Encryption for high efficiency video coding with video adaptation capabilities

Video encryption techniques enable applications like digital rights management and video scrambling. Applying encryption on the entire video stream can be computationally costly and prevents advanced video modifications by an untrusted middlebox in the network, like splicing, quality monitoring, watermarking, and transcoding. Therefore, encryption techniques are proposed which influence a small amount of the video stream while keeping the video compliant with its compression standard, High Efficiency Video Coding. Encryption while guaranteeing standard compliance can cause degraded compression efficiency, so depending on their bitrate impact, a selection of encrypted syntax elements should be made. Each element also impacts the quality for untrusted decoders differently, so this aspect should also be considered. In this paper, multiple techniques for partial video encryption are investigated, most of them having a low impact on rate-distortion performance and having a broad range in scrambling performance(1)

Description of flower colors for image based plant species classification

Apart from shape, color is the most visually prominent and perceivable feature of a flower. To use color as a feature for fine-grained plant species classification based on flower images, its descriptor has to be discriminative, compact, and robust against photometric variations. Therefore, we studied state-of-the-art color description methods and evaluated their discriminative power in an image classification pipeline. Experiments have been performed on three flower image datasets possessing large photometric and geometric varieties. We found that implicit photometric invariance by pooling 11 basic colors from patches around local features allows for robust color description outperforming explicitly photometric invariant descriptors in most cases

Flora Incognita – Halbautomatische Bestimmung der Pflanzenarten Thüringens mit dem Smartphone

Species knowledge is essential for protecting biodiversity. People are more willing to protect plants and animals that they personally experienced before. The identification of plants by conventional keys is very complex, time consuming, and due to the use of specific terms frustrating for non-experts. This creates a hard to overcome hurdle for novices interested in acquiring species knowledge. Modern communication techniques are a continuous companion in today’s life and provide an opportunity to simplify conventional identification methods. The goal of our “Flora Incognita” project is developing a method for semi-automatic plant identification via mobile devices. The process will lead a user through an interactive series of identification steps. Part of these steps will utilise image recognition techniques to identify plant traits. An accompanying web-based platform will allow ambitious interested users to contribute in our project

The relationship between cardiac resynchronization therapy and serum levels of copeptin in patients with chronic heart failure

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): The present study was supported by a grant from Slovak Hearth Rhythm Association (Prognostic value of MR-proANP and MR-proADM in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy). Background Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex syndrome characterized by an abnormal neurohormonal activation, including arginine vasopressin (AVP). Copeptin is an indicator of AVP activation, which levels are elevated in CHF and have prognostic importance. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an important device therapy for patients with advanced CHF, left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and evidence of electromechanical dyssynchrony. The aim of the present study was to determine the possible relationship between CRT and serum copeptin levels. Methods We have included CRT patients with ischemic as well as nonischemic etiology of CHF. The levels of copeptin were measured at baseline and 12 months respectively after CRT implantation. Echocardiography was also performed pre and 12 months post CRT implantation. A CRT response was defined as a ≥ 15 % reduction in LV end-systolic volume (LVESV). Results The study population consisted of 41 patients. The mean copeptin level was 20.50 ± 15.77 pmol/l. Copeptin levels positively correlated with New York Heart Association class, left atrial diameter, creatinine levels and NT-proBNP levels. CRT responders have significant reduction in copeptin levels from baseline to 12 months (from 16.96 ± 12.80 pmol/l to 6.20 ± 6.44 pmol/l, p &amp;lt; 0.001). No significant changes in copeptin levels were observed in CRT nonresponders. Reduction &amp;gt; 45 % in copeptin levels was predictor of CRT-response (OR 6.72, 95 % CI 1.01 - 18.11, p = 0.045). Conclusion The copeptin serum levels can be a useful biomarker in the evaluation of the CRT response. </jats:sec