An image adaptive, wavelet-based watermarking of digital images

In digital management, multimedia content and data can easily be used in an illegal way—being copied, modified and distributed again. Copyright protection, intellectual and material rights protection for authors, owners, buyers, distributors and the authenticity of content are crucial factors in solving an urgent and real problem. In such scenario digital watermark techniques are emerging as a valid solution. In this paper, we describe an algorithm—called WM2.0—for an invisible watermark: private, strong, wavelet-based and developed for digital images protection and authenticity. Using discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is motivated by good time-frequency features and well-matching with human visual system directives. These two combined elements are important in building an invisible and robust watermark. WM2.0 works on a dual scheme: watermark embedding and watermark detection. The watermark is embedded into high frequency DWT components of a specific sub-image and it is calculated in correlation with the image features and statistic properties. Watermark detection applies a re-synchronization between the original and watermarked image. The correlation between the watermarked DWT coefficients and the watermark signal is calculated according to the Neyman–Pearson statistic criterion. Experimentation on a large set of different images has shown to be resistant against geometric, filtering and StirMark attacks with a low rate of false alarm.     

A new approach to pre-processing digital image for wavelet-based watermark

The growth of the Internet has increased the phenomenon of digital piracy, in multimedia objects, like software, image, video, audio and text. Therefore it is strategic to individualize and to develop methods and numerical algorithms, which are stable and have low computational cost, that will allow us to find a solution to these problems. We describe a digital watermarking algorithm for color image protection and authenticity: robust, not blind, and wavelet-based. The use of Discrete Wavelet Transform is motivated by good time-frequency features and a good match with Human Visual System directives. These two combined elements are important for building an invisible and robust watermark. Moreover our algorithm can work with any image, thanks to the step of pre-processing of the image that includes resize techniques that adapt to the size of the original image for Wavelet transform. The watermark signal is calculated in correlation with the image features and statistic properties. In the detection step we apply a re-synchronization between the original and watermarked image according to the Neyman–Pearson statistic criterion. Experimentation on a large set of different images has been shown to be resistant against geometric, filtering, and StirMark attacks with a low rate of false alarm.     

An Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Syndrome and Some Management Recommendations

The thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a complication of COVID-19 vaccines, involves thrombosis (often cerebral venous sinus thrombosis) and thrombocytopenia with occasional pulmonary embolism and arterial ischemia. TTS appears to mostly affect females aged between 20 and 50 years old, with no predisposing risk factors conclusively identified so far. Cases are characterized by thrombocytopenia, higher levels of D-dimers than commonly observed in venous thromboembolic events, inexplicably low fibrinogen levels and worsening thrombosis. Hyper fibrinolysis associated with bleeding can also occur. Antibodies that bind platelet factor 4, similar to those associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, have also been identified but in the absence of patient exposure to heparin treatment. A number of countries have now suspended the use of adenovirus-vectored vaccines for younger individuals. The prevailing opinion of most experts is that the risk of developing COVID-19 disease, including thrombosis, far exceeds the extremely low risk of TTS associated with highly efficacious vaccines. Mass vaccination should continue but with caution. Vaccines that are more likely to cause TTS (e.g., Vaxzevria manufactured by AstraZeneca) should be avoided in younger patients for whom an alternative vaccine is available.     

Synthesis,Characterization, and Pharmacological Evaluation of Some New Pteridine‐Based Heterocycles as Antimicrobial Agents

Considering pteridine as a worthy structure for improving probes of magnificent therapeutic potentials, some new pteridine conjugates were synthesized by aminomethylation of benzopteridinethione with a variety of primary aromatic amines and formaldehyde solution (37%) through the Mannich reaction. The proposed mechanism of formation of the synthesized compounds was discussed, and the structure of the newly synthesized compounds was elucidated on the basis of their IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, mass spectral, and elemental analyses. Furthermore, some selected compounds were evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial activities; the preliminary data stated that the majority of the tested compounds exhibited significant antimicrobial activity. Analogues 22 , 23 , 20 , 19 , 24 , and 15 were found to be the most potent against all the tested microorganisms.     

Pyrazole‐1‐carbothioamide as a Potent Precursor for Synthesis of Some New N‐heterocycles of Potential Biological Activity

Herein, we reported the efficient synthesis of new azoles as bio‐functional analogs, employing the easily obtainable N‐acetyl‐3,5‐diphenyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐pyrazole‐1‐carbothioamide ( 1 ), as a versatile precursor. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were elucidated based on their IR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR mass spectral and elemental analysis. Furthermore, some selected compounds were evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial activities. The preliminary bioassay results indicate that the majority of the tested compounds exhibited significant antimicrobial activity. Compounds 12 , 11 , 18 , 30 , 22 , 3 , and 2 were found to be the most potent against the tested microorganisms with minimum inhibitory concentration ≤ (12.25 μg/mL), indicating that conjugates bearing thiazole moiety, as well as those with N‐substituted electron‐withdrawing groups, exhibited higher potency than the rest of other compounds.     

Photoreduction of CCl3F in aqueous solutions containing sulfonated poly(ether etherketone) and formate buffers

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Irradiation of aqueous solutions containing the sodium salt of sulfonated poly(ether etherketone) and HCO2H/HCO2? buffers with 350 nm photons...     

Broadband metamaterial absorber on a single-layer ultrathin substrate

In this article, a broadband metamaterial microwave absorber on a low-cost FR-4 Epoxy substrate is proposed. The unit cell of the absorber consists of a staircase shape metallic patch placed on the top of the metal-backed ultrathin dielectric substrate having a thickness of 1.9 mm (0.07 λ₀). The absorption of more than 90% is achieved with this proposed low profile single-layer microwave absorber throughout the operation band from 8.86 to 15.5 GHz. The performance is analyzed for different values of incident angle, polarization angle, substrate height, and dielectric constant. The surface current and the power loss density at the top and bottom planes at the two absorption peaks of 9.46 and 13.90 GHz are also analyzed to elaborate the absorption mechanism of the structure. Experimental result closely follows the simulated one. The broadband characteristics of the design with relative absorption bandwidth (RAB) of 54.51% at both TE and TM polarizations of incident wave for a wide incident angles makes it versatile for applications in the X and Ku bands of microwave frequencies. The proposed work is very compact (unit cell size: 0.22 λ₀) with ultrathin substrate height (0.07 λ₀) and giving RAB performance of 54.51% comparable with that of others. Thus with this single-layer low-cost substrate material a broadband absorber is achieved.     

Effects of aspect ratio on unsteady solutions through curved duct flow

The effects of the aspect ratio on unsteady solutions through the curved duct flow are studied numerically by a spectral based computational procedure with a temperature gradient between the vertical sidewalls for the Grashof number 100 ≤ Gr ≤ 2 000. The outer wall of the duct is heated while the inner wall is cooled and the top and bottom walls are adiabatic. In this paper, unsteady solutions are calculated by the time history analysis of the Nusselt number for the Dean numbers Dn = 100 and Dn = 500 and the aspect ratios 1≤γ≤ 3. Water is taken as a working fluid （Pr =7.0）. It is found that at Dn = 100, there appears a steady-state solution for small or large Gr. For moderate Gr, however, the steady-state solution turns into the periodic solution if γ is increased. For Dn = 500, on the other hand, it is analyzed that the steady-state solution turns into the chaotic solution for small and large Gr for any γ lying in the range. For moderate Gr at Dn = 500, however, the steady-state flow turns into the chaotic flow through the periodic oscillating flow if the aspect ratio is increased.     

Numerical study on optical and electrical properties of strained GaInSb/GaInAlSb mid-infrared quantum well laser

The optical and electrical properties of compressively strained GaInSb/GaInAlSb mid-infrared quantum well lasers are numerically studied solving one-dimensional Schrödinger equation using finite difference method. The simulation results demonstrate that band-mixing effects and effective mass of hole are reduced when the well is compressively strained. The strain-dependent optical and differential gains are evaluated for 0.6, 0.9, 1.21, and 1.52% compressively strained quantum well and found maximum when well is strained by 1.52%. The emission wavelength for the proposed laser can be tuned from 2.40 to 2.26 μm due to change in compressive strain from 0.60 to 1.52% at temperature 300 K. For the range of strain, the shift in wavelength is found from 2.38 to 2.24 μm at temperature 275 K. The results obtained from PSPICE simulation indicate that, the optical output power and threshold current are strongly depend on the number of wells and found to be almost constant for the number of wells three and above.