Abstract: Most conventional learning algorithms require both positive and negative training data for achieving accurate classification results. However, the problem of learning classifiers from only positive data arises in many applications where negative data are too costly, difficult to obtain, or not available at all. Minimum Spanning Tree Class Descriptor (MSTCD) was presented as a method that achieves better accuracies than other one-class classifiers in high dimensional data. However, the presence of outliers in the target class severely harms the performance of this classifier. In this paper we propose two bagging strategies for MSTCD that reduce the influence of outliers in training data. We show the improved performance on both real and artificially contaminated data.

Abstract: Biometric information has become a technology complementary to cryptography, allowing to conveniently manage cryptographic data. Two important needs are ful lled: rst of all, making such data always readily available, and additionally, making its legitimate owner easily identi able. In this work we propose a signature system which integrates face recognition biometrics with and identity-based signature scheme, so the user's face e ectively becomes his public key and system ID. Thus, other users may verify messages using photos of the claimed sender, providing a reasonable trade-o between system security and usability, as well as a much more straightforward public key authenticity and distribution process.

Abstract: We present a new methodology for symbol recognition, by employing a structural approach for representing visual associations in symbols and a statistical classifier for recognition. A graphic symbol is vectorized, its topological and geometrical details are encoded by an attributed relational graph and a signature is computed for it. Data adapted fuzzy intervals have been introduced for addressing the sensitivity of structural representations to noise. The joint probability distribution of signatures is encoded by a Bayesian network, which serves as a mechanism for pruning irrelevant features and choosing a subset of interesting features from structural signatures of underlying symbol set, and is deployed in a supervised learning scenario for recognizing query symbols. Experimental results on pre-segmented 2D linear architectural and electronic symbols from GREC databases are presented.

Abstract: Deep understanding of myocardial structure may help to link form and funcion of the heart unraveling crucial knowledge for medical and surgical clinical procedures and studies. In this work we introduce two visualization techniques based on DT-MRI streamlining able to decipher interesting properties of the architectural organization of the heart.

Abstract: The increasing ubiquitousness of digital information in our daily lives has positioned
video as a favored information vehicle, and given rise to an astonishing generation of
social media and surveillance footage. This raises a series of technological demands
for automatic video understanding and management, which together with the compromising attentional limitations of human operators, have motivated the research
community to guide its steps towards a better attainment of such capabilities. As
a result, current trends on cognitive vision promise to recognize complex events and
self-adapt to different environments, while managing and integrating several types of
knowledge. Future directions suggest to reinforce the multi-modal fusion of information sources and the communication with end-users.
In this thesis we tackle the problem of recognizing and describing meaningful
events in video sequences from different domains, and communicating the resulting
knowledge to end-users by means of advanced interfaces for human–computer interaction. This problem is addressed by designing the high-level modules of a cognitive
vision framework exploiting ontological knowledge. Ontologies allow us to define the
relevant concepts in a domain and the relationships among them; we prove that the
use of ontologies to organize, centralize, link, and reuse different types of knowledge
is a key factor in the materialization of our objectives.
The proposed framework contributes to: (i) automatically learn the characteristics
of different scenarios in a domain; (ii) reason about uncertain, incomplete, or vague
information from visual –camera’s– or linguistic –end-user’s– inputs; (iii) derive plausible interpretations of complex events from basic spatiotemporal developments; (iv)
facilitate natural interfaces that adapt to the needs of end-users, and allow them to
communicate efficiently with the system at different levels of interaction; and finally,
(v) find mechanisms to guide modeling processes, maintain and extend the resulting
models, and to exploit multimodal resources synergically to enhance the former tasks.
We describe a holistic methodology to achieve these goals. First, the use of prior
taxonomical knowledge is proved useful to guide MAP-MRF inference processes in
the automatic identification of semantic regions, with independence of a particular scenario. Towards the recognition of complex video events, we combine fuzzy
metric-temporal reasoning with SGTs, thus assessing high-level interpretations from
spatiotemporal data. Here, ontological resources like T–Boxes, onomasticons, or factual databases become useful to derive video indexing and retrieval capabilities, and
also to forward highlighted content to smart user interfaces. There, we explore the
application of ontologies to discourse analysis and cognitive linguistic principles, or scene augmentation techniques towards advanced communication by means of natural language dialogs and synthetic visualizations. Ontologies become fundamental to
coordinate, adapt, and reuse the different modules in the system.
The suitability of our ontological framework is demonstrated by a series of applications that especially benefit the field of smart video surveillance, viz. automatic generation of linguistic reports about the content of video sequences in multiple natural
languages; content-based filtering and summarization of these reports; dialogue-based
interfaces to query and browse video contents; automatic learning of semantic regions
in a scenario; and tools to evaluate the performance of components and models in the
system, via simulation and augmented reality.

Abstract: From Nano to Macro
A correct modelling of tissue morphology is determinant for the identification of vulnerable plaques. This paper aims at describing the plaque composition by means of a Rayleigh Mixture Model applied to ultrasonic data. The effectiveness of using a mixture of distributions is established through synthetic and real ultrasonic data samples. Furthermore, the proposed mixture model is used in a plaque classification problem in Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) images of coronary plaques. A classifier tested on a set of 67 in-vitro plaques, yields an overall accuracy of 86% and sensitivity of 92%, 94% and 82%, for fibrotic, calcified and lipidic tissues, respectively. These results strongly suggest that different plaques types can be distinguished by means of the coefficients and Rayleigh parameters of the mixture distribution.

Abstract: In a previous work (X. Otazu, M. Vanrell, & C. A. Párraga, 2008b), we showed how several brightness induction effects can be predicted using a simple multiresolution wavelet model (BIWaM). Here we present a new model for chromatic induction processes (termed Chromatic Induction Wavelet Model or CIWaM), which is also implemented on a multiresolution framework and based on similar assumptions related to the spatial frequency and the contrast surround energy of the stimulus. The CIWaM can be interpreted as a very simple extension of the BIWaM to the chromatic channels, which in our case are defined in the MacLeod-Boynton (lsY) color space. This new model allows us to unify both chromatic assimilation and chromatic contrast effects in a single mathematical formulation. The predictions of the CIWaM were tested by means of several color and brightness induction experiments, which showed an acceptable agreement between model predictions and psychophysical data.