Progressive Audio Scrambling in Compressed Domain

Audio scrambling can be employed to ensure confidentiality in audio distribution. We first describe scrambling for raw audio using the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) first and then focus on MP3 audio scrambling. We perform scrambling based on a set of keys which allows for a set of audio outputs having different qualities. During descrambling, the number of keys provided and the number of rounds of descrambling performed will decide the audio output quality. We also perform scrambling by using multiple keys on the MP3 audio format. With a subset of keys, we can descramble to obtain a low quality audio. However, we can obtain the original quality audio by using all of the keys. Our experiments show that the proposed algorithms are effective, fast, simple to implement while providing flexible control over the progressive quality of the audio output. The security level provided by the scheme is sufficient for protecting MP3 music content.

A time-domain approach to the analysis and modeling of on-body propagation characteristics using synchronized measurements at 2.45 GHz

Modeling of on-body propagation channels is of paramount importance to those wishing to evaluate radio channel performance for wearable devices in body area networks (BANs). Difficulties in modeling arise due to the highly variable channel conditions related to changes in the user's state and local environment. This study characterizes these influences by using time-series analysis to examine and model signal characteristics for on-body radio channels in user stationary and mobile scenarios in four different locations: anechoic chamber, open office area, hallway, and outdoor environment. Autocorrelation and cross-correlation functions are reported and shown to be dependent on body state and surroundings. Autoregressive (AR) transfer functions are used to perform time-series analysis and develop models for fading in various on-body links. Due to the non-Gaussian nature of the logarithmically transformed observed signal envelope in the majority of mobile user states, a simple method for reproducing the failing based on lognormal and Nakagami statistics is proposed. The validity of the AR models is evaluated using hypothesis testing, which is based on the Ljung-Box statistic, and the estimated distributional parameters of the simulator output compared with those from experimental results.

The influence of Notches on Domain Dynamics in Ferroelectric Nanowires

The extent to which notches inhibit axial switching of polarization in ferroelectric nanowires was investigated by monitoring the switching behavior of single crystal BaTiO(3) wires before and after patterning triangular notches along their lengths. Static zero-field domain patterns suggested a strong domain-notch interaction, implying that notches should act as pinning sites for domain wall propagation. Surprisingly though, notches appeared to assist, rather than inhibit, polar switching. The origin of this effect was rationalized using finite element modeling of the electric field distribution along the notched wire; it was found that the air gap associated with the notch acted to enhance the local field, both in the air, and in the adjacent region of the ferroelectric. It seems that this local field enhancement outweighs any pinning interactions.

The Effect of Antinotches on Domain Wall Mobility in Single Crystal Ferroelectric Nanowires

Changes in domain wall mobility, caused by the presence of antinotches in single crystal BaTiO3 nanowires, have been investigated. While antinotches appeared to cause a slight broadening in the distribution of switching events, observed as a function of applied electric field (inferred from capacitance-voltage measurements), the effect was often subtle. Greater clarity of information was obtained from Rayleigh analysis of the capacitance variation with ac field amplitude. Here the magnitude of the domain wall mobility parameter (R) associated with irreversible wall movements was found to be reduced by the presence of antinotches - an effect which became more noticeable on heating toward the Curie temperature. The reduction in this domain wall mobility was contrasted with the noticeable enhancement found previously in ferroelectric wires with notches. Finite element modeling of the electric field, developed in the nanowires during switching, revealed regions of increased and decreased local field at the center of the notch and antinotch structures, respectively; the absolute magnitude of field enhancement in the notch centers was considerably greater than the field reduction in the center of the antinotches and this was commensurate with the manner in, and degree to, which domain wall mobility appeared to be affected. We therefore conclude that the main mechanism by which morphology alters the irreversible component of the domain wall mobility in ferroelectric wire structures is via the manner in which morphological variations alter the spatial distribution of the electric field.

Domain Bundle Boundaries in Single Crystal BaTiO3 Lamellae: Searching for Naturally Forming Dipole Flux-Closure / Quadrupole Chains

Naturally occurring boundaries between bundles of 90o stripe domains, which form in BaTiO3 lamellae on cooling through the Curie Temperature, have been characterised using both piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Detailed interpretation of the dipole configurations present at these boundaries (using data taken from PFM) shows that, in the vast majority of cases, they are composed of simple zigzag 180° domain walls. Topological information from STEM shows that, occasionally, domain bundle boundaries can support chains of dipole flux closure and quadrupole nanostructures, but these kinds of boundaries are comparatively rare; when such chains do exist, it is notable that singularities at the cores of the dipole structures are avoided. The symmetry of the boundary shows that diads and centres of inversion exist at positions where core singularities should have been expected.

Introduction to Domain-Driven Data Mining Special Section

In the last decade, data mining has emerged as one of the most dynamic and lively areas in information technology. Although many algorithms and techniques for data mining have been proposed, they either focus on domain independent techniques or on very specific domain problems. A general requirement in bridging the gap between academia and business is to cater to general domain-related issues surrounding real-life applications, such as constraints, organizational factors, domain expert knowledge, domain adaption, and operational knowledge. Unfortunately, these either have not been addressed, or have not been sufficiently addressed, in current data mining research and development.Domain-Driven Data Mining (D3M) aims to develop general principles, methodologies, and techniques for modeling and merging comprehensive domain-related factors and synthesized ubiquitous intelligence surrounding problem domains with the data mining process, and discovering knowledge to support business decision-making. This paper aims to report original, cutting-edge, and state-of-the-art progress in D3M. It covers theoretical and applied contributions aiming to: 1) propose next-generation data mining frameworks and processes for actionable knowledge discovery, 2) investigate effective (automated, human and machine-centered and/or human-machined-co-operated) principles and approaches for acquiring, representing, modelling, and engaging ubiquitous intelligence in real-world data mining, and 3) develop workable and operational systems balancing technical significance and applications concerns, and converting and delivering actionable knowledge into operational applications rules to seamlessly engage application processes and systems.

Novel Venom Proteins Produced by Differential Domain-Expression Strategies in Beaded Lizards and Gila Monsters (genus Heloderma)

The origin and evolution of venom proteins in helodermatid lizards were investigated by multidisciplinary techniques. Our analyses elucidated novel toxin types resultant from three unique domain-expression processes: 1) The first full-length sequences of lethal toxin isoforms (helofensins) revealed this toxin type to be constructed by an ancestral monodomain, monoproduct gene (beta-defensin) that underwent three tandem domain duplications to encode a tetradomain, monoproduct with a possible novel protein fold; 2) an ancestral monodomain gene (encoding a natriuretic peptide) was medially extended to become a pentadomain, pentaproduct through the additional encoding of four tandemly repeated proline-rich peptides (helokinestatins), with the five discrete peptides liberated from each other by posttranslational proteolysis; and 3) an ancestral multidomain, multiproduct gene belonging to the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)/glucagon family being mutated to encode for a monodomain, monoproduct (exendins) followed by duplication and diversification into two variant classes (exendins 1 and 2 and exendins 3 and 4). Bioactivity characterization of exendin and helokinestatin elucidated variable cardioactivity between isoforms within each class. These results highlight the importance of utilizing evolutionary-based search strategies for biodiscovery and the virtually unexplored potential of lizard venoms in drug design and discovery.

A Low Complexity Video Watermarking in H.264 Compressed Domain

In this paper, a new blind and readable H.264 compressed domain watermarking scheme is proposed in which the embedding/extracting is performed using the syntactic elements of the compressed bit stream. As a result, it is not necessary to fully decode a compressed video stream both in the embedding and extracting processes. The method also presents an inexpensive spatiotemporal analysis that selects the appropriate submacroblocks for embedding, increasing watermark robustness while reducing its impact on visual quality. Meanwhile, the proposed method prevents bit-rate increase and restricts it within an acceptable limit by selecting appropriate quantized residuals for watermark insertion. Regarding watermarking demands such as imperceptibility, bit-rate control, and appropriate level of security, a priority matrix is defined which can be adjusted based on the application requirements. The resulted flexibility expands the usability of the proposed method.

SVD-Based Universal Spatial Domain Image Steganalysis

This paper is concerned with the universal (blind) image steganalysis problem and introduces a novel method to detect especially spatial domain steganographic methods. The proposed steganalyzer models linear dependencies of image rows/columns in local neighborhoods using singular value decomposition transform and employs content independency provided by a Wiener filtering process. Experimental results show that the novel method has superior performance when compared with its counterparts in terms of spatial domain steganography. Experiments also demonstrate the reasonable ability of the method to detect discrete cosine transform-based steganography as well as the perturbation quantization method.

Time domain wave separation using multiple microphones

Methods of measuring the acoustic behavior of tubular systems can be broadly characterized as steady state measurements, where the measured signals are analyzed in terms of infinite duration sinusoids, and reflectometry measurements which exploit causality to separate the forward and backward going waves in a duct. This paper sets out a multiple microphone reflectometry technique which performs wave separation by using time domain convolution to track the forward and backward going waves in a cylindrical source tube. The current work uses two calibration runs (one for forward going waves and one for backward going waves) to measure the time domain transfer functions for each pair of microphones. These time domain transfer functions encode the time delay, frequency dependent losses and microphone gain ratios for travel between microphones. This approach is applied to the measurement of wave separation, bore profile and input impedance. The work differs from existing frequency domain methods in that it combines the information of multiple microphones within a time domain algorithm, and differs from existing time domain methods in its inclusion of the effect of losses and gain ratios in intermicrophone transfer functions.