Transient hyperammonemia due to urea cycle enzyme deficiency in Irish wolfhounds

BACKGROUND: Irish Wolfhounds frequently have a congenital portosystemic shunt, but a considerable proportion of the 6- to 8-wk-old pups has hyperammonemia in the absence of portosystemic shunting. This hyperammonemia causes no signs and is transient, normalizing at the age of 3-4 months. HYPOTHESIS: Transient hyperammonemia has a metabolic basis in Irish Wolfhounds. ANIMALS: Two related (same sire) litters of Irish Wolfhounds (17 pups) and their parents were studied. METHODS: Integrity of the portal circulation was examined by ultrasonography and scintigraphy. Absence of parenchymal liver disease was verified by liver biopsy. Amino acid profiles were measured in 4 pups and repeated in 2 of these pups when ammonia concentrations had normalized. The amino acid profiles were compared with those of healthy Irish Wolfhound pups. RESULTS: Fasting venous ammonia concentrations were high (113-622 microg/dL, 65-345 micromol/L) in all pups, whereas bile acids were within reference range in all but 1. The ammonia and bile acid concentrations from all parents were within reference range. Portosystemic shunting was excluded in all but 1 pup. Liver biopsy excluded significant lesions in all 10 pups examined. Hypercitrullinemia was found and persisted even when ammonia had normalized, at the expense of an increase in glutamine and asparagine. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Citrulline concentrations are controlled by the urea cycle enzymes argininosuccinase and argininosuccinate synthetase, and a defect in either of these enzymes may be responsible for the transient hyperammonemia in Irish Wolfhounds. Resolution of the hyperammonemia is associated with increased activity of alternative metabolic pathways forming glutamine and asparagine. Confirmation requires measurement of enzyme activities in liver tissue.     

Laryngeal dysplasia: Computed tomographic findings in an Oldenburg mare

A 5-year-old Oldenburg mare presented for poor performance, head-tossing and bucking when ridden. An abnormal respiratory noise was audible during exercise. Computed tomography (CT) revealed right laryngeal dysplasia; an absent cricothyroid articulation, abnormally shaped thyroid cartilage, underdeveloped cricopharyngeus muscle, rostral displacement of the palatopharyngeal arch and an oesophageal air column. In this case, it was unlikely that the laryngeal pathology was related to the horse's clinical signs. This case report provides a reference CT examination of laryngeal dysplasia, corroborating previous findings using magnetic resonance imaging, radiography, ultrasonography and post-mortem examination.     

Detecting Technology of Cabel Surface Defect Based on DSP and Image Recognition

The damage of bridge cable directly hazards the normal use of bridge and the safety of people. The paper discussed the signal acquisition and detection system which takes embedded DSP processor as core technology, combined with CCD, video decode chip, SDRAM, FLASH ROM, and established the fast measuring algorithm of the surface corrosion and damage, which includes deteminating the processing region, improving medium filter, sobel edge detection and dynamic threshold segment, close operation of morphology, computing defect area and saving. The experimental resuits show that this method implemented the real-time, non-contact and intelligence detecting of cable surface defect and gives the specifications of the system.     

基于机器视觉的马铃薯自动分级与缺陷检测系统设计

针对现有的马铃薯分级和检测需要大量的人力物力、检测效率不高,设计了基于机器视觉的马铃薯自动分级与缺陷检测系统.工作时,自动分级系统对大量马铃薯进行快速表皮去泥和分级工作,得到3种规格的马铃薯并逐个运输到缺陷检测系统进行马铃薯缺陷的识别检测;通过多种图像处理算法对比分析,以平均值法灰度化、中值滤波处理、大津法分割等方法得...     

Effects of histone hypomethylation induced by alcohol during pregnancy on overexpression of cardiomyogenesis genes offspring mice

AIM:To investigate the effects of histone methylation on the abnormal expression of cardiomyogenesis genes caused by alcohol during pregnancy and the regulatory mechanism, and to provide a new idea and intervention targets for preventing and curing congenital heart disease. METHODS:The alcohol (56%, 5 mL/kg) and G9a-histone methyltransferases (HMT) inhibitor BRD4770 (1 mg/kg) were given by gavage in Kunming mice during embryo (E) 0.5~14.5 d, and the hearts of the mice in E14.5, E16.5 and post neonatal 0.5 d (PND0.5) were collected. The mRNA expression of Gata4, Cx43 and β-MHC genes was detected by RT-qPCR. The activity of HMT was measured by colorimetry. Meanwhile, the protein expression of histone H3K9me3, G9a-HMT, Cx43 and β-MHC was determined by Western blot. RESULTS:The results of colorimetry showed that the activity of HMT in the heart of the offspring mice treated with alcohol during pregnancy was decreased significantly compared with normal saline group (P<0.05), and Western blot data showed that the expression of G9a-HMT and histone H3K9me3 were apparently decreased in the same samples (P<0.05). The mRNA expression levels of Gata4, Cx43 and β-MHC in alcohol group were apparently increased compared with normal saline group (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the protein levels of Cx43 and β-MHC were increased significantly in the same samples (P<0.05). However, BRD4770, a G9a-HMT inhibitor, further attenuated the level of histone H3K9me3, and further upregulated the expression of Gata4, Cx43 and β-MHC in the heart of the the mice treated with alcohol (P<0.05). CONCLUSION:Histone methylation modification imbalance induced by G9a-HMT may be involved in the abnormal expression of cardiomyogenesis genes in the heart of offspring mice caused by alcohol during pregnancy.     

基于机器视觉的半干枣病害和裂纹识别研究

研究提出了一种基于机器视觉的病害和裂纹的识别方法。在H分量图中,依据半干枣在病害和非病害区域色调值差异提取病害区域,以提取的病害区域与枣表面积的比作为阈值确定较高的病害面积识别精度,可正确识别的感兴趣病害面积为16.87mm2,占枣投影面积的3.3%。为进一步提高在该病害面积识别精度的正确率,依据已确定的病害面积比阈值,将病害面积比值二值化,结合红枣区域颜色特征值H的均值和均方差,用SVM方法建立枣病害的识别模型,训练集和测试集的识别正确率分别为9 5.7 7%和9 5.7 9%。在I分量图中,对红枣区域进行Otsu’s阈值分割、图像局部属性统计和形态学处理,提取裂纹二值图像,依据裂纹图像不变距方法建立裂纹识别模型,训练集和测试集的识别正确率分别为94.90%和94.55%。     

基于掩模及亮度校正算法的脐橙表面缺陷分割

【目的】 本研究旨在有效解决果皮有缺陷的水果图像在去除背景时部分缺陷被误分割为背景,以及水果表面缺陷难以有效分割提取的问题。【方法】 以I分量图来构建掩模模板,根据其灰度直方图信息,通过双峰法选择单一阈值（T=75）分以纽荷尔脐橙为研究对象,提出基于HSI颜色空间模型法去除背景割背景并填充孔洞得到掩模模板I_mask,然后掩模模板I_mask与I分量图通过点乘运算得到去除背景的I分量图;提出基于多尺度高斯函数图像亮度校正算法对去除背景后的I分量图像进行亮度校正,通过构建多尺度高斯函数滤波器,将去除背景后的I分量图与构建的多尺度高斯函数进行卷积运算即得到去除背景后的I分量图像表面光照分量图,最后将去除背景后的I分量图与得到的光照分量图进行点除运算即得到去除背景后的I分量图像亮度校正图;然后采用单一全局阈值法对脐橙表面缺陷进行提取。【结果】 基于HSI颜色空间模型法去除背景,可在有效去除背景的同时完好保留脐橙的表面信息,有利于后续操作;基于多尺度高斯函数的图像亮度校正算法分别对6种常见脐橙缺陷进行图像亮度校正后采用单阈值法提取缺陷,使不同灰度等级的脐橙表面缺陷一次性分割成功,其中分割率最高为100%,最低为88.5%,整体达92.7%。通过试验分析后发现造成部分误分割或漏分割的原因主要在于部分缺陷果缺陷处颜色较轻,与正常区域灰度差较小,从而造成漏分割;还有部分缺陷果由于缺陷面积小,在图像形态学处理过程被误认为是噪声而被去除;同时发现正常果的误判率也达到了10.8%,经分析发现误判的正常果表皮组织区域的褶皱位于图像的边缘区域,从而被误认为是边缘区域的缺陷,导致误判。【结论】 基于HSI颜色空间模型法去除背景及基于多尺度高斯函数的图像亮度不均校正算法对纽荷尔脐橙图像背景分割和去除背景后的I分量图像表面亮度校正均取得了较好的效果,能有效识别脐橙缺陷区域,为脐橙精确分级提供了技术支持,也为其他果品表面缺陷快速检测提供了一种新思路。