Allergen immunotherapy in dogs

The article presents current knowledge about allergen immunotherapy (AIT), in dogs, including the mechanism of action, indications, protocols used and efficacy of this treatment option. Currently, the sole indication for AIT in dogs is canine atopic dermatitis. AIT is the only etiological treatment available for this disease and has been proved to be both safe and effective. However, more studies regarding allergen specific immunotherapy are welcome to provide reliable guidance on the optimal dosing of allergens and profoundly evaluate its efficacy

Selection of Image Texture Analysis and Color Model in the Advanced Image Processing of Thermal Images of Horses following Exercise

As the detection of horse state after exercise is constantly developing, a link between blood biomarkers and infrared thermography (IRT) was investigated using advanced image texture analysis. The aim of the study was to determine which combinations of RGB (red-green-blue), YUI (brightness-UV-components), YIQ (brightness-IQ-components), and HSB (hue-saturation-brightness) color models, components, and texture features are related to the blood biomarkers of exercise effect. Twelve Polish warmblood horses underwent standardized exercise tests for six consecutive days. Both thermal images and blood samples were collected before and after each test. All 144 obtained IRT images were analyzed independently for 12 color components in four color models using eight texture-feature approaches, including 88 features. The similarity between blood biomarker levels and texture features was determined using linear regression models. In the horses’ thoracolumbar region, 12 texture features (nine in RGB, one in YIQ, and two in HSB) were related to blood biomarkers. Variance, sum of squares, and sum of variance in the RGB were highly repeatable between image processing protocols. The combination of two approaches of image texture (histogram statistics and gray-level co-occurrence matrix) and two color models (RGB, YIQ), should be considered in the application of digital image processing of equine IRT