Digital Commons Network^™

Covert Encryption And Document Authentication Using Texture Coding, Jonathan Blackledge, Mary Hallot

Articles

With the improvements in the quality of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) printing and scanning devices, the ability to counterfeit documents has become a widespread problem. Consequently, there has been an increasing demand to develop digital watermarking techniques which can be applied to both electronic and printed images (and documents) that can be authenticated, prevent unauthorized copying and withstand abuse and degradation. In this paper , a new approach to digital watermarking is presented and a range of possible applications are considered. The process is defined by using concepts and techniques borrowed from Cryptography. It is based on computing a 'scramble image' by …

Multi-Algorithmic Cryptography Using Deterministic Chaos With Applications To Mobile Communications, Jonathan Blackledge

Articles

In this extended paper, we present an overview of the principal issues associated with cryptography, providing historically significant examples for illustrative purposes as part of a short tutorial for readers that are not familiar with the subject matter. This is used to introduce the role that nonlinear dynamics and chaos play in the design of encryption engines which utilize different types of Iteration Function Systems (IFS). The design of such encryption engines requires that they conform to the principles associated with diffusion and confusion for generating ciphers that are of a maximum entropy type. For this reason, the role of …

A Surface Inspection Machine Vision System That Includes Fractal Texture Analysis, Jonathan Blackledge, Dmitry Dubovitskiy

Articles

The detection, recognition and classification of features in a digital image is an important component of quality control systems in production and process engineering and industrial systems monitoring, in general. In this paper, a new pattern recognition system is presented that has been designed for the specific task of monitoring the quality of sheet-steel production in a rolling mill. The system is based on using both the Euclidean and Fractal geometric properties of an imaged object to develop training data that is used in conjunction with a supervised learning procedure based on the application of a fuzzy inference engine. Thus, …

Audio Data Verification And Authentication Using Frequency Modulation Based Watermarking, Jonathan Blackledge, Omar Farooq

Articles

An approach to watermarking digital signals using frequency modulation - ‘Chirp Coding’ - is considered. The principles underlying this approach are based on the use of a matched filter to reconstruct a ‘chirp stream’ code that is uniquely robust. The method is generic in the sense that it can, in principle, be used for a variety of different signal (the authentication of speech and biomedical signals, for example). Further, by generating a bit stream that is signal dependent, chirp coding provides a method of self-authentication, which has a wide range of applications including copyright protection and digital rights management. However, …

Object Detection And Classification With Applications To Skin Cancer Screening, Jonathan Blackledge, Dmitryi Dubovitskiy

Articles

This paper discusses a new approach to the processes of object detection, recognition and classification in a digital image. The classification method is based on the application of a set of features which include fractal parameters such as the Lacunarity and Fractal Dimension. Thus, the approach used, incorporates the characterisation of an object in terms of its texture.

The principal issues associated with object recognition are presented which includes two novel fast segmentation algorithms for which C++ code is provided. The self-learning procedure for designing a decision making engine using fuzzy logic and membership function theory is also presented and …

V-Shaped Electro-Optic Response Observed In A Chiral Ferroelectric Smectic Liquid Crystal, V. Manjuladevi, Yuri Panarin, Jang-Kun Song, B. K. Sadashiva

Articles

We report on the observation of V-shaped switching in a ferroelectric liquid crystal cell over a wide range of temperatures. Results of the optical transmittance in the visible region give us the helical pitch for various temperatures of the ferroelectric liquid crystalline compound used. We show that the helical pitch, in addition to the spontaneous polarization (PS) and thickness of the alignment layer of the cell, is an important factor in giving V-shaped switching. A longer or helical compensated mixture gives a better V-shaped switching. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Analysis Of Financial Data Using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization, Ruairí De Fréin, Konstantinos Drakakis, Scott Rickard, Andrzej Cichocki

Articles

We apply Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) to the prob-lem of identifying underlying trends in stock market data. NMF is arecent and very successful tool for data analysis including image andaudio processing; we use it here to decompose a mixture a data, thedaily closing prices of the 30 stocks which make up the Dow Jones In-dustrial Average, into its constitute parts, the underlying trends which govern the financial marketplace. We demonstrate how to impose ap-propriate sparsity and smoothness constraints on the components of thedecomposition. Also, we describe how the method clusters stocks to-gether in performance-based groupings which can be used for …

Preparation And Accreditation Of Level 7 Engineering Programmes, Mark Mcgrath

Conference Papers

Accreditation of 3^rd level educational programmes by a suitably recognised professional body is of particular relevance in relation to engineering. The completion of a sequence of modules which leads to the attainment of this professionally recognised award is viewed as integral to the undertaking. The engineering technology fields are developing and expanding rapidly and the third level sector must keep abreast of these changes. This is essential if the third level institutions wish to continue delivering programmes which produce graduates who can successfully complete the transition from 3rd. Level to the various engineering sectors.

This paper outlines various aspects …

A Photometric Redshift Of Z = 1.8+0.4 -.3 For The Agile Grb 080514b, A. Rossi, A. De Ugarte Postigo, P. Ferrero, D. A. Kann, S. Klose, S. Schulze, J. Greiner, P. Schady, R. Filgas, E. E. Gonsalves, A. Küpcü Yolda¸S, T. Krühler, G. Szokoly, A. Yolda¸S, P. M.J. Afonso, C. Clemens, J. S. Bloom, D. A. Perley, J. P.U. Fynbo, A. J. Castro-Tirado, J. Gorosabel, P. Kubánek, Adria Updike, D. H. Hartmann, A. Giuliani, S. T. Holland, L. Hanlon, M. Bremer, J. French, G. Melady, D. A. García-Hernández

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

The AGILE gamma-ray burst GRB 080514B is the first detected to have emission above 30 MeV and an optical afterglow. However, no spectroscopic redshift for this burst is known.We report on our ground-based optical/NIR and millimeter follow-up observations of this event at several observatories, including the multi-channel imager GROND on La Silla, supplemented by Swift UVOT and Swift XRT data. The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the optical/NIR afterglow is found to decline sharply bluewards to the UV bands, which can be utilized in estimating the redshift. Fitting the SED from the Swift UVOT uvw2 band to the H band, …

Intra-Urban Analysis Of Commercial Locations: A Gis-Based Approach, Christopher D. Storie

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The urban landscape is an interspersed mixing of residences, shops, theaters, parks, natural areas, and a multitude of other uses. From the early days of the central markets, to the planned downtown, to the heavily planned super-regional shopping complexes, commercial landscapes evolve. There has been considerable research conducted on analyzing the commercial structure of urban environments in an attempt to better understanding the nature of retailing and its resultant impacts on the geography of the city.

This research has three broad goals: a) to develop a technique that makes operational, in a systematized and objective manner, an approach to analyzing …

The Rapidly Flaring Afterglow Of The Very Bright And Energetic Grb 070125, Adria Updike, Josh B. Haislip, Melissa C. Nysewander, Andrew S. Fruchter, D. Alexander Kann, Sylvio Klose, Peter A. Milne, G. Grant Williams, Weikang Zheng, Carl W. Hergenrother, Jason X. Prochaska, Jules P. Halpern, Nestor Mirabal, John R. Thorstensen, Alexander J. Van Der Horst, Rhaana L.C. Starling, Judith L. Racusin, David N. Burrows, N. P.M. Kuin, Peter W.A. Roming, Eric Bellm, Kevin Hurley, Weidong Li, Alexei V. Filippenko, Cullen Blake, Dan Starr, Emilio E. Falco, Warren R. Brown, Xinyu Dai, Jinsong Deng, Liping Xin, Yulei Qiu, Jianyan Wei, Yuji Urata, Domenico Nanni, Elisabetta Maiorano, Eliana Palazzi, Guiseppe Greco, Corrado Bartolini, Adriano Guarnieri, Adalberto Piccioni, Graziella Pizzichini, Federica Terra, Kuntal Misra, B. C. Bhatt, G. C. Anupama, X. Fan, L. Jiang, Ralph A.M.J. Wijers, Daniel E. Reichart, Hala A. Eid, Ginger Bryngelson, Jason Puls, R. C. Goldthwaite, Dieter H. Hartmann

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Multiwavelength Analysis Of The Intriguing Grb 061126: The Reverse Shock Scenario And Magnetization, A. Gomboc, S. Kobayashi, C. Guidorzi, A. Melandri, V. Mangano, B. Sbarufatti, C. G. Mundell, P. Schady, R. J. Smith, Adria Updike, D. A. Kann, K. Misra, E. Rol, A. Pozanenko, A. J. Castro-Tirado, G. C. Anupama, D. Bersier, M. F. Bode, D. Carter, P. Curran, A. Fruchter, J. Graham, D. H. Hartmann, M. Ibrahimov, A. Levan, A. Monfardini, C. J. Mottram, P. T. O’Brien, P. Prema, D. K. Sahu, I. A. Steele, N. R. Tanvir, K. Wiersema

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evolutionary Physiology: The Extent Of C4 And Cam Photosynthesis In The Genera Anacampseros And Grahamia Of The Portulacaceae, Lonnie J. Guralnick, Amanda Cline, Monica Smith, Rowan F. Sage

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

The Portulacaceae is one of the few terrestrial plant families known to have both C(4) and Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species. There may be multiple origins of the evolution of CAM within the Portulacaceae but the only clear evidence of C(4) photosynthesis is found in members of the genus Portulaca. In the Portulaca, CAM succulent tissue is overlaid with the C(4) tissue in a unique fashion where both pathways are operating simultaneously. Earlier reports have shown that the clade containing the genera Anacampseros and Grahamia may also contain C(4) photosynthetic species similar to the Portulaca, which would indicate multiple origins …

Estimating Bounds For Nonidentifiale Parameters Using Potential Outcomes, Thidaporn Supapakorn

Doctoral Dissertations

"Conclusions from studies vary regarding the association of weight loss among obese people and measures of health and/or mortality. Total weight loss for individuals in a population may be a combination of intentional weight loss (IWL) and unintentional weight loss (UWL). Among people who have no intention to lose weight, the total weight loss observed is UWL. Among people who have intention to lose weight, the total weight loss is assumed to be UWL and IWL. Note that total weight loss among subjects intending to lose weight is observable but IWL itself is not and, therefore, the latent variable that …

A Tour-De-Force In Polymer Crosslinked Aerogels, Sudhir Mulik

Doctoral Dissertations

"In the quest of building mechanically strong materials with low density and high porosity, polymer crosslinked aerogels stand as the most promising nano-engineered examples. Covalent attachment of polymers and bridging of skeletal nanoparticles of typical aerogels is demonstrated by using surface initiated polymerization (SIP) with a bidentate free-radical initiator structurally related to azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and confined on mesoporous silica surfaces. Different monomers were introduced in the mesopores and upon heating at 70⁰C, all mesoporous surfaces throughout the entire skeletal framework were coated conformally with a 10-12 nm thick polymer layer indistinguishable spectroscopically from the respective commercial bulk materials. The new …

Business-Oriented Software Process Improvement Based On Cmm And Cmmi Using Qfd, Yan Sun

Doctoral Dissertations

"Software Process Improvement (SPI) has become the key to the survival of many software development organizations. Many international SPI models/standards are developed for SPI. The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI)) from the Software Engineering Institute are two SPI models. In this study, several existing SPI models and approaches are reviewed, their advantages are identified, and their drawbacks are discussed. A set of new SPI frameworks integrating Quality Function Deployment (QFD) with both CMM and CMMI are developed by combining the best features of previous approaches and addressing their limitations"--Abstract, page iii.

Modeling And Simulations Of Diphasic Composites For Development Of High Energy Density Dielectrics, Sandeep K. Patil

Doctoral Dissertations

"This research is focused on diphasic dielectric composites for high energy density storage applications in pulsed power and power distribution systems. Composite materials are particularly attractive because they can synergistically combine high permittivity with high breakdown strength of the individual phases. Energy density, which captures permittivity and dielectric breakdown strength as vital material parameters, dominates this research challenge. Avenues for increasing the effective permittivity and breakdown strength may be found by gaining fundamental understanding of the response of diphasic dielectrics to an applied electric field. Improved understanding of these characteristics will ultimately lead to dielectrics with increased energy storage densities. …

Speculation And Hedging With Virtuals, Prasenjit Shil

Doctoral Dissertations

"Virtual bid" and "Virtual offer" are purely financial products offered in certain electricity markets. Theoretically, virtual bids and offers can change the electricity price as the bids and offers are stacked along with the demand and supply, respectively. This dissertation discusses how virtuals can be used to hedge and speculate in the electricity market. A statistical simulation model is developed based on the day-ahead (DA) demand and real time (RT) load data from Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator's (MISO) footprint and DA and RT price observed at Cinergy hub. The simulation models are intended to mimic the load and price …

Virtual Prototyping With Surface Reconstruction And Freeform Geometric Modeling Using Level-Set Method, Weihan Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"More and more products with complex geometries are being designed and manufactured by computer aided design (CAD) and rapid prototyping (RP) technologies. Freeform surface is a geometrical feature widely used in modern products like car bodies, airfoils and turbine blades as well as in aesthetic artifacts. How to efficiently design and generate digital prototypes with freeform surfaces is an important issue in CAD. This paper presents the development of a Virtual Sculpting system and addresses the issues of surface reconstruction from dexel data structures and freeform geometric modeling using the level-set method from distance field structure. Our virtual sculpting method …

Harding University Catalog 2008-2009, Harding University

Harding Academic Catalogs

Academic catalog for the undergraduate programs at Harding University.

Energy Efficient Clustering And Secure Data Aggregation In Wireless Sensor Networks, Julia Albath

Doctoral Dissertations

"Communication consumes the majority of a wireless sensor network's limited energy. There are several ways to reduce the communication cost. Two approaches used in this work are clustering and in-network aggregation. The choice of a cluster head within each cluster is important because cluster heads use additional energy for their responsibilities and that burden needs to be carefully distributed. We introduce the energy constrained minimum dominating set (ECDS) to model the problem of optimally choosing cluster heads in the presence of energy constraints. We show its applicability to sensor networks and give an approximation algorithm of O(log n) for solving …

Modeling And Rendering For Development Of A Virtual Bone Surgery System, Qiang Niu

Doctoral Dissertations

"A virtual bone surgery system is developed to provide the potential of a realistic, safe, and controllable environment for surgical education. It can be used for training in orthopedic surgery, as well as for planning and rehearsal of bone surgery procedures...Using the developed system, the user can perform virtual bone surgery by simultaneously "seeing" bone material removal through a graphic display device, "feeling" the force via a haptic deice, and "hearing" the sound of tool-bone interaction"--Abstract, page iii.

Predicting And Reducing Warranty Costs By Considering Customer Expectation And Product Performance, Naresh Kumar Sharma

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation develops from quality loss function to warranty loss function in which customer expectation is also considered to be a variable. First, Taguchi's quality loss function for the larger-the-better case, which is different from the smaller-the better and nominal-the-best cases, has been assimilated into the other two by introducing a term called the target-mean ratio. Further topics addressed include the implications of a finite target on the classification of LTB characteristics, a new concept of a "Complementary Characteristic", operating window, complexity, and SN ratio based on complexity. A warranty is a buyer's confidence owing to the seller's assurance to …

Stochastic Dynamic Equations, Suman Sanyal

Doctoral Dissertations

"We propose a new area of mathematics, namely stochastic dynamic equations, which unifies and extends the theories of stochastic differential equations and stochastic difference equations. After giving a brief introduction to the theory of dynamic equations on time scales, we construct Brownian motion on isolated time scales and prove some of its properties. Then we define stochastic integrals on isolated time scales. The main contribution of this dissertation is to give explicit solutions of linear stochastic dynamic equations on isolated time scales. We illustrate the theoretical results for dynamic stock prices and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck dynamic equations. Finally we study almost sure …

System And Ic Level Analysis Of Electrostatic Discharge (Esd) And Electrical Fast Transient (Eft) Immunity And Associated Coupling Mechanisms, Jayong Koo

Doctoral Dissertations

"The exposure of electronic circuits to lightning, electrostatic discharge (ESD), electrical fast transients (EFT) or sine wave signals can reveal RF immunity problems. Typical problems include temporary malfunctions or permanent damage of integrated circuits (ICs). In an effort to reproduce those disturbances, a series of electromagnetic compatibility standards has been developed. However, a complete understanding of the root cause of the immunity problems has yet to be established. This dissertation discusses immunity problems in three papers, starting at the system level, via the coupling path into the IC"--Abstract, page iv.

Dynamic Equations With Piecewise Continuous Argument, Christian Keller

Masters Theses

"We extend the theory of differential equations with piecewise continuous argument to general time scales. Linear and quasi-linear systems of functional dynamic equations with alternating retarding and advanced argument will be investigated and conditions for globally asymptotic stability of those systems will be stated and proven. Furthermore, oscillation criteria for linear first-order equations with piecewise continuous argument will be established"--Abstract, page iii.

Effects Of Cold Weather On Mortality: Results From 15 European Cities Within The Phewe Project, Antonis Analitis, Klea Katsouyanni, Annibale Biggeri, Michela Baccini, Bertil Forsberg Bertil Forsberg, Luigi Bisanti, Ursula Kirchmayer, Ferran Ballester, Ennio Cadum, Patrick J. Goodman, Ana Hojs, J. Sunyer, Pekka Tiittanen, Paola Michelozzi

Articles

Weather-related health effects have attracted renewed interest because of the observed and predicted climate change. The authors studied the short-term effects of cold weather on mortality in 15 European cities. The effects of minimum apparent temperature on cause- and age-specific daily mortality were assessed for the cold season (October-March) by using data from 1990-2000. For city-specific analysis, the authors used Poisson regression and distributed lag models, controlling for potential confounders. Meta-regression models summarized the results and explored heterogeneity. A 1 degrees C decrease in temperature was associated with a 1.35% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16, 1.53) increase in the daily …

Dublin Core Metadata Harvested Through Oai-Pmh, Amy S. Jackson, Myung-Ja Han, Kurt Groetsch, Megan Mustafoff, Timothy W. Cole

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The introduction in 2001 of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) increased interest in and awareness of metadata quality issues relevant to digital library interoperability and the use of harvested metadata to build "union catalogs" of digital information resources. Practitioners have offered wide-ranging advice to metadata authors and have suggested metrics useful for measuring the quality of shareable metadata. Is there evidence of changes in metadata practice in response to such advice and/or as a result of an increased awareness of the importance of metadata interoperability? This paper looks at metadata records created over a six-year period …

Electromagnetic Modeling Of Distributed Coaxial Cable Crack Sensors In Reinforced Concrete Members, Mei Wang

Masters Theses

"Distributed crack sensors were recently developed with coaxial cables that are composed of inner and outer conductors as well as dielectric layer in between. These sensors were designed based on the change in topology of the cable outer conductor structure under strain effects. Various tests of reinforced concrete (RC) beams and columns indicated that the newly designed sensors are 10~50 times more sensitive than commercial cables to the longitudinal elongation applied on their cable structures. The spatial resolution of the sensors is approximately 50 mm. Limited numerical simulations with the transmission line theory and the finite difference time domain model …

Development Of A Gis-Based Seismic Hazard Screening Tool, Andrew J. Wilding

Masters Theses

"Geotechnical earthquake engineering hazards have consequences that are difficult to mitigate, especially for infrastructure systems with multiple and distributed components. In the last few decades significant progress has been made to provide more accurate and useful methods to evaluate hazards for complex systems. One of these advances involves the application of spatial analysis and geographic information systems (GIS), for not only presenting data as maps, but also providing more practical and usable solutions, such as calculating the hazard potential with spatial distribution. This thesis studies the evaluation of geotechnical earthquake engineering hazards within a GIS environment, using borehole-specific data and …