is also divided into 2×2 nonoverlapping blocks and each block-s intensity mean is computed followed by eight bit encoding. The generated watermark is then embedded into T channel randomly selected 2×2 block-s LSBs using 2D-Torus Automorphism. Selection of block size is paramount for exact localization and recovery of work. The proposed scheme is blind, efficient and secure with ability to detect and locate even minor tampering applied to the image with full recovery of original work. The quality of watermarked media is quite high both subjectively and objectively. The technique is suitable for class of images with format such as gif, tif or bitmap.
Abstract: Due to the high increase in and demand for a wide assortment of applications that require low-cost, high-efficiency, and compact systems, RF power amplifiers are considered the most critical design blocks and power consuming components in wireless communication, TV transmission, radar, and RF heating. Therefore, much research has been carried out in order to improve the performance of power amplifiers. Classes-A, B, C, D, E and F are the main techniques for realizing power amplifiers.
An implementation of high efficiency class-F power amplifier with Gallium Nitride (GaN) High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) was realized in this paper. The simulation and optimization of the class-F power amplifier circuit model was undertaken using Agilent’s Advanced Design system (ADS). The circuit was designed using lumped elements.
Abstract: This paper explains the cause of nonlinearity in floor
attenuation hither to left unexplained. The performance degradation
occurring in air interface for GSM signals is quantitatively analysed
using the concept of Radiating Columns of buildings. The signal
levels were measured using Wireless Network Optimising Drive Test
Tool (E6474A of Agilent Technologies). The measurements were
taken in reflected signal environment under usual fading conditions
on actual GSM signals radiated from base stations. A mathematical
model is derived from the measurements to predict the GSM signal
levels in different floors. It was applied on three buildings and found
that the predicted signal levels deviated from the measured levels
with in +/- 2 dB for all floors. It is more accurate than the prediction
models based on Floor Attenuation Factor. It can be used for
planning proper indoor coverage in multi storey buildings.
Abstract: In this paper, a Smart Home Service Robot, McBot II,
which performs mess-cleanup function etc. in house, is designed much
more optimally than other service robots. It is newly developed in
much more practical system than McBot I which we had developed
two years ago. One characteristic attribute of mobile platforms
equipped with a set of dependent wheels is their omni- directionality
and the ability to realize complex translational and rotational
trajectories for agile navigation in door. An accurate coordination of
steering angle and spinning rate of each wheel is necessary for a
consistent motion. This paper develops trajectory controller of
3-wheels omni-directional mobile robot using fuzzy azimuth estimator.
A specialized anthropomorphic robot manipulator which can be
attached to the housemaid robot McBot II, is developed in this paper.
This built-in type manipulator consists of both arms with 3 DOF
(Degree of Freedom) each and both hands with 3 DOF each. The
robotic arm is optimally designed to satisfy both the minimum
mechanical size and the maximum workspace. Minimum mass and
length are required for the built-in cooperated-arms system. But that
makes the workspace so small. This paper proposes optimal design
method to overcome the problem by using neck joint to move the arms
horizontally forward/backward and waist joint to move them
vertically up/down. The robotic hand, which has two fingers and a
thumb, is also optimally designed in task-based concept. Finally, the
good performance of the developed McBot II is confirmed through
live tests of the mess-cleanup task.
Abstract: Business transformation initiatives are required by
any organization to jump from its normal mode of operation to the
one that is suitable for the change in the environment such as
competitive pressures, regulatory requirements, changes in labor
market, etc., or internal such as changes in strategy/vision, changes in
the capability, change in the management, etc. Recent advances in
information technology in automating the business processes have
the potential to transform an organization to provide it with a
sustained competitive advantage. Process constitutes the skeleton of
a business. Thus, for a business to exist and compete well, it is
essential for the skeleton to be robust and agile. This paper details
“transformation" from a business perspective, methodologies to bring
about an effective transformation, process-based transformation, and
the role of services computing in this. Further, it details the benefits
that could be achieved through services computing.