Hyaline and Cystic Degeneration of Uterine Leiomyomas: CT and MR Imaging with Histopathological Sample Analyses.

Leiomyomas are the most common solid benign uterine neoplasms; they are usually asymptomatic and are identified incidentally. Yet, responsive to stimulation by estrogens, leiomyomas may expand, potentially outgrowing their blood supply to undergo hemorrhage, fibrosis, calcification, and atrophy. These pathologic mechanisms commonly lead to leiomyomas degeneration, i.e., red, hyaline, cystic, or myxoid. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is the most accurate imaging technique for the characterization of leiomyomas. In cases of degeneration, variable features on T2-weighted and contrast-enhanced images can be found. With no recent radiologic pathologic correlation literature available on this matter, herewith, we provide computed tomography (CT)/MR imaging along with histopathological specimens of two young women who were diagnosed with hyaline or hyaline and cyst degeneration of uterine leiomyomas at our university hospital. We report on the imaging features of uterine leiomyomas using CT and MR imaging and discuss the available literature on imaging signs that may be suggestive of hyaline or cyst degeneration using either of the imaging examination methods.

Automatic identification of intestinal parasites in reptiles using microscopic stool images and convolutional neural networks.

Captive environments trigger the propagation and multiplication of parasites among different reptile species, thus weakening their immune response and causing infections and diseases. Technological advances of convolutional neural networks have opened a new field for detecting and classifying diseases which have shown great potential to overcome the shortcomings of manual detection performed by experts. Therefore, we propose an approach to identify six captive reptiles parasitic agents (Ophionyssus natricis, Blastocystis sp, Oxiurdo egg, Rhytidoides similis, Strongyloides, Taenia) or the absence of such parasites from a microscope stool images dataset. Towards this end, we first use an image segmentation stage to detect the parasite within the image, which combines the Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) technique, the OTSU binarization method, and morphological operations. Then, we carry out a classification stage through MobileNet CNN under a transfer learning scheme. This method was validated on a stool image dataset containing 3616 images data samples and 26 videos from the six parasites mentioned above. The results obtained indicate that our transfer learning-based approach can learn a helpful representation from the dataset. We obtained an average accuracy of 94.26% across the seven classes (i.e., six parasitic agents and the absence of parasites), which statistically outperformed, at a 95% confidence level, a custom CNN trained from scratch.

Efeito do óleo de eucalipto (Corymbia citriodora) no controle do carrapato bovino / Effect of eucalyptus oil (Corymbia citriodora) on the control of cattle ticks

Esta pesquisa foi conduzida com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito in vitro e in vivo do óleo de eucalipto (Corymbia citriodora) sobre o carrapato bovino (Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus). Na experimentação in vitro, foi utilizado o grupo controle negativo e oito concentrações de óleo de eucalipto (0,5; 1; 2; 5; 10; 20; 50; 100%), em fêmeas ingurgitadas de carrapato. A eficácia de controle foi de 0; 30,5; 75,5; 91; 100; 100; 100; 100 e 100%, respectivamente. Para a experimentação in vivo, foram constituídos três grupos (controle negativo; óleo de eucalipto a 3,5% - nível estimado mediante análise de regressão, correspondendo a 95% de eficácia de controle do carrapato da pesquisa in vitro e amitraz a 0,025%), com dezoito vacas da raça Holandesa. Antes (média dos dias -3, -2,-1) e após a aplicação do produto (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21dias), foram contadas fêmeas ingurgitadas de carrapato. A eficácia de controle foi de 0; 96,4 e 69%, respectivamente, 21 dias após o tratamento. Na 1ª e na 2ª ordenha após a aplicação dos tratamentos, foram avaliadas variáveis fisiológicas e coletadas amostras de leite para avaliar as propriedades organolépticas no leite e no iogurte (controle negativo x tratamento fitoterápico). O teste de aceitação sensorial do leite e das variáveis fisiológicas avaliadas foram similares entre os tratamentos.

This research was aimed at evaluating in vitro and in vivo effects of eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora) oil on cattle ticks (Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus). Negative control group and eight concentrations of eucalyptus oil (0.5; 1; 2; 5; 10; 20; 50; 100%), were used on in vitro trials with engorged female ticks. The efficacy of control ticks was 0; 30.5; 75.5; 91; 100; 100; 100; 100 and 100%, respectively. At the in vivo trial eighteen Holstein cows were allocated to three groups (negative control, eucalyptus oil at 3.5% - level estimated by regression analysis, accounting for 95% efficacy of control ticks on in vitro trial and amitraz at 0.025%). Engorged female ticks were counted before (mean of days -3, -2, -1) and after treatment (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21 days). The efficacy control tick was 0; 96.4 and 69%, respectively, at 21 days after treatment. On the 1st and 2nd milked after treatments, physiologic variables were evaluate and milk samples were collected to evaluate organoleptic properties in milk and yoghurt (negative control x phytotherapic treatment). Similar results were found with sensorial acceptance test of milk and physiologic variables.

Produtividade de sistemas forrageiros consorciados com amendoim forrageiro ou trevo vermelho / Productivity of pastures-based systems mixed to forage peanut or red clover

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar três sistemas forrageiros (SF) com capim elefante (CE) Pennisetum purpureum Schum., cv. 'MerckeronPinda' + espécies de crescimento espontâneo (ECE) + azevém anual (AZ) Lolium multiflorum Lam., cv. 'Comum', como SF1; CE + ECE + AZ + amendoim forrageiro (AF) Arachis pintoi Krap. e Greg., cv. 'Amarillo', como SF2; e CE + ECE + AZ + trevo vermelho (TV) Trifolium pratense L., cv. 'Estanzoela 116', como SF3. O CE foi estabelecido em linhas afastadas a cada 4m. O azevém anual foi estabelecido entre as linhas do CE durante o período hibernal; o TV foi semeado e o AF foi preservado nos respectivos tratamentos. Para avaliação, foram usadas vacas da raça Holandesa que receberam 5,5kg dia-1 como complemento alimentar. Foram avaliadas a taxa de acúmulo diário de matéria seca (TA), a massa de forragem desaparecida (MFD), a matéria seca desaparecida com base em 100kg de peso vivo (MSD) e a produção de forragem (PF), as composições botânica e estrutural do CE. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado, com três tratamentos (SF) e duas repetições (piquetes) em parcelas subdivididas no tempo (pastejo). Durante o período experimental (341 dias), foram efetuados nove ciclos de pastejo. Os valores médios de TA, MFD, MSD e PF foram de 53,16kg ha-1; 36,13%; 2,77kg de matéria seca por 100kg de peso vivo e 17,80t ha-1. Para a variável ECE, houve aumento significativo no SF1. Considerando a carga animal, o SF3 apresentou melhor desempenho.

The objective of this research was to evaluate of tree pasture-based systems (PS) with elephantgrass (EG) Pennisetum purpureum Schum., cv. 'Merckeron Pinda' + spontaneous growing species (SGS), annual ryegrass (RG) Lolium multiflorum Lam., cv. 'Comum', for PS1; EG + SGS + forage peanut (FP) Arachis pintoi Krap. e Greg., cv. 'Amarillo', for PS2; and EG + SGS + RG + red clover (RC) Trifolium pratense L., cv. 'Estanzoela 116', for PS3. EG was planted in lines with a distance of 4m each one of them. Ryegrass was sowed between rows of EG during the cool-season; red clover was sowed and the forage peanut was preserved on respectively treatments. Holstein cows receiving 5.5kg daily-1 complementary concentrate feed were used. The dry matter daily accumulation rate (DMA),disappearance of forage mass (DFM),dry matter disappeared based on 100kg of live weight (DMD),total dry matter production (TDM), botanical composition and structural component of EG were evaluated. The experimental design used was completely randomized with tree treatments (SF) and two replicates (paddocks) in incomplete split-plot time (grazing cycles). Nine grazing cycle were performed during the experimental period (341 days). The average values of DMA, DFM, DMD and TDM were 53.16kg ha-1, 36.13%, 2.77kg of dry matter per100kg of liveweight and 17.80t ha-1, respectively. SGS parameter increased significantly over in the PS1. Considering the stocking rate the PS3 showed a better performance.