1,721,108 research outputs found
UTILIZZO DELLA TECNICA TERMOGRAFICA COME SISTEMA NON INVASIVO PER LO STUDIO DEL BENESSERE E DELLO STATO SANITARIO NELLE SPECIE ANIMALI DI INTERESSE ZOOTECNICO E DA AFFEZIONE
Full text linkUsing infrared thermography as a innovative and non-invasive system for the study of well-being and health status in farm animals and pet. The particular interest existing about the development in livestock of a system for measuring temperatures at a distance, is witnessed by several articles in international journals, both on laboratory animals, both on rabbit, sheep and horses (Goodwin 1998 ). In fact stress could induce physiological and behavioral changes, as well as vascular changes in different parts of the body that are reflected in changes in body and skin temperatures. In previous studies, physiological reactions in response to acute stress stimuli were found on tail of rats and in ear of rabbit: there was a decrease in temperature at the level of the tail and paws; on the contrary, the temperature of the eye, head and back is increased.
The main problems in measurement of temperatures with current methods, are associated with the difficulty of recording the data without causing additional stress due to the handling of animals by man. The thermographic technique can remotely monitor the temperature distribution of a body and its variations, without interacting with it.
In fact, thermography is a telemetric technique, non-invasive, able to determine from a distance the temperature of any surface with high spatial resolution (1 cm to 7 meters) and high thermal sensitivity (0 , 08 ° C), taking advantage of that all objects emit infrared radiation in proportion to its temperature. At now thermography has been applied in the animal field just to assess stress response in some research on rabbits, it is currently used for diagnosis of inflammation in the limbs of horses and seems to be of fundamental importance for the early diagnosis of mastitis. The purpose of this thesis research was the development of a system to check temperature of pet and livestock at distance using the thermographic technique, in order to verify the possibility of obtaining an objective assessment of any conditions of stress and / or discomfort.
In the “Centro di Allevamento e Addestramento della Guardia di Finanza, temperatures of 20 dogs were taken at a distance, while behavioral tests were carried out by a team independent from the thermographic technician and according to their defined sequences. We obtained thermographic videos that, in addition to the behavior of the subjects, provides information on the variation in skin temperature during test, in the same dog, and between different subjects. The most suitable areas to detect the temperature changing were defined as the area around the eyes and the inner of ears. These videos are the beginning of the database for the canine species and represent the material of two theses currently in progress at the Department of Animal Sciences - Milan. The availability baseline data on various species is a key to refer to in order to successfully apply this non-invasive technique to assess animal’s well being.
No interaction is needed between the operator and thermographic animals, thus confirm the non-invasiveness of the developed system. For the analysis of thermal images obtained, it is still developing, in collaboration with the Physics Department of Milan, a software that can automatically extract the array of temperatures of interested areas identified.
Regarding the syndrome of poor performance in sport horses, 9 thermography videos were made during exercise on high-speed treadmill, which made possible to record the heating of the different muscle areas of the body and to verify the proper vascularization of tissue, in addition to identifying abnormal responses caused by diseases and stress. Such studies have been conducted at the Hospital for Large Animals of Lodi and allow to test and enhance the training of sport horses. As far as dairy cows, the thermographic technique is proved particularly useful in the early detection of podalic diseases, allowing early intervention and improving animal welfare; different experimental sessions were conducted at the farm Angelo Menozzi Landriano, in collaboration with DIPAV of University of Milan. Values of sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 63% were obtained using the clinical evaluation as a reference.
In collaboration with the Department of Agro-Food Protection and Enhancement of Bologna, 2 long transports of pigs were carried out in north-central Italy to determine whether thermography can be used in the assessment of environmental stress on pigs in the truck during transportations. Thermographic skin temperature measurements were performed for the first time during a transport by a camera placed inside the vehicle. The contemporary environmental conditions checking allowed the determination of a relationship between these two quantities in accordance with the present literature about.
About swine, some experimental tests were performed to evaluate the best conditions for breeding and reproduction in collaboration with the Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh. Studying on thermoregulation phenomena of nude mice, some experiments were carried out in collaboration with Siena Biotech. Thermography has allowed the identification of an "hot" area in the dorsal area of animals, which coincides with so called “brown fat tissue” and is involved for rodents in thermogenesis. The measurements taken at different days have proved consistent and repeatable, it was possible to define the thermal behavior of brown tissue even under conditions of hypothermia and hyperthermia. Finally, for a better and more automated analysis of thermal images obtained, it is still developing a software specifically for the treatment of the thermal images of moving subjects, in collaboration with Department of Physics - University of Milan
Evaluation of evaporation flux in building materials by infrared thermography
No full textThe presence of water inside the walls can be considered one of the most important causes of degradation in historical buildings. This is particularly due to evaporation which can give rise to salt deposits inside the superficial pores. Evaporation flux from wall surfaces can be estimated quantitatively by measuring the temperature which depends in a sensitive way on the evaporation rate. At equilibrium condition among all the different kind of heat exchange the wall temperature depends essentially on the evaporation rate and the thermal properties of the material (porosity, conductivity).
In the Archaeometry lab of “Istituto di Fisica Generale Applicata” we performed some experiments on several brick, plaster and stone specimens with different porosity in order to obtain different evaporation rates. We employed a climatic room where environmental parameters (temperature, RH, ventilation and irradiation) are controlled and cooling effects due to evaporation are investigated by a SW IR thermographic system in steady conditions in order to understand the relation between evaporation flux (), water content (Wc) and surface temperature (Ts).
Table of comparative values of these three variables (, Wc, Ts ) were obtained for several materials and applicability limits of the thermographic technique for moisture detection are discussed
Studio di flussi evaporativi nelle dinamiche del degrado di materiali umidi mediante termografia
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Tecniche per la riabilitazione motoria del cavallo sportivo
No full textQuesto articolo vuole presentare alcune delle tecniche più usate nel campo della riabilitazione e della fisioterapia a beneficio del cavallo sportivo. L'ampio spettro di utilizzo di queste tecniche nelle diverse discipline del settore equestre e i diversi studi effettuati dimostrano l'importanza che queste pratiche hanno assunto, al pari di quanto accade in umana, sia nel campo riabilitativo sia per l'allenamento del cavallo sportivo. E' importante sottolineare come ogni allevatore o allenatore dovrebbe tener conto della possibilità di avvalersi di queste tecniche che unite ad una attenta e corretta gestione del cavallo possono garantire ottime performance.This article is about some of the most used techniques for rehabilitation and physiotherapyof sport horses. The board spectrum of use of these techniques in the various disciplines of the equestrian field and the various studies carried out demonstrate the importance of these practices, like in human medicine, both in the field of rehabilitation and training of sport horces. It is important to emphasize that any breeder or trainer should take into account the possibility of using these techniques together with a careful and proper managementof the horse in order to ensure excellent performances
Infrared Thermography (IRT) in nude mice : an alternative method for body temperature measurement
No full textResearchers at Milan University and Mario Negri Institute in Italy have developed an alternative method for body temperature measurement, using infrared thermography (IRT) in nude mice. At the 2010 Scand FELASA meeting, Fornasier et Al., showed that baseline recordings (5 min) of Tmax (the time after administration of a drug where maximum plasma concentration is achieved) showed an acceptable variability within the same animal with a coefficient of variability (CV%) ranging between 0.8–1.21. Tmax (39.0°C) was always located in the intrascapular region, in the area of brown adipose deposits (IBAT) which is normally involved in thermogenesis in rodents.
In another trial2,3, researchers studied stress in C57BL/6j and BALB / c mice housed in different individually ventilated cages (IVCs). To ensure the highest state of welfare of laboratory animals, they evaluated the behavioural and physiological (surface temperature) response of mice maintained in two different IVCsystems characterised by different points of air injection (cover or animal level) to determine any possible difference in the anxiety levels of the animals.
64 C57Bl6/J and 64 BALB/c 6 weeks old SPF, female mice were used; the animals were maintained at 22± 2 °C and 55± 10% RH with food and water provided ad-libitum. The animals were housed four per cage in two different IVC cages with different air inlet solutions at cover (75 ACH) or animal (50 ACH) level and observed for seven weeks.
They found significant differences in anxiety-related behaviour between strain and housing systems. These results suggest that, in addition to influencing mouse choice4, different IVC housing systems can influence mouse behaviour, with mice of both strains, exhibiting more anxiety-related behaviour when housing in cage systems where the air entry is at “animal” level at 50 ACH.
The same Milan University team2 showed the use of IRT analysis in immunodeficient mice’s nest (Figures 1 and 2). Through the use of IRT, they evaluated the temperature of the nest during the cage change, showing a decrease of about 3°C, as shown in Figure 3. The thermographic technique ensured a strict SPF status and limited operator intervention and invasiveness, improving animal welfare.
CONCLUSION
InfraRed thermography is a non-invasive method to monitor the health status of laboratory animals. In the future, the thermographic technique could be optimised in order to detect temperature of the animals in the least invasive way possible. This technique has to be further investigated to determine the correlation between superficial (as measured by thermography) and internal body temperatures in different species and in different physiological conditions.
REFERENCES
Fornasier M., Redaelli V., Tarantino A., Luzi F., Verga M. “Infrared Thermography (IRT) in nude mice: alternative method for body temperature measurement. SCAND FELASA 2010, Helsinki, June 14-17 2010.
Freschi M. Thermographic analysis of immunodeficient mice’s nest. Degree Thesis Diss (2012). Medicine Veterinary Faculty. Università di Milano. Italy.
Burman O., Buccarello L., Redaelli V., Cervo L. The effect of two different Individually Ventilated Cages systems on anxiety-related behavior and welfare in two strains of laboratory mouse. 12nd FELASA SECAL Congress, Barcelona, 10-13 June 2013.
Baumans, V., Schlingmann, F., Vonck, M., Van Lith, H.A., 2002. Individually ventilated cages: Beneficial for mice and man? Contemporary Topics 41, 13–19
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