Abstract: Digital watermarking has been proposed as an effective technology of copyright protection and content authentication, yet up to now, research on the robust watermarking against geometric attacks is still a challenging task. This paper presents a novel robust watermarking algorithm in nonsubsampled shearlet transform (NSST) domain using quaternion polar harmonic transform (PHT) and least squares support vector regression (LS-SVR), which is a recently developed geometric correction algorithm for digital color image. The major innovative works of the proposed approach lie in that (1) the NSST is applied to embed the watermark, which can provide the image function with nearly optimal…approximation and employ fully the properties of human visual system (HVS), (2) the robust 2D transform, namely quaternion PHT is introduced to represent the characteristics of color image, and (3) the novel synchronous correction method is proposed using the excellent LS-SVR and quaternion PHTs, which can accurately estimate the geometric distortions parameters. In our experiments, we applied the proposed method to the standard color image test dataset, and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is not only invisible, but also robustness against common signal processing operations and geometric attacks.
Show more
Keywords: Color image watermarking, geometric distortions, nonsubsampled shearlet transform, quaternion polar harmonic transform, least squares support vector regression
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease can be quantified by measuring the fat attenuation index (FAI). OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlations between FAI, high-risk plaque and the degree of coronary artery stenosis. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with coronary atherosclerosis who underwent a coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography examination between July 2020 and June 2023 were selected for retrospective analysis. These patients were classified into a high-risk plaque group and non-high-risk plaque group according to the presence of CT high-risk plaque. The diagnostic value of FAI and FAI combined with the degree of stenosis was evaluated for CT high-risk plaque. RESULTS:…Differences in age, body mass index, smoking history, FAI and the degree of stenosis between the two groups were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The results of a binary logistic regression analysis revealed that FAI (odds ratio (OR): 1.131, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.101–1.173, P < 0.001) and the degree of stenosis (OR: 1.021, 95% CI: 1.012–1.107, P < 0.001) were risk factors for high-risk plaque. CONCLUSION: The FAI can be used to monitor the inflammation level of the coronary artery; the higher the FAI is, the higher the risk of plaque and degree of stenosis.
Show more
Abstract: Background: Both late-life depression (LLD) and short sleep duration increase the risk of cognitive impairment. Increased insular resting-state functional connectivity (FC) has been reported in individuals with short sleep duration and dementia. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether short sleep duration is associated with impaired cognition and higher insular FC in patients with LLD. Methods: This case– control study recruited 186 patients with LLD and 83 normal controls (NC), and comprehensive psychometric assessments, sleep duration reports and resting-state functional MRI scans (81 LLD patients and 54 NC) were conducted. Results: Patients with LLD and short sleep duration (LLD-SS patients)…exhibited more severe depressive symptoms and worse cognitive function than those with normal sleep duration (LLD-NS patients) and NC. LLD-SS patients exhibited higher FC between the bilateral insula and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) pars triangularis than LLD-NS patients and NC, while LLD-NS patients exhibited lower FC than NC. Increased insular FC was correlated with short sleep duration, severe depressive symptoms, and slower information processing speeds. Furthermore, an additive effect was found between sleep duration and LLD on global cognition and insular FC. Conclusion: LLD-SS patients exhibited impaired cognition and increased insular FC. Abnormal FC in LLD-SS patients may be a therapeutic target for neuromodulation to improve sleep and cognitive performance and thus decrease the risk of dementia.
Show more