Skeletal pathology and variable anatomy in elephant feet assessed using computed tomography

Foot problems are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in elephants, but are underreported due to difficulties in diagnosis, particularly of conditions affecting the bones and internal structures. Here we evaluate post-mortem computer tomographic (CT) scans of 52 feet from 21 elephants (seven African Loxodonta africana and 14 Asian Elephas maximus), describing both pathology and variant anatomy (including the appearance of phalangeal and sesamoid bones) that could be mistaken for disease. We found all the elephants in our study to have pathology of some type in at least one foot. The most common pathological changes observed were bone remodelling, enthesopathy, osseous cyst-like lesions, and osteoarthritis, with soft tissue mineralisation, osteitis, infectious osteoarthriti, subluxation, fracture and enostoses observed less frequently. Most feet had multiple categories of pathological change (81% with two or more diagnoses, versus 10% with a single diagnosis, and 9% without significant pathology). Much of the pathological change was focused over the middle/lateral digits, which bear most weight and experience high peak pressures during walking. We found remodelling and osteoarthritis to be correlated with increasing age, more enthesopathy in Asian elephants, and more cyst-like lesions in females. We also observed multipartite, missing and misshapen phalanges as common and apparently incidental findings. The proximal (paired) sesamoids can appear fused or absent, and the predigits (radial/tibial sesamoids) can be variably ossified, though are significantly more ossified in Asian elephants. Our study reinforces the need for regular examination and radiography of elephant feet to monitor for pathology and as a tool for improving welfare

MixUp-MIL: Novel Data Augmentation for Multiple Instance Learning and a Study on Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis

Multiple instance learning exhibits a powerful approach for whole slide image-based diagnosis in the absence of pixel- or patch-level annotations. In spite of the huge size of hole slide images, the number of individual slides is often rather small, leading to a small number of labeled samples. To improve training, we propose and investigate different data augmentation strategies for multiple instance learning based on the idea of linear interpolations of feature vectors (known as MixUp). Based on state-of-the-art multiple instance learning architectures and two thyroid cancer data sets, an exhaustive study is conducted considering a range of common data augmentation strategies. Whereas a strategy based on to the original MixUp approach showed decreases in accuracy, the use of a novel intra-slide interpolation method led to consistent increases in accuracy.Comment: MICCAI'23, https://gitlab.com/mgadermayr/mixupmi

Derivational Rules in Aphasia

Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: General Session and Parasession on The Place of Morphology in a Grammar (1992), pp. 435-44

Ergebnis der selektiven Verpaarung beim Entlebucher Sennenhund zur Reduktion der ureteralen Ektopie

Outcome of selective mating in the Entlebucher Mountain Dog for reduction of ureteral ectopia The Entlebucher Mountain Dog is predisposed to ureteral ectopia and associated diseases of the urinary tract as well as the kidneys, which can have severe to lethal consequences. Due to the clustered occurrence of clinical signs in 11 % of Entlebucher Mountain dogs in the absence of a genetic test for ureteral ectopia, screening was introduced in 2008 to allow phenotype-based breeding selection. The ureteral orifices of the dogs are visualized by ultrasound and existing urinary retention or urinary incontinence is documented. The diagnostic findings were evaluated centrally with assignment to one of five phenotypes depending on the localization of the ureteral orifices and the renal and ureteral shape. Breeding approval and mating restrictions are the responsibility of the respective breeding associations and predominantly Entlebucher Mountain Dogs with extravesical ectopic ureters and/or clinical signs were excluded from breeding. The effect of phenotype-based selective mating on the incidence of ureteral ectopia and its clinical signs, as well as possible factors influencing the expression of the phenotype, were determined in the birth cohorts after the introduction of screening. Analysis of the data set of 1456 phenotyped Entlebucher Mountain Dogs showed, that at 11 % versus 5 %, males were more frequently assigned to the extravesical phenotype than females. The effect of phenotype-based breeding selection was examined in a subpopulation consisting of phenotyped parents and their offspring (n = 876). The prevalence of the extravesical phenotype decreased from 24 % in the 2005 to 2007 birth cohorts to 1,4 % in the 2015 to 2017 birth cohorts. Since 2015 almost no Entlebucher Mountain Dogs with incontinence, hydroureter or hydronephrosis have been recorded. It was feared that the additional selection measures to control ureteral ectopia in the small Entlebucher Mountain Dog population would intensify the inbreeding increase. However, this has so far remained absent. Therefore, as long as no genetic test is available, it is recommended to continue phenotype-based breeding selection with exclusion of dogs with extravesical ureteral ectopia and/or hydroureter/hydronephrosis/urinary incontinence, while keeping an eye on the development of the inbreeding coefficient. Keywords: Ectopic ureter, Dog, Inbreeding, Phenotype, Breeding selection Deutsch Ergebnis der selektiven Verpaarung beim Entlebucher Sennenhund zur Reduktion der ureteralen Ektopie Der Entlebucher Sennenhund ist prädisponiert für die ureterale Ektopie und damit für assoziierte Erkrankungen der Harnwege sowie der Nieren, was schwerwiegende bis letale Folgen haben kann. Aufgrund des gehäuften Auftretens klinischer Symptome bei 11 % der Entlebucher Sennenhunde wurde in Ermangelung eines Gentests auf ureterale Ektopie 2008 ein Screening eingeführt, um eine Phänotyp-basierte Zuchtselektion zu ermöglichen. Die Uretermündungen der Hunde werden in der Regel mittels Ultraschall lokalisiert und bestehender Harnrückstau oder Harninkontinenz wird dokumentiert. Die Befundung erfolgte zentral mit einer Zuordnung zu einem von fünf Phänotypen in Abhängigkeit von der Lokalisation der Uretermündungen sowie der Nieren – und Ureterengestalt. Die Zuchtzulassung und Verpaarungsbeschränkungen obliegen den jeweiligen Zuchtverbänden, wobei überwiegend Entlebucher Sennenhunde mit extravesikal ektopischen Ureteren und/oder klinischen Symptomen von der Zucht ausgeschlossen wurden. Die Auswirkung der Phänotyp-basierten selektiven Verpaarung auf das Auftreten der ureteralen Ektopie und deren klinischen Symptome sowie mögliche Einflussfaktoren auf die Ausprägung des Phänotyps wurden in den Geburtsjahren nach Einführung des Screenings ermittelt. Die Analyse des Datensatzes mit 1456 phänotypisierten Entlebucher Sennenhunden zeigte, dass mit 11 % versus 5 % Rüden häufiger als Hündinnen dem extravesikalen Phänotyp zugeteilt wurden. Die Auswirkung der Phänotyp-basierten Zuchtselektion wurde an einer Teilpopulation, bestehend aus phänotypisierten Elterntieren und ihren Nachkommen (n = 876), untersucht. Die Prävalenz des extravesikalen Phänotyps nahm von 24 % bei den Geburtsjahren 2005 bis 2007 auf 1,4 % bei den Geburtsjahren 2015 bis 2017 ab. Seit 2015 wurden nahezu keine Entlebucher Sennenhunde mehr mit Inkontinenz, Hydroureter oder Hydronephrose erfasst. Befürchtet wurde, dass die zusätzlichen Selektionsmassnahmen zur Bekämpfung der ureteralen Ektopie in der kleinen Entlebucher Sennenhundepopulation den Inzuchtanstieg verstärken würde. Dies blieb bisher jedoch aus. Daher wird, solange kein genetischer Test zur Verfügung steht, empfohlen, die Phänotyp-basierte Zuchtselektion mit Ausschluss von Hunden mit extravesikaler ureteraler Ektopie und/oder Hydroureter/Hydronephrose/Harninkontinenz vorerst weiterzuführen und gleichzeitig die Entwicklung des Inzuchtkoeffizienten im Auge zu behalten. Schlüsselwörter: Ektopischer Ureter, Hund, Inzucht, Phänotyp, Zuchtselektion Français Résultat de l’accouplement sélectif chez le bouvier de l’Entlebuch pour réduire l’ectopie urétérale Le Bouvier de l’Entlebuch est prédisposé à l’ectopie urétérale et aux maladies associées des voies urinaires ainsi que des reins, ce qui peut entraîner des conséquences fatales. En raison de l’apparition de signes cliniques chez 11 % des chiens et en l’absence d’un test génétique pour l’ectopie urétérale, un dépistage a été introduit en 2008 pour permettre une sélection d’élevage basée sur le phénotype. Les orifices urétraux des chiens ont été visualisés par échographie et la rétention ou l’incontinence urinaire existante documentée. Les résultats du diagnostic ont été évalués de manière centralisée avec attribution à l’un des cinq phénotypes en fonction de la localisation des orifices urétéraux ainsi que de la forme des reins et des uretères. L’approbation pour la reproduction et les restrictions d’accouplement relèvent de la responsabilité des associations d’élevage respectives et les bouviers de l’Entlebuch présentant des uretères ectopiques extravésicaux et/ou des signes cliniques ont majoritairement été exclus de la reproduction. L’effet de cet accouplement sélectif basé sur le phénotype sur l’incidence de l’ectopie urétérale et de ses signes cliniques ainsi que les facteurs possibles influençant l’expression du phénotype ont été déterminés dans les cohortes de naissance après l’introduction du dépistage. L’analyse de l’ensemble des données de 1456 Bouviers de l’Entlebuch phénotypés a montré que, à 11 % contre 5 %, les mâles étaient plus fréquemment affectés au phénotype extravésical que les femelles. L’effet de la sélection d’élevage basée sur le phénotype a été examiné dans une sous-population composée de parents phénotypés et de leur progéniture (n = 876). La prévalence du phénotype extravésical est passée de 24 % dans les cohortes de naissance de 2005 à 2007 à 1,4 % dans les cohortes de naissance de 2015 à 2017. Depuis 2015, presque aucun bouvier d’Entlebuch présentant une incontinence, un hydrouretère ou une hydronéphrose n’a été enregistré. Une possible augmentation de la consanguinité due aux mesures de sélection supplémentaires visant à contrôler l’ectopie urétérale ne s’est pas produite. Par conséquent, tant qu’aucun test génétique n’est disponible, il est recommandé de poursuivre la sélection d’élevage basée sur le phénotype avec exclusion des chiens présentant une ectopie urétérale extravésicale et/ou une hydrouretère/hydronéphrose/incontinence urinaire, tout en surveillant l’évolution du coefficient de consanguinité. Mots-clés: auretère ectopique, chien, consanguinité, phénotype, sélection d’élevage Italiano Risultato dell'accoppiamento selettivo nel cane da montagna Entlebuch per ridurre l'ectopia ureterale Il bovaro dell’Entlebuch è predisposto all’ectopia ureterale e quindi alle malattie che sono correlate al tratto urinario e renale con possibili conseguenze letali. A causa della frequente comparsa di segni clinici nell’11 % dei cani e in assenza di un test genetico per l’ectopia ureterale, nel 2008 è stato introdotto uno screening per consentire la selezione fenotipica dei riproduttori. Gli orifizi ureterali dei cani sono solitamente localizzato tramite ecografia e viene documentata la presenza di ritenzione o incontinenza urinaria. I risultati sono stati valutati in modo centralizzato e si è assegnato il risultato a uno dei cinque fenotipi a seconda della localizzazione degli orifizi ureterali e della forma dei reni e degli ureteri. L’autorizzazione all’allevamento e le restrizioni all’accoppiamento sono di competenza delle rispettive associazioni di allevatori e i bovari dell’Entlebuch con ureteri ectopici extravescicali e/o con segni clinici sono stati prevalentemente esclusi dalla riproduzione. L’effetto dell’accoppiamento selettivo, basato sul fenotipo per rapporto all’incidenza dell’ectopia ureterale e dei suoi segni clinici, nonché dei possibili fattori che influenzano l’espressione del fenotipo, è stato determinato nelle coorti di nascita dopo l’introduzione dello screening. L’analisi del set di dati di 1456 bovari dell’Entlebuch fenotipizzati ha dimostrato che, con una percentuale dell’11 % rispetto al 5 %, i maschi erano più frequentemente assegnati al fenotipo extravescicale rispetto alle femmine. L’effetto della selezione riproduttiva basata sul fenotipo è stato esaminato in una subpopolazione composta da genitori fenotipizzati e dalla loro discendenza (n = 876). La prevalenza del fenotipo extravescicale è diminuita dal 24 % nelle coorti di nascita dal 2005 al 2007 all’1,4 % nelle coorti di nascita dal 2015 al 2017. Dal 2015 non sono stati registrati quasi più bovari dell’Entlebuch con incontinenza, idrouretere o idronefrosi. Non si è riscontrato un possibile aumento della consanguineità dovuto alle misure di selezione aggiuntive per controllare l’ectopia ureterale. Pertanto, finché non è disponibile un test genetico, si raccomanda di continuare la selezione fenotipica con l’esclusione dei cani con ectopia ureterale extravescicale e/o idrouretere/idronefrosi/incontinenza urinaria, facendo particolare attenzione all’andamento del coefficiente di consanguineità. Parole chiavi: Uretere ectopico, cane, consanguineità, fenotipo, selezione riproduttiv

A Case Report of Sandhoff Disease

Sandhoff disease is a rare and severe lysosomal storage disorder representing 7% of GM2 gangliosidoses. Bilateral thalamic involvement has been suggested as a diagnostic marker of Sandhoff disease. A case of an 18-month-old infant admitted for psychomotor regression and drug resistant myoclonic epilepsy is presented. Cerebral CT scan showed bilateral and symmetrical thalamic hyperdensity. MRI revealed that the thalamus was hyperintense on T1-weighted images and hypointense on T2-weighted images with a hypersignal T2 of the white matter. Enzymatic assays objectified a deficiency of both hexosaminidases A and B confirming the diagnosis of Sandhoff disease

The Impact of Warmed Intravenous Contrast Material on the Bolus Geometry of Coronary CT Angiography Applications

Objective This study was designed to investigate the effect of administration of warmed contrast material (CM) on the bolus geometry and enhancement as depicted on coronary CT angiography. Materials and Methods A total of 64 patients (42 men, 22 women; mean age, 56 years) were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 included 32 patients administered CM (Omnipaque [Iohexol] 350 mg I/ mL; Nycomed, Princeton, NJ) saline solutions kept in an incubator at a constant temperature (37℃). Group 2 included 32 patients administered the CM saline solutions kept at constant room temperature (24℃). Cardiac CT scans were performed with a dual source computed tomography (DSCT) scanner. For each group, region of interest curves were plotted inside the ascending aorta, main pulmonary artery and descending aorta on test bolus images. Using enhancement values, time/enhancement diagrams were produced for each vessel. On diagrams, basal Hounsfield unit (HU) values were subtracted from sequentially obtained values. A value of 100 HU was accepted as a cut-off value for the beginning of opacification. The time to peak, the time required to reach 100 HU opacification, maximum enhancement and duration of enhancement above 100 HU were noted. DSCT angiography studies were evaluated for coronary vessel enhancement. Results Maximum enhancement values in the ascending aorta, descending aorta and main pulmonary artery were significantly higher in group 1 subjects. In the ascending aorta, the median time required to reach 100 HU opacification during the test bolus analysis was significantly shorter for group 2 subjects than for group 1 subjects. In the ascending aorta, the descending aorta and main pulmonary artery, for group 1 subjects, the bolus geometry curve shifted to the left and upwards as compared with the bolus geometry curve for group 2 subjects. Conclusion The use of warmed CM yields higher enhancement values and a shorter time to reach maximum enhancement duration, resulting in a shift of the bolus geometry curve to the left that may provide optimized image quality.PubMedWoSScopu

Case Report Balanced Anaesthetic Approach in a Late-Term Gravid Cow Undergoing Metacarpal Fracture Repair

An 800 kg Swiss cow, eighth months gravid, was presented for anaesthesia to repair metacarpal fracture. The cow was premedicated with intravenous isoxsuprine, butorphanol, ketoprofen, and xylazine IM and induced with ketamine and diazepam IV. In lateral recumbency, the trachea was intubated, and isoflurane in oxygen and air was administered. Despite a ring block with lidocaine, purposeful movement happened, and xylazine 0.02 mg kg −1 h −1 and ketamine 0.6 mg kg −1 h −1 constant rate infusion was started. During anaesthesia, slight hypercapnia and hypoxaemia developed. Total time of xylazine and ketamine infusion was 3.5 hours. Total anaesthesia time was 4.5 hours. For recovery of anaesthesia, isoflurane was discontinued, and in sternal recumbency, the trachea was extubated when the cow swallowed. Paralysis of the left radial nerve occurred, and the cow was supported to stand up after 2 hours. The radial nerve paralysis resolved within three days. A healthy calf was born at term. This is the first paper that describes the successful use of adjunctive xylazine and ketamine infusion to isoflurane anaesthesia in a late-term gravid cow undergoing fracture repair during 4.5 hours

Early prediction of response to radiotherapy and androgen-deprivation therapy in prostate cancer by repeated functional MRI: a preclinical study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In modern cancer medicine, morphological magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is routinely used in diagnostics, treatment planning and assessment of therapeutic efficacy. During the past decade, functional imaging techniques like diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI have increasingly been included into imaging protocols, allowing extraction of intratumoral information of underlying vascular, molecular and physiological mechanisms, not available in morphological images. Separately, pre-treatment and early changes in functional parameters obtained from DWMRI and DCEMRI have shown potential in predicting therapy response. We hypothesized that the combination of several functional parameters increased the predictive power.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We challenged this hypothesis by using an artificial neural network (ANN) approach, exploiting nonlinear relationships between individual variables, which is particularly suitable in treatment response prediction involving complex cancer data. A clinical scenario was elicited by using 32 mice with human prostate carcinoma xenografts receiving combinations of androgen-deprivation therapy and/or radiotherapy. Pre-radiation and on days 1 and 9 following radiation three repeated DWMRI and DCEMRI acquisitions enabled derivation of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and the vascular biomarker <it>K</it>^trans, which together with tumor volumes and the established biomarker prostate-specific antigen (PSA), were used as inputs to a back propagation neural network, independently and combined, in order to explore their feasibility of predicting individual treatment response measured as 30 days post-RT tumor volumes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ADC, volumes and PSA as inputs to the model revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.54 (p < 0.001) between predicted and measured treatment response, while <it>K</it>^trans, volumes and PSA gave a correlation coefficient of 0.66 (p < 0.001). The combination of all parameters (ADC, <it>K</it>^trans, volumes, PSA) successfully predicted treatment response with a correlation coefficient of 0.85 (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We have in a preclinical investigation showed that the combination of early changes in several functional MRI parameters provides additional information about therapy response. If such an approach could be clinically validated, it may become a tool to help identifying non-responding patients early in treatment, allowing these patients to be considered for alternative treatment strategies, and, thus, providing a contribution to the development of individualized cancer therapy.</p