Integrated Video and Text for Content-based Access to Video Databases

This paper introduces a new approach to realize video databases. The approach consists of a VideoText data model based on free text annotations associated with logical video segments and a corresponding query language. Traditional database techniques are inadequate for exploiting queries on unstructured data such as video, supporting temporal queries, and ranking query results according to their relevance to the query. In this paper, we propose to use information retrieval techniques to provide such features and to extend the query language to accommodate interval queries that are particularly suited to video data. Algorithms are provided to show how user queries are evaluated. Finally, a generic and modular video database architecture which is based on VideoText data model is described.     

面向电子政务的MongoDB与MySQL混合存储策略

针对传统电子政务平台所采用的关系型数据库在存储非结构化数据时的缺陷,利用MongoDB存储海量非结构化数据的优势,提出MongoDB与MySQL混合存储的策略。MongoDB负责存储图片、视频等非结构化数据,MySQL负责存储用户注册信息、工资表等结构化数据。二者协同提供政务数据的云存储服务和查询操作,从而降低MySQL数据库服务器的负载,节约MySQL的存储空间,增强电子政务后台数据库的扩展性。实验结果表明,该混合策略能大大提高电子政务平台的查询效率。     

Fuzzy querying of incomplete, imprecise, and heterogeneously structured data in the relational model using ontologies and rules

In this paper, we present a new method, called multiview fuzzy querying, which permits to query incomplete, imprecise and heterogeneously structured data stored in a relational database. This method has been implemented in the MIEL software. MIEL is used to query the Sym'Previus database which gathers information about the behavior of pathogenic germs in food products. In this database, data are incomplete because information about all possible food products and all possible germs is not available; data are heterogeneous because they come from various sources (scientific bibliography, industrial data, etc); data may be imprecise because of the complexity of the underlying biological processes that are involved. To deal with heterogeneity, MIEL queries the database through several views simultaneously. To query incomplete data, MIEL proposes to use a fuzzy set, expressing the query preferences of the user. Fuzzy sets may be defined on a hierarchized domain of values, called an ontology (values of the domain are connected using the a kind of semantic link). MIEL also proposes two optional functionalities to help the user query the database: i) MIEL can use the ontology to enlarge the querying in order to retrieve the nearest data corresponding to the selection criteria; and ii) MIEL proposes fuzzy completion rules to help the user formulate his/her query. To query imprecise data stored in the database with fuzzy selection criteria, MIEL uses fuzzy pattern matching.     

Effects of format complexity on user performance and facial electromyographic activity: II

Twenty-four experienced male and female computer users evaluated a 16-row database record that was presented successively 256 times on a video display terminal (VDT) screen. Each evaluation required the decision that the data adjacent to a target label field was identical to or different from a target data item. Target label fields and data items were presented successively and singly prior to the presentation of the database record to be evaluated. Label fields and data items were controlled for word familiarity. The database record had four configurations (i.e., formats) that differed in terms of bit-level complexity, which also produced differences in local density. Decision times (i.e., latencies) were assessed in a repeated-measures experimental design, and, concurrently, electromyographic (EMG) activity was recorded for the masseter (jaw) and corrugator supercilii (eyebrow) muscles. The results showed that decision times differed among the four formats, but bit-level complexity was found to be unrelated to decision times. Masseter EMG activity differed between presentations of the formats and presentations of the target label fields and data items. Corrugator supercilii EMG activity differed between an “eyes open” baseline interval and presentations of the formats and target label fields and data items. These data show that different configurations of information can affect user response times and that masseter and corrugator supercilii EMG responses are differentially sensitive to various components of a task. The results, however, do not support the conclusion that bit-level complexity of a database record, displayed on a VDT screen, will predict user performance or facial EMG activity, although the latter data are promising as on-line indices of affect-laden information processing. Local density of information and estimates of eye movement distances may best predict user performance.     

VisDB: database exploration using multidimensional visualization

Discusses how the VisDB system supports the query specification process by representing the result visually. The main idea behind the system stems from the view of relational database tables as sets of multidimensional data where the number of attributes corresponds to the number of dimensions. In such a view, it is often unclear. In this system, each display pixel represents one database item. Pixels are arranged and colored to indicate the item's relevance to a user query and to give a visual impression of the resulting data set     

User-private information retrieval based on a peer-to-peer community

Private information retrieval (PIR) is normally modeled as a game between two players: a user and a database. The user wants to retrieve some item from the database without the latter learning which item is retrieved. Most current PIR protocols are ill-suited to provide PIR from a search engine or large database: (i) their computational complexity is linear in the size of the database; (ii) they assume active cooperation by the database server in the PIR protocol. If the database cannot be assumed to cooperate, a peer-to-peer (P2P) user community is a natural alternative to achieve some query anonymity: a user gets her queries submitted on her behalf by other users in the P2P community. In this way, the database still learns which item is being retrieved, but it cannot obtain the real query histories of users, which become diffused among the peer users. We name this relaxation of PIR user-private information retrieval (UPIR). A peer-to-peer UPIR system is described in this paper which relies on an underlying combinatorial structure to reduce the required key material and increase availability. Extensive simulation results are reported and a distributed key management version of the system is described.     

3D-List: a data structure for efficient video query processing

A video query model based on the content of video and iconic indexing is proposed. We extend the notion of two-dimensional strings to three-dimensional strings (3D-Strings) for representing the spatial and temporal relationships among the symbols in both a video and a video query. The problem of video query processing is then transformed into a problem of three-dimensional pattern matching. To efficiently match the 3D-Strings, a data structure, called 3D-List, and its related algorithms are proposed. In this approach, the symbols of a video in the video database are retrieved from the video index and organized as a 3D-List according to the 3D-String of the video query. The related algorithms are then applied on the 3D-List to determine whether this video is an answer to the video query. Based on this approach, we have started a project called Vega. In this project, we have implemented a user friendly interface for specifying video queries, a video index tool for constructing the video index, and a video query processor based on the notion of 3D-List. Some experiments are also performed to show the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithms     

An efficient query optimization strategy for spatio-temporal queries in video databases

The interest for multimedia database management systems has grown rapidly due to the need for the storage of huge volumes of multimedia data in computer systems. An important building block of a multimedia database system is the query processor, and a query optimizer embedded to the query processor is needed to answer user queries efficiently. Query optimization problem has been widely studied for conventional database systems; however it is a new research area for multimedia database systems. Due to the differences in query processing strategies, query optimization techniques used in multimedia database systems are different from those used in traditional databases. In this paper, a query optimization strategy is proposed for processing spatio-temporal queries in video database systems. The proposed strategy includes reordering algorithms to be applied on query execution tree. The performance results obtained by testing the reordering algorithms on different query sets are also presented.     

数据库SQL查询技术的优化策略

在数据库应用系统的开发过程中,若不注重SQL的查询优化策略,往往在系统初步投入使用时比较流畅,但随着数据库表中记录的日积月累数量越来越大,系统的响应速度越来越慢,甚至让人无法忍受,就有可能导致系统被淘汰。因此,科学合理地构造查询系统,是成功开发数据库应用系统非常重要的环节。本文结合数据库理论,并以学生信息管理系统为例,就查询优化必要性及如何进行数据库查询优化的策略进行探讨。     

HyperFile: A data and query model for documents

Non-quantitative information such as documents and pictures pose interesting new problems in the database world. Traditional data models and query languages do not provide appropriate support for this information. Such data are typically stored in file systems, which do not provide the security, integrity, or query features of database management systems. The hypertext model has emerged as a good interface to this information; however,finding information using hypertext browsing does not scale well. We developed a query interface that serves as an extension of the browsing model of hypertext systems. These queries minimize the repeated user interactions required to locate data in a standard hypertext system. HyperFile is a prototype data server interface. In this article, we describe HyperFile, including a number of issues such as query generation, query processing, and indexing.     

Efficient Query Execution Techniques in a 4DIS Video Database System for eLearning

In this paper, we describe our work on developing an eLearning video database system. The eLearning video database provides a temporal modeling framework for describing eLearning video data and it supports data distribution by applying vertical class partitioning techniques. Building on top of our previous work on Four Dimensional Information System (4DIS)—an object-oriented temporal modeling framework, we apply vertical class partitioning techniques onto a 4DIS eLearning video database system as a means for efficient query execution. We further describe our work on dynamic fetching of multimedia eLearning video on the Internet. A detailed cost model for query execution through vertical class partitioning is developed. Finally, we demonstrate through the use of a running example the effectiveness of our vertical class partitioning approach.     

Effective utilization of copies in a transparent distributed environment

In a distributed relational database system, the processing of a query involves data transmission among different sites via a computer network. In a distributed database multiple copies of each relation can be allocated to different, physically distributed sites. In this paper we discuss the query preoptimization problem for join-queries. In general, there is a large number of possibilities to use the copies of the data item in a distributed relational database when evaluating a join-query. We consider the problem of a copy preselection for each relation in a join sequence of a join-query. We show how to express the preselection problem for a given query and data allocation to the network in terms of an integer linear programming problem, namely, a minimum cover problem. It can be treated as a heuristic for the first phase of a join-query optimization, and as such as an input to the final stage of optimization, the execution strategy generation for a join-query. In this paper we assumed that a distributed system provides fully transparent data management, i.e., data allocation to the network and data replication which is revealed to a user. We illustrate the proposed mathematical programming problem through a nontrivial example. Recommended by: R. Elamsri     

基于信息约束的数据库查询界面的自动生成

在分析了现有数据库用户查询界面和条件生成在数据库应用中存在的问题后，基于面向对象的概念，提出了可视对象数据描述表结构、信息来源和取值方式等约束的用户查询界面和条件的生成方法，并给予了形式化描述。查询条件的生成采用的是合取范式的标准形式，用户界面的生成采用了标准的可视对象。该方法已经得到了实现，并在实际系统中获得了应用。     

An Annotation Engine for Supporting Video Database Population

Segmentation, video data modeling, and annotation are indispensable operations necessary for creating and populating a video database. To support such video databases, annotation data can be collected as metadata for the database and subsequently used for indexing and query evaluation. In this paper we describe the design and development of a video annotation engine, called Vane, intended to solve this problem as a domain-independent video annotation application.Using the Vane tool, the annotation of raw video data is achieved through metadata collection. This process, which is performed semi-automatically, produces tailored SGML documents whose purpose is to describe information about the video content. These documents constitute the metadatabase component of the video database. The video data model which has been developed for the metadata, is as open as possible for multiple domain-specific applications. The tool is currently in use to annotate a video archive comprised of educational and news video content.     

Making Database Schema Hierarchical for Visual Access to Databases

Making the database schema hierarchical can help a casual user retrieve information from a complex database. The hierarchical database schema provides further insight into database content and focuses on meaningful data by a top-down method. The user can proceed with a hierarchical visual query, which ultimately simplifies the query, reduces the syntax error rate and conserves the query time. In this paper, we present a hierarchical graph which makes the database schema hierarchical, naturally integrates the browsing and querying and, consequently, allows the user to proceed with an incremental query on the hierarchical database schema. Also proven herein are the existence, uniformity, and consistency of the hierarchical graph to verify that the graph can be used to query the database. This paper also discusses the semantics of high-level nodes and conducts an experiment to evaluate users’ performance. Finally, we describe how one can use the hierarchical graph to unify the tasks of making the schema hierarchical, creating concept hierarchies, and integrating the databases.     

基于Edius5的影视制作

Edius5是工作在PC平台上的制作视频内容的非线性编辑软件,它提供了无限的视频、音频、字幕和图文界面,可进行不同格式、不同制式、不同分辨率素材的混合编辑。优秀的编／解码技术和可升级的无限实时能力,延长了该软件的生命周期,可自定义的操作界面和快捷键为视频编辑带来了极大的便利,既使是初学者也可以依靠图标按钮上的功能描述,以简单的方式来轻松地操作这个系统。     

基于终端监控的仪器管理系统服务器设计与实现

针对高校实验室科研仪器存在的种类繁多、使用人员流动性大、仪器地点分散等情况,设计了一个采用C/S架构的仪器监控管理系统。系统终端采用ARM架构的嵌入式处理器,通过霍尔电流传感器检测其所监控的仪器的电流变化情况,将仪器状态、使用人的卡号以及非法操作的报警照片实时地通过网络发送给服务器,同时应用网络数据库技术设计了实验室监控仪器网上查询列表,实现了可在网页直接地查询当前各个房间的仪器使用情况、任何时间段的使用记录信息和所有时间段的报警记录照片以及实验室仪器的预约。     

Querying through a user interface

In contrast to a traditional setting where users express queries against the database schema, we assert that the semantics of data can often be understood by viewing the data in the context of the user interface (UI) of the software tool used to enter the data. That is, we believe that users will understand the data in a database by seeing the labels, drop-down menus, tool tips, or other help text that are built into the user interface. Our goal is to allow domain experts with little technical skill to understand and query data. In this paper, we present our GUi As View (Guava) framework and describe how we use forms-based UIs to generate a conceptual model that represents the information in the user interface. We then describe how we generate a query interface from the conceptual model. We characterize the resulting query language using a subset of the relational algebra. Since most application developers want to craft a physical database to meet desired performance needs, we present here a transformation channel that can be configured by instantiating one or more of our transformation operators. The channel, once configured, automatically transforms queries from our query interface into queries that address the underlying physical database and delivers query results that conform to our query interface. In this paper, we define and formalize our database transformation operators. The contributions of this paper are that first, we demonstrate the feasibility of creating a query interface based directly on the user interface and second, we introduce a general purpose database transformation channel that will likely shorten the application development process and increase the quality of the software by automatically generating software artifacts that are often made manually and are prone to errors.