Use of Thermography Techniques in Equines: Principles and Applications

none7noThis review of the use of thermographic technique in equines introduces the principles upon which infrared radiation and thermoregulatory physiology are based and describes the instrumentation used and its practical use. The advantage of this imaging technique is that it is a noninvasive thermographic examination, both from an operational (the animal and the operator) and health (no penetrating radiation is used) standpoint. Advantages and disadvantages of this technique, equine applications, and physiological assessments are discussed.openVeronica, Redaelli; Domenico, Bergero; Enrica, Zucca; Francesco, Ferrucci; Leonardo Nanni Costa, ; Lorenzo, Crosta; Fabio, LuziVeronica, Redaelli; Domenico, Bergero; Enrica, Zucca; Francesco, Ferrucci; Leonardo Nanni Costa, ; Lorenzo, Crosta; Fabio, Luz

Detecting the gravito-magnetic field of the dark halo of the Milky Way - the LaDaHaD mission concept

We propose to locate transponders and atomic clocks in at least three of the Lagrange points of the Sun-Earth pair, with the aim of exploiting the time of flight asymme- try between electromagnetic signals travelling in opposite directions along polygonal loops having the Lagrange points at their vertices. The asymmetry is due to the pres- ence of a gravito-magnetic field partly caused by the angular momentum of the Sun, partly originating from the angular momentum of the galactic dark halo in which the Milky Way is embedded. We list also various opportunities which could be associated with the main objective of this Lagrange Dark Halo Detector (LaDaHaD)

Phenomenology of the Lense-Thirring effect in the Solar System

Recent years have seen increasing efforts to directly measure some aspects of the general relativistic gravitomagnetic interaction in several astronomical scenarios in the solar system. After briefly overviewing the concept of gravitomagnetism from a theoretical point of view, we review the performed or proposed attempts to detect the Lense-Thirring effect affecting the orbital motions of natural and artificial bodies in the gravitational fields of the Sun, Earth, Mars and Jupiter. In particular, we will focus on the evaluation of the impact of several sources of systematic uncertainties of dynamical origin to realistically elucidate the present and future perspectives in directly measuring such an elusive relativistic effect.Comment: LaTex, 51 pages, 14 figures, 22 tables. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Science (ApSS). Some uncited references in the text now correctly quoted. One reference added. A footnote adde

Lopinavir/Ritonavir and Darunavir/Cobicistat in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: Findings From the Multicenter Italian CORIST Study

Background: Protease inhibitors have been considered as possible therapeutic agents for COVID-19 patients. Objectives: To describe the association between lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) or darunavir/cobicistat (DRV/c) use and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. Study Design: Multicenter observational study of COVID-19 patients admitted in 33 Italian hospitals. Medications, preexisting conditions, clinical measures, and outcomes were extracted from medical records. Patients were retrospectively divided in three groups, according to use of LPV/r, DRV/c or none of them. Primary outcome in a time-to event analysis was death. We used Cox proportional-hazards models with inverse probability of treatment weighting by multinomial propensity scores. Results: Out of 3,451 patients, 33.3% LPV/r and 13.9% received DRV/c. Patients receiving LPV/r or DRV/c were more likely younger, men, had higher C-reactive protein levels while less likely had hypertension, cardiovascular, pulmonary or kidney disease. After adjustment for propensity scores, LPV/r use was not associated with mortality (HR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.13), whereas treatment with DRV/c was associated with a higher death risk (HR = 1.89, 1.53 to 2.34, E-value = 2.43). This increased risk was more marked in women, in elderly, in patients with higher severity of COVID-19 and in patients receiving other COVID-19 drugs. Conclusions: In a large cohort of Italian patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in a real-life setting, the use of LPV/r treatment did not change death rate, while DRV/c was associated with increased mortality. Within the limits of an observational study, these data do not support the use of LPV/r or DRV/c in COVID-19 patients

Dell' uso della tavoletta Pretoriana per la formazione delle mappe topografiche

di Lorenzo Crost

Radiographic Measurements of the Cardiac Silhouette and Comparison with Other Radiographic Landmarks in Wild Galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla)

Background: Part of the diagnostic workup for cardiac diseases is radiographic imaging. To determine an enlarged heart, species-specific reference values are necessary. Wild birds are rarely diagnosed with cardiac disease, and only a few studies have been done to investigate the cardiac silhouette in wild birds. Methods: In this retrospective study, the cardiac silhouette of 36 wild galahs, presented at the hospital, was investigated in relation to other anatomic landmarks like the thoracic width, clavicula width, synsacrum width, distance between the third and fourth rib, distance of the clavicula, and length and height of the sternum using a digital DICOM viewer. Results: The cardiac width was significant compared to the thoracic width with a minimum to maximum of 50 to 65%. The cardiac width compared with the coracoid width also showed significant results with a minimum to maximum range of 570 to 743%. A significant correlation was found between the weight and the cardiac width and length. Conclusion: The cardiac silhouette in wild galahs is easily measured in both radiographic views, and the heart size can be compared to other anatomical landmarks

Effetti del regime colturale e della sfogliatura sull'attivit\ue0 vegetativa e produttiva della cultivar 'Nero d'Avola'

In Sicilia, caratterizzata da estati calde e poco piovose l\u2019irrigazione e gli interventi in verde rivestono una grande importanza nella definizione del risultato produttivo e qualitativo del vigneto. \uc8 stato perci\uf2 condotto uno studio, confrontando in due differenti suoli argillosi, piante defogliate all\u2019allegagione con piante non defogliate, in condizioni di regime asciutto e di regime irriguo, gestito, quest\u2019ultimo, col potenziale fogliare pre-dawn. Da un\u2019analisi dell\u2019attivit\ue0 vegeto-produttiva delle piante e qualitativa delle uve sono emerse differenze significative tra i trattamenti, tra i regimi irrigui e in alcuni casi \ue8 emerso anche un effetto interazione. La defogliazione precoce ha determinato un incremento dell\u2019attivit\ue0 vegetativa, ha migliorato il quadro polifenolico dell\u2019uva e ha ritardato la degradazione dell\u2019acidit\ue0. L\u2019irrigazione ha influito positivamente sul peso medio dell\u2019acino, ma ha avuto un\u2019effetto negativo sulla gran parte dei parametri qualitativi

A Dynamical System Perspective of Multi-temporal Remote Sensing: Analysis of MODIS Spectral Index Time Series from Forest Wildfires

Land surface satellite time series can be interpreted as the output of a dynamical system which generates a process of interest. In this research, the qualitative theory of dynamical systems is applied to understand seasonal time series, which correspond, respectively, to spectral indexes and to the reflectance of single wavelengths from Alpine areas affected by wildfire. A collection of 293 images acquired from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the NASA-Terra satellite platform was analysed in order to study the dynamics of mountain vegetation (broadleaf, needleleaf and prairies) before and after wildfires in the Alps. Satellite images of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and the Normalized Burnt Ratio (NBR) with spatial resolution of 250m and time resolution of 16 days in the years 2000{2012 were used. Wildfire affected areas (> 40 ha) in Lombardy between 2000 and 2010 were selected. For each burned area, an undisturbed adjacent control site was located on the basis of a digital elevation model (DEM), historical aerial orthophotographs and land-use/land-cover maps. A set of multi-dimensional arrays (multi-temporal imagery) was created for each spectral index (NDVI and EVI), single band (red, blue, near infra-red, short wave infra-red, all in units of radiance) and for each of the MODIS acquisition meta data (Quality Assurance, Usefulness Index, Shadow, Pixel Reliability, Sun Zenith angle, View Zenith angle and Day Of Year). The time series of these variables thus become available for each pixel of the area. Data pre-processing consisted in the smoothing of MODIS time series for noise removal; in this procedure a SAVITZKY-GOLAY recursive filter was applied, where the weighting scheme is based on the quality parameters of MODIS acquisitions. Due to the periodic energy input to ecosystems, the vegetation growth cycle in Alpine environments exhibits marked seasonal oscillations. The optical properties vegetation and the related spectral indices are affected accordingly. The process is therefore modelled by a stable periodic orbit of a dynamical system. Wildfire is a perturbation, which alters the system parameters, hence its phase portrait. The effect of the perturbation was visualised by creating a set of yearly scatter plots of different spectral indexes and single wavelengths, extracted from burned and reference areas. Each plot is a sequence of points on the plane, which are the vertices of a generally self-intersecting polygonal chain; these were characterized by a set of morphological descriptors (area, perimeter, centroid coordinates, moments and tensor of inertia). Principal Components Analysis of these descriptors was applied and some Land surface satellite time series can be interpreted as the output of a dynamical system which generates a process of interest.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

Use of Thermography Techniques in Equines: Principles and Applications

This review of the use of thermographic technique in equines introduces the principles upon which infrared radiation and thermoregulatory physiology are based and describes the instrumentation used and its practical use. The advantage of this imaging technique is that it is a noninvasive thermographic examination, both from an operational (the animal and the operator) and health (no penetrating radiation is used) standpoint. Advantages and disadvantages of this technique, equine applications, and physiological assessments are discussed