Abstract: A rotary milking platform (3) comprises a plurality of stalls (5) and an RFID animal identifying system (9) for identifying animals entering the stalls (5) of the platform (3). A microprocessor (14) reads signals from an image capturing device (15) and computes a feature vector from the captured image of each animal. A plurality of reference feature vectors comprising respective matrices of metrics already derived from images of the respective animals captured by the image capturing device (15) are stored and cross-referenced with the identity of the respective animals. The microprocessor (14) compares computed feature vectors of each animal with the stored reference feature vectors until a best match has been determined with one of the reference feature vectors. The identity of the animal of that matching reference feature vector is then determined as the identity of the animal of that computed feature vector.

Abstract: Systems and methods for analyzing information are provided in which a plurality of attribute records are stored. Each respective record in at least a subset of the plurality of records comprises a corresponding unique identifier, a superior/inferior attribute reference, and a heritage indicator. A superior/inferior attribute reference of a first record in the plurality of records references a unique identifier of a second record that is different than the first record, thereby indicating that the first record is a nested attribute record of the second record. Moreover, a heritage indicator of the first record references: the corresponding unique identifier of a third record, thereby indicating that the third record is an ancestor record of the first record, or a unique identifier of a first attribute class record, thereby identifying an attribute class record, in a plurality of attribute class records, to which the first record belongs.

Abstract: A rotary milking platform (3) comprises a plurality of stalls (5) and an RFID animal identifying system (9) for identifying animals entering the stalls (5) of the platform (3). A microprocessor (14) reads signals from an image capturing device (15) and computes a feature vector from the captured image of each animal. A plurality of reference feature vectors comprising respective matrices of metrics already derived from images of the respective animals captured by the image capturing device (15) are stored and cross-referenced with the identity of the respective animals. The microprocessor (14) compares computed feature vectors of each animal with the stored reference feature vectors until a best match has been determined with one of the reference feature vectors. The identity of the animal of that matching reference feature vector is then determined as the identity of the animal of that computed feature vector.

Abstract: Systems and methods for analyzing information are provided in which a plurality of attribute records are stored. Each respective record in at least a subset of the plurality of records comprises a corresponding unique identifier, a superior/inferior attribute reference, and a heritage indicator. A superior/inferior attribute reference of a first record in the plurality of records references a unique identifier of a second record that is different than the first record, thereby indicating that the first record is a nested attribute record of the second record. Moreover, a heritage indicator of the first record references: the corresponding unique identifier of a third record, thereby indicating that the third record is an ancestor record of the first record, or a unique identifier of a first attribute class record, thereby identifying an attribute class record, in a plurality of attribute class records, to which the first record belongs.

Abstract: In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for detecting an expression level of a cell surface marker in a sample, comprising staining the sample with a reagent that labels the cell surface marker; obtaining an image of the stained sample; and determining a value for continuity of cell surface staining in the image, wherein the value is indicative of the expression level.