Digital image watermarking: its formal model, fundamental properties and possible attacks

While formal definitions and security proofs are well established in some fields like cryptography and steganography, they are not as evident in digital watermarking research. A systematic development of watermarking schemes is desirable, but at present their development is usually informal, ad hoc, and omits the complete realization of application scenarios. This practice not only hinders the choice and use of a suitable scheme for a watermarking application, but also leads to debate about the state-of-the-art for different watermarking applications. With a view to the systematic development of watermarking schemes, we present a formal generic model for digital image watermarking. Considering possible inputs, outputs, and component functions, the initial construction of a basic watermarking model is developed further to incorporate the use of keys. On the basis of our proposed model, fundamental watermarking properties are defined and their importance exemplified for different image applications. We also define a set of possible attacks using our model showing different winning scenarios depending on the adversary capabilities. It is envisaged that with a proper consideration of watermarking properties and adversary actions in different image applications, use of the proposed model would allow a unified treatment of all practically meaningful variants of watermarking schemes.

Decomposition of the environmental Kuznets curve : scale, technique, and composition effects

This study decomposed the determinants of environmental quality into scale, technique, and composition effects. We applied a semiparametric method of generalized additive models, which enabled us to use flexible functional forms and include several independent variables in the model. The differences in the technique effect were found to play a crucial role in reducing pollution. We found that the technique effect was sufficient to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. On the other hand, its effect was not enough to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy use, except for the case of CO2 emissions in high-income countries.

Ongoing Adaptation as a Feature of Complexity : Further Thoughts and Possible Ideas for Pedagogy in Physical Activity

This chapter takes as its central premise the human capacity to adapt to changing environments. It is an idea that is central to complexity theory but receives only modest attention in relation to learning. To do this we will draw from a range of fields and then consider some recent research in motor control that may extend the discussion in ways not yet considered, but that will build on advances already made within pedagogy and motor control synergies. Recent work in motor control indicates that humans have far greater capacity to adapt to the ‘product space’ than was previously thought, mainly through fast heuristics and on-line corrections. These are changes that can be made in real (movement) time and are facilitated by what are referred to as ‘feed-forward’ mechanisms that take advantage of ultra-fast ways of recognizing the likely outcomes of our movements and using this as a source of feedback. We conclude by discussing some possible ideas for pedagogy within the sport and physical activity domains, the implications of which would require a rethink on how motor skill learning opportunities might best be facilitated.

Low-temperature and high-pressure Raman and x-ray studies of pyrochlore Tb2Ti2O7: Phonon anomalies and possible phase transition

We have carried out temperature- and pressure-dependent Raman and x-ray measurements on single crystals of Tb2Ti2O7. We attribute the observed anomalous temperature dependence of phonons to phonon-phonon anharmonic interactions. The quasiharmonic and anharmonic contributions to the temperature-dependent changes in phonon frequencies are estimated quantitatively using mode Grüneisen parameters derived from pressure-dependent Raman experiments and bulk modulus from high-pressure x-ray measurements. Further, our Raman and x-ray data suggest a subtle structural deformation of the pyrochlore lattice at ~9 GPa. We discuss possible implications of our results on the spin-liquid behavior of Tb2Ti2O7.

Developments in phosphine resistance in China and possible implications for Australia

Resistance to phosphine was characterised in strains of rice weevil, Sirophilus oryzae, and the psocids Liposcelis entomophila and L. decolor from China and Australia. Mixed-age cultures (containing all life stages) of insects were tested using a flow-through apparatus. The criterion of response was 'time to population extinction' defined as the exposure period, in days, at which 100% mortality of adults and no live progeny were achieved. Chinese S. oryzae took 11 and 7 days for population extinction at 200 and 700 ppm phosphine, respectively, compared with the Australian strain, which was controlled in 7 and 5 days, respectively. Similarly, the Chinese strains L. Enfornophila and L. decolor were generally more difficult to control than the corresponding Australian strains. The Chinese strains of L. decolor showed resistance levels stronger than any grain storage insect pest species so far detected in Australia. This research allows us to evaluate the likely significance of potential new resistance to the Australian grain industry and to prepare effective fumigation dosages and resistance management strategies to combat new strong resistances before they emerge here.

Twin roller quenching technique and preparation of glasses of high melting ionic solids

A rapid quenching technique with a quenching rate of roughly 106°C/sec has been developed to prepare glassy samples of ABO3 type materials. Glasses of potassium lithium niobate have been prepared by this technique. These glasses have been characterized by x-ray diffraction, electron diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry techniques to assess the quality of the obtained glasses.

An investigation of migration and possible stock structuring by the stout whiting, Sillago robusta, in southern Queensland waters, and its impact on managing the fishery. Final Report on the Pilot Program

A highly polymorphic genetic locus of Stout Whiting was examined for evidence of geographical subdivision amongst samples collected from three locales in southern Queensland waters. Statistical indicators of subdivision were not significantly different from zero, suggesting that it is unlikely that the Stout Whiting resource in southern Queensland is genetically subdivided into separate stocks. It is recommended that the full-scale genetic program not proceed and that the resource be managed as a single stock.

Adaptive Filtering Technique and DSP Based Implementation for High-Speed Distance Protection

The paper presents an adaptive Fourier filtering technique and a relaying scheme based on a combination of a digital band-pass filter along with a three-sample algorithm, for applications in high-speed numerical distance protection. To enhance the performance of above-mentioned technique, a high-speed fault detector has been used. MATLAB based simulation studies show that the adaptive Fourier filtering technique provides fast tripping for near faults and security for farther faults. The digital relaying scheme based on a combination of digital band-pass filter along with three-sample data window algorithm also provides accurate and high-speed detection of faults. The paper also proposes a high performance 16-bit fixed point DSP (Texas Instruments TMS320LF2407A) processor based hardware scheme suitable for implementation of the above techniques. To evaluate the performance of the proposed relaying scheme under steady state and transient conditions, PC based menu driven relay test procedures are developed using National Instruments LabVIEW software. The test signals are generated in real time using LabVIEW compatible analog output modules. The results obtained from the simulation studies as well as hardware implementations are also presented.

Nano Al2O3-Pb AND SiO2-Pb cermets by sol-gel technique and the phase transformation study of the embedded Pb particles

Sol-gel processing followed by H2 reduction is used to produce dispersions of nanosized Pb in amorphous SiO2 and ultrafine γ Al2O3 matrices. A depression of 3–5K in Pb melting point is reported. The size and shape of these metastable particles in molten and solid state are discussed in the light of the experimental observations and expectations from the intersection group theory for equilibrium shape.

A Huber-loss-driven clustering technique and its application to robust cell detection in confocal microscopy images

We address the problem of detecting cells in biological images. The problem is important in many automated image analysis applications. We identify the problem as one of clustering and formulate it within the framework of robust estimation using loss functions. We show how suitable loss functions may be chosen based on a priori knowledge of the noise distribution. Specifically, in the context of biological images, since the measurement noise is not Gaussian, quadratic loss functions yield suboptimal results. We show that by incorporating the Huber loss function, cells can be detected robustly and accurately. To initialize the algorithm, we also propose a seed selection approach. Simulation results show that Huber loss exhibits better performance compared with some standard loss functions. We also provide experimental results on confocal images of yeast cells. The proposed technique exhibits good detection performance even when the signal-to-noise ratio is low.

Nanoindentation for probing the mechanical behavior of molecular crystals-a review of the technique and how to use it

Nanoindentation is a technique which can be used to measure the mechanical properties of materials with high precision, even when they are only available in small quantities. As a result of this, nanoindentation has gained the attention of the crystal engineering community, who are not only interested in measuring the properties of single crystals of organic, inorganic and hybrid structures, but also wish to correlate the measured responses with the underlying structural features and intermolecular interactions. Keeping this emerging interest in view, a brief overview of the technique, with particular emphasis on the procedures for conducting experiments and analyzing the resulting data, is presented in this Tutorial style Highlight. The precautions that need to be taken and the properties that one can measure using nanoindentation are highlighted. This paper ends with a brief summary of the recent additional features that have been added to this technique and an outlook for nanoindentation within the context of crystal engineering.

Facile hydrothermal synthesis of carbon nanoparticles and possible application as white light phosphors and catalysts for the reduction of nitrophenol

We report a simple hydrothermal synthesis of highly reproducible carbon nanoparticles in a size range between 2 and 7 nmfroma single precursor sucrose without either surface passivating agents or acids and bases. The carbon nanoparticles can be used as white light phosphors, especially for ultraviolet light emitting diodes and metal-free catalyst for the reduction of nitrophenol.