A blind audio watermarking based on singular value decomposition and quantization

International Journal of Speech Technology - In this work, we have proposed a robust audio watermarking technique in which a binary image is embedded into a host audio signal for copyright...     

Microfluorometric detection of catecholamines with multiphoton-excited fluorescence

We demonstrate sensitive spatially resolved detection of physiological chromophores that emit in the ultraviolet (<330 nm). An atypical laser source (a visible wavelength femtosecond optical parametric oscillator), and an unconventional collection geometry (a lensless detector that detects the forward-emitted fluorescence) enable this detection. We report the excitation spectra of the catecholamines dopamine and norepinephrine, together with near-UV emitters serotonin and tryptophan, in the range of 550-595 nm. We estimate the molecular two-photon action cross section of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin to be 1.2 mGM (1 GM, or Goppert Mayor, is equal to 10(-58) m4 s(-1) photon(-1)), 2 mGM, and 43 mGM, respectively, at 560 nm. The sensitivity achieved by this method holds promise for the microscopic imaging of vesicular catecholamines in live cells.     

Glass formation region and lithium ion conduction in the oxyfluorophosphate glasses

Oxyfluorophosphate glasses containing about 80 mol% of [LiF+Li₂O] show unusually high lithium ion conductivity at elevated temperatures. A detailed investigation has been carried out on the glasses prepared by both conventional cooling and a rapid quenching technique. Chemical analysis of the glasses reveals fluorine loss during melting and it becomes difficult to make glasses with exact predetermined compositions. Electrical conductivity of the glasses, determined from complex impedance analysis increases with Li₂O content. A glass with nominal composition 70 LiF15 Li₂O15 Al(PO₃)₃ shows the highest conductivity (~ 1.3×10^–3 ohm^–1 cm^–1 around 200° C) among all the compositions studied. An interesting feature of the impedance plot is the near perfect semicircle for bulk relaxation indicating a narrow distribution of relaxation times. This has been explained on the basis of a relatively small proportion of lithium ions which are mobile. The electrical conductivity of the glasses is found to be essentailly independent of dissolved water content. The infrared spectra of these glasses (2 to 50m region) could not produce much useful structural information.     

A new image binarization method using iterative partitioning

This paper proposes a new method for image binarization that uses an iterative partitioning approach. The proposed method has been tested towards binarization of both document and graphic images. The quantitative comparisons with other standard methods reveal that the proposed approach outperforms existing widely used binarization techniques in terms of accuracy of binarization. The experimental results further establish the superiority of the proposed method, especially for degraded documents and graphic images. The proposed algorithm is suitable for a multi-core processing environment as it can be split into multiple parallel units of executions after the initial partitioning.     

C-PSA: Constrained Pareto simulated annealing for constrained multi-objective optimization

In recent years, evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have been extensively developed and utilized to solve multi-objective optimization problems. However, some previous studies have shown that for certain problems, an approach which allows for non-greedy or uphill moves (unlike EAs), can be more beneficial. One such approach is simulated annealing (SA). SA is a proven heuristic for solving numerical optimization problems. But owing to its point-to-point nature of search, limited efforts has been made to explore its potential for solving multi-objective problems. The focus of the presented work is to develop a simulated annealing algorithm for constrained multi-objective problems. The performance of the proposed algorithm is reported on a number of difficult constrained benchmark problems. A comparison with other established multi-objective optimization algorithms, such as infeasibility driven evolutionary algorithm (IDEA), Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) and multi-objective Scatter search II (MOSS-II) has been included to highlight the benefits of the proposed approach.     

Multi-item inventory model of breakable items with stock-dependent demand under stock and time dependent breakability rate

Items made of glass, ceramic, etc. are normally stored in stacks and get damaged during the storage due to the accumulated stress of heaped stock. These items are known as breakable items. Here a multi-item inventory model of breakable items is developed, where demands of the items are stock dependent, breakability rates increase linearly with stock and nonlinearly with time. Due to non-linearity and complexity of the problem, the model is solved numerically and final decisions are made using Genetic Algorithm (GA). In a particular case, model is solved analytically as well as numerically and results are compared. Models are developed with both crisp and uncertain inventory costs. For uncertain inventory costs both fuzzy and stochastic parameters are considered. A chance constrained approach is followed to deal with simultaneous presence of stochastic and fuzzy parameters. Different numerical examples are used to illustrate the problem for different cases.     

Emergence of Gold‐Mesoporous Silica Hybrid Nanotheranostics: Dox‐Encoded,Folate Targeted Chemotherapy with Modulation of SERS Fingerprinting for Apoptosis Toward Tumor Eradication

Strategically fabricated theranostic nanocarrier delivery system is an unmet need in personalized medicine. Herein, this study reports a versatile folate receptor (FR) targeted nanoenvelope delivery system (TNEDS) fabricated with gold core silica shell followed by chitosan–folic acid conjugate surface functionalization by for precise loading of doxorubicin (Dox), resembled as Au@SiO₂‐Dox‐CS‐FA. TNEDS possesses up to 90% Dox loading efficiency and internalized through endocytosis pathway leading to pH and redox‐sensitive release kinetics. The superior FR‐targeted cytotoxicity is evaluated by the nanocarrier in comparison with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved liposomal Dox conjugate, Lipodox. Moreover, TNEDS exhibits theranostic features through caspase‐mediated apoptosis and envisages high surface plasmon resonance enabling the nanoconstruct as a promising surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanotag. Minuscule changes in the biochemical components inside cells exerted by the TNEDS along with the Dox release are evaluated explicitly in a time‐dependent fashion using bimodal SERS/fluorescence nanoprobe. Finally, TNEDS displays superior antitumor response in FR‐positive ascites as well as solid tumor syngraft mouse models. Therefore, this futuristic TNEDS is expected to be a potential alternative as a clinically relevant theranostic nanomedicine to effectively combat neoplasia.     

Finite element computation of the strain energy release rate for kinking of a crack

The approximate energy release rate for a crack which extends, or kinks, away from its original direction has been computed by finite element analysis using three different methods: stiffness derivative procedure, J integral method and crack closure integral procedure. A case study is presented to compare the computational accuracies. It suggests that a satisfactory approximation can be obtained provided that the ratio of kink length to original crack length, l(0)/a0.04, despite the interaction of the crack tip and knee stress singularities.

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Résumé En utilisant trois méthodes différentes (dérivation de la raideur, intégrale J et intégrale de fermeture de la fissure), on a calculé par éléments finis la vitesse approchée de relaxation de l'energie dans le cas d'une fissure qui diverge ou qui part en arborescence par rapport à sa direction initiale.On présente une étude de cas de manière à comparer les précisions respectives obtenus dans les calculs.Cette étude suggère qu'une approximation satisfaisante peut être obtenue, pour autant que le rapport de la longueur déviée à la longueur initiale de la fissure soit inférieure ou égale à 0,04, en dépit de l'interaction entre l'extrémité de la fissure et la singularité de la contrainte.

     

Antagonism of microRNA function in zebrafish embryos by using locked nucleic acid enzymes (LNAzymes)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have crucial functions in many cellular processes, such as differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis; aberrant expression of miRNAs has been linked to human diseases, including cancer. Tools that allow specific and efficient knockdown of miRNAs would be of immense importance for exploring miRNA function. Zebrafish serves as an excellent vertebrate model system to understand the functions of miRNAs involved in a variety of biological processes. We designed and employed a strategy based on locked nucleic acid enzymes (LNAzymes) for in vivo knockdown of miRNA in zebrafish embryos. We demonstrate that LNAzyme can efficiently knockdown miRNAs with minimal toxicity to the zebrafish embryos.     

High-performance polymer films. III. Preparation and characterization

A series of polyimide and copolyimide films were prepared by film casting, drying, and thermal imidization from the respective precursor poly(amic acid) (PAA) and copoly(amic acid) solutions derived from two dianhydrides, pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA), and two diamines, 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA) and a proprietary aromatic diamine (PD) as monomers. Depending on the solution's inherent viscosity value (molecular weight) and the nature of the polymer chains (derived from rigid or flexible monomers), precursor poly(amic acid) and copoly(amic acid) solution concentrations of 8–12% (w/w) were found to be suitable for the preparation of good quality polyimide/copolyimide films. The recovery of film toughness and creasability from the brittleness at the intermediate temperature of the cure cycle depended not only on the molecular weight of the precursor poly(amic acids)/copoly(amic acids) but also on their chain flexibility. The poly(amic acid) derived from both rigid dianhydride and diamine practically gave rise to a brittle film of polyimide even after curing to 360°C. The resulting polyimide and copolyimide films were compared with Du Pont's Kapton H film. The density of the films was in the range 1.39–1.42 g/cm³. The thickness of most of the films was in the range 20–30 μm. The HPF 3 film, based on PMDA–PD, appeared to be highly colored (reddish brown), and the HPF 2 film, based on BTDA–ODA, had the lightest yellow coloring among the films in this investigation, including Kapton H film. HPF 2, HPF 6, and HPF 8 films were more amorphous than the other films. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 976–988, 2001