Using geographical information system for spatial evaluation of canine extruded disc herniation

Disc herniation is one of the most common pathologies of the vertebral column in dogs. The aim of this study was to develop a geographical information system (GIS)-based vertebral canal (VC) map useful for spatial evaluation of extruded disc herniation (EDH) in dogs. ArcGIS® was used to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional maps, in which the VC surface is divided into polygons by lines representing latitude and longitude. Actual locations and directions of the herniated disc material were assessed by a series of 142 computer tomographies of dogs collected between 2005 and 2013. Most EDHs were located on the cervical and transitional regions (thoraco-lumbar and lumbo-sacral) and shown at the level of the ven- tro-cranial and ventro-central polygons created. Choropleth maps, highlighting the distribution and the location/direction patterns of the EDHs throughout the VC, were produced based on the frequency of the ailment. GIS proved to be a valuable tool in analysing EDH in dogs. Further studies are required for biomechanical analysis of EDH patterns

Disasters and emergency management in chemical and industrial plants: Drones simulation for education and training

The use of simulation for training is proven to be extremely effective both in term of costs and in term of its flexibility for different uses and applications, such as building situation awareness and creating scenarios for training scopes. The aim of the project proposed is to demonstrate the powerful rule of simulation in UAV pilots\u2019 cooperative training; the project presented makes use of a 3D simulation environment in order to build a realistic condition of an emergency situation in a chemical plant for the first responders. The model proposed makes use of HLA (High Level Architecture) standards in order to be potentially federated with other existing simulators. In the solution proposed, the pilot of the drone must accomplish the mission in a given time piloting a UAV; the scenario is based inside a chemical plant where a disaster is newly occurred. Then ability of the pilot is measured by the system and several constraints are reproduced to provide a realistic training scenario (such as small spaces and barriers to overcome, battery durations, risks of damages due to high temperatures zones, etc.); the system records and tracks all the actions of the pilot and gives a feedback to the user at the end of the simulation time

Geographical information system analysis on road accidents involving wandering dogs in the urban area of Naples

In this study, the spatial distribution of road accidents involving wandering dogs on urban roads of Naples was assessed using kernel density estimation (KDE). The study included 423 dogs victim of road collisions in the period 2012-2015 collected from the medical records of Interdepartmental Centre of Veterinary Radiology, of Pathological Anatomy Service, of Veterinary Teaching Hospital, "Federico II" University of Naples, and of Veterinary Hospital Attendance of the Local Public Health Unit Napoli1. There were a significant prevalence of young male dogs and the KDE demonstrated the presence of five hotspots in five city neighbourhoods. All areas with the highest KDE were found to be peripheral zones in which wide green areas, uncultivated or cultivated, merged with built areas and crossed by large straight roads with a lot of intersections. Wandering dogs as other animals represent a mounting problem on urban roads in Italy, despite of the effort to reduce these populations. Better knowledge of this phenomenon is important with reference to taking countermeasures and improve road safety. It is also important with reference to One Health and the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011- 2020 of the United Nations

Concrete vs. Symbolic Simulation To Assess Cyber-Resilience Of Control Systems

State-of-the-art industrial control systems are complex implements featuring different spatial and temporal scales among components, multiple and distinct behavioral modal-ities, context-dependent and human-in-the-loop interaction patterns. Most control systems offer entry-points for mali-cious users to disrupt their functionality severely, which is unacceptable when they are part of the national critical in-frastructure. Cyber-resilience, i.e., the ability of a system to sustain \u2014 possibly malicious \u2014 alterations while main-taining an acceptable functionality, is recognized as one of the keys to understand how much damage can be brought to a system and its surrounding environment in case of a suc-cessful cyber-attack. In this paper we compare methods to assess resilience considering both concrete simulation and symbolic simulation. Our ultimate goal is to provide main-tainers and other stakeholders with a dynamic and quanti-tative measure of cyber-resilience. Here we present some results on a case study related to waste-water treatment, in order to provide initial evidence that concrete and symbolic simulation can be used in a complementary way to analyze the security of industrial control systems

A new CT procedure for the study of the elbow in the dog

ntroduction: Previous described canine elbow-CT procedures need the head pulled laterally and caudally. This positioning is stressful for the neck and potentially dangerous in breeds prone to the Wobbler syndrome. Aim: To develop a new non-stressful procedure for canine elbow-CT. Materials and methods: Prospectively, from January 2013, two elbow-CT procedures were used. The described procedure (DP): sternal recumbency with laterally and caudally pulled head and cranially extended forelimbs. The new procedure (NP): lateral recumbency, with forelimbs cranially pulled, very close one to each other and to the neck, in order to obtain the smallest field of view (FOV) and mean pixel dimension (MPD). CT procedures were compared for spatial resolution and presence of artefacts. Results: 18 elbows, from 9 dogs, were included. Mean FOV was: NP 126.6 mm (±14.1); DP 103.3 (±5.16); mean MPD was: NP 0.25 mm (±0.03); DP 0.21 mm (±0.01). FOV and MPD were significantly larger in NP. Streak artefacts were absent in both procedures. Discussion and conclusion: compared to the DP, the NP has a significantly larger FOV and MPD, but a simpler and safer positioning, without streak artefacts. Furthermore, NP permits a more symmetrical positioning of the elbows and therefore to visualize them simultaneously

Resistive index for kidney evaluation in normal and diseased cats

OBJECTIVES: To determine the resistive index (RI) in normal cats and in cats with various renal diseases, and to evaluate the effect of age on RI. METHODS: The subjects were cats that had ultrasonography (US) of the urinary tract and RI measurement at our centre between January 2003 and April 2014. Based on clinical evaluation, biochemical and haematological tests, urinalysis and US, the cats were classified as healthy or diseased. RI measurements were made from the interlobar or arcuate arteries. Data were analysed for differences between the right and the left kidney, the two sexes, different age groups in healthy cats, and between healthy and diseased cats. RESULTS: A total of 116 cats (68 males, 48 females) were included: 24 healthy and 92 diseased. In the healthy cats, RI (mean ± SD) differed significantly (P = 0.02) between the right kidney (0.54 ± 0.07) and the left kidney (0.59 ± 0.08). For the left kidney, RI was significantly higher in cats with chronic kidney disease (0.73 ± 0.12) and acute kidney injury (0.72 ± 0.08) (P = 0.0008). For the right kidney, RI was significantly higher in cats with chronic kidney disease (0.72 ± 0.11), acute kidney injury (0.74 ± 0.08), polycystic kidney disease (0.77 ± 0.11) and renal tumour (0.74 ± 0.001) (P <0.0001). There was no significant effect on RI value in either kidney in terms of age or sex. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: RI could be considered a valuable diagnostic tool in cats, useful in the differential diagnosis of diffuse renal diseases. While it does not change with the age of the cat, ultrasonographers should be aware that RI may differ between the two kidneys

Lumbosacral luxation in dogs: clinical outcome of two different surgical procedures

The aim of this study is to evaluate clinical outcome of 2 surgical procedures performed to stabilze the traumatic luxation of the lumbosacral joint (LSJ) in 3 dogs thre paraplegic dogs with LSJ traumatic dislocation were included in the study. After premedication with Acepromazine at the dose of 20 µg/kg and Morphine at the dose of 0.3 mg/kg IM, anesthesia was induced by Propofol (4 mg/kg IV) and maintained with Isoflurane in 10% O2. Case 1: a 30 kg female mixbred, was treated with external skeletal fixation (ESF) utilzing 2 transilal pins, externaly locked with 2 clamps. Case 2 and 3: males of 15 and 30 kg respectively, were treating performing lumbosacral fixation utilzing 6 pins. Two pins were inserted, acros articular proces L7/S1, into the body of the sacrum; two pins were inserted into the L6 and L7 pedicle and body respectively. Al pins were cut and bent to achieve maximum overlap. Cerclage wire and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) was aplied to bond fre ends of pins Case 1: the ESF was removed 50 days after surgery although it has become lose 30 days before. By 7 months there was a marked improvement and the dog was able to walk and run with a slight neurological deficit. Case 2: the dog was able to stand and walk within 48 h after surgery. 90 days after surgery the dog stil had mild urinary and faecal incontinence. Case 3: the dog was able to stand and walk 24 h after surgery without presenting neurological alterations To the authors??? knowledge, diferent techniques have ben described to stabilze fracture or fracture/luxation of L7: nevertheles single traumatic LSJ dislocation and its treatment are not widely described in dogs1. In our experience the ESF is able to stabilze L7 fractures because the bone healing via calus formation neded a shorter time, while the healing via fibrosis requested for L7 luxation lasted longer. On the other hand ESF shows several advantages, including limited disection of soft tisues, adjustabilty after aplication and removal after repair. The stabilzation technique with pins and PMMA provides a relatively rigid construct to reduction of L7 luxation and have several advantages such as excelent strength and stabilty, minimal ned of postoperative care and short recovery time. Disadvantages can include soft tisues disection, relatively long time of surgery with higher risk of infections that we controled by using strict aseptic technique and antibiotic administration. In our experience the stabilzation with pin and PMMA shows beter clinical outcome with a short recovery time and mild complications, while ESF sems to not stabilze completely a LSJ luxation because of the early implant losening and the high risk of infection

Human behavior simulation for smart decision making in emergency prevention and mitigation within urban and industrial environments

The paper proposes an innovative use of intelligent agents and computer simulation to support decision making in industrial and urban reorganization for preventing and mitigating disasters. The use of intelligent agents is devoted to reproduce the population behavior and its perception on the situation evolution, actions on the territory and reactions. The authors are proposing a methodology for using these tools integrated with new big data available from towns to improve the quality of life & safety and to crowdsource best solutions in complex problems

Using geographical information system for spatial evaluation of canine disc herniations

Background: Geographical Information System (GIS) is used in analyzing and displaying referenced information. GIS applications have never been reported in Veterinary Imaging. Aim: To develop a GIS-based vertebral canal (VC) map useful for spatial evaluation of extruded disc herniation (EDH) in dogs. Methods: A GIS software (ArcGIS®) was used to create 2D and 3D maps in which VC surface was divided in polygons by lines representing the latitude and longitude. Depending on dislocation, EDH could be localized in one of the above regions. The actual dislocations of herniated disc material were assessed using a series of CT studies. Choropleth maps were realized based on frequency of EDH dislocation. Results: A cylindrical model of the VC with 78 latitudinal and 8 longitudinal lines dividing 624 polygons was created. Dislocation of EDH was assessed in 142 dogs with 177 EDH. Most of EDHs were located on the transitional regions (cervico-axial; cervico-thoracic; thoraco-lumbar; lumbo-sacral) at level of ventro-cranial and ventro-central polygons. Discussions: choropleth maps highlighted both the distribution and the dislocation pattern of EDH throughout the VC. Conclusion: GIS proved to be a valuable tool in analyzing dog's EDH. Further studies are required for biomechanical analysis of EDH's dislocation pattern