A shape analysis framework for neuromorphometry

This paper addresses in an integrated and systematic fashion the relatively overlooked but increasingly important issue of measuring and characterizing the geometrical properties of nerve cells and structures, an area often called neuromorphology. After discussing the main motivation for such an endeavour, a comprehensive mathematical framework for characterizing neural shapes, capable of expressing variations over time, is presented and used to underline the main issues in neuromorphology. Three particularly powerful and versatile families of neuromorphological approaches, including differential measures, symmetry axes/skeletons, and complexity, are presented and their respective potentials for applications in neuroscience are identified. Examples of applications of such measures are provided based on experimental investigations related to automated dendrogram extraction, mental retardation characterization, and axon growth analysis.     

Estimating derivatives and curvature of open curves

This article presents an effective spectral approach to estimate derivatives and curvature of open parametric curves. As the method is based on the discrete Fourier transform, the discontinuities of the curve (as well as of its derivatives) must be controlled to minimize the Gibbs phenomenon. We address this problem by obtaining a smooth extension of the curve in such a way as to suitably close it, which is done through a variational approach taking into account the spectral energy of differentiated versions of the extended curves. This novel method presents potential for applications in a broad class of problems, ranging from applied and experimental physics to image analysis.     

Topological reduction considering uncertainties

This paper describes a practical methodology to obtain adequacy equivalents which can be used in a large variety of power systems transmission analysis problems. The suggested technique is very simple and has characteristics of high flexibility and favourable accuracy. The procedure is thoroughly described and illustrated by an application to a small test system     

Effects of dietary deoiled soy lecithin supplementation on milk production and fatty acid digestibility in Holstein dairy cows

Deoiled soy lecithin is a feed additive enriched in phospholipids. Our study evaluated the effects of dietary deoiled soy lecithin supplementation on (1) milk production and composition, (2) plasma and milk fatty acid (FA) content and yield, and (3) apparent FA digestibility and absorption in lactating dairy cows fed fractionated palm fat. In a split-plot Latin square design, 16 Holstein cows (160 ± 7 days in milk; 3.6 ± 1.2 parity) were randomly allocated to a main plot receiving a corn silage and alfalfa haylage-based diet with palm fat containing either moderate (MPA) or high palmitic acid (HPA) content at 1.75% of ration dry matter (72 or 99% palmitic acid, respectively; n = 8/palm fat diet). On each palm fat diet, deoiled soy lecithin was top-dressed at 0, 0.12, 0.24, or 0.36% of ration dry matter in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design. Following a 14-d covariate period, lecithin supplementation spanned 14 d, with milk and blood collected during the final 3 d. Milk composition and pooled plasma markers were measured. The statistical model included the fixed effects of palm fat type, lecithin dose, period, and the interaction between palm fat type and lecithin dose. The random effect of cow nested within palm fat group was also included. Lecithin linearly decreased dry matter intake. In cows fed HPA, lecithin feeding reduced milk fat content and tended to decrease milk fat yield. Although no changes in milk yield were observed, a quadratic reduction in 3.5% fat-corrected milk was observed with increasing lecithin dose. Lecithin linearly increased energy-corrected milk efficiency in cows fed MPA. Lecithin supplementation also decreased milk urea nitrogen, relative to unsupplemented cows. The proportion of 16-carbon FA in milk fat decreased linearly with lecithin dose, whereas 18-carbon FA increased linearly. Lecithin reduced de novo FA (<16-carbon) content and tended to increase preformed FA (>16-carbon) content in a linear manner. Compared with MPA, HPA diets reduced apparent total and 16-carbon FA digestibility and absorption. Deoiled soy lecithin feeding did not modify FA digestibility or absorption. Our observations suggest that soy lecithin feeding modifies rumen digestion to reduce dry matter intake and change milk composition.     

A binary Hough transform and its efficient implementation in a systolic array architecture

This letter presents a binary Hough transform (BHT) derived from the conventional Hough transform with slope/ intercept parameterization and a systolic architecture for its efficient implementation using only adders and delay-elements.     

Book Review

Pattern Analysis and Applications -     

Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Auctions

This paper proposes a flexible architecture for the creation of Internet auctions. It allows the custom definition of the auction parameters, and provides a decentralized control of the auction process. Auction policies are defined as laws in the Law Governed Interaction (LGI) paradigm. Each of these laws specifies not only the auction algorithm itself (e.g., open-cry, Dutch, etc.) but also how to handle the other parameters usually involved in the online auctions, such as certification, auditioning, and treatment of complaints. LGI is used to enforce the rules established in the auction policy within the agents involved in the process. After the agents find out about the actions, they interact in a peer-to-peer communication protocol, reducing the role of the centralized auction room to an advertising registry, and taking profit of the distributed nature of the Internet to conduct the auction. The paper presents an example of an auction law, illustrating the use of the proposed architecture.     

Short communication: Effects of dietary deoiled soy lecithin supplementation on circulating choline and choline metabolites,and the plasma phospholipid profile in Holstein cows fed palm fat

Dietary lecithin is a source of choline. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of dietary deoiled soy lecithin feeding on circulating choline, choline metabolites, and the plasma phospholipid profile in lactating dairy cows fed fractionated palm fatty acids. In a split-plot Latin square design, 16 Holstein cows (160 ± 7 d in milk; 3.6 ± 1.2 parity) were randomly allocated to a main plot receiving a corn silage and alfalfa haylage-based diet with palm fat containing either moderate or high palmitic acid content at 1.75% of ration dry matter (moderate and high palmitic acid containing 72 or 99% palmitic acid in fat supplement, respectively; n = 8/palm fat diet). Within each palm fat group, deoiled soy lecithin was top-dressed at 0, 0.12, 0.24, or 0.36% of ration dry matter in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 14-d experimental periods. A 14-d covariate period was used to acclimate cows to palm fat feeding without lecithin supplementation. Blood sampling occurred during the final 3 d of each experimental period. Plasma choline and choline metabolites were quantified using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Plasma phospholipids were profiled using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Whereas no effects of treatments were detected for plasma choline or methionine, lecithin feeding increased the plasma concentrations of choline metabolites trimethylamine N-oxide and dimethylglycine (24 and 11%, respectively). Plasma phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM) concentrations increased with deoiled lecithin feeding (e.g., PC 16:0/22:6 and SM d18:1/18:3). Lecithin supplementation also increased plasma lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) concentrations (e.g., LPC 18:0) while reducing plasma phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) concentrations (e.g., PE 16:0/20:5). Although increases in microbial-derived trimethylamine N-oxide suggest gastrointestinal lecithin degradation, elevations in plasma dimethylglycine, PC, LPC, and SM suggest that choline availability was improved by lecithin feeding in cows, thus supporting enhanced endogenous phospholipid synthesis.     

A Constrained Monitoring Protocol for the Internet of Things

Network monitoring has been traditionally conducted using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP): a network monitoring protocol that allows network administrators to keep track of every node in the network and ensure that it behaves correctly. This paper presents the Constrained Monitored Protocol (CoMP): a lightweight resource-efficient alternative to SNMP that targets the low-end devices of the Internet of Things (IoT). These devices are characterised by severe resource constraints in terms of memory, processing power, and bandwidth. Moreover, they are often energy-constrained as well, powered either by small batteries or energy harvesting. While SNMP does work with these devices, it has an unnecessary overhead resulting in a waste of resources that could otherwise be used for some other task, or to save energy. Furthermore, this paper proposes a cross-protocol CoMP-SNMP proxy that operates at the border router of the resource-constrained network and enables the efficient monitoring of resource-constrained IoT devices using CoMP from existing SNMP-based network monitoring infrastructures.