Spartan Daily, September 28, 1959

Volume 47, Issue 4https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/3920/thumbnail.jp

Spread spectrum-based video watermarking algorithms for copyright protection

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/2263 on 14.03.2017 by CS (TIS)Digital technologies know an unprecedented expansion in the last years. The consumer can now benefit from hardware and software which was considered state-of-the-art several years ago. The advantages offered by the digital technologies are major but the same digital technology opens the door for unlimited piracy. Copying an analogue VCR tape was certainly possible and relatively easy, in spite of various forms of protection, but due to the analogue environment, the subsequent copies had an inherent loss in quality. This was a natural way of limiting the multiple copying of a video material. With digital technology, this barrier disappears, being possible to make as many copies as desired, without any loss in quality whatsoever. Digital watermarking is one of the best available tools for fighting this threat. The aim of the present work was to develop a digital watermarking system compliant with the recommendations drawn by the EBU, for video broadcast monitoring. Since the watermark can be inserted in either spatial domain or transform domain, this aspect was investigated and led to the conclusion that wavelet transform is one of the best solutions available. Since watermarking is not an easy task, especially considering the robustness under various attacks several techniques were employed in order to increase the capacity/robustness of the system: spread-spectrum and modulation techniques to cast the watermark, powerful error correction to protect the mark, human visual models to insert a robust mark and to ensure its invisibility. The combination of these methods led to a major improvement, but yet the system wasn't robust to several important geometrical attacks. In order to achieve this last milestone, the system uses two distinct watermarks: a spatial domain reference watermark and the main watermark embedded in the wavelet domain. By using this reference watermark and techniques specific to image registration, the system is able to determine the parameters of the attack and revert it. Once the attack was reverted, the main watermark is recovered. The final result is a high capacity, blind DWr-based video watermarking system, robust to a wide range of attacks.BBC Research & Developmen

Algorithms & Fiduciaries: Existing and Proposed Regulatory Approaches to Artificially Intelligent Financial Planners

Artificial intelligence is no longer solely in the realm of science fiction. Today, basic forms of machine learning algorithms are commonly used by a variety of companies. Also, advanced forms of machine learning are increasingly making their way into the consumer sphere and promise to optimize existing markets. For financial advising, machine learning algorithms promise to make advice available 24–7 and significantly reduce costs, thereby opening the market for financial advice to lower-income individuals. However, the use of machine learning algorithms also raises concerns. Among them, whether these machine learning algorithms can meet the existing fiduciary standard imposed on human financial advisers and how responsibility and liability should be partitioned when an autonomous algorithm falls short of the fiduciary standard and harms a client. After summarizing the applicable law regulating investment advisers and the current state of robo-advising, this Note evaluates whether robo-advisers can meet the fiduciary standard and proposes alternate liability schemes for dealing with increasingly sophisticated machine learning algorithms

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers: Current Issues and Legislation

[Excerpt] Trade Adjustment Assistance consists of several programs: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA), Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA), Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers, and a Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC). This report addresses the TAA and ATAA programs, as well as the HCTC. TAA and ATAA provide income support and other assistance to qualifying workers who lose their jobs directly due to increased imports or shifts in production out of the United States. The HCTC provides a refundable tax credit to offset 65% of the health insurance premiums of TAA- and ATAA-eligible workers. The Trade Adjustment Assistance programs were set to expire on September 30, 2007. P.L. 110-89 extended the programs through December 31, 2007. H.R. 4341, which would further extend the programs through March 31, 2008, was passed by the House on December 11, 2007. As of February 20, 2008, the Senate has not acted on the measure. However, P.L. 110-161, signed by President George W. Bush on December 26, 2007, fully funds TAA and ATAA through September 30, 2008. The Department of Labor has indicated that this is sufficient to continue the programs through the end of the fiscal year, including issuing new certifications of eligible workers. This report provides background on TAA and ATAA, summarizes key issues related to reauthorization, and briefly describes bills in the 110th Congress that affect the TAA and ATAA programs. These bills are H.R. 3920, H.R. 2764, H.R. 4341, H.R. 3375, H.R. 3943, H.R. 3801, H.R. 910, S. 1848, S. 122, H.R. 1729, S. 1652, S. 1739, H.R. 3589, and H.R. 3843. This report will be updated as legislative activity warrants

Comment on the X(3915) nonstandard hadron candidate

I review the experimental evidence for the $X(3915)$, the candidate nonstandard meson associated with $\omega J\psi$ resonance-like peaks in $B\rightarrow K\omega J\psi$ and $\gamma\gamma\rightarrow\omega J\psi$ near $M(\omega J\psi)=3920$~MeV, and address the conjecture that it can be identified as the $\chi_{c2}^\prime$, the radial excitation of the $\chi_{c2}$ charmonium state. Since the partial decay width for $B\rightarrow K X(3915)$ is at least an order-of-magnitude larger than that for $B\rightarrow K\chi_{c2}$, its assignment as the $\chi_{c2}^\prime$ is dubious.Comment: 6 page, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "e+e- Collisions From Phi to Psi 2019," Novosibirsk, February 201

An assessment of Li abundances in weak-lined and classical T Tauri stars of the Taurus-Auriga association

Accurate measurements of lithium abundances in young low-mass stars provide an independent and reliable age diagnostics. Previous studies of nearby star forming regions have identified significant numbers of Li-depleted stars,often at levels inconsistent with the ages indicated by their luminosity. We aim at a new and accurate analysis of Li abundances in a sample of ~100 pre-main sequence stars in Taurus-Auriga using a homogeneous and updated set of stellar parameters and model atmospheres appropriate for the spectral types of the sample stars.We compute Li abundances using published values of the equivalent widths of the Li 6708 A doublet obtained from medium/high resolution spectra. We find that the number of significantly Li-depleted stars in Taurus-Auriga is greatly reduced with respect to earlier results. Only 13 stars have abundances lower than the interstellar value by a factor of 5 or greater. All of them are weak-lined T Tauri stars drawn from X-ray surveys; with the exception of four stars located near the L1551 and L1489 dark clouds, all the Li-depleted stars belong to the class of dispersed low-mass stars, distributed around the main sites of current star formation. If located at the distance of Taurus-Auriga, the stellar ages implied by the derived Li abundances are in the range 3-30 Myr, greater than the bulk of the Li-rich population with implication on the star formation history of the region. In order to derive firm conclusions about the fraction of Li-depleted stars of Taurus-Auriga, Li measurements of the remaining members of the association should be obtained, in particular of the group of stars that fall in the Li-burning region of the HR diagram.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 20 pages, 5 figure