An optimal control problem in image processing

As a starting point, we present a control problem in mammographic image processing which leads to non-standard penalty terms and involves a degenerate parabolic PDE which has to be controlled in the coefficients. We then discuss the classical conditional gradient method from constrained optimization and propose a generalization for non-convex functionals which covers the conditional gradient method as well as the recently proposed iterative shrinkage method of Daubechies, Defrise and De Mol for the solution of linear inverse problems with sparsity promoting penalty terms. We prove that this new algorithm converges. This also gives a deeper understanding of the iterative shrinkage method. Further, we show an application to the above-mentioned control problem in image processing. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A double smoothing technique for solving unconstrained nondifferentiable convex optimization problems

The aim of this paper is to develop an efficient algorithm for solving a class of unconstrained nondifferentiable convex optimization problems in finite dimensional spaces. To this end we formulate first its Fenchel dual problem and regularize it in two steps into a differentiable strongly convex one with Lipschitz continuous gradient. The doubly regularized dual problem is then solved via a fast gradient method with the aim of accelerating the resulting convergence scheme. The theoretical results are finally applied to an l ₁ regularization problem arising in image processing.     

Efficient algorithms for buffer space allocation

This paper describes efficient algorithms for determining how buffer space should be allocated in a flow line. We analyze two problems: a primal problem, which minimizes total buffer space subject to a production rate constraint; and a dual problem, which maximizes production rate subject to a total buffer space constraint. The dual problem is solved by means of a gradient method, and the primal problem is solved using the dual solution. Numerical results are presented. Profit optimization problems are natural generalizations of the primal and dual problems, and we show how they can be solved using essentially the same algorithms.     

Preconditioned Iterative Methods for Algebraic Systems from Multiplicative Half-Quadratic Regularization Image Restorations

<正>Image restoration is often solved by minimizing an energy function consisting of a data-fidelity term and a regularization term.A regularized convex term can usually preserve the image edges well in the restored image.In this paper,we consider a class of convex and edge-preserving regularization functions,i.e.,multiplicative half-quadratic regularizations,and we use the Newton method to solve the correspondingly reduced systems of nonlinear equations.At each Newton iterate,the preconditioned conjugate gradient method,incorporated with a constraint preconditioner,is employed to solve the structured Newton equation that has a symmetric positive definite coefficient matrix. The eigenvalue bounds of the preconditioned matrix are deliberately derived,which can be used to estimate the convergence speed of the preconditioned conjugate gradient method.We use experimental results to demonstrate that this new approach is efficient, and the effect of image restoration is reasonably well.     

On the acceleration of the double smoothing technique for unconstrained convex optimization problems

In this article, we investigate the possibilities of accelerating the double smoothing (DS) technique when solving unconstrained nondifferentiable convex optimization problems. This approach relies on the regularization in two steps of the Fenchel dual problem associated with the problem to be solved into an optimization problem having a differentiable strongly convex objective function with Lipschitz continuous gradient. The doubly regularized dual problem is then solved via a fast gradient method. The aim of this article is to show how the properties of the functions in the objective of the primal problem influence the implementation of the DS approach and its rate of convergence. The theoretical results are applied to linear inverse problems by making use of different regularization functionals.     

Learning the coordinate gradients

In this paper we study the problem of learning the gradient function with application to variable selection and determining variable covariation. Firstly, we propose a novel unifying framework for coordinate gradient learning from the perspective of multi-task learning. Various variable selection methods can be regarded as special instances of this framework. Secondly, we formulate the dual problems of gradient learning with general loss functions. This enables the direct application of standard optimization toolboxes to the case of gradient learning. For instance, gradient learning with SVM loss can be solved by quadratic programming (QP) routines. Thirdly, we propose a novel gradient learning formulation which can be cast as a learning the kernel matrix problem. Its relation with sparse regularization is highlighted. A semi-infinite linear programming (SILP) approach and an iterative optimization approach are proposed to efficiently solve this problem. Finally, we validate our proposed approaches on both synthetic and real datasets.     

Peeling phylogenetic ‘oranges’

We investigate the combinatorics of a topological space that is generated by the set of edge-weighted finite trees. This space arises by multiplying the weights of edges on paths in trees and is closely connected to tree reconstruction problems involving finite state Markov processes. We show that this space is a contractible finite CW-complex whose face poset can be described via a partial order on semilabelled forests. We then describe some combinatorial properties of this poset, showing that, for example, it is pure, thin and contractible.     

Connectivity interdiction

We consider the problem of maximally decreasing the edge-connectivity of an edge-weighted graph by removing a limited set of edges. This problem, which we term connectivity interdiction, falls into a large family of so-called interdiction problems, which have been considered in a variety of contexts. Whereas little is known about the approximability of most interdiction problems, we show that connectivity interdiction admits a PTAS, and a natural special case of it can even be solved efficiently.     

Efficient Threshold Selection for Multivariate Total Variation Denoising

Total variation (TV) denoising is still attracting attention with theoretical and computational motivations, for its conceptual simplicity of solving a lasso-like convex problem and its good properties for preserving sharp edges and contours in objects with spatial structures like natural images, although more modern and recent techniques specifically tailored to image processing have been developed. TV induces variation-sparsity in the sense that the reconstruction is piecewise constant with a small number of jumps. A threshold parameter λ controls the number of jumps and the quality of the estimation. Since calculation of the TV estimate in high dimension is computationally intensive for a given λ, we propose to calculate the TV estimate for only two sequential λ’s. Our adaptive procedure is based on large deviation of stochastic processes and extreme value theory. We also show that TV can perform exact segmentation in dimension one, under an alternating sign condition for some prescribed threshold. We apply our procedure to denoise a collection of 1D and 2D test signals verifying empirically the effectiveness of our approach. Codes are given to reproduce our results in a provided PURL.     

The Schur algorithm and its applications

The Schur algorithm and its time-domain counterpart, the fast Cholseky recursions, are some efficient signal processing algorithms which are well adapted to the study of inverse scattering problems. These algorithms use a layer stripping approach to reconstruct a lossless scattering medium described by symmetric two-component wave equations which model the interaction of right and left propagating waves. In this paper, the Schur and fast Chokesky recursions are presented and are used to study several inverse problems such as the reconstruction of nonuniform lossless transmission lines, the inverse problem for a layered acoustic medium, and the linear least-squares estimation of stationary stochastic processes. The inverse scattering problem for asymmetric two-component wave equations corresponding to lossy media is also examined and solved by using two coupled sets of Schur recursions. This procedure is then applied to the inverse problem for lossy transmission lines.The work of this author was supported by the Exxon Education FoundationThe work of this author was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant AFOSR-82-0135A.     

Minimal comparability completions of arbitrary graphs

A transitive orientation of an undirected graph is an assignment of directions to its edges so that these directed edges represent a transitive relation between the vertices of the graph. Not every graph has a transitive orientation, but every graph can be turned into a graph that has a transitive orientation, by adding edges. We study the problem of adding an inclusion minimal set of edges to an arbitrary graph so that the resulting graph is transitively orientable. We show that this problem can be solved in polynomial time, and we give a surprisingly simple algorithm for it. We use a vertex incremental approach in this algorithm, and we also give a more general result that describes graph classes Π for which Π completion of arbitrary graphs can be achieved through such a vertex incremental approach.     

Approximating-topological methods in some problems of hydrodynamics

We describe a new approach to the study of initial-boundary value problems for evolutionary equations of hydrodynamics, which is based on approximation of the problems and subsequent application of topological degree theory for investigation of weak solvability for approximating problems. Use of this method turned out to be especially effective in problems of non- Newtonian hydrodynamics. We demonstrate its application to the study of weak solvability and attractors of the initial-boundary value problem for the Oldroyd model with regularized objective Jaumann derivative.     

Image restoration and edge detection by topological asymptotic expansion

A new method for edge detection and image restoration is proposed. This method is based on topological gradient approach. Experimental results obtained on noisy images illustrate the capabilities of this promising method in image processing. To cite this article: L.J. Belaid et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 342 (2006).     

A new reconstruction method for a parabolic inverse source problem

In this paper, we focus on the detection of the shape and location of a discontinuous source term from the knowledge of boundary measurements. We propose a non-iterative reconstruction algorithm based on the Kohn-Vogelius formulation and the topological sensitivity analysis method. The inverse source problem is formulated as a topology optimization one. A topological sensitivity analysis is derived from an energy-like cost function. The unknown shape of the term source support is reconstructed using a level-set curve of the topological gradient. The efficiency of our algorithm is illustrated by some numerical simulations.     

From restoration by topological gradient to medical image segmentation via an asymptotic expansion

The aim of this article is to present an application of the topological asymptotic expansion to the medical image segmentation problem. We first recall the classical variational of the image restoration problem, and its resolution by topological asymptotic analysis in which the identification of the diffusion coefficient can be seen as an inverse conductivity problem. The conductivity is set either to a small positive coefficient (on the edge set), or to its inverse (elsewhere). In this paper a technique based on a power series expansion of the solution to the image restoration problem with respect to this small coefficient is introduced. By considering the limit when this coefficient goes to zero, we obtain a segmented image, but some numerical issues do not allow a too small coefficient. The idea is to use the series expansion to approximate the asymptotic solution with several solutions corresponding to positive (larger than a threshold) conductivity coefficients via a quadrature formula. We illustrate this approach with some numerical results on medical images.     

On decomposition-based block preconditioned iterative methods for half-quadratic image restoration

Image restoration is a fundamental problem in image processing. Except for many different filters applied to obtain a restored image in image restoration, a degraded image can often be recovered efficiently by minimizing a cost function which consists of a data-fidelity term and a regularization term. In specific, half-quadratic regularization can effectively preserve image edges in the recovered images and a fixed-point iteration method is usually employed to solve the minimization problem. In this paper, the Newton method is applied to solve the half-quadratic regularization image restoration problem. And at each step of the Newton method, a structured linear system of a symmetric positive definite coefficient matrix arises. We design two different decomposition-based block preconditioning matrices by considering the special structure of the coefficient matrix and apply the preconditioned conjugate gradient method to solve this linear system. Theoretical analysis shows the eigenvector properties and the spectral bounds for the preconditioned matrices. The method used to analyze the spectral distribution of the preconditioned matrix and the correspondingly obtained spectral bounds are different from those in the literature. The experimental results also demonstrate that the decomposition-based block preconditioned conjugate gradient method is efficient for solving the half-quadratic regularization image restoration in terms of the numerical performance and image recovering quality.     

Augmented conjugate gradient. Application in an iterative process for the solution of scattering problems

We discuss the application of an augmented conjugate gradient to the solution of a sequence of linear systems of the same matrix appearing in an iterative process for the solution of scattering problems. The conjugate gradient method applied to the first system generates a Krylov subspace, then for the following systems, a modified conjugate gradient is applied using orthogonal projections on this subspace to compute an initial guess and modified descent directions leading to a better convergence. The scattering problem is treated via an Exact Controllability formulation and a preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithm is introduced. The set of linear systems to be solved are associated to this preconditioning. The efficiency of the method is tested on different 3D acoustic problems. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A multi-scale image reconstruction algorithm for electrical capacitance tomography

Electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) is considered as a promising process tomography (PT) technology, and its successful applications depend mainly on the precision and speed of the image reconstruction algorithms. In this paper, based on the wavelet multi-scale analysis method, an efficient image reconstruction algorithm is presented. The original inverse problem is decomposed into a sequence of inverse problems, which are solved successively from the largest scale to the smallest scale. At different scales, the inverse problem is solved by a generalized regularized total least squares (TLS) method, which is developed using a combinational minimax estimation method and an extended stabilizing functional, until the solution of the original inverse problem is found. The homotopy algorithm is employed to solve the objective functional. The proposed algorithm is tested by the noise-free capacitance data and the noise-contaminated capacitance data, and excellent numerical performances and satisfactory results are observed. In the cases considered in this paper, the reconstruction results show remarkable improvement in the accuracy. The spatial resolution of the reconstructed images by the proposed algorithm is enhanced and the artifacts in the reconstructed images can be eliminated effectively. As a result, a promising algorithm is introduced for ECT image reconstruction.     

A decomposition approach for optimal control problems with integer innerpoint state constraints

A large class of optimal control problems for hybrid dynamic systems can be formulated as mixed‐integer optimal control problems (MIOCPs). A decomposition approach is suggested to solve a special subclass of MIOCPs with mixed integer inner point state constraints. It is the intrinsic combinatorial complexity of the discrete variables in addition to the high nonlinearity of the continuous optimal control problem that forms the challenges in the theoretical and numerical solution of MIOCPs. During the solution procedure the problem is decomposed at the inner time points into a multiphase problem with mixed integer boundary constraints and phase transitions at unknown switching points. Due to a discretization of the state space at the switching points the problem can be decoupled into a family of continuous optimal control problems (OCPs) and a problem similar to the asymmetric group traveling salesman problem (AGTSP). The OCPs are transcribed by direct collocation to large‐scale nonlinear programming problems, which are solved efficiently by an advanced SQP method. The results are used as weights for the edges of the graph of the corresponding TSP‐like problem, which is solved by a Branch‐and‐Cut‐and‐Price (BCP) algorithm. The proposed approach is applied to a hybrid optimal control benchmark problem for a motorized traveling salesman. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)