Detection of copy-move forgery using a method based on blur moment invariants

In our society digital images are a powerful and widely used communication medium. They have an important impact on our life. In recent years, due to the advent of high-performance commodity hardware and improved human-computer interfaces, it has become relatively easy to create fake images. Modern, easy to use image processing software enables forgeries that are undetectable by the naked eye. In this work we propose a method to automatically detect and localize duplicated regions in digital images. The presence of duplicated regions in an image may signify a common type of forgery called copy-move forgery. The method is based on blur moment invariants, which allows successful detection of copy-move forgery, even when blur degradation, additional noise, or arbitrary contrast changes are present in the duplicated regions. These modifications are commonly used techniques to conceal traces of copy-move forgery. Our method works equally well for lossy format such as JPEG. We demonstrate our method on several images affected by copy-move forgery.     

Model of age estimation based on dental factors of unknown cadavers among Iranians

Two hundred and ten cadavers ranging in age from 25 to 60 were studied. Thirty subjects from each five-year interval were selected, and data were collected using the mandibular anterior and premolar teeth after extraction. Sections ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 mm were measured by a stereo microscope with a precision of 0.1 mm. The following factors were determined: attrition, periodontosis, root resorption, secondary dentine apposition, cementum apposition, and translucency of the root. Statistical analysis used the sum of ranks of the dental factors as an independent variable in a linear regression model to estimate the age of the cadaver. Among the different mandibular teeth, the sum of ranks of the first premolar factors had the best correlation coefficient with age. The sum of the dental factors presented a better model than each of the factors alone. The first premolar is recommended as the first step in the estimation of age.     

Political stability,transition and conflict: Tajikistan compared with Georgia

Tajikistan and Georgia, in Central Asia and the South Caucasus respectively, are both small Soviet successor states with a recent history of political volatility and instability until the mid-2000s. Nevertheless, these independent countries have eventually developed diverging policies, notably with regard to their political alliances and world orientations. The Tajikistani Civil War resembles in many ways that of the Chechen conflict and also helps us understand the Syrian conflict. Similar to Georgia, Tajikistan had experienced the collapse of state institutions more intensely than other Soviet republics. Although contingent and actor-driven factors may have influenced the outcome, the influence of structural factors has been far greater than those agency-driven factors. This review article discusses, and tries to offer understanding and explanations for, political stability, transition and conflict in these two countries.     

Status and Foreign Policy Change in Small States: Qatar’s Emergence in Perspective

ABSTRACT

Small states are just as easily seduced by status and glory as other states. When conceived as situated in a stratified international society, small states acquire an inherent tendency to overcome their disadvantage in conventional power terms through the pursuit of status. Hence, it is precisely because of their position in the international hierarchy, not in spite of it, that strategic ideas based on state size stimulate foreign policy change in small states. This mechanism provides an explanation to the question why the small state of Qatar has pursued such a high-profile diplomatic strategy since its emergence in the late 1990s.