8491927
Multiresolution genetic clustering algorithm for texture segmentation
Abstract This work plans to approach the texture segmentation problem by incorporating genetic algorithm and K-means clustering method within a multiresolution structure. As the algorithm descends the multiresolution structure, the coarse segmentation results are propagated down to the lower levels so as to reduce the inherent class–position uncertainty and to improve the segmentation accuracy. The procedure is described as follows. In the first step, a quad-tree structure of multiple resolutions is constructed. Sampling windows of different sizes are utilized to partition the underlying image into blocks at different resolution levels and texture features are extracted from each block. Based on the texture features, a hybrid genetic algorithm is employed to perform the segmentation. While the select and mutate operators of the traditional genetic algorithm are adopted in this work, the crossover operator is replaced with K-means clustering method. In the final step, the boundaries and the segmentation result of the current resolution level are propagated down to the next level to act as contextual constraints and the initial configuration of the next level, respectively.
24590909
Fragile watermarking scheme exploiting non-deterministic block-wise dependency
Block-wise dependency is recognized as a key requirement in fragile watermarking schemes to thwart the vector quantization (VQ) attack. It has also been observed that deterministic dependency is still susceptible to transplantation attack or even simple cover-up attack. In this work, a new fragile watermarking scheme exploiting non-deterministic dependency is proposed. To watermark the original image, each pixel is adjusted according to the consistency between a key-dependent binary watermark bit, the information from the pixel itself and the non-deterministic secret dependency information calculated from a neighborhood centered at that pixel. Localization resolution is enhanced with a post-processing operation on the output difference map.
43675712
Unsupervised Image Segmentation using Gibbs Sampler within a Multiresolution Framework
14325657
An approach to reducing the labeling cost of Markov random fields within an infinite label space
This work proposes a novel idea, called SOIL, for reducing the computational complexity of the maximum a posteriori optimization problem using Markov random fields (MRFs). The local characteristics of MRFs are employed so that the searching in a virtually infinite label space is confined in a small finite space. Globally, the number of labels allowed is as many as the number of image sites while locally the optimal label is sampled from a space consisting of the labels assigned to the four-neighbor plus a random one. Neither the prior knowledge about the number of classes nor the estimation phase of the class number is required in this work. The proposed method is applied to the problem of texture segmentation and the result is compared with those obtained from conventional methods.
23059132
Image authentication and integrity verification via content-based watermarks and a public key cryptosystem
A technique using the inherent feature map of the underlying image as the watermark is proposed in this work. First, the binary feature map is extracted as watermark and partitioned into blocks. Secondly, neighboring feature map blocks are blended and encrypted for insertion. On the receiver side, the feature map from the received image is extracted again and compared against the recovered watermark to verify the integrity and authenticity. In addition the capability of detecting geometric transformation, removal of original objects and addition of foreign objects, the proposed scheme is also capable of localizing tampering and detecting cropping without a priori knowledge about the image.
32219854
Unsupervised texture segmentation using multiresolution hybrid genetic algorithm
This work approaches the texture segmentation problem by incorporating genetic algorithm and k-mean clustering method within a multiresolution structure. First, a quad-tree structure is constructed and the input image is partition into blocks at different resolution levels. Texture features are then extracted from each block. Based on the texture features, a hybrid genetic algorithm is employed to perform the segmentation. The crossover operator of traditional genetic algorithm is replaced with k-means clustering method while the mutate and select operators are adopted. In the final step, the boundaries and the segmentation result of the current resolution level are propagated down to the next level to act as contextual constraints and the initial configuration of the next level, respectively.
34090759
Segmentation of external force field for automatic initialization and splitting of snakes
Active contours or snakes have been extensively utilized in handling image segmentation and classification problems. In traditional active contour models, snake initialization is performed manually by users, and topological changes, such as splitting of the snake, cannot be automatically handled. In this paper, we introduce a new method to solve the snake initialization and splitting problem, based on an area segmentation approach: the external force field is segmented first, and then the snake initialization and splitting can be automatically performed by using the segmented external force field. Such initialization and splitting produces multiple snakes, each of which is within the capture range associated to an object and will be evolved to the object boundary. The external force used in this paper is a gradient vector flow with an edge-preserving property (EPGVF), which can prevent the snakes from passing over weak boundaries. To segment the external force field, we represent it with a graph, and a graph-theory approach can be taken to determine the membership of each pixel. Experimental results establish the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
22643655
On reducing redundancy and improving efficiency of XML labeling schemes
The basic relationships to be determined in XML query processing are ancestor-descendant (A-D), parent-child (P-C), sibling and ordering relationships. The containment labeling scheme can determine the A-D, P-C and ordering relationships fast, but it is very expensive in determining the sibling relationship. The prefix labeling scheme can determine all the four basic relationships fast if the XML tree is shallow. However, if the XML tree is deep, the prefix scheme is inefficient since the prefix is long. Furthermore, the prefix label is repeated by all the siblings (only the self labels of these siblings are different). Thus in this paper, we propose the P-Containment and P-Prefix schemes which can determine all the four basic relationships faster no matter what the XML structure is; meanwhile P-Prefix can reduce the redundancies in the prefix labeling scheme.
10902397
Protecting Individual Information Against Inference Attacks in Data Publishing
In many data-publishing applications, the data owner needs to protect sensitive information pertaining to individuals. Meanwhile, certain information is required to be published. The sensitive information could be considered as leaked, if an adversary can infer the real value of a sensitive entry with a high confidence. In this paper we study how to protect sensitive data when an adversary can do inference attacks using association rules derived from the data. We formulate the inference attack model, and develop complexity results on computing a safe partial table. We classify the general problem into subcases based on the requirements of publishing information, and propose the corresponding algorithms for finding a safe partial table to publish. We have conducted an empirical study to evaluate these algorithms on real data.
2225482
Computing complete answers to queries in the presence of limited access patterns
Abstract.In data applications such as information integration, there can be limited access patterns to relations, i.e., binding patterns require values to be specified for certain attributes in order to retrieve data from a relation. As a consequence, we cannot retrieve all tuples from these relations. In this article we study the problem of computing the complete answer to a query, i.e., the answer that could be computed if all the tuples could be retrieved. A query is stable if for any instance of the relations in the query, its complete answer can be computed using the access patterns permitted by the relations. We study the problem of testing stability of various classes of queries, including conjunctive queries, unions of conjunctive queries, and conjunctive queries with arithmetic comparisons. We give algorithms and complexity results for these classes of queries. We show that stability of datalog programs is undecidable, and give a sufficient condition for stability of datalog queries. Finally, we study data-dependent computability of the complete answer to a nonstable query, and propose a decision tree for guiding the process to compute the complete answer.
827639
Segmentation of edge preserving gradient vector flow: an approach toward automatically initializing and splitting of snakes
Active contours or snakes have been extensively utilized in handling image segmentation and classification problems. In traditional active contour models, snake initialization is performed manually by users, and topological changes, such as splitting of the snake, can not be automatically handled. In this paper, we introduce a new method to solve the snake initialization and splitting problem, based on an area segmentation approach: the external force field is segmented first, and then the snake initialization and splitting can be automatically performed by using the segmented external force field. Such initialization and splitting produces multiple snakes, each of which is within the capture range associated to an object and evolved to the object boundary. The external force used in this paper is a gradient vector flow with an edge-preserving property (EPGVF), which can prevent the snakes from passing over weak boundaries. To segment the external force field, we represent it with a graph, and a graph-theory approach can be taken to determine the membership of each pixel. Experimental results establish the effectiveness of the proposed approach.