Reversible and high capacity data hiding in medical images

In this paper we introduce a highly efficient reversible data hiding system. It is based on dividing the image into tiles and shifting the histograms of each image tile between its minimum and maximum frequency. Data are then inserted at the pixel level with the largest frequency to maximize data hiding capacity. It exploits the special properties of medical images, where the histogram of their nonoverlapping image tiles mostly peak around some gray values and the rest of the spectrum is mainlyempty. The zeros (or minima) and peaks (maxima) of the histograms of the image tiles are then relocated to embed the data. The grey values of some pixels are therefore modified.High capacity, high fidelity, reversibility and multiple data insertions are the key requirements of data hiding in medical images. We show how histograms of image tiles of medical images can be exploited to achieve these requirements. Compared with data hiding method applied to the whole image, our scheme can result in 30%-200% capacity improvement and still with better image quality, depending on the medical image content. Additional advantages of the proposed method include hiding data in the regions of non-interest and better exploitation of spatial masking.

A novel semi-fragile forensic watermarking scheme for remote sensing images

Peer-reviewed

High capacity robust audio watermarking scheme based on FFT and linear regression

Peer-reviewed

A robust audio watermarking scheme based on MPEG 1 Layer 3 Compression

This paper describes an audio watermarking scheme based on lossy compression. The main idea is taken from an image watermarking approach where the JPEG compression algorithm is used to determine where and how the mark should be placed. Similarly, in the audio scheme suggested in this paper, an MPEG 1 Layer 3 algorithm is chosen for compression to determine the position of the mark bits and, thus, the psychoacoustic masking of the MPEG 1 Layer 3compression is implicitly used. This methodology provides with a high robustness degree against compression attacks. The suggested scheme is also shown to succeed against most of the StirMark benchmark attacks for audio.

Clinical relevance of L-carnitine-supplemented total parenteral nutrition in postoperative trauma. Metabolic effects of continuous or acute carnitine administration with special reference to fat oxidation and nitrogen utilization.

Carnitine-free total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is claimed to result in a carnitine deficiency with subsequent impairment of fat oxidation. The present study was designed to evaluate the possible benefit of carnitine supplementation on postoperative fat and nitrogen utilization. Sixteen patients undergoing total esophagectomy were evenly randomized and received TPN without or with L-carnitine supplementation (74 mumol.kg-1.d-1) during 11 postoperative days. On day 11, a 4-h infusion of L-carnitine (125 mumol/kg) was performed in both groups. The effect of supplementation was evaluated by indirect calorimetry, N balance, and repeated measurements of plasma lipids and ketone bodies. Irrespective of continuous or acute supplementation, respiratory quotient and fat oxidation were similarly maintained throughout the study in both groups whereas N balance appeared to be more favorable without carnitine. We conclude that carnitine-supplemented TPN does not improve fat oxidation or promote N utilization in the postoperative phase.

Ammattiosaamisennäytöt ja työssäoppiminen toisen asteen koulutuksessa

Opetusviranomaiset ovat pohtineet keinoja nuorisoasteen (toisen asteen) ammatillisen koulutuksen laadun varmistamiseksi, kehittämiseksi ja kilpailukyvyn parantamiseksi. Yhtenä tällaisena keinona on tuotettu työssä oppimisjärjestelmä ja siihen on liitetty elokuusta 2006 alkaen ammattiosaamisen näytöt. Näyttöjen perustana on laki ammatillisesta koulutuksesta. Opiskelija osoittaa ammattiosaamistaan näytöissä opiskelusuunnitelmaan sisältyviä työtehtäviä tehden. Kolmivuotiseen (120 ov) perustutkinnon koulutukseen sisältyy työssäoppimista vähintään 20 ov. Näytöt pyritään järjestämään työssäoppimisen yhteydesssä opiskelijoiden työssäoppimispaikoilla. Arvioinnin ja palautteen osuus on tärkeä ja siinä mukana opiskelija, työpaikkaohjaaja ja opettaja. Tässä työssä on tuotettu yleinen toimintamalli näyttöjen toteuttamiseksityössäoppimisen yhteydessä. Toisena on tuotettu alueellinen vastaava toimintamalli oppilaitostasolle kone- ja metallialalle. Mallissa on huomioitu alueen teollisuuden erityispiirteet. Edellisten lisäksi on myös tuotettu toimintamalli oppilaitoskohtaisesta soveltamisesta näyttöjen toteuttamiseen kone- ja metallialalla yksilötasolle saakka. Järjestelmän käyttöönotto eri toimijoiden kesken on käynnistynyt. Sen onnistunut toteutus vaatii jatkuvaa innovatiivisuutta ja taloudellisia resursseja jokaisen siihen osallistuvan tahon osalta. Tällöin on saavutettavissa uudistuksen tarkoitus: koulutuksen laadun konkreettinen varmistaminen ja kehittäminen.

Special commentary : a call for intensive metabolic support.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This special commentary addresses recent clinical reviews regarding appropriate nutrition and metabolic support in the critical care setting. RECENT FINDINGS: There are divergent approaches between North America and Europe for the use of early nutrition support and combined enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition support possibly due to the commercial availability of specific parenteral nutrients. The advent of intensive insulin therapy has changed the landscape of metabolic support in the intensive care unit, and previous notions about infective risk of parenteral nutrition will need to be re-addressed. Patients with brain failure may benefit from an intensive insulin therapy with a blood glucose target that is higher than that used in patients without brain failure. Patients with heart failure may benefit from the addition of nutritional pharmacology that targets proximate oxidative pathophysiological pathways. Intradialytic parenteral nutrition may be viewed as another form of supplemental parenteral nutrition when enteral nutrition is insufficient in patients on hemodialysis in the intensive care unit. SUMMARY: It is proposed that intensive metabolic support be routinely implemented in the intensive care unit based on the following steps: intensive insulin therapy with an appropriate blood glucose target, nutrition risk assessment, early and if needed combined enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition to target 20-25 kcal/kg/day and 1.2-1.5 g protein/kg/day, and nutritional and metabolic monitoring.

Physiopathology of the embryonic heart (with special emphasis on hypoxia and reoxygenation).

The adaptative response of the developing heart to adverse intrauterine environment such as reduced O2 delivery can result in alteration of gene expression with short- and long-term consequences including adult cardiovascular diseases. The tolerance of the developing heart of acute or chronic oxygen deprivation, its capacity to recover during reperfusion and the mechanisms involved in reoxygenation injury are still under debate. Indeed, the pattern of response of the immature myocardium to hypoxia-reoxygenation differs from that of the adult. This review deals with the structural and metabolic characteristics of the embryonic heart and the functional consequences of hypoxia and reoxygenation. The relative contribution of calcium and sodium overload, pH disturbances and oxidant stress to the hypoxia-induced cardiac dysfunction is examined, as well as various cellular signaling pathways (e.g. MAP kinases) involved in cell survival or death. In the context of the recent advances in developmental cardiology and fetal cardiac surgery, a better understanding of the physiopathology of the stressed developing heart is required.

Converter-flux-based current control of voltage source PWM rectifiers - analysis and implementation

Pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) rectifier technology is increasingly used in industrial applications like variable-speed motor drives, since it offers several desired features such as sinusoidal input currents, controllable power factor, bidirectional power flow and high quality DC output voltage. To achieve these features,however, an effective control system with fast and accurate current and DC voltage responses is required. From various control strategies proposed to meet these control objectives, in most cases the commonly known principle of the synchronous-frame current vector control along with some space-vector PWM scheme have been applied. Recently, however, new control approaches analogous to the well-established direct torque control (DTC) method for electrical machines have also emerged to implement a high-performance PWM rectifier. In this thesis the concepts of classical synchronous-frame current control and DTC-based PWM rectifier control are combined and a new converter-flux-based current control (CFCC) scheme is introduced. To achieve sufficient dynamic performance and to ensure a stable operation, the proposed control system is thoroughly analysed and simple rules for the controller design are suggested. Special attention is paid to the estimationof the converter flux, which is the key element of converter-flux-based control. Discrete-time implementation is also discussed. Line-voltage-sensorless reactive reactive power control methods for the L- and LCL-type line filters are presented. For the L-filter an open-loop control law for the d-axis current referenceis proposed. In the case of the LCL-filter the combined open-loop control and feedback control is proposed. The influence of the erroneous filter parameter estimates on the accuracy of the developed control schemes is also discussed. A newzero vector selection rule for suppressing the zero-sequence current in parallel-connected PWM rectifiers is proposed. With this method a truly standalone and independent control of the converter units is allowed and traditional transformer isolation and synchronised-control-based solutions are avoided. The implementation requires only one additional current sensor. The proposed schemes are evaluated by the simulations and laboratory experiments. A satisfactory performance and good agreement between the theory and practice are demonstrated.

Collaborative explicit plasticity framework: a conceptual scheme for the generation of plastic and group-aware user interfaces

The advent of new advances in mobile computing has changed the manner we do our daily work, even enabling us to perform collaborative activities. However, current groupware approaches do not offer an integrating and efficient solution that jointly tackles the flexibility and heterogeneity inherent to mobility as well as the awareness aspects intrinsic to collaborative environments. Issues related to the diversity of contexts of use are collected under the term plasticity. A great amount of tools have emerged offering a solution to some of these issues, although always focused on individual scenarios. We are working on reusing and specializing some already existing plasticity tools to the groupware design. The aim is to offer the benefits from plasticity and awareness jointly, trying to reach a real collaboration and a deeper understanding of multi-environment groupware scenarios. In particular, this paper presents a conceptual framework aimed at being a reference for the generation of plastic User Interfaces for collaborative environments in a systematic and comprehensive way. Starting from a previous conceptual framework for individual environments, inspired on the model-based approach, we introduce specific components and considerations related to groupware.

1809 års riksgräns emellan Sverige och Ryssland Jemte special öfver trackten kring Torneå stad - 1

S.l. 1809 (?), Grav. af L.E. Personns