Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Creating And Detecting Doctored And Virtual Images: Implications To The Child Pornography Prevention Act, Hany Farid

Computer Science Technical Reports

The 1996 Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) extended the existing federal criminal laws against child pornography to include certain types of "virtual porn". In 2002, the United States Supreme Court found that portions of the CPPA, being overly broad and restrictive, violated First Amendment rights. The Court ruled that images containing an actual minor or portions of a minor are not protected, while computer generated images depicting a fictitious "computer generated" minor are constitutionally protected. In this report I outline various forms of digital tampering, placing them in the context of this recent ruling. I also review computational techniques for …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 36, No.3 September 2004

The Prairie Naturalist

OVERLAND MOVEMENTS AND HABITAT USE OF MALLARD BROODS DEPARTING OVERWATER NESTING STRUCTURES ▪ J. D. Stafford, L. D. Flake, and P. W. Mammenga

NEST SITE CHARACTERISTICS OF EASTERN WILD TURKEY IN NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ R. D. Shields and L. D. Flake

WHITE-TAILED DEER INFECTEUWITH STAPHYLOCOCCUS HYICUS IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ T. J. Zimmerman, J. A. Jenks, and A. E. Pillatzki

CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS TYPE A IN A FREE-RANGING FAWN? ▪ T. J. Brinkman, J. A. Jenks, C. S. DePerno, and B. S. Haroldson

BUFFLEHEAD BREEDING ACTIVITY IN SOUTH-CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA ▪ G. A. Knutsen and J. C. King

POTENTIAL MULTIPLE …

Extratropical Transition Of Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones. Part Ii: Midlatitude Circulation Characteristics, Mark R. Sinclair

Applied Aviation Sciences - Prescott

This second of two papers on extratropical transition (ET) over the southwest Pacific Ocean focuses on the variability of ET. A climatology of ET onset based on a previously described objective technique shows that ET commences 158 of latitude nearer the equator on average than similar cases from the Northern Hemisphere. Characteristic midlatitude circulation patterns accompanying ET near 308S are identified by means of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of 50 storms. The first eigenvector pattern, explaining nearly half the circulation variability, expresses relaxed and enhanced pressure gradients south of the storm that define composites similar to ‘‘cradled’’ and ‘‘captured’’ …

Analysis Of Adsorbed Contaminants Of Caf/Sub 2/ Surfaces By Infrared Laser Induced Desorption, Jinmei Fu, Yamini Surapaneni, Susan D. Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

157 nm photolithography technologies are currently under development and have been accepted as the leading candidate for fabrication of the next generation semiconductor devices after 193 nm. At this and shorter wavelengths, molecular contamination of surfaces becomes a serious problem as almost all molecules absorb at 157 nm and below. The light transmitted by a photolithographic tool can be significantly decreased by the presence of a few monolayers adsorbed on its many optical surfaces. We have developed a laser induced desorption, electron impact ionization, time-of-flight mass spectrometer (LID TOFMS) to study contaminants on 157nm and other ultraviolet optics, e.g., polished …

Book Review: Sky Vistas: Astronomy For Binoculars And Richestfield Telescopes, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of Sky Vistas : Astronomy for Binoculars and Richestfield Telescopes by Craig Crossen and Gerald Rhemann Springer, 2004 279p, 3211008519 $69.95

Pattern Search Ranking And Selection Algorithms For Mixed-Variable Optimization Of Stochastic Systems, Todd A. Sriver

Theses and Dissertations

A new class of algorithms is introduced and analyzed for bound and linearly constrained optimization problems with stochastic objective functions and a mixture of design variable types. The generalized pattern search (GPS) class of algorithms is extended to a new problem setting in which objective function evaluations require sampling from a model of a stochastic system. The approach combines GPS with ranking and selection (R&S) statistical procedures to select new iterates. The derivative-free algorithms require only black-box simulation responses and are applicable over domains with mixed variables (continuous, discrete numeric, and discrete categorical) to include bound and linear constraints on …

Quantifying Initial Condition And Parametric Uncertainties In A Nonlinear Aeroelastic System With An Efficient Stochastic Algorithm, Daniel R. Millman

Theses and Dissertations

There is a growing interest in understanding how uncertainties in flight conditions and structural parameters affect the character of a limit cycle oscillation (LCO) response, leading to failure of an aeroelastic system. Uncertainty quantification of a stochastic system (parametric uncertainty) with stochastic inputs (initial condition uncertainty) has traditionally been analyzed with Monte Carlo simulations (MCS). Probability density functions (PDF) of the LCO response are obtained from the MCS to estimate the probability of failure. A candidate approach to efficiently estimate the PDF of an LCO response is the stochastic projection method. The objective of this research is to extend the …

Visual Unified Modeling Language For The Composition Of Scenarios In Modeling And Simulation Systems, Daniel E. Swayne

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense uses modeling and simulation systems in many various roles, from research and training to modeling likely outcomes of command decisions. Simulation systems have been increasing in complexity with the increased capability of low-cost computer systems to support these DOD requirements. The demand for scenarios is also increasing, but the complexity of the simulation systems has caused a bottleneck in scenario development due to the limited number of individuals with knowledge of the arcane simulator languages in which these scenarios are written. This research combines the results of previous AFIT efforts in visual modeling languages to create …

Breakup Of H₂ In Singly Ionizing Collisions With Fast Protons: Channel-Selective Low-Energy Electron Spectra, Christina Dimopoulou, Robert Moshammer, Daniel Fischer, C. Hohr, Alexander Dorn, Pablo Daniel Fainstein, Jose R. Crespo Lopez-Urrutia, Claus Dieter Schroter, Holger Kollmus, Rido Mann, Siegbert Hagmann, Joachim Hermann Ullrich

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The dissociation of H₂ in singly ionizing collisions with fast protons was analyzed using channel-selective low-energy electron spectra. Dissociative and nondissociative single ionization of H₂ by 6MeV proton impact was described in a kinematically by determining momentum vectors of electron and H⁺ fragment of H₂⁺ target ion, respectively. The electron spectra exhibited role of autoionization of doubly and singly excited states of H₂. The doubly and singly excited states of H₂ involve coupling between electronic and nuclear motion of molecule.

Electronic Structure Properties And Bcs Superconductivity In Ss-Pyrochlore Oxides: KoSS₂O₆, Rolando Saniz, Julia E. Medvedeva, Lin Hui Ye, Tatsuya Shishidou, Arthur J. Freeman

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We report a first-principles density-functional calculation of the electronic structure and properties of the recently discovered superconducting β-pyrochlore oxide KOs₂O₆. We find that the electronic structure near the Fermi energy E_F is dominated by strongly hybridized Os 5d and O 2p states. A van Hove singularity very close to E_f leads to a relatively large density of states at E_F, and the Fermi surface exhibits strong nesting along several directions. These features could provide the scattering processes leading to the observed anomalous temperature dependence of the resistivity and to the rather large …

Electron Loss From 1.4-Mev / U U4,6,10+ Ions Colliding With Ne, N₂, And Ar Targets, Robert D. Dubois, Antonio C. Santos, Th. Stohlker, F. Bosch, A. Brauning-Demian, A. Gumberidze, S. Hagmann, C. Kozhuharov, R. Mann, A. Orsic Muthig, U. Spillman, S. Tachenov, W. Bart, L. Dahl, B. Franzke, J. Glatz, L. Groning, S. Richter, D. Wilms, K. Ullmann, O. Jagutzki

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Absolute, total, single- and multiple-electron-loss cross sections are measured for 1.4-MeV / u U^4,6,10+ ions colliding with neon and argon atoms and nitrogen molecules. It is found that the cross sections all have the same dependence on the number of electrons lost and that multiplying the cross sections by the initial number of electrons in the 6s, 6p, and 5f shells yields good agreement between the different projectiles. By combining the present data with previous measurements made at the same velocity, it is shown that the scaled cross sections slowly decrease in magnitude for …

High-Energy Ion Generation By Short Laser Pulses, Anatoly Maksimchuk, K. Flippo, H. Krause, G. Mourou, K. Nemoto, D. Schultz, Donald P. Umstadter, R. Vane, V. Yu. Bychenkov, G.I. Dudnikova, V.F. Kovalev, K. Mima, V.N. Novikov, Y. Sentoku, S.V. Tolokonnikov

Donald Umstadter Publications

This paper reviews the many recent advances at the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS) at the University of Michigan in multi-MeV ion beam generation from the interaction of short laser pulses focused onto thin foil targets at intensities ranging from 10¹⁷ to 10¹⁹ W/cm². Ion beam characteristics were studied by changing the laser intensity, laser wavelength, target material, and by depositing a well-absorbed coating. We manipulated the proton beam divergence using shaped targets and observed nuclear transformation induced by high-energy protons and deuterons. Qualitative theoretical approaches and fully relativistic two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations modeled energetic ion …

What Can Birds Hear?, Robert C. Beason

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

For bids, hearing is second in importance only to vision for monitoring the world around them. ./\vim hearing is most sensitive to sounds from about 1 to 4 kHz, although they can hear higher and lower frequencies. No species of bird has shown sensitivity to ultrasonic frequencies (>20 kHz). Sensitivity to frequencies below 20 Hz (dasound) has not received much attention; however, pigeons and a few other species have shown behavioral and physiological responses to these low frequencies. In general, frequency discrimination in birds is only about one-half or one-third as good it is for humans within the 1 …

Correction To ‘‘A Concept Of Maximum Stream Depletion Rate For Leaky Aquifers In Alluvial Valleys" By Vitaly A. Zlotnik, Vitaly A. Zlotnik

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

In the paper ‘‘A concept of maximum stream depletion rate for leaky aquifers in alluvial valleys’’ by Vitaly A. Zlotnik (Water Resources Research, 40(6), W06507, doi:10.1029/2003WR002932, 2004), equations (24), (25), (A11), and (A12) were published with typographical errors. The correct equations are published below.

Lognormal X-Ray Flux Variations In An Extreme Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy, C. Martin Gaskell

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We show that the large variations in the X-ray flux of the extreme narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy IRAS 13224– 3809, measured during a 10 day ASCA observation, have a two-parameter lognormal distribution of multiplicative standard deviation σ_mult = 2.7 and that the amplitude of variability at any given moment is proportional to the flux level. We find similar behavior in earlier ROSAT soft X-ray monitoring. There is no evidence of a nonvariable component. The flux-dependent behavior of the variability rules out linear shot-noise models. Although at first glance the variations of the ASCAlight curve for IRAS 13224–3809 appear …

Improving The Boosted Correlogram, Nicholas Howe, Amanda Ricketson

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Introduced seven years ago, the correlogram is a simple statistical image descriptor that nevertheless performs strongly on image retrieval tasks. As a result it has found wide use as a component inside larger systems for content-based image and video retrieval. Yet few studies have examined potential variants of the correlogram or compared their performance to the original. This paper presents systematic experiments on the correlogram and several variants under different conditions, showing that the results may vary significantly depending on both the variant chosen and its mode of application. As expected, the experimental setup combining correlogram variants with boosting shows …

Security Analysis Of Two Signcryption Schemes, Guilin Wang, Robert H. Deng, Dongjin Kwak, Sangjae Moon

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Signcryption is a new cryptographic primitive that performs signing and encryption simultaneously, at a cost significantly lower than that required by the traditional signature-then-encryption approach. In this paper, we present a security analysis of two such schemes: the Huang-Chang convertible signcryption scheme, and the Kwak-Moon group signcryption scheme. Our results show that both schemes are insecure. Specifically, the Huang-Chang scheme fails to provide confidentiality, while the Kwak-Moon scheme does not satisfy the properties of unforgeability, coalition-resistance, and traceability.

Is The Initial Mass Function Of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies Dominated By Low-Mass Stars?, Hyun Chul Lee, Brad K. Gibson, Chris Flynn, Daisuke Kawata, Michael A. Beasley

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The rotation curves of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies suggest that they possess significantly higher mass-to-light (M/L) ratios than their high surface brightness counterparts, indicating that LSB galaxies may be dark matter dominated. This interpretation is hampered by the difficulty of disentangling the disc and dark halo contributions from the disc dynamics of LSB galaxies. Recently, Fuchs has attempted such a disentanglement using spiral arm density wave and swing amplification theory, allowing an independent measurement of the disc mass; this work suggests that LSB discs are significantly more massive than previously believed. This would considerably reduce the amount of matter …

Emergency Wildlife Management Response To Protect Evidence Associated With The Terrorist Attack On The World Trade Center, New York City, Richard B. Chipman, Richard A. Dollbeer, Kenneth J. Pruesser, Daniel P. Sullivan, Erin D. Losito, Allen L. Gosser, Thomas W. Seamans

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

At the request of the New York City Police Department, the PoIt Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, a team of USDA APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) biologists mobilized in less than 24 hours to assist federal, state and local law enforcement officials in managing birds and rodents impacting the recovey of evidence as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. During the 10-month recovery effort fiom September 2001 to June 2002, more than 1.7 million tons of debris was shipped fiom "Ground Zero" …

Gentoo Linux: The Next Generation Of Linux, George K. Thiruvathukal

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

One of the reasons scientific programmers love Linux is its less-is-more philosophy. We can configure it to be anything from a desktop replacement with USB port support to a blade in a large SMP compute engine to a powerful Web server. Although Linux's market penetration in these various sectors remains to be seen, plenty of people are pumping resources into the Linux world. In this article, I?ll explain why Gentoo Linux (www.gentoolinux.org) is a good choice for scientists, and how its structure gives us the flexibility and ease of management we need.

Prevalence Of Degenerative Joint Disease In A Pre-Orthodontic Adolescent Sample, Marie Mansour

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this research was to determine a prevalence of degenerative joint disease in our pre-orthodontic adolescent patients age ten through seventeen. The prevalence was assessed according to gender. Severity of DJD was established for each patient and a "red flag" for diagnosis was identified. The purpose was also to establish norms for joint space for patients with and without degenerative joint disease. Correlations to distal condyle position and angle classification were described. 123 consecutive patients, 77 female and 46 male T1 NewTom records were reviewed. Severity of DJD was classified according to none, mild, moderate, and severe. Sagittal …

Towards Personalised Web Intelligence, Ah-Hwee Tan, Hwee-Leng Ong, Hong Pan, Jamie Ng, Qiu-Xiang Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The Flexible Organizer for Competitive Intelligence (FOCI) is a personalised web intelligence system that provides an integrated platform for gathering, organising, tracking, and disseminating competitive information on the web. FOCI builds personalised information portfolios through a novel method called User-Configurable Clustering, which allows a user to personalise his/her portfolios in terms of the content as well as the organisational structure. This paper outlines the key challenges we face in personalised information management and gives a detailed account of FOCI’s underlying personalisation mechanism. For a quantitative evaluation of the system’s performance, we propose a set of performance indices based on information …

Robust Classification Of Event-Related Potential For Brain-Computer Interface, Manoj Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We report the implementation of a text input application (speller) based on the P300 event related potential. We obtain high accuracies by using an SVM classifier and a novel feature. These techniques enable us to maintain fast performance without sacrificing the accuracy, thus making the speller usable in an online mode. In order to further improve the usability, we perform various studies on the data with a view to minimizing the training time required. We present data collected from nine healthy subjects, along with the high accuracies (of the order of 95% or more) measured online. We show that the …

A Qualitative Investigation On Consumer Trust In Mobile Commerce, Keng Siau, Hong Sheng, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Sidney A. Davis

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Mobile commerce represents a significant development in e-commerce, offering accessibility, ubiquity, mobility, and localisation to users. Despite the potential of mobile commerce, trust is a major obstacle in its adoption and development. Many consumers feel uncomfortable with the idea of conducting commerce over wireless, hand-held devices. The focus of this research is to understand trust in mobile commerce and to identify factors that are important for trust development. The research builds on Siau and Shen's framework which depicts two key factors influencing trust in mobile commerce. This research not only validates and expands on the existing framework, but also provides …

A Spectroscopy Of Texts For Effective Clustering, Wenyuan Li, Wee-Keong Ng, Kok-Leong Ong, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

For many clustering algorithms, such as k-means, EM, and CLOPE, there is usually a requirement to set some parameters. Often, these parameters directly or indirectly control the number of clusters to return. In the presence of different data characteristics and analysis contexts, it is often difficult for the user to estimate the number of clusters in the data set. This is especially true in text collections such as Web documents, images or biological data. The fundamental question this paper addresses is: ldquoHow can we effectively estimate the natural number of clusters in a given text collection?rdquo. We propose to use …

Sclope: An Algorithm For Clustering Data Streams Of Categorical Attributes, Kok-Leong Ong, Wenyuan Li, Wee-Keong Ng, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Clustering is a difficult problem especially when we consider the task in the context of a data stream of categorical attributes. In this paper, we propose SCLOPE, a novel algorithm based on CLOPE's intuitive observation about cluster histograms. Unlike CLOPE however, our algorithm is very fast and operates within the constraints of a data stream environment. In particular, we designed SCLOPE according to the recent CluStream framework. Our evaluation of SCLOPE shows very promising results. It consistently outperforms CLOPE in speed and scalability tests on our data sets while maintaining high cluster purity; it also supports cluster analysis that other …

A Development Framework For Rapid Metaheuristics Hybridization, Hoong Chuin Lau, M. K. Lim, W. C. Wan, S. Halim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While meta-heuristics are effective for solving large-scale combinatorial optimization problems, they result from time-consuming trial-and-error algorithm design tailored to specific problems. For this reason, a software tool for rapid prototyping of algorithms would save considerable resources. This work presents a generic software framework that reduces development time through abstract classes and software reuse, and more importantly, aids design with support of user-defined strategies and hybridization of meta-heuristics. Most interestingly, we propose a novel way of redefining hybridization with the use of the "request and response" metaphor, which form an abstract concept for hybridization. Different hybridization schemes can now be formed …

Shared-Storage Auction Ensures Data Availability, Hady W. Lauw, Siu-Cheung Hui, Edmund M. K. Lai

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Most current e-auction systems are based on the client-server architecture. Such centralized systems provide a single point of failure and control. In contrast, peer-to-peer systems permit distributed control and minimize individual node and link failures' impact on the system. The shared-storage-based auction model described decentralizes services among peers to share the required processing load and aggregates peers' resources for common use. The model is based on the principles of local computation at each peer, direct inter-peer communication, and a shared storage space.

Proxy Signature Scheme With Multiple Original Signers For Wireless E-Commerce Applications, Guilin Wang, Feng Bao, Jianying Zhou, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In a proxy signature scheme, a user delegates his/her signing capability to another user in such a way that the latter can sign messages on behalf of the former. We propose an efficient and secure proxy signature scheme with multiple original signers. Our scheme is suitable for wireless electronic commerce applications, since the overheads of computation and communication are low. As an example, we present an electronic air ticket booking scheme for wireless customers.

On The Security Of The Lee-Hwang Group-Oriented Undeniable Signature Schemes, Guilin Wang, Jianying Zhou, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Undeniable signature is an intriguing concept introduced by Chaum and van Antwerpen at Crypto89. In 1999, Lee and Hwang presented two group-oriented undeniable signature schemes with a trusted center. Their schemes are natural generalizations of Chaums zero knowledge undeniable signature scheme proposed in 1990. However, we find that the Lee-Hwang schemes are insecure. In this paper, we demonstrate five effective attacks on their schemes: four of them are insider universal forgeries, in which one dishonest member (maybe colluding with a verifier) can get a valid signature on any chosen massage, and another attack allows a dishonest member to prevent honest …