Advanced CUBIC protocols for whole-brain and whole-body clearing and imaging

Here we describe a protocol for advanced CUBIC (Clear, Unobstructed Brain/Body Imaging Cocktails and Computational analysis). The CUBIC protocol enables simple and efficient organ clearing, rapid imaging by light-sheet microscopy and quantitative imaging analysis of multiple samples. The organ or body is cleared by immersion for 1–14 d, with the exact time required dependent on the sample type and the experimental purposes. A single imaging set can be completed in 30–60 min. Image processing and analysis can take <1 d, but it is dependent on the number of samples in the data set. The CUBIC clearing protocol can process multiple samples simultaneously. We previously used CUBIC to image whole-brain neural activities at single-cell resolution using Arc-dVenus transgenic (Tg) mice. CUBIC informatics calculated the Venus signal subtraction, comparing different brains at a whole-organ scale. These protocols provide a platform for organism-level systems biology by comprehensively detecting cells in a whole organ or body.

Plasma Biochemical and Haematological Changes in Steers of Different Temperament during Feedlotting

Correlations between liveweight gains and temperament during feedlotting (Voisinet et al., 1997) may be an indication that cattle of different temperament suffer different degrees of stress. This paper describes the effect of grouping into feedlot pens, cattle of good, poor and mixed (some good and some poor) temperament on blood parameters that are indicators of stress (Bennett et al., 1989). Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Effect of Grouping Feedlot Steers by Temperament on Performance and Carcass Traits

Cattle temperament is correlated with liveweight gains during feedlotting (Voisinet et al., 1997) ie. cattle that are nervous and flighty (poor temperament) do not perform as well as those that are quiet and docile (good temperament). This experiment investigated the effect of grouping into feedlot pens cattle of good temperament, poor temperament and mixed (some good and some poor) temperament on average daily gain (ADG), body condition score (CS), feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and various carcase traits. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Effects of Grouping Feedlot Steers with a Range of Flight Speeds on Liveweight and Temperament Changes

Poor temperament cattle that are nervous and flighty do not perform as well in feedlots as good temperament cattle that are quiet and docile (Burrow and Dillon, 1997). There are contradictory anecdotal reports from industry about the effect of mixing cattle of different temperament on subsequent performance and temperament. Supposedly the presence of a few docile cattle in a feedlot pen-group will have a ‘calming’ effect on flighty pen-mates or the presence of a few flighty animals will ‘upset’ a group of quiet cattle. These hypotheses were tested using data in the experiment described by Petherick et al. (2000) where cattle were grouped into feedlot pens of good temperament, poor temperament and mixed (some good and some poor) temperaments. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Quality of handling and holding yard environment, and beef cattle temperament: 1. Relationships with flight speed and fear of humans.

Numerous tests have been used to measure beef cattle temperament, but limited research has addressed the relationship between such tests and whether temperament can be modified. One-hundred-and-forty-four steers were given one of three human handling and yarding experiences on six occasions during a 12-month grazing period post-weaning (backgrounding): Good handling/yarding, Poor handling/yarding and Minimal handling/yarding. At the end of this phase the cattle were lot-fed for 78 days, with no handling/yarding treatments imposed, before being transported for commercial slaughter. Temperament was assessed at the start of the experiment, during backgrounding and lot-feeding by flight speed (FS) and a fear of humans test, which measured the proximity to a stimulus person (zone average; ZA), the closest approach to the person (CA) and the amount the cattle moved around the test arena (total transitions; TT). During backgrounding, FS decreased for all treatments and at the end of backgrounding there was no difference between them. The rate of decline, however, was greatest in the Good group, smallest in the Minimal group with the Poor intermediate. In contrast, ZA was affected by treatment, with a greater reduction for the Good group than the others (P = 0.012). During lot-feeding, treatment did not affect FS, but all groups showed a decrease in ZA, with the greatest change in the Poor group, the least in the Good and the Minimal intermediate (P = 0.052). CA was positively correlated with ZA (r = 0.18 to 0.66) and negatively with TT (r = -0.180 to -0.659). FS was consistently correlated with TT only (r = 0.17 to 0.49). These findings suggest that FS and TT measure a similar characteristic, as do ZA and CA, but that these characteristics are different from one another, indicating that temperament is not a unitary trait, but has different facets. FS and TT measure one facet that we suggest is general agitation, whilst ZA and CA measure fear of people. Thus, the cattle became less agitated during backgrounding, but the effect was not permanently influenced by the quantity and quality of handling/yarding. However, Good handling/yarding reduced fearfulness of people. Fear of people was also reduced during lot-feeding, probably as a consequence of frequent exposure to humans in a situation that was neutral or positive for the cattle.

Local immune response against larvae of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus in Bos taurus indicus and Bos taurus taurus cattle.

Bos taurus indicus cattle are less susceptible to infestation with Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus than Bos taurus taurus cattle but the immunological basis of this difference is not understood. We compared the dynamics of leukocyte infiltrations (T cell subsets, B cells, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-expressing cells, granulocytes) in the skin near the mouthparts of larvae of R. microplus in B. t. indicus and B. t. taurus cattle. Previously naïve cattle were infested with 50,000 larvae (B. t. indicus) or 10,000 larvae (B. t. taurus) weekly for 6 weeks. One week after the last infestation all of the animals were infested with 20,000 larvae of R. microplus. Skin punch biopsies were taken from all animals on the day before the primary infestation and from sites of larval attachment on the day after the first, second, fourth and final infestations. Infiltrations with CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and [gamma][delta] T cells followed the same pattern in both breeds, showing relatively little change during the first four weekly infestations, followed by substantial increases at 7 weeks post-primary infestation. There was a tendency for more of all cell types except granulocytes to be observed in the skin of B. t. indicus cattle but the differences between the two breeds were consistently significant only for [gamma][delta] T cells. Granulocyte infiltrations increased more rapidly from the day after infestation and were higher in B. t. taurus cattle than in B. t. indicus. Granulocytes and MHC class II-expressing cells infiltrated the areas closest to the mouthparts of larvae. A large volume of granulocyte antigens was seen in the gut of attached, feeding larvae.

Male traits and herd reproductive capability in tropical beef cattle. 1. Experimental design and animal measures

Research into the genetics of whole herd profitability has been a focus of the Beef Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies over the past decade and it has been identified that measures of male reproduction may offer a potential indirect means of selecting for improved female reproduction. This paper describes the experimental design and provides a descriptive analysis of an array of male traits in Brahman and Tropical Composite genotypes managed under the medium to high stress, semi-extensive to extensive production systems of northern Australia. A total of 1639 Brahman and 2424 Tropical Composite bulls with known pedigrees, bred and raised in northern Australia, were evaluated for a comprehensive range of productive and reproductive traits. These included blood hormonal traits (luteinising hormone, inhibin and insulin-like growth factor-I); growth and carcass traits (liveweight, body condition score, ultrasound scanned 12-13th rib fat, rump P8 fat, eye muscle area and hip height); adaptation traits (flight time and rectal temperature); and a bull breeding soundness evaluation (leg and hoof conformation, sheath score, length of everted prepuce, penile anatomy, scrotal circumference, semen mass activity, sperm motility and sperm morphology). Large phenotypic variation was evident for most traits, with complete overlap between genotypes, indicating that there is likely to be a significant opportunity to improve bull fertility traits through management and bull selection.

Male traits and herd reproductive capability in tropical beef cattle. 2. Genetic parameters of bull traits

A total of 4063 young bulls of two tropical genotypes (1639 Brahman and 2424 Tropical Composite) raised in northern Australia were evaluated for a comprehensive range of production and reproduction traits up to 24 months of age. Prior to weaning, peripheral blood concentrations of luteinising hormone (LH) and inhibin were measured at 4 months of age. At weaning (6 months) blood insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) and flight time were recorded. Body composition traits of fat depth and eye-muscle area were determined by ultrasonography at 15 months of age when additional measurements of liveweight, hip height and body condition score were recorded. Bull breeding soundness was evaluated at similar to 12, 18 and 24 months of age when measurements of scrotal circumference, sheath score, semen mass activity, progressive motility of individual sperm and percent morphologically normal sperm were recorded. Magnitude of heritability and genetic correlations changed across time for some traits. Heritability of LH, inhibin, IGF-I and of 18-month scrotal circumference, mass activity, progressive motility and percent normal sperm was 0.31, 0.74, 0.44, 0.75, 0.24, 0.15 and 0.25, respectively, for Brahmans and 0.48, 0.72, 0.36, 0.43, 0.13, 0.15 and 0.20, respectively, for Tropical Composites. Inhibin and IGF-I had moderate genetic association with percent normal sperm at 24 months in Brahmans but low to negligible associations in Tropical Composites. Body condition score in Brahmans and sperm motility (mass and individual) traits in both genotypes had moderate to strong genetic correlation with percent normal sperm and may prove useful candidates for indirect selection. There is scope to increase scrotal circumference by selection and this will be associated with favourable correlated responses of improved semen quality in both genotypes. The lack of genetic antagonism among bull traits indicates that selection for improved semen quality will not adversely affect other production traits.

The integrity of sperm chromatin in young tropical composite bulls

Sperm chromatin fragmentation is associated with subfertility, but its relationship with age progression in young bulls is poorly understood. The objective was to assess sperm chromatin fragmentation during the early post-pubertal development of 20 tropical composite bulls, using a sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) and sperm-bos-halomax (SBH). Bulls were subjected to bull breeding soundness evaluation (BBSE) at mean ages of 13, 18, and 24 mo. Traits measured included liveweight (WT), body condition score (BCS) and scrotal circumference (SC). Semen samples were collected by electroejaculation and assessed for mass activity (MA), motility (Mot), concentration (conc), sperm morphology and chromatin fragmentation. Concentration (r = 0.34, P = 0.0076), Mot (r = 0.36, P = 0.0041) and percentage of morphologic normal sperm (percent normal sperm (PNS); r = 0.31, P = 0.0132) were positively correlated with age. The percentage of sperm with proximal droplets (PD) was negatively correlated with age (r = -0.28, P = 0.0348), whereas neither SCSA nor SBH results were significantly correlated with age. The percentage of sperm with chromatin fragmentation using SCSA was correlated with PNS (r = -0.53, P < 0.0001), the percentage of sperm with head abnormalities (r = 0.68, P < 0.0001) and the percentage of intact sperm (Int) with SBH (r = -0.26, P = 0.0456). In summary, for assessment of sperm chromatin fragmentation, samples could be equally collected at 13, 18 or 24 mo of age, as results did not vary with age. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Observation of a novel babesia spp. in eastern grey kangaroos (macropus giganteus) in australia

The roles and epidemiological features of tick-borne protozoans are not well elicited in wildlife. Babesia spp. are documented in many domestic animals, including cattle, horses, pigs, dogs and cats. Three cases affecting eastern grey kangaroos are described. The kangaroos exhibited neurological signs, depression and marked anaemia, and microscopic examination of blood smears revealed intraerythrocytic piroplasms. One to seven intraerythrocytic spherical, oval, pyriform and irregularly-shaped parasites consistent with Babesia spp. were seen in the blood smears and the percentage of infected erythrocytes was estimated to be approximately 7% in each case. Data suggest that the tick vector for this kangaroo Babesia sp. is a Haemaphysalis species. For Case 2, ultrastructural examination of the erythrocytes of the renal capillaries showed parasites resembling Babesia spp. and 18 of 33 erythrocytes were infected. DNA sequencing of the amplified 18S rDNA confirmed that the observed intraerythrocytic piroplasms belong to the genus Babesia. The phylogenetic position of this new kangaroo Babesia sp. (de novo Babesia macropus), as a sister species to the new Australian woylie Babesia sp., suggests a close affinity to the described Afro-Eurasian species Babesia orientalis and Babesia occultans suggesting perhaps a common ancestor for the Babesia in kangaroos. © 2012 Australian Society for Parasitology.

Seminal plasma proteome of eletroejaculated Bos indicus bulls

The present study describes the seminal plasma proteome of Bos indicus bulls. Fifty-six, 24-month old Australian Brahman sires were evaluated and subjected to electroejaculation. Seminal plasma proteins were separated by 2-D SDS-PAGE and identified by mass spectrometry. The percentage of progressively motile and morphologically normal sperm of the bulls were 70.4±2.3 and 64±3.2%, respectively. A total of 108 spots were identified in the 2-D maps, corresponding to 46 proteins. Binder of sperm proteins accounted for 55.8% of all spots detected in the maps and spermadhesins comprised the second most abundant constituents. Other proteins of the Bos indicus seminal plasma include clusterin, albumin, transferrin, metalloproteinase inhibitor 2, osteopontin, epididymal secretory protein E1, apolipoprotein A-1, heat shock 70kDa protein, glutathione peroxidase 3, cathelicidins, alpha-enolase, tripeptidyl-peptidase 1, zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein, plasma serine protease inhibitor, beta 2-microglobulin, proteasome subunit beta type-4, actin, cathepsins, nucleobinding-1, protein S100-A9, hemoglobin subunit alpha, cadherin-1, angiogenin-1, fibrinogen alpha and beta chain, ephirin-A1, protein DJ-1, serpin A3-7, alpha-2-macroglobulin, annexin A1, complement factor B, polymeric immunoglobulin receptor, seminal ribonuclease, ribonuclease-4, prostaglandin-H2 D-isomarase, platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase, and phosphoglycerate kinase In conclusion, this work uniquely portrays the Bos indicus seminal fluid proteome, based on samples from a large set of animals representing the Brahman cattle of the tropical Northern Australia. Based on putative biochemical attributes, seminal proteins act during sperm maturation, protection, capacitation and fertilization.

Evaluation and histological examination of a Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis small animal infection model

Bovine genital campylobacteriosis (BGC), caused by Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis, is associated with production losses in cattle worldwide. This study aimed to develop a reliable BGC guinea pig model to facilitate future studies of pathogenicity, abortion mechanisms and vaccine efficacy. Seven groups of five pregnant guinea pigs (1 control per group) were inoculated with one of three strains via intra-peritoneal (IP) or intra-vaginal routes. Samples were examined using culture, PCR and histology. Abortions ranged from 0 to 100 and re-isolation of causative bacteria from sampled sites varied with strain, dose of bacteria and time to abortion. Histology indicated metritis and placentitis, suggesting that the bacteria induce inflammation, placental detachment and subsequent abortion. Variation of virulence between strains was observed and determined by culture and abortion rates. IP administration of C. fetus subsp. venerealis to pregnant guinea pigs is a promising small animal model for the investigation of BGC abortion.

Monikasvoinen Aamutähti : CMX-yhtyeen Cloaca Maxima -levykokoelman analyysi

Tutkimukseni tehtävä on selvittää, millä tavoin CMX-yhtyeen sanoituksissa käytetään kristinuskoon liittyviä ilmaisuja. CMX on vuonna 1985 perustettu suomalainen yhtye, joka on vuoteen 2008 mennessä julkaissut kaksitoista täysimittaista albumia. CMX-yhtyettä on vaikea sijoittaa yhteen musiikin genreen. Yksinkertaistaen voidaan todeta, että yhtyeen musiikki kehittyi punkista raskaan rockin ja iskelmämusiikin yhdistelmäksi, joka sisältää runsaasti progressiivisen rockin piirteitä. Tutkimukseni kannalta yhtyeen keskeisin jäsen on sen basisti ja laulusolisti Aki Yrjänä, koska hän on myös sanoittanut kaikki tutkimuksessa analysoitavat kappaleet. Aki Yrjänä käyttää taiteilijanimeä A. W. Yrjänä. Valitsin tutkimukseni aineistoksi yhtyeen vuonna 1997 ilmestyneen Cloaca Maxima -levykokoelman, koska se esittelee kattavasti yhtyeen musiikkia vuosilta 1989-1997 ja sisältää valtaosan yhtyeen tunnetuimmista kappaleista. Etsin sanoituksista kristinuskoon liittyvät ilmaisut sisällönanalyysillä. Analysoin ilmaisuja lingvistisen semantiikan avulla sekä vertaamalla niitä erilaisiin uskonkäsityksiin neljässä tutkimusluvussa. Ensimmäinen tutkimusluku sisältää ilmaisut, jotka liittyvät kristinuskon organisaatioon. Analysoin siinä Cloaca Maximan kohdat, joissa mainitaan kirkko, alttari, saarnamies tai saarnaaja. Toinen tutkimusluku sisältää ilmaisut, jotka liittyvät raamatullisiin hahmoihin. Analysoin siinä Cloaca Maximan sanoitukset, joissa esiintyy Maria, Jeesus, Henki, Jumala, Saatana, Perkele, enkeleitä tai henkivaltoja. Olen myös analysoinut Aamutähti-kappaleen nimeä, joka voi Venus-planeetan lisäksi viitata kristillisessä traditiossa Mariaan, Jeesukseen tai Saatanaan. Kolmas tutkimusluku sisältää ilmaisut, jotka löytyvät sekä Cloaca Maximan sanoituksista että Raamatusta. Analysoin siinä Helvetin hyvä paimen -kappaleen nimeä, Jeesuksen "seuraa minua" -ilmaisua hyödyntävää Siivekäs-kappaleen kohtaa sekä Kätketty kukka -kappaleen sanoja, jotka liittyvät hautajaiskaavan siunaussanoihin. Sen lisäksi olen analysoinut kolmannessa tutkimusluvussa Cloaca Maximan sanoitukset, joissa esiintyy sana armo, taivaankansi tai taivaanvahvuus. Neljäs tutkimusluku sisältää ilmaisut, jotka osoittavat Jumalaan kohdistuvaa asennetta. Eri asenteiden keskeiset ajatukset ovat, että Jumalan löytäminen vaatii taitoa, ihmiset unohtavat Jumalan ja että Jumalaa ei ole olemassa. Tutkimukseni tuloksena on, että kristinuskoon liittyviä ilmaisuja käytetään Cloaca Maximan sanoituksissa hyvin erilaisissa tehtävissä. Ilmaisut itsessään ovat myös usein monitulkintaisia, ja kappaleen sisältämät ilmaisut voivat olla keskenään ristiriitaisia. Metaforina käytettävistä ilmaisuista erottuu kaksi ryhmää, joista ensimmäisen ryhmän ilmaisut toimivat kuoleman ja jälkimmäisen ryhmän ilmaisut subjektin tunteiden metaforina. Yrjänän eri lähteistä löytyvistä kommenteista voidaan päätellä, että hän ei halua ohjata kuulijoiden tekemiä tulkintoja mihinkään suuntaan ja että sanoituksien monitulkintaisuus on tarkoituksellista.

Pylväskäytävien suojassa : Pompejilainen peristyylipuutarha sosioekonomisen edustamisen muotona

Pro gradu -tutkielmani käsittelee pompejilaisessa yksityistalossa ollutta puutarhaa, jota kiertää pylväskäytävä tai useampia. Tätä tilaa kutsutaan peristyylipuutarhaksi. Peristyyli oli tärkeä osa roomalaisen ja siis myös pompejilaisen talon julkista osaa. Se oli avoin vierailijoille, siksi voidaan olettaa, että peristyylipuutarhalla olisi haluttu esittää omaa vaurautta ja sosiaalista asemaa. Työni keskittyy siihen, miten talon asukkaan varallisuus ja sosiaalinen asema näkyvät peristyylipuutarhassa. Tutkin myös, mitä muuta peristyyli viestii omistajastaan. Tutkimukseni liitteenä on lista Pompejin yksityistalojen peristyyleistä ja niiden tiedoista. Niitä vertailemalla analysoin sitä, millainen tila peristyylipuutarha on ollut. Aineistona tutkielmassani ovat konkreettisesti Pompejin yksityistalojen peristyylipuutarhat ja niiden rakenteet sekä arkeologiset löydöt. Peristyylipuutarhoja on 168 kappaletta. Lisäksi seinämaalaukset ja piirtokirjoitukset välittävät tietoa niin peristyylistä kuin sen omistajasta. Tiedot peristyyleistä olen kerännyt tutkimuskirjallisuudesta löytyneistä luetteloista, joissa on tietoa Pompejin taloista ja puutarhoista. Murto-osassa peristyylipuutarhoista olen käynyt ja kerännyt niistä tietoa työhöni. Huomioin antiikin kirjallisen tradition, sen käsitellessä aihettani. Ensimmäisenä käsittelen peristyylipuutarhaa arkkitehtuurin kannalta. Tutkin, mihin peristyyli on sijoitettu pompejilaisessa talossa ja millaisia arkkitehtonisia ratkaisuja tilassa on käytetty. Peristyyli on usein talon ovelta avautuvalla näköakselilla, joka leikkaa läpi talon tärkeimpien julkisten tilojen. Ne ovat atrium eli eteishalli, tablinum eli vastaanottohuone ja peristyylipuutarha. Aina peristyyli ei ole tällä akselilla. Joissain taloissa peristyyli voi olla atriumin tai tablinumin paikalla. Pompejin peristyyleissä on pylväskäytäviä yhdestä neljään. Usein puutarhaosa on erotettu pylväskäytävistä aidalla. Seuraavaksi tutkin peristyylipuutarhasta löytyneitä rakenteita, irtaimistoa, kasveja ja istutuksia. Tarkastelen näiden yleisyyttä ja sitä, mitä ne kertovat peristyylin käyttötarkoituksesta. Puutarhoissa on ollut vesikouruja, kaivoja, altaita, suihkulähteitä, vesisäiliöitä ja niiden suuaukkojen renkaita. Kiinteitä rakennelmia ovat tricliniumit eli oleskelu- ja ruokailuryhmät, kotijumalien pyhäköt, alttarit, nissit ja katokset. Irtaimia löytöjä on peristyyleissä monenlaisia. Yleisimpiä ovat pöydät, aurinkokellot, lamput, amforat ja erilaiset astiat sekä ruukut. Kasveja on huomioitu vähän Pompejin kaivauksissa, mutta peristyylipuutarhoista on löytynyt merkkejä puista ja pensaista sekä säännöllisistä ja epäsäännöllisistä istutuksista. Viimeisenä käsittelen peristyylipuutarhan koristelua, ja minkälaisen kuvan se välittää talon omistajasta. Puutarhoissa oli veistoksia ja seinämaalauksia. Molemmissa käsitellään luontoaiheita, jotka ovat helposti liitettävissä puutarhaan. Suosittuja ovat myös mytologiset aiheet. Veistoskoristelussa selkeästi yleisin on viinin jumala Dionysos ja häneen liittyvät hahmot. Myös muita jumaluuksia esiintyy kuten Venus. Se ja Dionysos liitettiin antiikissa luontoon ja puutarhaan. Peristyylipuutarha oli monipuolinen tila, jossa eri elämänalueet kohtasivat toisensa. Peristyyleissä voitiin työskennellä. Puutarhaosa saattoi olla hyötykäytössä esimerkiksi kasvimaana. Peristyylissä tai sen ympäristössä oleskeltiin, juhlittiin ja viihdytettiin vieraita, siksi siellä esitettiin omaa varakkuutta runsaalla veistoskoristelulla, altailla ja suihkulähteillä. Jo laaja pinta-alainen peristyyli oli osoitus vauraudesta. Aina ei haluttu näyttää varakkuutta, vaan joskus koristeellinen peristyyli oli syrjässä talon ovelta avautuvalta näköakselilta. Uskonto oli osa peristyyliä, vaikka uskonnon harjoittamiseen liittyvät rakenteet sijoitettiin yleensä talon muihin tiloihin. Uskonto ja mytologia ovat kuitenkin vahvasti läsnä peristyylien koristelussa. Selkeitä poliittisia viittauksia peristyylipuutarhoissa on vähän, mutta roomalaisia piirteitä niissä voidaan havaita. Roomalaiset vaikutteet peristyylin koristelussa ja arkkitehtuurissa viestittävät mahdollisesti talon omistajan roomalaismielisyydestä. Roomalaiset piirteet ovat myös olleet trendejä aikakauden peristyyleissä.

DECT evaluation of noncalc fied coronary artery plaque

Purpose: Composition of the coronary artery plaque is known to have critical role in heart attack. While calcified plaque can easily be diagnosed by conventional CT, it fails to distinguish between fibrous and lipid rich plaques. In the present paper, the authors discuss the experimental techniques and obtain a numerical algorithm by which the electron density (rho(e)) and the effective atomic number (Z(eff)) can be obtained from the dual energy computed tomography (DECT) data. The idea is to use this inversion method to characterize and distinguish between the lipid and fibrous coronary artery plaques. Methods: For the purpose of calibration of the CT machine, the authors prepare aqueous samples whose calculated values of (rho(e), Z(eff)) lie in the range of (2.65 x 10(23) <= rho(e) <= 3.64 x 10(23)/cm(3)) and (6.80 <= Z(eff) <= 8.90). The authors fill the phantom with these known samples and experimentally determine HU(V-1) and HU(V-2), with V-1,V-2 = 100 and 140 kVp, for the same pixels and thus determine the coefficients of inversion that allow us to determine (rho(e), Z(eff)) from the DECT data. The HU(100) and HU(140) for the coronary artery plaque are obtained by filling the channel of the coronary artery with a viscous solution of methyl cellulose in water, containing 2% contrast. These (rho(e), Z(eff)) values of the coronary artery plaque are used for their characterization on the basis of theoretical models of atomic compositions of the plaque materials. These results are compared with histopathological report. Results: The authors find that the calibration gives Pc with an accuracy of 3.5% while Z(eff) is found within 1% of the actual value, the confidence being 95%. The HU(100) and HU(140) are found to be considerably different for the same plaque at the same position and there is a linear trend between these two HU values. It is noted that pure lipid type plaques are practically nonexistent, and microcalcification, as observed in histopathology, has to be taken into account to explain the nature of the observed (rho(e), Z(eff)) data. This also enables us to judge the composition of the plaque in terms of basic model which considers the plaque to be composed of fibres, lipids, and microcalcification. Conclusions: This simple and reliable method has the potential as an effective modality to investigate the composition of noncalcified coronary artery plaques and thus help in their characterization. In this inversion method, (rho(e), Z(eff)) of the scanned sample can be found by eliminating the effects of the CT machine and also by ensuring that the determination of the two unknowns (rho(e), Z(eff)) does not interfere with each other and the nature of the plaque can be identified in terms of a three component model. (C) 2015 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.