Sharif Digital Repository

Sparse decomposition of wavelet coefficients of cover image blocks for data hiding is addressed in this paper. By using the proposed algorithm, the embedded secret message can be reliably extracted without resorting to the original image. We use all four sub-images (LL, LH, HL and HH) of the 2D wavelet transform for data embedding without losing the image imperceptibility. An over-complete dictionary matrix is estimated by using the KSVD dictionary learning algorithm, and then the secret message bits are inserted in the sparse representation of the wavelet coefficients over the estimated dictionary. This is believed to be one of the first approaches to the image data hiding that uses the... 

The authors address the use of sparse representation to securely hide a message within non-overlapping blocks of a given colour image in the wavelet domain. All four sub-images of the two-dimensional wavelet transform of two colour bands are used for data embedding without affecting the image perceptibility. Bit error rate of hidden data extraction is reduced to zero by introducing a novel refinement procedure in the proposed algorithm. The refinement procedure introduced solves the hidden bit extraction errors caused by the rounding process, the overflows and the nature of approximation in sparse decomposition. Capacity of the proposed method is calculated using necessary conditions for... 

In this paper, we present a novel speech steganography method using discrete wavelet transform and sparse decomposition to address the undetectability concern in speech steganography. The proposed speech steganography method exploits the sparse representation to embed secret messages into higher semantic levels of the cover signal, resulting in increased undetectability. The proposed method also yields improvements on both stego signal quality and embedding capacity, which are the two major requirements of a steganography algorithm. Our experimental results illustrate that the stego signals generated by the proposed method are perceptually indistinguishable from the original cover signals,... 

Hamoon-Jazmoorian plain is located in southeast of Iran. Overexploitation of groundwater in this plain has led to water level decline and caused serious problems such as land subsidence, aquifer destruction and water quality degradation. The increasing population and agricultural development along with drought and climate change, have further increased the pressure on water resources in this region over the last years. In order to overcome such crisis, introduction of surface water into an aquifer at particular locations can be a suitable solution. A wide variety of methods have been developed to recharge groundwater, one of which is aquifer storage and recovery (ASR). One of the fundamental... 

Learning a foreign language encompasses a process of trial and error that can lead to the progression of the learner's interlanguage, meaning that the learners make use of their language knowledge that receives feedback and brings about progress through diagnosis of the problems and being corrected by the teacher. Therefore, there exists a need to analyze the underlying reasons causing the students to remain taciturn with a low willingness to communicate (WTC) during a language class. There has been much work done investigating the role of the learner's stable personal characteristics (traits) along with their situational changes at a specific time (states) that influence the student's... 

Using 3-D scanned data to analyze and extract pore network plays a vital role in investigation of porous media's characteristics. In this paper, a new simple method is developed to detect pores and throats for analyzing the connectivity and permeability of the network. This automated method utilizes some of the common and well-known image processing functions which are widely accessible by researchers and this has led to an easy algorithm implementation. In this method, after polishing and quality control of images, using city-block distance function and watershed segmentation algorithm, pores and throats are detected and 3-D network is produced. This method can also be applied on 2-D images... 

In this paper, we try to recognize and distinguish different groups of arrhythmia using novel features which have been obtained from the heart rate's phase space in recent years. For this purpose, we used Triangular Phase Space Mapping (TPSM) and Parabolic Phase Space Mapping (PPSM). For recognition, we used three groups of 15 subjects using the Physionet database (Arrhythmia, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), and Atrial Fibrillation (AF)) with Normal Sinus Rhythm (NSR). The obtained features discriminate arrhythmia from NSR by p