Presentation,stabilisation and contrast-enhanced computed tomographic (CT) diagnosis of a left gastrocaval portosystemic shunt in a pony foal

A 2-week-old pony foal was presented for recurrence of neurological dysfunction, obtunded-comatose mentation and collapse. Signalment, history, haematological and clinical chemical measurements and response to treatment prompted a presumptive diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy secondary to a portosystemic shunt. This case differs from previous reported cases of  congenital portosystemic shunts in horses due to the early onset of clinical signs, which usually occur at 2–6 months of age. In addition, in comparison with previously reported cases, this foal stabilised rapidly with minimal intervention. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) confirmed a left gastrocaval extrahepatic portosystemic shunt. Surgical intervention was not attempted due to financial constraints, so the foal was subjected to euthanasia, and on post-mortem examination, the anomalous vascular connection could clearly be identified.     

OF THE LOWER FORELIMB OF THE HORSE

This study uses computed tomography and computer aided design software (I-DEAS(tm)) for the development of a three-dimensional electronic solids model of the lower limb of the horse. Data from two millimeter transverse contiguous slices of the distal forelimb of a yearling horse were acquired from a computed tomographic scanner and then transferred to a computer system via magnetic tape. Outline of the bony tissue for each scan slice was first obtained with a feature extraction algorithm. A solids model for each skeletal segment of the specimen was then reconstructed with I-DEAS(tm) and subsequently displayed with various graphics options. The reconstructed electronic solids model would be useful for the study of 3D joint mechanics and finite element analysis of the bony structures, as well as for diagnostic purposes providing CT images could be obtained antemortem.     

Pulmonary vasculature in dogs assessed by three‐dimensional fractal analysis and chemometrics

Fractal analysis of canine pulmonary vessels could allow quantification of their space‐filling properties. Aims of this prospective, analytical, cross‐sectional study were to describe methods for reconstructing three dimensional pulmonary arterial vascular trees from computed tomographic pulmonary angiogram, applying fractal analyses of these vascular trees in dogs with and without diseases that are known to predispose to thromboembolism, and testing the hypothesis that diseased dogs would have a different fractal dimension than healthy dogs. A total of 34 dogs were sampled. Based on computed tomographic pulmonary angiograms findings, dogs were divided in three groups: diseased with pulmonary thromboembolism (n = 7), diseased but without pulmonary thromboembolism (n = 21), and healthy (n = 6). An observer who was aware of group status created three‐dimensional pulmonary artery vascular trees for each dog using a semiautomated segmentation technique. Vascular three‐dimensional reconstructions were then evaluated using fractal analysis. Fractal dimensions were analyzed, by group, using analysis of variance and principal component analysis. Fractal dimensions were significantly different among the three groups taken together (P = 0.001), but not between the diseased dogs alone (P = 0.203). The principal component analysis showed a tendency of separation between healthy control and diseased groups, but not between groups of dogs with and without pulmonary thromboembolism. Findings indicated that computed tomographic pulmonary angiogram images can be used to reconstruct three‐dimensional pulmonary arterial vascular trees in dogs and that fractal analysis of these three‐dimensional vascular trees is a feasible method for quantifying the spatial relationships of pulmonary arteries. These methods could be applied in further research studies on pulmonary and vascular diseases in dogs.     

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC FINDINGS OF FUNGAL RHINITIS AND SINUSITIS IN CATS

The computed tomographic (CT) findings of fungal rhinitis/sinusitis in cats were characterized. The CT images of 10 cats ranging in age from 7 to 13 years were examined. The mean age was 10.8 years and all were neutered males. Nasal aspergillosis was diagnosed in five cats, cryptococcosis in three cats, hyalohyphomycosis in one cat, and trichosporonosis in one cat. Bilateral disease was present in eight cats, seven had abnormal soft tissue attenuation in two-thirds of the nasal cavity, and six had turbinate lysis. Seven cats had also lysis of the hard palate, nasal septum, or frontal bone. One cat had lysis of the cribriform plate. Five of the nine cats whose lymph nodes were imaged had lymph node enlargement. There was contrast medium enhancement in the nasal cavity in all cats, with either a primarily peripheral rim or heterogeneous pattern. There appears to be an overlap of clinical signs, age, and CT features of cats with nasal neoplasia and those with fungal rhinitis/sinusitis.     

Clinical,virological, imaging and pathological findings in a SARS CoV-2 antibody positive cat

This paper reports a presumptive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in a cat. A cat with respiratory disease living with three individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 showed bilateral ground-glass opacities in the lung on X-ray and computed tomography. The clinical swabs were negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, but the serum was positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Interstitial pneumonia and prominent type 2 pneumocyte hyperplasia were noted on histopathology. Respiratory tissues were negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen, but the cat was positive for feline parvovirus DNA. In conclusion, the respiratory disease and associated pathology in this cat could have been due to exposure to SARS-CoV-2.     

Analysis of cross-plane electrode arrays for electrical impedance tomography

A cross-plane electrical impedance tomography system is constructed to solve the problem of the conventional planar electrode array. This system consists of four planar and eight axial cross imaging planes composing from 65 electrodes. The Tikhonov regularization algorithm is adopted for image reconstruction in simulation and flume experiment. Comparison between the reconstruction result and the original object shows that the cross-plane reconstruction method in three-dimensional space provides higher spatial resolution and position accuracy. In addition, it effectively reduces the amount of computation, and reveals great prospect for the application of clinical examination and monitoring.     

Effects of organic carbon and clay contents on structure-related properties of arable soils with high clay content

Understanding of factors governing soil structural features is necessary for managing key processes affecting crop productivity and environmental impacts of agriculture, for example, soil water balance, aeration, and root penetration. Organic matter is known to act as a major binding agent in soil aggregation and thus constitutes a central pillar in soil structure formation. However, knowledge of the structural role of organic matter or carbon (OC) in soils highly rich in clay-sized particles (<0.002 mm) is limited. In this study, the effects of clay and OC contents on aggregate stability, water holding capacity, near-saturated hydraulic conductivity, total porosity, and pore size distribution were assessed in cultivated fields with high clay content located in private crop production farms in southern Finland. Significant positive correlations were found between OC content and proportion of water stable aggregates and specific pore sizes from the range of 30 μm up to 1 mm diameter determined by image analysis. Porosities on a smaller size range derived from water retention measurements likewise showed a positive correlation with OC in <0.2 μm sizes. On the range of 0.2–1 μm, a negative relationship was observed, which induced a negative effect of OC on soil plant available water reserves. In line with the positive correlation between OC and larger soil pores, free water, representing the amount of water that can be drained by gravity, exhibited a positive relationship with OC suggesting that OC content can enhance aeration of soils with high clay content. Compared to OC, clay content tended to have an adverse effect on soil structural properties. Clay correlated negatively with pores larger than 30 μm, free water content, and extrapolated field saturated hydraulic conductivity. Further, our imaging results showed how saturated hydraulic conductivity was controlled by pore morphology, and there was a power law relationship between the conductivity and critical pore diameter. $K\propto d_c^2$ in agreement with the percolation theory. Overall, the structural impacts and hydrological implications of OC and clay in heavy clay soils vary by pore size ranges and their emergent practical impacts are thus not straightforward.     

不同耕作方式对砂姜黑土孔隙结构特征的影响

砂姜黑土黏闭僵硬问题突出，耕作是改良其结构的重要措施之一。本文基于安徽龙亢农场砂姜黑土耕作试验基地，采集免耕（No-tillage, NT）、旋耕（Rotary tillage, RT）和深翻（Deep ploughing, DP）处理的原状土柱（高20 cm，直径10 cm），利用X射线CT扫描技术和ImageJ 软件等对土壤孔隙结构进行三维重建和可视化处理，定量分析了不同耕作方式对土壤的孔隙度、孔径大小分布、孔隙形态特征、网络特征以及土壤饱和导水率的影响。结果表明：（1）与免耕相比，旋耕和深翻下土壤的大孔隙度分别增加了192.7%和261.1%（P < 0.05）；与旋耕相比，深翻下土壤大孔隙度增加了23.4%；（2）相较于免耕，旋耕和深翻显著增加了土壤孔隙的水力半径、紧密度、分形维数和全局连通性（P < 0.05），显著降低了各向异性程度和欧拉数（P < 0.05），土壤饱和导水率得到显著提升，且深翻的改良效果总体优于旋耕；（3）相关分析表明土壤饱和导水率与除水力半径外的孔隙结构特征参数均存在显著相关（P < 0.05），其中与连通性最大孔隙度的相关性最高（r=0.833**，P < 0.01）。综上所述，深翻扩大了土壤孔隙的水力半径，改善了连通性，提升了复杂程度，从而构建了相对良好的土壤孔隙形态和网络结构，提高了导水能力，消减砂姜黑土结构性障碍效果显著。