Robust Image Hashing via Random Gabor Filtering and DWT

Image hashing is a useful multimedia technology for many applications,such as image authentication,image retrieval,image copy detection and image forensics.In this paper,we propose a robust image hashing based on random Gabor filtering and discrete wavelet transform(DWT).Specifically,robust and secure image features are first extracted from the normalized image by Gabor filtering and a chaotic map called Skew tent map,and then are compressed via a single-level 2-D DWT.Image hash is finally obtained by concatenating DWT coefficients in the LL sub-band.Many experiments with open image datasets are carried out and the results illustrate that our hashing is robust,discriminative and secure.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve comparisons show that our hashing is better than some popular image hashing algorithms in classification performance between robustness and discrimination.

Reversible Data Hiding in Encrypted Image Based on Block Classification Permutation

Recently,reversible data hiding in encrypted image(RDHEI)has attracted extensive attention,which can be used in secure cloud computing and privacy protection effectively.In this paper,a novel RDHEI scheme based on block classification and permutation is proposed.Content owner first divides original image into non-overlapping blocks and then set a threshold to classify these blocks into smooth and non-smooth blocks respectively.After block classification,content owner utilizes a specific encryption method,including stream cipher encryption and block permutation to protect image content securely.For the encrypted image,data hider embeds additional secret information in the most significant bits(MSB)of the encrypted pixels in smooth blocks and the final marked image can be obtained.At the receiver side,secret data will be extracted correctly with data-hiding key.When receiver only has encryption key,after stream cipher decryption,block scrambling decryption and MSB error prediction with threshold,decrypted image will be achieved.When data hiding key and encryption key are both obtained,receiver can find the smooth and non-smooth blocks correctly and MSB in smooth blocks will be predicted correctly,hence,receiver can recover marked image losslessly.Experimental results demonstrate that our scheme can achieve better rate-distortion performance than some of state-of-the-art schemes.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of NtbHLH gene family in tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum)and the role of NtbHLH86 in drought adaptation

The bHLH transcription factors play pivotal roles in plant growth and development,production of secondary metabolites and responses to various environmental stresses.Although the bHLH genes have been well studied in model plant species,a comprehensive investigation of the bHLH genes is required for tobacco with newly obtained high-quality genome.In the present study,a total of 309 NtbHLH genes were identified and can be divided into 23 subfamilies.The conserved amino acids which are essential for their function were predicted for the NtbHLH proteins.Moreover,the NtbHLH genes were conserved during evolution through analyzing the gene structures and conserved motifs.A total of 265 NtbHLH genes were localized in the 24 tobacco chromosomes while the remained 44 NtbHLH genes were mapped to the scaffolds due to the complexity of tobacco genome.Moreover,transcripts of NtbHLH genes were obviously tissue-specific expressed from the gene-chip data from 23 tobacco tissues,and expressions of 20 random selected NtbHLH genes were further confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR,indicating their potential functions in the plant growth and development.Importantly,overexpressed NtbHLH86 gene confers improve drought tolerance in tobacco indicating that it might be involved in the regulation of drought stress.Therefore,our findings here provide a valuable information on the characterization of NtbHLH genes and further investigation of their functions in tobacco.

Stability and luminescence properties of CsPbBr_(3)/CdSe/Al core-shell quantum dots

To improve the stability and luminescence properties of CsPbBr_(3)QDs,we proposed a new core-shell structure for CsPbBr_(3)/CdSe/Al quantum dots(QDs).By using a simple method of ion layer adsorption and a reaction method,CdSe and A1 were respectively packaged on the surface of CsPbBr_(3)QDs to form the core-shell CsPbBr_(3)/CdSe/Al QDs.After one week in a natural environment,the photoluminescence quantum yields of CsPbBr_(3)/CdSe/Al QDs were greater than 80%,and the PL intensity remained at 71%of the original intensity.Furthermore,the CsPbBr_(3)/CdSe/Al QDs were used as green emitters for white light-emitting diodes(LEDs),with the LEDs spectrum covering 129%of the national television system committee(NTSC)standard color gamut.The core-shell structure of QDs can effectively improve the stability of CsPbBr_(3)QDs,which has promising prospects in optoelectronic devices.

A Tunable Resolution MUSIC Algorithm for Interharmonics Analysis

The harmonic and interharmonic analysis recommendations are contained in the latest IEC standards on power quality. Measurement and analysis experiences have shown that great difficulties arise in the interharmonic detection and measurement with acceptable levels of accuracy. In order to improve the resolution of spectrum analysis, the traditional method (e.g. discrete Fourier transform) is to take more sampling cycles, e.g. 10 sampling cycles corresponding to the spectrum interval of 5 Hz while the fundamental frequency is 50 Hz. However, this method is not suitable to the interharmonic measurement, because the frequencies of interharmonic components are non-integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, which makes the measurement additionally difficult. In this paper, the tunable resolution multiple signal classification (TRMUSIC) algorithm is presented, which the spectrum can be tuned to exhibit high resolution in targeted regions. Some simulation examples show that the resolution for two adjacent frequency components is usually sufficient to measure interharmonics in power systems with acceptable computation time. The proposed method is also suited to analyze interharmonics when there exists an undesirable asynchronous deviation and additive white noise.

Total mercury in wild fish in Guizhou reservoirs, China

The health hazard of mercury （Hg） compounds is internationally recognized, and the main pathways for methylmercury （MeHg） intake in humans are through consumption of food, especially fish. Given the large releases of Hg to the environment in China, combined with the fast development of hydropower, this issue deserves attention. Provided similar mobilization pathways of Hg in China as seen in reservoirs in North America and Europe one should expect increased Hg contamination in relation to future hydropower reservoir construction in this country. This study presents total Hg （THg） concentrations in wild fish from six Guizhou reservoirs, China. The THg concentrations in fish were generally low despite high background levels in the bedrock and depositions from local point sources. The over all mean ± SD concentration of THg was （0.066 ± 0.078） μg/g （n = 235）. After adjusting for among-reservoir variation in THg, there were significant differences in THg among functional groups of the fish, assumed to re？ect trophic levels. Predicted THg- concentration ratios, retrieved from a mixed linear model, between the functional groups were 9：4：4：1 for carnivorous, omnivorous, planktivorous and herbivorous fish. This result indicated that MeHg accumulation may prevail even under circumstances with short food chains as in this Chinese water system. No fish exceeded recommended maximum THg limit for human consumption set by World Health Organization and the Standardization Administration of China （0.5 μg/g fish wet weight （ww））. Only six fish （2.5%） exceeded the maximum THg limit set by US Environmental Protection Agency （0.3 μg/g fish ww）.

Received signal strength based indoor positioning algorithm using advanced clustering and kernel ridge regression

We propose a novel indoor positioning algorithm based on the received signal strength(RSS) fingerprint. The proposed algorithm can be divided into three steps, an offline phase at which an advanced clustering(AC) strategy is used, an online phase of approximate localization at which cluster matching is used, and an online phase of precise localization with kernel ridge regression. Specifically, after offline fingerprint collection and similarity measurement, we employ an AC strategy based on the K-medoids clustering algorithm using additional reference points that are geographically located at the outer cluster boundary to enrich the data of each cluster. During the approximate localization, RSS measurements are compared with the cluster radio maps to determine to which cluster the target most likely belongs. Both the Euclidean distance of the RSSs and the Hamming distance of the coverage vectors between the observations and training records are explored for cluster matching. Then, a kernel-based ridge regression method is used to obtain the ultimate positioning of the target. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated in two typical indoor environments, and compared with those of state-of-the-art algorithms. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed algorithm in terms of positioning accuracy and complexity.

Generation and metabolomic characterization of functional ductal organoids with biliary tree networks in decellularized liver scaffolds

Developing functional ductal organoids(FDOs)is essential for liver regenerative medicine.We aimed to construct FDOs with biliary tree networks in rat decellularized liver scaffolds(DLSs)with primary cholangiocytes isolated from mouse bile ducts.The developed FDOs were dynamically characterized by functional assays and metabolomics for bioprocess clarification.FDOs were reconstructed in DLSs retaining native structure and bioactive factors with mouse primary cholangiocytes expressing enriched biomarkers.Morphological assessment showed that biliary tree-like structures gradually formed from day 3 to day 14.The cholangiocytes in FDOs maintained high viability and expressed 11 specific biomarkers.Basal-apical polarity was observed at day 14 with immunostaining for E-cadherin and acetylatedα-tubulin.The rhodamine 123 transport assay and active collection of cholyl-lysyl-fluorescein exhibited the specific functions of bile secretion and transportation at day 14 compared to those in monolayer and hydrogel culture systems.The metabolomics analysis with 1075 peak pairs showed that serotonin,as a key molecule of the tryptophan metabolism pathway linked to biliary tree reconstruction,was specifically expressed in FDOs during the whole period of culture.Such FDOs with biliary tree networks and serotonin expression may be applied for disease modeling and drug screening,which paves the way for future clinical therapeutic applications.

No-reference noisy image quality assessment incorporating features of entropy, gradient, and kurtosis

Noise is the most common type of image distortion affecting human visual perception.In this paper,we propose a no-reference image quality assessment(IQA)method for noisy images incorporating the features of entropy,gradient,and kurtosis.Specifically,image noise estimation is conducted in the discrete cosine transform domain based on skewness invariance.In the principal component analysis domain,kurtosis feature is obtained by statistically counting the significant differences between images with and without noise.In addition,both the consistency between the entropy and kurtosis features and the subjective scores are improved by combining them with the gradient coefficient.Support vector regression is applied to map all extracted features into an integrated scoring system.The proposed method is evaluated in three mainstream databases(i.e.,LIVE,TID2013,and CSIQ),and the results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method according to the Pearson linear correlation coefficient which is the most significant indicator in IQA.