Editorial

4 pages, 180 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

by Amelia Carolina Sparavigna

Entropy 2020, 22(8), 898; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22080898 - 15 Aug 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1962

Image analysis is a fundamental task for any application where extracting information from images is required [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

Research

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11 pages, 2095 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Clinical Evaluation of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Severity Using Ultrasound Small-Window Entropy Imaging

by Dong Yan, Qiang Li, Chia-Wei Lin, Jeng-Yi Shieh, Wen-Chin Weng and Po-Hsiang Tsui

Entropy 2020, 22(7), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22070715 - 28 Jun 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3023

Abstract

Information entropy of ultrasound imaging recently receives much attention in the diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). DMD is the most common muscular disorder; patients lose their ambulation in the later stages of the disease. Ultrasound imaging enables routine examinations and the follow-up [...] Read more.

Information entropy of ultrasound imaging recently receives much attention in the diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). DMD is the most common muscular disorder; patients lose their ambulation in the later stages of the disease. Ultrasound imaging enables routine examinations and the follow-up of patients with DMD. Conventionally, the probability distribution of the received backscattered echo signals can be described using statistical models for ultrasound parametric imaging to characterize muscle tissue. Small-window entropy imaging is an efficient nonmodel-based approach to analyzing the backscattered statistical properties. This study explored the feasibility of using ultrasound small-window entropy imaging in evaluating the severity of DMD. A total of 85 participants were recruited. For each patient, ultrasound scans of the gastrocnemius were performed to acquire raw image data for B-mode and small-window entropy imaging, which were compared with clinical diagnoses of DMD by using the receiver operating characteristic curve. The results indicated that entropy imaging can visualize changes in the information uncertainty of ultrasound backscattered signals. The median with interquartile range (IQR) of the entropy value was 4.99 (IQR: 4.98–5.00) for the control group, 5.04 (IQR: 5.01–5.05) for stage 1 patients, 5.07 (IQR: 5.06–5.07) for stage 2 patients, and 5.07 (IQR: 5.06–5.07) for stage 3 patients. The diagnostic accuracies were 89.41%, 87.06%, and 72.94% for ≥stage 1, ≥stage 2, and ≥stage 3, respectively. Comparisons with previous studies revealed that the small-window entropy imaging technique exhibits higher diagnostic performance than conventional methods. Its further development is recommended for potential use in clinical evaluations and the follow-up of patients with DMD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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12 pages, 1682 KiB

Open AccessArticle

BOOST: Medical Image Steganography Using Nuclear Spin Generator

by Bozhidar Stoyanov and Borislav Stoyanov

Entropy 2020, 22(5), 501; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22050501 - 26 Apr 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3066

Abstract

In this study, we present a medical image stego hiding scheme using a nuclear spin generator system. Detailed theoretical and experimental analysis is provided on the proposed algorithm using histogram analysis, peak signal-to-noise ratio, key space calculation, and statistical package analysis. The provided [...] Read more.

In this study, we present a medical image stego hiding scheme using a nuclear spin generator system. Detailed theoretical and experimental analysis is provided on the proposed algorithm using histogram analysis, peak signal-to-noise ratio, key space calculation, and statistical package analysis. The provided results show good performance of the brand new medical image steganographic scheme. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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19 pages, 3624 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Image Encryption Using Elliptic Curves and Rossby/Drift Wave Triads

by Ikram Ullah, Umar Hayat and Miguel D. Bustamante

Entropy 2020, 22(4), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22040454 - 16 Apr 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3434

Abstract

We propose an image encryption scheme based on quasi-resonant Rossby/drift wave triads (related to elliptic surfaces) and Mordell elliptic curves (MECs). By defining a total order on quasi-resonant triads, at a first stage we construct quasi-resonant triads using auxiliary parameters of elliptic surfaces [...] Read more.

We propose an image encryption scheme based on quasi-resonant Rossby/drift wave triads (related to elliptic surfaces) and Mordell elliptic curves (MECs). By defining a total order on quasi-resonant triads, at a first stage we construct quasi-resonant triads using auxiliary parameters of elliptic surfaces in order to generate pseudo-random numbers. At a second stage, we employ an MEC to construct a dynamic substitution box (S-box) for the plain image. The generated pseudo-random numbers and S-box are used to provide diffusion and confusion, respectively, in the tested image. We test the proposed scheme against well-known attacks by encrypting all gray images taken from the USC-SIPI image database. Our experimental results indicate the high security of the newly developed scheme. Finally, via extensive comparisons we show that the new scheme outperforms other popular schemes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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11 pages, 2355 KiB

Open AccessArticle

PGNet: Pipeline Guidance for Human Key-Point Detection

by Feng Hong, Changhua Lu, Chun Liu, Ruru Liu, Weiwei Jiang, Wei Ju and Tao Wang

Entropy 2020, 22(3), 369; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22030369 - 24 Mar 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3482

Abstract

Human key-point detection is a challenging research field in computer vision. Convolutional neural models limit the number of parameters and mine the local structure, and have made great progress in significant target detection and key-point detection. However, the features extracted by shallow layers [...] Read more.

Human key-point detection is a challenging research field in computer vision. Convolutional neural models limit the number of parameters and mine the local structure, and have made great progress in significant target detection and key-point detection. However, the features extracted by shallow layers mainly contain a lack of semantic information, while the features extracted by deep layers contain rich semantic information but a lack of spatial information that results in information imbalance and feature extraction imbalance. With the complexity of the network structure and the increasing amount of computation, the balance between the time of communication and the time of calculation highlights the importance. Based on the improvement of hardware equipment, network operation time is greatly improved by optimizing the network structure and data operation methods. However, as the network structure becomes deeper and deeper, the communication consumption between networks also increases, and network computing capacity is optimized. In addition, communication overhead is also the focus of recent attention. We propose a novel network structure PGNet, which contains three parts: pipeline guidance strategy (PGS); Cross-Distance-IoU Loss (CIoU); and Cascaded Fusion Feature Model (CFFM). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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12 pages, 11313 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Magnetic Resonance Image Quality Assessment by Using Non-Maximum Suppression and Entropy Analysis

by Rafał Obuchowicz, Mariusz Oszust, Marzena Bielecka, Andrzej Bielecki and Adam Piórkowski

Entropy 2020, 22(2), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22020220 - 16 Feb 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3668

Abstract

An investigation of diseases using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging requires automatic image quality assessment methods able to exclude low-quality scans. Such methods can be also employed for an optimization of parameters of imaging systems or evaluation of image processing algorithms. Therefore, in this [...] Read more.

An investigation of diseases using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging requires automatic image quality assessment methods able to exclude low-quality scans. Such methods can be also employed for an optimization of parameters of imaging systems or evaluation of image processing algorithms. Therefore, in this paper, a novel blind image quality assessment (BIQA) method for the evaluation of MR images is introduced. It is observed that the result of filtering using non-maximum suppression (NMS) strongly depends on the perceptual quality of an input image. Hence, in the method, the image is first processed by the NMS with various levels of acceptable local intensity difference. Then, the quality is efficiently expressed by the entropy of a sequence of extrema numbers obtained with the thresholded NMS. The proposed BIQA approach is compared with ten state-of-the-art techniques on a dataset containing MR images and subjective scores provided by 31 experienced radiologists. The Pearson, Spearman, Kendall correlation coefficients and root mean square error for the method assessing images in the dataset were 0.6741, 0.3540, 0.2428, and 0.5375, respectively. The extensive experimental evaluation of the BIQA methods reveals that the introduced measure outperforms related techniques by a large margin as it correlates better with human scores. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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19 pages, 53101 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Image Encryption Algorithm Based on Composite Chaos and Hyperchaos Combined with DNA Coding

by Yujie Wan, Shuangquan Gu and Baoxiang Du

Entropy 2020, 22(2), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22020171 - 02 Feb 2020

Cited by 49 | Viewed by 4387

Abstract

In order to obtain chaos with a wider chaotic scope and better chaotic behavior, this paper combines the several existing one-dimensional chaos and forms a new one-dimensional chaotic map by using a modular operation which is named by LLS system and abbreviated as [...] Read more.

In order to obtain chaos with a wider chaotic scope and better chaotic behavior, this paper combines the several existing one-dimensional chaos and forms a new one-dimensional chaotic map by using a modular operation which is named by LLS system and abbreviated as LLSS. To get a better encryption effect, a new image encryption method based on double chaos and DNA coding technology is proposed in this paper. A new one-dimensional chaotic map is combined with a hyperchaotic Qi system to encrypt by using DNA coding. The first stage involves three rounds of scrambling; a diffusion algorithm is applied to the plaintext image, and then the intermediate ciphertext image is partitioned. The final encrypted image is formed by using DNA operation. Experimental simulation and security analysis show that this algorithm increases the key space, has high sensitivity, and can resist several common attacks. At the same time, the algorithm in this paper can reduce the correlation between adjacent pixels, making it close to 0, and increase the information entropy, making it close to the ideal value and achieving a good encryption effect. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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22 pages, 3190 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Evolution of Neuroaesthetic Variables in Portrait Paintings throughout the Renaissance

by Ivan Correa-Herran, Hassan Aleem and Norberto M. Grzywacz

Entropy 2020, 22(2), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22020146 - 26 Jan 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3966

Abstract

To compose art, artists rely on a set of sensory evaluations performed fluently by the brain. The outcome of these evaluations, which we call neuroaesthetic variables, helps to compose art with high aesthetic value. In this study, we probed whether these variables varied [...] Read more.

To compose art, artists rely on a set of sensory evaluations performed fluently by the brain. The outcome of these evaluations, which we call neuroaesthetic variables, helps to compose art with high aesthetic value. In this study, we probed whether these variables varied across art periods despite relatively unvaried neural function. We measured several neuroaesthetic variables in portrait paintings from the Early and High Renaissance, and from Mannerism. The variables included symmetry, balance, and contrast (chiaroscuro), as well as intensity and spatial complexities measured by two forms of normalized entropy. The results showed that the degree of symmetry remained relatively constant during the Renaissance. However, the balance of portraits decayed abruptly at the end of the Early Renaissance, that is, at the closing of the 15th century. Intensity and spatial complexities, and thus entropies, of portraits also fell in such manner around the same time. Our data also showed that the decline of complexity and entropy could be attributed to the rise of chiaroscuro. With few exceptions, the values of aesthetic variables from the top of artists of the Renaissance resembled those of their peers. We conclude that neuroaesthetic variables have flexibility to change in brains of artists (and observers). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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13 pages, 1455 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Payload Data-Hiding Method for AMBTC Decompressed Images

by Jung-Yao Yeh, Chih-Cheng Chen, Po-Liang Liu and Ying-Hsuan Huang

Entropy 2020, 22(2), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22020145 - 25 Jan 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2444

Abstract

Data hiding is the art of embedding data into a cover image without any perceptual distortion of the cover image. Moreover, data hiding is a very crucial research topic in information security because it can be used for various applications. In this study, [...] Read more.

Data hiding is the art of embedding data into a cover image without any perceptual distortion of the cover image. Moreover, data hiding is a very crucial research topic in information security because it can be used for various applications. In this study, we proposed a high-capacity data-hiding scheme for absolute moment block truncation coding (AMBTC) decompressed images. We statistically analyzed the composition of the secret data string and developed a unique encoding and decoding dictionary search for adjusting pixel values. The dictionary was used in the embedding and extraction stages. The dictionary provides high data-hiding capacity because the secret data was compressed using dictionary-based coding. The experimental results of this study reveal that the proposed scheme is better than the existing schemes, with respect to the data-hiding capacity and visual quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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21 pages, 4430 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Entropy Based Data Expansion Method for Blind Image Quality Assessment

by Xiaodi Guan, Lijun He, Mengyue Li and Fan Li

Entropy 2020, 22(1), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22010060 - 31 Dec 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2598

Abstract

Image quality assessment (IQA) is a fundamental technology for image applications that can help correct low-quality images during the capture process. The ability to expand distorted images and create human visual system (HVS)-aware labels for training is the key to performing IQA tasks [...] Read more.

Image quality assessment (IQA) is a fundamental technology for image applications that can help correct low-quality images during the capture process. The ability to expand distorted images and create human visual system (HVS)-aware labels for training is the key to performing IQA tasks using deep neural networks (DNNs), and image quality is highly sensitive to changes in entropy. Therefore, a new data expansion method based on entropy and guided by saliency and distortion is proposed in this paper. We introduce saliency into a large-scale expansion strategy for the first time. We regionally add distortion to a set of original images to obtain a distorted image database and label the distorted images using entropy. The careful design of the distorted images and the entropy-based labels fully reflects the influences of both saliency and distortion on quality. The expanded database plays an important role in the application of a DNN for IQA. Experimental results on IQA databases demonstrate the effectiveness of the expansion method, and the network’s prediction effect on the IQA databases is found to be improved compared with its predecessor algorithm. Therefore, we conclude that a data expansion approach that fully reflects HVS-aware quality factors is beneficial for IQA. This study presents a novel method for incorporating saliency into IQA, namely, representing it as regional distortion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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19 pages, 4417 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Image Encryption Approach Based on a Hyperchaotic System, Pixel-Level Filtering with Variable Kernels, and DNA-Level Diffusion

by Jiang Wu, Jiayi Shi and Taiyong Li

Entropy 2020, 22(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22010005 - 19 Dec 2019

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 3119

Abstract

With the rapid growth of image transmission and storage, image security has become a hot topic in the community of information security. Image encryption is a direct way to ensure image security. This paper presents a novel approach that uses a hyperchaotic system, [...] Read more.

With the rapid growth of image transmission and storage, image security has become a hot topic in the community of information security. Image encryption is a direct way to ensure image security. This paper presents a novel approach that uses a hyperchaotic system, Pixel-level Filtering with kernels of variable shapes and parameters, and DNA-level Diffusion, so-called PFDD, for image encryption. The PFDD totally consists of four stages. First, a hyperchaotic system is applied to generating hyperchaotic sequences for the purpose of subsequent operations. Second, dynamic filtering is performed on pixels to change the pixel values. To increase the diversity of filtering, kernels with variable shapes and parameters determined by the hyperchaotic sequences are used. Third, a global bit-level scrambling is conducted to change the values and positions of pixels simultaneously. The bit stream is then encoded into DNA-level data. Finally, a novel DNA-level diffusion scheme is proposed to further change the image values. We tested the proposed PFDD with 15 publicly accessible images with different sizes, and the results demonstrate that the PFDD is capable of achieving state-of-the-art results in terms of the evaluation criteria, indicating that the PFDD is very effective for image encryption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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11 pages, 2663 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Continuous Wavelet Transform and Convolutional Neural Network in Decoding Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface

by Hyeon Kyu Lee and Young-Seok Choi

Entropy 2019, 21(12), 1199; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21121199 - 05 Dec 2019

Cited by 70 | Viewed by 6963

Abstract

The motor imagery-based brain-computer interface (BCI) using electroencephalography (EEG) has been receiving attention from neural engineering researchers and is being applied to various rehabilitation applications. However, the performance degradation caused by motor imagery EEG with very low single-to-noise ratio faces several application issues [...] Read more.

The motor imagery-based brain-computer interface (BCI) using electroencephalography (EEG) has been receiving attention from neural engineering researchers and is being applied to various rehabilitation applications. However, the performance degradation caused by motor imagery EEG with very low single-to-noise ratio faces several application issues with the use of a BCI system. In this paper, we propose a novel motor imagery classification scheme based on the continuous wavelet transform and the convolutional neural network. Continuous wavelet transform with three mother wavelets is used to capture a highly informative EEG image by combining time-frequency and electrode location. A convolutional neural network is then designed to both classify motor imagery tasks and reduce computation complexity. The proposed method was validated using two public BCI datasets, BCI competition IV dataset 2b and BCI competition II dataset III. The proposed methods were found to achieve improved classification performance compared with the existing methods, thus showcasing the feasibility of motor imagery BCI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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29 pages, 22454 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Entropy for Welds Segmentation and Evaluation

by Oto Haffner, Erik Kučera, Peter Drahoš and Ján Cigánek

Entropy 2019, 21(12), 1168; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21121168 - 28 Nov 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3536

Abstract

In this paper, a methodology based on weld segmentation using entropy and evaluation by conventional and convolution neural networks to evaluate quality of welds is developed. Compared to conventional neural networks, there is no use of image preprocessing (weld segmentation based on entropy) [...] Read more.

In this paper, a methodology based on weld segmentation using entropy and evaluation by conventional and convolution neural networks to evaluate quality of welds is developed. Compared to conventional neural networks, there is no use of image preprocessing (weld segmentation based on entropy) or data representation for the convolution neural networks in our experiments. The experiments are performed on 6422 weld image samples and the performance results of both types of neural network are compared to the conventional methods. In all experiments, neural networks implemented and trained using the proposed approach delivered excellent results with a success rate of nearly 100%. The best results were achieved using convolution neural networks which provided excellent results and with almost no pre-processing of image data required. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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11 pages, 3306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Invariant Image-Based Currency Denomination Recognition Using Local Entropy and Range Filters

by Hafeez Anwar, Farman Ullah, Asif Iqbal, Anees Ul Hasnain, Ata Ur Rehman, Peter Bell and Daehan Kwak

Entropy 2019, 21(11), 1085; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21111085 - 06 Nov 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3346

Abstract

We perform image-based denomination recognition of the Pakistani currency notes. There are a total of seven different denominations in the current series of Pakistani notes. Apart from color and texture, these notes differ from one another mainly due to their aspect ratios. Our [...] Read more.

We perform image-based denomination recognition of the Pakistani currency notes. There are a total of seven different denominations in the current series of Pakistani notes. Apart from color and texture, these notes differ from one another mainly due to their aspect ratios. Our aim is to exploit this single feature to attain an image-based recognition that is invariant to the most common image variations found in currency notes images. Among others, the most notable image variations are caused by the difference in positions and in-plane orientations of the currency notes in images. While most of the proposed methods for currency denomination recognition only focus on attaining higher recognition rates, our aim is more complex, i.e., attaining a high recognition rate in the presence of image variations. Since, the aspect ratio of a currency note is invariant to such differences, an image-based recognition of currency notes based on aspect ratio is more likely to be translation- and rotation-invariant. Therefore, we adapt a two step procedure that first extracts a currency note from the homogeneous image background via local entropy and range filters. Then, the aspect ratio of the extracted currency note is calculated to determine its denomination. To validate our proposed method, we gathered a new dataset with the largest and most diverse collection of Pakistani currency notes, where each image contains either a single or multiple notes at arbitrary positions and orientations. We attain an overall average recognition rate of 99% which is very encouraging for our method, which relies on a single feature and is suited for real-time applications. Consequently, the method may be extended to other international and historical currencies, which makes it suitable for business and digital humanities applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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16 pages, 1979 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Misclassification Rates on Compression Efficiency of Red Blood Cell Images of Malaria Infection Using Deep Learning

by Yuhang Dong, W. David Pan and Dongsheng Wu

Entropy 2019, 21(11), 1062; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21111062 - 30 Oct 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2773

Abstract

Malaria is a severe public health problem worldwide, with some developing countries being most affected. Reliable remote diagnosis of malaria infection will benefit from efficient compression of high-resolution microscopic images. This paper addresses a lossless compression of malaria-infected red blood cell images using [...] Read more.

Malaria is a severe public health problem worldwide, with some developing countries being most affected. Reliable remote diagnosis of malaria infection will benefit from efficient compression of high-resolution microscopic images. This paper addresses a lossless compression of malaria-infected red blood cell images using deep learning. Specifically, we investigate a practical approach where images are first classified before being compressed using stacked autoencoders. We provide probabilistic analysis on the impact of misclassification rates on compression performance in terms of the information-theoretic measure of entropy. We then use malaria infection image datasets to evaluate the relations between misclassification rates and actually obtainable compressed bit rates using Golomb–Rice codes. Simulation results show that the joint pattern classification/compression method provides more efficient compression than several mainstream lossless compression techniques, such as JPEG2000, JPEG-LS, CALIC, and WebP, by exploiting common features extracted by deep learning on large datasets. This study provides new insight into the interplay between classification accuracy and compression bitrates. The proposed compression method can find useful telemedicine applications where efficient storage and rapid transfer of large image datasets is desirable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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19 pages, 1627 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fusing Feature Distribution Entropy with R-MAC Features in Image Retrieval

by Pingping Liu, Guixia Gou, Huili Guo, Danyang Zhang, Hongwei Zhao and Qiuzhan Zhou

Entropy 2019, 21(11), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21111037 - 25 Oct 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2095

Abstract

Image retrieval based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) has attracted great attention among researchers because of the high performance. The pooling method has become a research hotpot in the task of image retrieval in recent years. In this paper, we propose the [...] Read more.

Image retrieval based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) has attracted great attention among researchers because of the high performance. The pooling method has become a research hotpot in the task of image retrieval in recent years. In this paper, we propose the feature distribution entropy (FDE) to measure the difference of regional distribution information in the feature maps from CNNs. We propose a novel pooling method, which fuses our proposed FDE with region maximum activations of convolutions (R-MAC) features to improve the performance of image retrieval, as it takes the advantage of regional distribution information in the feature maps. Compared with the descriptors computed by R-MAC pooling, our proposed method considers not only the most significant feature values of each region in feature map, but also the distribution difference in different regions. We utilize the histogram of feature values to calculate regional distribution entropy and concatenate the regional distribution entropy into FDE, which is further normalized and fused with R-MAC feature vectors by weighted summation to generate the final feature descriptors. We have conducted experiments on public datasets and the results demonstrate that our proposed method could produce better retrieval performances than existing state-of-the-art algorithms. Further, higher performance could be achieved by performing these post-processing on the improved feature descriptors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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10 pages, 3176 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating Detectability of Infrared Radiation Based on Image Evaluation for Engine Flame

by Xia Li, Jun Wang, Meihui Li, Zhenming Peng and Xingrun Liu

Entropy 2019, 21(10), 946; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21100946 - 27 Sep 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2205

Abstract

Aiming at the application requirements of infrared detection, the influence of earth background interference on plume radiation detection is investigated and discussed in this article. The infrared image of the earth’s atmospheric background radiation is simulated by the spectral correlation based on the [...] Read more.

Aiming at the application requirements of infrared detection, the influence of earth background interference on plume radiation detection is investigated and discussed in this article. The infrared image of the earth’s atmospheric background radiation is simulated by the spectral correlation based on the conversion model of the surface radiation with different bands. The infrared radiation image of the jet flame and the background is generated by overlapping the infrared radiation of the engine flame and the background radiation according to the detection angle of view. Through the image quality evaluation model, the detectability of the flame is analyzed. The simulating results show that the comprehensive statistical features such as image information entropy, variance and signal-to-clutter ratio can be used to evaluate the detectability of the engine flame. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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18 pages, 20987 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Security of a Latin-Bit Cube-Based Image Chaotic Encryption Algorithm

by Zeqing Zhang and Simin Yu

Entropy 2019, 21(9), 888; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21090888 - 12 Sep 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2875

Abstract

In this paper, the security analysis of an image chaotic encryption algorithm based on Latin cubes and bit cubes is given. The proposed algorithm adopts a first-scrambling-diffusion- second-scrambling three-stage encryption scheme. First, a finite field is constructed using chaotic sequences. Then, the Latin [...] Read more.

In this paper, the security analysis of an image chaotic encryption algorithm based on Latin cubes and bit cubes is given. The proposed algorithm adopts a first-scrambling-diffusion- second-scrambling three-stage encryption scheme. First, a finite field is constructed using chaotic sequences. Then, the Latin cubes are generated from finite field operation and used for image chaotic encryption. In addition, according to the statistical characteristics of the diffusion image in the diffusion stage, the algorithm also uses different Latin cube combinations to scramble the diffusion image for the second time. However, the generation of Latin cubes in this algorithm is independent of plain image, while, in the diffusion stage, when any one bit in the plain image changes, the corresponding number of bits in the cipher image follows the change with obvious regularity. Thus, the equivalent secret keys can be obtained by chosen plaintext attack. Theoretical analysis and experimental results indicate that only a maximum of

2.5 \times \sqrt[3]{w \times h} + 6

plain images are needed to crack the cipher image with

w \times h

resolution. The size of equivalent keys deciphered by the method proposed in this paper are much smaller than other general methods of cryptanalysis for similar encryption schemes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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20 pages, 5469 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Secure and Fast Image Encryption Scheme Based on Double Chaotic S-Boxes

by Shenli Zhu, Guojun Wang and Congxu Zhu

Entropy 2019, 21(8), 790; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21080790 - 13 Aug 2019

Cited by 99 | Viewed by 5018

Abstract

In order to improve the security and efficiency of image encryption systems comprehensively, a novel chaotic S-box based image encryption scheme is proposed. Firstly, a new compound chaotic system, Sine-Tent map, is proposed to widen the chaotic range and improve the chaotic performance [...] Read more.

In order to improve the security and efficiency of image encryption systems comprehensively, a novel chaotic S-box based image encryption scheme is proposed. Firstly, a new compound chaotic system, Sine-Tent map, is proposed to widen the chaotic range and improve the chaotic performance of 1D discrete chaotic maps. As a result, the new compound chaotic system is more suitable for cryptosystem. Secondly, an efficient and simple method for generating S-boxes is proposed, which can greatly improve the efficiency of S-box production. Thirdly, a novel double S-box based image encryption algorithm is proposed. By introducing equivalent key sequences {r, t} related with image ciphertext, the proposed cryptosystem can resist the four classical types of attacks, which is an advantage over other S-box based encryption schemes. Furthermore, it enhanced the resistance of the system to differential analysis attack by two rounds of forward and backward confusion-diffusion operation with double S-boxes. The simulation results and security analysis verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. The new scheme has obvious efficiency advantages, which means that it has better application potential in real-time image encryption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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16 pages, 3151 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficacy of Quantitative Muscle Ultrasound Using Texture-Feature Parametric Imaging in Detecting Pompe Disease in Children

by Hong-Jen Chiou, Chih-Kuang Yeh, Hsuen-En Hwang and Yin-Yin Liao

Entropy 2019, 21(7), 714; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21070714 - 22 Jul 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3551

Abstract

Pompe disease is a hereditary neuromuscular disorder attributed to acid α-glucosidase deficiency, and accurately identifying this disease is essential. Our aim was to discriminate normal muscles from neuropathic muscles in children affected by Pompe disease using a texture-feature parametric imaging method that simultaneously [...] Read more.

Pompe disease is a hereditary neuromuscular disorder attributed to acid α-glucosidase deficiency, and accurately identifying this disease is essential. Our aim was to discriminate normal muscles from neuropathic muscles in children affected by Pompe disease using a texture-feature parametric imaging method that simultaneously considers microstructure and macrostructure. The study included 22 children aged 0.02–54 months with Pompe disease and six healthy children aged 2–12 months with normal muscles. For each subject, transverse ultrasound images of the bilateral rectus femoris and sartorius muscles were obtained. Gray-level co-occurrence matrix-based Haralick’s features were used for constructing parametric images and identifying neuropathic muscles: autocorrelation (AUT), contrast, energy (ENE), entropy (ENT), maximum probability (MAXP), variance (VAR), and cluster prominence (CPR). Stepwise regression was used in feature selection. The Fisher linear discriminant analysis was used for combination of the selected features to distinguish between normal and pathological muscles. The VAR and CPR were the optimal feature set for classifying normal and pathological rectus femoris muscles, whereas the ENE, VAR, and CPR were the optimal feature set for distinguishing between normal and pathological sartorius muscles. The two feature sets were combined to discriminate between children with and without neuropathic muscles affected by Pompe disease, achieving an accuracy of 94.6%, a specificity of 100%, a sensitivity of 93.2%, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.98 ± 0.02. The CPR for the rectus femoris muscles and the AUT, ENT, MAXP, and VAR for the sartorius muscles exhibited statistically significant differences in distinguishing between the infantile-onset Pompe disease and late-onset Pompe disease groups (p < 0.05). Texture-feature parametric imaging can be used to quantify and map tissue structures in skeletal muscles and distinguish between pathological and normal muscles in children or newborns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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17 pages, 7692 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Detection of Salient Crowd Motion Based on Repulsive Force Network and Direction Entropy

by Xuguang Zhang, Dujun Lin, Juan Zheng, Xianghong Tang, Yinfeng Fang and Hui Yu

Entropy 2019, 21(6), 608; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21060608 - 20 Jun 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3602

Abstract

This paper proposes a method for salient crowd motion detection based on direction entropy and a repulsive force network. This work focuses on how to effectively detect salient regions in crowd movement through calculating the crowd vector field and constructing the weighted network [...] Read more.

This paper proposes a method for salient crowd motion detection based on direction entropy and a repulsive force network. This work focuses on how to effectively detect salient regions in crowd movement through calculating the crowd vector field and constructing the weighted network using the repulsive force. The interaction force between two particles calculated by the repulsive force formula is used to determine the relationship between these two particles. The network node strength is used as a feature parameter to construct a two-dimensional feature matrix. Furthermore, the entropy of the velocity vector direction is calculated to describe the instability of the crowd movement. Finally, the feature matrix of the repulsive force network and direction entropy are integrated together to detect the salient crowd motion. Experimental results and comparison show that the proposed method can efficiently detect the salient crowd motion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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24 pages, 5473 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Algorithm for Medical Color Images Encryption Using Chaotic Systems

by Seyed Shahabeddin Moafimadani, Yucheng Chen and Chunming Tang

Entropy 2019, 21(6), 577; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21060577 - 10 Jun 2019

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 4369

Abstract

In this paper, we present a new algorithm based on chaotic systems to protect medical images against attacks. The proposed algorithm has two main parts: A high-speed permutation process and adaptive diffusion. After the implementation of the algorithm in the MATLAB software, it [...] Read more.

In this paper, we present a new algorithm based on chaotic systems to protect medical images against attacks. The proposed algorithm has two main parts: A high-speed permutation process and adaptive diffusion. After the implementation of the algorithm in the MATLAB software, it is observed that the algorithm is effective and appropriate. Also, to quantitatively evaluate the uniformity of the histogram, the chi-square test is done. Key sensitivity analysis demonstrates that images cannot be decrypted whenever a small change happens in the key, which indicates that the algorithm is suitable. Clearly, part of special images is selected to test the selected plain-text, like an all-white image and an all-black image. Entropy results obtained from the implementation of the algorithm on this type of images show that the proposed method is suitable for this particular type of images. In addition, the obtained results from noise and occlusion attacks analysis show that the proposed algorithm can withstand against these types of attacks. Moreover, it can be seen that the images after encryption and decryption are of good quality; the measures such as the correlation coefficients, the entropy, the number of pixel change rate (NPCR), and the uniform average change intensity (UACI) have suitable values; and the method is better than previous methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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18 pages, 10529 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improvement of Image Binarization Methods Using Image Preprocessing with Local Entropy Filtering for Alphanumerical Character Recognition Purposes

by Hubert Michalak and Krzysztof Okarma

Entropy 2019, 21(6), 562; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21060562 - 04 Jun 2019

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 5908

Abstract

Automatic text recognition from the natural images acquired in uncontrolled lighting conditions is a challenging task due to the presence of shadows hindering the shape analysis and classification of individual characters. Since the optical character recognition methods require prior image binarization, the application [...] Read more.

Automatic text recognition from the natural images acquired in uncontrolled lighting conditions is a challenging task due to the presence of shadows hindering the shape analysis and classification of individual characters. Since the optical character recognition methods require prior image binarization, the application of classical global thresholding methods in such case makes it impossible to preserve the visibility of all characters. Nevertheless, the use of adaptive binarization does not always lead to satisfactory results for heavily unevenly illuminated document images. In this paper, the image preprocessing methodology with the use of local image entropy filtering is proposed, allowing for the improvement of various commonly used image thresholding methods, which can be useful also for text recognition purposes. The proposed approach was verified using a dataset of 140 differently illuminated document images subjected to further text recognition. Experimental results, expressed as Levenshtein distances and F-Measure values for obtained text strings, are promising and confirm the usefulness of the proposed approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entropy in Image Analysis II)

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